First ever trip out + further visits (pic heavy)
- Thread starter fergsuk
- Start date
Thanks for the link, i will check that out.
Also to everyone who has commented so far, thank you for the wise words, advice and overrall encouragement. I thought i made have made a few mistakes but this has been really well recieved. It's nice to see such a community on the internet these days. Most sites are just full of senseless bickering and oneupmanship.
Thank you!
Also to everyone who has commented so far, thank you for the wise words, advice and overrall encouragement. I thought i made have made a few mistakes but this has been really well recieved. It's nice to see such a community on the internet these days. Most sites are just full of senseless bickering and oneupmanship.
Thank you!
Had another little trip to the spot today and took a load more pictures. All the pictures are clickable so you can see them full size if you like 
Here's some of the route and surrounding area.
Got to the shelter spot and was met with this. Now im not sure if it was blown down, the weight too much due to the rain soaking into the wood or whether the local kids had torn it down but i wasnt happy at all. It seemed sturdy enough when we put it together so i'm leaning towards the last one. C'est la vie!
I set about making it a little bit lower down this time as we wasted the length of a lot of sticks having it so high. I decided to bring out the trusty hatchet (blunt hammer thingymabob) and set to work on shortening them to fit the new ridge pole height. Also decided to double up the ridge pole just in case it was the weight.
The finished pile of shortened poles
Here's the new improved skeletal version from the front and back
I had a load of trouble lighting the fire last time so after taking on board a few tips, i had kept hold of all the shavings and chips from shortening the poles and i finally got a mini fire going! Suffice to say though my inexperience got the better of me and i suffocated it with impatience. Definitely learning though and should be able to reliably make one soon enough. The larger pieces are what's left of the feather sticks i tried to make. I got a little bit better with them after making 10 or so but i still need to practice. The first couple had curls the size of the holes on a holepunch haha. Couldnt seem to get the hang of it.
Here's a panoramic view from inside the shelter of what you see in front of you and an arty farty sunflare shot
I also come across some rather weird looking fungi, so took some pics in the hopes that maybe some of you could identify them, just for giggles.
I'll be back to the spot first thing in the morning trying to finish the shelter off with some woven sticks and twigs and the leaf layer. I dont seem to be able to find any evergreen's in the area although i havnt really looked too hard. If anyone is free tomorrow and fancies coming along i'd be very grateful of the company and a few pointers. I might even chuck in a nice large drink of Glenfiddich 12 year single malt just to keep us warm
Mike
Here's some of the route and surrounding area.
Got to the shelter spot and was met with this
. Now im not sure if it was blown down, the weight too much due to the rain soaking into the wood or whether the local kids had torn it down but i wasnt happy at all. It seemed sturdy enough when we put it together so i'm leaning towards the last one. C'est la vie!I set about making it a little bit lower down this time as we wasted the length of a lot of sticks having it so high. I decided to bring out the trusty hatchet (blunt hammer thingymabob) and set to work on shortening them to fit the new ridge pole height. Also decided to double up the ridge pole just in case it was the weight.
The finished pile of shortened poles
Here's the new improved skeletal version from the front and back
I had a load of trouble lighting the fire last time so after taking on board a few tips, i had kept hold of all the shavings and chips from shortening the poles and i finally got a mini fire going! Suffice to say though my inexperience got the better of me and i suffocated it with impatience. Definitely learning though and should be able to reliably make one soon enough. The larger pieces are what's left of the feather sticks i tried to make. I got a little bit better with them after making 10 or so but i still need to practice. The first couple had curls the size of the holes on a holepunch haha. Couldnt seem to get the hang of it.
Here's a panoramic view from inside the shelter of what you see in front of you and an arty farty sunflare shot
I also come across some rather weird looking fungi, so took some pics in the hopes that maybe some of you could identify them, just for giggles.
I'll be back to the spot first thing in the morning trying to finish the shelter off with some woven sticks and twigs and the leaf layer. I dont seem to be able to find any evergreen's in the area although i havnt really looked too hard. If anyone is free tomorrow and fancies coming along i'd be very grateful of the company and a few pointers. I might even chuck in a nice large drink of Glenfiddich 12 year single malt just to keep us warm
Mike
That's a great little area to have on your doorstep! Well done on the fire progress, remember nothing is cheating, if I know it's going to be wet I always carry some dry kindling with me and some cotton wool and vaseline. If you've got some of your wood chippings left, keep them for next time. I recycle old coffee tins to store bits in to keep them dry for the next time I'm out and about. Any fool can be cold and hungry so don't see it as cheating, just being prepared ;-)
Don't be too dismayed about your shelter, they were probably jealous you'd done such a good job ;-)
Don't be too dismayed about your shelter, they were probably jealous you'd done such a good job ;-)
Have you tried making fire the more conventional way? It's probably best, and you'll find this works a lot easier, to lay a platform of thick logs down on the ground. Then collect a generous amount of kindling (small dead twigs) and then cross them over the platform and then light your tinder underneath where it crosses in the middle. This is generally accepted as the standard way to light a fire and it's good because it helps insulate the fire from the damp on the ground and provides advantages related to air circulation. I'm quite anal retentive when it comes to collecting firewood. I made a video which shows my having collected at least 5 different size ranges of firewood. Use cotton as a starter. Use a match or your firesteel. I'm still very much a beginner, but I've camped solo and I've made a few roaring fires with cotton, charcloth and birch bark. The fire lay described above really helps the beginner. It's all about preparation. Make a clear work space, clear back any leaf litter. Give yourself time to think about what you're doing. Try it out.
[video=youtube;46Mo2Wv2aV8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Mo2Wv2aV8[/video]
Please see 6:25 for a reference on the different sizes of firewood (you don't need to collect to this extent) and please see 8:40+ for pictures and video of the fire lighting using this basic fire lay.
[video=youtube;46Mo2Wv2aV8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Mo2Wv2aV8[/video]
Please see 6:25 for a reference on the different sizes of firewood (you don't need to collect to this extent) and please see 8:40+ for pictures and video of the fire lighting using this basic fire lay.
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Here you can see the kindling is crossed over the platform of logs. The tinder, I used birch bark for that occasion, is placed underneath after being lit by firesteel.
I'm still a beginner and I haven't made too many fires, but I think this is a good way to start and it's the typical fire lay that most people seem to use. I started by literally taking a bunch of small sticks and trying to light cotton wool. This was my first ever fire.
See the difference?
Best of luck!
Edit:
Another attempt using the same method, a little easier to see.
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With fire preparation is certainly the key. No point getting a spark land perfectly on your piece of charcloth if you don't have your kindling sat there ready for you. Also remember the fire triangle - you learnt about part of it the hard way and suffocated your fire. Practice will make perfect, I use any excuse to light fires in the garden with my boy
So had another trip out today, which will be the last of this week unfortunately so was determined to get everything finished. After getting a load of advice on fire building and maintenance, i made it my goal to be able to light and keep a fire for the duration of my trip. I set off out around 11am ish and this is the rest of my day....
Platform - check, a variety of size twigs - check, tinder and kindling - check! Spend a good 20 minutes gathering and prepping for the fire.
Fire? - CHECK! All the prep work was worth it.
I took various pictures of the fire as i was so happy but i've decided not to spam the thread with them. I kept the fire from arrival at 11am til we left at 3:30pm. Very, very pleased and i owe it all the to help and advice from the people in this thread. Thank you very much. I'm over the moon. Fire will no longer defeat me!
With a fire crackling away in the background it was time to finish off the shelter.
With the shelter finished, i tasked my daughter with rescuing the fire which i had let dwindle on purpose. The evil grin while snapping her twigs was something akin to a cheap horror movie
She got it going again with a little coaching and encouragement, you go girl!
With the fire back on track and a shedload of embers still around, it was time to cook our snack. Beans and sausages in the tin. While it's hardly 5 star cuisine, it was bloody lovely.
All washed down with a nice measure of whiskey, which you all missed out on because none of you would come! Gits haha. Mine all mine.
Suffice to say, i've had a whale of a day and can't wait to get out and play again. We'll be taking the shelter down in a couple of days and moving on to a different type, although i want to transition to a tarp for ease of use and more time spent honing my skills with my tools.
Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement, it has really made the difference.
Mike
Platform - check, a variety of size twigs - check, tinder and kindling - check! Spend a good 20 minutes gathering and prepping for the fire.
Fire? - CHECK! All the prep work was worth it.
I took various pictures of the fire as i was so happy but i've decided not to spam the thread with them. I kept the fire from arrival at 11am til we left at 3:30pm. Very, very pleased and i owe it all the to help and advice from the people in this thread. Thank you very much. I'm over the moon. Fire will no longer defeat me!
With a fire crackling away in the background it was time to finish off the shelter.
With the shelter finished, i tasked my daughter with rescuing the fire which i had let dwindle on purpose. The evil grin while snapping her twigs was something akin to a cheap horror movie
She got it going again with a little coaching and encouragement, you go girl!
With the fire back on track and a shedload of embers still around, it was time to cook our snack. Beans and sausages in the tin. While it's hardly 5 star cuisine, it was bloody lovely.
All washed down with a nice measure of whiskey, which you all missed out on because none of you would come! Gits haha. Mine all mine.
Suffice to say, i've had a whale of a day and can't wait to get out and play again. We'll be taking the shelter down in a couple of days and moving on to a different type, although i want to transition to a tarp for ease of use and more time spent honing my skills with my tools.
Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement, it has really made the difference.
Mike
Hi Fergs, well done mate! A lovely report of quality time with daughter, i was lucky enough to do lots of the same with my youngest(until all the girly stuff got in the way!)
And hats of to both of you for choosing, one of the hardest seasons for shelter building, fire lighting and generally being out in the woods.
Thanks for posting, really enjoyed your report, if Leeds was not the other side of the world!
Regards.
Ivan..
And hats of to both of you for choosing, one of the hardest seasons for shelter building, fire lighting and generally being out in the woods.
Thanks for posting, really enjoyed your report, if Leeds was not the other side of the world!
Regards.
Ivan..
Good stuff. I have dropped you a pm about a tarp if your interested let me know. It's done a lot of time in the woods but a lot of life in it.
Thanks for sharing your trips out. Looks like you are having fun and learning plenty of new skills. Always great to see such enthusiasm.
Even when something doesn't work it's still experience.
A tip for collecting leaves is to brush them on to a tarp with a stick then bunch up the corners and carry it back to your shelter.
It's hard to dismantle your camp after the work building it up but by leaving no trace it will discourage others from hanging out in 'your' patch.
Try identifying the trees in the area to find the best firewood, always a good skill.
Stu
Even when something doesn't work it's still experience.
A tip for collecting leaves is to brush them on to a tarp with a stick then bunch up the corners and carry it back to your shelter.
It's hard to dismantle your camp after the work building it up but by leaving no trace it will discourage others from hanging out in 'your' patch.
Try identifying the trees in the area to find the best firewood, always a good skill.
Stu
Thanks Neanderthal.
I dont currently have a tarp but that's the next thing on my list to pick up. I want to move on to tarp shelters as soon as possible so i can spend more time learning fire, my tools and the environment rather than spending hours throwing together a debris shelter.
I dont currently have a tarp but that's the next thing on my list to pick up. I want to move on to tarp shelters as soon as possible so i can spend more time learning fire, my tools and the environment rather than spending hours throwing together a debris shelter.
What a great unpretentious thread!
I really enjoyed seeing your photos and totally feel your pain with the shelter collapse/sabotage and with the initial fire attempt, all stuff that looks a doddle on the telly.
A tarp and some string will make all the difference in how you can spend your time, knowing how to build a shelter is great but as you say, it takes so long and is no fun every time.
Regarding cotton wool for fires, I find that rubbing lots of vaseline into the cotton wool makes it burn for ages. Once covered in vaseline, pack some into a small bag or matchbox (I use a little plastic match case) and when you want to use it, pull a bit apart so you have what looks like one of the little troll figures hair, because you tore it, it has a much larger and finer surface area and will catch a spark easily.
Any time i'm out, I try to collect a little birch bark for tinder, there are lots of things that will take a spark but fluffed up birch bark is my favourite and I have a bag of it for trips out.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your trip, I can't wait to get out myself now.
I really enjoyed seeing your photos and totally feel your pain with the shelter collapse/sabotage and with the initial fire attempt, all stuff that looks a doddle on the telly.
A tarp and some string will make all the difference in how you can spend your time, knowing how to build a shelter is great but as you say, it takes so long and is no fun every time.
Regarding cotton wool for fires, I find that rubbing lots of vaseline into the cotton wool makes it burn for ages. Once covered in vaseline, pack some into a small bag or matchbox (I use a little plastic match case) and when you want to use it, pull a bit apart so you have what looks like one of the little troll figures hair, because you tore it, it has a much larger and finer surface area and will catch a spark easily.
Any time i'm out, I try to collect a little birch bark for tinder, there are lots of things that will take a spark but fluffed up birch bark is my favourite and I have a bag of it for trips out.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your trip, I can't wait to get out myself now.
Thanks Squidders. A lot of people have mentioned vaseline on cotton wool so im gunna have to try it next time. I have a little tub for my cotton wool so it stays dry. I need to find some birch bark and try and work with that as it's something i havnt tried yet either. I really am looking forward to trying out some tarp fixings
Mike
Mike
