Earlier this year back at the start of June my friend Garry and I returned to the beautiful lakes in the Dalsland Nordmarken area of Sweden.

As before we flew from Heathrow airport in the United Kingdom to Gardermoen airport in Norway and then caught a bus to the small town of Arjang in Sweden. There we were unexpectedly met by our canoe outfitter Preben Mortensen and his wife Gunn who were in Arjang doing their grocery shop.

After we had bought our provisions in the local supermarket Preben drove us to his home, set on the shore of lake Vastra Silen. As we wound our way through the forest we caught our first glimpses of the lake between the trees. The weather wasn’t quite as nice as the last time we had come to this area. There was a stiff breeze blowing and the lake appeared quite choppy. However on our arrival at Prebens home and the canoe centre we made the decision that perhaps the lake wasn’t quite as rough as we had first feared. The paddle to our fist nights camp was only across a wide bay of about a kilometre and we would be sheltered by the land protruding out into the lake ahead of us.

So, rucksacks were loaded and tied into the canoe, buoyancy aids were donned, into the boat we climbed, paddles in hand and we were off.

We made it to the point where we intended to camp without mishap and soon set about tying up tarps, getting a brew on and cooking dinner. Sleep came quickly, it had been a couple of days since we had managed to get any sleep and I for one was ready for it. That first night was slightly chilly, although I was plenty warm enough in my sleeping bag.

The day dawned bright and sunny, in fact we were to have no rain for the entire trip (luck was with us). Looking out over the lake on that first morning I felt like I had returned home. Just across from us was a small rocky island, it’s only vegetation, two sparse trees. One of which was the foundation for a fairly large Osprey nest. The Ospreys had been there a couple of years ago, back in 2008 and It was great to see them bringing up another clutch of chicks.

We had a light breakfast followed by a couple of mugs of tea, broke camp, packed the boat and set off down the lake. It felt great to be back on the water, paddling a steady stroke and watching the scenery go by. Although it had been almost two years to the day since we were last here it felt almost as if I had never left.

Over the next few days we made our way down the lake, exploring all the inlets, tributaries and islands we passed. Each afternoon we found a suitable place to stop, set camp, collected firewood, built a fire, cooked our dinner, chatted about the days adventures, what we had seen, what we planned to do the next day or sometimes we just sat in contented silence, looking out from under the canopy of trees at the glorious scenery before us.

Eventually we reached Varvick. Here right on the edge of the lake stands a beautiful wooden church painted white. The church has a bell tower topped with a golden cross which shone in the bright sunshine. Although I’m not a religious person I did think to myself that if I was a parishioner here, going to church on a Sunday morning would be a pleasurable experience.

From Varvick we crossed to the other side of the lake where a sluice gate (loch) is situated. This sluice allows access to a connecting lake called Ostra Silen. As this was the start of June and early in the season the sluice was not yet operational so we portaged the canoe. It was only a matter of a couple of hundred yards along a well worn track so no great hardship at all.

Ostra Silen is a little more ‘wild’ than the main lake of Vastra Silen. It has quite a few islands in it and we took a few days to explore it as much as possible. We returned to the small island where we stopped for the night a couple of years ago and saw a lynx run through our camp one evening. This island was as far as we had explored the last time and I was quite surprised as we paddled past it to find that on its back end there was a quite a large rock cliff ascending vertically straight up out of the lake.

Eventually, the time came when we had to turn around and head back towards the main lake of Vastra Silen. Our food was running low, very low. We camped that night and pretty much finished our food with the evening meal. In the morning we woke to quite a strong wind. The lake was choppy but, we had to make a move. We broke camp, packed the boat and started off. It was too bad. I was in the front of the boat and every now and again a small wave would lap over the bow and slosh over my legs but, within no time the sun came out the wind dropped and the turned quite beautiful and hot.

We made it to the portage at Crocksfors in good time and soon had our equipment and boat back on the shore at Vastra Silen. Here we only had the open lake in front of us and the wind had returned with new vigour. As we stood looking at the chop on the lake, making our decision to go or not a group of what turned out to be Danish kayakers landed by us. They had come into shore as they had started to find the wind a ‘bit too much’ out on the lake. We finally decided that we would cross the lake here as it was the narrowest point and the wind did seem to be subsiding a little. So, off we went. The first half of the crossing went very well and we soon found ourselves in the middle of the lake, a long way from either shore. Typically it was now that the wind decided to pick up again. The lake began to swell. The bow of the boat rode over the waves as we headed directly into them, it then dropped with a slap onto the water and large amounts of spray came over the front, slapping me straight in the face. We started to pull harder which worryingly didn’t gain us any headway. We were pulling our hardest but, staying still. We persevered and gradually bit by bit we made our way over the second part of the crossing. We finally landed on the far shore, right outside the church at Varvick. We pulled the boat onto dry land and collapsed on a perfectly placed bench right outside the church yard. We rested here for a half hour and then continued our journey along the shoreline towards Gustasfors.

Gustasfors is a little village situated off the main lake up a tributary between the lakes of Vastra Silen and Le lang. There is a general store here and this is what we were headed for. We ended our day camping at the mouth of the tributary. We were well placed for an early start in the morning to head into Gustasfors and stock up on provisions.

We had a very pleasant paddle to the village the next morning passing many properties along the tributary. Many with their own boathouses. We also passed several beaver lodges along the way although we didn’t spot any of the residents. It’s quite strange when you begin to see signs of civilization again. One of the first things to greet us as we entered Gustasfors was a large sign advertising ‘Pizza’ it seemed almost surreal.

We eventually found a suitable place to the land the canoe. A purpose built landing ramp right outside a canoe hire establishment in Gustasfors. We pulled the boat out of the water, made sure it was safe and headed off to walk into the village and find the general stores. We were quite early and had to wait for a few minutes for the store to open. We it did we were like a couple of crazed mad men. Filling a shopping basket in seconds with all manner of things. We had some slightly strange combinations for meals over the next few days but Hey! Food is food, Right? After leaving the stores we walked back through Gustasfors and popped in to the local cafe where we said hello to the proprietor and her husband. When we had been here two years before it was the cafes opening day and we were their first customers. It was lovely to see them again and find that business was good. We walked back to where we had left the canoe. On a grassy bank right by the water there were some picnic tables, so we sat down made some sandwiches and got a brew on. We sat there ate our brunch and watched a young girl fishing. The sun was shining and everything was perfect.

We eventually got back in the canoe and headed back to the main lake where we spent our last couple of days exploring the other end of the lake.

As a child I grew up dreaming of adventures where I could canoe all day long, fishing as I went. Then when evening came, pulling in to a suitable site to set camp, build a fire, cook and bed down for the night. This scenario is, I’m afraid to say practically impossible in the United Kingdom today. At every step you are thwarted. But, in Sweden it is a viable proposition. And the great bonus is that Sweden is only hop, skip and jump away. Sweden really is a playground for anyone interested in the Outdoors. Forget that expensive piece of kit your hankering after and use the money to book yourself a trip to Sweden. You won’t regret it…

**if there are any points you would like to raise or any information you would like to add regarding this article, please feel free to use the Comments box below**

The Paiute deadfall is an Indian trap used for catching or killing small game.

You can use this type of trap with a box or crate instead of a deadfall which will allow you to trap animals rather than kill them.

This trap is in my mind better than the figure 4 trap for several reasons:-

1. It is easier to set.

2. It has a more sensitive trigger.

3. You’re hands are safer when setting it as they are out of the way and will not get hurt if the deadfall should drop.

STEP 1 Gather the materials.

You will need few materials for this trap.

· A small length of cordage.

· Two sticks equal in diameter, one roughly eight inches long the other roughly six and a half inches long.

· A long skinny trigger stick (longer than needed is good, you can trim it to fit).

· A three inch toggle stick (a little fatter than your trigger stick).

· A deadfall (rock or heavy log) or a box or crate.

STEP 2 Cordage and toggle.

Attach the cordage to one end of the support stick (the six and a half inch long stick) and the other end of the cordage to the middle of the three inch toggle stick.

STEP 3 Set upright and deadfall.

Find a site to setup your deadfall trap. Think of what your prey is, set the trap in an appropriate area where your prey is likely to be found. Also make sure the deadfall trap is set up on hard ground, the ground will act as an anvil for the deadfall to drop onto (crushing your prey between the deadfall and hard ground). Push your stick which is going to form the upright (the eight inch long stick) about two inches into the ground and lean it slightly, in the direction of where the deadfall will be.

STEP 4 Set trap.

This is where you will bait and set your trap up. Even though this is a sensitive trigger, you want to rub your bait into the trigger stick, or attach it to a piece of string which is tied to the trigger stick. You want your prey to have to pull down on the trigger stick. Take your support stick (the six and half inch stick) and place the end without the cord on top of the upright stick (eight inch stick, stuck in the ground). Now place the edge of your deadfall on the other end of the support stick. Now hold your cord tight so that the support stick doesn’t let the deadfall down. Now bring the cord around the upright like in the picture below and hold it there. You are now ready to place the trigger stick.

STEP 5 Place trigger stick.

This is the most frustrating part of the whole trap set up… Place one end of the trigger stick against the toggle so that the toggle cannot unwrap from around the upright. Now take the other end of the trigger stick and make it stick to the underside of the deadfall. If it stays congratulations. You can trim the trigger stick to give you a perfect fit between toggle and deadfall. Now you’re ready to catch game.

If you are in a situation in which you need to use a trap such as this to catch food for your survival, don’t just set one, set many. Each trap increases your chances of a meal.

WARNING Before using this trap (or any other) Please be aware that trapping is illegal in many countries. Only use this knowledge if you are in a serious survival situation. Be sensible and never abandon set traps. Disassemble them so they are safe. Check traps regularly.

**if there are any points you would like to raise or any information you would like to add regarding this article, please feel free to use the Comments box below**

The NIMROD Expedition
1907-09

In the Geographical Journal for March, 1907, Shackleton outlined his plans, some of which subsequently had to be changed. The expedition was expected to leave New Zealand at the beginning of 1908 and proceed to winter quarters on the Antarctic continent. Here the men and stores would be landed, followed quickly by the retreat of the ship to New Zealand to prevent her from being frozen in. Shackleton announced, “The shore-party of nine or twelve men will winter with sufficient equipment to enable three separate parties to start out in the spring. One party will go east, and, if possible, across the Barrier to the new land known as King Edward VII Land, follow the coastline there south, if the coast trends south, or north if north, returning when it is considered necessary to do so. The second party will proceed south over the same route as that of the southern sledge-party of the Discovery; this party will keep from fifteen to twenty miles from the coast, so as to avoid any rough ice. The third party will possibly proceed westward over the mountains, and, instead of crossing in a line due west, will strike towards the magnetic Pole. The main changes in equipment will be that Siberian ponies will be taken for the sledge journeys both east and south, and also a specially designed motor-car for the southern journey…I do not intend to sacrifice the scientific utility of the expedition to a mere record-breaking journey, but say frankly, all the same, that one of my great efforts will be to reach the southern geographical Pole. I shall in no way neglect to continue the biological, meteorological, geological and magnetic work of the Discovery”.

The first step was to secure an office in London. A furnished room at 9 Regent Street served as headquarters of the expedition. The staff consisted of Mr. Alfred Reid, who had gained considerable experience in connection with previous polar adventures, and a district messenger. Fortunately, there was a typing office on the same floor which could deal with the correspondence which grew from day to day. Shackleton secured estimates for the supplies from a number of different companies as he wanted the best of everything possible. Shackleton stipulated that all the goods were to be delivered in London by June 15, for the ship was to leave England on June 30. As for the ship, Shackleton’s first choice was the Bjorn, owned by Mr. C. Christiansen. The Bjorn was a new ship, built specially for polar work, but was simply too expensive to purchase. Instead, when Shackleton returned to London after visiting Christiansen in Sandyfjord, the purchase of the Nimrod was made. At the time, the Nimrod was on a sealing venture, out of Newfoundland, but was expected to return very soon. The ship was small and old and her maximum speed under steam was hardly more than six knots, but on the other hand, she was strongly built. The Nimrod did not return as soon as Shackleton expected and when she did arrive, she had been somewhat damaged by the ice. She was inspected on Shackleton’s behalf and pronounced sound. A rapid transit was made across the Atlantic and the ship arrived in the Thames on June 15, 1907. Shackleton was very disappointed when he first inspected the ship; she was run down and smelt strongly of seal-oil. In addition, she required new caulking and masts. As work began on the Nimrod, Shackleton contracted Messrs. Humphreys, of Knightsbridge, to construct the hut in which to live during the Antarctic winter. The hut would be shipped in sections aboard the Nimrod. It was made of stout fir timbering of best quality in the walls, roofs and floors. The walls were strengthened with iron cleats bolted to main posts and horizontal timbering, and the roof was reinforced with iron tie rods. The hut was lined with match-boarding and the walls and roof were covered first with strong felt, then one-inch tongued and grooved boards, followed by an additional covering of felt. Granulated cork was used as insulation. The hut was to be erected on wooden piles, driven into the ice, with rings attached to the roof so that guy ropes could be used to give additional resistance to the gales.

“The personnel of an expedition of the character I proposed is a factor on which success depends to a very large extent. The men selected must be qualified for the work, and they must also have the special qualifications required to meet polar conditions. They must be able to live together in harmony for a long period without outside communication, and it must be remembered that the men whose desires lead them to the untrodden paths of the world have generally marked individuality”, Shackleton wrote. The staff:

Gales accompanied the ships on the journey south and on January 14 the first iceberg was sighted. The next day the pack ice was sighted off the starboard bow extending all the way to the port bow. A short time later the Nimrod was on her own as the Koonya’s tow-line was cast off.

After navigating through dense clusters of bergs, the Nimrod entered the Ross Sea on January 16, the first ship to do so without the vessel having been held up by pack-ice. January 17 found them at 70°43′S, 178°58′E. The Nimrod skirted the Barrier until January 25 at which time Shackleton gave up all hope of reaching King Edward VII Land. The pack-ice was too thick as well as being interspersed with giant icebergs. It seemed impossible to reach land, and the shortness of coal, the leaky condition of the ship, and the absolute necessity of landing all the stores and putting up the hut before the vessel left them made the situation extremely anxious for Shackleton. Fearing becoming trapped in the ice, Shackleton could see no option other than steering for McMurdo Sound. At 8 P.M. she turned to the west and on January 28 they entered McMurdo Sound. Around midnight, the frozen sea stopped them some 20 miles short of Hut Point; the ice anchor was dropped and made fast to the floe. Shackleton decided to lay off the ice-foot for a few days to give Nature a chance to break up the ice. Meanwhile, on the evening of the 29th, the sides and top of the motor-car case were removed and the wheels put on the car. On the 30th most of the beams of the pony shelter were removed so the ponies could be removed without difficulty at a moments notice. Most of them were in very poor shape and one, “Nimrod”, had to be shot.

Evaporation was measured by hanging measured cubes of snow and ice from rods projecting from the wall of the hut. Sometimes wind direction could be tracked by monitoring the steam plume coming from Mount Erebus. The biologist, James Murray, built a sledge which could be lowered through a crack in the ice and pulled along the bottom which scooped up a vast variety of small fish, crustacean and other marine animals. Oddly to Murray, the fish and other animals would freeze before he could get back to the hut but, once thawed out, they would spring back to life.

As the sun began to set in March, tiny details of the daily routine became major events. The weather was an important factor of everyday life; in a blizzard the chores of emptying dishwater and ashes and getting fresh ice became small feats of endurance. Night watchmans’ duties were rotated every two weeks. Two men were exempted from these duties: Roberts, who was the cook, and Sir Philip Brocklehurst, whose toes were still black with frostbite (one later amputated by Marshall) after his climb of Mount Erebus. (NOTE: The successful ascent of Mount Erebus was one of the first accomplishments of the expedition. Six men, among them, Douglas Mawson measured the crater. They quickly descended by sliding down the 5000 feet in four hours). The others tended to their specialties: Adams wound the chronometers, checked instruments and did other meteorological work; Marshall, the surgeon, tended to medical needs and exercised ponies; Wild, the storekeeper, issued food to the cook, opened the cases of tinned food and dug the meat out of the snowdrifts (penguin, seal or mutton); Joyce fed the dogs and trained them for sledge-pulling; David spent time on geological studies; Priestley and Murray worked at dredging; Mawson studied the aurora, ice structures and measured atmospheric electricity.

By midwinter, activity had declined to a lazy pace, as compared to the torrid one set earlier. Most of the men now stayed up late and Professor David, more of a late-night person than the others, organized an 11 o’clock tea. Nearly all were sound asleep by 1 am. First up at 7:30 am would be Roberts, to start breakfast, and Armitage, to feed the ponies. At 8:30 am the rest would get up and at 8:45 the table was lowered from the roof. At 9:00 they all sat down to porridge and hot milk. Occasionally a second course would follow consisting of bottled fruit and tea, followed by a smoke. Lunch was at 1:00 PM and dinner was at 6:45 sharp. On birthdays and midwinter’s day (June 21), they broke the rules and celebrated with what Shackleton described as “a sort of mild spree”. Optimism was high through the six-month night. “We were all busy and there was little cause for us to find the time hung heavy on our hands; the winter months sped by”. Evidently, the men were actually thrilled when winter ended since they were obviously getting on each others’ nerves. One night, as Marshall writes, Wild “showed sign of being drunk, & was anxious to make a row, but after a little while persuaded him to turn in. Was seriously thinking of getting him outside to give me a hand with the ponies & then giving him a damn good hammering, as he was becoming very talkative and objectionable & Shacks was evidently afraid to come out and stop him, although awake and hearing all said”. At the beginning of August, Mackay suddenly went for Roberts, the cook, with whom he shared a cubicle. It seems that Roberts put his feet on Mackay’s chest to lace up his boots. Mackay, much bigger and stronger, tried to wring Robert’s neck and may have succeeded if Mawson, who was bigger and stronger still, hadn’t stepped in. In Priestley’s words, it was “lucky evidently that the Winter (was) almost over instead of just beginning”. In Marshall’s version, Shackleton was “in a regular panic about it & threatens he will shoot (Mackay). This is the 2nd time he has said (so). He is so easily frightened that he is not to be trusted with a pistol…Mac quite all right but slightly eccentric & quick tempered”.

Spring arrived and the plans, worked out over the winter, were ready to be launched. Shackleton, Adams, Marshall and Wild would head south for the Pole, a 1700-mile trek; Edgeworth David (aged 50) would lead the Northern Party on a 1260-mile journey towards the South Magnetic Pole, with Mackay (aged 30) and Mawson (aged 26) as teammates. The Northern Party had no experience of polar exploration. They would have to pull sledges and supplies without the help of dogs or ponies. At the start, they used the motor car to establish two depots 10 and 15 miles from the hut on Cape Royds. On September 25 the engine overheated and they actually had to wait in the blistering cold for it to cool down. When the party finally left winter quarters the next day, Mackay’s wrist was in a sling after an accident with the car’s starter. It seemed a rather ominous beginning to a journey into the unknown with the doctor’s arm in a sling! By November 1 they were becoming worried at the rate the rations were diminishing. Appetite consumed them but by November 5 they limited themselves to one plasmon biscuit each for breakfast and dinner, discovering in the process that “we had never before fully realised how very nice those plasmon biscuits were”. The three explorers used the traditional method for dividing food: the cook would put three biscuits on the cooker cover, then point to one, asking one of the others with his back turned, “Whose?” By this means there would be no opportunity to create a squabble over who was getting the biggest portion. In the beginning, no attention was paid to the crumbs; by early November they were breaking their biscuits over their pannikins to make sure they left no precious crumbs. Even their conversation was dominated by food as David wrote, “We could discuss nothing but the different dishes with which we had been regaled in our former lifetime at various famous restaurants and hotels”.

On December 11, a mile short of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, David fell into a crevasse only 20 feet from their tent. He managed to save himself, catching the edge on either side but needed Mawson’s assistance, with an ice ax, to pull him out. The next day it was Mackay’s turn. While hunting for emperor penguins he fell through an ice bridge up to his waist in water. On December 20, Mawson had a brush with death. David heard a “slight crash” and noticed that Mawson had disappeared. David and Mackay found him dangling over a deep crevasse, suspended by his harness attached to the sledge rope. Mawson, ever the curious scientist, took the opportunity to inspect the ice crystals on the crevasse wall. David wrote, “After this episode we were extra cautious in crossing the crevasses, but the ice was simply seamed with them. Twice when our sledge was being dragged up ice-pressure ridges it rolled over sideways with one runner in a crevasse and once the whole sledge all but disappeared into a crevasse…Had it gone down completely it would certainly have dragged the three of us down with it, as it weighed nearly one-third of a ton”.

On Christmas day, David and Mawson offered Mackay, who was suffering from snow-blindness, some sennegrass–dried Norwegian grass they used to line their boots–as substitute pipe tobacco. It was the only gift they had to offer. The sun and cold temperatures constantly wreaked havoc with the men. Mawson’s right cheek and the tip of David’s nose were frostbitten while the sun burned David’s hands. The cold stripped skin from their lips and Mawson woke each morning with his mouth glued shut from congealed blood. As they neared the magnetic pole, David wrote, “The heavy runners of the sledge rustled gently as they crushed the crystals by the thousand”. On January 15,1909, Mawson’s compass was only 15 minutes off the vertical.

There was the dear old Nimrod, not a quarter of a mile away, steaming straight towards us up the inlet…” Mackay shouted to the ship, “Mawson has fallen down a crevasse, and we got to the Magnetic Pole!” By the afternoon the men were enjoying tea aboard the Nimrod. Later they enjoyed their first bath in over four months, followed by a wonderful dinner. As the men went to bed, David wrote, “None but those whose bed for months has been on snow and ice can realise the luxury of a real bunk, blankets and pillow, in a snug little cabin”. They had traveled 1260 miles with no dogs or ponies in the coldest place on earth. Upon completion of the trek, David felt they could have done it in half the time with a team of dogs. “We pioneered a route to the magnetic pole and we hope that the path thus found will prove of use to future observers”.

As for Shackleton and the South Pole crew, their journey began at 10 am, under a cloudless sky with the wind at their backs, on October 29, 1908. At lunchtime, one of the Manchurian ponies, “Grisi”, kicked Adams just below the kneecap and exposed the bone. This was not a good beginning. Even the light played tricks with them. When clouds and mist blocked the sun, they could see no shadows. As a result, ledges, mounds and gullies disappeared into a dead, flat white plain. Crevasses were difficult to spot. Covered only by fragile snowcrust, they were often so deep they could not see the bottom nor hear an echo from an object they dropped into them. On November 5 Wild, Adams, Marshall and “Grisi” were all rescued from crevasses—Marshall twice. Three days later Marshall and Wild pitched their tent right next to an unseen crevasse. The next day another pony slipped into an abyss and was fortunately saved from the brink of death. As with David and his men, Shackleton’s party also experienced deep hunger. Three weeks out Shackleton complained in his diary about the size of their rations…if they were this hungry now, what will it be like “later when we are really hungry?” They shot “Chinaman”, the weakest pony, on November 21, ate some of the meat and laid a depot with the rest for when they returned. Adams, unable to sleep for days from a toothache, let Marshall extract it without the use of tooth-pulling equipment. After 29 days, on November 26, they passed the previous “furthest south” record set by Robert Scott in 1902. In early December two more ponies were shot. Shackleton, with his soft heart for animals, believed he heard the last pony, “Socks”, whinnying “all night for his lost companions”. They started eating pony maize. Shackleton remained optimistic, reporting on December 11 that, “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all”. Christmas was celebrated at 9500 feet with plum pudding, medical brandy, cocoa, a spoonful of créme de menthe and cigars. They still had 250 miles between themselves and the pole, with only three weeks’ biscuits left. “Tomorrow we will throw away everything except the most absolute necessities”, Shackleton wrote. “Everytime we reach the top of a ridge we say ‘perhaps this is the last’, but it never is the last”, he wrote. On December 27th they reached the polar plateau at an altitude of 10,200 feet. The weather was severe as a strong headwind chilled them to the bone. On December 30 a blizzard held them to only 4 miles traveling. They were weak from a lack of food and their hands and feet were always on the verge of frostbite. By January 2, 1909, Shackleton was near the breaking point. “I cannot think of failure yet. I must look at the matter sensibly and consider the lives of those who are with me…man can only do his best…” Two days later he wrote, “The end is in sight. We can only go for three more days at the most, for we are weakening rapidly”. They fought through a blizzard on January 4, 5 and 6. On January 7, only 100 miles from the pole, a howling blizzard kept them in their sleeping bags all day. It was the same on January 8. The end of their southern journey began at 4 am on January 9. They left the sledge, tent and food at the camp and took only the Union Jack, a brass cylinder containing stamps and documents to mark their farthest south, camera, glasses and a compass. Their farthest south was reached at 9 am: 88°23′S, longitude 162°–just 97 miles from the South Pole.

When they arrived, they found a letter telling them that the Nimrod had picked up the magnetic pole party and would shelter near the glacier tongue until February 26. It was now February 28. After a bad night, they burned the magnetic hut and shortly thereafter the Nimrod appeared. By 11 am they were on board and three hours later Shackleton led a rescue party for Marshall and Adams. At 1 am on March 4, all were safe on board the Nimrod; they had walked 1700 miles.

The winter season was approaching. McMurdo Sound was already white and choked with the freezing sea. As Mackay put it, “So the end of the business is that (we are) homeward bound, bumping our way through this season’s ice, which is the form of pantiles, some three or four inches thick. I have left a great many things behind that I am very sorry to lose”. As the Nimrod sailed past Cape Royds, Shackleton wrote that, “we all turned out to give three cheers and to take a last look at the place where we had spent so many happy days. The hut was not exactly a palatial residence…but, on the other hand it had been our home for a year that would always live in our memories…We watched the little hut fade away in the distance with feelings almost of sadness, and there were few men aboard who did not cherish a hope that some day they would once more live strenuous days under the shadow of mighty Erebus”.

**if there are any points you would like to raise or any information you would like to add regarding this article, please feel free to use the Comments box below**

So what’s Amadou?

Well it’s not the title of an Olivia Newton John song from way back.

Amadou is a fantastic natural tinder. It’s made from the Horse’s Hoof Fungus, which has a fine, velvety layer resembling suede leather. This suede-like layer is sandwiched between a tough nut-like, outer layer, called the Cuticle and the pores, which are thousands of tiny tubes all packed together. The Horse’s Hoof Fungus is mainly found on dead trees such as the Birch and Beech, and it resembles a horse’s hoof – hence its common name.

Amadou is very hard to source, and even more difficult to make well.  
Amadou was used by our ancestors because it makes excellent tinder that is able to catch even the vaguest of sparks, it is probably one of the best tinders that can be found in nature. It has a beautiful velvet feel and is as resilient as suede leather and can be stored indefinitely. Amadou has been used for fire-making for thousands of years, and would have been found in virtually every travellers tinder box because of its great reliability.

The Ember

The ember that is created from the smouldering Amadou is very hot, which makes it an outstanding tinder for traditional fire making techniques such as flint and steel
If you try Amadou with any modern fire lighting tools such as ferro rods you will see that it is virtually impossible for you not to catch a spark that instantly creates an amazingly hot ember.

Once your Amadou has caught a spark, it will begin to glow and gently smoke. This newly formed ember is very hard to extinguish since it burns incredibly hot. Any wind or breeze that blows on it will cause it to get even hotter!

Once the ember has become established, you have more than ample time to place the Amadou ember into the centre of a previously prepared tinder bundle – and then blown into a flame. Whilst Amado burns very hot it burns at a steady and slow pace; a small piece, about the size of your thumb nail will burn for a good minute or so.

In a future article we will look at how to harvest horse’s hoof fungus and how to process it into amadou.

**if there are any points you would like to raise or any information you would like to add regarding this article, please feel free to use the Comments box below**

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Here’s the Duck a female mallard, eventually pot roasted with stock and veg.

Firstly pluck the breast feathers, ducks have thick belly skin and a nice fatty layer to keep them protected from the icy winter waters so pull the feathers out. The skin shouldn’t rip like maybe the thin skin of a pigeon if you’re not careful that is. Pull only a few feathers at a time or you’ll pull off chunks of skin if you go to mad, you can pluck into a bag or bucket so you don’t make a feathery mess.

Then pluck down the wings and legs, any stubborn pin feathers pull with a Leatherman or pliers the downy bits can be singed off over a fire or hob at a later stage.

you will then have this

and the back..

Take off the wing at the elbow I use and axe for this here as its easier.

Then the head and the feet / legs at the knee joint.

Then Draw the birds innards, or gut it in other words incision here.

Then draw the innards..

You will have something that resembles this for cooking as you wish.

As I say there are other ways some people blanch the bird quick to ease plucking, some use wax, some just skin the bird, id usually skin birds if not roasting for ease.

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There are numerous methods to make a fish trap and all sorts of materials can be used. Below is how to make a fish trap using wire mesh. More traditional fish traps can be made using natural materials such as willow. A small fish trap can even be made out of an old plastic drinks bottle.

THINGS YOU’LL NEED

· 9 feet of galvanised wire mesh, 3 feet wide.

· 18 gauge wire.

· Wire cutters.

· Old sock.

· Dog food.

· Rope.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut a 3-by-5 foot section of wire. Form this into a cylinder that’s about 2 feet wide and about 3 feet long. Use the 18-gauge wire to tie the edges together. Overlap them to make the trap sturdier.

2. Use the wire cutters to cut a circle of wire mesh about 1 ½ inches bigger than the cylinder. Bend the wire around one end of the cylinder. Use the 18-gauge wire to connect the circle to the cylinder.

3. Bend of section of remaining wire into a funnel shape. The length should be about half of the cylinder. Leave the hole on the narrow end large enough for a fish to swim into. The wider end should be the width of the mouth of the cylinder. Use the 18-gauge wire to hold the funnels shape.

4. Attach the funnel to the remaining open end of the fish trap. Secure it with 18-gauge wire.

5. Create a door in the side of the cylinder. Cut 3 sides of a mesh square. Make it big enough to get your hands into so you can bait the fish trap and remove your catch. Tie the door shut with a piece of wire.

6. Bait the trap with an old sock that’s got some dry dog food in it. Tie the sock about six inches beyond the end of the funnel. The fish swim into the funnel in search of the good smelling dog food bait. Once they enter the trap they can’t figure out how to get back out.

7. Tie a line onto the trap. Toss the fish trap into the river. Leave it for a while and then pull it out.

TIPS

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· Use a wire mesh that is stiff enough to form the shape you choose and that will remain rigid with a substantial weight of fish in it.

· Use a suitable bait for the fish you are trapping. Rabbit feed pellets, cat food pellets, dried dog food biscuits, cheese etc. are all common trap baits.

· Check the trap daily to make sure no predators have discovered it and either damaged it or gotten trapped in it.

· Never abandon a trap. If you give up this effort. Remove it and dispose of it safely.

· Check the laws and regulations regarding the use of fish traps in your area.

· Always get the landowners permission before laying or setting any kind of trap.

From the slums of Nairobi to the most remote corners of the Andes, clean water is a necessity. But without significant investment in sanitization infrastructure, this resource is incredibly difficult to provide. But after years of research and development, a cheap, reusable and nearly universally effective system of water treatment has been developed.

It’s called SODIS which stands for Solar Water Decontamination, and requires only a source of fresh water, a clear plastic bottle and sunlight. It sounds impossible, but the science behind it is solid. Sunlight contains a great deal of ultraviolet radiation, which disrupts the genetic processes of bacteria reproduction and can destroy the microorganisms cell walls. Ultraviolet radiation also has an ionizing effect on the water itself, creating highly oxidative compounds like hydrogen peroxide, a common household antiseptic. While it may be difficult to believe, all it takes is six hours sunlight to destroy the microbial inhabitants of a bottle of water, rendering it fit for human consumption.

As you can see, not only is this water purification process useful to the peoples of third world countries but, it is also beneficial to the wilderness traveler and survivalist.

T

Fear – For anyone faced with a wilderness emergency survival situation, fear is a normal reaction. Unless an emergency situation has been anticipated, fear is generally followed by panic then pain, cold, thirst, hunger, fatigue, boredom and loneliness. It is extremely important to calmly assess the situation and not allow these seven enemies to interfere with your survival.

Pain – Pain may often be ignored in a panic situation. Remember to deal with injuries immediately before they become even more serious.

Cold – Cold lowers the ability to think, numbing the body and reducing the will to survive. Never allow yourself to stop moving or to fall asleep unless adequately sheltered.

Thirst – Dehydration is a common enemy in an emergency situation and must not be ignored. It can dull your mind, causing you to overlook important survival information.

Hunger – Hunger is dangerous but seldom deadly. It may reduce your ability to think logically and increase your susceptibility to the effects of cold, pain and fear.

Fatigue – Fatigue is unavoidable in any situation so it is best to keep in mind that it can and will lower your mental ability. Remember that in an emergency situation this is often the bodies way of escaping a difficult situation.

Boredom & Loneliness – These enemies are quite often unanticipated and may lower the mind’s ability to deal with the situation.

Build a Fire
Building a fire is the most important task when dealing with survival in the wilderness. Be sure to build yours in a sandy or rocky area or near a supply of sand and water as to avoid forest fires. The most common mistakes made by those attempting to build a fire are: choosing poor tinder, failing to shield precious matches from the wind and smothering the flames with too large pieces of fuel. The four most important factors when starting a fire are spark – tinder – fuel – oxygen.

The most common ways to create spark are:

1. Waterproof, strike-anywhere matches are your best bet. Matches may be water-proofed by dipping them in nail polish. Store your matches in a waterproof container.

2. A cigarette lighter is also a good way to produce a spark, with or without fuel.

3. The flint and steel method is one of the oldest and most reliable methods in fire starting. Aim the sparks at a pile of dry tinder to produce a fire.

4. The electric spark produced from a battery will ignite a gasoline dampened rag.

5. Remove half of the powder from a bullet and pour it into the tinder. Next place a rag in the cartridge case of the gun and fire. The rag should ignite and then may be placed into the tinder.

6. Allow the suns rays to pass through a magnifying glass onto the tinder.

Dry grass, paper or cloth lint, gasoline-soaked rags and dry bark are all forms of tinder. Place your tinder in a small pile resembling a tepee with the driest pieces at the bottom. Use a fire starter or strip of pitch if it is available.

It is important to keep in mind that smaller pieces of kindling such as, twigs, bark, shavings and gasoline, are necessary when trying to ignite larger pieces of fuel. Gather fuel before attempting to start your fire. Obviously dry wood burns better and wet or pitchy wood will create more smoke. Dense, dry wood will burn slow and hot. A well ventilated fire will burn best.

Build a Shelter
A small shelter which is insulated from the bottom, protected from wind and snow and contains a fire is extremely important in wilderness survival. Before building your shelter be sure that the surrounding area provides the materials needed to build a good fire, a good water source and shelter from the wind.

Wilderness shelters may include:

1. Natural shelters such as caves and overhanging cliffs. When exploring a possible shelter tie a piece of string to the outer mouth of the cave to ensure you will be able to find your way out. Keep in mind that these caves may already be occupied. If you do use a cave for shelter, build your fire near its mouth to prevent animals from entering.

2. Enlarge the natural pit under a fallen tree and line it with bark or tree boughs.

3. Near a rocky coastal area, build a rock shelter in the shape of a U, covering the roof with driftwood and a tarp or even seaweed for protection.

4. A lean-to made with poles or fallen trees and a covering of plastic, boughs, thick grasses or bark is effective to shelter you from wind, rain and snow.

5. A wigwam may be constructed using three long poles. Tie the tops of the poles together and upright them in an appropriate spot. Cover the sides with a tarp, boughs, raingear or other suitable materials. Build a fire in the center of the wigwam, making a draft channel in the wall and a small hole in the top to allow smoke to escape.

6. If you find yourself in open terrain, a snow cave will provide good shelter. Find a drift and burrow a tunnel into the side for about 60 cm (24 in) then build your chamber. The entrance of the tunnel should lead to the lowest level of you chamber where the cooking and storage of equipment will be. A minimum of two ventilating holes are necessary, preferably one in the roof and one in the door.

Clothing
Clothing must provide warmth and offer protection from the elements. Layers of light, natural fibers are best. Hats are a must, as they offer protection from both the heat and cold. Water proof outer layers are necessary.

Equipment
Equipment must be easily manageable and promote survival in any situation. Items to carry in your pockets may include a fire starter, waterproof matches and/or lighter, a pocket knife, goggles, compass, small first-aid kit and some sort of trail food.

Survival Kit
Items for your survival kit should be packed in a waterproof container that can double as a cooking pot and water receptacle and be attached to your belt.

Backpack
In addition to a survival kit, a good, comfortable backpack is mandatory. Loads of about 18 kg (40 lb.) are average. Items to include are; flashlight, extra jacket, socks and mittens, a pocket saw, gas camp stove, first aid kit, emergency food, and a tent and fly.

CHECK LIST

Useful items to include on your hike are:

1. A map and compass.
2. A large, bright plastic bag will be useful as a shelter, signaling device or in lieu of raingear.

3. A flashlight with extra batteries.

4. Extra water and food.

5. Extra clothing such as raingear, a toque and gloves, a sweater and pants.

6. Sun protection such as sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat and long sleeved clothing.

7. A sharp pocket knife.

8. Waterproof matches, a lighter and/or a flint.

9. Candles and fire starter.

10. A first aid kit.

11. A whistle, flares, a tarp.

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Ingredients

Beef or pork cut into 1” cubes.

Small whole onions.

Red or green peppers.

Whole cherry tomatoes.

Whole mushrooms.

Directions

Cut some straight green sticks about 18” long and roughly an 1/8” thick. These are the skewers for your kebabs (Hazel is very good for this). Strip the bark off leaving a clean stick (it’s important to do this as the bark can hold dirt and germs that you won’t want on your food). Cut one stick for each person. Brown the cubed meat in a frying pan/shillet over a high heat for 1/2 minute turning so that each side is cooked. Cut the peppers in large chunks, leave the other vegetables whole. Slip the pieces onto a skewer, alternating the ingredients. (Skewer the onions and mushrooms through the core, or they might fall off while cooking). cook over the open fire for 15 – 20 minutes till done. Sprinkle with grated cheese and breadcrumbs before serving.

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Campfire cooking can be downright civilized.

No matter how spectacular the scenery, meals around the campfire are often the highlight of the camper’s day.

Modern camp stoves and specialized cookware make the cook’s job easier, but nothing beats the taste and appeal of a meal cooked over the campfire. Success at campfire cooking will encourage you to go camping more often.

Caution and respect.

In days gone by, cooking over an open fire could be taken for granted. Today, with concerns about air quality, restricted areas for camping and dwindling firewood stocks in many campgrounds, the freedom to cook over and open fire is a privilege which requires the upmost in caution and respect. Here are a few important considerations.

Wood – campfire cooking requires a clean-burning, hot fire. This is only achieved with dry, seasoned wood. Stripping trees of green wood is fruitless, your fire will be smoky, will burn poorly and will create unnecessary pollution. If dry wood is not available. It will need to be packed in. Many public campgrounds supply firewood, call ahead to see what’s available.

Fire location – pay close attention to the ground before preparing any fire, in circumstances where building your fire on a rock is not possible, one should ensure that the base of the fire is on bare mineral soil. A fire that is burning all evening has lots of time to burn through the organic layer of the soil and will not be put out with a simple bucket of water. Use previously established fire pits if available to avoid scarring the area with more fire pits.

Wind – any medium to strong wind is hazardous. The danger of sparks getting away can ignite a forest fire. Also the coals will reduce more quickly and provide much less cooking time. If substantial wind is unavoidable, any outdoor fire is out of the question unless adequate shelter can be constructed.

How to build a campfire for cooking.

The object is to have all the wood turn into coals at the same time. This gives an even fire with no flames reaching up to burn your food or blacken your cookware. It also yields the longest cooking time from the coals.

Preparing the site – select a fire site at least eight feet from bushes or combustibles. Be sure no tree branches overhang the site.

Sweep away all leaf debris so as to leave only bare earth or rock.

Make a U-shaped perimeter using large rocks or green logs. If using logs they’ll need to be wet down from time to time. If breezy, have the back of the fire pit face the wind.

Put a large flat rock at the back of the fire pit to act as a chimney. The ‘chimney rock’ will help direct the smoke up and away.

Lay the kindling – fill the fire area with crumpled paper or tinder.

Lay kindling over paper/tinder in layers, alternating direction with each layer. Use thin splits of wood or small dead twigs. Do not put kindling down ‘tepee style’. The whole fire pit should be covered with the kindling stack.

Set a bucket of water near the fire area. Light the paper/tinder to start your fire.

Build the fire, grade the coals – when kindling is ablaze, add firewood. The wood should be all the same size as much as possible. Use hardwood or hardwood branches if available. Distribute firewood evenly over fire bed.

As soon as the last flames die down leaving mostly white coals, use a stick to push the coals into a higher level at the back end and lower level at the front. This will give you the equivalent of ‘Hi’, ‘Med’ and ‘Lo’ cook settings. Or, level the coals to your preference.

To cook, set the grill on rocks or wetted green logs. Put food directly on grill or in cookware and prepare your meal. If cooking directly on the grill, a small spray bottle of water is handy for shooting down any rogue flames, usually caused by food drippings.

As the fire diminishes, bank the coals to get the most heat from them.

After cooking add wood for your evening campfire. Before retiring, extinguish thoroughly and soak with water. Turn rocks in on the bed. It will be easy to reassemble the next day if required.

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