Well - the dates for this weekend in the woods were planned well in advance ... well before a weather forcast was available...
Last weekend was great.... this one not so good!
I pitched up in the woods after work - at about 10am and got my shelter up (with its new ridge line) and fought the chute up, got some firewood in etc and had just started work on the continued rebuild of the table when Phil rocked up, for his first outing with us, swiftly followed by Bishop, on his second visit.
To stat with the weather played fair and we all got settled in, had a brew and went for a bimble to show Phil some of the square mile we can play in (and to collect more wood for the table top and get in more water, before lunch.
Later on it started to rain and blow and the wind shield was deployed ... but as all the wood was a bit damp the chute filled with smoke - wind or flames - you cannot get away with neither!
We all had issues with our shelters - Phil had a bit of rain blow in, Bishop had a swimming pool develop in his tarp and my ridgeline stretch, bringing the roof to a point 6" lower than I pitched it. The chute aso became quite baggy and has yet to keep all the rain out .. so the mist that came through soon had everything damp....
No one stayed up late and we were all in bed not long after full dark had fallen.
Sat morning and it was still raining but after breakfast I did some work on the broken tripod chair and watched the others pack to leave - do not get me wrong, both had already said they could only do the Friday night ... it is not they were wimping out or anything... honest...
I considered my options - I could stay the St night on my own, with a forecast that prommissed more rain and spend Sunday morning wrestling a damp chute and windshield back into their barrel on my tod... after a wet day and evening where most of the work I had in mind (foraging, re-siting the loo, repairing the chute ) were really multi person jobs or I could cut my losses, get the guys to help drop the chute and spend Sat getting my kit clean and dry then playing on the confuser in the dry...
The guys helped pack the chute and then I did a couple of small jobs (like sort out my ridge line which stays permanently strung!) and then followed in their wake, getting home around noon! Naturally, just as I packed my tarp away the sun came out ! But it soon hid in the rain again...
I blame Bishop for the weather - it always rains when he visits...
My pitch on Friday
The Chute
The table
The woods
Phil's pitch
Bishops pitch
A bit of a wash out - and the chute will be soaking for the next trip
I hope that Phil braves another visit and that Bishop stops bringing the rain and wind with him!
Talking of wind - be careful with Aldi Choritzo ... talk about wind!
Last weekend was great.... this one not so good!
I pitched up in the woods after work - at about 10am and got my shelter up (with its new ridge line) and fought the chute up, got some firewood in etc and had just started work on the continued rebuild of the table when Phil rocked up, for his first outing with us, swiftly followed by Bishop, on his second visit.
To stat with the weather played fair and we all got settled in, had a brew and went for a bimble to show Phil some of the square mile we can play in (and to collect more wood for the table top and get in more water, before lunch.
Later on it started to rain and blow and the wind shield was deployed ... but as all the wood was a bit damp the chute filled with smoke - wind or flames - you cannot get away with neither!
We all had issues with our shelters - Phil had a bit of rain blow in, Bishop had a swimming pool develop in his tarp and my ridgeline stretch, bringing the roof to a point 6" lower than I pitched it. The chute aso became quite baggy and has yet to keep all the rain out .. so the mist that came through soon had everything damp....
No one stayed up late and we were all in bed not long after full dark had fallen.
Sat morning and it was still raining but after breakfast I did some work on the broken tripod chair and watched the others pack to leave - do not get me wrong, both had already said they could only do the Friday night ... it is not they were wimping out or anything... honest...
I considered my options - I could stay the St night on my own, with a forecast that prommissed more rain and spend Sunday morning wrestling a damp chute and windshield back into their barrel on my tod... after a wet day and evening where most of the work I had in mind (foraging, re-siting the loo, repairing the chute ) were really multi person jobs or I could cut my losses, get the guys to help drop the chute and spend Sat getting my kit clean and dry then playing on the confuser in the dry...
The guys helped pack the chute and then I did a couple of small jobs (like sort out my ridge line which stays permanently strung!) and then followed in their wake, getting home around noon! Naturally, just as I packed my tarp away the sun came out ! But it soon hid in the rain again...
I blame Bishop for the weather - it always rains when he visits...
My pitch on Friday
The Chute
The table
The woods
Phil's pitch
Bishops pitch
A bit of a wash out - and the chute will be soaking for the next trip
I hope that Phil braves another visit and that Bishop stops bringing the rain and wind with him!
Talking of wind - be careful with Aldi Choritzo ... talk about wind!
