Fear of the dark

[atlatlman]

Your spot on Craw. I also do a bit of camp security just before I go sleep, like laying down a few dry sticks around the camp. In the past I have also used detonators purchased from the joke shop. They sound just like a gun going off in the quiet of night. Just wedge them between a tree and tie fishing line to them. I like this guys trick but it seems a lot of hard work and could be dangerous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJrIRfp_P1E

 

[boatman]

Surely the more precautions you take the more fearful you are likely to become, listening for the crack of the branch or the bang of the alarm must be worse than bedding yourself down with all the natural noises that I find comforting.

 

[atlatlman]

Surely the more precautions you take the more fearful you are likely to become, listening for the crack of the branch or the bang of the alarm must be worse than bedding yourself down with all the natural noises that I find comforting.

I don't listen out for them. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the sack. I just like to think I would stir if they went off.

 

[CRAW]

Im not one normally for setting alarms/man traps around my camp. My reasoning is this....if someone is able to traverse the woods/countryside to be at the same place where I have gone (which is unlikely) and have saw my fire/smoke from a distance and decided to come closer then the following applies.

1, Im not playing hide and seek.
2, if I am seeking to not be detected and have been spotted because of my fire, i've built it in the wrong place and
3, it's too large.
4, I havent picked a good enough camp site where the trees can dissipate the smoke before it rises above the canopy and
5,the general area Im in is not dense enough woodland to remain undetected.

All in all...to remain undetected you need to be undetectable.

In my experience, neds wont go into the woods, especially sizable ones. And if they do, they'll not go far off the trail. If you want to avoid neds, go further off the beaten track.

Do you know what they call a ned that stumbles across a bushcrafter in his camp far off the beaten track? Dinner lol

 

[Bungie]

Many years back I heard that sleeping on your back helps to rid you of such fears. The idea is that you must overcome your fear to be able to sleep looking at them, instead of hiding your head in the pillow.

 

[DR2501]

No real fear of the dark for me but I have an irrational fear of hammock camping - I recently bought one so I intend to do my first hammock camp soon, but it would be so easy for someone to stab you in the back right through the underside of the hammock if they wanted to...

Lol I said it was irrational

 

[midge_fodder]

Never been too fussed about coming across a Ned in my camp, if they are that far off the beaten track the law isn't too far behind them. Plus it's a 2:1 ratio, 2 big burly bushcrafters and a wee eejit that thinks he's hard until he gets his new (stollen) adiboks stuck in the mud lol.

 

[BlueTrain]

Not fear of the dark (or anything else) but Horace Kephart described hidden camps in his two volume book about camping and woodcraft. But it had nothing to do with the dark or fear of wild things but merely keeping his camp private. One can easily understand (I guess) the desire not to be bothered by other people when you're out in the woods, since in some cases, that's why you went in the first place. But secondly, one might also wish to go off and leave your camp unattended for one reason or another. That isn't the same as creating a cache but the reasons are the same. Of course, all of this is true for your house in town, too.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

No real fear of the dark for me but I have an irrational fear of hammock camping - I recently bought one so I intend to do my first hammock camp soon, but it would be so easy for someone to stab you in the back right through the underside of the hammock if they wanted to...

Lol I said it was irrational

Mate I just laughed so hard a wee bit of pee came out.

 

[DR2501]

Nice...

 

[Parbajtor]

Never been too fussed about coming across a Ned in my camp, if they are that far off the beaten track the law isn't too far behind them. Plus it's a 2:1 ratio, 2 big burly bushcrafters and a wee eejit that thinks he's hard until he gets his new (stollen) adiboks stuck in the mud lol.

At least he'll have something to eat while waiting for a Green Flag rescue, although why someone would want to make shoes from a german christmas "cake" recipe is beyond me.

 

[DR2501]

At least he'll have something to eat

Thought you mean he'd be eating me then lol

 

[JonathanD]

Yes folks I have an update. And it's a damned bombshell. The best bit of front page news that you could hope for. Sadly I'm a couple or three years too late to take it further.

As anyone who views this thread knows. 'Stachio man has not been down there in a couple of years due to the flooding in the area. In fact the last time I camped there was with Davey569 in 2010 when I took too much ale so buried some beneath a tree to pick up on the next trip. It didn't happen.

This bank holiday Monday, Clem and myself went out and did some outdoors cooking and various other things, and as he was a real ale lover and someone who I've told about the otters and wildlife that can be found in the area. I decided to take a detour and drop by the old 'Stacio area.

The place is still wild and damp. Many trees have fallen due to the flooding weakening the top soil and root systems. I fell and slipped getting over them, and Clem disappeared completely once and I turned around to find him gone.

The old campsite is there and still has a very small clearing under the tree where the ramsons keep the balsam and nettles at bay. It stinks of garlic in the area. I located the spot and started digging for ale. I was a bit surprised when I found the ale gone and that it had been replaced with this...





It was well wrapped with about four layers and taped and sealed. But it must have been in the ground for at least 4 years and seen two years of major floods. When unwrapped it stank of rotting river vegetation and you could squeeze it out like a sponge.

Interesting book which confirms that he is a member or visitor here and a fan of Tom Browns ethos. The way it was carefully wrapped means that he really wanted me to have it and read it. He nicked my ale...








The interesting thing was the label. Originally bought in the States....




Sadly there is no evidence of him being there since the excavations back in 2011 (I think). A toy (TARDIS) the little one left there years ago is untouched. So was this a form of communication? If you are out there, sorry I got your book late. Please communicate in the same way.

So there you go folks. Maybe I missed a good read. It stank so badly I left it there.

 

[santaman2000]

Sounds like a form of geocache.

 

[JonathanD]

Sounds like a form of geocache.

No, certainly not geocaching you'd have to read the whole thread to understand. Good luck with that

 

[santaman2000]

No, certainly not geocaching you'd have to read the whole thread to understand. Good luck with that

LOL. I've been following the thread for a couple of years and I get it. I didn't mean it is a geocache; just some similarities in that one form involves swapping items in the cache.

 

[JonathanD]

LOL. I've been following the thread for a couple of years and I get it. I didn't mean it is a geocache; just some similarities in that one form involves swapping items in the cache.

Sorry mate, I'd forgot. My absence from here over the last year or so made me forget who was following it. Apologies

How cool is that though. Wish I'd have found it sooner, it would have been a form of communication. Still peeved about my ale though. Clem and I were looking forward to that after a days hard work in the wilds.

 

[santaman2000]

No apologies necessary. It was poor wording on my part TBH.

 

[spandit]

Great to have an update on this, although how do you know he is a visitor here? Could he not have observed you burying the ale (or found the spot where the earth was disturbed)?

 

[Mafro]

What an amazing update, just a pity weather meant you didn't find it nearer the time!
Scary to think the night tent shaker was still watching you though!!