Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I agree.

They're far more grateful for the attention. :rotfl:

Oh come on. Someone was bound to say it.

Well, I thought it but managed to restrain myself from commenting.

Many a fine tune played on an old fiddle, as the saying goes.

pollyanna_26

Don't encourage him GQ you know what he's like .
Night all my fingers are no longer functioning .
polly

jk0

GreyQueen wrote: »

Carve out the old mastic with a stanley knife, getting last little bits off with a Stanley blade. Wipe with meths. Use best sealant that B & Q sell for best result?

Corrections in red. To get a neat bead, you can either use masking tape either side of the join, run sealant & run over with a wet finger, remove masking and smooth with a clean wet finger,
or you can use a fugi kit.

NewShadow

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Are you taking a tent, or are you building an improvised shelter?

ATM I'm thinking of taking a 2 man single skin pop up, a tarp, a saw, and a load of paracord.

The idea would be the popup acts as inner tent and groundsheet against a suitable tree/stand, then I use the bent sapling method to make something a little more structural/element proof, with the tarp overhead for waterproofing.

It'll depend on the site I find, but it's worked well before. I'm hoping early May will be more wet than cold, though some sun would be nice.

craigywv

hi I work in the land of poond and we have in the gardening section boxes of coppe to deter the slugs ,sells well so must be ok.also can anyone help with a small problem?..........outside my backdoor I have 3 lage terracotta tubs that have climbing roses and a few clematis in them,2 weeks ago I put my seeds in for this summer and I have a resident mr and mrs blackbird who multiple times a day are going and pecking all the seeds up and thowing them and the soil everywhere. I know this sounds like nothing but its bugging the life out of me cos if I don't sweep it up son aged 12 will saunter soil right through house as he not aware of the soil,,,,,,,,,typical boy! I cant put mesh up as the way the pots are situated and I think the bloody birds do it in stealth mode as only caught them on once or twice, I swear they are laughing at me the man one looks at me with his beady wee eyes and I know its chuckling away to itself.................see its affecting my sanity. so if anyone can tell me what to do that does not involve a pellet gun ......I do love the pair of them and they been coming for years ls ideas anyone thanks in advance xxx

thriftwizard

How about some open mesh flat over the soil in the pots, craigywv? Something that'll stop the birds scratching but still allow the seedlings to pop through - I'm thinking something like the open plastic mesh that's used over fruit boxes. Cut to go round the stems of the big plants? We often use wire mesh over tender seedlings & small plants to stop our bantams (and the local winged rat/pigeon population) digging them up; we leave it in situ all summer if it's not going to be a problem for the plant stems.

nuatha

NewShadow wrote: »

Has anyone come across any shelf stable cheese in the uk?

I'm looking for something like this:

http://www.packitgourmet.com/JalapeoJackCheese.html

http://www.packitgourmet.com/WisconsinCheddarCheese.html

I carry decent hard cheeses, wrapped in greaseproof paper rather than plastic and don't have an issue in UK summers for four or five days.
I do find that cheese that has shipped packed in plastic (supermarket pre packs etc seems to sweat a lot more than cheese from my local cheese-shop, whether that's down to packing or quality I can't say. Favourites are mature cheddars, manchego and Wensleydale - the last with rich fruit cake and an apple is my favourite backpacking lunch.
You could always improvise a camping fridge, a bowl of water with a metal container holding your cheeses and a wet cloth draped over the container with its tails in the bowl of water. I've kept milk fresh for three days this way in summer.

Trying to put together a weeks worth of food for a camping getaway I'm planning next month. I'm hoping to take my BOB and borrow a friend's wood for a week - see how I do without my kindle.

I'll post my list's soon for comment - if no one minds?

Minds? I look forward to it.

NewShadow wrote: »

ATM I'm thinking of taking a 2 man single skin pop up, a tarp, a saw, and a load of paracord.

The idea would be the popup acts as inner tent and groundsheet against a suitable tree/stand, then I use the bent sapling method to make something a little more structural/element proof, with the tarp overhead for waterproofing.

It'll depend on the site I find, but it's worked well before. I'm hoping early May will be more wet than cold, though some sun would be nice.

I'm not a fan of single skin tents, the tarp as a flysheet makes sense, I'd add a roll of gaffer tape to the paracord - it would allow you to create and tape seams which will add to the wind resistance - tarps make wonderful sails when you don't want them to.

Generally I'd expect day time temperatures to be in the mid teens and nights to be near to 9-10C, fingers crossed you get some sun as well.

I'd be carrying my ereader, but that's because not doing so would make it work rather than pleasure - the alternative being I carry a few real books.

Enjoy

NewShadow

If the seeds haven't sprouted yet, could you put a sheet of something over the top for a few days?

I'm actually thinking something like clingfilm or a sheet of ridged plastic - it'll still let the sun through, but will also act like a mini greenhouse and keep the moisture in.

It does assume there's some clearance between the soil and rim of the pot to allow sprouts.

NewShadow

nuatha wrote: »

I carry decent hard cheeses, wrapped in greaseproof paper rather than plastic and don't have an issue in UK summers for four or five days.

Baby bel last a month unrefrigerated in a backpack with no discernible change to taste or texture (though they can apparently get squished into a funny shape). Note to self - empty rucksacks properly after use when shopping.

I do like hard waxed cheese, and have some lovely local smoked I can take, but I'm also looking for something to leave in a BOB that'll be fine for 6 months or so. A part of this is wanting to test my BOB - see what I'll use and what's just dead weight over a week or so.

I'm thinking about getting the 3 pack of tinned cheese bob linked to - one to see if it's any good, then 2 for the kit if it is.

I'm also looking for the shelf stable version of the primula cheese spread - I'd swear it used to be fine unrefrigerated, but everything I've seen says it now needs to be kept cold. Not sure if that's just a change in regs?

I'm not a fan of single skin tents, the tarp as a flysheet makes sense, I'd add a roll of gaffer tape to the paracord - it would allow you to create and tape seams which will add to the wind resistance - tarps make wonderful sails when you don't want them to.

Tape added.

I'm also not normally a single skin fan, but It's really light - around a kilo, and I like the reassurance that it zips up tight - blocking any stray breeze or bugs that get through the top layer.

I'll only have to hike a mile or two too where I expect to set up camp, so I'm happy to compromise on the weight.

GreyQueen

There are double-skinned backpacking tents which only weigh a kilo, like my Banshee 200. That has stood up to some serious gales in the Lake District but, if I was shopping again, I'd go for a different design with a bit more of a porch, that model opens on the side and there is only about an 6 inch gap between the inner and the fly, which makes life in 7 days of pouring rain a bit tiresome - needing to put wet and muddy boots there.

You could also rig a nylon fly with paracord to form an angled roof over a living area/ camp kitchen. It's great to have a bigger bit of living space which will keep the worst of the weather off, even showers can be tiresome.

I have a vague recollection of seeing cheeses in tubes, but this may have been in New Zealand, it's a trad backpacking thing over there. I'm guessing they're shelf-stable and keep a reasonable amount of time once unsealed. Does anyone know if you can get tube cheese in the UK?

Salivating over nuatha's description of fruitcake and cheese as a meal for hiking days, I know several people who do this, it seems to hit the spot. I'm a big fan of nuts, too. They're relatively light, easy to eat, filling and nourishing and very packable, unless you have allergies to them, of course.

Love to hear your planning and your feedback afterwards, can't beat doing it for real to see what works and what doesn't.