Live from Hells kitchen

[nat110732]

Well here we are in the shadow of a hill, in the damp peak district.
Sapper and I are currently roasting fresh, line caught sangers over our campfire!
It has just stopped raining, thankfully aswe had a good old downpour for about an hour!
Our fire is roaring nicely and the brandy is flowing!
Keep you all posted
Nat

Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

[m0txr]

Sounds great, sangers, brandy, sat round the fire. Have a great trip lads.

[Fletching]

Jealous. :)

Sent from my Sinclair ZX Spectrum

[AL...]

Me too!!

Cheers
AL

[Roadkillphil]

Sounds ansum fellas! :D


Jealous. :)

Sent from my Sinclair ZX Spectrum

Haha!! That'll keep me chuckling all mornin :D

Sent from my Atari Pong Console

[happybonzo]

You should have had these to make Sapper feel that it just like old times - http://www.rosspa.co.uk/westlers-sausages-in-lard-380g-p-2808.html

[GwersyllaCnau]

Hope the rest of your trip goes well and have fun.

[Silverback]

You should have had these to make Sapper feel that it just like old times - http://www.rosspa.co.uk/westlers-sausages-in-lard-380g-p-2808.html

compo sausage......!!

[Silverback]

Well all Nat and I are back from our quick, sneaky overnighter. The purpose of the trip was to test kit mods and the like and the conditions certainly lent themselves to that, up here in the Peak we have had 20 days near continuous rainfall, localised flooding and flood alerts in place....

Last night the rain stayed off for the hour it took us to set up camp and start to collect firewood. The wood was damp at best and the prospects of a decent fire didnt loom large. We decided to have a communal cooking / seating area away from the bedrooms so we could sit under cover and shoot the breeze, a good idea because the heavens opened just as we got the fire going and it rained constantly till around 2330. The fire started really easily actually, i put it down to using the TFF method, thats Tampon, Fat pine and Firesteel ;).

Last night i tested my Swedish snow smock proofed with fabsil which worked a treat, very versatile garment and tough enough to stand up to the rigours of bushcrafting, and cheap enough not to worry about getting dirty. The wool smock my mrs made me kept me toasty, and dry wicking sweat very well and the Poncho liner underblanket mod worked better than id hoped with a few tweaks it will be perfect.

The bonus of the night was being presented with a nice shiny 'Apache' stove made for me by Nat (THANKS PAL !!) which I will be testing forthwith on a multi day trip we have been planning.

Cracking night sat round the fire cooking freshly snared sangers on the fire and enjoying a favourite tipple, single malt for me Nat was on the brandy. Woke at 0500 to the sound of curlews, red grouse, robins all the bird life bursting into song, we breakfasted and cleared camp by 0700, long before anyone elses feet touched the ground..and when they did they may see only a vague footprint that we left behind.....propper job !!

[Silverback]

as the title says.....

4450 My Ikea stove and pop can burner in action

4451 Nat's 'Apache' stove on the go with a tatonka burner

4452 Camp ?

4453 What camp ?

4454 Fire? What Fire ? The wriggly tin sheet was already there

[alvino78]

awesome fella!!! bushcraft as it should be, lovely spaced woods which forrest you in?T^

[Silverback]

awesome fella!!! bushcraft as it should be, lovely spaced woods which forrest you in?T^

Not in a forest, just a nice handy bit of woodland with a stream below and out of sight of passing walkers etc near some of the most rugged and barren parts of the Dark Peak

[m0txr]

Great pics and post, thanks for sharing it.

[AL...]

Great write up and pic's
Thanks for sharing

Cheers
AL

[Kernowek Scouser]

Looks like you had fun, nice one T^

[Roadkillphil]

Nice one chaps! Enjoyed reading this :D Thanks for sharing :D

[GwersyllaCnau]

loved the write up, now I'm jealous, got to book a night of work VERY soon.

[nat110732]

Well here I am, slogging away at work, with the damp chill of friday night/saturday morning a hot bath-warm bed behind me!
Sapper and I had arranged a swift night out to test some kit mods and blow off some steam, so it was into 'Sharon' the trusty VW sharan and up the M1 a few junctions(lesson #1- stay off M1 northbound between J26 and J32 on friday afternoons!!)
First dilemma was the toons for the journey, was it to be Christy Moores' 'Smoke and strong whiskey' or Levellers 'levelling the land'.....mmmm? Levellers won this time but it was close! So head-nodding and dashboard-drumming I headed into the rain....
Both the rain and the traffic eased past J32 and it was soon a left turn and into 'them thar heeyuls', all the time wondering what important item of kit was still at home on the dining table, ah well whatever it turns out to be, I'll have to do without it!
I was soon at the RV in the shadow of a big 'ill, the rain having stopped and perched me self on a huge style, still humming 'the boatman' and soaking up the view....
Sapper was soon on the scene and off we went into 'said view'....
After a short hike down into the clough we arrived at the site, its off the beaten track and we had used it for a previous night out. Hammocky trees were selected and we tied up. Having krab-modded my hammock the week previous I was eager to put it through its paces(lesson #2- make sure you have enough webbing to reach round your hammocky trees!) I had to use some 8mm climbing rope as the webbing was too short to reach round the trees!!
I had decided to pack my tarp already threaded through the ridgeline hoops and I must admit it did save time as we were now feeling the odd spot of rain. I also put up a kit line to hang up my waterproofs and car key, just above the hammock.
By this time we were both ready for a brew and some nosebag so it was out with the stoves and whilst my trusty tatonka was doing the business with some council-wine, it was firewood time....
To say it was damp is a bit of an understatement, all the fallen deadwood was soaked but there was enough standing deadwood, still very damp tho! The TFF method served sapper well as after a few strokes of the firesteel the tampon and fatwood were alight, flame on! Out with sachet of kenco 3in1 and on with some more council-wine for Bachelors quick-cook-dried-pasta-n-sauce-thingy. Meanwhile sapper was busying himself with fresh-ground coffee, fresh pasta with meatballs and sauce, cooked in his zebra over the fire!(Always has to go one better lol)
With dinner served we sat under onther tarp next to fire, chowed down while trying to identify the bird song( what was that bird? Sounds like its laughing! At us probably!)....
The rain decided to grace us with its full presence and I anxiously checked my hammock for water..so far so good I thought! We chewed the fat and put the world to more rights, poked the fire, toasted sangers on sappers sanger-toaster-gizmo(*note to self-buy sanger-toasting gizmo*) and sipped our finery, purely for medicinal purposes I tell you! We had found a piece of corrugated sheet that was just pefect for a fire shield/heat reflector and as the flames died down it was time for bed..er...hammock!
With a rollmat under the DD and wool blanket over my sleeping bag I sure was toasty and soon in dreamland.....
Its funny when you first wake up, slightly confused and very cold, how long it takes to realise that lesson#3 is not far away!(Lesson3#-when using 8mm climbing rope *ALWAYS* make sure that its tied tightly around the tree so that it simply won't roll down the trunk while you toss n turn n fidget in your sleep thus transforming your hammock into a bivvy)...
As I opened my eyes, I thought to myself, 'that's wierd! I can see the floor and I'm on the floor!..wierd! ...mmm...somethings amiss!' Yup, I was on the dogshelf! But the DD is waterfroof and the mat thermal so all was not bad!( Had I just invented a new cross-discipline genre-bivvy-hammocking for people with Vertigo!) So after some scratching n shivering we got a brew on, as amazingly the embers were still glowing and listened to some more bird-laughs! We stuck camp and were away by 7am...
All in all, we had a cracking night, bit on the moist side but hey ho! I think I have learned some valuable lessons which were probably best learned through choice than necessity and I think, in all seriousness its good to test your kit in less than perfect conditions sometimes cos one day you may not have a choice..
Till next time

Nat;)

Ps pics to follow as tapping this out via tappy-talky-thingy on a tiny BB screen and I've now got eyes like the proverbial 'w****ing-jap-sniper'!!


Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

[alvino78]

sounds a great camp! here's to the next!!T^

[nat110732]

4478
we were in there

[Silverback]

4478
we were in there


.............ish ;)

[nat110732]

4479
camp 'hells kitchen'
4480
cot prior lesson#3!
4481
sapper executing TFF
4482
weather approaching!!

[nat110732]

.............ish ;)

yes vaguely ish, there-abouts...

[comanighttrain]

Excellent mate that looks fantastic... even the rain.... excellent to relax in shelter during the rain

[Silverback]

4481
sapper executing TFF



Tactical Field Firelighting ;) Swedish smock looks good Im well pleased with it

[Hushwing]

as the title says.....

Camp ?

What camp ?

Fire? What Fire ? The wriggly tin sheet was already there

Without any want to sound condescending, and also acknowledging that Leave no Trace is one of the main ethe (plural of ethos - had to look it up!! :-) ) can I say how impressed I'm with your post camp cleanup. Really.
I spent 15 years (plus many years before that unofficially with my Ranger dad) working at the lochs of the Trossachs and Loch Lomond and having to deal on a daily basis with folk who shouldn't be let out their front door let alone into the 'wilds' of the Central belt of Scotland - our challenge was mainly litter, burnt and abused living trees and abandoned £10-20 tents - and the associated alcohol related problems. So it is a great pleasure to look at a scene during and after, and think the during-camp was pretty good and under control, and the post-camp was fantastic. You've renewed my faith that folk can go out, have a good time (subject to the rain, etc!) and then leave the site spotless. Well done - you'd be welcome anytime in this part of the world (and anywhere else for that). Thanks.

[Silverback]

Without any want to sound condescending, and also acknowledging that Leave no Trace is one of the main ethe (plural of ethos - had to look it up!! :-) ) can I say how impressed I'm with your post camp cleanup. Really.
I spent 15 years (plus many years before that unofficially with my Ranger dad) working at the lochs of the Trossachs and Loch Lomond and having to deal on a daily basis with folk who shouldn't be let out their front door let alone into the 'wilds' of the Central belt of Scotland - our challenge was mainly litter, burnt and abused living trees and abandoned £10-20 tents - and the associated alcohol related problems. So it is a great pleasure to look at a scene during and after, and think the during-camp was pretty good and under control, and the post-camp was fantastic. You've renewed my faith that folk can go out, have a good time (subject to the rain, etc!) and then leave the site spotless. Well done - you'd be welcome anytime in this part of the world (and anywhere else for that). Thanks.

We have the same problem in our part of the country & we regularly remove others rubbish as well as what we carried in. It really boils my pee when people leave rubbish and in particular glass around. Some already know that I'm a dog handler and have already had to claim on insurance and have the dog off the call out list for 6 weeks due to a severed tendon caused by broken glass. That personal effect aside then theres the damage it does to the flora and fauna

[CanadianMike]

Well here I am, slogging away at work, with the damp chill of friday night/saturday morning a hot bath-warm bed behind me!
Sapper and I had arranged a swift night out to test some kit mods and blow off some steam, so it was into 'Sharon' the trusty VW sharan and up the M1 a few junctions(lesson #1- stay off M1 northbound between J26 and J32 on friday afternoons!!)
First dilemma was the toons for the journey, was it to be Christy Moores' 'Smoke and strong whiskey' or Levellers 'levelling the land'.....mmmm? Levellers won this time but it was close! So head-nodding and dashboard-drumming I headed into the rain....
Both the rain and the traffic eased past J32 and it was soon a left turn and into 'them thar heeyuls', all the time wondering what important item of kit was still at home on the dining table, ah well whatever it turns out to be, I'll have to do without it!
I was soon at the RV in the shadow of a big 'ill, the rain having stopped and perched me self on a huge style, still humming 'the boatman' and soaking up the view....
Sapper was soon on the scene and off we went into 'said view'....
After a short hike down into the clough we arrived at the site, its off the beaten track and we had used it for a previous night out. Hammocky trees were selected and we tied up. Having krab-modded my hammock the week previous I was eager to put it through its paces(lesson #2- make sure you have enough webbing to reach round your hammocky trees!) I had to use some 8mm climbing rope as the webbing was too short to reach round the trees!!
I had decided to pack my tarp already threaded through the ridgeline hoops and I must admit it did save time as we were now feeling the odd spot of rain. I also put up a kit line to hang up my waterproofs and car key, just above the hammock.
By this time we were both ready for a brew and some nosebag so it was out with the stoves and whilst my trusty tatonka was doing the business with some council-wine, it was firewood time....
To say it was damp is a bit of an understatement, all the fallen deadwood was soaked but there was enough standing deadwood, still very damp tho! The TFF method served sapper well as after a few strokes of the firesteel the tampon and fatwood were alight, flame on! Out with sachet of kenco 3in1 and on with some more council-wine for Bachelors quick-cook-dried-pasta-n-sauce-thingy. Meanwhile sapper was busying himself with fresh-ground coffee, fresh pasta with meatballs and sauce, cooked in his zebra over the fire!(Always has to go one better lol)
With dinner served we sat under onther tarp next to fire, chowed down while trying to identify the bird song( what was that bird? Sounds like its laughing! At us probably!)....
The rain decided to grace us with its full presence and I anxiously checked my hammock for water..so far so good I thought! We chewed the fat and put the world to more rights, poked the fire, toasted sangers on sappers sanger-toaster-gizmo(*note to self-buy sanger-toasting gizmo*) and sipped our finery, purely for medicinal purposes I tell you! We had found a piece of corrugated sheet that was just pefect for a fire shield/heat reflector and as the flames died down it was time for bed..er...hammock!
With a rollmat under the DD and wool blanket over my sleeping bag I sure was toasty and soon in dreamland.....
Its funny when you first wake up, slightly confused and very cold, how long it takes to realise that lesson#3 is not far away!(Lesson3#-when using 8mm climbing rope *ALWAYS* make sure that its tied tightly around the tree so that it simply won't roll down the trunk while you toss n turn n fidget in your sleep thus transforming your hammock into a bivvy)...
As I opened my eyes, I thought to myself, 'that's wierd! I can see the floor and I'm on the floor!..wierd! ...mmm...somethings amiss!' Yup, I was on the dogshelf! But the DD is waterfroof and the mat thermal so all was not bad!( Had I just invented a new cross-discipline genre-bivvy-hammocking for people with Vertigo!) So after some scratching n shivering we got a brew on, as amazingly the embers were still glowing and listened to some more bird-laughs! We stuck camp and were away by 7am...
All in all, we had a cracking night, bit on the moist side but hey ho! I think I have learned some valuable lessons which were probably best learned through choice than necessity and I think, in all seriousness its good to test your kit in less than perfect conditions sometimes cos one day you may not have a choice..
Till next time

Nat;)

Ps pics to follow as tapping this out via tappy-talky-thingy on a tiny BB screen and I've now got eyes like the proverbial 'w****ing-jap-sniper'!!


Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

Wow, impressive amount of typing from a Blackberry!!! Kudos for that alone! But glad you had a great night, can't wait to get out camping soon, later this month it looks like, on an island in the middle of a gorgeous lake, loaded with walleye!

[nat110732]

We have the same problem in our part of the country & we regularly remove others rubbish as well as what we carried in. It really boils my pee when people leave rubbish and in particular glass around. Some already know that I'm a dog handler and have already had to claim on insurance and have the dog off the call out list for 6 weeks due to a severed tendon caused by broken glass. That personal effect aside then theres the damage it does to the flora and fauna
Same here!
We took the dogs out a few weeks back, pre monsoon season, and collected 'FOUR' bags of empty beer bottles from 'an area of scientific interest' near us!
not content with leavind all their s**t everywhere they had also trashed some young trees and set fire to plastic bottles, making an absolutely horrendous mess!!
:guns: