View Full Version : Winter for me
I have noticed a trend in my behaviour. I really do most of bushcrafting in winter/autumn, this summer not once have i been out to even light a fire.
I have also noticed I HATE HOT WEATHER the colder the better. (unless i'm in south africa, british hot weather is oppressive as its humid and our buildings are ill-equipt to deal with heat!).
I have started to worry about it though, i'm usually finding every oppertunity to get out into the woods, but now i have almost forgotten to even think about it. Anyone else ever had this? Its different to obssesive bushcraft, more regressive bushcraft (someone should now thik of a cooler word).
Oh well, thought i might just share that.
Jake
I prefer the Autumn and winter as well. Late September/early October is a great time to go camping, and there's something special about the woods in winter.
And this current hot weather is really doing me in. I haven't had a decent nights sleep since the weekend.
jamesdevine
05-08-2004, 12:53
I have been doing various evening courses over the last few years and it means that many of the jobs at home etc. all get left to summer to i spend most of them painting etc. Autumn through to Spring are the best times to be outdoors.
There is more adventure in it and you are more likely to be alone. There are less of those :***: disposable BBQ left lying around and bottles and cans.
Even wild life sightings are better as they are less common.
James
I know what you mean about those blasted portable bbq's. People that agree with me! No-one who i know actually agree's with me but i really do prefer a grey day in summer, as long as its not raining.
Womble, i know exactly how you feel. I am in a loft space with two velux windows, in summer it gets scary hot and in winter i once woke up to ice in my room. I have found a method that works for keeping the room cool. towels on the outside of the window so that no sun can get within the room, and then with the windows wide open on both sides the wind comes through blow the paperwork everywhere but keeps it nice and cool.
Camping in summer only leads to oppressive heat inside the tent.
Cheers,
Jake
for me the absolute best days we get are when its very cold and the sky is a clear blue.....makes me feel glad to be alive!
That is also my idea of perfection.
I donīt know how your winter is but here it is very dark but in the summer itīs long into the night. Nothing beats sleeping out in the summer, no need for sleeping bags, tents and other stuff, just lay yourself on the ground and sleep. But on the other hand winter is good when it comes a lot of snow...
I love dry heat its comfortable, but the heat in the uk is a little oppressive
still we have it good when i was living in mauritus it was 30 degrees and 90% humidity
we are just not aclimitised to the heat and when we get a hot spell it does not usually last long enought for us to aclimitise
Have to agree Stuart.
Wasn't too bothered in the Sahara although it was pretty hot on my camel. Mind you the nights were perishing! Especially as at the oasis they had a choice of Twinings Earl Grey or Breakfast and no mint tea! Was not amused... :rant:
Have to agree Stuart. Wet heat is murder.
Didn;t feel the heat too much on my camel in the Sahara.
Mind you at night it was perishing!
Especially as at the oasis the choice was Twinings Breakfast or Earl Grey and no mint tea! :rant:
TheViking
05-08-2004, 16:42
Hi...
Summer, autumn and spring for me! :wink: I don't hate snow and cold, but you have to wear so much clothes. And i'm the handy type which loves small work and I can't do that with big, insulating gloves... :-) There's leafs on the trees and I don't need to carry that much gear in summer, to keep warm. :biggthump
Cheers :uu:
Give me the cold weatrher ... I run a bit hot so much prefer the cold. Also, far fewer folks about!!!
Quieter and refreshing, colder weather is much nicer. It is very humid in Cardiff today, not comfortable at all. Dry heat is very managable, like in south africa and other hot climates.
If you like cold summers maybe this is something for you, this photo is taken in july in Sylarna in Sweden.
http://biphome.spray.se/sajberjohan/sylarna.jpg
Nearly froze to death one spring! So i bought a sleeping bag that would keep a nudist warm in winter! :naughty:
Me to! I adore winter, I feel much more invigorated by it.
Summertime I'm just as active, but exploring the coastline and fishing instead.
I like the look of your julys!
for me the absolute best days we get are when its very cold and the sky is a clear blue.....makes me feel glad to be alive!Cannot argue with that,a nice crisp winters day/morning with a bright blue sky really does take some beating in my opinion. :-)
To be honest, I think our climate is just about perfect.
I was on hols in Thailand a couple of years ago, there is no way on this earth I could've worked there. The humidity was increadible. The temp was hitting 38+ most days and the air was saturated with water. You could see steam rising from the jungle out of the window of my room. Water would condense on all sorts of surfaces you wouldn't expect to see it on. Any kind of exertion (even eating a meal) would leave you soaked with sweat. It was utterly sapping. Fortunately, I was there to do nothing, so all was fine, I was kind of glad to get out of it though.
Anyone ever get seasonal affective disorder (SAD)???
I'm sure I get it in the summer! There's just so much pressure to go out and not waste the good weather. When you do get out there's so many people everywhere (well here at least. I got stuck in a *traffic jam* in Snowdonia the other day, miles away from anywhere, up a really rough track with grass growing down the middle and potholes that wouldn't have been out of place on the moon! And then I had to wait ages to find a spot to park before I could go for a hike! :roll:)
I find I always get this feeling when autumn arrives like a sense of normality and calm returning, and I look back at summer and think what the heck was all that craziness about?? Weird because that's just the time when the SAD people are starting to get depressed ... :?:
Its the same round here kath... people queue up to climb rock faces and jump in rivers tied to pieces of string...
In this weather I don't really like those 15mile hikes and I tend to find quiet spots to stay for a few days. In autumn, winter and spring I tend to be a camp 1 night and move sort of person.... get to see some lovely out of the way sceneary :-)
Ed
Les Marshall
06-08-2004, 10:48
Autumn is the best time of the year for me. I go up into Kingleyvale and love to watch the wild life prepare for winter. There is also an abundance wild food ready for the picking. I hate the hot weather as it tends to encourage millions of people out onto the downs and i prefer that less people be about.
I find I always get this feeling when autumn arrives like a sense of normality and calm returning, and I look back at summer and think what the heck was all that craziness about?? Weird because that's just the time when the SAD people are starting to get depressed ... :?:
I found the same living in Sandwich in Kent. There was a lot of good walking, with the dunes and a lot of meadowland and rivers and streams...
And up to 20 coaches per day of American tourists in loud shirts, 1920s football shorts, weighed down by up to 7 cameras a piece all with 2ft long ultratelephoto lenses decrying 'Gee, this place is just so quaint!'. And trying to find stuff I'd never heard of in the camping shop I worked in and asking where the guns and bullets were... :rant:
I used to long for September when life returned to normality and peace descended once more.
(No offence is intended to any of our US brethren and sistren on the this site. I just got to HATE hearing that phrase...)
Im amazed so many people share my view! For exactly the same reasons, oppressive humidity, crowds of people and the pressure to make the most of it. Roll on september (i dont think i have ever said that!).
falling rain
06-08-2004, 14:19
There seems to be a bit of a trend here with us Bushcraft folk. I too love the Autumn and Winter best for being outdoors and camping out. The reasons ? well just like people have already mentioned. Less other folk around and winter has a special calmness and silence. I'm definately not a hot weather person. It makes me feel lethargic and less inclined to want to do anything, but give me some cold weather and even rain, then with the correct clothing for the conditions I'm out there. I particularly like putting up my hootchie in the woods when it's raining, and maybe looking out over the countryside when it's pouring down and having a brew up on my hexi stove. I find it very relaxing. Roll on Autumn !! :super:
.... and of course the waterfalls around here look splendid after a good downpour of autumn rain....
Ed
You can't beat a winter landscape. Clear air no haze. Nothing but silence. Wonderful. :-)
well just chillin' in a hammock reading on a sunny afternoon in the woods is it's own reward. of course you do tend to get a big diamond chequer pattern on your cheeks from the hammock. :shock: :wink: :o):
cheers, and.