Cold, Cold Camp

After arriving at the yard and being transported by Mark's 'Bush-taxi' I considered the potentially hazardous and undulating final 100 yards into the camp. I needn't have worried. Adam and Mike had built a bridge over the largest ditch for me to step across. With mates like that you just know that you will be in safe hands for the rest of the weekend. I named the bridge 'Pablo's Pass' as a genuine tear came to my eye.

We settled into a routine of collecting wood and sawing it up ready for the cold, cold night that was expected. We discussed how short the days were and how much work you have to do while there was still some daylight to work by. It certainly helps to have a group of people to share the work.

I had brought both hammock/tarp and tipi; but I wanted to try out the tipi in anger. I was still unsure of sleeping on the ground but I had to give it a go. The others' had a mixture of bivi's with tarps and hammocks with one other tipi dweller. No one had a really uncomfortable sleep, but it was only -4C and warm compared with the following night.

On Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast, we had a Woodlife Network AGM as all 5 of the management team happened to be there. We then got stuck into some individual tasks. Mike making a buck saw, Sean having a go at bow-drill, George making a northern shelter, Mark helping everyone out, Ben spoon-making and me trying to make an oil lantern (I'll put up the manufacturing stages later).

Again, we had to prepare copious amounts of wood for the stew and for a long fire for later in the evening.

The stew was a fantastic beef stew and dumplings prepared by Mark and Andy. As the temperature dropped, we discussed different methods of keeping warm. Insulation both in terms of clothing and insulation from the cold ground were the first obvious steps. And of course food and a hot drink. Before we turned in we planned to make hot water bottles from our water containers to pre-heat our sleeping bags. Alcohol probably isn't the best thing to keep warm; nevertheless, a few kuksas full of different substances were passed around.

Every now and again, someone would race up to check the temperature. It was -6C at 8 o'clock and depending were you were on the slope, it plummeted to -10C  later in the evening.

The morning saw the condensation on the inside of my tipi frozen and a thin layer ice on the outside of it. Despite this I felt no ill affects waking only once during the night. My new Alpkit SkyHigh 800 and thermarest provided all the warmth (I'll do a full review later) and apart from the condensation problem, I was pleased with the tipi/sleeping bag combination.

Andy and Maverick had Exped SynMat 7s, which are very worthy considerations for ground-dwellers (although a bit pricey.) George comfortably survived his night in his Northern shelter. In fact nobody felt any ill affects from the cold weather although on this occasion there was little wind chill to take into consideration.

All in all this was another great weekend with great company and a challenging cold weather scenario. Thanks to everybody there for making it a great first post-injury excursion for me.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Cold, Cold Camp

After arriving at the yard and being transported by Mark's 'Bush-taxi' I considered the potentially hazardous and undulating final 100 yards into the camp. I needn't have worried. Adam and Mike had built a bridge over the largest ditch for me to step across. With mates like that you just know that you will be in safe hands for the rest of the weekend. I named the bridge 'Pablo's Pass' as a genuine tear came to my eye.

We settled into a routine of collecting wood and sawing it up ready for the cold, cold night that was expected. We discussed how short the days were and how much work you have to do while there was still some daylight to work by. It certainly helps to have a group of people to share the work.

I had brought both hammock/tarp and tipi; but I wanted to try out the tipi in anger. I was still unsure of sleeping on the ground but I had to give it a go. The others' had a mixture of bivi's with tarps and hammocks with one other tipi dweller. No one had a really uncomfortable sleep, but it was only -4C and warm compared with the following night.

On Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast, we had a Woodlife Network AGM as all 5 of the management team happened to be there. We then got stuck into some individual tasks. Mike making a buck saw, Sean having a go at bow-drill, George making a northern shelter, Mark helping everyone out, Ben spoon-making and me trying to make an oil lantern (I'll put up the manufacturing stages later).

Again, we had to prepare copious amounts of wood for the stew and for a long fire for later in the evening.

The stew was a fantastic beef stew and dumplings prepared by Mark and Andy. As the temperature dropped, we discussed different methods of keeping warm. Insulation both in terms of clothing and insulation from the cold ground were the first obvious steps. And of course food and a hot drink. Before we turned in we planned to make hot water bottles from our water containers to pre-heat our sleeping bags. Alcohol probably isn't the best thing to keep warm; nevertheless, a few kuksas full of different substances were passed around.

Every now and again, someone would race up to check the temperature. It was -6C at 8 o'clock and depending were you were on the slope, it plummeted to -10C  later in the evening.

The morning saw the condensation on the inside of my tipi frozen and a thin layer ice on the outside of it. Despite this I felt no ill affects waking only once during the night. My new Alpkit SkyHigh 800 and thermarest provided all the warmth (I'll do a full review later) and apart from the condensation problem, I was pleased with the tipi/sleeping bag combination.

Andy and Maverick had Exped SynMat 7s, which are very worthy considerations for ground-dwellers (although a bit pricey.) George comfortably survived his night in his Northern shelter. In fact nobody felt any ill affects from the cold weather although on this occasion there was little wind chill to take into consideration.

All in all this was another great weekend with great company and a challenging cold weather scenario. Thanks to everybody there for making it a great first post-injury excursion for me.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

ATI + 61 and Christmas Gifts

What joy! Wonderful! Brilliant! Fantastic! It's gone! That damn cast... gone forever; hopefully!

Things to do when a cast is removed:

1) Have a good scratch

2) Have a 30 minute shower

3) Compare limbs and wonder where the leg muscles went

4) Go for a walk to see if it hurts

 

Things not to do when a cast is removed:

1) Scratch too hard

2) Get in the shower before figuring out a way of getting out of it again

3) Worry about how to get the muscles back

4) Walk too far - 'cos it will inevitably hurt

 

Unbelievably, no supporting bandages and no physio required. In actual fact, I quite happy to complete the rest of the recovery process myself.

Today part of this recovery process involved a 40 minute walk in my new North Face Cedar Ridge hiking boots; a surprise Christmas gift from Mrs P.  ("You won't slip down ditches with those on," said Mrs P on Christmas day. "The man in the shop said so. He also said they are the best ankle supporting boots on the market.") I also got 2 pairs of Brasher 4000 hiking socks and a set of thermals.

The boots certainly did support the ankle extremely well, although I didn't try the ditch for obvious reasons. Although walking stiffly, I felt little or no discomfort. I was also ably assisted by Ashley's (naturalbushcraft) fantastic gift of a Polecat walking pole kindly donated by him during my darkest hours.

So, I hereby declare I'm fit enough for the first meet of the year; a 3 day meet this weekend down at Mark's wood. Temperature is expected to be -2C. A good chance to test out my new Alpkit 800 down bag and those Christmas thermals.

Happy New Year to everyone for Thursday.

Pablo.

ATI + 61 and Christmas Gifts

What joy! Wonderful! Brilliant! Fantastic! It's gone! That damn cast... gone forever; hopefully!

Things to do when a cast is removed:

1) Have a good scratch

2) Have a 30 minute shower

3) Compare limbs and wonder where the leg muscles went

4) Go for a walk to see if it hurts

 

Things not to do when a cast is removed:

1) Scratch too hard

2) Get in the shower before figuring out a way of getting out of it again

3) Worry about how to get the muscles back

4) Walk too far - 'cos it will inevitably hurt

 

Unbelievably, no supporting bandages and no physio required. In actual fact, I quite happy to complete the rest of the recovery process myself.

Today part of this recovery process involved a 40 minute walk in my new North Face Cedar Ridge hiking boots; a surprise Christmas gift from Mrs P.  ("You won't slip down ditches with those on," said Mrs P on Christmas day. "The man in the shop said so. He also said they are the best ankle supporting boots on the market.") I also got 2 pairs of Brasher 4000 hiking socks and a set of thermals.

The boots certainly did support the ankle extremely well, although I didn't try the ditch for obvious reasons. Although walking stiffly, I felt little or no discomfort. I was also ably assisted by Ashley's (naturalbushcraft) fantastic gift of a Polecat walking pole kindly donated by him during my darkest hours.

So, I hereby declare I'm fit enough for the first meet of the year; a 3 day meet this weekend down at Mark's wood. Temperature is expected to be -2C. A good chance to test out my new Alpkit 800 down bag and those Christmas thermals.

Happy New Year to everyone for Thursday.

Pablo.

Calendar 2009

What's in store for 2009? I've just been handed some diary dates by my secretary (ahem) so let's have a look.

We all love a bit of kit (come on, don't deny it) and I've got quite a bit to look at next year including some stuff from Alpkit, a new day sack and a new 70 litre bag (not the one pictured). I'll also be looking at that EKA W11 knife and another little gem I picked up recently. I'm looking at some titanium cooksets as well. I might do these as video reviews. The video reviews seem to be going down well.

I'm going to try and get even closer to wildlife next year. It wasn't bad this year but I felt that I could do better and get even closer. This will mean an even lower profile solo camping technique and lots of patience. I really want to get some good footage and photos.

I've got a really busy tracking year ahead. I'll continue mentoring for Shadowhawk and I'll be doing my advanced tracking course in the summer. Although it seems a long way off, the highlight of next year (and a trip of a lifetime) will be tracking with Max Maxwell in Africa during November. I've got a lot to learn before then.

As usual I'll be trying out new skills. I didn't feel I got too far this year and so next year I'm concentrating on developing the primitive skills side of bushcraft. To start me off I'm flint knapping with John Lord in April and who knows where that will lead.

I hardly did any archery I intend to rectify that during 2009. I also want to get my paws on Rob's Ruger rifle again as well.

I'll probably bore you with another couple of longer article posts. I enjoy looking at a subject that takes my fancy and delving deeply into the what's and wherefore's.

I'll be revealing a little off-shoot project as well. If you look hard enough, you may see the start of it already.

It's too easy to over-extend yourself and there's only disappointment when you don't achieve something, so I'll keep it simple. I'll also have to bear in mind that it will take me a while to get up to full fitness on my ankle.

Of course there's the meets. Every second month I'll be going down to East Sussex with The Tribe and hopefully Mark's meets in Reading will still be going. They're great fun and you learn so much and err... drink a bit too!

So that will be 2009.

It only remains for me to say have a great holiday and Season's Greetings to you and your families.  Have a very happy and safe New Year and I hope you continue to follow me on my adventures in the new year.

All the best for now,

Pablo.

Calendar 2009

What's in store for 2009? I've just been handed some diary dates by my secretary (ahem) so let's have a look.

We all love a bit of kit (come on, don't deny it) and I've got quite a bit to look at next year including some stuff from Alpkit, a new day sack and a new 70 litre bag (not the one pictured). I'll also be looking at that EKA W11 knife and another little gem I picked up recently. I'm looking at some titanium cooksets as well. I might do these as video reviews. The video reviews seem to be going down well.

I'm going to try and get even closer to wildlife next year. It wasn't bad this year but I felt that I could do better and get even closer. This will mean an even lower profile solo camping technique and lots of patience. I really want to get some good footage and photos.

I've got a really busy tracking year ahead. I'll continue mentoring for Shadowhawk and I'll be doing my advanced tracking course in the summer. Although it seems a long way off, the highlight of next year (and a trip of a lifetime) will be tracking with Max Maxwell in Africa during November. I've got a lot to learn before then.

As usual I'll be trying out new skills. I didn't feel I got too far this year and so next year I'm concentrating on developing the primitive skills side of bushcraft. To start me off I'm flint knapping with John Lord in April and who knows where that will lead.

I hardly did any archery I intend to rectify that during 2009. I also want to get my paws on Rob's Ruger rifle again as well.

I'll probably bore you with another couple of longer article posts. I enjoy looking at a subject that takes my fancy and delving deeply into the what's and wherefore's.

I'll be revealing a little off-shoot project as well. If you look hard enough, you may see the start of it already.

It's too easy to over-extend yourself and there's only disappointment when you don't achieve something, so I'll keep it simple. I'll also have to bear in mind that it will take me a while to get up to full fitness on my ankle.

Of course there's the meets. Every second month I'll be going down to East Sussex with The Tribe and hopefully Mark's meets in Reading will still be going. They're great fun and you learn so much and err... drink a bit too!

So that will be 2009.

It only remains for me to say have a great holiday and Season's Greetings to you and your families.  Have a very happy and safe New Year and I hope you continue to follow me on my adventures in the new year.

All the best for now,

Pablo.

ATI + 52 and a Walk in the Woods

This is the conversation that took place between Pablo and his team of eminent physicians at the hospital last Monday.

Dr - So, it's been 4 weeks now in a cast.

Pablo - It's been 6 weeks.

Dr - Oh, right. Let me see (consults notes). Ah, yes - 6 weeks. So we're going to put on another cast after repositioning the foot.

Pablo - No, we're taking the cast off and putting on a heal raise.

Dr - Well, it's a bit soon.

Pablo - I was told 2 weeks ago by the plaster technician to bring my other shoe and a heal raise.

Dr - It seems there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - Really?

Dr - Yes.

Pablo - Perhaps that accounts for me attending here in week two and being told I need not have come.

Dr - Well, it does appear that there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - I would suggest you never work in the Cardiology department.

No response.

[Pablo then hobbles to see the plaster technician]

PT - OK, we're leaving this cast on for another two weeks.

Pablo - No, we're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

PT - Oh... right. I'd better check with the doctor.

Pablo - Yes. You'd better check with the doctor.

[Plaster technician returns after 5 minutes]

PT - Right. We're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

Pablo - Excellent. I thought you might. By the way, what shall I do with the heal raise you told me to bring last time.

PT - Well, it does seem you've had a bit of bad luck with the dates.

Pablo - Yes. Bad luck really does follow me around in this hospital. I'm not too sure why.

PT - There we go. All done. See you in two weeks with the heal raise.

Pablo - Are you sure?

Despite yet another set back and a couple of day's pain after repositioning the foot, I took advantage of today's fine weather and walked further than I have in the last 7 weeks - but of course, keeping to the solid paths of the Forestry Commission's Broaks Wood.

Bill (who's staying with us for a while) and Mrs P. had great fun galloping ahead then doubling back while I advanced slowly to catch them up. I really must get Billy a camo jacket.

My new "tracking shoe" helped me keep my foot level to the ground and stopped the cast getting wet and muddy. Hiking socks kept the cold air off my delicate toes.

It felt great walking some distance even if I did have to rely heavily on my walking stick - the crutches were thankfully discarded on this occasion. There appeared to be no painful after effects from the exercise.

On this day of the winter solstice I took in the quiet, sleeping woods and looked forward to the time when they would awake. With any luck, I'd be there when they did.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.