Written by Anna Milne
The plan was to meet in a pub at night and be led out to a secret location in the woods. There was a palpable sense of foreboding as we left the pub and followed a jeep in convoy to the secret spot. Suddenly disarmed by the dark, I sliced my finger trying to cut my new head torch out of its vacuum pack with a mini pocket knife. Not a good start.
Darkness, when it descends, is debilitating. I’d call myself a fairly seasoned camper and yet the darkness here totally spun me out – immediately I regretted nursing my pint, and not having spent five minutes sorting out my torch and pockets. Stumbling through the darkness carrying around 10 kilos of kit – on ground you cannot see, nor have ever seen – at quite some pace, is mildly terrifying. With each step the possibility of injury catapults the senses into hyper mode and paramount is the fact you cannot afford to injure yourself, if only not to let your fellow teammates down. We were escaping life for the weekend with Secret Adventures and the Wilderness Festival, and guided by Joe O’Leary, the author of The Wilderness Survival Guide. Our aim was to learn how to survive in the wilderness with just a spark stick, a woollen blanket, and a saw.
Routine, work, daily life, are suddenly of little consequence when things are pared right back. The elements rule. Being set a challenge to build a shelter fit for an overnight stay, from materials around you in the woods, priorities kick in and the continuous alertness and exhilaration takes its toll on your body – you need sleep, you need food. My appetite increased tenfold.
I will admit I was reminded of that scene from The Beach, where Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) is in a game, running through the jungle, drug and adrenaline-addled. You could easily become that creature, were you alone; an instinct-driven lean machine, highly attuned to the surrounding environment, alert to every sign: of life, food, and weather systems.
This adventure was as much an exercise in mindfulness as anything else. As you power through the ups and downs, you see how emotional and physical energy levels are intrinsically linked. If you’re hungry or tired, outlook is narrowed; if your mindset is negative, output is curbed. As I went to fill the umpteenth sac full of bracken, slow and defeated, it seemed there would never be enough to cover this monolith we’d created as our shelter for ten. And time was ticking away.
I found myself utterly ravenous and quite depressed that our shelter was likely inadequate. And I mean ravenous – I could have eaten anything. I was so worried there would not be enough food and utterly thrilled when there was enough to go round twice. To experience that kind of gratitude for something as basic as dinner is truly a lesson in humility. But when that fire got cracking and dinner was cooking on it, I don’t care what anyone says, it’s the nicest feeling in the world. Stew – prepared from scratch ourselves – and giant marshmallows, caramelised under the flames. Bliss.
The magic of my woollen blanket revealed itself to me round about daybreak. Wet yet warm – a new concept for me – and all down to the insulation and wicking powers of wool. I was well impressed. And totally delighted: this was way better than my tent. Snug as a bug. And I say bug – it was right about this point that four ticks were making their way up my legs on their own survival mission (I managed to pluck them out on my return).
What a feeling of quiet confidence it gives to know you can build yourself a shelter, a fire, prepare wild game, read your surroundings and utilise nature. The woods were full of unexpected treasures – silver birch and hazel yield all manner of aids when you know how. Then there were the colours, the luminosity of the woodland on a sunny day: yellows, creams, limes, grasses, blues and lilacs really proved a feast for my freshly honed senses. Even the moonlight-dappled path walking in on the first night – some things you can only appreciate retrospectively.
This adventure was organised by Secret Adventures, a project that organises off grid adventures in London and beyond.
Website: www.secretadventures.org
Facebook: facebook.com/secretadventuresuk
Twitter: @scretadventures
Instagram: @secret__adventures
Photos: Ed Stone
Written by Anna Milne // Twitter: @Milne_AnnaM