Yesterday Myself and Pete (i camp @ butlins) walked up to the permission for an over nighter
Pete at the start of our stroll
Myself fully laden at the start of the stroll
It was still nice and snowy on our walk
The frost looked very picturesque on the trees
There was plenty of rabbit tracks to be seen on the snow
A nice view to the entrance of the permission
The walk in from my house to the permission had taken us approx. one hour and a half not bad considering we had carried far more weight this time than when we walked up for the day last month.
Meanwhile Alex(xander) had driven up via mine where he had collected some bits we were swapping. he actually passed us and offered us a lift but frankly we felt it would be cheating.
So while Alex made the fire( we take it in turns so we can all practice our skills)
Pete and I had a warm drink
Then I started splitting some wood for the fire
Meanwhile Alex had a break and watched/listened to me explain the method of splitting I was using. note the safety distance involved so no danger to Alex
Then he had a go with the hatchet we had traded
Meanwhile Pete had got another brew going
I fried up some Chorizo as a warm and tasty snack
Shortly after this Steve (Mesquite) arrived and we spent a while unloading his car, this took a little while
Mesquite and Alex set up the communal tarp
While Pete sawed some more fire wood(fire wood was a major activity/priority I can tell you!)
We cooked up some ration pack meals I had been sent to review
The meal Thai green vegetable curry and rice (very tasty)
Then we had some veal steaks Alex had brought along
After Alex had nipped back to mine and collected a thicker sleeping bag and roll mat for us to use(it was getting much colder than the last forecast we had seen had predicted) Alex went home leaving Mesquite, Pete and Myself to stay over night.
I prepared some sweet bannock with chopped mixed nuts and mixed dried fruits
O.K so it burnt a little but added carbon merely aids digestion and the bits that where not charred were very tasty, its something I shall try again but pay more attention to the cooking of it
Pete cooked up some rice to go with the chilli Mesquite had brought with him
I'm not sure if you can make this out in the next picture but there was ice forming on the top of the water in the billy can
It was by now frankly getting a tad nippy so we stoke up the fire and spent the evening keeping warm and chatting
We turned in around half eleven me bundled up in my Czech bedroll, a sleeping bag from Woodlore and with two balaclava's wrapped around my face to protect it from a potential relapse of bells palsy (last time i camped in similar temperatures my face broke, I've had bells palsy three times in two years so no chances are being taken)
Pete had a bivi bag the sleeping bag I had brought with intentions of using, his sleeping bag and was plenty warm enough, Pete woke several times in the night to refuel the fire and in fact lit the fire again at one point in the night using his spark stick, cotton wool and shavings from dry fire wood. This he did from his sleeping bag so he didn't get cold
Pete was woken by a blackbird running over his face(he was huddled up in his bivi bag so the bird didn't realise it was his face)
I woke up at twenty past eight to find that Pete and Mesquite had put the kettle on(what can i say there is an eight month old baby at my house so any chance of sleep is taken gratefully!)
Pete checked the football scores and we all found out Whitney Houston had passed on.
Pete then realised the blackbird was shivering and not looking at all happy so he fed it some bread crumbs
This is Pete's sleeping area he built a two sided reflector to offer protection from the cold breeze that was getting down his back and the other side gave a decent heat throw back to where I was sleeping
We had ourselves a decent breakfast of sausage in rolls and bacon in tortilla wraps
before we packed it all up and were collected by my old man and headed back to my folks for a roast dinner.
I would also like to point out that this was Pete's first time sleeping in a bivi bag and under a tarp as he usually uses a tent so a huge amount of respect for doing so in the coldest conditions this winter -minus ten degrees at 8pm!
A good night and nice to get out in the snow
hope you all enjoy the photos as much as we all enjoyed our time in the woods
Pete at the start of our stroll
Myself fully laden at the start of the stroll
It was still nice and snowy on our walk
The frost looked very picturesque on the trees
There was plenty of rabbit tracks to be seen on the snow
A nice view to the entrance of the permission
The walk in from my house to the permission had taken us approx. one hour and a half not bad considering we had carried far more weight this time than when we walked up for the day last month.
Meanwhile Alex(xander) had driven up via mine where he had collected some bits we were swapping. he actually passed us and offered us a lift but frankly we felt it would be cheating.
So while Alex made the fire( we take it in turns so we can all practice our skills)
Pete and I had a warm drink
Then I started splitting some wood for the fire
Meanwhile Alex had a break and watched/listened to me explain the method of splitting I was using. note the safety distance involved so no danger to Alex
Then he had a go with the hatchet we had traded
Meanwhile Pete had got another brew going
I fried up some Chorizo as a warm and tasty snack
Shortly after this Steve (Mesquite) arrived and we spent a while unloading his car, this took a little while
Mesquite and Alex set up the communal tarp
While Pete sawed some more fire wood(fire wood was a major activity/priority I can tell you!)
We cooked up some ration pack meals I had been sent to review
The meal Thai green vegetable curry and rice (very tasty)
Then we had some veal steaks Alex had brought along
After Alex had nipped back to mine and collected a thicker sleeping bag and roll mat for us to use(it was getting much colder than the last forecast we had seen had predicted) Alex went home leaving Mesquite, Pete and Myself to stay over night.
I prepared some sweet bannock with chopped mixed nuts and mixed dried fruits
O.K so it burnt a little but added carbon merely aids digestion and the bits that where not charred were very tasty, its something I shall try again but pay more attention to the cooking of it
Pete cooked up some rice to go with the chilli Mesquite had brought with him
I'm not sure if you can make this out in the next picture but there was ice forming on the top of the water in the billy can
It was by now frankly getting a tad nippy so we stoke up the fire and spent the evening keeping warm and chatting
We turned in around half eleven me bundled up in my Czech bedroll, a sleeping bag from Woodlore and with two balaclava's wrapped around my face to protect it from a potential relapse of bells palsy (last time i camped in similar temperatures my face broke, I've had bells palsy three times in two years so no chances are being taken)
Pete had a bivi bag the sleeping bag I had brought with intentions of using, his sleeping bag and was plenty warm enough, Pete woke several times in the night to refuel the fire and in fact lit the fire again at one point in the night using his spark stick, cotton wool and shavings from dry fire wood. This he did from his sleeping bag so he didn't get cold
Pete was woken by a blackbird running over his face(he was huddled up in his bivi bag so the bird didn't realise it was his face)
I woke up at twenty past eight to find that Pete and Mesquite had put the kettle on(what can i say there is an eight month old baby at my house so any chance of sleep is taken gratefully!)
Pete checked the football scores and we all found out Whitney Houston had passed on.
Pete then realised the blackbird was shivering and not looking at all happy so he fed it some bread crumbs
This is Pete's sleeping area he built a two sided reflector to offer protection from the cold breeze that was getting down his back and the other side gave a decent heat throw back to where I was sleeping
We had ourselves a decent breakfast of sausage in rolls and bacon in tortilla wraps
before we packed it all up and were collected by my old man and headed back to my folks for a roast dinner.
I would also like to point out that this was Pete's first time sleeping in a bivi bag and under a tarp as he usually uses a tent so a huge amount of respect for doing so in the coldest conditions this winter -minus ten degrees at 8pm!
A good night and nice to get out in the snow
hope you all enjoy the photos as much as we all enjoyed our time in the woods
.
