Where and when
This was our student-organized field trip. The requirements were: stay outside at least three nights and move your campsite at least once.
We decided to go to Ravnedalen, the forest area just behind Kristiansand city. It is an easy area with lots of trails, lakes and possibilities to climb. We went there from the 22nd of March til the 25th of March 2014. So the Outdoor Recreation Act allowed us to make a fire. (It also allows us, to carry out a trip like this, just go into the forest and stay wherever you want to).
Ravnedalen is a Coastal forest with a lot of different trees (mainly birch, pine and oak), bushes, and other vegetation, very diverse and full. We didn´t see any animals except for different birds, but we could see, that we were in an area of high-beaver activity.
The weather forecast was fine, except for the starting day. The ground wasn´t frozen anymore and it was fairly warm.
The group consisted of four people: me, Tina, Erwan and a friend of him
The plan and the route
You can see our route in the picture. We started from a parking area near Ravnedalen. We didn´t plan a exact route, we just decided before we left, that we wanted to circle the three lakes and then go climbing. Since there were enough trails to go, we decided spontaneously, which we would take. And we also didn´t push anything, we wanted to have a really relaxed trip. The first night, we camped on a rock with great view over the whole Kristiansand area. The second night we stayed near the smallest, furthest north lake. And the third night did we spend near the climbing area. Where we went climbing the third and fourth day, when the rock was totally dried after the rain from the first night.
On the last day we walked through the city to do some shopping and then walked home.
Some questions
- Did your plan comply with the practical outcome?
Since we did not have a detailed plan, the practical outcome was exactly what we wanted the trip to be like – and we did hike around the three lakes and went climbing afterwards as we planned. So our plan complied the practical outcome very well.
- How did your equipment work, what was missing, what was redundant?
Except for the holes in the tarp that made me wet in the first night, our equipment worked perfectly and we did not pack a lot of unnecessary stuff.
- Nutrition, what did you eat, how did you function on this food, was it sufficient?
I used the same food-principles as always: Oatmeal in the morning, bread and cheese and cookies during the day and something warm but easy to prepare in the evening. One night we made some experiences with too much pepper but except for that did we have good and sufficient food. And we planned very well – nothing was left when we returned home. (Which should not be the case if you are far from civilization, because you should have some buffer if you are forced to stay longer as expected – but in Ravnedalen we could have just walked right into the city, so that was perfect planning.)
- What kind of shelter did you use, how did it function?
We used two 3x3m-Tarps. We built them up every night to get some practice in that, but we only used it in the first night, all the other nights we slept ouside. In the first night though, I got wet because it rained and I made two mistakes in building the tarp up: I didn´t see the holes that were already in the tarp and placed it by accident directly above me and secondly I didn´t give the water a chance to run down – so it all dripped on me. The tarps were perfectly suited shelters for the given conditions, since the ground wasn´t wet or frozen and it wasn´t really cold. Otherwise we might have needed a tent.
- How did you cope carrying all the necessary equipment, what would you do differently?
We contributed the common equipment (tarps, food, climbing gear, cooker) so that the strongest person had to carry most of the weight – so everybody coped fine. We could have distributed more evenly, but it was ok for everybody that way – and there is one nice fact about this way of sharing: the group will end up having approximately the same walking pace, since the strongest is held back a little by the additional weight. We did not carry a lot of water, since there are enough small lakes and rivers in Ravnedalen. It was still a good training weight because we carried climbing gear for four persons.
Learning Outcomes
I learned that I can be very hard to find a good place to sleep in the dark, when you don´t know the area.
I learned some things that you have to consider when building up a tarp. (The water has to have a spot to run down, otherwise it will start dripping, especially if the tarp has holes. Never put the biggest holes over you. Don’t built it up too high, the rain will drift inside.
I also expanded my knowledge about practical climbing and repelling.
