I do love my field hammock - and it's not hard to see why (Photo: Sean Fagan, south Portugal).
A Little Piece of Outdoor Luxury:
The Field Hammock
When it comes to wild-camping and bushcraft in general, hammocks can be roughly split into two categories: hammocks you sleep in - and hammocks you rest in (i.e. a field hammock).
In the following blog, I go into some key differences between the two types of hammocks as the above definition can seem contradictory ("Surely you can rest in a sleeping hammock and vice versa?").
What I also include are some of the alternative uses of my field hammock - some of which may surprise you...
The Burren of west Ireland is one of my favourite places to wild-camp. It's a wonderfully wild, evocative landscape - full of contradictions (Photo: Sean Fagan, west Ireland).
“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
J.K. Rowling
Recently I've been thinking about what makes an adventure.
I can only answer for myself and my answer comes in two, connected parts.
Firstly, adventure should be something that challenges you. The second, related part - is exposing yourself to the unexpected.
Whether you’re walking, paddling or cycling through wild places - along with camping in such places - you expose yourself to the unpredictable. In effect, you're breaking away from your everyday life and becoming part of something vast and unpredictable - nature.
And out there, in nature - unforeseen events are always unfolding.
What gets me sometimes is - a lot of the unexpected is funny, if not downright comical.
Adventure doesn't have to include the grandiose, the grand spreading vistas, the conquering of many miles of challenging terrain.
Adventure is also about moments, often unexpected moments - that fill us with something good.
Not the most pleasant image. On left, is a tick that has not fed upon blood (blood is the sole diet of ticks - required for growth and eggs). On right, is a blood-engorged tick - after feeding on a host (Photo: Wikimedia Commons Images).
Ticks are fascinating creatures (did you know they are closely related to spiders?).
Ticks can also be a real pain - and dangerous - as they can potentially transmit the debilitating affliction of Lyme's disease.
In the following blog I offer advice on how to deal with ticks when outdoors - this advice is based on years of camping and hiking in places where ticks are common.
How I deal with ticks
Over the years I've come across a whole slew of ways of dealing with ticks - some of which are spurious, possibly harmful.
Through trial and error and mostly common sense - I've narrowed down a few methods of dealing with ticks that I've found to be effective & convenient.
Learn about my 6 easy-to-apply tips in dealing with ticks....
A simple platform of dry branches & twigs can make a huge difference in establishing a strong-burning campfire such as the one in above photo (Photo: Sean Fagan).
When you need a campfire the most is often the time when its hardest to acquire...
It's very easy to explain the above statement; when outdoor conditions are damp and challenging is often the hardest time to light a campfire made from natural materials - as damp conditions can make it hard to find dry tinder, kindling & fuel.
Also, if it's raining hard, it can be challenging to even start a campfire.
One of my key ingredients for fire-lighting success during damp (or snowy) conditions is a very basic branch & twig platform UNDER my campfire.
By placing my campfire on a dry, layered platform I raise my campfire off the damp ground. This simple practice also greatly increases air flow - a key factor in lighting a campfire and keeping it going strong.
The other contributory factor is a hot bed of embers. Once the fire is established the platform is transformed into a hot bed of embers - greatly improving the heat and flames of the fire. This is important if you want to cook food or boil water quickly or if you need to urgently warm yourself up...often an important consideration during damp, cold conditions (when the risk of hypothermia is more prevalent).
I've presented this very short blog in a easy-to-follow format of four instructional photos. There is not much to making a platform and can easily be constructed in under 5 minutes.
It's very much a simple skill well worth remembering - and most importantly, putting into practice, when needed.
While cycling around the Burren I came across this curious cow. Note the fantastic, 7th century monastic ruins of Kilmacduagh Abbey in background (complete with a high tower to the right) - (Photo: Sean Fagan).
Where It all Began
Since I was quite limited in my travel options aboard throughout 2021 due to Covid restrictions – I decided to go exploring the home soil of my native country of Ireland - on a bicycle!
I’ve been very interested in bicycle camping for years but never got around to giving it a proper go.
My firebox in action...boiling water (Photo: Sean Fagan).
Over the course of almost one year, I’ve been occasionally using an alternative means of cooking food and boiling water outdoors – a firebox (sometimes referred to as a twig stove or camping stove or a variation thereof).
A firebox is a metal container that can be disassembled and stored flat. When assembled it's a free-standing, box-like structure that can contain a small, controlled fire within.
On the top of the firebox - a pot can be easily balanced for cooking or boiling water.
On one side of the firebox is a large opening for feeding twigs – the preferred fuel of the firebox.
A firebox is a very simple structure and easy to use.
But like all bushcraft gear – it has to be carried into the wild, so questions can arise such as: is the firebox worth carrying? and how well does it preform?
Like a lot of situations in life, there is no perfect answer to everything. Although the firebox has great advantages it also has its limitations – which will be covered in the following blog.
In this review I’ll also include the price of the firebox along with my overall opinion on value for money (you might be surprised on how much it costs).
The exceptionally well-built, Mini Duku Parang (Photo: Sean Fagan).
Budget options for bushcraft gear.
About 8 months ago I bought a mini-duku parang - which costs around 100 euros (many, good quality parangs cost in excess of 300 euros).
In case you don’t know what a parang is – I wrote a blog about parangs (which you can find here).
In short, Parangs are forward-curved, long-bladed tools that were traditionally used in jungle environments for such tasks as clearing away vegetation and shelter-building with natural materials.
Besides being exceptionally good for clearing away vegetation and shelter-building - parangs have a lot of other bushcraft applications. They are a truly versatile, woodland tool.
After months of use, I wanted to share my own experiences of using the mini-duku parang and to see if this parang is a good quality, budget-priced tool...
The common garden tool - the secateurs, has its place in bushcraft (Photo: Sean fagan).
It was a day in November, 3 years ago, when I finished a cup of mint tea in a cafe and wandered into the high desert of the Atlas mountains in Africa. I was looking for a place to camp. I was a little worried about where to camp as I didn't want to run the risk of my camping gear becoming stolen or damaged, as I planned on being absent from my camp during most days.
Eventually I found a spot - deep within a dense stand of shrubs beside a river. I was camped in the desert, about 2 km from a town where I had my tea a few hours earlier. I was very well hidden. I felt secure.
Stealth-camping is sometimes a reality of camping in wild places. Put simply - there are times we need to be very discreet, which often means camping within thick vegetation to hide our presence.
One tool I've found very useful for stealth camping, especially within thorny vegetation, is a secateurs.
With stalking skills we can blend into wild landscapes (Photo: Sean Fagan, Scotland)
7 Reasons to move quietly and invisibly through a landscape…
Introduction
Definition of stalking:pursue or approach stealthily.
Stalking is a very ancient skill - one that has been used by prehistoric humans since they first evolved - but humans are obviously not the only species that stalk.
Many predatory animals stalk in order to catch their next meal. Whether it's a praying mantis stalking a butterfly or a leopard slinking along the ground to get closer to an antelope - stalking is very much synonymous with life on earth.
I believe that stalking is often shelved away as an obsolete skill-set for many bushcrafters. It's almost as if stalking is seen as an optional but unnecessary for many within the bushcraft community.
Of course, it's very much up to the individual to decide what's necessary as regards which bushcraft skills we want to acquire, and hopefully master.
Without argument - core bushcraft skills such as fire-craft, water purification, shelter making, knife & axe skills will always be fundamental cornerstones of bushcraft, and rightly so, but it is still my strong belief that stalking has its place too.
And that is the aim of this blog post - to put forward 7 good reasons to learn stalking.
To be honest - I strongly believe stalking is not only a fun and challenging activity but in certain contexts, a very valuable skill. It's a skill I'll always treasure.
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