7 things I learned on my recent trip in the Dublin Mountains

[Nicolas]

1) Breaking Firewood without a saw, axe is a real pain.
2) Insect repellent is not for sissies (little midget flies can be a real pain the ... )
3) I still have no idea how much water I should have had with me, but 2 litters is seriously not enough for a 2 day hike, so plan ahead if there is rivers and lakes around.
4) When crawinling into sleeping bag make sure you don't take needles of tree inside the bag... painfull
5) Looking for firewood in the dark with a headlamp WITHOUT saw axe is a double pain
6) Bring 2 forks with you, or you will eat noodles with a plastic knife (sisifos work)
7) A Sheep that has been caught in a fence will kick if approached from the back (painful)

 

[andy_e]

Ah, it's all an adventure

2) Mosquito/Midge Headnets do not make you look uncool either, they just make everyone around you jealous

3) Some reckon 4 litres of water per person per day, I don't fancy carrying 8 extra kilos so I make sure I have at least 2 and usually 3 litres and a couple of other means to filter/purify/boil more. I also never assume that the water source on my map that I may plan to fill up from is going to be suitable so I plan a contingency source.

 

[scanker]

2) Mosquito/Midge Headnets do not make you look uncool either, they just make everyone around you jealous

So true. We were wearing midge nets up at Kyle of Lochalsh a few years ago and got talking to a Dutch family at the campsite. They said the nets looked funny, but as we talked, they were splatting increasing numbers of midges all over their heads and necks. At the end of the conversation they humbly said, "Hmm, perhaps the nets are a good idea. Where did you get them?"

 

[Tiley]

3) Some reckon 4 litres of water per person per day, I don't fancy carrying 8 extra kilos so I make sure I have at least 2 and usually 3 litres and a couple of other means to filter/purify/boil more.

Water, for me, is the most vexed aspect of any trip. Carrying it, I have decided, is fine. Yes, it is heavy but then it is THE essential and your pack gets lighter as you drink it through the day. Like Andy, I always carry three litres and have the means of making found sources potable.

One thing I have to ask is this: which bug repellent is effective against midges? I've tried a number but have never really found one that will do the business for these 'delightful' insects. In and around camp, I do wear a midge head net but then eating does present certain challenges, unless you're keen on thin soup. What's the secret?

 

[David.from.Holland]

Rescuing sheep from a fence can be a dirty job indeed, but you do feel quite the hero afterwards. Noodles are best crushed to bits before cooking fore ease of eating.

@Tiley, Anything with at least 50% DEET will work to some degree. Avoiding them is better then repelling. Look for a campsite away from bushes and with some wind.

 

[Wayland]

How did your wife get on? Has she filed for divorce yet?

 

[dommyracer]

My best trick with water is to make sure you're carrying plenty of it inside of you and not on your back.

For the few days before I go on a big walk I will make a conscious effort to over-hydrate myself, just tank up.
Also, If you can also try and keep a sensible pace where you're not generating too much sweat then this helps.

 

[Nicolas]

Rescuing sheep from a fence can be a dirty job indeed, but you do feel quite the hero afterwards. Noodles are best crushed to bits before cooking fore ease of eating.

@Tiley, Anything with at least 50% DEET will work to some degree. Avoiding them is better then repelling. Look for a campsite away from bushes and with some wind.

ha yeah, I cannot just walk past an animal that is in ditress, It was actually a juvenile sheep, who broke out of her enclosure for a little advanture, however when her mom called her she couldn't find her way back.
So when we came along we saw her endlessly calling and walking up and down the fence, when I tried to "show her the right way to freedom" she tried to push her head through the fence and got a little entangled.
I never really had to handle a sheep but I am a zookeeper (or was) so I knew that I have probably one try to grab it.
However I wasn't prepared for the little girl to kick me but I still didn't let go what was good at the end since she wasn't that heavy at all and when I had her firmly by the neck she kinda gave up the fight and I could pick her up quite easy and just lifted her over the fence.
They do have a big and hard belly

 

[Nicolas]

How did your wife get on? Has she filed for divorce yet?

ha she did fine, I wrote the whole account together - the pics I will upload them later:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31298

I was very suprised, obviously she was tired and excausted but I promise you if you see here on the street you would not think the same woman like to stay outdoords likes a good fire and cooking outside , she's the typical good looking gal from lativa, blond hair and the lot
so yes I was positivly suprised, furthermore she also kinda picked me back up when I was a little down because of the water, I was more angry about myself becasue I wanted to make this as fun as possible and assure we can do that again.
No all in all she passed the test big time, she's a tough little cookie

 

[rik_uk3]

My best trick with water is to make sure you're carrying plenty of it inside of you and not on your back.

For the few days before I go on a big walk I will make a conscious effort to over-hydrate myself, just tank up.
Also, If you can also try and keep a sensible pace where you're not generating too much sweat then this helps.

Be very careful with that tip, you can drink too much water and end up keeling over, it can mess up your ecletrolyte balance, not a good thing to do. Google hyponatremia.

Sorry Dommyracer, that is bad advice to give

 

[Nicolas]

Be very careful with that tip, you can drink too much water and end up keeling over, it can mess up your ecletrolyte balance, not a good thing to do. Google hyponatremia.

Sorry Dommyracer, that is bad advice to give

But in all fairness I drink about 6 liters of water a day when I'm cutting as most powerlifters/bodybuilders will do and it is very very very hard to drink TOO much.
you just pee all the time.

 

[Christy]

Say what? 6 liter per day?
Please tell me you eat plenty of bananas, kiwi or tomatoes too cos this'll wash out your potassium pronto. I had meds that drove off lots of water, I could drink for England and pee for it too and nearly had a heartattack, 3 times. Seriously, it near killed me last year.

Hands and feet like pins, face too and heart that just went slower and slower.... Not a good thing and the dr quickly took me off them when he found out.
I just couldn't eat enough potassium to keep it up either.

 

[fishy1]

I drink probably about 5 or 6l a day in the day when I'm walking and it's hot, I do need the toilet more than the guys I'm with but I think it improves your performance significantly, when I don't drink you feel it really quick.

I don't eat bananas, kiwi's or tomatoes on trips, but I do eat quite a lot of other fruit and alot of food on trips and I'm fine.

 

[Twoflower]

The problem with drinking too much water and peeing it back out is that your body is not making use of it therefore it is wasted.

But 2L is not enough for 2 days. Average is about 2L per day on a mild day without too much exercise, going up to 3 or 4L depending on the heat and amount of exercise (possibly more in very hot areas).

 

[spamel]

If you're peeing clear once a day you'll be fine. If you drink too much, you'll run the risk, as already stated, of flaking out. Put salt on your food. If you cannot taste it, you don't have enough salt in your system.

A guy was admitted to the Med Centre in Oman in 2001 because he had drunk so much water in one day that his electrolyte balance went to pot. He was in a really bad way, but he was RMP so nobody really cared! I drank seven 1.5 litre bottles in one day on my first day in Oman. I had never been to the desert enviornment before and was afraid of dehydrating, but I was getting back from the desert rose and turning round to go back I needed to pee that much! I was told the salt trick and tried it out at the next meal time. I put a sachet on and couldn't taste any salt at all. It really does work.

 

[BOD]

... He was in a really bad way, but he was RMP so nobody really cared!

I'm surprised someone brought him in or was it his mob