Realise the weather is going to be “spankin good”, I was going to have to carry my extra clothes instead of wearing them, now i have a dilemma, unpack again and repack in old 90litre or sling them in another bag (hmm) time for a rookie mistake, extra bag it is. :)
07-04-11
Up early feeling a bit too excited for someone my age, don my green hat and drop kids off at school now its time for BUSHCRAFT SCHOOL, (well that's what it feels like), on the way to meet up with P De Fitter I have to stop off to get some food for the overnighter, at this point I have to say thanks to Mr D’s new video couscous and precooked sausage product, and now dilemma 2 evening beverage (I wont mention the brand) but I do feel slightly embarrassed.
Anyway lets leave that behind and skip to meeting, I arrived at the arranged car park stuck around for a bit and arrives a guy with a green hat, “hello” hand shake, blah blah blah, man in green hat, “I need an axe”.
Now this could be the start of an odd conversation if I was awaiting for anything else, into the shop looking and man with a green hat (who I'm sure you have realised now is aforementioned P De Fitter), and we find a Fiskars (ooh).
Follow PDF to a car park (which he tells me when we arrive, is renowned for another reason, don't ask), get our packs on (please refer to rookie error No1) bit cumbersome with extra bag but still manageable, and we begin to walk through the woods, as I walk I realise that this is something I used to do with my Nan, a memory I had all but forgotten, perhaps she was preparing me.
I notice an ants nest and its a whopper about 3 or 4 feet across, then another that puts it to shame, the sound of millions of ants moving in unison for the good of the colony could be described as fizzing (and is almost deafening when you notice it). PDF recommends don't stand on them when you stop, silly advise you may think but I can see it would be easy to do if you were not paying attention (and sod that). Then as we walk further a sea of white star shaped flowers moving slightly in the breeze carpeting the floor this was defiantly a stop and gasp moment (I hope PDF adds the photo he took).
We look for the camp that he was hoping to use “its near a Holly tree” according to PDF, now I cant see any PDF points out 3 (d'oh!)
apparently I literally cant see the trees for the wood (always knew I was a bit backwards. We stop by a stream, and Mr De Fitter points it out on a map showing where we are (this is almost like magic) and have a hunt around (PDF later tells me its called a scout around) still not finding the camp and we come across some holes in the ground, PDF says they are all made by GIANT ants
(hehe) before looking around and finding rabbit droppings (stupid me, did not think to look for that).As we continue to look for camp we find another likely looking place and decide to use this place, with trees about 4 paces wide.
PDF recommends putting up the tarp first this advice makes sense, (I have watched many YouTube vids and although they show how to put these thing up very few tell you the order and give a good reason), very glad I have been practising knots now (all learned in the last month or so from a Collins Gem Knots book, and more vids on YouTube), he then hands me some straps for the hammock (found in his Bushcraft HQ).
Once camp is set up PDF gets out a bright orange bag and straps it high in a tree, and we walk back to the stream and collect some in a canteen, on the way back to camp (not far away) I cant find the camp until he points out the bag I would not have seen it without that, and we were very close by then.
Back at the camp we stop for a Brew (tea is good).
PDF then suggests we have a “scout around” and I look for my compass (ready for this) schoolboy error No3, I cant find it (grr). PDF explains how to use the map and compass (and also thanks iron core and science) using his own and we scout to the east and north (oddly enough we found trees).
When we got back to camp I was all but ready to sit and relax, PDF asks “what else is needed”, I reply “?” could have been schoolboy error No4 “wood” says PDF, and back comes my energy and off we go lots around and PDF gets excited when he kisses it (what an odd fellow), he then tells me to do the same (yeah right) but with nothing to loose I do, it was very dry (must remember that one). As some of the logs we had collected were quite long I was expecting some sawing, PDF grabs some of them and goes to a forked tree and promptly snaps them into manageable chunks and I follow suit and in short order we have a goodly sized pile.
Now its time for a late lunch and another brew (tea is always good).
Then we scout to the west as we look around we come across PDF's other camp and he shows me around, even I can see it has potential, but the other camp is well on the way to being ready.
So we go back to the new camp, PDF suggests that we make some bushcraft items, a bushcraf crapper and a pot holder, now I am sure I have watched vids of these but for the life of me cant remember how they are made, thankfully PDF had the patience to show me.
I mentioned that I wanted to make a spoon, and went to get a piece of birch of the dimensions he recommended collected some from the ground and it was punkey (without a Mohawk in site), PDF then showed me how to collect the right size piece, and once I started he then told me “you wont be able to put that down till its finished”
As the sun was getting lower we thought we should get some water for the evening, by this time I had managed to correct schoolboy error No3 and found my compass in a different pocket of my bag(not knowing where things are in my pack supersedes this and am sure you will agree, becomes No3). PDF tries to work out how long till sunset
using his fingers as a measure (will come back to this), using my compass went south to the stream 
and followed it until I found a part flowing fast enough and filled up the bag with water, (oh I forgot to mention I was using PDF's dry bag to collect the water) worked a treat by the way. And found my way back to camp using my compass (woop woop) was so excited I wanted to jump around (bloody hell, how old am I).(Still attempting to work out sunset), fire time, first attempt birch bark, fire steel (strike strike strike) hmm not working, PDF gives me yet more knowledge and show me how to collect the papery birch bark, fire steel (strike) and FIRE (awesome).
Time for more food and tea (oh yeah, more tea)
, (now time for PDF's first schoolboy, well actually second remember we could not find his other camp), he thought his rice was just add water, did not realise it needed boiling for 20 mins.Once the sun was down I continued whittling the spoon
(again he was right, could not put it down), I then had my first evening beverage and we chatted by the fire the into the night.Getting into the hammock was easy and much more comfortable than I would have expected, I woke a couple of times and could hear PDF snoring both times I thought I will never drop back off with that noise (seconds later Zzz).
08-04-11
I woke at 08:30 (never usually sleep that late), my hammock had sagged just enough for my backside to be touching the floor (must get it taught next time, hate to think what it would be like if the ground was wet).
Got up and thought about breakfast, PDF supplied porridge in a zip lock bag, and used my hobo stove
for the first time (took a while to get the fire going, note to self need to make some alterations, more air holes), now I don't eat porridge but have realised it is the food of champions when out.Then pack up my kit, (schoolboy error No5 now) could not repack it the way it went in, I obviously need more practice at this.
Slung my stuff back on and began the walk back to my car, it seemed much longer going back, and things that should have been obvious points for me to recognise (like a bloody main road) I did not remember.
Back at the car I thanked PDF again for a wicked time and left.
On the way home my I switched my phone back on and had a message from my wife asking me to ring her as soon as I got this message, I of course being a good husband rang her (it turns out her my father-in-law had wound her up with stories).
Anyway thought I would just add a few extra bits:
Lessons Learnt:
Don't stand on ants nests
Use birch bark (especially paper stuff)
Adaptability with kit (using dry bag for water)
A bright object in trees to find camp (although with practice this may become redundant)
Tarp then hammock to set up
Hammock then Tarp to break camp
Using a compass and map (although still not confident, at least I have some idea)
Making a pot holder
Making a bushcraft crapper (although I did wait till I got home)
Making a wooden spoon
Know you pack
Always look back at where you have come from if you want to go back
Fingers and sunsets (er) 15, 30 of 20 mins ?
Unused Kit
Emergency shelter and emergency blanket
Candle
No12 Opinel knife
First aid kit
Poncho
Tent pegs
Bag for life
(these last two items I will ditch)
Extra Kit (I would like)
Mosquito net
Crook knife (used Paul's for making spoon)
Axe
Sharpening stone (portable)
(and loads more)
Thanks for your time Bushcraft Folks
HatMan (Level Up-Bushcraft Novice)
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