Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Since Eric was kind enough to ask for an introduction - here I is.

Hi! Im elleth.

I've done living history stuff on and off for years, but am only recently starting to get back into it more seriously.

More to the point, I'm looking at doing a fairly long woodswalk sometime soon - possibly next spring, but more likely next spring is going to bring a series of "shakedown" walks, with the big one for the year after, once I feel reasonably certain I know what I'm doing. *heh* (I'm in Alaska, so while there's all kinds of woods to tromp through, some is harder to get to, and it's a little harder to say "eek! help!" if you get in over your head)

ANYHOW, I'm in the middle of sloughing off a great deal of worldly encumbrances* so as to build up more comfortable "old fashioned" outdoor tools, and have been reading and sewing like mad lately (I hear reenactors tearing their hair out, but I'm finding picking through the Mark Baker books all kinds of fun).

Reading everything you all have been up to is fascinating - thank you for the inspiration!






(* shameless plug.. about to post goodies in the "sale" section. I hope that's okay to do so early on?)

Hi again Elleth,
The owner of the site, Caedmon, or Jackadmin is also in Alaska. Maybe y'all could bump into each other some time. Welcome again to the boards and we look forward to hearing more from you.

Eric

Welcome glad to hear from you.

Mae govannen!

Welcome!

Eledhwen

From one newbie to another: welcome!

Welcome! Alaska is reputed to have the most beautiful landscapes. We'd love to see pics went you hike.

Welcome! I second Peter's motion for pics of Alaska!

Sounds like you're EXACTLY the kind of person we like to have around here.

Welcome aboard! Enjoy your stay!

Welcome!

(I suppose I can say that, having been here longer than a week . . . )

Hail and Well met and welcome to the forums

Elleth wrote:(I hear reenactors tearing their hair out, but I'm finding picking through the Mark Baker books all kinds of fun).

What Mark Baker books?

Welcome!

Welcome!

Beornmann wrote:

Elleth wrote:(I hear reenactors tearing their hair out, but I'm finding picking through the Mark Baker books all kinds of fun).

What Mark Baker books?

I tried Googling Mark Baker's literature with no success...but I DID find a traditional Archer by the name of Mark Baker whose site sells PATTERN-WELDED TRADE POINTS!

http://www.classicbowhunting.com/?z=nec ... harpthings

A bit off topic, but certainly huzzah-worthy in the Greg book!

Thank you all!

Oh, Alaska is amazing. It really can't be captured in words or pictures. Everytime I go down Outside now, the 48 feels all..... overly-cramped and too-civilized. Up here, most of the state isn't on a road system, and even that which is gets very spread out and sparse once you're a hundred miles from Anchorage. The land is gorgeous, but it's not shy about killing you if you're stupid... and sometimes if you're just plain unlucky. Even in town, it's not necessarily a comfortable or always safe place to live (I've met one gal who was chased by a pack of real live wolves while out jogging, and only lived 'cause of a convenient portapotty to hole up in) - but it is shall we say deliberate.

Mark Baker books - a friend of mine showed me one of his videos once upon a time. He's a living history guy that's one of the big names in..well, doing the same kind of thing as y'all do, but with an 18th century frontier America spin instead of Middle Earth. Here's the book I've been reading lately -

http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrims-Journey- ... 1880655160
I imagine the better part of his experience and advice will translate fairly well - just drop the blackpowder gun stuff and wear different funny clothes.

The one thing that really hits me as I go through ditching this thing or replacing that is how much more human scale the old timey stuff is. I haven't a clue what "Qualofill" or whatever is in a sleeping bag.... but I've seen flax growing and spun wool. It's all still at a scale that's easily, intuitively, satisfying. Fun!