I was recently pondering what herbs and spices would be appropriate for an authentic kit, and after some semi-random keyword searches through the text of The Hobbit and LOTR , decided to spring for the book Flora of Middle-Earth , mentioned above by Straelbora. This gave me a starting point—thereâ...

That would certainly be a way to do it. "Gatherings" are sort of a subset of outings--at least more than vice-versa.

What are the approximate sizes of the holes (diameter, depth, distance between etc..) I would say between a foot and a foot and a half deep (30-45cm), 6-8 inches wide (15-20cm), with about the same distance between them. You can also dig in obliquely for the intake hole, rather than straight down t...

I decided to get a little more use out of my firehole. I wanted to try cooking over it, as well as testing the kit I've assembled so far "in action." https://i.imgur.com/JBRvQGJ.jpg?2 I doffed my travel gear and started a fire. https://i.imgur.com/gsLw0lr.jpg?1 I then set up a little...wha...

I took some pictures today, and when I went to post them, realized that, while there are specific places to post gatherings and MERS stuff, there's not really a specific place for solo, non-MERS-memeber outings. Should there be a specific spot for just...outings? We could call it "Patrols"...

Iodo wrote:

Peter Remling wrote: I'd like to read the write up on hypothermia.

me too

Done!

EDIT: When I first wrote this, the top post treated on hypothermia. With the decision to increase the scope of this post, I’ve decided to replace that with a general overview of wilderness first aid as a practice, bumping hypothermia down to a separate section. This may make the first few comments...

Greg wrote:Udwin carries a deer scapula (bone) for digging catholes and the like.

Great thought! I've got plenty of sheep scapulae around. a little smaller, but the perfect shape.

Rope is usually somewhere in any "10 essentials" list for modern wilderness travel, and I'm not sure how I'd make do without some in bear country. Hanging a bag is about the only way to protect your food, if you haven't got a modern canister. As such, I recently bought a kilo of 6mm hemp r...

SS - The iceland picture - OMG! I've been poking around the edges of the Sagas lately, and it's so cool to see a picture! Thank you! What took you up there? I lived in Sweden for a while, and the cheapest flights back to the West coast of the US went through Iceland. I guess the government subsidie...

Which is grand if you've got titanium I had a titanium trowel at one point. Bent it. The lighter, aluminum trowel was a lot sturdier. Turns out, design matters substantially more than material. I'd think either an impromptu carved digging stick or (ugh) one's longknife was the go-to option While I ...

I just got some beeswax in and decided to try my own suggestion. I first tried to coat the stopper in beeswax and push it in--no good. It didn't adhere to the bottle. Next I dribbled some liquid wax from a spoon into the corners. This worked better. I pressed it in with my fingers and then melted it...

I'll have to give that a try.

I'm guessing you used a modern camp shovel to dig the holes and tunnel, maybe a period equivalent exists somewhere? A small hand tool for digging has to be one of the oldest types of tool, right? I don't know what construction techniques might've been used in medieval Europe, let alone Middle-earth...

SierraStrider, is that a line of foot prints it the top pic? Yes. There was a summer cloud burst; not enough to be soaking, but just enough to dampen the very top layer of dirt. That made it slightly sticky, and when it stuck to my boots, it came away from the dry dirt underneath, leaving a very di...