The Guardian

• Ian Belcher
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 January 2012 22.45 GMT
• Article history

Ian Belcher, left, and Rebecca take in the view of Eskdale Moor and Burnmoor Tarn in the Western Lake District. Photographs by Doug McKinlay

I’m bursting. Crossing my legs. Trying not to picture rivers or waterfalls. I’ll do anything to avoid leaving my tent for a pee. It’s not just the biblical rain lashing against the canvas; it’s the chilling reports of a ghostly horse roaming the local Cumbrian fells with a rotting human corpse strapped to its saddle.

Camping is rarely so remote, weekend adventures rarely so removed from daily life. And that’s exactly what Mark Reid wants. The mountain guide’s new Out of Your Comfort Zone excursion pushes wild camping to its geographical limits, packaging it with glorious guided hikes, navigation instruction and survival tips for nervous rookies.

Reid, who’s aiming the breaks at walkers keen to “skill up”, families looking for a bonding trip and unconventional stag parties, welcomes inexperienced campers. But this weekend – with his first recruits – he’s in for a shock.

Our group includes Rebecca, who recently lived in Mayfair and regards anywhere outside London as out of her comfort zone, and Jane – a begrudging companion for a hiking-obsessed partner – who believes tents are the work of Satan. She hires motorhomes to sleep at festivals, plans to tackle Cumbria’s highest fells in green fashion trainers – “boots make my feet look like horses’ hooves” – and has spent the previous week Googling “extra-springy camp beds”.

At least she’ll enjoy the first night. Elterwater’s Britannia Inn – a white-walled cocoon in the shadow of the Langdales – answers her call of the mild. Hell it’s lovely, a converted 500-year-old beamed farmhouse and forge that offers open fires, cosy rooms and fresh seasonal grub.

Braving the rain below Scafell PikeAs we tuck into honey-glazed lamb marinated in mint, the air’s heavy with camping horror stories: inch-long earwigs, sheep dung accidentally kicked into cooking pots, mattresses deflating in storm-soaked tents. Jane’s partner has clearly been economical with the truth. She knows there’ll be an element of camping – hopefully with hot showers and a nearby cafe – but has been lured north by the promise of boutique pubs and a gentle scenic stroll. This could get ugly.

It will certainly get wild. Driving to the hike’s departure point tests the car’s clutch on the gaspingly steep switchbacks of the Wrynose and Hardknott passes. The western lakes are vast, uncluttered, less commercialised – and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Our target is The Woolpack, an old drovers’ pub where we’re to receive a pre-trip briefing. Reid, who teaches navigation skills and leads team-building hikes, treats our night of wild camping as a mini-expedition. After outlining the route – up to Eskdale Moor and Great How to camp on Scafell’s southern flanks before scaling its peak the following morning – he turns to legal issues. Wild camping, permitted in Scotland and on Dartmoor, is a tolerated tradition in the privately-owned Lake District, providing we camp above walled farmland and leave behind nothing but footprints.

Slipping into full-on survival mode, Reid explains he’ll lead us from our comfort zones into our stretch zones, where we’ll hopefully acquire new wilderness skills. After a quick lesson in packing tents, stoves and sleeping gear – we’re each carrying 15kg – the briefing finishes with us outlining our individual goals for the trip. “Survival,” snaps Jane, reluctantly lacing her boots. “And Weight Watchers points. It’s worth at least five glasses of wine. It’s the only salvation.” For the first time the guide looks puzzled – and slightly alarmed.

It’s an idyllic start. Eskdale Valley, prostrate beneath the magnificent bowl of Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Scafell Pike, is licked by sun. We are serenaded by the babbling River Esk and occasional toots from La’al Ratty, as the narrow-gauge Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway is known.

Walking couldn’t be flatter. Or easier. Jane, who added last-minute weight to her rucksack by including a makeup bag, mirror and hairbrush – “just because I’m hiking, I don’t have to look like a dog” – seems impressed. There’s even memorable architecture. The 12th-century St Catherine’s Church is swaddled by a beautifully manicured graveyard containing the extraordinary granite hunk of Thomas Dobson’s headstone. The huntsman’s eerie sculpted face peers at you with an enigmatic half-smile – a Cumbrian Mona Lisa flanked by fox and hound.

We pass a handsome Lakeland house that inspires townie dreams of rural escape, sip a lunchtime pint at Boot’s Brook House Inn and rise easily up the north side of Eskdale. Reid takes advantage of the sunny mood to evangelise about the confidence-boosting value of leaving our comfort zones, quoting Edmund Hillary after he’d climbed Everest. “It’s not the mountain we conquer, it’s ourselves.”

Rebecca and Jane nod eagerly. This can’t last. The clouds start to mass 20 minutes later. As we reach the end of a 250m climb, the first fat raindrops thwack against our Gore-Tex. By the time we reach the stone circles and prehistoric mounds of Brat’s Moss, it’s pouring. A divine panorama over a silvery Solway Firth to distant Scottish hills vanishes in mist before our eyes.

We break for a restorative cuppa at a bleak lodge known as the Blair Witch House, gazing across Burnmoor Tarn to the peaks of Kirk Fell, Black Sail and Great Gable. Apparently we’re now reconnecting with the way our ancestors survived for the last 60,000 years before urbanisation, email and iPhones. No one cares. The downpour’s intensifying, driven into our faces by a gusting westerly.

And the walking’s getting tougher. Far tougher. Our boots squelch through heavy mud in boggy, knobbly moorland. I turn round and do a double take. Jane is now carrying an open umbrella. We’re in one of England’s lairiest, most isolated spots but she appears to be strolling down the Kings Road.

She’s also leaking. Damp is rising up her back and down her legs. “I feel like I’ve peed myself. It reminds me of Duke of Edinburgh when I was cold, wet and shattered. It’s exactly what I dreaded.”

Rebecca joins in: “I’m craving a hot bath.”

Reid vainly attempts to raise morale. “I’m not sure this line of thinking helps.” He points to our final climb up the steep slope of Broad Tongue. “It’s only a 260m rise – about the height of 26 semi-detached houses. Not too bad.”

We grind up, stopping for a breather after 27 bungalows. By the top we’ve been walking for six hours. Dense curtains of rain open and shut theatrically. Our camping area on Great How is only 500m away but visibility, daylight and energy are fading fast.

Reid studies his map, swears several times and decides to head back to the safety of Eskdale Moor – an experienced guide ensuring we stay well outside our panic zones. It means the last hour’s grim climb has been in vain. Jane slumps to the ground and sits, brolly raised, staring silently into thin air – a surreal René Magritte figure in the wilderness. She has entered her twilight zone.

Jane pitching camp on Eskdale MoorBut the retreat is a good call. We find a textbook location for wild camping. Sheltered in the lee of Illgill Head, it’s flat, free of sharp stones that can tear a tent, and close to fast-running water. There’s space to go to the loo, well away from steep drops – the bete noire of incontinent, myopic ramblers.

I’d happily reveal our spot, but then I’d have to kill you. Wild camping etiquette is to keep locations secret to avoid over-use. The only downside is the horror movie setting. We’re bunking down slap-bang on the Corpse Road – the route once used to transport the dead to St Catherine’s. One horse still haunts the moor with its decaying human cargo.

Oh Lord. It’s already an unsettling time to remain in the mountains. Known as homecoming, this is the hour when people traditionally descended to the safety of lower ground. To stay is to contradict hard-wired human knowledge.

But there’s little time to be spooked. As the rain eases we erect tents, helped by the ever-patient Reid, pull on dry clothes, collect water and boil chilli con carne in the bag. Jane scoffs her’s immediately and vanishes into her tent. “Sod campsite camaraderie, I’m done. Night.”

She misses the best moment of the trip. Under a vast moon that daubs scudding clouds with ochre light, we sit in a prehistoric stone circle, sip whisky and munch chocolate. It’s utterly magical. Sadly it’s only a brief interlude from the flood. Within hours, we’re again buffeted by relentless weather fronts. Someone appears to be throwing bucket after bucket of water over the tent. Sleep is near impossible.

“Bloody hell, this is unbelievable,” says Rebecca early next morning, applying her Kiehl’s anti-wrinkle defence cream with survival molecules and corallina extract. “Why in God’s name are we out here?”

Reid, who claims “it’s the worst weather I’ve ever camped in”, remains magnificently stoic. He helps pack sodden gear and braves the downpour to fire up an early morning brew. His golden hour – “the sun’s up, you’re alone in the mountains with a coffee” – has literally been washed away.

But wild camping’s nothing if not flexible. Plan A’s early-morning ascent of Scafell was abandoned last night. Now Plan B – climbing Illgill Head with its 2,000ft wall of vertiginous scree above Wast Water – is also scrapped.

Time for Plan C: the pub. As we descend past Eel Tarn into lush Eskdale, the guide continues to point out plants and supply navigation tips. It’s almost possible to forget the night’s grim weather. Almost. But Cumberland Ale and pizzas from the Woolpack’s woodfired oven come as blessed relief.

Hours later and, oh irony, there’s a cloudless sky and soft pink dusk. Perhaps it’s the warmth, or alcohol, but our storm-tossed adventure now garners surprisingly positive reviews. Jane admits it was a trial, but was mesmerised by the scenery, surprised at her fitness and feels more confident for enduring high-altitude discomfort.

“I feel an incredible sense of achievement for spending a night in the wild,” she tells me over a Chilean red wine. “I’d love to experience that early golden hour with warm sun and hot coffee. In fact I’d go again if the trip was a little more luxurious, perhaps with a wild massage.”

Mr Reid, please take note.

• Team Walking (01423 871750, teamwalking.co.uk) has bespoke or group two-day Out of Your Comfort Zone trips for £109pp including guiding, camp meals and equipment. Half-day and one-day trips are also available. The Britannia Inn (015394 37210, britinn.net) has doubles from £80 B&B. The Woolpack Inn (019467 23230, woolpack.co.uk) has doubles from £60 B&B

Updated September 11, 2009 18:19:00

Photo: Jean Madden believes her unique product won the people’s choice award as it keeps homeless people alive.

Audio: Street Swag wins design award (ABC News)

Map: Australia

A Brisbane school teacher says she has started receiving overseas orders for her sleeping bag for the homeless, after winning an international design award.

Street Swag inventor Jean Madden was taken by surprise when her lightweight and camouflaged swag won the people’s choice INDEX award in Copenhagen, beating off finalists including Brad Pitt, who was in the running for his Hurricane Katrina Pink Project housing rebuilding program.

Ms Madden has told ABC Radio National’s By Design program her creation is more than a sleeping bag because it is made of a super-lightweight canvas with a thin, high density foam mattress. It has enough room to keep personal belongings inside.

“What makes it so successful is that it rolls down into itself to look like a bag, so it doesn’t actually look like bedding.

“That’s really important for safety, particularly for the women and the children who use our swags,” she said.

Ms Madden says it was “a pretty cool thing to win,” and was privileged to be congratulated by Crown Princess Mary of Denmark after receiving the award.

She believes her unique product won the people’s choice award as it keeps homeless people alive.

“I think what the response was why so many people voted in the world for us to win, was that it is something that is so desperately needed at the moment.

“With the world financial crisis, that [means] a world homelessness crisis.

“[It's] something that’s just so needed,” she said.

Ms Madden said over 12,000 swags have been produced for homeless Australians, by prisoners from Queensland’s Woodford Correctional Centre and Grafton in New South Wales.

“It’s going to be great revenue for correctional services as well within Australia,” she said.

Despite the large amount of swags already on the streets, Ms Madden said there has been a huge increase in homelessness, describing it as “sickening”.

“Already we have started to be approached from some of the other countries, particularly winning the INDEX award.

“So the charity started a second company, so we can start to pick up some orders from overseas, as a way of raising revenue for our Street Swags charity here in Australia,” she said.

Ms Madden said the production of the swags will continue in Australia, as the specialised canvas for the swags can only be milled in Australia.

But she says microfinance industries in Kolkata and East Timor are currently being set up to help with demand.

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Photograph by Christopher Zimmer, My Shot

By Robert Earle Howells

It’s a mighty high claim to call one backpacking trip in our archetypal national park the best, but it’s hard to top this traverse of the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. Factor in a hot soak or two with a hike beside burbling hot springs, steaming fumaroles, streaming waterfalls, a grand finale at the park’s signature attraction and you’ve got plenty to back up the boast.

The 27-mile (43-kilometer) hike starts at the Bechler ranger station, a long haul in itself, reachable via Idaho Highway 47. It crosses expansive Bechler Meadows, where an early-season crossing would be one of America’s worst adventures—they’re underwater in June and under bug siege in July, so wait till August or September when they’re in their wide-open glory. Then comes a spectacular series of waterfalls in the cool, damp, forested embrace of Bechler Canyon—Ouzel, Colonnade, Iris—and even more cascades outside the canyon in Continental Divide country. But enough of all this cool mist—time to get into hot water.

Near the Three Rivers Junction is the redoubtable Mr. Bubble hot spring, conveniently cooled by the flow of the Ferris Fork River, so it’s an ideally tempered spot for a soak. Take the two-mile (3.2-kilometer) side hike to Shoshone Lake and camp by the park’s largest backcountry lake and find a remote geyser basin and some trailside hot springs. Then, time the exit hike to pass by one of Lone Star Geyser’s eruptions, which happen every three hours. Ironically, after three to five nights on the trail among some of the park’s most remote water features, you emerge right at Old Faithful, feeling like a prune-skinned version of Jeremiah Johnson.

Need to Know: Get more information about Yellowstone attractions at www.nps.gov/yell.

Originally published in the March/April 2009 edition of National Geographic Adventure magazine

posted by Dr. Steven Farmer
Nov 19, 2011 8:02 am

49 comments

We’re in an ever-accelerating “hurry up” culture, one in which human beings are required to make remarkable adaptations to increasingly technologically driven lifestyles and consumer-oriented pressures. This spiraling pace requires us to move so quickly that we tend to override and become desensitized to our bodily sensations and our feelings. In this anesthetized state we ironically require more stimulation- bigger, better, newer, louder, faster – just to grab and hold our attention. We become so saturated with excessive stimulation and cumulative tension that we may become numb to all but the most adrenaline producing experiences or else attempt to soothe the frayed nervous system with alcohol, drugs or ignore it with compulsive activity.

One of the unfortunate effects of being assimilated into such a system is that we become increasingly alienated from the awareness of physical sensations, so that it becomes difficult to notice the more subtle signs of stress and tension where they first manifest- in the body. When these subtle tensions are ignored, one of the more damaging cumulative effects is that the immune system is compromised. Resources typically available for the immune response are shunted into dealing with a consistently high level of activation present in the body. The potential for illness increases proportionate to the length of time these signs are ignored. It may take a physical breakdown or exhaustion to get us to slow down and allow the immune response to regenerate; sometimes this ignore-ance over a period of years can contribute to a major life-threatening illness.

So what can you do? One of the keys to managing stress is creating a lifestyle that will incorporate adequate exercise, rest, proper nutrition, a strong support system and active relaxation methods – things that are sometimes difficult to do in today’s world, yet so essential to maintain a quality of life. Developing these habits supports your immune system and can help you maintain a healthy balance with mind, body and spirit.

Yet an often-overlooked aspect of stress management is enhancing your body awareness. By paying closer attention to your body’s signals, especially areas of tightness and tension, you can learn to honor those signs that say “Slow down! Rest! Get a massage! Eat! Exercise!”etc., before your body reaches critical mass. By doing so you may be practicing “Distress Prevention” rather than simply stress management.

So I propose three simple steps to incorporate on a daily basis that will alert you to what’s happening in your body and give you a better sense of what you need to do in order to reduce tension. These are: Slow Down, Breathe and Tracking Your Body’s Messages.

Slow Down

Easier said than done! Not only can the increasingly fast pace of the world these days influence your own pace, but also you may be habitually driven to maintain a vigilance just to stay ahead or even keep up. Slowing down from time to time may even trigger some anxiety, primarily due to the discrepancy between your conditioned habits of haste and the novelty of a different rhythm.

Try the following exercise once each day for the next two weeks and see what happens: For three minutes each day, make all your physical movement – walking, reaching, grasping, sitting, etc. – at about 80% of their usual speed. The purpose is to help you attune to a different pace and rhythm, allowing you to pay attention to the more subtle nuances of your body. Be sure to breathe while doing this.

Breathe

Well . . .of course you breathe or you wouldn’t be reading this! Here, however, I’m proposing a more conscious type of breathing. Most of us tend to be shallow breathers, so the intent here is to not only breathing more consciously and conscientiously, but as another means to bring your attention to your body and the physical sensations.

There are several methods of conscious breath work. One of my favorites is as follows: For just 3-4 minutes twice a day, close your eyes, and first take three deep, comfortable breaths, holding on the inhale for a short count of three, and releasing completely on the exhale. Then resume a more regular pattern of breathing, perhaps a little deeper and a little slower than you might typically breath.

As you’re breathing, when inhale say silently to yourself, “I am…” and when you exhale, “…relaxed,” until you have created a pleasant rhythm with your breathing and this simple affirmation. Doing this over a period of time attunes you to this type of breathing, and you will likely find yourself breathing more fully in other situations.

Another simple one that you can do a couple of times during the day is to close your eyes and simply count your breaths as you breath deeper and slower. Count each from one to four then repeat until you have counted a total of 12-16 breaths. Do this for about three minutes twice a day, gradually increasing the length of time. It’s also a great one on those restless nights when sleep seems a distant possibility. Try either of these some time. They really do work!

Tracking Your Body’s Messages:

Go through the first two steps in sequence and as you breathe, notice areas of tension in your body. What else are you aware of as you tune into your physical sensations? When you put your attention on these sensations, it also facilitates your intuitive processes. Are you getting any messages?

If you feel like you’re body is tight and holding onto some tension, rather than focus on your entire body, choose one of those areas, such as the shoulders, chest, stomach, and simply place your gentle attention on that area. Continue your deeper breathing, and eventually that particular area will let go and you’ll find that area will relax. When your attention is drawn to another area of your body, focus there and breathe through whatever is occurring.

Practicing these simple steps on a regular basis will cultivate a greater confidence in dealing with stress of any kind and help support the best of who you are to come forward.

Dr. Steven Farmer is a world-renowned author, teacher, shamanic practitioner, and Soul Healer. He has published several best-selling books and other products, including Earth Magic®, Earth Magic® Oracle Cards. In addition Dr. Farmer is a licensed psychotherapist, former college professor, Reiki Master, and an ordained minister in the Circle of Sacred Earth Church. For more information, visit EarthMagic.net and Dr. Steven Farmer’s Facebook page.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/catching-stress-before-it-catches-ou.html#ixzz1eKRqyZUo

• posted by Delia Quigley
• Nov 12, 2011 10:03 am

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Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/my-4-favorite-medicinal-weeds.html#ixzz1ded2VBjt

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Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Dream interpretation according to the scientific method is the best guide you could ever find in order to fix a broken relationship. The dreaming secrets you are about to learn will completely change the way you feel.

The unconscious mind that produces your dreams is constantly protecting you from the attacks of the wild side of your conscience. Your wild and violent side keeps trying to control your behavior, while the unconscious mind keeps helping your human side evolve and dominate your mind.

Since love is the most important matter of your life and it could bring you many dangerous frustrations, the unconscious mind worries very much about your mental health when you are in love.

This is why it sends you many detailed dreams containing objective information about the person  you love.You learn everything about them, through analyzing the unconscious messages in your own dreams.

Conflict resolution is one of the most important functions of dreams about love. If you want to fix a broken relationship, you must absolutely learn all the details you can about the personality of the special person. This way, you won’t make mistakes, but do only what will bring positive results and will certainly bring you together as a couple in perfect sync.

Sometimes conflicts help a relationship mature. Don’t think that a separation is the end of the world. Do you know how many couples have separated but finally understood that they needed one another after this experience? I can tell you that there are so many that they cannot be counted.

You will find a way to fix everything. Start having an optimistic attitude, because the unconscious mind will help you for sure.

You won’t do anything successfully without understanding the meaning of your actions. The unconscious mind will help you make an action plan,and succeed without a doubt.

However, be aware that perhaps a reconciliation won’t be the best thing for you. If you have a bad relationship, but you are insisting on continuing this relationship which is a big a mistake, the unconscious mind will help you forget the wrong person and find the right one.

The unconscious mind keeps you balanced and helps you act with wisdom.

I’ve cured many people through dream therapy; dreams about love are the most common ones. I can tell you that sometimes the conflicts put an end to a big mistake, preventing more suffering in the future.

Sometimes, after a dream analysis, the dreamer simply understands that his or her partner was not the person he had imagined. Their separation was obviously something that would happen sooner or later.

So, don’t conclude that I’m telling you that the unconscious mind will help you get your ex back no matter what. Only if this relationship is really the ideal one for you, will the unconscious mind help you remain together.

If your current partner is the right person for you, your relationship will be fixed, and you’ll never again stay far away from one another.

Keep a dream journal, and the unconscious mind will constantly guide you in your dreams. You’ll permanently avoid all conflicts in life and have a perfect relationship.

Christina Sponias continued Carl Jung’s research into the human psyche, discovering the cure for all mental illnesses, and simplifying the scientific methodof Dream interpretation that teaches you how to exactly translate the meaning of your dreams, so that you can find health, wisdom and happiness.
Learn more at: http://www.scientificdreaminterpretation.com

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