Following on from wondering what I would forget I guess this is the follow up...
Firstly, I loved it! Cold but not freezing night (around 6 centigrade) but sitting listening to the fire crackle and watching the stars made it all frankly awesome, something I'm sure most of you know already.
I set off with about an hour of daylight for a 20 minute walk and it doesn't get dark instantly so plenty of time, I thought. Packing was a bit rushed but hey, isn't it always? There was that dead standing tree looming over the spot that I was going to drop before sleeping under it as well but, how long can that take?
Well, the tree took about an hour and a half, taking it really steady, it getting hung up twice and needing the base of the tree levering until it was flat on the ground with plenty of considering, planning, clearing exit routes added to the fun!
Anyhow, time to set up the tarp, set up pretty much as I do for our day camps (there will be a link to a vid at the end if you are desperate to know how it looks) but it covers where the hammock goes and high and long enough to cover the fire as well. Gives shelter for a dozen of us pretty well if we need and would give me loads of space to play in.
Fire got going well enough with some really dry wood from the top of the dead standing tree and it was time for what felt like a well earned sit down and a cup of tea. Sit mat was still at home... still, my fire gloves are big enough to they did.
Right hammock up, between the same trees that is has been up before (as a daytime experiment) at least this had been done before... Except, not with the whoopie slings and huggers, which extend the minimum distance the trees can be set apart... Oh... Still, two stout sticks and a few wraps of the huggers and the length was as snug as needed!
Next up, food, and the fire is already going! Time to get out the new (Christmas present) Petromax trivet and start warming the cast iron skillet for steak, onions and mushrooms... couldn't wait! Now, where is that chopping board that was also going to be my plate... bother, that was still in the kitchen! Never mind, the steak was in a pack so I flipped that and the back made a great board to chop the onion, yet another self inflicted problem solved
Food was awesome and sitting with a bottle of cider (well summer berries Old Mout) and watching the stars was just beautiful. Fire was doing the business so I didn't bother with the waterproof over-trousers I'd brought and just toasted my bare legs by the fire (shorts, not naturist). Ears were getting a bit chilly in the breeze, where is that woolly hat I brought to sleep in? Oh yes, on the settee, at home, oh, never mind
Slept like a baby (by which I mean soundly apart from the two toilet trips, no, I didn't go for a wide mouthed bottle!) but woke up with dawn. Snuggled in the bag for a minute and woke up two hours later, time for some breakfast! Bacon and mushroom muffins, with a hint of steak and onion from the pan, wrapped in muffins have never tasted so good. Long relaxed cups of tea and packing (way more efficiently for the trip back) I couldn't stop smiling to myself. A really, really satisfying trip up to the woods. No worries, plenty of stuff I clearly don't need (like the box of foods that lives in the pack to feed my kids if we want some extra, yes, I did carry up a bag of marshmallows I didn't touch, a bag of jelly babies, a jar of hot dogs and several sets of cutlery). Stuff I could have used but wasn't really a problem and a good feeling that lasted days (in fact, it's still there).
Already mentally packing in order to maintain my promise to myself for this year, first Saturday of the month, every month, I wan't to be out. It can be rescheduled, but not cancelled.
I also attempted to record the experience for posterity and realised just how hard it is to try and make a film of your experiences!
Well done to all of you who do and thanks for the inspiration.
https://youtu.be/2SOO8AECD-c
Firstly, I loved it! Cold but not freezing night (around 6 centigrade) but sitting listening to the fire crackle and watching the stars made it all frankly awesome, something I'm sure most of you know already.
I set off with about an hour of daylight for a 20 minute walk and it doesn't get dark instantly so plenty of time, I thought. Packing was a bit rushed but hey, isn't it always? There was that dead standing tree looming over the spot that I was going to drop before sleeping under it as well but, how long can that take?
Well, the tree took about an hour and a half, taking it really steady, it getting hung up twice and needing the base of the tree levering until it was flat on the ground with plenty of considering, planning, clearing exit routes added to the fun!
Anyhow, time to set up the tarp, set up pretty much as I do for our day camps (there will be a link to a vid at the end if you are desperate to know how it looks) but it covers where the hammock goes and high and long enough to cover the fire as well. Gives shelter for a dozen of us pretty well if we need and would give me loads of space to play in.
Fire got going well enough with some really dry wood from the top of the dead standing tree and it was time for what felt like a well earned sit down and a cup of tea. Sit mat was still at home... still, my fire gloves are big enough to they did.
Right hammock up, between the same trees that is has been up before (as a daytime experiment) at least this had been done before... Except, not with the whoopie slings and huggers, which extend the minimum distance the trees can be set apart... Oh... Still, two stout sticks and a few wraps of the huggers and the length was as snug as needed!
Next up, food, and the fire is already going! Time to get out the new (Christmas present) Petromax trivet and start warming the cast iron skillet for steak, onions and mushrooms... couldn't wait! Now, where is that chopping board that was also going to be my plate... bother, that was still in the kitchen! Never mind, the steak was in a pack so I flipped that and the back made a great board to chop the onion, yet another self inflicted problem solved
Food was awesome and sitting with a bottle of cider (well summer berries Old Mout) and watching the stars was just beautiful. Fire was doing the business so I didn't bother with the waterproof over-trousers I'd brought and just toasted my bare legs by the fire (shorts, not naturist). Ears were getting a bit chilly in the breeze, where is that woolly hat I brought to sleep in? Oh yes, on the settee, at home, oh, never mind
Slept like a baby (by which I mean soundly apart from the two toilet trips, no, I didn't go for a wide mouthed bottle!) but woke up with dawn. Snuggled in the bag for a minute and woke up two hours later, time for some breakfast! Bacon and mushroom muffins, with a hint of steak and onion from the pan, wrapped in muffins have never tasted so good. Long relaxed cups of tea and packing (way more efficiently for the trip back) I couldn't stop smiling to myself. A really, really satisfying trip up to the woods. No worries, plenty of stuff I clearly don't need (like the box of foods that lives in the pack to feed my kids if we want some extra, yes, I did carry up a bag of marshmallows I didn't touch, a bag of jelly babies, a jar of hot dogs and several sets of cutlery). Stuff I could have used but wasn't really a problem and a good feeling that lasted days (in fact, it's still there).
Already mentally packing in order to maintain my promise to myself for this year, first Saturday of the month, every month, I wan't to be out. It can be rescheduled, but not cancelled.
I also attempted to record the experience for posterity and realised just how hard it is to try and make a film of your experiences!
Well done to all of you who do and thanks for the inspiration.
https://youtu.be/2SOO8AECD-c
