On Wednesday, 31st of January we went on an Overnight-Trip just 10 minutes outside of Kristiansand. We all met at 2 pm, grabbed some missing stuff, such as tents from the garage and walked together into the Jegersberg-area. A nice thing about Norway is the “Allemannsrett”, which allows you to camp wherever you want to, as long as you’re not on private property, cultivated land, more than 150 meters away from civilization and not staying longer than two nights at the same spot (Government Administration Services, 1957). The area we chose included a big open field (which unfortunately was covered in ice) and forest-parts, with trees, bushes and rocks. Nearby was a toilet-hut and a frozen lake. First thing we did after arrival, was setting up our tents. Theresa, Linda and I chose a nice flat spot in the bush and cleaned it from stones, branches and bigger cones. The advantage of the forest is that it keeps some heat and also shelters from wind. To make sure that the outer tent doesn’t touch the inner tent, we used tent pegs for the ground and ropes to tie the outer tent on to trees. I learned that it is important to choose a spot that is slightly going downhill, so in case of heavy rain your tent won’t be swimming in water. We stretched one big tarp for the whole group, under that we could sit, cook and shelter. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky with the weather that day and had some rain almost the whole afternoon. But that didn’t stop us from having a lot of fun while playing lots of different team-games. Every nation presented one or two games that were dynamic, fun and cognitive. So I learned some really good new games, such as chicken in a henhouse or rubber chicken rounders, that I will definitely use later one in school or on other activities with kids or friends. Afterwards we got some ingredients from Len and had to cook a nice hot and nutritious dinner within 20 minutes. It was impressive how quick you can cook a delicious warm dinner with little and simple ingredients. Especially rice, quinoa or couscous is suitable as a base for an outdoor-meal, as it packs compact, cooks fast and is very nutritious. I also learned that it is nice to take some spices, as the food gets a lot more delicious with them. We forgot ours, so we had to improvise with pesto and got some chili from another group. Interestingly enough, most dishes were a sort of stew, which makes sense, as you usually only have one or two pots and one stove, but it also stays warm longer and usually cooks quicker. The advantage of a storm kitchen compared to an “open burner” is, that it shelters the wind, so it cooks faster and you need less gas/spirit, but you have to take more gear, which might be negative on longer trips, when you have to save weight.After dinner, we made a small fire. We started it with some dry logs we brought and splitters we cut from the logs. As only I and three more brought logs, we collected some wood and branches and dried them next to the fire, so we could use them later on. Me and some others made “pinnebrød” and were talking while sitting/standing next to the fire. We also went for a walk and played next to the lake, so by the time we went to bed we were still warm. I slept comfortable and it was warm enough, although I only brought my airmatress. So all in all it was a good and fun experience, even though the weather wasn’t the best.

References:

Government Administration Services (1957). Outdoor Recreation Act. Retrieved from https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/outdoor-recreation-act/id172932/