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Bushcraft Club thread
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one of my highlights was to be shown how to find Pignuts.
T.
And chickweed ... probably the least " green" wild food I have ever tasted ... strawberrys and bilberrys have been identified for dessert later in the year .... Thanks to our guest foraging expert ... thanks Alison ...:)
Well done Paul for getting an ember on the bowdrill .. the only person to get one going this wkd.
Roberto deserves special mention for building and sleeping in a really good shelter on Saturday night ...
Pictures of the weekend to follow no doubt ... now that we have a PR person ...
Hick ??????
:D:D
Andrew0 -
Well folks it was only a savage weekend up in Cavan in what was our first trip this year to the second camp on the site.
A good gang headed up on Friday night and most arrived around 8, it's fantastic to have the long evenings now which makes Friday night set ups much easier! It was a lovely evening and after we got set up we had a great time round the fire. I think everyone was just happy the rain was off for the first time this year, me especially!
More new kit and talk of Norway dominated the evening but everyone was tired and after enjoying the fire against the clear starry night sky most turned in by 12. We had 2 in hammocks, 4 on the ground under tarp and one loo la on the ground under a dead scotts pine cos it was too dark when he arrived to get set up:D
[Jim & my set-ups]
The morning brought a stunning day and our resident cockerel Woody the Woodpecker chopped his way to a breakfast fire and waking the whole camp at around 7.30 although despite his best efforts a fair few heads enjoyed the morning lie in till 9, the higher temps offering real comfort for the first time this year.
Our first new comer Chris (deergrove) appeared early and was eager to see what we were about so the lads quickly got the tea on. He was closely followed by another first timer Alison (featherstick) who arrived with tales of Ray which quickly caught the attention of the rabble hoard.
We set about exploring the site with it's new growth and we were treated to foraging tips from Alison which was a real treat for everyone, particularly for the long term members who were surprised as some of the examples that were on the site, such as the elusive pignut, which as all can attest is great fun to try and get out of the ground!:rolleyes: I gorged myself on Ramsons (wild garlic) and Wood Sorrel as an appetiser before heading back to camp for chicken noodles later.
[The pignut conopodium majus is a small and quite elusive plant, with a yummy nutty tuber, a divil to get out of the ground!]
Chris unfortunately couldn't stay the night and bid us farewell but we're sure to see him again soon. After lunch there as plenty of activity, several more walks to survey the area and local wildlife, bow drill attempts which led to plenty of smoke and dust but little flame (fair play to Paul though), some carving & cordage, Kevin built teepee/tripod/sweatlodge and there was a savage effort by Roberto to build a new one man shelter that despite "constructive" criticism from some:D, can be and should be, admired below. Another fine addition to the camp! although there is a severe lack of moss on the ground now!!!
[Roberto's A-frame shelter]
[Roberto & Andrew chill in his crib, is that where the majick happens?]
At around 20.00 Alison, Jim and myself headed up to the back of the site where we'd spotted some large and new badger sets earlier in the hopes that we would catch them emerge at dusk. At around 9.10 as the darkness grew they emerged but and despite us setting up down wind, sadly they went up the back of the hill and we could only hear them scratching about an munching on slugs. We returned to the camp at 9.25 fairly relaxed at what was a really nice and almost meditative experience. Next time we might pitch up in a tree or try and get a little closer but we'll definitely bring some peanut butter which the badgers love.
[Jim waits for the badgers]
[Alison in comfy look out spot]
Much craic was has around the camp fire that evening an stories were traded and knifes sharpened and everyone agreed it was a great day. Jims grill did the trick again and we all enjoyed a bit of grilled beef and chestnuts for supper, rumours that BBC Masterchef are paying a trip to the site soon are waiting to be confirmed! Ghost stories were put on hold as one set up was mislaid in the darkness but the team rushed out to help, another part of what makes this club great.
[Cosy by the camp fire]
[making a spoon by firelight]
Woody was up at sparrow flatulence again this morning but everyone was glad to get up to what was another magnificent day. Breakfast was tarted up with various attempts to cook eggs (in shell) in the embers and poached in an orange, tweaking may be required
It was with a heavy heart that we packed up our gear but eventually we all got up with a shot and like a bullet from the sky we were headed back to reality. Weekends like this is why we come out. Good company, good weather and good bushcraft. Roll on Norway 
http://www.irishbushcraftclub.org/0 -
Hey lads,
Woody woodpecker here, decided to jump aboard boards.ie Excellent post hick. Want to say thank's to everyone for a truly fantastic weekend, couldn't have been better. I want to wish the lads best of luck on there trip to Norway and I am looking forward to hearing there stories around the camp fire when when get back!!! All the best lads.
Roberto0 -
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Hi all
Not sure if it's your thing, but Paul Kirtley is running a competition to win a Petzl Headtorch. Obviously, after my lack of light at the last meet, I'm entering!!:o
http://paulkirtley.co.uk/e/Featherstick
I think it's being run to promote Paul's blog which is fairly new. He taught me on my last bushcrafting course and is incredibly knowledgeable - he was the Course Director for Woodlore so I s'pose he'd have to be good. Although his blog is fairly new, I already think it's one of the better ones. So, even if competitions aren't your thing, have a look at the blog if you haven't already - it's a good'un
Hope Norway's good for you!!
Ali0 -
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Well we're back and all I can say is it tops the queens visit and then some we had a craicin time and it will be hard to get it down in a post, suffice to say that we gave serious consideration to not coming back on Monday!!
I know many will be keen to hear the details, rest assured I'll be working on it over the next few days and I'll try to have something up by the weekend. Reality is a tough place to come back to but that's what makes these trips so great. Hope yer all well,
B
Ps crapbag look forward to the Alaska stories I hear you can see mamma bears and Russia from up there!
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[Post 1 of 3 on our trip to Norway Herdangervidda plateau]
Folks
apologies for the wait!!! been mental busy at work.
Anyhoo, Noway was fantastic from start to finish, in fact we all agreed we had a Helle of a time (sorry in joke!). So it was a long time coming and all the planning (or at least new kit purchasing) and waiting was finally over. It was an early start with the flight being at 7:00. We were giddy as school girls.
We arrived early in Moss Rygge airport and got our car which fit us and our gear just right. We had a 3 hour drive to hit Rjukan which was the town at base of the range we were going to spend the next 5 days on. We stopped on the way to admire just how beautiful the scenery was.
Once we got there we picked up the maps from the tourist office and the last few supplies and hit for the cable car. When we arrived we found it closed for the week for maintenance but that didn't stop us, we used are whit, charm, ingenuity and some cash and we were whisked up the first 800m of our new home.
After taking in the scenery and a quick cuppa we took off up the hill to find our first camp and water source.
We really weren't disappointed, we probably only covered about 6-7km the first day as we were all blown away by the vista, we found a great spot over looking the valley and Telemark power plant.
We had been warned on the way up by the cable (car) guy that the weather had been a bit harsh and the temps very low of recent so we got all the jokes out of our system and decided on a group shelter for those with tarps. Andrew had brought his brand new and much envied Tent teepee, also referred to as the penthouse
We sat back and enjoyed the views for the evening whilst savouring our ration packs [note chilli con carne should come with a warning label]. We headed off to bed around 12 and it was still bright, the sun had gone down round 10.30. but it never really got dark for long. I awoke with bird song at around 4am and it was bright, I reckon it was only dark for about 2 hours. Despite that it was cold as you can see from the ice that lay on the tarp
The next day we headed off for our first big hike, and we covered a lot of ground, the higher we go the more snow and ice we came across, the landscape became more bare as we came up out of the tree line. We crossed rivers from the melting ice fields and it really was enjoyable, it was easy to forget about the packs on you back for the most part as everywhere you looked it was stunning.
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[Post 2 of 3 on our trip to Norway Herdangervidda plateau]
We bed down in a craicin spot on the friday night, we came upon a cabin in the most remote part, true bliss right on a lake in the middle of the plateau. We hadn't seen another soul since the cable car, it was really nice knowing we had the whole place to ourselves. That night was by far the coldest, we had camped behind the mountain so the sun dropped early and with it the temperature. By 20:00 when we got set up and were cooking it was -2, it was -4 by 23.00, we reckon it got down to -6 that night. We hit the sack early as it was just too cold to stay up and chat, (see the ice on the inside of the tarp!!). We awoke to another savage day, the sun in the early morning was great for heating you back up after the cool nights. Sitting and having your porridge looking out over the terrain really beats the day job!! :cool: We had visiting wildlife that morning a small stoat swung by looking for scraps
The next day we took on our longest hike heading off our trek and then on up the saboteur route, which is partly why we came all this way ( see http://www.visittelemark.com/Adventure/Active-in-Telemark/Hiking/(ProductID)/?lang=en&id=36588 ) No matter how tough we thought it was, it was hard to imagine doing it in the depths of winter after being holed up and starving on the mountain for 4 months, hauling kit and explosives all the while being hunted by the nazi's. It was impressive to see what these guys did and we got a small taste as the whether turned and the rain came down at lunch and stayed for the day and night. We made it down to the plant and were even more impressed when we saw the ravine which the team had climbed down and then back up to blow up the plant, we were just happy we only had the bridge to cross. We also came across Norways only poisonous snake. This was our most challenging day and we had Aretha Franklins 'Ain't no mountain high enough' ringing in our ears all evening! We were tired but very satisfied with our trip and reaching our goal.
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[Post 3 of 3 on our trip to Norway Herdangervidda plateau]
We hadn't thought we'd make it the whole way that day, so we were a day ahead with no real thoughts on where to camp, you can't camp at the station, though with the rain not stopping we considered taking our chances :rolleyes: We hiked to the car which was a few km away and began to look out for a spot for the night. It took a while as you can't camp to near housing and we were down in the valley but we found the perfect spot after a fair spin. I spotted a lane up behind a bus stop leading to a wooded area and it worked a treat.
We headed back to Rjukan the next morning to get a spot of breakfast but then we discovered something about the Norwegians, they like to sleep in on Sundays. The town was empty! Like really empty! Nothing was open, not even the local sports shop :eek: We eventually found a little shop to get something to eat before we headed back to the airport. We scooted back to Rygge a happy bunch after a great trip, but our adventure wasn't over just yet. We had to find a spot for the night for our 9am flight the next morning. No hotels or hostels for us, no sir, we wanted lake shore property with stunning views in a full forest....right at the end of the airport runway
We went out the way we came in, a happy bunch.
Would we do it again.........in a heartbeat! :cool:
There’s a few more pix here http://pix.ie/hick/album/4127640 -
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