The weekend's weather couldn't have been more perfect. I arrived at about 1.30pm at Mark's wood in Reading. The mile walk in was really pleasant and I stopped off to admire the still lake, which was on the way. I was pleased to reach the cool of the woods after a sweaty hike across the field leading from the lake.
The usual camp set up took place as the parachute was hoisted and King John's base-camp equipment was unloaded. We might laugh about the stuff he brings, but we're always grateful for the facilities and of course the camp kitchen producing the culinary delights of Saturday evening's meal. Did I imagine seeing a portable oven? No. There's definitely one sitting next to the washing up bowl!
As usual I set up the hammock and tarp on the slopes. The only change on this excursion was the choice of the heavier Nanock sleeping bag for the chillier nights. Later, we had a good chat about these bags and came to the conclusion they are bulky, heavy and not particularly efficient. I think a couple of us will be knocking on Alpkit's door before the winter sets in.
It was surprising how much quicker the darkness fell compared to the last time I was here. You have to work that much quicker to prepare the fire prior to dusk falling. The evening went racing past as we caught up, shared stories and drank a few (ahem) beers and brandies.
Despite a late start the next morning, there was still a slight mist, which gave a wonderful atmosphere to the wood. After a well needed fry up, Mark took us 'shrooming for a couple of hours where we identified a number of edible mushrooms - Amethyst deceiver, Spiny puffball, Bovine bolete, Penny bun and the excellent Chanterelle (pictured below).
At a rest stop near a small pond we spotted a pair of Emperor dragonflies and this Banded-demoiselle.
The afternoon was spent carrying up and chopping the fire wood collected from the Forestry yard, prepping the evening's meal and foraging in the small valley for willow to make Andy's bow drill hearth board. On the way I came across some Roe tracks and found a large Common frog.
The meal was, as usual, an excellent and extravagant affair created by Rich and John. A leg of Roe was cubed and fried up in red wine and onions with celery and carrots added later to make a venison stew. Potatoes were mashed up with cream, butter and garlic. This was finished off by Strawberry trifle for desert. Strawberry trifle?! Oh yes indeed. Base camp catering at its best! Well, anyone can be uncomfortable!
While the meal was cooking, Andy successfully tried out his new bow drill set up. The willow hearth worked well, but only when a lot more downward pressure had been applied on the thicker than normal spindle. The result was a fine glowing ember.
Estelle, who joined the group as John's guest, tried out flint and steel on charcloth. She was delighted with her success as some dried bracken burst into flames (Picture is a still from the video)
Bob built an interesting chair to follow in the mould of the other crafted chairs, which have become the trademark of Mark's site. He followed the design of putting two Roycroft pack frames together and added a number of horizontal branches to make a seat. His recent attendance on a Mors Kochanski course taught him how to do the lashings. The result was an ingenious, comfortable and stable seat.
And what did yours truly do? Well, I was slaving behind the video camera recording what went on of course. A full high definition account of this will be available next week once I've edited the two hours of footage down to fifteen minutes! Tough job, but someone had to do it!
Again dusk fell and another fine evening was spent around the fire; the conversation and banter was inter-dispersed with Mark's haunting Native American flute melodies.
The morning found Andy, Steve and I looking over the fields to some Roe deer browsing by the wood edge that Steve had spotted. We decided to stalk up to them and managed to get quite close at about 30 yards. I might have got even closer but I wanted some video shots that stopped me getting down to a crawl. I don't often see Roe and it was great to get this close even though I was inevitably spotted. (Picture is a still from the video)
Time went around quickly and all too soon it was time to pack up. The camp kitchen was loaded up onto John's truck as was our rucksacks and we walked out of the site across the fields and back to the Forestry yard with the warm sun on our backs.
This was a fantastic weekend and thanks to everyone there who made it like it was.
Pablo.
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