Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Jack wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 11:05 pm Erfaron, for a moment I was anticipating for lunch to be the afore pictured pigs lol

Lmao no no, I would have probably put a warning up if that was the case, plus honestly I’m not a huge fan of hunting younger animals of it isn’t a survival necessity.

Cute piggies! They look too mellow to be javelinas, am I right? And that bread looks like bannock/pan de campo. I'm guessing southeast US?

A cherry wood bow sounds lovely!

Desert Loon wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 3:43 am Cute piggies! They look too mellow to be javelinas, am I right? And that bread looks like bannock/pan de campo. I'm guessing southeast US?

A cherry wood bow sounds lovely!

Ya those are just juvenile wild hogs, and ya more bannock bread, it’s actually a gluten free pancake mix with just water and salt, comes out sweet and delicious

Usually don't pull my phone out for pictures while out and about but I had to snap this one real quick. Felt kinda "middle-earthy"...

That is beautiful!!

Wow great shot!

Sometimes you stumble on gateways. It's good to keep on the alert for such moments. Thanks for sharing!

This past weekend I went with some family on an overnight hike.

Y Mountain overlooks Utah Valley. It gets its name from a big letter Y on its side, put there as an emblem for Brigham Young University. Hiking up to the Y is a popular pastime among the locals. It's about a mile up to the Y and very steep. About a mile beyond that, a narrower but still very steep trail goes up the side of the mountain to a cleft between it and its southern neighbor. There is a little flat there with a meadow surrounded by scrub oak, spruce and a few aspens. That is where we camped.



It snowed a little bit on us as we hiked up.


Technically you could say I was testing one piece of gear: this highland bonnet. Reflecting on ForgeCorvus' advice I thought I'd try it as a possibility for my kit (besides, I can also wear it with the Highland Scottish outfit I'm putting together). It proved a very useful hat indeed, helping to keep my head warm through a very cold night.


Looking out over the valley.



A couple views of the meadow, as the sun went down.


Fires are generally not allowed in our mountains, but since it was already below freezing up there, and there was a stone-lined firepit and plenty dead wood to gather, and everything around was so green, well, we couldn't help ourselves:

We made sure to smother the embers with dirt when we turned in.


A distant view of where I slept: tarp shelter with pad, sleeping bag, and my great plaid draped over the end of the shelter as a windbreak. I actually slept decently. I'm waiting on some bigger and better wool blankets and planning to make an oilcloth - and then trying such a bedroll on a night when it doesn't get down into the low 20s!


The meadow in the morning




Some views on the way back down.

At the bottom we enjoyed a few well-earned comforts. The hot cocoa was particularly good.
I don't know if I'm off, but I like to imagine that parts of northern Lebennin might look kind of like this.

that looks like an amazing place to camp, awesome

That looks amazing!!

It really does sound like an beautiful place to camp Hæðgegaf. I visited the states several years ago and would have guessed at Utah from your photos.

Wow! That's a beautiful spot to get an overnight camp in. Glad to hear it went well!

The weather can change suddenly in the high country of the Troll-fells and autumn blizzards though rare still happen. This day had started well enough but as I drew within sight of the mountain pass the wind and driving snow set in and forced me back down the valley in source of shelter. The conditions there were milder but one glance at the mountain showed the wisdom of the choice.

It will be summer before anyone risks the path again.

extraordinary!!

.... did you learn anything fun with your fur-cloak-thing?

Elleth wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 2:38 pm extraordinary!!

.... did you learn anything fun with your fur-cloak-thing?

It's a wonderful textile, never too hot and never too cold. The snow sits on top of the fleece and never gets enough body warmth to melt so it ends up forming almost a solid insulating layer (or so it seems) You do need to shake like a wet dog every half hour or so though or the weight of the snow can get a bit oppressive.
Sadly no rain this trip so that verdict will have to wait but honestly it's still one of the favorite things I own.