Thank you! There's still lots more to come. I'm really happy you are enjoying it, the process of sharing this, some years after the actual event, is really making me realise how much it changed my life, how it made me see the world in a different way. With luck, this is also coming through in the daily posts!
It definitely feels like a unique experience for you. Often it takes many years to figure out the significance of these events. Seems like you've found a good distance to look back at it. Looking forward to the rest.
You have some weeks left yet! We're not even at the half way point. The funny thing is, sharing this now, I wouldn't have remembered the tough parts of the adventure--whether the rain and constant damp, the occasional difficulty in getting a fire lit, the midges, clegs, and ticks, or the bone-chilling cold which arrived early that year--without reading my journal and notes from the time. In my mind, I only remember the positive aspects, which is perhaps a lesson unto itself?
I can imagine the hardships... even a day outside with inclement weather can be exhausting... living ‘permanently’ albeit temporarily.. is a completely different proposition..!
Once I moved into the shelter, many of the issues became easier to deal with--everything is easier with a fire and walls. Being under a tarp in a hammock is either breezy, which can be tough when you are wet, or a bit claustrophobic, if set low. The shelter definitely made life easier!
Potentially. It would be different and, in some ways, both harder and easier. This is a question I will return to later this year (watch this space!)! Being married now, with an oh-so-nearly two year old daughter would make the being alone thing different, but on the flip side my skill level is exponentially higher now than it was 13 years ago, my strength and fitness likewise.
When I saw that there was going to be a UK version of the US show 'Alone', I was tempted to apply for about five minutes, but then thought about how I'd miss Aurélie and Ailsa and decided against it. I've not watched any of it but, from the brief reviews I read, I think if I'd been picked I would have been in with a good chance of winning! Haha.
If I could go back in time and choose whether to do it again, I would, only potentially much earlier in life.
This is the first time I have sat and quietly read through your work. Lovely stuff. It out me in mind, very much, of Neil Ansell and ‘Deep Country’ and I mean that as a compliment. I am much in admiration of your resolve and resourcefulness. And that connection to nature. Magical. And daunting. But perhaps reassuring. We are living in the country in rural France. A house, an old farm not a shelter. But nature is ever present and I do feel it changes you to be so close. This morning we cycled out in the half darkness. 3 boar, six deer, a woodpecker as the sun came up. It connects you. Love your reflections. Thank you.
It really does connect you, yes! Where I am, in a small village at the start of the Alpes, we are surrounded on three sides by thick woodland and mountains, which means there's always something to either hear or see. (At least the September rush of hunters is finally slowing down now, but for three weeks it is a constant bang bang bang. The odd thing is, the animals seem to know when it is hunting season and move away into the harder to reach areas. When it isn't the season, they are always much closer.)
I haven't read Deep Country, but I remember reading various articles by Neil Ansell. I think the idea of being alone in nature is an ancient one, something we have done forever but, in recent years, have somehow forgotten. I honestly believe the world would be a better place if more children were actively taught about the natural world at school, not solely through biology, for example, but how to be a naturalist, perhaps with a bushcraft and foraging element.
Thank you so much for reading and writing this comment, I really appreciate that. I also love the list of wildlife you saw on your morning cycle, there's a real connection there.
Ah yes, the Vienne is 'rich' in those same rural traditions - the popping sounds of rifles and shotguns pepper the quiet symphony of birdsong with abrupt percussion!
Agree wholeheartedly about encouraging youngsters into the natural world. We have a friend who had been doing that in mid-Wales but lockdown stripped out all the Council funding she relied upon.
Another *recommended read*, if I might be so bold, is 'Consolations of the Forest' by Syvain Tesson about his 6-month stay in a hut by Lake Baikal ... a real favourite, it gets an annual read from me.
Oh please be as bold as you wish--I have a file on my phone to which I add recommendations, which is something I use regularly! Thank you for that, I shall have to seek it out. The idea reminds me a little of Dick Proenekke in Alaska. I'm sure you probably already know of him? To build a cabin is something I'd like to try one day, although I already have plans for a roundhouse before that!
I had a friend who was doing a similar thing in Scotland, creating a forest school for children, but that also fell through due to funding cuts. :( It seems to be the case in so many things of real benefit.
And I DID have a great weekend, thanks, only just managing to look through my notifications here, so that must be a good thing?
I did not know about Dick Proenekke in Alaska but it’s a trail of breadcrumbs I aim to follow. I should put all the book recommendations I’ve been given in one place. They pop up at the most unexpected moments! Usually when I’m nowhere near a bookshop!!
I shall let you follow the breadcrumbs! There is a curious meditation to the story, one which I've both watched and read several times. Some of his references are a bit dated, but it is certainly worth exploring.
I'm loving this series!
Thank you! There's still lots more to come. I'm really happy you are enjoying it, the process of sharing this, some years after the actual event, is really making me realise how much it changed my life, how it made me see the world in a different way. With luck, this is also coming through in the daily posts!
It definitely feels like a unique experience for you. Often it takes many years to figure out the significance of these events. Seems like you've found a good distance to look back at it. Looking forward to the rest.
Thanks and, yes, it seems a good place to revisit this, now.
I become more envious of your wild time by the day... I will be sad when it’s over though...
You have some weeks left yet! We're not even at the half way point. The funny thing is, sharing this now, I wouldn't have remembered the tough parts of the adventure--whether the rain and constant damp, the occasional difficulty in getting a fire lit, the midges, clegs, and ticks, or the bone-chilling cold which arrived early that year--without reading my journal and notes from the time. In my mind, I only remember the positive aspects, which is perhaps a lesson unto itself?
I can imagine the hardships... even a day outside with inclement weather can be exhausting... living ‘permanently’ albeit temporarily.. is a completely different proposition..!
Once I moved into the shelter, many of the issues became easier to deal with--everything is easier with a fire and walls. Being under a tarp in a hammock is either breezy, which can be tough when you are wet, or a bit claustrophobic, if set low. The shelter definitely made life easier!
Would you repeat the experience given the opportunity..? Knowing what you know now..?
Potentially. It would be different and, in some ways, both harder and easier. This is a question I will return to later this year (watch this space!)! Being married now, with an oh-so-nearly two year old daughter would make the being alone thing different, but on the flip side my skill level is exponentially higher now than it was 13 years ago, my strength and fitness likewise.
When I saw that there was going to be a UK version of the US show 'Alone', I was tempted to apply for about five minutes, but then thought about how I'd miss Aurélie and Ailsa and decided against it. I've not watched any of it but, from the brief reviews I read, I think if I'd been picked I would have been in with a good chance of winning! Haha.
If I could go back in time and choose whether to do it again, I would, only potentially much earlier in life.
Thanks for replying to my curiosity..! I guess I expected as much... family changes everything right..!
This is the first time I have sat and quietly read through your work. Lovely stuff. It out me in mind, very much, of Neil Ansell and ‘Deep Country’ and I mean that as a compliment. I am much in admiration of your resolve and resourcefulness. And that connection to nature. Magical. And daunting. But perhaps reassuring. We are living in the country in rural France. A house, an old farm not a shelter. But nature is ever present and I do feel it changes you to be so close. This morning we cycled out in the half darkness. 3 boar, six deer, a woodpecker as the sun came up. It connects you. Love your reflections. Thank you.
It really does connect you, yes! Where I am, in a small village at the start of the Alpes, we are surrounded on three sides by thick woodland and mountains, which means there's always something to either hear or see. (At least the September rush of hunters is finally slowing down now, but for three weeks it is a constant bang bang bang. The odd thing is, the animals seem to know when it is hunting season and move away into the harder to reach areas. When it isn't the season, they are always much closer.)
I haven't read Deep Country, but I remember reading various articles by Neil Ansell. I think the idea of being alone in nature is an ancient one, something we have done forever but, in recent years, have somehow forgotten. I honestly believe the world would be a better place if more children were actively taught about the natural world at school, not solely through biology, for example, but how to be a naturalist, perhaps with a bushcraft and foraging element.
Thank you so much for reading and writing this comment, I really appreciate that. I also love the list of wildlife you saw on your morning cycle, there's a real connection there.
Ah yes, the Vienne is 'rich' in those same rural traditions - the popping sounds of rifles and shotguns pepper the quiet symphony of birdsong with abrupt percussion!
Agree wholeheartedly about encouraging youngsters into the natural world. We have a friend who had been doing that in mid-Wales but lockdown stripped out all the Council funding she relied upon.
Another *recommended read*, if I might be so bold, is 'Consolations of the Forest' by Syvain Tesson about his 6-month stay in a hut by Lake Baikal ... a real favourite, it gets an annual read from me.
Have a fabulous weekend, Alexander
Oh please be as bold as you wish--I have a file on my phone to which I add recommendations, which is something I use regularly! Thank you for that, I shall have to seek it out. The idea reminds me a little of Dick Proenekke in Alaska. I'm sure you probably already know of him? To build a cabin is something I'd like to try one day, although I already have plans for a roundhouse before that!
I had a friend who was doing a similar thing in Scotland, creating a forest school for children, but that also fell through due to funding cuts. :( It seems to be the case in so many things of real benefit.
And I DID have a great weekend, thanks, only just managing to look through my notifications here, so that must be a good thing?
I did not know about Dick Proenekke in Alaska but it’s a trail of breadcrumbs I aim to follow. I should put all the book recommendations I’ve been given in one place. They pop up at the most unexpected moments! Usually when I’m nowhere near a bookshop!!
I shall let you follow the breadcrumbs! There is a curious meditation to the story, one which I've both watched and read several times. Some of his references are a bit dated, but it is certainly worth exploring.