As you may (or probably don't) remember, after a slightly annoying slip during the Christmas break I got grumpy, my wife told me to sort it out and just commit to something like going out every month... That'll do then! So, the third first Saturday of the month came and went, it was going to be cold (again) a bit damp (again) and potentially difficult to find anything dry (again).
Friday came and went with me conveniently forgetting the damaged seal on the washing machine. The relevance? By the time I remembered and then finished dismantling the washing machine it was 4pm and I hadn't even started packing. Still, nothing like a little pressure to enhance the "less is more" and grab some stuff and go!
Arrived at the same spot as I have used twice before now, and it our usual day camp spot. My planned early departure to allow some exploration and discovery of a new spot hadn't materialised but hey, it works, so it works.
Slight change to my normal tarp set up, using a bungee that holds my sleeping bag on and meatballs for my evening meal and a commitment to actually try and record some more of the trip in order to, well, prove to myself that I could and I set too. Dropping light and a thousand and one slips on de-barked logs and roots later two windfall tree tops had been salvaged and processed and the fire sprung into a warm glow. A couple of drop outs from my headtorch reminded me that some things shouldn't really be minimised... Put the backup torch back in the pack for next time... And the spare candles for the magic lantern... hmmm. Still, much nettle tea was drunk (from Holland & Barrett, not remotely bushcrafty) food was consumed and I settled to listen to the night for a while, or maybe the cloudburst.
A rapid forced reconfiguring of the tarp and the puddles disappeared and I settled back down, reached into my pack, and remembered the bottle of cider, still in the fridge. Never mind, brew back up and enjoy the solitude until retiring back into the hammock. Finally might have fine tuned the setup of the underquilt as well so really snug.
Might be worth mentioning at this point, I have been hugely impressed by the folding bowsaw I got for Christmas. The Agawa Canyon Boreal21, it's great. Quick to fold up and down, decent cutting depth, comfy handle, pretty light, love it.
Anyway, dawn broke with a view that wasn't stunning, but was certainly worth looking at accompanied breakfast . The woodpecker managed to once again tease me with its drumming sound but elusive habit. Packed up, eked a last brew out of the fire and just left in long enough for the rain to start literally minutes before packing up the almost dry tarp. Never mind, it'll survive! The morning did also provide the ability to really critically analyse the smoke issue. If the wind isn't in its usual prevailing direction smoke really becomes a real issue. A plan involving the DD group buy might just solve it though (and produce a ridiculously elaborate camp
)
Expecting that the trips will get more and more easy (apart from the regular drenching that England will deliver) through the year and frankly, I can't wait!
[video=youtube;A6-FkgIqG6o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6-FkgIqG6o&t=25s[/video]
Friday came and went with me conveniently forgetting the damaged seal on the washing machine. The relevance? By the time I remembered and then finished dismantling the washing machine it was 4pm and I hadn't even started packing. Still, nothing like a little pressure to enhance the "less is more" and grab some stuff and go!
Arrived at the same spot as I have used twice before now, and it our usual day camp spot. My planned early departure to allow some exploration and discovery of a new spot hadn't materialised but hey, it works, so it works.
Slight change to my normal tarp set up, using a bungee that holds my sleeping bag on and meatballs for my evening meal and a commitment to actually try and record some more of the trip in order to, well, prove to myself that I could and I set too. Dropping light and a thousand and one slips on de-barked logs and roots later two windfall tree tops had been salvaged and processed and the fire sprung into a warm glow. A couple of drop outs from my headtorch reminded me that some things shouldn't really be minimised... Put the backup torch back in the pack for next time... And the spare candles for the magic lantern... hmmm. Still, much nettle tea was drunk (from Holland & Barrett, not remotely bushcrafty) food was consumed and I settled to listen to the night for a while, or maybe the cloudburst.
A rapid forced reconfiguring of the tarp and the puddles disappeared and I settled back down, reached into my pack, and remembered the bottle of cider, still in the fridge. Never mind, brew back up and enjoy the solitude until retiring back into the hammock. Finally might have fine tuned the setup of the underquilt as well so really snug.
Might be worth mentioning at this point, I have been hugely impressed by the folding bowsaw I got for Christmas. The Agawa Canyon Boreal21, it's great. Quick to fold up and down, decent cutting depth, comfy handle, pretty light, love it.
Anyway, dawn broke with a view that wasn't stunning, but was certainly worth looking at accompanied breakfast . The woodpecker managed to once again tease me with its drumming sound but elusive habit. Packed up, eked a last brew out of the fire and just left in long enough for the rain to start literally minutes before packing up the almost dry tarp. Never mind, it'll survive! The morning did also provide the ability to really critically analyse the smoke issue. If the wind isn't in its usual prevailing direction smoke really becomes a real issue. A plan involving the DD group buy might just solve it though (and produce a ridiculously elaborate camp
)Expecting that the trips will get more and more easy (apart from the regular drenching that England will deliver) through the year and frankly, I can't wait!
[video=youtube;A6-FkgIqG6o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6-FkgIqG6o&t=25s[/video]
Last edited by a moderator:
