Daily Mirror Article 9 July

Everyone is talking about this at the moment, and you can find every opinion on the case, Mr Moat, and the Police on pretty much any blog you care to look at.

I thought North Ridge Adventure customers might be interested in the article here http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/09/moat-may-last-weeks-in-the-wild-115875-22399658/

I was phoned up by the Mirror for a perspective on how someone could survive in the outdoors without kit - let me be clear I have no connection with the ongoing investigation and the comments were purely a general idea of what might be possible…at the time there was a lot of talk of Moat being a keen outdoorsman and a skilled angler.

The article has unfortunately been cut right down from the 600-odd words it was originally. Nothing wrong with a bit of sensationalism I suppose but the key context missing from the article is that although these survival skills are real, and possible, catching fish, rabbits or anything else without equipment requires total concentration….and I would suggest that with half the Police force looking for you that might not be priority number 1. Additionaly - do you fancy eating raw fish/ rabbit? I’m not sure I’d be lighting a fire either….

The hawthorn piece is right enough, and having eaten plenty of them (as snacks mainly) I’d be interested if anyone actaully knows what nutritional value they have?

In the meantime here are some other interesting benefits from eating hawthorn: (from www.balancing-energy.com)

Hawthorn Leaves
- antispasmodic, cardiac, sedative, vasodilator. Hawthorn normalizes blood pressure by regulating heart action; extended use will usually lower blood pressure. It is good for heart muscle weakened by age, for inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), for arteriosclerosis, and for nervous heart problems

and on nettles (from www.eatweeds.co.uk)…..

Source: Nutritional Herbology: Mark Pedersen

See - you probably could last a few weeks on these - chuck in a few dandelions (whole plant) for salad and starch, dig up a few worms, tadpoles or tad-frogs at this time of year and you’d be well sorted.

In due course it will be interesting to see how the gentleman in question actually has been surviving as it could make a valuable case study for those interested in basic outdoor living…. I for one will be impressed if he really has been living ‘off the land’ for all this time.

 Updated 12th July to say I guess we will never know, but it looks more like a case of Urban Survival as opposed to wilderness…rather than speculate further on this case I will upload a proper article on the subject later on.

Hello fellow hillwalkers, mountaineers, bushcraft and survival practitioners, hunters, gatherers and everyone else who has found their way here.

“Because you found your way here, you you can find your way anywhere!”

That’s right.  When I started North Ridge Adventure I wanted everyone to find their confidence - at map reading, mountain walking, survival & bushcraft.. I still do and you will find, with North Ridge Adventure, we make it our business to make learning EASY. Let’s face it - we did it, so it’s fair to assume everyone else can do it too -  and have some fun along the way!

I hope everyone will like our approach, and value our blend of real world experience and easy-going instruction - experience shows it is equally appreciated by all ages - from teens to grey-hairs, beginners to professionals, men and women alike. We firmly believe that actions speak louder than words and that it’s better to have mastered one good technique than know the theory of 10.

We can use this blog to develop some shared resources and a community of like minded folks - the sort who will give it a go, keep smiling and who really want to DO something. It is an attitude thing, and just because you may not have all the skills you want yet, we all started somewhere, right? As we build the blog, I’ll be posting articles on all sorts of (hopefully) interesting stuff, on training, skills and equipment - all with the aim of encouraging folks to start making life even more of an adventure.

Everyone is welcome to post, comment etc but keep it nice please. Call back often, and do check out www.northridgeadventure.co.uk and let me know what you think.

Dunc. (the much loved owner of NorthRidge Neb - who really does exist)