Location: Forested areas in southern Norway, Jagersberg.

West Agder region, North of the city of Kristiansand.

Night One: Kyrtjonn

Night Two: Oygardstjonn

Night Three: Kyrtjonn

Introduction

We planned the self organised trip through Jagersberg forest. Pine and birch trees line the paths leading into large forest areas. the forest has many hills so there was a lot of streams and lakes in which to collect fresh water. The weather was sunny and the area had had little rain in the weeks before our trip so the forest was very dry. Birds and insects could be seen and heard throughout the day.

Learning outcomes for our group on the first day were to learn the best ways to assemble tarps and practice building a natural shelter. On the second day we practiced navigation skills with a map and compass and each took it in turn to lead the group to our second camp site.

 Fresh running water

Meals

For breakfast I had individual mango yoghurts in which I mixed muesli. This was a good breakfast as the mango flavoured yoghurt contained natural sugars to replace what is lost when asleep and the muesli added fibre and carbohydrates for energy for throughout the day.

Lunch consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches with a piece of fruit, banana or apple.

For my evening meals I made rice, vegetables and chicken on the storm kitchen, I chose this meal as it has vegetable for nutrients, rice for carbohydrates and chicken for protein. I added some spice mix to add flavor. The second evening I substituted the rice for pasta and added tomato sauce for flavor.

Shelters

During the first day of our trip we spent time practicing different ways to set up tarps. We first decided the area in which we would fit a big tarp to sleep six people. We then collected large and small branches to use as frame work for the tarp along with the use of a tree. As the weather this day was very sunny and little wind we just made a fairly plane shaped shelter but ensured there was a run of point in case of rain. We attached the tarp to the trees and we moved heavy rocks around to tie the slack pieces of tarp as to pull them tight. To make the top beam of the tarp we balanced a large piece of wood to the tree and used a V shaped branch to balance the other end. We then used rope to bind the top beam and V shape together. The tarp shelter worked fine and gave us shelter for the night. If we were to stay in the same camp site for a second night we would have adapted the shelter so that it was more wind proof as the wind picked up a little during the night.

We then began to collect more wood, this time to make a natural shelter. This time we collected thinner pieces of wood so we could bend them slightly to weave through the frame (see diagram1).  We then collected braches with pine needles on to place on the outer side of the shelter. These were all placed in one direction (similar to tiles on the roof of a house) so that the water would run off in one direction to the ground. We then also collected dry fallen leaves to fill in any gaps on the shelter. The frame of the shelter again used V shaped branches as pillars and a large piece of wood for the main roof beam.

Walking with a heavy back pack was challenging so we minimized the weight as much as possible by camping near running water that we could boil up and use for drinking water and for cooking. We also shared tarps and rope minimizing equipment needed.

Evening wood whittle

In the evening to pass time we attempted to whittle wood. I used birch wood found in the forest. I first drew out the outline of my spoon then I used my sharp knife to shave the wood away. This was a fun task that I would like to do more of in the future.

Wood with spoon outline

Spoon