Establishing Camp
"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees."
- Henry David Thoreau
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Our second event of the Spring inspired by our personal heroes took place this month and this time around we were emulating the one & only Mr. Ed Stafford.
We can't remember a time we weren't in awe of Ed's adventures, his determination, attitude, endearing spirit & drive to succeed. The man is truly an inspiration. (Metaphorically) Following Ed's footsteps we took his list of priorities when establishing camp, water, shelter, fire & food, and recreated them in our own way at Fox Covert. Now, admittedly, we did not have the pressures of being stranded, alone, in the wilderness or jungle but I'd like to think we did Staff proud.
So we skipped sourcing water as everyone came prepared so moved on to shelter & fire. With only the most basic of equipment our participants were able to create fire using all natural tinder materials and centuries old techniques of combustion.
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Meanwhile, some of the other guys took a walk around the woodland to find the materials needed to create shelter. Here they stumbled across what was left of the birches that came down during the storms earlier this year. Using timber hitch they were then transported to our new secondary basecamp area where they were lashed together to form an extremely sturdy tripod frame, reinforced with a crossbeam square lashed to the uprights.
We loved this idea, we were keen for the fallen trees to be used for something other than firewood. Following this recycling theme, the frame was then covered with what remained of the old parachute creating a Bedouin tent of sorts, complete with awning.
Some real labour went into the construction of this and was only achieved through the teamwork & collaboration displayed by our participants.
With all the hard work done the final step on Ed's list of priorities was food & with it being the Easter Bank Holiday what better way to treat ourselves than with some hot-cross buns!
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We would like to thank everyone who joined us for all your hard work & for choosing to spend your Bank Holiday with us.
Next month we're back taking inspiration from the legend that is Will Lord where we are focusing on traditional Willow Weaving techniques as well as our much anticipated Firecraft & Flying event!
And don't forget all the camp prep is building up to our first night spent under the stars of 2022