Cormorant Popped Up To Say Hello!

Cormorant Popped Up To Say Hello! This was out on a kayak trip in Glengarriff Bay, with Mark, a couple of weeks ago now.

What To Do If You Get Lost

One of the elements we cover on Mountain Skills 1 is what to do if you get lost in the mountains. Here are five options:

1. If you have been navigating in approx 500 meter legs, then you should only be lost by approx 500 meters. Retrace steps to your last known/definite position, for example by handrailing the wall/stream/forest/spur you are beside.

2. If you have mist/darkness, find shelter, sit and wait for visibility/daylight to reappear. This is where your survival bag, hot drink, spare food, spare clothing and storm shelter are vital.

3. If you have visibility open out your map and use distant feature recognition to identify obvious far off features; such as a bay/forest/major peak; then slowly focus closer, still identifying features, until you have figured where you are.

4. Switch on your gps or smart phone and get your grid reference. With a grid reference, for example V 619 802, you can locate your position on map and begin navigating again. A basic gps will do this for you, or several free smart phone apps, including Viewranger.

5. Use Collection Point technique. If you are lost somewhere on a huge plateau, and from your map you see a large lake to the west, set your compass to west and head west. Eventually you should hit the lake somewhere, no matter where you were lost on the plateau (within reason). Once you hit the lake you have a good idea where you are. Then handrail the lake to a specific point on it, such as a corner or a stream. At that point you have a definite location fix. Any big obvious feature can be used as a collection point, such as a forest or cliff.

Click Here For Details On Our Mountain Skills Courses

Bushcraft Skills Course Dates 2020 - Outdoors Ireland Certified

Bushcraft Skills Course Dates 2020 - Outdoors Ireland Certified

Bushcraft Skills 1:
18th - 19th Jan 2020
8th - 9th Feb 2020
7th - 8th Mar 2020
18th - 19th Apr 2020
9th - 10th May 2020
19th - 20th Sep 2020
10th - 11th Oct 2020
7th - 8th Nov 2020
12th - 13th Dec 2020

Bushcraft Skills 2:
28th - 29th Mar 2020
29th - 30th Aug 2020
17th - 18th Oct 2020

Click Here For More Details
Click Here To Book

Mountain Skills 2 Course Dates For 2020 - Mountaineering Ireland Certified

Mountain Skills 2 Course Dates For 2020 - Mountaineering Ireland Certified

Mountain Skills 2 Glengarriff:
25th - 26th Jan 2020
21st - 22nd Mar 2020
26th - 27th Sep 2020
28th - 29th Nov 2020

Mountain Skills 2 Killarney:
22nd - 23rd Feb 2020
25th - 26th Apr 2020
24th - 25th Oct 2020
19th - 20th Dec 2020

Click Here For More Details
Click Here To Book

Mountain Skills 1 Course Dates For 2020 - Mountaineering Ireland Certified

Mountain Skills 1 Course Dates For 2020 - Mountaineering Ireland Certified

Mountain Skills 1 Glengarriff:
11th - 12th Jan 2020
2nd - 3rd May 2020
5th - 6th Dec 2020

Mountain Skills 1 Killarney:
1st - 2nd Feb 2020
6th - 7th Jun 2020
31st Oct - 1st Nov 2020

Mountain Skills 1 Galway:
29th Feb - 1st Mar 2020
1st - 2nd Aug 2020
3rd - 4th Oct 2020

Mountain Skills 1 Wicklow:
4th - 5th Apr 2020
11th - 12th Jul 2020
5th - 6th Sep 2020

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Kayaking On The Lakes Of Killarney

Mountain Skills 1 Coming Up In Burren Hills, Kinvara/Galway

As well as our nearly daily kayaking trips in Killarney National Park; and Glengarriff Nature Reserve; we have a two-day Map Reading/Mountain Skills 1 coming up in the Burren Hills/Galway this 3rd & 4th Aug, with two places left to book.

Please Get In Touch To Book:
info@outdoorsireland.com
086 860 45 63

Starting A New Vegetable Garden

Starting a new vegetable garden in between kayak trips. Making a major compost heap from those invasive weeds like dock, thistle, nettle; rotovating; planting and watering clover as initial 'green manure'; making a bee hotel. Now we just need rain!

Good & Simple Bushcraft/Camping Food

'What's good food or simple food to bring bushcrafting or camping' gets asked on our bushcraft courses. To that I would say:

1. Tinned Soup
2. Tinned Baked Beans
3. Pasta & Tomato Sauce
4. Sausages
5. Fish
6. A Lump Of Meat
7. Bread & Cheese & Salami
8. Nuts & Dried Fruit
9. Regular Fruit

You are looking for nutritious/high energy/good quality food. Anything with salt, such as peanuts, is good for your hydration (drink plenty water also). Anything with fluid, such soup/pasta sauce, is also good for your hydration. Food in tins can often be heated directly in the tin. Avoid quick-fix stuff. Pre-cooked packet meals can be fine (like wayfarer meals), but ultimately much better to be cooking basically and properly yourself. Leave the packet meals at home!

The physiological benefit of a hot cooked and hydrating meal at least twice a day (breakfast and dinner) is huge.

Bushcraft Skills 1 Course Available To Book For July

Due to request a last minute Bushcraft Skills 1 Course has been scheduled for 10th & 11th Jul, in Glengarriff/West Cork.

More details here: www.outdoorsireland.com/bushcraftsurvival.php

Get in touch please if you are interested in booking:
info@outdoorsireland.com
00353 86 860 45 63