First Night In The Wood

[Firewyre]

Hey all,

My bf and I recently had the pleasure of being able to stay over in a piece of wooded land. Only ever having camped out twice before (and once was in the back garden) we were a little nervous, but very excited.

The owner (we communicated by forum and email) seemed to be quite sympathetic to bushcrafting, and for a nightly fee and a deposit to ensure we didn't burn his wood down to the ground, we got to stay the night, collect fallen firewood, build a fire, wild food forage and if we'd been more adventurous (and in my bfs case, less vegetarian ) we could have snared rabbits, squirrels and wood pidgeons too.

We were invited over in the evening to see the area, to be shown the boundries and no doubt so he could make sure we didn't have two heads each That went well and he advised that we bring insect repellent.

There was nowhere flat enough for our tent without clearing more ground than we'd like to (and our host was keen on a 'leave as you found it' policy, and we agreed) - so, with little time left and no experience, we decided to hammock and basha it!

Basically, it was great fun - very private, lots of wildlife (which I mostly heard this time, but apparently there's badgers etc), freedom to build a fire, 'interesting' adventures in campfire cooking (fire's very hot, isn't it ), test out our knifes and axe (though my bf lost a little chunk off the tip of his finger without realising at first - sharp knife), and the chance to sleep out in the midst of nature.

I learned certain things -

Fire can burn through tin foil.
Knives really are sharp.
Insects can bite through clothing (I'm paying for that one - repellant UNDER clothes as well, next time).

Overall, I'm looking forward to doing it again. Next time I want to find some fungi for identification, make more nettle twine, cook better, and see a badger! The owner seemed keen to have us back at some point - and he may even bring out his bows for some archery tutoring too. I feel very lucky to have found such a good place and understanding landowner - even if the bugs are hungry!

 

[grahoom]

hey - sounds like you had a great time!!!

nice pictures too.

 

[redcollective]

Looks like fun. How did you find the spot, if you don't mind me asking? I'm imagining a "Rural Landowner WTM rough sleepers" small ad in the local paper and can't see it thappening hehe. Nice that you met a landowner who understood you btw... perhaps you can sweeten the deal with a bushcraft bannock next time!

 

[Kepis]

Congratulations on your first hammock and tarp overnighter, great fun isn't it.

Looks like a nice spot as well

 

[Ogri the trog]

Well done both,
It sounds as though I ought to start offering this type of adventure. Not much that I've found in the forraging side of things, (no doubt the more experienced would ask what I'm on about), but woodland for hammocking and firecraft, wildlife-a-plenty, and I'd want to learn from visitors as much as they'd want to practice.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Madman]

LOL!!...I'm the landowner, and anyone is welcome,as long as they respect the woods as I do, or as Firewyre did. PM me for more.

Thanks, Firewyre!

 

[RovingArcher]

Sounds and looks like a great place to camp. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

If I might add, I've found that clearing the area around the fire to be an important part of fire containment, however our area is usually fairly dry except during the wet months. I was wondering if it might not be a good idea in your area as well?

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi mate,
I happy for you that you got such a good start!
cheers
Abbe

 

[Tex]

I can feel the heat from the fire on my face, see the stars at night. So good to know there are other like me out there. Have not spent a night in a hammock, but from your pictures it looks to be a very comfortable way to spend the night.

 

[Stevie]

LOL!!...I'm the landowner, and anyone is welcome,as long as they respect the woods as I do, or as Firewyre did. PM me for more.

Thanks, Firewyre!

Spoken like a true Gent and Bushcrafter

 

[Firewyre]

It really was great fun - and, I'd never slept in a hammock before either!

I did discover that I'm mildly allergic (or at the very least, reactive) to horsefly bites, so now, a week later, my bites are only slightly starting to fade with the application of a antihistamine cream. Ouchies, but hey - I know for next time

For anyone going out for the first time (I imagine more experienced types know this as well as breathing) wear lots of insect repellant. Even under your clothes, because they'll just bite right through them.

I put 100% DEET stuff on my face, neck and hands as that was the only parts I had exposed. I didn't get bitten there My shoulders, bottom of my back (gotten when I was frequently bending down), and my legs were bitten instead.

I'd like to thank MadMan for letting us camp there, it was very good of him As for where I found 'the landowner', I saw a thread on another forum where he was selling wood from his land - I thought "Well, he's got wooded land!"

Next task - learning what to cook in a billycan... ;D

 

[spamel]

Keep your billy can meals simple. I like to carry rice as it is filling and full of carbs, and I tend to throw it in with whatever I'm making. I've found a great bean and sweetcorn mix that comes in a card container, this is obviously nice and easy to dispose of by burning. It has kidney and baked beans, sweetcorn and peppers in it, so I throw that in, a handful of rice or a cup a noodle thingy, and I cook some sausages on sticks by the fire. When the sausages are ready, I chop 'em and throw 'em in, add some of my secret spice mix (so secret even I don't know, I've forgotten what I put in it!) and then chomp away. Once I've finished, I give it a quick wipe with some grass and a bit of water, then fill her up for a brew!! OK so I get a bit of beans or whatever in my coffee, but it makes cleaning up easier.

If you are using a 14 cm zebra billy can, then a pot from a trangia fits perfectly in the top and the billy can lid fits then onto the trangia pot. This is a tight fit that sort of acts like a pressure cooker!

 

[RovingArcher]

When using 100% deet, I always apply it to my clothing, rather than my skin under the clothing. I apply liberally to the clothing I plan on wearing and let it dry completely. The EPA of the US has put out this site on Applying insect repellent safely.

 

[sargey]

is that a tescos 99p barbeque being used as a firepit? ten out of ten for style,

though as already mentioned it does look like the grass ahs been scorched a bit.

If I might add, I've found that clearing the area around the fire to be an important part of fire containment, however our area is usually fairly dry except during the wet months. I was wondering if it might not be a good idea in your area as well?

cheers, and.

 

[Firewyre]

Actually, it was the lid from the landowners (Madman) barrel - he'd used it in a charcoal burning attempt. He was the one that suggested we used it as a fire base to help protect the ground. But bringing our own would have been an idea too

And we moved the grass a fair distance away - that's dark brown dirt surrounding the fire. We hoped it would be far enough - we moved it about two hand spans on all sides. If we should have moved it further out, could someone give a good rough distance for a fire of that size?

Oh - and thanks for the billy can recipe tip, Spamel - we just got our 16cm zebra can delivered (cooking for two) and we're keen to test stuff out. Sausages (veggie) may well feature!

 

[bambodoggy]

And we moved the grass a fair distance away - that's dark brown dirt surrounding the fire. We hoped it would be far enough - we moved it about two hand spans on all sides. If we should have moved it further out, could someone give a good rough distance for a fire of that size?

Way back in Scouts I seem to remember us using "Altar Fires", but they may be a bit over kill for what you want...good in the boggy swamp though or when it's very wet or you're doing lots of cooking.

I'd just say to clear about twice as much as you think you should and then you'll be about right

Hope that helps,

Bam.

 

[RovingArcher]

Oops My error, I sure did think that was scorched earth around the fire container.

Here's a fairly good site that contains information about campfire safety , as well as other camp tips.

 

[Bushpig]

I went for a night in the woods the other day and managed to leave no trace whatsoever of the fire. Was pretty chuffed once i'd tidied it up. I saw ito n a ray mears episode and it involved crushing all the embers up and pouring water all over it. You know its out because you must scoup all the embers up into a wet stinky mushy pile!! You can then scatter them ( I was camping along side a tidat river and scattered them below the high tide line ). Once I had gotten the main embers scatered I scraped away and removed even the charring on the ground....scruffed the ground up where it as and no trace!


Booosh