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Spring 2019 MERS Moot

Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:23 am
by Greg
Greetings!

All have returned safe and sound to their respective dwellings, so in this ever-warming Spring that's begun, we'll take some time to look back.

"A local Cultural Beorning Woodman, a travelling Cartographer, and a northern Ranger on extended patrol into Wilderland with his sheepdog had a chance meeting in the foothills of the Eastern Misty Mountains, west of Anduin proper."

The lot of us descended on the Charles C. Deam Wilderness in Southern Indiana on Wednesday, and spent two nights in self-built shelters surrounded by Hardwoods and Pines on a slope above a small (but running) creek well off the beaten path. We hiked in three miles before we left the trail, having spotted the beginnings of the creek, and followed it downstream for a bit until satisfied with the contents and flow of the water before we begun seeking out a slope and standing tree arrangement that both catered to our desires for a well-draining camp floor and to our needs for natural-materials shelter. These needs were in earnest; rain was in the forecast.

We built a wide shelter of fallen wood, sticks, and dead tree bark sheddings for shingle material, which we then supplemented by an oilcloth tarp shelter at odds to the main on one end to accommodate a third traveller. Our fire sat amidst this L-shaped arrangement for communal cooking and social time. Temperatures on the first night dropped as low as 48 degrees F, and the fire was allowed to burn out early, though a glowing coal was uncovered in the morning and quickly brought some twigs to a blaze for breakfast.

On day two, we shirked most of our gear and spent the day exploring (after stocking up on firewood for the coming night, which promised the rain). We put in a fair bit of miles on day two, which included the discovery of a stunningly clear creek several feet deep and a dozen or more across which was full of the melted snow runoff from just last weekend. Deep ravines, impressive rock formations and wide views of the nearby reservoir Lake Monroe abounded. The second night, temperatures only got down to 50 degrees F, but rain was expected, and it arrived at approximately 1 AM, and fell steadily for three hours. All four of us stayed dry and reasonably comfortable on our beds of leaves with varying amounts of clothing layers and/or blanketing. We kept the fire burning all night, and maintained its heat through the rainstorm to the point of being able to cook breakfast in the morning without putting any additional effort into it.

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We all have remarked that, despite having spent some of our past treks in modern-constructed shelter houses along the trail, we have not yet until this trip been so comfortable overall with our clothing, bedding, and shelter choices. Authenticity is earned through skill, and our past experiences have truly paid off noticeable dividends in comfort, efficiency, and functionality.

Odigan showed himself once again to be extremely knowledgeable in every topic he applies himself to, and shared loads of fascinating information about his trades in both smithing and casting various metals. He wrote in a notebook on occasion, in keeping with his persona's purpose in travel.
Udwin was, as always, a walking demonstration of what it means to do things "primitive", with a kit that showed no true shortcuts represented by easy purchases, but rather painstaking details down to shirt pins, all made by hand using almost exclusively animal parts and naturally occurring plant parts. He finger-wove a tumpline at camp while we were there.

Had a fantastic time, gents. Here's to many more!

Re: Spring 2019 MERS Moot

Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:47 pm
by Odigan
Just a few more images from this enjoyable and productive trek.
A fine swimming hole.
A fine swimming hole.
Trail_river.jpg (164.47 KiB) Viewed 13871 times
Wending through the woods.
Wending through the woods.
On_trail.jpg (163.01 KiB) Viewed 13871 times
Relaxing in camp.
Relaxing in camp.
In_camp.jpg (217.4 KiB) Viewed 13871 times

Re: Spring 2019 MERS Moot

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:56 am
by Elleth
Oh my word that looks like an incredible time!
Authenticity is earned through skill, and our past experiences have truly paid off noticeable dividends in comfort, efficiency, and functionality.
The accumulated expertise rolls off even the pictures. :)

If I may ask, do you have any idea what your mile count was the second day?

Re: Spring 2019 MERS Moot

Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:17 pm
by Greg
Roughly six on day two. About three on day one, and about six on day three heading out.

Re: Spring 2019 MERS Moot

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:33 am
by Iodo
Looks so Awesome :P