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23rd January 2023 - Winter Camping ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last weekend I had the pleasure of being on a Scout camp. I am part of a team taking a group of 14-18 year olds on an Explorer Belt expedition to Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean. The aim of the Explorer Belt is to spend 10 days completing 10 minor and 1 major project. This group of Explorer Scouts is made up of members of various units across South West Birmingham and so many do not know one another. I certainly didn't know many. So why not have a camp to get to know one another and do some planning? I say camping... Really, we stayed in unheated wooden buildings and had a kitchen/dining shelter which had heating. Who wants to deal with wet tents? No one! Well, I did deal with some wet tents after camping earlier in December. Always worth avoiding the wet tent scenario if possible. The huts helped chop a few degrees off of the air temperature which was great seeing as the temperature was -4C at night and +2C in the day. In terms of activities, we did a bit of site maintenance to help out. This involved clearing an area of leaf litter and general debris so that a new shelter could be built. We also had to burn a load of brush wood which someone had cleared. There are some plans to plant new trees in this space which will replace a whole load of holly. Due to the cold, the fire was surprisingly difficult to get going. It took an hour and a half to really get the wood warm enough and dry enough to really burn. Sadly, the fire was not hugely impressive although the warmth was welcome. We did some air rifle shooting and archery for the fun side of life. Well, you have to do something fun during a weekend of site service work and planning. I was shocked by how much actually got done on that side. The groups all had a rough idea of what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go. It appears I might end up visiting a pipe in the middle of the sea called "The Middle Finger". Can't blame the explorers with wanting to see that one. Seems an oddity and worth a peek. During the weekend, I was reminded how much fun it can be when the weather is truely cold. I was pretty warm with 2 t-shirts, a hoody and a fleece on top as well as some lined trousers on the bottom. Add a woolly hat and some gloves for extra warmth. It was lovely walking around on the crunchy grass or leaf covered paths in the woods. The light sparkled on the ice while robins flittered around. There were loads of robins doing their thing and not really being bothered by humans. Makes sense in a wooded Scout campsite to be fair. If they are used to noisy Scouts then I am sure they can cope with me plodding around. The sky was gloriously coloured as well. Loads of pinky trails among the grey cloud streaks at dawn. I should go out on more wintery walks. Particularly when the air is crisp and not soggy. It makes a great change. The camp in December was not as pleasant as it was just soggy greyness really. Luckily, we have more wintery weather coming along which should offer more opportunities for pretty winter. Although the news suggests SNOWAGEDDON with UP TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW AN HOUR! Hogswash I recon. It might be snowing like that in the northern reaches of Scotland but not elsewhere. Local news is often claiming snowfall and not delivering. All in all, a successful weekend of getting to know new people, planning, helping out by playing with fire and admiring the scenery. That and falling asleep on the sofa all Sunday afternoon again... Sigh.