A bad sleep and burned shoe on Cruach Tairbert

[comanighttrain]

Hey guys,

Went out this weekend! Up a small hill and into a pine plantation.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5421873769_e1819fbfd1_b.jpg

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[comanighttrain]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5421888935_a11f23a469_b.jpg

Accidently burned my friends shoes trying to dry them ..

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5421918171_51536791b2_b.jpg

Also found the remains of someone elses bushcrafting

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5422519820_6d9262ab45_b.jpg

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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5422507068_ca90004b92_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5251/5421897697_5dec9c46cf_b.jpg

[JEEP]

Nice pics.

Too bad about the shoes. But, who goes hiking in canvas sneakers anyway?! ;)

A pity to see, apparently, skilled bushcrafters not being able to tidy up things after themselves.

[bushcraft4u]

seems your firestarting skills are up to scatch..great pics.

[Ashley Cawley]

Wow, thanks for sharing those photos! - Beautiful landscapes there :)

I hope your friend wasn't wearing his shoes at the time of attempted drying! :p

[Martin]

Thanks for sharing. You guys are very lucky having landscapes like that on your door step.

Martin

[jbrown14]

Lovely place. I love hiking amongst pines. Pity about the shoes. I burned the tops on one pair of boots when I was younger, trying to get them to dry out faster than I should have. Then I scorched the leather on another pair a couple of years later, leaving a permanent hard spot right over the ankle bone. Oh well, it's something to learn by!

Those sneakers are not too different in construction to the canvas "Israeli Commando Boots" I hiked in for years. Don't know if they're the same ones, but they look like Converse Chuck Taylors. Classics.

Josh

[Fletching]

A pity to see, apparently, skilled bushcrafters not being able to tidy up things after themselves.

That's just bad. Notice I didn't use the word 'bushcraft' in that sentence. In a warmer climate, that's a firestarter.

Look's like you guys enjoyed yourselves though!

Steve

[comanighttrain]

Haha, the most amazing thing was that, even after catching fire, the shoe was still soaking wet...Everything was wet...typical Scotland really :D

I definetely need my roll mat too come soon, the bag was fine but whatever was touching the ground was still cold

[fish]

nice photo's mate,slap yer mate for wearing plimpsoles out hiking!
also i love the shelter,personally i think leaving them up is ok ,i know if i was lost and cold in a inhospitable place i would be very happy to find a shelter!

[Fletching]

personally i think leaving them up is ok ,i know if i was lost and cold in a inhospitable place i would be very happy to find a shelter!

Sorry Fish old chap, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one mate. If it was a permanent shelter, then fine but otherwise 'Leave no trace...' and all that!

Steve :)

[comanighttrain]

To be a fence sitter... It'll probably not matter too much. It's in the working area of the pines which are currently being felled so itll all be a branch filled mess soon anyway. If I was in maybe more natural forest I'd be a bit more reserved (mainly because I wouldn't go machete happy in a forest which is less likely to grow back and I wouldn't expect others to do so unless they had to).

Either way a bushcraft shelter is far less unsightly than the beer cans and shopping bags which litter the west side of loch lomond these days

[Shewie]

Nice piccies

Can't beat the piney woods for a camp

[klause]

To be honest, i'd love to find an abandoned bushcraft shelter where i live!
It would mean that some one was out doing the same as me and my boy, not just getting wasted, burning things and leaving them in the woods turning them into dumps !
http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=639&d=1296428258


What would you rather find, bike or shelter?

[JEEP]

I would prefer to find the shelter of course - but, that still doesn't make it okay to leave your shelter behind like that. The foremost duty of anyone spending time outside, is to leave as little impact on nature as possible.

I am a strong believer of the Leave No Trace outdoor ethics; www.lnt.org - I find bushcrafting a very enjoyable pasttime, but only as long as I am able to practice it with none or minimal natural impact.

Abandoned shelters like these are - aside of being firetraps in dry weather - inviting others to "settle in" at that spot, raising the strain and human impact at that particular spot. Creating what is called a hotspot in LNT terms.

Planned hotspots, ie. permanent camping grounds, is normally a good thing - as it protects the surrounding area from the impacts of people setting up camp. But the key word here is "planned"; a well placed permanent camping ground, placed where it will have a minimal impact on the surrounding environment, can take a lot of strain of a fragile natural habitat.
On the other side; an unplanned hotspot, caused by people people's natural tendency to settle down where others visually has done so, can cause a lot of damage.

[klause]

Jeep, you make a very valid point, and on reflection i completely agree with you.
In an ideal world there would be an abundance of places to go and practice bushcraft and in that there aren't (especially where i live) it becomes more of a reason to respect, cherish and protect what woodland does remain. My son and i would never go chopping down tree's (or sawing of branches) as there aren't enough as it is.

Where i live there are no areas suitable for overnight stays, they are all frequented by morons either high as kites or as drunk as skunks and therefore dangerous, especially as i always have my boy with me.

I think i what i was trying to say was; that i would appreciate the knowledge of some likeminded people practicing in my area, sadley i haven't met any as of yet and until we do we'll just carry on by ourselves looking (like most people i would think) for a spot to use at our lesure that is safe, accsessible (not owned by someone who fences of the only good areas) and local.

PS i will visit the link in your post...

You get the idea Jeep....Thanks pal, Klause...

[JEEP]

I am totally with you there. No need to feel that you have to defend anything.

I deal with the exact problems here in Denmark.

[jbrown14]

It's universal, guys. There's a beautiful spot in the central Adirondacks, about 1.5 miles from the trailhead, which is usually a sort of base camp for serious climbers to head up into the surrounding peaks. Unfortunately, the proximity to the trailhead also makes it a popular destination for partiers and drunkards. I spent one night there being kept awake by a gaggle of drunken fools (who had carried in several cases of beer) hooting and hollering all night while hacking down any tree small enough to fall to their tools in order to feed their illegal bonfire.

The respect for the land comes from appreciating it as a separate, different, unique place to be treated as we are privileged to be guests in a strangers house. It's those who think of it in an entitled way, as if there is a crew of maids and butlers who will tidy up behind them, that destroy and litter.

Not that we're taking sides, but I'm with Jakob, LNT is the way to go in my book.

[beechnut mick]

great views but i think you went overboard with keeping your feet warm