Strength & Balance by Keep_Going_Lass

"On a more reflective note, I found it fascinating and encouraging to observe even amongst strangers, how quickly a “back to basics” environment develops trust and co-operation and brings out the best that human nature has to offer."

This final comment of my last post got me thinking.  Always a dangerous thing for me to do at the best of times.  However the "back to basics" environment of last week on the River Safari also gave me a taste for the simplicity of being away from complication and uncertainty in its various forms and made me wonder how I would fare without the security blanket of the company of others.   Could I do it alone? 

Being the impulsive soul that I am, I purchased a backpacking tent and all the accompanying travel light paraphenalia, loaded it all into the tiny boot of my little car and set off on Friday evening, accompanied by my dog for a weekend camping with no distractions other than the fresh air, to just "be", find out where my thoughts take me, and when everything else is stripped away, what I am truly made of.  What do I want now that I have freedom to choose?

I chose a location that I have grown to know pretty well these last couple of years, in the heart of Cannock 'Chase,where I knew once parked up, I wouldn't have to drive anywhere and could rely entirely on Shanks' Pony but with the security of knowing that I could jump in the car and be home in 20 minutes!(well one step at a time eh??)

Arriving at the site, I laid out the tent on my chosen pitch, amazed that a little tube of flimsy material weighing 2.5 kg and about half the size of the pillow on my bed at home could serve as my home for the duration.  An hour later, I finished erecting the damned thing.  

It took me 20 minutes to work out that the poles go on the outside, another 20 minutes to work out that I had attached them the wrong way round which is why it didn't look tent shaped and a further 20 minutes to peg out in the most effective way I could, given that half way through the exercise, I established there were insufficient pegs supplied to peg everything you were supposed to.  Luckily, I found one peg left behind in the ground, it was a still night, and the forecast for the weekend was good.  Next time, 15 minutes max should do it!

Tent up, mat, sleeping bag et al installed , it was time to feed us.  So on my little stove, I cooked up a pan of pasta and pesto with olives and a sausage for Ben to supplement his half tin of dog food as a special treat for being my trusted guardian.  So far, so good. 

I had the foresight to purchase a tin of ready mixed gin and tonic and sat drinking it in my enamel mug in silence as I watched dusk change into dark with Ben watching me curiously as if to say, "when are we going home mum?".

Turning in for the night, it took a little time to persuade Ben that as much as I love him, he was not invited to share my sleeping bag and eventually, he lay down sulkily with his back to me, gave a big sigh and doing his best to ignore me (though I could see his eyes moving every time I spoke).  Eventually, he went to sleep.

Surprisingly - so did I......  to be rudely awakened by the dulcit tones of a cockerel,  ably assisted by a peacock, insisting on telling me every 30 seconds or so that it was morning - except it was only 4.30 am.

Once up, the little stove came out again to cook bacon and make strong coffee poured from the cutest little kettle you have ever seen before packing a rucksack and setting off to explore the Forest with a dog eared map and a compass which I had no idea how to use,  but the intention of teaching myself.  (that's the compass, not the map - I'm not THAT much of a girl!)

Getting on for 10 miles and one very tired, but grateful dog later, we arrived back at the tent,having seen some pretty sights,

watched mountain bikes scaling narrow paths 30 feet up amongst the trees (spot the mountain biker - now THERE's an idea!)

Passed through a gate with no more than a warning sign - Beware - Trains!

and picnicked in RAF Hednesford (closed in 1956 and subsequently used as a Hungarian (I think!) Refugee Camp).  Most of the buildings gone and only the outline of the roads and a memorial stone giving a clue to the thousands of young men that must have passed through it.

The intention was to move on to the German Cemetry, also situated within the Forest, a place if ever there was one to put life into perspective, but unfortunately not making it on account of going round in circles for an hour due to my lack of compass skills.

Hungry and ready for our "BBQ" (of the disposable kind), we cooked and shared chicken and corn cobs, washed down with a beer and later, the same enamel mug housed a rather large drop of "special milk" from my hipflask whilst I formed a good idea of what my next activity needs to be ...... a course in orienteering, so even if I don't know where I am, at least I have some idea of my direction, both in the practical as well as the emotional sense!

Another simple evening followed, with the same early morning call and breakfast.  Packed up and away by 11.00 am, I arrived home knowing that I still want the same things and whatever is in store on Planet Tracy, nothing is scary as it seems........

I think me and my little tent are going to become firm friends. 

Quote of the day

"Sometimes you need to lose your old self to find yourself, but when you find yourself, don't lose yourself again.......Don't be someone that searches, finds and then runs away.

Paulo Coelho

Following my shopping trip late last week,  I enjoyed the drive on Friday evening in anticipation of a ...... weekend.   I wasn't sure whether it would be relaxing, exciting, tiring, entertaining, scary ...........    It transpired to be all of those things. 

 Arriving at the meeting point in Hereford, I met up with the rest of the Group to discover that the pub was not serving food without bookings - excellent start, I was starving - as was everyone else! 

The main task of Friday evening was to transfer the cars to our finishing point in Monmouth and be bused back in a Land Rover. This we achieved without hitch and the return journey included a pit stop at the local chip shop.  

Do you remember the advert  ".....when a man you've never met before suddenly gives you flowers...."   Well in my case, he wasn't acting on "Impulse", he had bought flowers for his mum and sister and hadn't managed to deliver them en route, so he handed them to the two women sat in the back of the Land Rover, one of which happened to be me.  So what does one do with a bunch of flowers on a River Safari?    Well most of the ladies ended up with an adornment anywhere we could manage - on hats, tucked into life jackets, and the remainder adorned the boats and remarkably, given what they were put through, the blooms were still attached to the stalks by the end of the weekend.

Returning to camp, our next priority was to build it.  A couple of the party had brought their own tents and two were arriving on Saturday morning so the bivvy only had to service 6 of us, made from two canoes,  6 paddles, a tarpaulin, grounsheet, 6 pegs and a long length of rope.

After the doom mongers warning of bad weather, we had a most wonderful weekend with rain only overnight .    On Saturday morning, a gentle prod relieved the tarpaulin of its quarry and treated two of us to a cold shower.

Over the course of our time on the river we paddled in such calm and quiet water that you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Amazon, whilst at the other extreme after a few “little rapids” the day before, we were coached in how to ride the rapids at Symonds Yat and with the river up a little, the front of the boat bobbed up and down like Captain Pugwash’s ship as we negotiated the fast running water, avoided the rocks and arrived safely at the bottom very pleased with ourselves.  

Unfortunately, we were SO exhilarated with our achievement we didn’t pay attention to where we were going and capsized as we bumped into a rock poking above the water with the boat turned slightly sideways.  We were in no danger though and I squealed with laughter as we scrabbled around trying to retrieve paddles and bits of kit that weren’t attached to the boat.

The same can’t be said for our prior scrape the day before when we misjudged our positioning on another rapid and found ourselves heading at speed for the trees.  Once in the trees, which somehow failed to knock us out of the boat, the water was still fast moving but there was nowhere for us to go and with the water pressure building up underneath, our boat was pretty close to turning over.  

I surprised myself at  how calm I was, deciding  much to my companion’s disdain, to reject the offer of help from a passing canoe, figuring that it would safest to wait for our instructor to come back for us.   In the meantime, we needed to stabilise the boat and worked together, using the tree branches to pull ourselves back against the current further into the bank.    Even if we could get out, we would be heading back into the fast moving water sideways which I figured would be more perilous than being stuck in the trees!

Matt arrived and whilst his calming strategy left a lot to be desired, telling us that we were in the most dangerous position we could be, his rescue strategy and instructions were A1:  don’t hold on to anything, find somewhere to wedge your paddles on the side and limber down into the boat to lower your centre of gravity and keep your head away from the branches.   Manoeuvring his boat along side us, he shielded us from the rapid water flow whilst gently edging us out.  Once released, we had freedom to take control of our boat again using the skills we had learned to get us to where we should have been.

At the end of a tiring day’s paddle, we then had to drag the canoes, fully laden with barrels up the bank, build our shelter for the 2^nd night on the river bank, make a fire so that we could stay warm and eat a banquet of jacket potatoes, sausages and baked beans.

Back to Sunday – following our “swim” at the bottom of the rapids, we had a further 3 miles to paddle, soaking wet, so an extra layer of waterproofs to keep out the wind and some vigorous paddling made it hardly noticeable until we had the opportunity to change into dry clothes after unloading the canoes and all the kit, before heading off home to a bath and comfortable bed - 2 days, 28 miles in some of the most beautiful surroundings our land has to offer.   

The whole experience delivered all my expectations and more.  My partner and I, had delivered the entertainment for our fellow canoers, being the only boat that had to be rescued as well as the only one to empty its passengers. 

On a more reflective note, I found it fascinating and encouraging to observe even amongst strangers, how quickly a “back to basics” environment  develops trust and co-operation and brings out the best that human nature has to offer.

So, in time honoured tradition .... here are the “pictures”  I'm the one with my head in a barrel, but for a good cause  .........

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnb_bAgin-Q

I wouldn't normally write a post in anticipation of an event but for this I will make an exception.....

I'd like to say that the decision to indulge in this weekend's planned activity is down to my long held self development mantra that when you have completed one objective, you should set another more stretching one.....

However, it is more likely to be a reaction to having just got back from holiday, which whilst somewhat luxurious, relaxing and convenient, I experienced an element of cabin fever that comes with package deals, so along with the surfacing of a compulsion for adventure and excitement over recent months, I found myself pressing the "confirm booking" button.

So today, with only 3 days to go, I headed for the nearest "outdoor outlet" to indulge my other professional mantra - "Preparation is everything" but with only 20 minutes to go until closing time, I decided I needed to "shop like a man".

Approaching two bored looking male assistants, clearly waiting for the big hand to hit the 6, I smiled sweetly and said "I've got a shopping list".  

"Good", he said, remarkably enthusiastically, "What do you need?".   

"I need something to sleep on, something to sleep in, something warm and something waterproof".  

He could of course be forgiven for thinking I needed a tent, based on what I had said until I confirmed I had no need for a tent, only a outdoor sleeping bag and a "karrimat" to satisfy the "in" and "on" requirement, (pretending I KNEW what a "karrimat" is). He then enquired what I would be sleeping "under". 

"A Canoe, in a field, so I also need to travel light because the canoe is also my wardrobe for the weekend".   The look on his face was priceless.   

 Once he realised that I was perfectly serious and he hadn't got the local nut in his shop, he got well into the spirit, completely forgot about the big hand reaching the six (although his friend did lower the shutters part way to prevent any further nuts entering the establishment) and half an hour later I left with a big bag containing functional kit which will apparently see me through 3 seasons (not sure which 3 but I'll hope for the best) along with a waterproof fleece, trousers, foldaway mac, a pair of dry bags, and most imortantly a travel pillow (well a girl has to have SOME luxury, even if she IS shopping like a man, and I rarely go anywhere without my pillow).

So, what am I doing?  Well - that from which the "more stretching" objective was born ... my post on 29th May will tell you.   And the new objective? 

Here's the itinerary ....

  "A river safari from Hoarwithy to Monmouth - a magical and memorable experience and the very spirit of adventure.    

To start our adventure we will meet up on Friday evening and get to know the rest of the group.  We will then bivi the night on the banks of the River Wye. In the morning, we will travel downstream enjoying the tranquillity of the river and surroundings, stopping en route to eat a well earned packed lunch. 

In the evening, after a day’s paddling we will make camp using canoes and bivi sheets in a remote field truly away from it all!  After an evening meal cooked on an open fire we will reminisce on the day’s journey, under the stars.  On Sunday morning after a cooked breakfast prepared on an open fire, we continue downstream and there is an opportunity to play on Symonds Yat rapids and finish at Monmouth late Sunday afternoon totally de-stressed and relaxed.

Beer/Wine is not, so don't forget to pack some!! 

How exciting!!  But given my last "Bridget Jones" effort, perhaps I am the local nut after all! 

Just a quick post tonight as with an early start in the morning after a week off work, I am ready for my bed.

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I celebrated it with my daughter and  sister doing something completely different that pushed me way out of my comfort zone - I am not good with heights and the bruises have only just gone......

I was very proud of my daughter - she was nearly as scared as me as you will see, but she persevered.  I could never have done that when I was 16.....take a look

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bMbe1cNU_M