Damper

Damper

Damper is an iconic Australian bush bread - a staple for stockmen, swagmen, drovers and indigenous Australians alike. It is similar to bannock but is traditionally cooked directly on campfire coals or in a Dutch oven. The recipe is simply water and self raising flour, but everyone seems to have their own unique spin. The recipe I followed is from Viv Moon's incredible "Outdoor Cookbook"

“Basic damper recipe

3 ⅓ cups self raising flour
Pinch of Salf
Beer (any kind)
Place flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre

Add any other ingredients you wish to add. Mix in enough beer to form a soft pliable dough. This is usually more easily done with hands rather than spoons. If the mixture feels too moist, sprinkle over more flour. If too dry simple add more liquid.

Do not overwork the mixture as it will become tough

Roll into a ball shape that will fit into your camp oven. The camp oven can be lined with foil to protect the base, if desired.

Place in a moderate preheated camp oven and bake for at least 20 minutes before checking”

— Viv Moon - Outdoor Cookbook

Mixing the Dough

This was very simple and very tasty, I followed Viv's recipe to the note. I used a trivet in my oven just to lift the bread a little and get the heat circulating. As ever with a Dutch oven it took a while to get the really good coals ready but it can't be rushed. I preheated the oven and dropped the dough in, checking after 20 minutes - the bread had risen nicely and giving it a tap I got the tell-tale hollow sound. I added more coals and increased the heat to try and get a little more colour and gave it another ten minutes.

The Finished Product

The results were great. It seemed to rise more than bannock but didn't quite get the colour of the skillet bread. Taste wise it was light, fluffy and delicious. We ate it with campfire chilli and had enough left for breakfast the next day. I will definitely be making this again.

Head to head against bannock I preferred damper; although it tasted similar it was a much lighter bread. It does however take longer to cook and requires a camp oven not just a frying pan or skillet.

If any body else has tried damper or has their own spin on it I'd love to hear about it.

VHD Poster Pt. 3

VHD Poster#3 - Silva Compass

The third VHD poster. Please feel free to share, pass on, pin, tweet whatever you think. Would love any feedback.

Update: The posters have arrived and are available for purchase here

Tips from the Archive #002

How to remember declination

A nice tip from Don Geary's excellent 'The Compleat Outdoorsman' (this is the correct spelling which makes me like it even more.) This excellent book from 1981 is an all encompassing guide to the outdoors.

Tip 002 – How to remember magnetic declination.

“One way to remember to add (or subtract) the degrees of magnetic declination for an area you are hiking in is to place a piece of tape on the compass telling you what must be done.”

— Don Geary - The Compleat outdoorsman, 1981

To find the correct declination for you area, or indeed, for the area you plan to hike in visit the excellent National Gyphisical Data Center. Even if you think you know it's best to re-check as it changes year to year. In Maine I get  'Declination = 15° 44' W changing by 0° 4' E/year'.

As it's a West declination 'Map bearing + Declination = Magnetic' so if I take a bearing between two point on a map and translate it to the real world I add 15° 44' and on the flip-side 'Magnetic Bearing - Declination = Map Bearing'  if I take a bearing between two points (myself and another) in the real world I should subtract my declination to get the same bearing on the map.

Ordnance Survey Clip from 1953

Ordnance Survey from 1953

I have already gushed over Ordnance Survey maps, but I thought I'd also share this great clip made by 'British Pathe' about how maps used to be made in the 1950s. Please excuse the casual sexism of the time. Enjoy.

Tea Chronicles Pt.7 – Hemlock Tea

Berndt Berglund and Clare E. Bolsby - The Edible Wild, 1971

This is a recipe from "The Edible Wild" a fantastic book written by Berndt Berglund and Clare E. Bolsby.

“Hemlock (Tsuga cadanensis)

As Tea: A very good tea can be made out of young hemlock needles by steeping them in a pot of hot water for about 10 minutes. This tea is a favorite drink among lumbermen.”

— Berndt Berglund and Clare E. Bolsby - The Edible Wild, 1971

This is my kind of recipe. Hemlock trees are pretty easy to find in Maine. They easliy identifiable with rough grey/red bark. Their needles grow in two neat rows on either side of the branch. The needles have a distinct groove on top and two white stripes on the underside.

Brewing up

I headed to a small wooded trail near Freeport with my soda can stove and came across some young Hemlock trees. I cranked the stove and steeped a palm full of needles for ten minutes and gave it a crack.

Hemlock Tea

The tea was quite pleasant. The taste was subtle, the flavour fragrant and piney. Like walking through a dense pine forest. I'd be happy to have this as an alternate to my regular brew and I'm glad I have experimented with it, if nothing else to increase my tea options when hiking. "The Edible Wild" is such a good book and it's given me a ton more ideas for projects. I already started my dandelion wine, more to come on that soon.

Tips from the Archive #001

W.K Merril - Time Until Sunset

Partly inspired by Mike Clelland's excellent Ultralight Backpacking Tips and partly inspired by Aaron Draplin's tweeting philosophy, 'Tips from the Archive' is an open ended compilation of my favorite backpacking tips from hiking history.

Tip 001 - How to tell how soon the sun will be setting.

“Face the setting sun. Extend your arms at full length toward the sun, your wrists bent inwards, your fingers just below the sun. Count how many finger widths separate the sun from the horizon. Allow fifteen minutes per finger. If four fingers fill the space between the horizon an the sun, with your arms fully extended sunset is an hour away; six fingers would mean an hour and a half.”

— W.K Merill's - All About Camping, 1965

Mission 66

Clingman's Tower Great Smokies National Park - Photo from the Library of Congress

It was impossible to predict the post war motoring boom that swept across the USA in the 1950s. The US Highway System had opened up the country and the introduction of inexpensive automobiles gave an optimistic, wealthy, America an invitation to hit the road. When they arrived at the National Parks what they found were run down tourist centers built by the Civilian Conservation Corps some 20 years earlier, the deteriorating system was stretched to breaking point and the parks were under threat. The government stepped in and set about radically developing the Parks system with an ambitious ten year plan.

“MISSION 66 is a forward-looking program for the National Park System intended to so develop and staff these priceless possessions of the American people as to permit their wisest possible use; maximum enjoyment for those who use them; and maximum protection of the scenic, scientific, wilderness, and historic resources that give them distinction”

— What is Mission 66?

Sitka National Historical Park

Sitka National Historical Park

Sitka National Historical Park

Sitka National Historical Park

While there were a great many infrastructure developments, the most visible and interactive were the visitors centers. In contrast to the original Civilian Conservation Corps' rustic architecture the new buildings managed to be both bold, contemporary and visible while complementing their surroundings. They became the public face of America's National Parks. In just 10 years more than 100 new visitors centers were open to the public.

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Military Park

Now more than 50 years later the national parks are at a cross roads. A lack of routine maintenance, overuse and a change in attitude amongst visitors is threatening the remaining Mission 66 centers. The architecture style has fallen out of favor and the 'preserve or demolish' stalemate means buildings continue to deteriorate. It now seems that history is repeating itself, when people go to the parks now, what they find are run down, dated visitors centers and an infrastructure which is reaching breaking point. Once again the parks are in danger of being "loved to death." 

Ben Reifel Visitor Center - Badlands National Park

Ben Reifel Visitor Center - Badlands National Park

Ben Reifel Visitor Center - Badlands National Park

Ben Reifel Visitor Center - Badlands National Park

What strikes me most about Mission 66 is that it represents a large scale celebration of America's national parks, they had a plan and went through with it. It fell in line perfectly with the National Park Services' original mission "to make the parks accessible to all and to preserve them for future generations."  I find it really hard to put a stake in the ground as to wether I am for or against the preservation of the Mission 66 architecture.  I think, for me, the demolition represents the close of an optimistic, forward thinking chapter in National Parks history from a time when things could get done, my concern is whether another brighter, more celebrated chapter awaits on the next page. I hope it does.

For more information about Mission 66 please visit C. Madrid French's incredibly informative site mission66.com, much of imagery within this post was sourced from Library Of Congress.

VHD Poster Pt. 2

VHD Poster#2 - Trangia Burner

The second VHD poster idea. As always I would love any feedback; loving, hating, not interested? Please feel free to share and pass on, I’d love to get peoples reactions.

Update: The posters have arrived and are available for purchase here

Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton

“Fortitudine Vincimus – By endurance we conquer”

— Shackleton Family Motto

Ordnance Survey Maps

Ordnance Survey Maps

“The greatest pleasure in life is opening an Ordnance Survey map”

— Bill Bryson

It was only when I started hiking outside of the UK that I realized how fortunate I was having grown up with Ordnance Survey maps. I always loved the beautiful design, the colours and the impeccable detail but I never appreciated what amazing maps they are.

Ordnance Survey is the official map making body of the United Kingdom. Interestingly enough its roots began in 1747 when Lieutenant-Colonel David Watson proposed to King George II a survey of the Highlands, as a means of controlling the Scottish clans after the Jacobite risings in 1745. Watson was assisted by William Roy, Paul Sandby, and John Manson, and their labours culminated in 'The Duke of Cumberland's Map' (I have also seen this referred to as 'The Roy Military Survey of Scotland' or 'The Great Map') which is now held the British Library. Roy in particular had an incredible affinity for surveying, he commissioned the Ramsden Theodolite and  instigated the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain (1783 – 1853) this led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey and in turn the ongoing mapping of the United Kingdom.

The Great Map

What I love most about these maps is the details they hold. The potential for adventure told through their contour lines, village plans and coastal trails. Opening an OS map is like opening a story book; this village has three pubs, a church with a spire and a park bench; I can take this trail over this field, cross these three streams and after the slog up this hill I know I'll get to look across this valley. Its magic.

Overland Track

I really struggled in Australia with some of their maps, I was never in danger of getting lost but they just lacked the detail I was used to. I understand Australia is on a bigger scale than most countries, it has fewer people and less funding for mapping, but I was a little upset when the best map I could find of the Overland Track in Tasmania was 1:100,000 scale. Perhaps I have become a map snob. Lets see what America has to offer. So far the maps have been great, but I'm not sure they will ever have the same place in my heart as the Ordnance Survey maps.

I owe a big thanks to Neil F. King. He tipped me off to the National Library of Scotland who have published a great collection of old Ordnance Survey maps available to view (free) online, they are well worth checking out.