Alpkit Skyehigh 800 Initial Review

As I reported last week, I decided to buy myself a down bag. I found out that even the cheaper bags were quite expensive and I quickly discounted the likes of Rab, Mountain Equipment and Marmot; most models of which are over £150-00.

I had heard that Alpkit were reasonably priced, so I had a look. Alpkit are a strange company. They source their products directly which makes them cheap, but because of this, they more often than not have stock problems. They have three styles of down bag, but you'll find that even now that only one is available.

I've had a bad delivery experience with Alpkit where they got every single one of the 4 items wrong, but I think that was just a bad day. I've had no problems since and they are friendly.

I looked at the choices in their Skyehigh range to see if it ticked any of the boxes.

No more than £100? Yup -£95

4 season? So it says; Yup

Comfort -10C? Yup

Extreme  -16C? Yup

Good fill power? 650 +; Yup

Weight 1570 gr; OK

Pack size 25x27cm; Seems OK

That seemed exactly what I wanted and out came the bank card.

Luckily the item was in stock and it was duly delivered two days later. I was impressed that the sleeping bag came with two bags; a stuff sack which disappointingly wasn't waterproof so it was quickly replaced with an Exped stuff sack. The other bag is a light cotton storage bag, which is just the job for putting the sleeping bag away when not in use without compressing it too much.

I had to wait 2 months before I could test it out in the field and then I only used it once because of my ruptured tendon; so this is a review based on that one occasion. I was also ground dwelling in a tipi so again this should be born in mind.

The bag compressed well but perhaps not as much as I originally hoped so I decided to strap it to the outside of the rucksack even though there was room inside.

Once out of the stuff sack at the site, the bag lofted after being shaken out a couple of times and sat there almost smugly as if to say, "Come on. Give it your best shot." By night time the temperature was down to -4C. Yes, it may well be tested.

I got a right-sided zip version to make it compatible with the Snugpack bivi bag. I was a little disappointed that the zip snagged in the material. There must be a sleeping bag out there that doesn't snag!

I retired in my thermals and ensured I'd followed the normal rules of turning in with a hot drink and couple of pieces of hot reindeer salami inside me. I also changed my socks. I settled down on the fully inflated Thermarest Prolite 3 and tried to adjust the baffles. These were two standard pull cord baffles one for the shoulders and one for the hood. I must say I don't normally use the hood. By not doing this it actually detracts from the efficiency of the bag but I favour wearing a balaclava. I did try it on this occasion though.

I woke up during the night but it wasn't because of the cold. I had indigestion from eating too much salami! In the morning, I found out (being a novice tipi dweller) that I hadn't vented the tipi properly and that the inside was covered in a thin layer of frost. So was the outside of the bag. The material was enough not to let any of the dampness through which I was quite pleased about. I would have to see whether it thawed through the bag during the day. This fabric is very soft lightweight micro ripstop DWR nylon fabric and lined with 300l Tactel nylon.  Alpkit say it isn't the most technical fabric around but it helps keep costs down.

The next night was even colder dropping to about -6C and later to -10C. The condensation had stayed out of the bag and once again it was puffed up and waiting. I had already decided that if future trips were likely to be wet, I would bring along the Snugpack bivi bag which would allow a greater degree of water protection, especially when ground dwelling. Once again, I had a cosy night even though I had decided to insert a Nato water bottle full of hot water. Well, I am getting old and I'm entitled to a little comfort in my old age!

First impressions of the Alpkit Skyehigh 800 are very favourable. There's no bells and whistles but for a down bag of this quality, the price is good and it's well made. The only down side is that I expected the bag to compress a little more; but I suppose it is a -10C to-16C bag so there must be one or two compromises.

I'll see how this bag performs throughout the year and keep you updated.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Alpkit Skyehigh 800 Initial Review

As I reported last week, I decided to buy myself a down bag. I found out that even the cheaper bags were quite expensive and I quickly discounted the likes of Rab, Mountain Equipment and Marmot; most models of which are over £150-00.

I had heard that Alpkit were reasonably priced, so I had a look. Alpkit are a strange company. They source their products directly which makes them cheap, but because of this, they more often than not have stock problems. They have three styles of down bag, but you'll find that even now that only one is available.

I've had a bad delivery experience with Alpkit where they got every single one of the 4 items wrong, but I think that was just a bad day. I've had no problems since and they are friendly.

I looked at the choices in their Skyehigh range to see if it ticked any of the boxes.

No more than £100? Yup -£95

4 season? So it says; Yup

Comfort -10C? Yup

Extreme  -16C? Yup

Good fill power? 650 +; Yup

Weight 1570 gr; OK

Pack size 25x27cm; Seems OK

That seemed exactly what I wanted and out came the bank card.

Luckily the item was in stock and it was duly delivered two days later. I was impressed that the sleeping bag came with two bags; a stuff sack which disappointingly wasn't waterproof so it was quickly replaced with an Exped stuff sack. The other bag is a light cotton storage bag, which is just the job for putting the sleeping bag away when not in use without compressing it too much.

I had to wait 2 months before I could test it out in the field and then I only used it once because of my ruptured tendon; so this is a review based on that one occasion. I was also ground dwelling in a tipi so again this should be born in mind.

The bag compressed well but perhaps not as much as I originally hoped so I decided to strap it to the outside of the rucksack even though there was room inside.

Once out of the stuff sack at the site, the bag lofted after being shaken out a couple of times and sat there almost smugly as if to say, "Come on. Give it your best shot." By night time the temperature was down to -4C. Yes, it may well be tested.

I got a right-sided zip version to make it compatible with the Snugpack bivi bag. I was a little disappointed that the zip snagged in the material. There must be a sleeping bag out there that doesn't snag!

I retired in my thermals and ensured I'd followed the normal rules of turning in with a hot drink and couple of pieces of hot reindeer salami inside me. I also changed my socks. I settled down on the fully inflated Thermarest Prolite 3 and tried to adjust the baffles. These were two standard pull cord baffles one for the shoulders and one for the hood. I must say I don't normally use the hood. By not doing this it actually detracts from the efficiency of the bag but I favour wearing a balaclava. I did try it on this occasion though.

I woke up during the night but it wasn't because of the cold. I had indigestion from eating too much salami! In the morning, I found out (being a novice tipi dweller) that I hadn't vented the tipi properly and that the inside was covered in a thin layer of frost. So was the outside of the bag. The material was enough not to let any of the dampness through which I was quite pleased about. I would have to see whether it thawed through the bag during the day. This fabric is very soft lightweight micro ripstop DWR nylon fabric and lined with 300l Tactel nylon.  Alpkit say it isn't the most technical fabric around but it helps keep costs down.

The next night was even colder dropping to about -6C and later to -10C. The condensation had stayed out of the bag and once again it was puffed up and waiting. I had already decided that if future trips were likely to be wet, I would bring along the Snugpack bivi bag which would allow a greater degree of water protection, especially when ground dwelling. Once again, I had a cosy night even though I had decided to insert a Nato water bottle full of hot water. Well, I am getting old and I'm entitled to a little comfort in my old age!

First impressions of the Alpkit Skyehigh 800 are very favourable. There's no bells and whistles but for a down bag of this quality, the price is good and it's well made. The only down side is that I expected the bag to compress a little more; but I suppose it is a -10C to-16C bag so there must be one or two compromises.

I'll see how this bag performs throughout the year and keep you updated.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Crafty Stuff

Well, I've put the wood carving project away for a while. I'm going to have to wait until I get some more wood before I attempt to improve on my diabolical efforts of carving wood spirits.

I did get a kind message from Dave from Woodwosecarving . He offered assistance and I think I'm going to need it!

Over the last few weeks I've been collecting a few leather working bits and bobs. My first attempt at leather working was to try and make a sheath for the EKA Nordic W11.

I generally copied the design of the sheath that came with the knife, but I wanted to add a firesteel holder and dangler belt loop. So I duly cut out the bits. I nearly forgot the welt  but luckily remembered before I started sewing it all together.

I used the edge beveller to er... bevel the edges. Perhaps I should have done this later.

I then made a groove with this adjustable groove making thingy. This enabled me to use a smart-looking wheel whatsit. This makes an indent in the leather to assist in making holes for the stitching.

After wetting the leather, I used some embossing stamps and tools to make a pattern.

I then folded over the sheath, added the welt and the firesteel holder. It was difficult to hold it all together and perhaps I should have made the holes first or used glue to hold it together. In the end I used a couple of bulldog clips to clamp the edges while I made the holes.

I then stitched it together using pre-waxed thread and two needles. Apparently this is called double-stitch or saddle stitch. I'm not showing you the back of the sheath because I made a mistake and missed a hole. It looks crap but it's doing it's job.

I trimmed up the edges (perhaps now was the time to use the edge beveller) and after wetting the edges again, I used a metal spoon to smooth them out.

I made a dangler belt loop and fixed it to the sheath with leather thong. I used a cool but expensive multi-punch hole maker to punch out the holes.

I've decided that the stuff I will wear myself (if it's good enough of course) will be dyed a tan colour to keep it all consistent. I thought it would be an idea to bring out the embossing with antique finish paste. I read this in a book. The idea is to give the leatherwork an old, distressed look (like its owner).

I re-wet the leather and shaped the sheath around the knife . This is called wet-forming and should make the knife fit snugly in the sheath. This should perhaps be done before the dyeing. I'm going to have to get a list from someone to tell me what order is best to do things.

After leaving it over night to dry naturally, I rubbed it gently with some sandpaper and polished and waxed the sheath to give it a little waterproofing . I will buy some natural polish later to shine it up a touch.

I'm quite pleased with the result and had great fun doing it. I made lots of mistakes and certainly I could have done a few things differently but not bad for a first attempt. Better than the wood spirits anyway!

Crafty Stuff

Well, I've put the wood carving project away for a while. I'm going to have to wait until I get some more wood before I attempt to improve on my diabolical efforts of carving wood spirits.

I did get a kind message from Dave from Woodwosecarving . He offered assistance and I think I'm going to need it!

Over the last few weeks I've been collecting a few leather working bits and bobs. My first attempt at leather working was to try and make a sheath for the EKA Nordic W11.

I generally copied the design of the sheath that came with the knife, but I wanted to add a firesteel holder and dangler belt loop. So I duly cut out the bits. I nearly forgot the welt  but luckily remembered before I started sewing it all together.

I used the edge beveller to er... bevel the edges. Perhaps I should have done this later.

I then made a groove with this adjustable groove making thingy. This enabled me to use a smart-looking wheel whatsit. This makes an indent in the leather to assist in making holes for the stitching.

After wetting the leather, I used some embossing stamps and tools to make a pattern.

I then folded over the sheath, added the welt and the firesteel holder. It was difficult to hold it all together and perhaps I should have made the holes first or used glue to hold it together. In the end I used a couple of bulldog clips to clamp the edges while I made the holes.

I then stitched it together using pre-waxed thread and two needles. Apparently this is called double-stitch or saddle stitch. I'm not showing you the back of the sheath because I made a mistake and missed a hole. It looks crap but it's doing it's job.

I trimmed up the edges (perhaps now was the time to use the edge beveller) and after wetting the edges again, I used a metal spoon to smooth them out.

I made a dangler belt loop and fixed it to the sheath with leather thong. I used a cool but expensive multi-punch hole maker to punch out the holes.

I've decided that the stuff I will wear myself (if it's good enough of course) will be dyed a tan colour to keep it all consistent. I thought it would be an idea to bring out the embossing with antique finish paste. I read this in a book. The idea is to give the leatherwork an old, distressed look (like its owner).

I re-wet the leather and shaped the sheath around the knife . This is called wet-forming and should make the knife fit snugly in the sheath. This should perhaps be done before the dyeing. I'm going to have to get a list from someone to tell me what order is best to do things.

After leaving it over night to dry naturally, I rubbed it gently with some sandpaper and polished and waxed the sheath to give it a little waterproofing . I will buy some natural polish later to shine it up a touch.

I'm quite pleased with the result and had great fun doing it. I made lots of mistakes and certainly I could have done a few things differently but not bad for a first attempt. Better than the wood spirits anyway!

Down Sleeping Bags

One of the more difficult decisions when splashing out on kit is deciding on whether you should buy a synthetic or down sleeping bag.

There are literally hundreds of makes and models to choose from but at the end of the day it comes down to the filling. Here you have to be honest with yourself and decide in what circumstances you are going to use the bag.

Synthetic filling will be cheaper; easier to maintain; bulkier and heavier. Down will conversely be more expensive, more compressible and lighter but not so effective if it gets wet. The damp UK woodlands might not be wet enough to cause concern if you use a tarp or tent but you would have to watch out if your bag wasn't in a waterproof stuff sack or if a sudden downpour left you exposed when sleeping without a bivi bag. You might also consider a waterproof stuff sack, particularly if you strap the bag to the outside of your rucksack. If I were going canoe camping on a regular basis, I probably wouldn't consider a down bag.

 

My decision to move from synthetic to down filling was motivated by the need to cut down on bulk and weight. I was reasonably happy with the synthetic filled Nanok -10 bag's performance but I needed a less bulky winter bag.  It was quite long and wide for me in any case, causing a few cold spots. My other down bag, the  British Army '58 pattern bag is great, but despite being down, it weights in at nearly 3kgs and is just too heavy.

As I started to look around I realised that I was getting into a technical mine field of "fill-power" and ratings. The simple explanation for the former is the volume that one ounce of goose or duck down (one of the best insulators known to man) fills a container measured in cubic inches. This is known as "fill power". The higher the number, the better quality of down. Duck down is cheaper than goose down but not so durable.

Good quality down will be around 500 to 600 fill power. A fill power of 600 to 700 is considered excellent. The best fill power available today is 900.

The fill power is also a good indication of how much actual downy feather and quill there is in the down. The higher the number that is given, the more feather and less quill. A lesser number means more quill and less feather. Your bag will be loftier and warmer with a higher fill power.

[Pic - www.facewest.com]

Each manufacturer’s vary in the production of their down. Even a sleeping bag that is tagged “100 percent down” could have up to 15 percent feathers or fibres in it. Regulations state however that any lesser percentage must be given on the label, such as “75/25”. This means that there is 75 percent down, 25 percent feathers.

It's important to check the loft of a sleeping bag. After shaking it the insulation should stay within the baffles or channels of the outer layer of the bag and distribute evenly. The bag should rise like self-raising flour. It's also important to store the bag loosely so that the filling doesn't get squeezed up into one area of the bag and thus lose their insulating properties.

There are a number of ways the quilting or baffles are designed, but generally as long as the filling doesn't cause cold spots by poor manufacturing or just a single layer of quilting, you should be okay. Probably the most standard shape for sleeping bags is the "Mummy" shape. Have a look at the link below to design your own sleeping bag. It's good fun and will help you learn about sleeping bag manufacturing:

http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/dyosleepingbag/

Moisture may get into the bag by the production of moisture from the body which stays in the bag during sleeping. This is known as a vapour layer.  This can be avoided by sleeping in your base-layer or by using a sleeping bag liner to wick away any moisture. Some of the more expensive bags will have a special fabric layer built in.

The next problem is sorting out ratings. Many manufacturers give ratings as to what they think the most appropriate season to use the bag e.g. 1, 2, 3 or 4 season bags. Some give arbitrary "minimal" temperature ratings. There has been an attempt to regulate the ratings by giving them an EN number. This table doesn't make things that much easier and it's still very subjective and used only as a guide:

• Upper Limit - highest temperature at which a standard MAN would have a comfortable nights sleep without sweating.
• Comfort - lowest temperature at which a standard WOMAN would have a comfortable nights sleep, lying on her back and relaxed.
• Lower Limit - lowest temperature at which a standard MAN in a rolled up body posture would have a comfortable nights sleep.
• Extreme - temperature below which a standard WOMAN could expect strong sensation of cold and maybe actual physical injury from cold (e.g. frost bite or hypothermia).

Confused? You bet! Worse than this is that it isn't a legal requirement to provide this information. Nor is it valid for other parts of the world except Europe. Nor does it take into consideration sleeping mat insulation. Nor does it take into account ... well, you know what I mean. The list goes on.

There are a few other considerations that you have to take into consideration when looking at any sort of sleeping bag:

Heavier people sleep warmer than thinner people

Women sleep colder than men

Younger people sleep warmer than older people

Unfit people will sleep colder than fitter people

If you have the heating on in your house during the summer months then buy a warmer bag

Experienced users can get away with less, as they know the tricks of the trade

Eat well, keep hydrated and warm up before you go to bed.

Generate some heat by physical activity before you turn in.

Don't forget that the mat you are sleeping on is a very important part of your sleep system (I'll get onto this in another post).

 

The advice I was given which I followed was to research or ask the manufacturer how they arrived at their ratings. You will then have to guess where you fit into that rating based on who you were (physiologically), what you intended to do and where you intended to camp and when. Not easy but it's worth spending some time doing this to avoid disappointment. Of course, recommendations from other people feature quite highly on the list.

After this exhaustive process, I decided to look at Alpkit's range of sleeping bags. In the next mid-week post, I'll show you why I decided on this Alpkit Skyhigh 800 bag and I'll show you around it.

Down Sleeping Bags

One of the more difficult decisions when splashing out on kit is deciding on whether you should buy a synthetic or down sleeping bag.

There are literally hundreds of makes and models to choose from but at the end of the day it comes down to the filling. Here you have to be honest with yourself and decide in what circumstances you are going to use the bag.

Synthetic filling will be cheaper; easier to maintain; bulkier and heavier. Down will conversely be more expensive, more compressible and lighter but not so effective if it gets wet. The damp UK woodlands might not be wet enough to cause concern if you use a tarp or tent but you would have to watch out if your bag wasn't in a waterproof stuff sack or if a sudden downpour left you exposed when sleeping without a bivi bag. You might also consider a waterproof stuff sack, particularly if you strap the bag to the outside of your rucksack. If I were going canoe camping on a regular basis, I probably wouldn't consider a down bag.

 

My decision to move from synthetic to down filling was motivated by the need to cut down on bulk and weight. I was reasonably happy with the synthetic filled Nanok -10 bag's performance but I needed a less bulky winter bag.  It was quite long and wide for me in any case, causing a few cold spots. My other down bag, the  British Army '58 pattern bag is great, but despite being down, it weights in at nearly 3kgs and is just too heavy.

As I started to look around I realised that I was getting into a technical mine field of "fill-power" and ratings. The simple explanation for the former is the volume that one ounce of goose or duck down (one of the best insulators known to man) fills a container measured in cubic inches. This is known as "fill power". The higher the number, the better quality of down. Duck down is cheaper than goose down but not so durable.

Good quality down will be around 500 to 600 fill power. A fill power of 600 to 700 is considered excellent. The best fill power available today is 900.

The fill power is also a good indication of how much actual downy feather and quill there is in the down. The higher the number that is given, the more feather and less quill. A lesser number means more quill and less feather. Your bag will be loftier and warmer with a higher fill power.

[Pic - www.facewest.com]

Each manufacturer’s vary in the production of their down. Even a sleeping bag that is tagged “100 percent down” could have up to 15 percent feathers or fibres in it. Regulations state however that any lesser percentage must be given on the label, such as “75/25”. This means that there is 75 percent down, 25 percent feathers.

It's important to check the loft of a sleeping bag. After shaking it the insulation should stay within the baffles or channels of the outer layer of the bag and distribute evenly. The bag should rise like self-raising flour. It's also important to store the bag loosely so that the filling doesn't get squeezed up into one area of the bag and thus lose their insulating properties.

There are a number of ways the quilting or baffles are designed, but generally as long as the filling doesn't cause cold spots by poor manufacturing or just a single layer of quilting, you should be okay. Probably the most standard shape for sleeping bags is the "Mummy" shape. Have a look at the link below to design your own sleeping bag. It's good fun and will help you learn about sleeping bag manufacturing:

http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/dyosleepingbag/

Moisture may get into the bag by the production of moisture from the body which stays in the bag during sleeping. This is known as a vapour layer.  This can be avoided by sleeping in your base-layer or by using a sleeping bag liner to wick away any moisture. Some of the more expensive bags will have a special fabric layer built in.

The next problem is sorting out ratings. Many manufacturers give ratings as to what they think the most appropriate season to use the bag e.g. 1, 2, 3 or 4 season bags. Some give arbitrary "minimal" temperature ratings. There has been an attempt to regulate the ratings by giving them an EN number. This table doesn't make things that much easier and it's still very subjective and used only as a guide:

• Upper Limit - highest temperature at which a standard MAN would have a comfortable nights sleep without sweating.
• Comfort - lowest temperature at which a standard WOMAN would have a comfortable nights sleep, lying on her back and relaxed.
• Lower Limit - lowest temperature at which a standard MAN in a rolled up body posture would have a comfortable nights sleep.
• Extreme - temperature below which a standard WOMAN could expect strong sensation of cold and maybe actual physical injury from cold (e.g. frost bite or hypothermia).

Confused? You bet! Worse than this is that it isn't a legal requirement to provide this information. Nor is it valid for other parts of the world except Europe. Nor does it take into consideration sleeping mat insulation. Nor does it take into account ... well, you know what I mean. The list goes on.

There are a few other considerations that you have to take into consideration when looking at any sort of sleeping bag:

Heavier people sleep warmer than thinner people

Women sleep colder than men

Younger people sleep warmer than older people

Unfit people will sleep colder than fitter people

If you have the heating on in your house during the summer months then buy a warmer bag

Experienced users can get away with less, as they know the tricks of the trade

Eat well, keep hydrated and warm up before you go to bed.

Generate some heat by physical activity before you turn in.

Don't forget that the mat you are sleeping on is a very important part of your sleep system (I'll get onto this in another post).

 

The advice I was given which I followed was to research or ask the manufacturer how they arrived at their ratings. You will then have to guess where you fit into that rating based on who you were (physiologically), what you intended to do and where you intended to camp and when. Not easy but it's worth spending some time doing this to avoid disappointment. Of course, recommendations from other people feature quite highly on the list.

After this exhaustive process, I decided to look at Alpkit's range of sleeping bags. In the next mid-week post, I'll show you why I decided on this Alpkit Skyhigh 800 bag and I'll show you around it.

Feeling the Thaw

After a couple of weeks of cold, snowy weather, yesterday saw the temperature rise to 7C. The sun came out to reveal blue sky and it was actually warm sitting in the sun. It was also warm enough to quickly thaw areas where the sun's rays touched the warming earth even as you watched. It was almost as if you could feel the thaw.

I managed to get out only if it was just to crawl and then sit on top of the badger sett for half and hour and view the surrounding fields. The smell of the sett was quite overpowering and I'm sure I could detect the pungent, musky smell of fox as well as badger. The melting snow hadn't revealed too many tracks but I still managed to see some badger tracks. I also noticed some rabbit droppings at the entrance to some of the holes. That makes at least three species of mammals in one sett or den.

My next drop off point was an area of waste ground just outside the local woods. I was forbidden to enter the woods as I had no waterproofing on the cast, so I had to be content with sitting on a small mound just outside. Nevertheless, I had a view of the remnants of a snowy area shaded from the sun and therefore had not yet thawed. I noticed that a hare had passed that way at one time. I also noticed a strange set of tracks that had me puzzled for a bit. It took me a while to realise what they were and I'll leave you to have a guess at it for a couple of days.

I could hear a lot of activity in the woods, but they were mainly the rooks working on their roosts. I did hear a couple of gulls flying over squawking as they went.

 

It was a short and uneventful little outing, but even so I had noticed quite a few things going on without actually seeing anything moving. Of course this is one of the benefits of a sit-spot where you can allow not just your eyes but all your other sensory organs to work in order to collect up anything happening or that has happened around you.

In this respect I had a distinct advantage today over any other day in the past. I've increased my capability in a number of sense  areas. How have I done this? Well, I'll leave that explanation for another day.

Feeling the Thaw

After a couple of weeks of cold, snowy weather, yesterday saw the temperature rise to 7C. The sun came out to reveal blue sky and it was actually warm sitting in the sun. It was also warm enough to quickly thaw areas where the sun's rays touched the warming earth even as you watched. It was almost as if you could feel the thaw.

I managed to get out only if it was just to crawl and then sit on top of the badger sett for half and hour and view the surrounding fields. The smell of the sett was quite overpowering and I'm sure I could detect the pungent, musky smell of fox as well as badger. The melting snow hadn't revealed too many tracks but I still managed to see some badger tracks. I also noticed some rabbit droppings at the entrance to some of the holes. That makes at least three species of mammals in one sett or den.

My next drop off point was an area of waste ground just outside the local woods. I was forbidden to enter the woods as I had no waterproofing on the cast, so I had to be content with sitting on a small mound just outside. Nevertheless, I had a view of the remnants of a snowy area shaded from the sun and therefore had not yet thawed. I noticed that a hare had passed that way at one time. I also noticed a strange set of tracks that had me puzzled for a bit. It took me a while to realise what they were and I'll leave you to have a guess at it for a couple of days.

I could hear a lot of activity in the woods, but they were mainly the rooks working on their roosts. I did hear a couple of gulls flying over squawking as they went.

 

It was a short and uneventful little outing, but even so I had noticed quite a few things going on without actually seeing anything moving. Of course this is one of the benefits of a sit-spot where you can allow not just your eyes but all your other sensory organs to work in order to collect up anything happening or that has happened around you.

In this respect I had a distinct advantage today over any other day in the past. I've increased my capability in a number of sense  areas. How have I done this? Well, I'll leave that explanation for another day.

Imagine

Imagine having an idea. Not just a good idea but an awe inspiring thought or realisation. An idea that will change not just the way we think, but an idea that will challenge the very nature of our existence and cut through to the very heart of our beliefs, which we have held for the last 2000 years.

But at this stage even you have doubts. You are understandably nervous about the implications of this revelation. You sketch out your thoughts and your inquisitive but doubting mind makes you write, "I think" on top of the page.

 

Imagine having this glimmer of an idea and knowing that you now had to prove it. So you begin by gathering your evidence slowly but assuredly amongst all the other things that you have to do, as well as fending off bouts of illness. And you know it will take years - more than twenty years to be a little more precise.

But then somebody tells you that someone else thinks along the same lines. The race is on. You still have doubts but you think that there is no threat to your theory. Do you have enough evidence yet?

At last you allow your thoughts to be shared. Mixed reactions greet your publication many of which are surprisingly positive but there's also lot of scorn, ridicule and contempt. Even old friends are skeptical; some even turn their backs. 

However, slowly but surely, other people produce evidence to back up your ideas and your theory becomes popular eventually becoming completely accepted (by most). In fact 150 years later even one of the few last remnants of disbelievers have no alternative to succumb: 

The Church of England issued an article saying that the 200th anniversary of his birth was a fitting time to apologise to [him] "for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still".

[http://www.cofe.anglican.org/darwin/malcolmbrown.html]

Happy Birthday Mr Darwin! (12th Feb 1809)

Wikipedia article

Complete Works of Darwin on-line

Imagine

Imagine having an idea. Not just a good idea but an awe inspiring thought or realisation. An idea that will change not just the way we think, but an idea that will challenge the very nature of our existence and cut through to the very heart of our beliefs, which we have held for the last 2000 years.

But at this stage even you have doubts. You are understandably nervous about the implications of this revelation. You sketch out your thoughts and your inquisitive but doubting mind makes you write, "I think" on top of the page.

 

Imagine having this glimmer of an idea and knowing that you now had to prove it. So you begin by gathering your evidence slowly but assuredly amongst all the other things that you have to do, as well as fending off bouts of illness. And you know it will take years - more than twenty years to be a little more precise.

But then somebody tells you that someone else thinks along the same lines. The race is on. You still have doubts but you think that there is no threat to your theory. Do you have enough evidence yet?

At last you allow your thoughts to be shared. Mixed reactions greet your publication many of which are surprisingly positive but there's also lot of scorn, ridicule and contempt. Even old friends are skeptical; some even turn their backs. 

However, slowly but surely, other people produce evidence to back up your ideas and your theory becomes popular eventually becoming completely accepted (by most). In fact 150 years later even one of the few last remnants of disbelievers have no alternative to succumb: 

The Church of England issued an article saying that the 200th anniversary of his birth was a fitting time to apologise to [him] "for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still".

[http://www.cofe.anglican.org/darwin/malcolmbrown.html]

Happy Birthday Mr Darwin! (12th Feb 1809)

Wikipedia article

Complete Works of Darwin on-line

No Business Like "Tracking in the Snow" Business

Britain has come to a stand still this last week as snow has enveloped most of the country. Media hype hit again as reports of "chaos" swamped the news channels.

I will merely note that this is the heaviest snowfall for about 18 years, and since last Sunday, we've had about 1 foot of the stuff. I'm not going to get sucked in to the arguments as to why this great nation grinds to a halt when the slightest barrier is put in front of it. Having said that, my armchair observations have noticed a sprinkling of the Dunkirk spirit, and Mrs P poignantly reported that for the first time for along time, she could hear children laughing in the street. 

I managed to snap a couple of pics of the garden for prosperity...

Of course, snow is the tracker's great friend. Fine details of individual tracks may be lost and you may have to rely more on identifying the overall compression shape especially once the track has started to age (or melt). 

Snow will also help you in other ways such as identifying various gaits. When does the walking gait change into trotting and why is it changing? Where is the animal going? Why is it going there? You should also be able to add a few more bits to your jig-saw puzzle on the day-to-day life of the creature you are tracking. This sometimes offers some rewarding "Eureka" moments (like Badgerwatchingman's post). Although you may still never see the completed picture, snow may offer a chance to add a couple more pieces to it.

There was an interesting discovery waiting for me as I was taken to the local fields by Mrs P  last Monday. Unfortunately, it had been snowing all day, so fresh snow fall had covered up the tracks of the previous night.

Nevertheless, I spotted this fox trail (poor quality pics because of the time of day). Nothing unusual about that you might say, but what was unusual (and one I would not have noticed without the snow) was that it came out from a badger sett entrance. The tracks could only have been about 30 minutes old. It really had me scratching my head, but I had to accept what I saw. Now, I've heard of badgers and foxes sharing dens and setts but I never thought it would happen at my local sett. I believe that it's only when food is in contention would things get a bit nasty between the two tenants.

I wish I could have got out of the Land Rover Discovery and studied the tracks more closely. But it was plain to see, that the fox had came out of this lower entrance, wandered up to one of the top sett entrances, walked back down the embankment and trotted along the path parallel with the embankment. He had then crossed the path to go under a fence and into an area where there's a small water reservoir.

I've certainly shed some interesting light on where the foxes are at the moment and also (from looking at the tracks pictured below which were taken yesterday in the melting snow) the route the badgers and foxes take getting from the field where the sett/den is to other areas. In the summer I'll be able to sit at a spot near these tracks and hopefully watch them passing by.