I slept in the garden last night. Well, part of the night. It’s usually the sort of thing 9 year old boys do. But in this case it’s something a 56 year old men did as part of his journey to getting comfortable with the darkness… (which is part of his planned Homesong walk to Iran!).

It was a failed attempt, but not because of anything to do with being on my own in the dark. I did almost everything right, but one part didn’t work. And that part sent me back inside at 3am in the morning.

So:
I managed to set up a tarp tent using knots I’ve taught myself recently. A tarp is open to the elements on a couple of sides, but provides shelter from the wind, and rain cover.
I had a warm sleeping bag.
I had a bivi bag (a waterproof sleeping bag cover) as extra rain protection.

And I had a sleeping mat. It was the sleeping mat that did for me. It was a small blow up mat, but I’ve had it a long time, and it kept going down. It was 4 degrees centigrade before windchill, and though I would have been plenty warm enough with my sleeping bag, the cold coming up from the ground was enough to make me cold to the bone by 3am.

I usually take cold showers in the morning. Not today. I felt a bit crap. A combination of lack of sleep, and frustration at a failed experiment.

But, I’ve learned something. Which never happens without trying something.

Onwards.