camping out

A few thoughts on leave-no-trace car camping in the city...which is to say, if it's successful, nobody will know you were there. Or even that you're there now, as they walk right by your window. This is what seems to work for me anyway, in several cities now.

- Choose a street in the middle ground. A neighborhood too upscale, and people will feel that proprietary need to know what you're doing on "their" section of the public street space. Too much of a working neighborhood, and you might be crossing paths with ones coming in from the night shift, or leaving for the super-early shift. Or, they might just not have enough room to park their own cars, and you might prove to be unwanted competition for limited space. A mid-range street might have people living just comfortably enough to tune out what's going on past their front door. Although you have to watch out for early morning dog-walkers: those dogs will sniff you out, curious like they are (they can't help it), and let their owners know something's up. I don't know if their owners would have a problem with an un-placed person on their street or not. I've never had any direct encounters with people yet. The goal is simply to be as invisible, as unobtrusive as possible. The goal is simply to get a quiet night's sleep.

- Choose a point in liminal space. On property lines: a section of wall or fence bridging the open space between two yards. By an arroyo or drainage canal between houses. A vacant space not built up yet. That way nobody needs to question why you're in "their" yard. Or, find something even more un-claimable. One of my favorite spots around here was outside a school fence. Until I realized I was gonna have to get up at 7:30 every day, to be out before the kids and the buses started arriving.

- Think about what's going to happen in your space throughout the night. Once I thought I had an ideal spot - deserted street, middle neighborhood, by a fence backing up to a store that was closed for the night. Then, at 5 in the morning the semis started pulling up with the day's freight and that was it for sleep. Another of the goals is not to have to be migratory throughout the dark hours.

- Park under a tree if you can. Shelter from morning sun's heat if it's summer, or from unexpected rain or snowstorms if it's winter or spring. Good company, either way. Good to have an ally.

- Carry just enough extra blankets, boxes, bags, or random items in the camper to arrange as if deliberately. That way any curious passerby who looks in won't see a sleeping body, but just a big pile of stuff.

- Bungees are a must-have item. I use them for curtain rods, clotheslines, a lock (of sorts) for my camper door.

- Put as many of the morning's new clothes inside the sleeping bag with you, to absorb body heat. Anyone who's been a backpacker knows this already. Or, if you like, hang them out on your bungee-clothesline. A nice fresh set of 30-degree underwear can be as effective for waking up quick as a cuppa coffee, at that...

- Be ready for absolutely any view through the camper windows, when you sit up in the first light. It will quite possibly be a different world than the one you fell asleep to. I woke up to snow this morning. Just when I was thinking, about time it warmed up a little, after the deep-freeze chill of 4 a.m.

- Thank any spirits of the place where you slept for their hospitality, and maybe for their protection. Because hospitality and protection both are always to be found. Whether from people, or just from the moment and the place. This is the traveller's blessing. It has always, in every in-between place, been mine.