View Full Version : Hello middlewood
cheatwithpennelopy
31-03-2008, 15:39
fiddlesticks
mentalnurse
31-03-2008, 16:45
we can all camp light if we want, but some camps we like to try out differant kit,make use of the time we have in the woods in bad weather, we can all cook on a can stoves sleep under a bush but why should we because of others views.each to their own bushcrafting, thats what makes what we do fun.
hello aunty pen here, went to middlewood at the weekend and i would like to see more traditional bushcrafting and less camping. Some people had gone bananas with the amount of kit they took needing wheelbarrows and several journeys to the car.
Go on a Bushcraft course with one of the Bushcraft Schools then! Why do people have to do things your way to keep you happy? If you don't like it, go elsewhere!
:rolleyes:
andywinkk
31-03-2008, 18:05
Im not into back packing so i take every bit of kit that i own, i was even in a 4 man tent due to the fact that i have had 2 hip operations recently (january) and needed to be as comfortable as possible and get a good nights sleep,
Thanks for lending me the wheell barrow carl (mental nurse)
We are all diferent and there are no set rules
hello aunty pen here, went to middlewood at the weekend and i would like to see more traditional bushcrafting and less camping. Some people had gone bananas with the amount of kit they took needing wheelbarrows and several journeys to the car.
Hello aunty pen.
I wasn't at Middlewood but I can see you've gone for the throat with your first post. :yikes:
Why not introduce yourself first in the introductions section and then we might be able to point you in the direction of people that can help you with the type of stuff you're interested in.
Some of the people you probably saw at the meet are very skilled bushcrafters, but most meets are relaxed social affairs and a lot of gear gets taken along for demonstration purposes, testing, teaching and so on.
wanderinstar
31-03-2008, 18:30
Aunty Pen,
I am curious, why have you edited your post out to just "fiddlesticks"?.
Doesn't matter if you edit it out, it is quoted in my post for posterity!
wanderinstar
31-03-2008, 18:34
Everything OK at home now Spam? We all missed you.
Bushcrafting for me is about comfort. Some people that means tents, others hammocks and others just a tarp. Its what your comfortable with. Its that your out there doing it thats important
There's another point; the woodlands simply won't support a large number of people descending on it and using up all the available resources. At a largish Meet it is simple courtesy and responsible behaviour to take kit with you, so that there's little need to cut fresh timber and foliage, and thus limit damage.
Besides, folks take along kit to show and tell, let others try, have a good looksee, not just for their own use over the Meet.
cheers,
Toddy
Er, is somebody complaining that I took a trailer, (filled with fire wood for everyone to use), and a kit bag (filled with firewood for everyone to use), and the only rucksack that I own (80 litre size)???
As said before - each to their own. Personally I hope people enjoyed watching me use a kelly kettle for the first time - there were enough people standing around with empty cups! - you may have learnt something about the kit and its uses/limitations. And I hope that you also appreceiated seeing the hinge-tripod cooking stand as well. And the tent flysheet at the camp fire, and Matts bow drill lessons, and, and, and....
No complaints about the alcohol round the camp fire though?
Chris
the woodlands simply won't support a large number of people descending on it and using up all the available resources. At a largish Meet it is simple courtesy and responsible behaviour to take kit with you, so that there's little need to cut fresh timber and foliage, and thus limit damage.
With that in mind, I took an estate car loaded with logs from trees felled at my brothers workplace and 2 bags of logs from the garden centre for the communal fire.
I also took a bag of kindling to use with my hobo stove under the tarp.
So for a two night stay I filled an estate car .... to limit our impact upon the natural resources of the area.
cheatwithpennelopy, if you want to see minimal you are welcome to come and stay in my bushy area for a night, but be warned you need to take everything that you need including fuel, food, stove, water and shelter ... and mine still fits in a Sabre 45 with room to spare!
Simon
Aunty Pen,
I am curious, why have you edited your post out to just "fiddlesticks"?.
Possibly a little dismayed at the response to a first post.
firebreather
31-03-2008, 21:33
I also used the wheel barrow at the weekend. Cheers mate :D
As others have already said it is possible to go ultra light and many of us can and regularly do but at meets I take the kitchen sink and cupboards as well. Its all about comfort and the opportunity to test out new kit in a fun environment with friends around to offer pointers, advice or in most occasions with me...... ridicule :D. Use what kit you want and if you dont like the full on kit monsters in our midst then dont bother with us. Just attend the meets and enjoy them in your own way. I am a kit monster and like having certain items with me and as long as I am carrying them in and not asking you to help, why should it bother you? How many trips to the car i take.
Greg
Singeblister
31-03-2008, 21:36
I have a feeling someone has made a new account to post this , just for the record this is against the rules , and you can say what you feel on your real account its a free world, as for the reason for the post at a camp like middlewood I feel taking lots of gear is great why be uncomfortable when you dont need to be , you take what you need for where your going simple as that.
Well, maybe a Mod will run an IP check or whatever and find oput just who the mystery person is. I must say, I'd be rather dissapointed if it was a regular member taking a poke.
In reply to Aunty Pen, it is far easier to learn new skills in a comfortable enviroment- this is one of the first lessons you learn as a teacher- and at the end of the day this weekend was all about learning new skills, and a social get together to boot.;)
Anyone can rough it!
Matt Weir
01-04-2008, 02:25
hello aunty pen here, went to middlewood at the weekend and i would like to see more traditional bushcrafting and less camping. Some people had gone bananas with the amount of kit they took needing wheelbarrows and several journeys to the car.
The fact is that the site cannot cater for 40 people building natural shelters hence the variety of tarps, tents, tipi's etc. There is no natural water source on the site but there are mains water standpipes which we use. There is not enough food on site for everyone to forage so the best we get are samples of fungi and flora ID'd by folk. There is not enough firewood on site to keep everyone in wood for the weekend so it gets brought in. Effectively even the 4 basic requirements to simply survive cannot be met without everyone either humping it in or as in the case of water be provided let alone 'traditional bushcraft'.
Then there is all the other gear brought in for show and tells, swap shops and trading, demo's and workshops not to mention providing comfort for the weekend for many groups are relatively young family groups.
Yes, the Middlewood meet is a non profit event that is camping with a bushcraft flavour with some general skills sharing and socialising for members (at a cost of £4 per person) - not a hardcore bushcraft/survival weekend course (at a cost of £200+ ) and I have never promised any more than that.
I'm sorry that you have cause to complain but I hope the responses have given you some insight into the reasoning behind the amount of kit and what the Middlewood meet is about.
Well, maybe a Mod will run an IP check or whatever and find oput just who the mystery person is. I must say, I'd be rather dissapointed if it was a regular member taking a poke.
Seems like a plan to me!
I am really suprised at someone posting this, it all seems a bit pathetic to me that they wont answer the replies that folk have posted in response, everyone is of course allowed there opinion, as to what folk need to be comfy. well thats up to them, after all like Matt said he never said it was going to be a hardcore back to basics weekend.
Matt Weir
23-04-2008, 21:58
Well, maybe a Mod will run an IP check or whatever and find oput just who the mystery person is. I must say, I'd be rather dissapointed if it was a regular member taking a poke.
Oh I forgot to say that an IP check showed that the IP address was a new one so if it was a regular member they had taken steps to hide it well.
Personally I don't think it was a regular member but someone local who chanced across the forum and meet with just a half baked idea.
Ah well - onwards and upwards eh? :D
seem to have missed this post, had a forum break while recovering from the dreaded man flu :rolleyes: but wanted to agree with everyone's comments, exept the first one obviously :D the meets for me are a way to meet up with new faces and old, have a chat and catch up in a way you can't in a post, there for learning new skills, almost mastered the bow drill on this one and was really chuffed gave me the encouragment and knowledge to get my own set together and carry on, the meets are a nice relaxed get together not a bear grylls training camp, dress how you want, sleep in what you want, tent, bivvy, hammock, i even know someone who slept in the car :D (not a dig but couldn't resist) as long as everyone has a great weekend that's all that matters, to me anyway ;)
Im sure Mr Mears once said, "If your roughing it, your doing it wrong"
If I was out walking for a few days i would take much less gear than at a meet.Simple as that.