Bushcraft Club thread

I have my tracking skills down to a fine art....saw badger nose diggings in my local forest yesterday, followed them an confirmed they were from a badger on seeing the front paw marks in the clay....next time ill track down the set..

Every year our club conducts a challenge. The challenge is individual to each member and involves a weekend with reduced equipment. For some, this is simply doing the weekend with just a small day bag and for others it is doing a weekend with only 2 or 3 items. This challenge has to be done sensibly and with a degree of measure. Everyone has to have a certain amount of equipment. Sleeping system, water system, food and quick access to fire lighting (lighter etc), first aid kit. These items are a fall back in case of problems while we were out. If there was a problem with fatigue, dehydration or lack of energy, we had gear to fall back on at a moments notice. Practising in this way without backup equipment would be fairly foolish and irresponsible even for experienced bushcrafters.




The weekend was done in mountainous terrain in Munster. The format was 4 people involved, with 4 items between us and no food. Some people even went most of their working day on Friday without food to try simulate even further what it would be like to be hunger doing the exercise. We had to share the equipment as it was needed. We took a metal mug, a knife, folding saw and a firesteel. As work was being done the equipment was shared around. We tried to keep people doing different tasks to prevent fatigue yet keep the work moving.






Our first night on the Friday was a test of endurance. Imagine being out walking and becoming disorientated as night fell. With no sleeping bag, tent or tarp you are in danger of becoming hypothermic as the cold of the night slowly sapped your energy reserves. So what would you do? Well this depends on the individual circumstances really. Our test involved heading to the nearest woodland and making an improvised camp as quickly as we could. Our first focus was fire, we did use our head torches to make fire on the first night but once we got our first flame, the head torches were then put away for the rest of the weekend as they weren't part of the kit. We had hoped not to use them but unfortunately some people got stuck in work on the Friday and we arrived in location later than expected. When the fire was lit we had to then improvise a shelter by fire light and gather firewood using only the ambient light. Since the night was clear and we had rain gear we focused on gathering fire wood and making a wind break rather than draining our energy making a large shelter which would be difficult with no light.



We took the night in shifts, each person doing 2 hours tending the fire while the other tried to sleep. To prevent myself from going to sleep on my shift, I would try do small tasks that didn't involve huge energy but would improve my situation later. Such things as gathering small bits of tinder in case the fire died out. Improving the wind break and gathering insulation for protecting myself from the ground. With gusty mountain winds and no cloud cover, it was a cold night but thankfully wasn't brutalising. Id say it was maybe 2 or 3 degrees at 3am with winds of 25km per hour at that altitude.



At first light we got up and started our next task which was making a proper shelter that would make it more liveable for our 2nd night. This took most of the day as we need a lot of material for 4 people in such a windy and cold environment. While constructing the shelter we worked well together. Ensuring people weren't doing anything too long by themselves and draining energy doing the same task. As you can imagine it was quite energy consuming. One of the lads started to get headaches and slight stomach cramps. Since he hadn't eaten anything odd it was obvious signs of dehydration. So he went and tended the fire for a bit and concentrated on boiling water for everyone. He demonstrated good judgement as he didn't do the typical alpha male instinct of powering through the pain and ignoring the signs. He informed people he wasn't feeling great, adapted what he was doing and very soon was back working. Re-hydrated and happy. Good stuff.



As the day wore on, you could see people change. The quick access energy from previous meals was burning off and the body began to switch to reserves after only a day. The feeling of hunger was only beginning to kick in really. This was quite a short period without food when you think of it but physical graft coupled with poor sleep doesn't help matters. Also throw in the cold wind and difficult terrain for good measure. The jokes about snickers and chocolate began to ramp up. When you think about it, in Western culture we have very quick access to food. Some would argue too much access. So the feeling of hunger can be quite alien. After 24 hours the body could use up most of its residual Glycogen supply with heavy physical exertion. The bodies biochemistry then switches to the next easily accessible energy source, fatty acids. This change in body chemistry takes time and you can see the change peoples behaviour. Fatigue being the main sign. Once the switch happens, you actually begin to feel ok, especially if you are hydrating correctly. You wont be running up and down the place but you begin to feel better and less lethargic. With small rest periods and plenty of water you feel ok even without food.



Cutting firewood, gathering shelter material and trips to the stream were all taking their toll. As we rolled into the 30 hour mark with no food and little sleep you could see the effects quite clearly. Rest were more frequent, people weren't talking as much but spirits were still good amongst everyone. The night blanketed us and the fire was lit. Again sleeping was done in shifts. Some people slept better than others but everyone was doing ok. The shelter needed some improvements but it did what was needed for the night





The next morning the work wasn't finished. We had used resources and so we had to respect the 'Leave no trace' policy of the club & Mountaineering Ireland. After such hard work I was a little sad to take down the shelter. We scattered the materials, removed the evidence of fire and headed back to our backup camp where 2 other of our members were camped. After 48 hours without food, little sleep and plenty of hard work we looked a sight. Anyone driving was given food and allowed additional sleep as the rest of us disassembled camp.


Our fire pit after clean up... and some attention seeking clown also :-)

This type of challenge is really brilliant in my opinion. Its rare that people get an insight into themselves when the chips are down. No one really starves in 48 hours but they can certainly begin to touch on what it is like to be hunger. You learn so much about your physical and mental capabilities by challenging yourself in this fashion. It demonstrates that making quick judgements is not always what's needed. Stop and consider what you are doing. See what's around that could help and think of the long term. Stop, think, Observe , Plan. It might also make you think differently about how you live when you go home. When you turn on a light, open a tap, switch on the heat and open the fridge. Perhaps we would appreciate what we have if everything is taken from us.

Thankfully we will be back to good food and well rested company next month as we share the stories of our little adventure.

When you think of a means of travel in Ireland. Its rare that people mention canoeing. However there are plenty of places to do it. None better than the Barrow river.

We decided to continue our route down the barrow which we started last year. This time from Goresbridge in Carlow, down to St Mullins. The last lock before the sea.



On friday night we camped at Goresbridge and picked up our boats from Charlie of gowiththeflow.ie. The weather was amazing. I've never seen this country with so much sun and so little wind. It was incredible. So packing for this trip would have to include lots of sun cream and extra water. I often bring an extra tarp in this weather. I make a sun blocker for the tent, which really helps prevent it getting unbareably warm in the mornings.

Our plan was to paddle down to Clashganny on the Saturday. After a brief demo on loading the boats, fitting buoyancy aids and basic paddle technique, we were off.



To some, flat water paddling can be boring. However its like hill walking in a way. Some people walk through the hills, not even looking up or taking note of whats around them. Its exercise and no more. Its the same on flat water. In the quiet of your boat, you get to watch river trout rise and snap up dragon flys. Watch Heron majestically pluck fish from the river bank. You'll see mallard ducks sit on warm rocks in the shade. The peace and traquility helps melt away any stress of a working week. Some people crave a pint in the pub but this is what I crave.

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n424/Crapbag666/Photo13-07-2013153755.jpg


We did some rescue work on some flat water. Covering the basics of boat emptying, defensive swimming and self rescue. These skills are important for river safety and help build confidence in people. We often think of bushcraft/survival as what would I do if I was stranded with no gear somewhere. Well the point of these preventative skills like these, is to never find yourself in that situation. Preparation, preparation, preparation....







We would paddle for a few hours and stop at a lock for lunch. Portaging in this weather is tough work. So its important to stay hydrated and keep the sun cream on you.



We set up camp beside a lovely stretch of river near clashganny. No fire needed as the cooling river breeze kept the insects away for the most part. We chatted and laughed long into the evening. The temperature in the water was beautiful and most of us availed of a swim to cool down



We saw quite a few people swimming in the water at different points, which is great. However its important to respect that rivers have a flow and you could find yourself in trouble quite quickly if you aren't a relatively strong swimmer. Its weather like this that most drowning happen.





Ireland is such an underrated country when it comes to outdoor pursuits. Sometimes you need to go looking to find something interesting to do. Other times you just need to look out your window and see the hills, rivers, forests and seashore. Its always good to be outside :-)

Its been a few weeks since I camped in the woods and its always such a relief to be back. I always feel better rested after a weekend in the woods. I've been away for a weeks holidays before and not felt as rested as I do from a weekend sleeping outdoors.

We often talk about what we practice when out in the woods but rarely how we get there. This weekend I decided to take the bike to our location and see how it faired out since the weather was due to be good. Luckily I own a bike with a bit of storage and was able to pack what I needed into side panniers and a top box. I've been biking for years but never had my bushcraft gear on the bike. Most of it fit in the bike storage. I wanted to test out how much I could bring, without trimming down the kit for the sake of packing. Surprisingly I got almost everything in and only had to carry a small bag to fit the rest. With a small bit of re-arranging and trimming down on gear, I could drive down with all my gear packed away. Funnily enough, there are quite a few members of our club with bikes, so seeing someone walk through the woods in full bike leathers isn't uncommon :-)







We often overlook the fact that on our way to our weekend adventures, things can also go wrong. Such as vehicle breakdown. So its important to have some back up for that possibility. This happened to more than a few people this winter (including myself). So keeping some rescue gear in your car can really help. Here I have a small tool wallet and a rain suit for the bike

Our bushcraft weekend consisted of tracking, practicing fire by friction & cordage. It also gave us a chance to test out of the new toys someone brought :-)

Thats not a saw... This is a saw!

Well we had a great opportunity for the club to meet some bushcrafters in Wales. Sincere thanks to John, Stewart & Dave for the hospitality for the weekend. Plenty stories, a good bit of foraging and equipment talk to beat the band. It was great to meet with some like minded people



Nice parachute!



Bit of forgaging and photography



Name that very useful tree





Some of the spoils

Sincere thanks to the lads of SWB and the club members who represented us abroad

Crapbag wrote: »

Bit of forgaging and photography



Name that very useful tree

Elder.

Sometimes its hard to define bushcraft. Often people talk about somethings which may be considered "Not bushcraft". Lets say for instance the use of tents when most people who practice bushcraft use a tarp or sleep in natural shelter. However just because someone sleeps in a tent doesn't mean they aren't studying bushcraft. It's something we have discussed in the club when it came to arguments for and against standardisation and certification of the activity. Thats why many of us prefer to have bushcraft undefined as an activity. Its simply a study of our natural environment and covers so many topics that it probably it should be left that way.

This point brings me to our last outting. Which was a forging/blacksmithing weekend. Although you could consider it outside the scope of bushcraft. Forging is a study of materials also. These materials produce the tools which we use in the activity. Thus the study of how these tools were made in a more primitive semi-environment gives us an understanding of both the tool and the process. So you could consider it bushcraft. This gives you a better understanding of something and a deeper appreciation of how a tool is made. So you begin to treasure your tools more, especially when you make them yourself.

We spent last weekend forging knives, steel flint strikers and axe heads

The start of a flint striker





Shaping the bevel on a neck knife



Improvised forge



The beautiful glow of a steel striker in a forge. Almost ready for hardening



Beginings of an axe head improvised from scrap metal



Finished neck knife.



Bushcraft is all about improvising. Its about the journey from the start of a project to its end. Buying a knife is easy but learning how to craft one, whether it be from primitive or modern material. Really gives you an appreciation of things you wouldn't normally think twice about buying

Happy Christmas from the bushcraft club

prepperballs wrote: »

Hi lads, I'm only pretty new here and don't have the 25 posts required for private messaging just yet, but I was just wondering how I could get on the mailing list for this group and possibly take part in one of your bushcraft trips? If someone could even pm me an email address to get in contact?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=87073437

http://www.irishbushcraftclub.org 😉

Thanks for your replies, yes I had been on the website already, it just seemed to be a bit more up to date on here so I thought it would be more relevant to write a post here first at least. And that's no problem at all Crapbag, tbh I've been interested in outdoor survival and bushcraft even just camping in general a lot longer than I've been paying attention to the economy and what not, so I don't mind keeping my opinion to myself about all that! I can't say knowing these skills wouldn't be a bonus if they're needed but it isn't my motivation for wanting to get in on this! I will send an email to the club anyway, thanks

Ha, yea sounds good, and I'm certainly well stocked up on most of that gear anyway, mainly a ton of knives but plenty other stuff there that I wouldn't mind making comparisons with and hearing your opinions on! Though I will say Milla Jovovitch has Scarlett Johanssen beat! m
That's another thing I was wondering about btw, do you lads normally bring a lot of kit (even just for testing/comparison) or would you try bring as little as possible? I mean you mentioned air matresses so would you go so far as to bring a tent for "just in case"?

That's grand, thanks for the feedback lads! I probably will bring a bunch of stuff so but I would prefer not to have to use it! I do understand that's its about learning bushcraft skills, so I may have a lighter in my pocket, but I would rather get a fire going (if permitted) with a bow-drill! Just wanted to get an idea of the way you all work it. And it seems crapbag's last post got deleted, prob due to the error yesterday with the site, but no I wasn't planning on bringing a big household air matress, I do have a thermarest then again I would rather build up a pine needle or grass mattress, though not too sure how comfy that would be just yet!

eoinkildare wrote: »

Prepperballs,

Each member tends to have a different stance on how much and what gear to bring to meets and some people bring a lot of gear some months but then might decide to challenge themselves other months by bringing a lot less gear than normal or by even doing a 3/4/5 item challenge or some other type of challenge.

Don't sell yourself short Eoin, you've had to endure that challenge yourself ;-)

It's Official, Tony and Myself have being asked to go on the "Brendan O'Connor" show next Saturday night, which we have agreed to -- any questions or input on behalf of the group would be welcome..... Plus -- Go out and buy the Sunday Times news paper this Sunday, with an article and photos from myself, Tony & Daire ....

Frank, great news about your interview. We've had our dealings with media. I would just say be very careful. They would love to talk you in to a box and make your ISG group seem like complete lunatics. Its not about what you do, its about Television. They wanted to do the same with the our club. So we decided to turn down all media interest after being contacted a few times. Just be careful about being lead down the garden path

Best of luck and well done