Bushcraft Club thread

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.

I myself tend to bring a good bit in the car but have my bag packed with whatever I intend to actually use. That way if the opportunity arises I can try out gear but if the situation changes and I need to revert to more established gear then I have the option.

My first few meets I used a tent but now I tend to sleep under a tarp on the ground with a Neoair mattress.

Eoin

As far as I know everyone in the club carries a lighter so you won't be looked down upon! It's common sense to practice the primitive skills but not to have to rely on them if not necessary in my opinion.
There are a few bow drill aficionados in the club so you will get plenty of help.

What a great way to start the new year with a weekend in the woods. The weather was good and the craic was mighty. The winter storm had gifted us with a bit more firewood. Thankfully, none of it through our camp.



We spent part of Saturday with some general camp admin after the wind had knocked down some trees nearby, causing our tarp to sag a little. We also started our construction of a wood store to keep the dead fall up off the ground and mostly out of the rain.



Probably the highlight of the weekend was the Sweat Lodge. We have done this a few times and it's always a good laugh. Sweat lodges had many uses around the world. From the practical element of cleaning and hygiene, to a more spiritual & Social element. We simply did it for the experience and the laugh. It's always an amazing feeling to be sitting in the dark watching glowing hot rocks in front of you. Sweat lodges have to be treated with respect. Not only do you have red hot rocks sitting in fairly close proximty. You also have the consideration that it can get much hotter than a regular Sauna as there is no thermostat obviously. So you have to really be careful how long you stay in. Especially those who have heart related issues





A few of us also practiced fire by friction both bow drill and hand drill. Using my old MI card as an ember board, one of the lads accidently burnt through it with the hand drill.



Here one of the lads decide to cook his fry in a paper bag. Turned out ok actually.



Looking forward to next month already. Hope to be this month again if I can

Great news for bushcraft hikers and hillwalkers alike. Hope it goes good for you all. If i were to offer any input toward an interview on a well watched national tv show is try and get the message out to the public that we live in a country with dwindling wilderness and we need to work to protect our mountains hills and forstery before its all gone. I got my MI log infront of me and there are two articles about damage been done to our environment an illegal road been dug in the bluestack mountains and illegal dumping been riff in the wicklow mountains. Its shameful and sad that people have such little respect. Bushcraft as you know is about been in harmony with the wilderness and taking what you need but not damaging the wilderness. Respect for our land needs to be ingrained into people utherwise we will loose it all.

Crapbag wrote: »

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

Thanks for that tip bit, we'll mind our P's & Q's on this one....what was I thinking ?:)

I forgot to say, were on "Ear to the ground" on Thursday the 30th RTE 1 @ 8:30

here's a link to the Saturday night show were on about 20 mins in http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10246342/

When you think of scenarios that occur where people get lost, injured or stranded most books on these kinds of situations always say 'Don't give up' and indeed they are right. However when you think about that phrase, it is hard to determine the context in which it is meant sometimes.

For instance, if you think of someone lost. If they misinterpret the concept of 'Not giving up', you would expect them to plough on and try find somewhere they could recognise and get back on track. From a rescue point of view, this is disastrous and could end up being fatal in remote areas. The trick would be to stop and think about the situation rather than carrying on. So how you interpret this advice is often the difference maker.

I had a great example of this over the weekend. Although not a bad situation, I was taught a lesson about the implementation of that phrase 'Don't give up'. For me it has to be interpreted as a broad concept when it comes to the wilderness. Stopping and changing tact should always be an option. I heard it said once in military terms that "Retreat is simply advancing in a different direction". I always thought of this as a cop out phrase for someone who has lost a battle. However I am only beginning to understand the term.



Personally one of my biggest enemies is Stubbornness. I get lost in a task and don't want to fail. This was evident over the weekend. I would consider myself relatively proficient in fire by friction when it comes to bow drill. The hand drill method has always eluded me. This weekend I went out with a seasoned veteran of the hand drill and was taught a lesson not just in fire by friction but about myself.



My goal was to get fire and I was one track minded about it. Under Sams direction I tried my damnedest to get an ember but it wouldn't go. Sam advised me to stop and try again tomorrow as my hands needed to recover but I wanted to keep going as I was getting close. Eventually the pain in my hands increased, I looked down to see blood on the hand drill. It was time to stop. I had lots of energy left but my hands were spent. There was torn skin and blood coming from my palms. As I released the drill, my hands began to throb. I cooled them off in the river and could see really bad blisters forming. I thought nothing of it, 'I can take the pain' but I still had 2 more days in the woods.


Looks like nothing here but man it really hurt



It was a bit later on when I had to use my knife and axe that I realised that I was barely able to put any pressure on my hands with the pain. Now I was once again trying to light fire with a much easier method, the fero rod and I was struggling. I could barely cut feather sticks or press hard enough on my fero rod to produce a spark. I was struggling at something I could normally do blindfolded, all because "I didn't want to give up". When in fact I should have stopped and considered the bigger picture. In truth I should have stopped and tried again tomorrow but now I have to wait 3/4 days for my hands to heal before I can try again properly. That was the true lesson I learned about fire by friction and myself.



Luckily for me, there were many different activities covered over the weekend that we practiced. Myself and Sam exchanged knowledge on Tracking & Trailing, Hunting and trapping, wild edibles, Bird ID, plant ID. It's always good to meet someone with a similar passion for the wild. It's not about who knows more, its about sharing the knowledge.

Hard to make out but you can see near the bottom where a Mink had its way with some Cray Fish



Tracking Mink



The Birch sap is rising!



Lunch, hazelnuts collected last autumn and Lesser Celandine root

Luckly for you folks...we don't have any limits on our members and meet regularly every 6 weeks or so......so join the group say hello and come along..all welcome https://www.facebook.com/groups/246023465562826/

The simplicity of life, basic ingredients, see below ( Hazel, cord, hide ) and some serious hard work to be rewarded with days on the Boyne. This to me is the true essence of Bushcraft, natural resources, old fashioned know how and great results. The true craft is in the doing.......................
(just an after thought, I remember when I used to go out on Saturday nights) Currachs will be in the water at the facebook.com/pages/Drogheda-Raft-Race/355012371195365
tomorrow after 11 am ......

Thanks for posting the photos

Some times in bushcraft, there is something you just have no luck with when it comes to practice. When I did my first bushcraft course over a decade ago, I struggled with the bow drill. I never got it on the course and couldn't get it for weeks afterwards but I refused to abandon the idea as too hard. This was the time without youtube or any online resources for bushcraft really. It was only books I had that explained the technique. It took me about 8 weeks to get the bow drill after consistent practice. It was a huge effort for me at the time and I was absolutely ecstatic with I got it. My shaking exhausted hands blew the ember to flame and slumped backwards emotionally and physically exhausted. When I think about the effort I gave it back then compared to what it takes me now, It's difficult to fathom. Fire by friction is a difficult technique, even for experience bushcrafters. It's not a guaranteed method of lighting fire but it's an amazing thing to learn and when people think of bushcraft, it's the iconic skill that most people gravitate towards.

Not too long ago, I decided to try the hand drill. Which is arguably more difficult than the bow drill. The hand drill involves the same twisting action on the board but it's done only with you hands applying pressure and doing the work. Purists would argue that it is the real way to light fire by friction as the bow drill requires a cord of some fashion. It is also argued that it is the older technique. My opinion is, 'Who cares?' they are both amazing skills. So when it came to learning it, even with experience in bow drill behind me, it was tougher.

After some persistence and a lot of hand blistering, I managed to crack it. It was an amazing feeling and always is when you light fire this way. The feeling of delight never goes away which is part of what makes it so special. If you are like me and struggled with this technique. Don't give up on it. The rewards are there




The club was out recently and I decided to share what I learned about hand drill to them. To my amazement (and I'll admit, slight jealousy) 2 of the lads cracked the technique within minutes of being shown. It was a seriously impressive feat for someone who had just been shown.



We also did some work on containers and I gathered some Willow for basketry at a later date.





One of the lads made some more improvements to his shelter



My apologies that I haven't been updating this thread regularly during the summer but I've been quite busy and so has the club.

The club recently visited scenic Norway to see some of the countries national parks at the end of its winter season. We visited the famous Hardangarvidda national park near Rjukan and Folgefonna near Odda. Hardangarvidda is known from the book and film 'Heroes of Telemark' after an WW2 operation to destory the Vemork hydroelectric plant.



As I looked down the valley upon the plant, I couldn't help but feel this wave of energy. Excitment and curiousity. I was possible standing on a Recce point used by Jens Anton Poulsson and his team to gain intellegence on the facility. The intel would be used for a raid by allied forces on the plant. The production of heavy water was huge of concern to allied command as it could have been used by Hilter to help produce a nuclear weapon. I could imagine the flood lit bridge with machine gun nests, patrols and vehicles toing and froing from the plant as the Norwegian 2nd Lieutenant peered through a set of binoculars towards the task at hand. It sent shivers up my back to see the plant in the flesh after reading the book. I couldn't help but think to myself, 'How would I approach the plant, How would I sabotage such a well guarded remote facility?'. Failure wasn't an option. This was their country and their terrain and against the odds they succeeded.



If you have any interest in military history, visiting sites where feats of human perservence and endurance were carried out really humbles you. If you consider yourself an outdoors person, just to thinking of the circumstances that they operated under puts your own skill in perspective. This wasn't just a group trying to survive the elements but also to attack a plant of great military importance.

We camped with the plant in view. Seeing it lit up at night made it even more special, more eerie. The hum of nearby powerlines made it even more atmospheric. Now a museum, the plant sits in a valley near the small town of Rjukan. An incredibly scenic place with steep cliffs and a beautiful snow capped plateau to it's North. The next day we went down to the bridge to see the ascent route that was used by the team to gain access to the plant. A difficult cliff ascent with equipment but also the possibility of being discovered by the guards.

After our stay in Rjukan we headed west to Folgefonna park. With the Region in transition, I would probably do this kind of trip in early June or late May. We stayed in the valley but picking a spot was difficult because of the time of year. We were literally hearing hourly avalanches around the valley walls. Like the crack of a shotgun in the distance, it made for interesting safety considerations. We finally decided on a bank with no snow slopes above it.

testing local natural tinders for fire lighting





The normal set up



Glacial melt waters aren't to be taken lightly this time of year as the rivers rise quickly.



Norway is an incredibly beautiful country. One of the nicest I've been to in Europe. Although definitely an expensive place to live, it is well worth a visit for anyone interested in the outdoors. Friendly people and incredible scenery.

I don't believe there is a bushcraft club specific to Cork. However we do have a member from Cork who comes up. If you want more details about us, you can visit our Facebook page or drop us an email

https://www.facebook.com/groups/259780408146/

www.irishbushcraftclub.org

When doing certain types of trips, you need to be surrounded by compotent people. People who know what they are doing and can take of themselves. More importantly though, is that when the going gets a bit difficult, no one loses their cool and the job just gets done. The further you push your skills, the more comfortable you are in different and difficult environments. I've been very lucky in that I've spent some time in the snow and cold. So I wanted others to see what it was like also. Where else could you go but into Northern Sweden and into the Arctic Circle.

The region we picked is close to where the Swedes do their Arctic warfare training. The month was March and the conditions were perfect. The aim was to spent 6/7 days in sub zero temperatures and learn the routine of taking care of yourself in these conditions for that period along with learning some more difficult Winter skills.



Hot tenting is system by which you use your tent as a warm living system so that you can function normally in warm temperatures despite the cold conditions outside. For those new to the conditions, it was the perfect environment to learn and be reasonably comfortable. Not too cold or punishing on people or equipment yet a good introduction to proper cold.



In these conditions, every little detail counts and personal administration is huge. You can't battle the elements, you have to flow with them and adapt. Some things like hydration, sun glare, even walking become things you are acutely aware of as you need to change how you work. Attention to detail prevents loss of equipment and reduction in your own capabilities. Things like having your kit 'Mitten proof'. So everything you do or need access to can be done with gloves or mittens on. It's challenging but highly rewarding. Carrying a water bottle on you pretty much all the time too. You lose so much moisture in dry cold conditions just from condensing breath, it's critical you stay hydrated



Above are toboggans we made while in Ireland and transported to Sweden. A good experience in itself making these. They worked a charm

For me, the personal challenge was to live outside the tent for 5 days and only use the shelters we build in the process. Shelters like the Quinzee Snow Grave and Arctic Lean-to were all built and we rotate around with different people experiencing the shelters on different nights. I think everyone was in agreement that the quinzee was the most effective with the Arctic lean-to being the least effective and most effort. Temperatures ranged between -10 during the day to -21 at night. So not the coldest for the region but still challenging for a series of days





The big man Sé. Digging out a Quinzee



Temperatures dropping to -20

One of the coolest looking shelters but probably my least favorite due to its destructive nature to build. Thankfully we raided fallen trees



Although challenging, camping in these conditions is very rewarding. The silence and peace found in the snow is like no other place I know.... hey that rhymes!!

There are some things you do in life that have an impact on how you think. Sometimes a single event. Other times a whole series of them. One of the things about Bushcraft is that for me, I need to remind myself that I have so much to learn and never get comfortable in what I feel I know. I feel like I've done a bit but still I am only scrapping the surface of such a vast topic. I must challenge myself to practice what I know and remind myself of what I need to work on.

I've never been to Africa. It's a new continent to me. I've seen documentaries, read books and spoken to people but the place still felt very distant. So when I was given the opportunity to go, I jumped at it.

Acacia Tree

Uganda is in east Africa in the Sub-saharan region of the continent. It borders with Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Congo. Since the late 1980's it has been one of the more stable of the region. However it's Government is still deeply corrupt. It's people unemployed and mostly living in poverty. Regional flare-ups are regular and Uganda has one of the largest Armys in Region with troops in almost as many countries as the US.

It is a country full of life .... and death




Red tailed Monkey.

I had good contacts in the country that offered a place to stay in Kampala, the Capital which gets its name from the Impala antelope. When the British came to Uganda, they set up Camp where the Impala grazed. Hence Kampala.

One thing to mention is that you need a rake of vaccines to get into Uganda, most importantly Yellow Fever which is a requirement to enter the country. Check out The Medical Bureau if are considering traveling well in advance.

As this was my first trip to Africa, I tried to prepare as best I could but still made some general packing errors. Firstly and most importantly, I assumed I would need a Rule Book in Uganda. First lesson of Africa is to burn the Rule Book, its useless here.

When we arrived in Entebbe airport we noticed that everything moved more slowly and without much order. Except for the Army. I was expecting a rag-tag bunch of Cowboys but these lads pulled myself and my wife out of the line. "Where are your UN passes?" the soldier snapped. With a look of puzzlement on my face, he pointed to bags. 3 identical Army Bergens sat on the trolley. After a little explaining, we had the bags scanned with a scowl until they came up clean. The frown turned to a smile and we were waved onwards. These boys weren't messing around but it was good to see the people holding weapons were switched on.

I met with my friend who was very experienced in these environments. As we drove towards the capital, we got a brief on how things worked there in general. To give you some idea of how poor these people are. There is over 90% unemployment in Uganda. For those that work, the average daily wage is 300 Ugandan Shillings. €1 is 4000 Ugandan shillings at the moment. So unfortunately, when Ugandans see white people, they see money. Either to sell, beg, steal or extort from. It's the reality of a country that has so little, you can't blame them for it but you need to be on your guard eitherway.

"Mzungu"

If you are easily intimidated by constant stares and remarks, then a trip to East African might be a bit of a shock. Mzungu is term given to White people by people in the region. I was told it is not a term of disrespect but it certainly isn't a term of endearment either. So much so that more well to do Ugandans might get offended on your behalf. Although not as bad as racist remarks we all know given to Africans, it certainly wasn't a term I was pleased being called constantly but you get over it after a while. There is rarely any malice in the term which I guess is the real dividing line.

I wanted to do things without too much assistance from my friend when we were out of the capital. I wanted to take public transport and go without guides to most places. Well I certainly got that but only to a point. You can't simply throw up a tent anywhere, you need to go where there are no or very few Wildlife considerations. Namely National Parks where there are camping areas.

One of the 2 parks we visited was Queen Elizabeth national park in the West of Uganda. We stayed in a campsite called Kasenyi where we pitched our tent on a high platform to avoid lions. The platform was about 6 ft from the ground with a set of steps. A pallet was the fence guarding the entrance with little more than the height protecting you. Thankfully the lions obviously weren't able to undo the knots holding the pallet to the stairs, so we were safe .......

There was however 2 armed guards patrolling the camp, until of course midnight when they would knock-off. So if you needed to use the jacks, it would be over the side. Pray you didn't anything other than a wizz. Otherwise it was a long drop.



Most nights on the platform, we were visited by something. Hippos were the most common visitor. Grazing loudly on the tough grass below. You could almost reach out and touch them from the platform if you were dumb enough. They were like tractors and completely indifferent to our presence even when we shown a light on them. My mornings were spent tracking them around the surrounding area. Hard to miss and such a cool looking print. Nothing like anything I've ever seen.



I asked to camp down by the lake as it had been done before but the camp was reluctant as they would have to send a guard out separately with me. Asking for a rifle of my own was met with puzzled looks, so I left it.

The people of Kasenyi village nearby lived in absolute poverty. Their hunts were made of mud, they had no income other than from fishing. Most of the kids had HIV, weren't in school and would start drinking at the age of 6 or 8. It was heart breaking to see. We were brought down to the village by someone working at the camp. One thing as a visitor you have to realise is that Ugandans want you to see these things. They need help and know it. I heard the term 'Poverty Tourism' thrown about in Kampala and was seeing it firsthand. We were not encourage to give the kids money as it would make things worse for the next visitors. It was more to see the living conditions.



The next park we visited was Mgahinga on the boarder with Rwanda. We got an excellent tour of the park from UWA. We discussed plant life and even compared basket making techniques used in the region. The guide was particularly interested in how we made baskets from Bramble which was a plant that was common there also. Although it did look much smaller, possible because it favoured a wetter climate



The highlight of the trip to me was visiting the Batwa people of the area. Ugandans generally looked down on them it appeared. They were last truely tribal people of the region. They had been removed from the Park in the early 90's to facilitate the parks gazetting and establishment. They now lived on the verges of farmland, scrounging for scraps from local farms and using the little areas they had to grow their own. It was horrible as even their hunts were poorly constructed as they were not allowed to gather materials from their previous homeland, the forest. Which was only 500 metres away.



I read that they still used fire by friction to light their fires at night. However they explained that the materials were becoming harder to come by and now supplemented the technique with matches. I told them that I also practiced the same technique and was interested in the materials. When they heard this, they lit up and were delighted to discuss it (through translation of course). They spoke of their difficult getting embers unless they worked as a group and that someone who hadn't practiced in a while would struggle. I was delighted to hear that people so close to the land had similar issues that I had. It seem to transcend the cultural barrier as we laughed and joked about what it felt like when you got tired. It was an amazing experience just to meet them



Fire saw. tried this technique for the first time here. No success on this occasion. Interestingly no one had ever seen it here, yet I have seen this done with Bamboo elsewhere



Yep we got that close to a lion. From a Jeep in fairness but I wouldn't like to be on foot at this distance. No zoom lens on the camera for this shot



Bamboo water container, completely water proof and holding about 350ml of clean water. Amazing material

It's hard to condense 2 weeks in Africa into this post. We saw so much and learned a lot. We met some incredible friendly and generous people and some thieves also. What I would advise, is not to go unguided. Paying a local to show you the way is certainly worth it whether that be through contacts or an agency. We were lucky for part of the 2nd week to meet someone who traveled with us. He acted as a translator and buffer in some of the more tense and crowded environments. It's an incredible place and I have to say I witnessed the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs while I was there. For such a small staff, they have a massive impact and are incredibly hard working. It's the best use I've seen of our taxes.