Madness in the rain

Today must be the heaviest rain I have seen in Cornwall for some time. That’s not to say it hasn’t rained, far from it, usually it’s the damp misty type that gets you soaked through albeit very sneakily,

So I decided, after doing some paperwork to venture out and have my dinner. Mad I hear you say! Especially when you find out that I didn’t wear my gore-tex trousers. My top half was taken care of by my Swazi coat. Like the one Mr Mears friends wears on Wildfood, with the zip up front. So to say the least my top half stayed dry, but trousers were soaked. Just a good job they were my ex army lightweights and not jeans, they would have been like a wick all the way up to my shirt.

On the way down to my favourite spot I perchanced upon a cache of Sweet Chestnuts. Now in most parts of the UK this is something you can see a lot of. But since moving to Cornwall about 12 years ago, I haven’t seen such an abundance, and to say they taste nice is an injustice. So in the pouring rain, I was there gathering wild food, making the most of this one time event.

Upon achieving my goal and actually managing to get to my area, the clouds set about and opened up into the deluge from hell. Or more correctly, rain that would have put the fires of hell out. I decided to try my hand first of all, by not putting up the cover, which today was simply one of my poncho’s. Small and light, but very versatile, and possibly one of the most useful bits of kit you can carry, barring a knife. So with rain running everywhere, soaking all the kits I had, proving to me why you should always start with your tarp, or alternative cover, I set about lighting my Crusader cooker for my dinner and cup of coffee. This actually went quite well but did spit more than usual due to the rain hitting the now heated metal.

You may ask, why I did this when I have all the kit available to stay dry! My answer is purely and simply for the experience. Mad sounding I know, but I consider the way our lives are now to be extremely pampered and just sometimes you need a wake up call, and this is the easier option than wishing for something interesting to happen in your life. Something I will never do!!

As my water was now on the heat, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could light a fire. I hasten to add, I always have permission to do this and so should you too, in the UK at least. My only tinder was some tinder card I had left in my bag, which does work wet but not as good as dry. I will say ideally you should prepare for this and carry dry tinder in some form or other. This is collected on dry days and kept dry for when you need it. Or picked up early in the day, and stored next to the warmth of your body to help dry it out for use later on. I didn’t have that convenience as the whole trip would only take me 3 hours or so, and the tinder I do keep is for emergencies only.

I set about splitting an old thin pine log, one I knew to be dry on the inside with the hatchet I was carrying, a Husqvarna ‘ Gransfors wildlife’ equivalent type. A lot cheaper and from the same factory. The splitting process wasn’t easy as all there was available was another log to rest against. Oh what fun! I did however manage to split enough to make a start on the fire. Keeping the now dry inner wood dry, isn’t an easy job, all you can do is crouch over what you have split and slowly drip the contents of all the water running down over your coat, into the not yet lit fire. I then set about making a few feather sticks, where you shave bits of the stick into a curly mass. These are used to persuade the small flames, or even sparks from a firesteel etc. ‘if you have sufficient cover,’ tee hee, into taking the wood into its warm encompassing embrace. By now the wood was starting to look more like I had picked it out of the mud which in turn had been sitting around in the rain for the last few days.

Upon roughing up the tinder card to accept a spark from my firesteel, I noticed the pounding rain was starting to make its way further through the cover of the trees. Very nearly at this point I nearly gave up, and got my poncho out. I then thought, no damn it, prove it can be done. This is what makes the difference in real survival situations ‘don’t give up’, not that this was, I was just getting wet. I put the poncho down and carried on with the progress of lighting the fire. First few sparks, didn’t take at all, not surprising really on how damp it was. I roughed the surface up some more and tried again, whilst all the time trying my very best to keep everything covered up and dry’ish.

At last the spark took and I added the small flame to the fire pile I had created. Tender flames licking about the wood, spitting now and again at the water trying to extinguish its life. Once the fire had taken hold, and it started to build a semblance of warmth, I then decided, enough is enough, I would now make my cover. At this point, the water I set to boil before, started giving off the signs it was ready. Blast I thought, ‘it never rains but it...’. I stopped myself there. Typical sense of humour, now I felt completely insane.

I took hold of myself and took the poncho out of the stuff sack. I decided then and there the simplest way would be to use the eyelets at the edges, to hook a few small branches through there just to have enough time in the dry to get some paracord out of my bag which was now starting to fill up with water. Yes I had put the lid down on it, but in my haste to get out of the smoke of the fire as it started, I had knocked it and it had opened slightly. So after closing it properly now, I took out one length of cord and tied it around the corners of each branch just to stop it landing in a heap when I was enjoying my dinner, which I now needed.

At last success. I sat down on the log, legs soaked through but now able to lower the hood on my jacket. I set about making my coffee and the noodles meal I had bough with me and added a few more stick to the fire, nice warmth. The fire now was really enjoyable and even started to dry my trousers a little, shown by the steam rising off them. Sitting there, I once again realised what we have, and how we all take it for granted. Just one slip of fate could create cataclysmic events across the globe and set us back half a millennia.

After clearing the area for signs of me being there, I thought to myself maybe all the people that have called me insane have a point. The only other people I saw out today were a couple from the local College doing something with their students, who I hasten to add were all sitting in their van.

I always think life is what you make it, even if it means doing something unusual.

Being even half prepared is always better than being unprepared.