Getting away for the weekend.

[Keith_Beef]

As I mentioned in the thread about staves and sticks, I'm going away for a weekend course, Saturday and Sunday, sleeping under a tarp Saturday night.

The meeting point is about a cube and a half hour drive from home, so I'm going out on Friday, sleeping in one of my tents at a municipal campsite on Friday night and again on Sunday night before driving back on Monday.

I'll be taking a ridiculous amount of kit because I'm hoping to test things in real bushcraft conditions, rather than just the kind of simulations that I've been doing in the back garden.

I'll have two twig stoves (one very basic collapsible, the other a Solo Titan), tarp, self-inflating mattress, sleeping bag (plus tent and camp bed for the campsite before and after), Beaver Bushcraft hatchet (and possibly Frontier Hawk), two fixed blade knives (home made but from bought blades), Leatherman Super Tool, Decathlon aluminium cooking pans, cezve for making coffee, solar panel (for charging my phone that will probably be my camera for the weekend), five firelighting devices, tinder and kindling, first aid kit, folding shovel, head lamp, torch, compass, folding fabric bucket, paracord and twine... The recommendation is to bring *five* litres of water per person. And I need to bring my own food... I've set aside rice and buckwheat grains, salami and cured pork, wondering about taking some tinned fish... I'm testing a vacuum flask with ice cubes to see if it's worth freezing some pasteurised milk to take with me...

 

[Pattree]

@Keith_Beef
Ref. milk when camping:

Being away from home, both working abroad and camping is what moved me to stop using milk in my drinks (or anywhere else!)

Black coffee, cocoa and tea have been my standard drinks now for nearly 50 years. It removes one of the more problematic camping issues without hardship. Ethiopian and Turkish coffees are taken black anyway and very welcome they are too.

If you can manage it I thoroughly recommend it.

As for bulk kit: Me too. I take experiments and back ups in the car. No need for discomfort if you aren’t backpacking.

 

[Broch]

Ditto, I gave up milk and sugar in drinks when I was a teenager so I didn't have to carry it and worry about keeping the milk fresh.

 

[Broch]

I often take tinned fish - with a bit of imagination tinned fish and quick cook rice turns into paella or mixed with quick cook couscous and a few Moroccan spices a fish tagine

 

[Tengu]

Milk is a problem and like many I do without. Only miss it in cerial (So...those porridge pots already have it)

Evap can be diluted to more like proper milk but then you have to use it up. Its a shame evap doesnt come in smaller quantities

 

[Toddy]

Nido is your friend.

Full fat milk, dried. Easy to use, easy to keep, works well.

.....except for those of us who are lactose intolerant

 

[Pattree]

I get enormous satisfaction from making a decent meal on a stick stove.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I'll drink tea without milk readily enough, and I'll drink espresso, but I prefer my breakfast coffee with milk.

I'll see how the trial works out; my ice cubes were at about -35°C (I measured the temperature a couple of days ago) when I put them into a wide-mouthed vacuum flask, screwed the lid on and put it in the fridge (for the trip to Brittany, it would be in a cool box with a couple of blue freeze bricks). I'll take it out of the fridge tomorrow morning and check on the state every six hours or so.

If the ice cubes stay frozen or melt but stay very cold, I'll take that as a sign that milk will stay fresh.

I'll see if I can pick up some Nido from the Indian grocery shop in town tomorrow.

 

[nigelp]

Tesco also sell Nido.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Tesco also sell Nido.

It would take me a lot of time and money to "pop down to Tesco"...

The Indian grocery had Nido in two different sizes of tin, and the 400g was around 20% less expensive than at Amazon.

 

[Falstaff]

Sounds like you'd better stay for a week to test that much kit and also do the course
But yes, I do the same thing.

 

[Keith_Beef]

The flask had been on the kitchen worktop since just before seven on Wednesday morning.

At noon the ice cubes were still fully frozen. By about eight in the evening they were in a little pool of water.

At about half past seven on Thursday morning the ice has about 2/3 melted.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Right, kit list...

In fact, I'll be taking two lots of kit: one for sleeping at the municipal campsite on the Friday and Sunday nights and another for the Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday of bushcrafting. On Saturday morning I'll be dressing in undershirt, shirt and trousers from A10, kecks and socks, the same as those shown here which are a change for Sunday if I need them (50% probability of rain).




This is the main bushcrafting kit. Left, to to bottom: socks, kecks, Shemagh. Next, undershirt, A10 shirt and trousers, Swanndri overshirt.

The camo patterned bag contains the tarp that I tried out on the garden, with the addition of two lengths of safety orange paracord (one 10m and one 5m) and ten lightweight square section pegs. There's a 1m by 1m44 camo patterned groundsheet that I use in the vestibule of the tent but will use under the tarp as well. The rooms bags contain a Solo Titan stick stove inside a Solo Billie and a set of nesting Quechua (Decathlon brand) pots, plate, cutlery from the kitchen drawer. The plain green bag contains a folding synthetic textile bucket for collecting water. In the coffee cans (one of which is in a 304 stainless mug) I have basmati rice in one and toasted buckwheat in the other. There's also the famous tin of Nido milk powder.

Lastly there is a Maxpedition dump bag (very useful for foraging or gathering kindling), a firelighting kit, an emergency bivvy blanket, folding pick/shovel, a couple of fixed bladed knives, a Leatherman Super Tool, a compass and a DC4 combination hone.

Not shown here are the sleeping bag, self inflating mattress, tent, camp bed for nights in the tent, cezve and ground coffee, the dried cured meats, four apples, an Emberlit UL flat pack stick stove, seeing kit, Hank of thin line, prepared tinder (cotton balls and vaseline, "wood wool"), two 1 litre nalgene bottles and Maxpedition bottle carriers, first aid kit (mostly medicine for my diabetes), Barbour jacket, hat, hatchet, another Maxpedition pouch containing 23m of paracord and a climbing carabineer, I'll try to remember to take a picture of those layer.

Also not shown (yet) is the small Kifaru Spike that will contain my change of clothing between Friday night and Saturday morning, or the Belgian army rucksack, around 100 litre capacity including the two side pockets. There should be plenty of space to add a Bundeswehr closed cell mattress that folds into a square to make a sitting mat.

 

[StevieE]

I like it Keith. Reminds me of things I didnt put on my own thread that wasnt in the original pic I sent. As long as youre not walking far should be perfect.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I keep remembering things that I'd put on one side to take with me, then I think of something else... I think that it will be easier to list things as I unpack on my return.

Also, an EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens that I ordered had arrived much sooner than I expected, so I'll be taking the 2000D with me. I stupidly didn't think to order a UV filter to protect the front element, but it has a 77mm thread, the same as my EF 17-40mm f/4 lens.

I'll take the frontier hawk, a big piece of leather, a few rivets and some tools and on Friday late afternoon and early evening I'll make a mask to protect the edge.

I've had another message from the instructor, reminding to take five litres of water... I'll not be taking the flask of frozen milk cubes with me, after all.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I like it Keith. Reminds me of things I didnt put on my own thread that wasnt in the original pic I sent. As long as youre not walking far should be perfect.

Oh, and after looking at your last post, I remember today I also found an Opinel N°12, the folding saw that goes with it (smaller that the Silky Big Boy), the silicon squishy bowls and shot "glasses", Snow Peak take-down chopsticks... Didn't find my inflatable pillow, though.

 

[StevieE]

I tend to use an Opinel no 8 for food prep. Probably a different thread of bacho Laplander v silky. I prefer the lapander because it's push pull cut. Still time to order off Amazon or not?

 

[Keith_Beef]

I got to the campsite at 14h50 to find that reception is open from 08h30 to 12h00, so I just took a spot that I liked.

Since being here I've unloaded my big rucksack, reloaded it a little differently, and made a mask for the frontier hawk.

A Toyota Rav4 bonnet is just the right height for a standing desk, but I put the anvil on the ground to set the rivets.

 

[StevieE]

Go got it Keith. More pics please of your course

 

[Keith_Beef]

After I had eaten, last night (rye bread, bresaola, a couple of tomatoes and an apple), I followed the sound of a live band and found a fundraiser night at a nearby care home. Good music, a DJ doing mixes, draft beer.

Then wandered down into town for another pint and then something crazy happened with the GPS and Google maps. I ended up going the entirely wrong way for about half an hour until a kind soul in a van gave me a lift.

I don't know what time it started (after it got into my sleeping bag) but it has been raining for most of the night. I woke up as it got light. In glad I'm on my camp bed because a bit of rain has got inside. No more than a couple of dessertspoons, maybe blown in through the vents because the wind is a bit blustery.