Kielder v Hammocks

It was a back to basics, everything Kielder had to throw at us against tarp/hammock and two very unprepared blokes!

Back in civilisation again...! Last night went pretty well though, even with the 4 degrees cold overnight. We got up there about 5ish I think and found a decent spot hidden away in the forest in a little clearing. Car parked nicely off the road so it wouldn't be seen too much.

Got the tarps n hammocks setup, little groundsheet in the middle to make a bit of an area to sit and have our food. Learned our lessons from canoeing and got all the sleeping bit sorted first; so roll mat in the bottom of the hammock for insulation, sleeping bag inside (and unzipped), thermals inside ready for getting changed... So with all that sorted we got on to ration packs for tea.

They turned out to be a lot better than I think both of us imagined!! Even good in places. Chicken Tikka and rice was really good, the second curry portion of Curried Lamb on top of it didn't taste quite so good. But still definitely edible. Main courses over with we started on Pud. After a quick wash out of the mess tins Fruit Dumplings and Custard and Treacle Pudding finished us off. Fruit Dumpings were awesome... I'd live on those alone for a few days! Nice cup of coffee was all that we needed to close off a very satisfying (yet suprising) meal.

Now came bedtime.. Getting in the hammock was a job and a half by itself. Absolutely pitch black in the woods, getting inside a hammock & mosi net into a sleeping bag. Not one of the easiest things I've ever done. Got settled while Michael laughed at me, then I repaid the favour while he got in his. He had the insight of wisdom though and got in the sleeping bag first which seemed lot's easier. Took a while to get off to sleep.

I was awake 3-4 times so not too bad for a first attempt, got pretty damn cold during the night (weather said down to 4 degrees!) Every time you slipped a little off the roll mat underneath you'd get cold through the sleeping bag. Michael was up about the same, did have to get out and redo his hammock at one point because it was too high at one end. Slept till about 7:30 so obviously not too uncomfortable. Very different way to sleep which will take some getting used to, but loads more comfortable than the floor!! :o)

Got all packed up in the morning, had a cuppa coffee for breakfast before heading back down home. All in all a pretty successful trip out. We survied what Keilder had, and this was probably the coldest we'll ever really come up against for a while anyways. Would be nice to do it in Scotland and get a fire going too. Next time....