Rainy Hike in the Valley

This morning I went for a walk with Monty down into the valley. It was raining when we left and raining when we returned. But it was a warm rain, and we had a great time. In retrospect it might have been nice to have brought my tarp and set it up for a dry spot in the woods, but I found shelter under a pine tree and that kept the rain mostly off of me. Monty explored the forest and got soaked to the bone, though.


Wandering about with his tail wagging a million miles an hour, he seemed pretty pleased with his plenary peregrinations.


Once down into the valley, I opened up my camping chair (the kind without legs, basically just a folding foam mat with straps to support you when you sit in it) and set up under the pine tree.


From out of my $10 army surplus store haversack, I pulled my butane/propane stove and set it alight with sparks from a single draw of my carbon steel Mora knife against a Light My Fire Scout ferrocerium rod. Then I opened a can of beef and vegetable stew, added some hot sauce, and plonked this onto the stove.


In a few minutes I had a hot meal, and with a nice wooden spoon I made myself warm and full. I think next time I will bring salt and pepper just to round out the flavour. A piece of bread might have been nice too.


On our way out the valley, I needed to pick Monty up and carry him over a river that had formed because of the rain. After putting him down, we walked along for a while and I thought I heard a noise. I looked around, but didn't see anything, but as I looked down to step through some mud, I saw a deer print in the mud - and it was slowly filling with water.


Looking behind me I could see the fields that filled the valley and thought that if I wandered down one evening with binoculars and a bivvy bag I would likely see some deer in the twilight.


That'll be for another weekend though.



Cheers,

Mungo