Things to consider for food and warmth. A Scenario.

To experience life as it really was in the early to mid 18th century is not really possible, but we can get pretty close. In order to test ourselves, our skills and our equipment, we sometimes have to set a scenario for a trek. Setting a scenario helps you focus, it makes the experience more real.

Let us say that you have taken a job as a Ranger/scout for a local community. Your job is to range the area around the commuinty looking for sign of any enemy. If you find anything your job is to get back to the community and alert the local militia.
It is winter, French/English and Indians don't usually raid in winter, but they did recently raid another community and the people are afraid they might be next.
So you are out in the woods. Night is coming on and the temprature is dropping. You can't make a fire because you could be seen by an enemy. So how can you cook your food and stay warm at night? The answere is you can't! So before you start out on this scout, you have to think about that.

At least some of the food you carry must be edible without cooking, sausage, pre-cooked salt beef, hard cheese, bread, something along those lines.
How about staying warm? You can't afford to carry more than one blanket, two blankets would be heavy and very bulky. So instead you add a wool shirt and woolen weskit to your bedroll. These you will put on at night as well as the clothes you are wearing. You also add a wool Monmouth cap, because a good deal of warmth is lost through the top of your head. The mittens you are probably wearing already.

Print By John Buxton

But you have been travelling all day and you would like a hot drink, some hot food, and the warmth from a fire, because it is getting a lot colder than you expected. So you wait until after dark, and wait to see if there are any other fires in the forest. If there are then you need to check it out, and get back to the militia tonight if it is an enemy force. If there are no fires, then you decide to dig a fire pit in an area where the reflected glow will not so easily be spotted. Your oilcloth will block out one side, a fallen tree and some piled brush should hide the rest.

Print By Robert Griffing.

A slightly more open fire would be preferable on a cold night, reflecting warmth back into your lean-to shelter. But we cannot always have what we want, and have to consider our safety, and the experience.

Print By Robert Griffing.