Folks, for the past year I’ve had plans for an epic excursion into the backcountry for the week of Thanksgiving here in the US. It was something I’ve really been looking forward to all year long.
The day before I was to head out, I got hit HARD by the flu. I’m still dealing with it now as I write this on the third or fourth day. Healthy all year long all the way up until a single day before my excursion, it boggles the mind.
Naturally, I was looking forward to sharing that adventure with everybody, and the wilderness area where I planned to go is a really special, unknown area to most people, with waterfalls, interesting rock formations, and thick forests.
The only comfort from this is that I got sick before I went into the backcountry and not during my time in the backcountry. I’ve been thinking all week of how miserable that would be and asking myself how I would deal with a situation like that. Am I prepared for that possibility, or are there weaknesses in my preparedness there? I’ll tell you this: When you have a 102°F (39°C) fever at home and you can’t get warm even with the wood stove blazing, it gives you an idea of how much worse that experience could be out in the woods in the wintertime with only your sleep system and a campfire. Add on that the idea that work around camp can’t be put on hold if a person is to survive such a thing. So no matter how weak and miserable you’re feeling, you still have to be able to keep fuel on the fire, cover distance whenever possible to get back to civilization, and so forth. All of these expenditures of energy not only delay the body’s ability to recover, but can in fact make an illness go from bad to much, much worse very quickly.
So what to do? How to handle such a situation? What things should a person always have on hand in the case of such a scenario?
Even though I’m really disappointed about my plans getting ruined this week, maybe something good will come out of it. I think this would make an exceptional topic to discuss for The Practical Woodsman podcast.
I got tired of carrying booze, fuel, and medicine and got the bright idea to see if a strong enough whiskey might not serve all three purposes.
#WhiskeyStoves #BoozeForFuel #PocketCooking #ThePracticalWoodsman #PleasantHillbillyPickle
For centuries, families across Britain slept in what was known as a box bed, a wooden bed built into the wall or enclosed with doors, designed to keep out the bitter cold of winter.
Far more than a place to sleep, the box bed was a practical solution in cottages where space was limited and every bit of warmth mattered. By enclosing the bed, families trapped precious heat, reduced draughts and gained a little privacy in homes where several generations often lived under one roof.
These humble beds witnessed every stage of life. Children were tucked into them at night, babies were born in them, and loved ones spent their final hours there, surrounded by family. In many cottages, the box bed even formed part of the wall itself, helping divide the living and sleeping areas of a single-room home.
To modern eyes they may seem cramped, but to those who lived through harsh winters with little comfort, the box bed was a warm, secure refuge, a simple piece of craftsmanship that helped ordinary families ...
