Woodland Base-Camp - 3

 

Another visit to the base-camp today allowed some more work on the site, though it turned out to be a wet day in the end, and I got soaked getting home, as did poor old Sam (who is not at all keen on the wet). But firstly I would like to look at the backpack again, because I have some things to say on this which I hope will help others. This is why it pays to get out and about with a rucksack.

As you can see I have made slight changes, adding another bottle-holder to the side of the pack. I thus carried three water-bottles, which makes for quite a bit of weight since these are the heaviest parts of a backpack. I bought the side-pouch (or shoulder-pouch) and a new stainless-steel bottle, since this can be used on its own, or it can be attached to the rucksack. 

Whilst going to the woodland it was noticeable that the water-bottles and cooking-pot were rather uncomfortable, being at the back of the pack, so on the way back I padded these with some of the tarp-equipment etc. This seemed to do the trick as I did not notice any discomfort on the way back. This has to be considered when backpacking or trekking, since discomfort is the last thing you would want on a long trip. This is yet another reason to get out and do this regularly, since you need to know comfortable the rucksack is in use - when packed right. This is something that many 'Bug-Out Bag' videos do not mention, but it is one of the most important things to consider. I would certainly look for a better quality rucksack in time, and one with better features since there are certain better designs than mine -

• The back of the pack is padded, but it is not as much as I would like; it was not a dear pack, hence the short-fallings.
• The best type of waistband is one that is wide and padded, mine is not, and this does make for less comfort.
• I had to add shoulder-straps since the backpack did not have them, which is a must for comfort. 

However, even though I point out these drawbacks, this backpack is quite comfortable, and it does not feel that heavy, except when moving through the denser parts of the woodland which is always awkward whatever you are carrying. Enough of the rucksack.

The first thing I did was to put an extra log on each of the sides, and two logs on the rear of the shelter. This helps to protect from the elements, though this can be bettered in time. As you can see I have put the tarp up much the same way, with some minor adjustments. It is pretty taught and now easy to put up without any problems. This is the aim here, to be able to get to the site and put the tarp on straight away, thus making it easy to shelter if it rains - which it did today. 

This time I did not light the fire with cotton-wool and the ferro-rod; I lit it with a Zippo Lighter, lighting the eco fire-lighter rather than the cotton wool. Again, I do not see the point in using a ferro-rod over and over again and wearing it out when you can use a lighter and merely refill each time, and be able to get fuel as you go along. This saves on cotton-wool too, and it was a bit damp today so finding dry tinder would have been hard - and taking it with me saves time looking for tinder, which can be done at any time. 

I boiled a pot of water for a coffee, using the two metal bars used last time I went over. This is the easiest and safest way to do this, and I find also that using small twigs on the fire and a lot of flames helps speed the boiling up. 

I use a stainless-steel cup which is not blackened because It has not been used to boil the water over the flames. The lid is from the other pot set, but it fits the cup exactly. It is useful to carry such sets because if needed I could use the cup, or even one of the stainless-steel water-bottles to boil over the fire. The 'Teacher's Whisky' bottle is a miniature someone kindly gave me, and I used it in the coffee - a doctor once told my mother that whisky helps to thin the blood down, so this is, of course, for medicinal purposes only. 

One improvement that may well be made is to create a Fire-Reflector at the front of the fire, which would push the heat back into the shelter. As yet I have not come across the larger tarp that I think I kept, but when this is found the shelter will be extended over the front, making it warmer I would think. You can feel the warmer middle part of the shelter because the fire is at this point, a longer fire would warm the whole thing. 

I have cut off all of the dead lower branches of the small pine-trees so that it makes it far easier to get around the camp-area. Using a fire regularly also uses up much of the waste wood lying around, and gradually clears the area for the future. 

As I said before, this is a temporary base-camp which is being set up to make it easier to build something a bit stronger and better over a period of time. There is plenty of potential here for finding a suitable place to build another nearby, and use this whilst doing so.