Middle Earth Ranger Forum

In traditional historical Reenactment, many events (at least, the ones you hear about!) have a central theme of either a time, place, or specific event such as a famous battle. As a part of a new effort to create more high-authenticity events within the Middle-earth Reenactment Society, we are proud to present a fresh video of a recent Winter trek involving two of our members.

This outing was set in northern Wilderland during the time that the Fellowship spent at Rivendell, when a large number of scouts and spies were sent out, near and far, to take stock of the situation before the ring set forth, during which two unlikely companions met for a night during an early winter freeze.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eErnc4S1328&t=12s

Woah awesome clip!

Looks like fun. Hats off to being barefoot too for part of that trek. Always feels good to reconnect to the soil in a way you just can’t with things on your feet.

Amazing video

When you lit the fire, is it a candle that you light first?

Oh.... well done gentlemen. That's just amazing.

Iodo wrote:s it a candle that you light first?

Usually not. In this case, it was almost pitch black at that time, so the idea of splitting kindling in the dark didn't appeal, and we lit a candle.

That looks like an excellent outing, and the video is very well done!

Was the hut something that was constructed on another outing? Did you keep a fire going in the hut most of the night? That windchill was serious business!

That's an excellent "period" to set a trek during, especially one like this! The mid-Atlantic folks have been playing with that sort of idea for our get-togethers - with the range of personas we have, we tend to pick the return of the Rangers and the rebuilding of the North in the early 4th age. We've toyed with some first-person interpretation (or LARPing, depending on your perspective on what we do), but I find it difficult to maintain that sort of thing in a low-key camp setting without a fair amount of preparation and practice. Is that something that y'all have tried at all?

Greg wrote: Usually not. In this case, it was almost pitch black at that time, so the idea of splitting kindling in the dark didn't appeal, and we lit a candle.

Makes sense

Taurinor wrote:Was the hut something that was constructed on another outing? Did you keep a fire going in the hut most of the night? That windchill was serious business!

We've constructed various shelters on previous trips, but this one we actually FOUND on our last group trek, along the way. It was completed but appeared unused for some time and was patchy/had holes in some places, etc. We spruced it up a bit for this trip specifically, and used it because it was so enclosed so it'd be able to contain the heat of our fire better, which was, yes, inside all night. Austin made a makeshift door out of some linen he had on hand to keep the wind out. I'd guess that it felt about 15-20 degrees warmer inside than outside, though that didn't prevent my waterskin from freezing...it was near the edge of the shelter, and you could still feel cold air at the base.

Those temps blow my California mind! I mean, I've spent one or two colder nights in modern kit, but I've also spent warmer nights at 9,000 feet in January! I can't imagine doing that with period gear. I'm wanting to try a trek near freezing soon and unsure even how I'll pull that off.

I've seen you use your little mouth bellows on a few videos--is that some copper tubing or a plant-based tube, like a reed or elder twig?

What an ADVENTURE! The MERS guys and I have been on a fair amount of treks (7???) over the years, but none so far have been in conditions this extreme before. A couple of considerations, takeaways, and things I tried out will find their way into our next newsletter I'm sure! ; )

Sierrastrider, the bellows-tube is actually a goose's wingbone (the ulna, I believe)!

Udwin wrote:The bellows-tube is actually a goose's wingbone (the ulna, I believe)!

That's brilliant. I have a little piece of copper tubing I use for the purpose but despite the material used, it's rather obviously modern. I know that elder twigs can be hollowed out, but a bird bone would be significantly less flammable.

Great video clip. You need to find some Orcs for the next one.

WOW. WOW WOW WOW. Very very impressive!

Straelbora wrote:You need to find some Orcs for the next one.

There were two pairs of orcs on patrol that we narrowly avoided contact with, carrying torches along the nearby road. They were strangely arrayed in bright primary colors with torches that shone in rather specific directions rather than all around, and carried mysterious walking sticks in both hands(!) if you can believe it. They never made contact, but their gait slowed and we believe the smell of our fire made them suspicious. Thankfully, there was no need to dispatch them outright.

Udwin wrote:What an ADVENTURE!

Every outing with this amazing group of people brings new challenges, but we get better at what we do every time we go out. I couldn't ask for a better group of fellows!