On Wednesday 27th of January we had our first overnight trip in Jegersberg. As preparation we had a lecture on Tuesday in the volleyball hall of Spicheren where we were introduced in the cooking system and trained how to set up the tents. To my horror our tent was wet, so some students of the last course did not a good job. Luckily the tent has not started to mould but still it had a really bad smell… First thing we had to do: try the tent overnight. After we set up our tent we noticed that there is a little hole in the apsis and several guy lines are missing or broken. To put it in a nutshell, this was not a good start in the overnight season but luckily Len was able to get some new guy lines for us.
On Wednesday we met at 14 o’clock at the clearing in Jegersberg. The weather forecast was really bad – a lot of rain and wind up to 10m/s. My parcel that was sent from my girlfriend in Germany (again thanks therefore :*) was not delivered in time. As a consequence, I could not use my three layer jacket and my winter sleeping mat. So, I changed plans and decided to wear my rain jacket with an additional jacket underneath. This worked well because the temperatures were above zero degrees and I did not get wet. During the trip I was glad that I brought my waterproof trousers because my softshell hiking trousers were not able to resist against the rain. To my disappointment I had to recognize that my hiking shoes do not have a very high water resistance and of course I did not bring a second pair. Therefore, I have to buy me new ones bevor we do another trip on which I am not camping one night and 20 minutes away from home. All my other equipment worked really well, even my summer sleeping mat in combination with a silver mat as additional layer to protect me against the bold bottom.
First item on the agenda was setting up the tents because due to the weather forecast rain would start soon. After that we started with our group dynamics/teambuilding games. All nationalities had to present in one or two groups a typical game which was evaluated afterwards. For me it was fun first but then it started to rain and as described above, my shoes got wet. To prevent my trousers of getting wet I had to leave the games for a few minutes to put on my rainproof ones. Learning process for the next time: wear the best clothes for the expected weather conditions right from the beginning on.
Back to the group dynamics. As I said, first it was a lot of fun but after a while it started to get a little bit boring and cold because some games had no high activity level. Moreover, there were about eight groups and the games dragged on in some point. Martynas’ game was the best one because it was embedded in a story and he did a great job in telling it.
Second, we did a cooking competition. We had 20 minutes to cook our meal and present it afterwards to the group. There it was evaluated due to taste, nutritive value and appearance. A lot of people precooked some things at home which is very smart, so gas and time can be avoided. To be honest, I would not take a lot of the used ingredients (e.g. coconut milk, fresh salmon/chicken without cooling) because they taint quickly, are too big, or too heavy. In my opinion the couscous with tuna was the best and most suitable for a trekking trip.
My night was not very comfortable because Marek, Michael, Michael and I were not able to lie on our backs. This so called four men tent is definitely too small for four boys. Furthermore, there is a problem with the ventilation because all four sleeping bags were wet. It was like a consistent outer wet skin. Luckily, my sleeping bag stayed warm inside for the whole night also because I put a hot bottle of water in my sleeping back. Regarding to the coming day trips I am really afraid with my down sleeping back. If it gets wet during the first night again I have a big problem in the other nights because I see no chance to dry it during the day…
All in all, it was a nice overnight trip with a lot of fun and a first stress test for my equipment. For example, I definitely have to buy new winter shoes and maybe a bivouac sack. To be honest, there was one point that made me a little bit sad. Out teacher (and in my eyes group leader) did not camp with us but left us after the cooking competition. In addition, he did not want to join the group dynamic games, even after some invitations. I did not get why he was a kind of secret in this way because he is a funny and great guy. In my opinion he is part of our team and therefore it was a pity that he left us. Nevertheless, am I looking forward to the next trips and I am sure that he will stay with us and we all will have a great time together.
