Of Early Clothing and Other Things

So. I have been busy. I have, among other things, been hunting with black powder...longhunting, although I admit, I haven't been using my flintlock, Mary Elizabeth, due to not having the proper powder. I shall rectify that this coming weekend.

I have also been melding some of my longhunting kit with my paleo kit...like adding my fire drills into my blanket roll. Paleo folk probably would have had what amounts to buffalo robes (mammoth robes?) but those are a grand or more and there are none to hunt here so we make do as we can. Some neo folk had fiber arts and wool is among the oldest of those so a wool blanket works. Eh, I don't really need to justify it as I am not actually reenacting, but some folk might like a bit of explanation.

Research has shown that the dress of Otzi down through the Scythians, Celts, and even Woodland Indians here in America remained little changed. There are only so many ways one can make a pair of leggings..one of the most common elements...or tunic-dresses...after all. Cultural decoration can vary a lot, but the base garments and how they were worn..those are remarkably the same throughout. Otzi himself was wearing a loincloth, leggings held up by a belt, a tunic, and an over tunic, and a plaited reed cape plus hat. His quiver was nearly identical to many Native American types. In fact, overall, save for racial features, he would not have stood out at all....except he had a bronze axe. Forerunner to the axe and tomahawk.

I am working on making sets of leggings and the tunic dresses to go with them..and breechclouts. Yes, women wore them too, although mostly as a loincloth arrangement apparently. The clothing is simple, and given it persisted for some ten thousand years, functional. I figure it will do fine by me. I might get a lot of looks from folk, but between you and me, I would far rather be known as 'primitive' than as 'sophisticated'. Folk ought to look that latter word up sometime; sophistry comes from it, I might add. Yeah.

Yes, I am referring to daily wear. I have nothing to fear concerning a dress code since I am a stay at home parent...and even if I weren't, I would most certainly walk away from any job rather than have to conform to something that made me feel repressed. I have principles...I stand by them. End of story.

My ritual kit is also taking on the form of clothing I have been speaking of. Eventually I would like to make it entirely of brain-tan doe skin with the fur accents of course. No, I am not afraid to wear fur. While I absolutely detest the farming of animals for the purpose, I am not squeamish about being a predator in the natural order of things and taking hides from animals I hunt, or that other hunters get, is fine by me and I will wear them. Spit on me at your peril; I will most assuredly arrange a stay in the local hospital for you if you do so. Or worse.

Anyway, the type of clothing worn by longhunters was derived from Native Americans..and the types of clothing worn by Scythians, Celts, and even Otzi and his folk were all extremely similar. After all, we are all aboriginal if we go back far enough.

I am a Druid Archpriestess...and an independent one too. Suitable clothing for me I think..and it has the major benefit of making it easier for Seekers to find me, if they need and wish to do so. Visible and active....setting a kind of example for independence and self expression. Caution! Once outside of the box you can't really get back in...even if the box residents allow it for some reason. Thinking and self reliant people are not wanted in there.

So yep, I can do pretty much anything in a basic sort of clothing. Decoratively I am coming up with my own style and motifs...I really do not wish to step on any other cultures' way of doing things if I can avoid it. A little respect never hurts anyone. As I say though, there are only so many ways to make clothing for a human in the earlier periods so no one can claim sole right to elements of that clothing. They belonged to my ancestors as much as anyone else.

By switching out some types of gear for other types, I can easily switch between periods or even worlds. What are hosen, after all, but cloth leggings? Think about it. Pants are simply hosen that were joined together to create one piece. But I like the leggings so that is what I am going to use.

I will be making more moc-boots too. Creamy ones for ritual use, browns for other uses....although it is very possible that except when hunting the off-white or cream outfit will be my standard. For winter wear, a hat with fur. For Summer rites..a lightweight headdress with veil. For Winter, a muff to keep the hands warm between needs of exposure. Thick felt and wool. For Summer, linen, and brain-tan skins. The more I 'shift', the happier I become and happiness is a seriously desirable state in these times.

I am being myself. Following my Path. Doing the Work that has been set for me. More...I am enjoying it all. I cannot ask for more than that....for that is already some, that is.

Ken; pics of Otzis' quiver will be forthcoming soon. I am now working on a similar quiver for atlatl darts. I already have some buckskin bags for the fire drills and similar equipment. I even have a nice tobacco pouch....the herb is used in a lot of rites that I practice. Medicine pouch, making knife sheaths, and generally working with leather. Even without serious decoration, leather is lovely. I'm after beading...on some of the smaller bags I am after putting different designs of beading so I can readily identify them in the larger shoulder bag or pack without having to see them.

That's the update. Take it or no, as best suits you.

Eledhwen

Update

Popped into the Ranger forum a bit ago; it has been a bit since I was last in there. It has become a bit too medieval/norse for me, who is a fearsome Tolkien Middle Earth fan. I save my historical reenactment for paleotech, medieval hunting, and similar. Too much of a purist I guess; a character flaw.

Anyway. I have three atlatl darts...these have archery field points for target use and so I can become proficient with the weapons system without shattering flint tips, which require a fair bit of work to make. Flint tips would also do horrible things to the target. ;)

Looking at adding a plunge drill to my collection; it could make fire or be used for drilling holes when it was tipped with flint bits.

I will hopefully be working with bone and antler soon, to make needles, awls, shuttles for weaving, and whatnot.

Mulling over a kind of...I dunno what to call it...a kind of experience. Ah, can't go into detail at this point but it would involve some folk doing a number of things of paleo nature and then relating the experience. Sounds lame that way but I really do not want to go into details just now.

Anyway, hoping to be able to brain tan some hides here soon...and then make some garments of it.

Eledhwen

Working on Paleotech almost exclusively. The liberation and empowerment that come from mastering the deceptively complex skills used by Stone Age people is incredible. From hand drills, bow drills, and fire plungers to make fire, though flint knapping to make tools and weapons, to cordage making for weaving and rope...right on through hunting and survival. Amazing stuff, in a nutshell. Really working from the ground up with this stuff. It gives one a feeling of immense self-confidence. Way beyond what modern survival routines do.

It is a crying shame there is no one to go out and experimentally live with in this regard. Nowhere to hunt with these weapons.

I am still working with atlatl darts and soon will be working with Stone Age brain-tanning of skins and hides as well. My goal; a complete wardrobe of skins and furs to experiment with. Mind you, I have been doing minimalist with longhunting and rangering for some time so I think I have a fair idea what I am looking at here.

It would be pretty nifty to have a go at immersion for a couple of weeks or a month. I suspect it would be highly illuminating...and of course, quite dangerous. Still, I bet it would be worth it. Know it would be. Definitely a kill ya or cure ya evolution. ;)

Considering making some rabbit throwing sticks too. Once again, they are illegal to hunt with here, as are various bird throwing sticks. 'Cause of course, it be cruel to kill this way and the poaching/assault of low flying aircraft rate would be just horrible. Horrible. ;)

Cannot even spearfish or bowfish here. Sheesh. At least I can use a drop line. Oh, and basket traps are strictly forbidden, as are booby traps, snares, or deadfalls. Trapping in general, really. Might catch someone where they oughtn't to be, I guess. Who knows?

There are a number of things I can do..for the moment..so will do as I may. There are some downed trees from which I might get the 'rind' for experimenting with making some kinds of canoe.

Making of fire..although this one is restriced to here because of course one cannot build a fire in the wild places without a permit or at properly designated fire places. Make your population as helpless and dependent as possible, aye Captain.

One good thing about learning these paleotech skills is freeing oneself from that sort of nonsense. Perhaps not totally, but as close as one can get for now.

Anyway, after making myself a brain-tanned buckskin wardrobe with furs. Guess I'll be a target of the anti-fur crowd. Oh well.

Eledhwen

Back Again

Wow. Illness, injury, holidays, broken tech, all sorts of stuff going on.

Still, I have been at least somewhat busy. Making arrows, of course. Lots of them. I am, I think, getting pretty decent at it, though still learning things as I go along. :)

I received my flint knapping kit but have yet to try to actually make anything. It is something I am reluctant to do in the apartment after getting both cut and a splinter of obsidian just handling the stuff. I do not want the small shards in the carpet and what not. I'll work on it outdoors, which would be a lot better.

I received my atlatl...I bought one of bamboo for experimentation. It has a bit of shaped bone for the 'hook' on the tip. I still need to make darts for it. I checked the bamboo stakes we have...most of them are much too short. There are some others to look at...I really only need a couple of them to make into darts. I have fletches for them and all.

I received also my fire drill and hand drill kits; these are tested to work and are something I can practice on as I make my own and try those too. I also have a fire plunger that I built from a kit, and naturally, flint and steel. Many ways to make fire!

I am keenly interested in paleotech and all that goes with it. Having read the writeup on that awesome show 'I Caveman' in the current issue of 'Primitive Archer' (thanks Ken!), I am even more motivated than before. I know how the man felt and feels. I have experienced that same thing..and the longing to get away from the world as we have made it never leaves. He'll find that out soon enough, if he doesn't know it already. There is something about being out primitive, whether it is longhunting, medieval hunting, or paleo living, that changes ones perception, makes one aware of another world underneath this thing we have built. It instills a deep seated longing, a sense of loss and loneliness that is hard to describe.

The Winter is closing in on us here and that is good time for working on many things. I will work a great deal on primitive kit over the Winter; most of my medieval and Range stuff is sorted anyway, and my Longhunting stuff is near done too.

Ritual stuff is ever ongoing...and one cannot separate that from paleo living...it is part and parcel, as it is of my own life.

Pictures of packs, flint pieces, darts, and whatnot as I get them.

Eledhwen

It has been a hectic time indeed. I have been making a LOT of arrows...and doing some shooting at the range as well. I am improving continuously

Today I went out to the hills, to a friends' house. The morning was brisk enough for breath to smoke on the wind and snow flurries to dance about. There was sign, mostly old, but no game was had. I did bring home a rabbit for dinner sometime this week.

Today was St. Hubert's Day...patron of the Hunt. A fine day to go a-rangering and hunting.

I am now making a set of arrows ordered from me; we will see  how this works out. If it goes well I will allow other folk to order some. I guess that would make me some kind of fletcher should it happen. Not a bad peaceful pursuit for a Ranger.

I am still working at making bows. That's a longer learning period to master.

Busy busy.

Eledhwen

Hah! I have been even busier!

I have been making a lot of arrows...in part because I enjoy it, in part for practice, and in part for preparation; I will begin construction of the ordered arrows here this coming week. All field tests of arrows I have made have been positive; they fly properly, are spined correctly, and are well balanced. Here is hoping that continues!

I still practice shooting from a variety of positions...and I recommend others do as well. Unless, of course, you can guarantee that anything you need to shoot at will be easily seen and targeted from the standing and that it does not have some intention or ability in shooting back. Adding in a wider variety of skills is no bad thing.

I will, I hope, get some photos this weekend, of the arrows I have been making and of the positions in shooting. I am going to be up in the hills at a friends' house tomorrow, in part to visit but also to impart a few skill lessons on tracking and arrow construction. Might even manage to bag some game.

So busy, yes, but with Ranger concerns on the whole. I prefer it that way.

Eledhwen

Update

Pictures of various sort will be coming soon. 

I have been busy!

Yesterday I sat down and constructed six field arrows from some old cedar shafting I had stored away. I dyed the shafts charcoal grey, attached field points of 125 grains and white plastic nocks (I do not see the point in doing self-nocks for simple target arrows). I bound on two black flight feathers and on white cock feather. I have to tell you, the binding of the flights combines *very* well with the plastic nocks. I was rather surprised by that, actually, though I am not certain why. I bound them primarily to keep the quills of the flights from cutting into the hand when shot...we do not use rests.

Subsequent shooting proved that the arrows flew beautifully....and since they were spined suitable to my Magyar composite bow, that is what I was shooting. I can tell you that arrows depart that bow with a fierceness I never experience with self-bows. 

My groups were pretty tight, though not as tight as I would like them, and essentially on target, though not necessarily where I wanted them on target. That sort of thing is knocking off the rust; since I began shooting regularly I have noted a remarkable improvement in a very short space of time.

Two shots in one series skimmed the back of the buck target and subsequently struck the wooden fence backstop. Both of the heads on those shattered. On the target itself the arrows would typically penetrate six inches...definitely killing depth, and that with field points, which are not optimized for killing. 

I have got to admit, I prefer the composite bows to the longbows. Sorry, my colleagues, but spending so much time East of East and in Far Harad (where the stars are strange) appears to have influenced me greatly. 

These bows are smaller, fiercer for a given draw weight, fast and smooth to shoot.....although they do have powerful  hand shock and serious follow through pull. They are better for hunting in brush or tight places, easily handled from horseback (not that I am a horse archer...I just wish I were!), and in these modern cases, fairly weather impervious...as much as a bow can be.

I do believe I am going to focus on shooting these bows. Suitable, I think, especially for us Ranger women. 

I have two pair of nice brown cotton leggings. Of course they include a bit of spandex for stretch, but they resemble hosen...especially when worn with my high boots and either a tunic...or a swordswoman's shirt. Or a jerkin-blouse combo. They also make for nice inner layer wear in cold weather. ;) Not as nice as silk, but they'll do in a pinch.

So anyway, photos of various shooting positions, kit, and clothing, will soon be appearing here and elsewhere. Probably some more scenery shots of Rhovannion too. Just for flavor.

There's the stone age quiver to document. There are some other quiver and cases to document as well. Scabbards and whatnot too.

So much to do. :) Keeps a Ranger busy.

Nai i-Valar Tiralyë!

Eledhwen

Fletcher?

Much to my surprise, a fellow I know ordered a dozen arrows from me. Self-nock, bound feather flights, field points, spined for 45-50#s at a draw length of 28".

Blue and white flights. Silk thread binding. Glue. Paint; these are the specialized items. I am using Port Orford cedar shafting for these so they will also require inserts of bone, horn, or hardwood in the nock.

I have never made arrows for sale before. I am no business woman. A cursory look around the web at prices for handmade arrows range from 50 dollars a dozen through 17 dollars per arrow. The former tend to come from overseas and are found on Ebay. The latter seem to be more 'local' in the sense of people from North America. I have no idea what to charge. For the moment, costs of all items carefully tallied, time carefully noted, and some kind of percentage for overhead. The biggest thing is figuring out what to charge for time. I want to be reasonable while still making sufficient to make it worth my time, not to mention perhaps going ahead with it for others..of whom I have a few waiting to see how this turns out.

The thing is, I am quite new, still, to building arrows. Yes, the ones I have made thus far fly quite fine, but I do not yet know if I am consistent. My sense of honor and justice says that I need to stand by what I make...it they do not perform well then a refund is in order. Perhaps I could them rework the shafts so they would work...and use them myself. Or something.

The best I can do at this point is to give it my best, in all ways, with great care and attention to every detail. Either I will be up to it, or not. We shall see.

It would be nice to be able to do something like this, feel a bit more useful by being able to produce something of worth for sale or trade. I can at least make arrows in the apartment...that's a big thing.

Needless to say, I have been working on making bows too...and I even have a couple of folk who want one of them. I am even less confident about that than about the arrows! Slow and steady is the way here.

Range-wise, I am using a Magyar bow for the moment. smaller, better in brush, powerful enough to hunt with, and lighter, it is not a longbow by any means. But it works...and as Eledhwen I have been East of East and to Far Harad where the stars are strange. I have had to use a variety of things other than those with which I was raised. Some of these things have suited me better than those I was raised with..so goes the life of a person.

Along with the Stone Age quiver I am making a bow quiver for my Magyar bow. Leatherwork is something I have a great deal more confidence in doing. I will note that I am referring to the actual construction, not decoration...stamping and tooling are still very new things for me here.

Still, it is no bad thing for a Ranger to be a bowyer, fletcher, stringer, and leathercrafter. Fits rather well I should say.

Eledhwen

Right then. I will soon be cutting the pieces for a new quiver. It will be based on a stone age quiver carried by Ötzi the Iceman...with a few modifications to suit my own needs. The overall shape and structure will be essentially correct...certain details will change and decoration will be entirely my own.

More than likely I will use my elk hide...although I do have other leather to use if I so choose. I am after making it capable of holding up to two dozen arrows...at the least a dozen and a half. Ötzi had 14 arrows in his quiver.

Once I have it sorted out I will, of course, use it at the range..extensively. And during the hunt. A thorough field test.

Also in line; a new medicine bag, strike-a-light pouch, and archer's bag. As to the last, one of the mods I plan to put into the quiver is in the interior flap that covers the flights of the arrows....I will build a spare string pouch into it. 

I will take photos along the way, as well as photos when at the range, in and out of garb of various types. There are certain positions I want to photograph for the sake of reference, especially the prone position.

Shooting with my son was a lot of fun. There will be much more of it.

Eledhwen

Changes Coming

Some changes coming down the pike. For one thing, alongside the Ranger oriented material here I will also be posting about Primitive Tech projects and experiments...that means back to the bronze and stone ages, yes.

Currently I am working out plans for replicas of Ötzi's belt, quiver, and a-frame backpack. I want to see how they will function IRL. I already have a bow similar to his.

Also, medicine bags, Crane Bags, and what have you. Ranger-Primitive mix essentially. There is much overlap in any case, just as there is with Long Hunting.

Today I took Taliesin out to the Range for the first time since becoming members (his, not mine). We spent two solid hours just shooting archery, although we did pause long enough to have a free burger courtesy of the clubhouse and trap shooters.

The archery range is nothing fancy; four targets on sled frames so they can be moved about, one 3D deer target and a wood fence backstop. Total range length is about 40-45 yards...good hunting distances are possible here. Nothing fancy indeed, but it is enough for our purposes at the moment.

We shot standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone. Yes, it is possible to shoot accurately from the prone with a bow. It will work your abs and back, but it can be done. We began speaking of holding events similar to pistol combat courses using bows instead. Something we will have to think on more deeply.

I allowed a fellow archer to fire the arrows I made this past year. He was so impressed he ordered a dozen from me on the spot. O-o I have had no expectations of making arrows for money..after all, until today I didn't even know for certain if I were doing it right. Apparently I have done as they all flew beautifully.

The upshot is that I will make this dozen arrows for him, keeping careful tally of time worked, materials used and lost, and general work. Then I'll show them to him, and discuss a fair price. I have no idea what to charge for them. I will be making them with self nocks, field tips, feather fletching of blue and white, and probably a little cresting. I have no idea what such things might be fairly sold for.

I wonder if this starts me on the road of being a Fletcher. ;) Still working on building the hickory bows. Pictures of things coming soon to a blog near you..or well, this one anyway.

Eledhwen

Update

The spine tester is ready. All I have to do now is clear things up a bit in here and the testing of my supply of shafts can begin.

Once I have them sorted into their various draw ranges, construction of arrows will begin and will be my primary project until I run out of shafts, flights, or points. After that, order in more points. ;)

My elder son is of the opinion I could probably sell some of my arrows. I hadn't considered it; I am still quite new at it all, especially the medieval sort. Cutting nock slots, making inserts, etc. is rather different from using snap nocks after all. Still, perhaps I'll look into it, once I get things really organized. No reason I can think of for folk to order arrows from a new fletcher, but stranger things have happened.

I will shortly get back to working on tillering the two hickory longbows I have. Since my elder son purchased a linen-backed red oak longbow (35#), I do not really have to make one for him at the moment...although he cannot hunt with that bow. Minimum hunting weight here is 40#. Since my sons and my lass all passed the hunter safety course, we'll be looking at hunting as a group..the Northern Rangers, the Forandiri, are growing. ;)

I am going to make a native American style quiver and experiment with it. My elder son has one he got at a Renn Faire and he loves it. Fairly simple in design, they seen to work well enough. Enough to make me curious and set me to constructing one. I am ever after lower profile simpler kit that does whatever the more expensive and complex stuff just as well.

Soon there will be more photos from Rhovannion. There is also the pack project to deal with, not to mention a few other items.

Eledhwen

Comments

Not much doing on the Ranger front at the moment, or more accurately, the Tolkien-Medieval Ranger front. All of that is ready to go when Deer season kicks off next month. Sure, there are several projects still ongoing; the pack and whatnot, for one, but I can operate with what I have without a lot of trouble if needs be.

At the moment it is Bear season and I have been cleaning and preparing to bore sight and set my SAFN 49. It is currently in a lot of pieces, completely field stripped for work. It fires 8x57mm Mauser, a good, powerful round. It was made for the Egyptian army back during King Farouk's reign..yeah, long time ago. It is considered a Curio & Relic and collectors are really into them. The last of the elegant Old World battle rifles. Machined, not stamped, in construction.

One reason for this focus is that my sons and my partner are going through the Basic Hunting Safety course...which means they can then join me on the hunt. This year. :) I am enrolled in the course too, but in my case I have to have it so I can go to the instructor's course and then teach it. Ditto the archery, black powder, and trapping, courses.

So my focus on a more modern Mountain Ranger is explained quite readily. I have admired the old German Gebirgsjaeger outfits for a very long time...a fascination that was underlined when I was training with the Corps in Northern Norway. Ski training, snowshoeing, Mountain Warfare...yeah, it nabbed this northern gal's heart in a permanent embrace.

As a result, my Rangering covers a long swathe of time and place, from Tolkien's Middle Earth, to the Medieval Hunter/Ranger, to the Colonial Longhunters & Rangers, right on through sort of modern Recon Ranger stuff..at least how I see it anyway. Mishmash of gear that works for me, just like all the others. The only one in which I am very careful to be absolutely accurate to history is Medieval Hunting; St. Hubert's requires it and I comply. Tolkien was influenced by history, not absolutely part of it, I do not reenact longhunting so much as enjoy using the kit and skills to explore the past, and the modern stuff has more than a little to do with the projected AT thru-hike and possible collapse scenarios. Well, collapse will occur, it is only a matter of when. Preparation is a constant with me.

As I say, if I can do a thing in primitive measure, then if I have access to more modern equivalents I will be doing just fine..far better than most others. My family getting their hunting licenses, FIDs, LTCs and whatnot is one of the few remaining preparatory routines..and that is being addressed.

So yeah, this post hasn't a lot to do with Tolkien's Middle Earth. However, since I deactivated my FB account and some people only see what I post here or on the MERF, I thought a bit of explanation was in order. I have another blog that I post more everyday stuff on a variety of issues, from my Druidry, to the very odd dreams I often have, through to generic stuff. That one is called 'Randiromar', yep, on blogger.

So I am fine, we are fine, but I got fed up with FB, it's spying for various agencies and corporations, its high-handed behavior, and its less than stellar function.

Be well. Ranger posts of the appropriate sort will resume, never fear.

Eledhwen/Siani

Of Bows and Crossbows

Something happened yesterday that brought something I was aware of in a distant way to the fore. I was at the bowyers' shop yestermorn and chatting with the young man there; I was leaving a bow to be tuned and adjusted. Naturally the chatter was about archery and bows and the various draw weights being used. The talk turned to crossbows.

I haven't thought much about crossbows; Rangers generally do not use them much. However, lurking underneath it all was the distant awareness that someday, if I wished to continue going on scout and hunting, I would have to use one. This might seem odd..after all, if I cannot draw a bow what would I be doing out in the wild anyway; the first thought would be that I was too old. That isn't it.

There was the fight with the dragon some years ago. The injuries have healed, yes, but the scars are still there and the damage that could not be completely repaired still affects what I do. The misalignment of my shoulder and the displacement of my collarbone are of particular note as they are directly involved in drawing the bow. Over the past couple of years I have noticed it has gotten more difficult to draw the heavier weights and holding them has become a real challenge.

In time I will be forced to take up the crossbow. I am not certain how I feel about that. Certainly for hunting it is no problem, although in these lands the decree is such that one must prove impediment to the self bow before being granted the right to use the crossbow. The crossbow is a feared weapon; it does not take the same skill to use as our longbows do, hence anyone can pick them up and shoot them in a short period of time.

I cannot see myself calmly sitting down and letting the lands go to seed because I have to use a crossbow. That is not me. So when the time does come and I am forced into is use in general, I will do so...as a Ranger, as a Huntress. I will do so boldly and damn those who look askance.

Because I know this of myself, I am turning my mind to bolts, bolt making, belt quivers for bolts, belt hooks and whatnot. Sooner is better than later in most things, this no less. I shall make my own crossbows for this purpose, perhaps purchase one for other pursuits, but in the main, I wish to build my own no less than I strive to build self bows now. It will take some study I deem; if I am to use steel prods then I must suss out the proper temper pattern for the steel for maximum life, safety, and efficiency.

When it comes to the art of the Smith, I can tell you straight forward that it is best to have a Master or Mistress...no two people see color exactly the same and learning the subtle gradations of hot metal are vital to proper Smithwork...never more so than in tempering where different parts of the metal must be tempered to different strengths for best results.

Today I will most probably remove the cherry furniture from Gûdagnir and prepare her for her new grips. While I am about that, I will turn my mind to the various needs of the crossbow. Looking into the future is a habit I have.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë

Eledhwen

Packs & Projects

It had been a little bit, aye.

My Ranger fitness now consists of weight training three times a week, four sets of 25 repetitions each of about ten exercises. Then, when weather allows, swimming, and again, when the weather is cooperative, hiking. Sometimes Mother hands out a mandatory day off, so to speak, but mostly this is the routine I follow.

I have been experimenting with packs, as I have mentioned in the past, and one thing has become very clear; I must have a frame. The misalignment and displacement of my left shoulder and clavicle have sufficient impact that this is necessary. It has to be done carefully; testing of various sorts of packs and methods have revealed these points;

There must be a frame.
The shoulder straps must be both wide and thickly padded
The shoulder straps must be 'women's' shoulder straps, that is, made to accommodate the breasts.
There must be a waist strap/belt along with lumbar padding
There must be a breast strap

Sounds like a lot, yes? It isn't really. However, these features pre-exist in only certain types of packs; the old military ALICE packs and civilian backpacking packs...with women's straps added in as an option. Right then, these are modern packs, and they work just fine as they were intended...but they do not work for a Ranger in Middle Earth.

For one thing, they are made of cordura...a very tough nylon fabric used for most such gear these days. Totally not ME in substance but aside from that, if one is at all attuned to the wild, they make very distinctive and easily detected noises when going through the brush where natural fabrics do not.

So what solution have I come up with? Simple really. I am going to use the ALICE frame and build my canvas, wool, and leather pack around it. Using wool for the padding of lumbar and shoulder strap pads, canvas for the bulk of the pack, and leather for reinforcement and attachment points. Doing it this way also allows me to color it as I wish and in this case that will be shades of grey, with perhaps some dull green in there too.

Why grey? Because that color, above all others, is all but invisible to most folk. The eye tends to slide over it, leaving the wearer of it a fuzzy memory in the mind's eye. It also works in any season, unlike most other colors.

So, brothers and sisters, this is the path I have chosen for a pack. I know that for the most part we choose frameless bags as packs..but I cannot for physical reasons. The tendonitis I have had trouble with this year began when I stopped using frame packs on the hikes. Since I started again it hasn't even shown a whimper. There's just too much pressure on the clavicle and nerves there if there is no frame with waist band. What Rangers do well, or would do well to strive to do well, is to Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome when confronted with obstacles.

How else shall we take on the enemies that lurk around the good free folk who are our charges? The path of the Ranger is not an easy one...but it has its rewards, aye it does.

I know it is customary for we Rangers to wear no fair thing save one, but I think on this pack I will work into it the design of our Forandiri in subtle manner. I do not think this will violate the usual lack of decoration as it will be neither gem nor precious metal...merely a design worked into the making of the pack. The fir tree and seven stars of six points is the design of my Folk here in the North and I would that it be somewhere on my person; the pack is the place.

The pack frame will be essentially hidden from view...mostly; there will be a point or two that has to show, such as the place where the shoulder straps fasten to the frame, but on the whole I think I can engine it to hide the actual frame itself. It will look more like a Mountain rucksack than anything else. I will design them with lash points for added pockets or other bits of gear...this came about in part due to a thought that I might be able to make the canvas parts reversible and so 'camouflage' one side and have grey or white on the other...but the idea to make it essentially grey and dull green trumped that. Or it has for now.

In other project work, I have to split off the cherry grip on my Elven hunting knife Gûdagnir, (Foe-Bane). Two things I wish to do for it; firstly, add a bronze ferrule to the blade end of the grip, and inlay some silver into the grip itself. Then I will add a pommel cap, probably in the form of a leaf or perhaps a deer's cloven hoof. Then I must craft a suitable sheath for it. Then will it be ready for service and better pictures.

I need to sit down with Uitirith (Ever-Guard), my sword that was the DelTin version of Glamdring and polish the blade. A leather covered wooden sheath for her would not be bad either. Nor would a decent new belt.

There is still the spine tester to build; perhaps I will get down to the hardware store to get the final pieces today. After that, much arrow building to do, of course. There's also the bowyering projects under way, and the string making. Never mind the leatherwork.

Plenty to do and the season of the Hunt begins very soon.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë!

Eledhwen

Ranger Fitness

Damn. I had been hiking almost daily along the trails on Mount Toby. Then I got a little beat up and started searching for an interim activity. I added in weight training for toning and stamina..currently only ten pounds, twenty reps, three sets of exercises, but that will be increasing to thirty reps next week and the weight will go up later.

Then I added in swimming. We have had a pool here right along but for a long time it was the hangout of smokers and skinheaded tinker toys with lots of muscles and no real brains to speak of. Me being what I am, I would be certain to irritate them..and also being what I am, that would not be a good thing..for them. So I tended to stay away. That and being stupidly and grossly obese. I have lost a lot of mass though and have of late decided that I simply do not give a damn. Smokers are no longer allowed and in the early morning there isn't anyone there; the tinker toys seem to be afternoon creatures for some reason.

The upshot is that I do sprints the width of the pool..currently twenty of them, and use side and breast strokes for the length of the pool, mixed with some flutter kicking exercises and other leg type work.

The weights and swimming left me tired...too tired to hike. I was kind of surprised but okay, I kept at it. Today I managed, for the first time, to weight train, swim, and hike. Three miles on the hike but still..in a conservative estimate I have already burned over 1300 calories today and likely more. With my eating routine I have definitely made a dent in the mass situation. :)

I have to say, though, that this takes up almost the entirety of my morning, especially if I get a late start. The afternoons are spent on doing projects, bellydance of some sort, and gardening. Yet now more will be inserted.

Daily archery, a sport that consumes a surprising amount of calories will soon become an afternoon activity. Assuming the canoe I may get actually pans out, canoeing will become a common routine during the afternoons. Probably not daily, but often. Yes, this cuts into time for projects as I will not allow the Dance to suffer from any of this. It is a necessary piece of what I do and who I am.

All of these things contribute to being a healthy Ranger. They are also reducing my mass and will, I hope, allow me to come off of medications later this year. That is the goal. And after that to keep on, getting healthier and healthier. There is hunting coming too. Hunting and swimming are, around here, seasonal activities. Winter, if there is snow, brings in snowshoeing and skiing.

Plenty of skills to practice, plenty of things to keep busy with. It will sharply reduce computer time, naturally.

The key to all of this, really, is the eating..that is the foundation. The key to the exercise is that I am doing things I really, truly, enjoy doing. It is no effort to go out and 'do it'. It is a pleasure.

Fitness is one of those things too many of us pay little attention to..yes, Rangers too. Yet it is a necessary part of being anything more than an armchair Ranger. Think about it.

Eledhwen

Remaining Focused

So today, finally, I shall be fetching in a variety of hardware bits and pieces. Some of them are for the archery target frames, some for the spine tester. The last real hurdle to get going is the spine tester...well, at least for arrows. We all have usable bows so the bowyer's clamp and bench can wait a little.

I got together a tutorial on the making of Asiatic composite bows...this is my long term goal in bowyering. I find these bows to be far handier in the forests and thick brush..although in an old growth forest with very little undergrowth, a longbow would not be a problem. For now though, the brush and undergrowth are quite thick...and I have sorted out the fact that if I am canoeing and need to use the bow, the composite is a far better choice, being smaller and yet still powerful.

So where do I, a Northern Ranger, get these items and skills? Why, from my travels of course. I have been East beyond the sea of Rhûn, and South to Far Harad and beyond, where the stars are strange. A Ranger learns a great deal. Sometimes safety comes from being able to blend in. In my ordinary, mundane existence, I have been around the world four times and to every major continent (and one sub-continent) save two...and one of those I have no desire to visit. So these are reflected in my Ranger background in the above stated way.

In any case, the drive to master the skills of bowyer, fletcher, and stringmaker are driven by both hobby and practical life needs. I appear to have a gift for them, or at least a knack. Only time will show the reality of course but it is possible, if not probable, that I may be able to sell the odd bow and sheaf of arrows now and then. It would be a pleasant pass time for me and is eminently doable from home. Being able to make crossbows would simply accent it nicely. Some folk cannot, for a variety of reasons, use standard bows...but they can use crossbows. It may not apply so well to the world of Middle Earth, but it works in the everyday, and therein is where I will use it. They'd be even easier to use in a canoe, come to think of it.

Remaining focused has allowed me to reach this point. Discouragement is not something I am prone too, thank goodness. There have been setbacks..there still are, in a variety of endeavors, yet I will continue on regardless. Until the flame of my spirit gutters at last and I rest from my labors.

So much to learn, so much to see, so little time.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen

Bowyering

It is a stormy day outside, with a Summer thunderstorm putting on a bit of a show. A good time to sit down and set pen to parchment, as it were.

I have been pursuing the skills of bowyer, fletcher, and string maker for a bit now...in fits and starts up to this point, but it hasn't gotten far from the priority list.

With the arrival of several awaited tools and some awesome blueprints for a medieval style crossbow, it has taken the high ground with a vengeance.

I have begun tillering the first of my hickory longbow staves. I shall be recording the event for the edification of my fellow Rangers throughout Endor. It is to be hoped that I shall come up fortunate in this first endeavor and produce a functioning bow in the 45# @ 28" draw range. If it does not look too horrendous when done I will add some horn nocks to the tips. I have linseed oil for the wood, hemp cord for the grip, and of course, arrow shafts and building supplies for the rest. I have not yet decided if I will attempt any decoration...I probably will as I am simply that way, but we will see.

Additionally, I have a complete set of blueprints, as I said before, for the making of a medieval style crossbow. I have a tutorial as well, and a source for the metal bits necessary for completion. I would forge them myself but my forge is still in storage and probably will be until I move out of here. Hence the leatherwork and bowyering; I can do them here.

Initially I will go for a good target crossbow, once I have the pieces here. If that comes out well enough I will do a second in the hunting range. While local Sheriffs won't allow me to hunt with one here, there are other areas and being able to make them properly also means another item for trade as well. Which of course means I will have to work on making bolts for said crossbows.

Today I received a new tillering cord..and promptly found the old one whose loss prompted ordering a new one. Naturally. I also received my cabinet scrapers and they have already proven useful. Horn nocks arrived too; horn is getting hard to find, at least the sort that is best for this, and is getting expensive too.

As soon as the spine tester is done I shall begin making arrows for my sons and fellow Rangers. I lack a proper grain scale but I have a good grams scale and I can do simple math. A grain scale, non-electronic, is on the list of things to procure, along with a bowyer's 'bench' equivalent. I may someday make a proper wooden bowyer's bench, but living in an apartment would make it rather more trouble than I want so for now a more vise-like and very portable tool that does the same is what is on the list. With that I can not only shape stocks and staves, but carve them right out of a billet of wood.

Also in the future are composite horse-bows. I have already built a home steam box for this purpose so when I get to the point where making one of these seems possible, I will be ready to go. I do tend to look ahead a bit..or dream ahead, more like. ;)

The Summer season of rearing young is nearing its end and the Autumn season of the Hunt will soon begin. Oromë grant me some success in my endeavors in this regard.

All projects, including the pack I mentioned before, will be recorded in process for the edification (or derision) of my fellow Rangers. ;)

Nai i-Valar tiralyë

Eledhwen

Grand Moot & Archery

I wish I were in a position to organize and execute a kind of 'Grand Moot' for Rangers. Sure, I chat with fellow Rangers via the Aether and via messages written on Waystation Boards, but it would be nice to actually meet some of my kith in person on a time.

Imagination always colors things in rosy light, yet still I should think the nights around the fires would be full of stories and exchanges of knowledge and Wisdom. Competitions for those who enjoy them, project work and learning for any who care to partake. It would be nice, aye it would.

On a far more realistic note, it would be insanely expensive these days I suspect, not to mention difficult to set up. Sites are not easily found these days, certainly not ones of reasonable cost.

Yet...it would be amazing if one happened sometime. I suspect, however, that local moots are the best that can be managed.

******

I am eying my son's quiver. He likes a belt quiver so I am modifying it. It is leather, the real thing, but rather simple and cheap otherwise. I am augmenting it with a leather extension on the top (it was made for a child's arrows), a system of rings and straps so it can be worn at the waist and carried on the back as desired, a soft leather bag insert to protect and quiet the arrows, and a bit of decoration of the Elven sort. Out of this will come a new belt quiver for myself, although I like wearing mine near horizontally across the small of my back with the points at the draw end; for hunting don't you see? The sheath is flipped off the tip, the arrow draw straight out and down onto the bow, a minimum of movement to spook prey. It too will have a soft leather bag to protect and quieten arrows...and a strap system to allow it to be carried on the back for travel.

I am making arrows. At the moment more hunting arrows for myself. As soon as the spine tester is sorted out I shall be making some for my sons and lass. A family of Rangers, as it were. :)

The bows too, are beginning to be shaped. There is a lot to do on this rainy day.

Eledhwen

Pack Project

I have found a canvas backpack, the sort made by Panther Primitives. It is insanely long in torso length; much too long for me, it comes to the middle of my ass with the top at the nape of my neck. So what's a gal to do?

Easy. I shall remove the shoulder straps, split the four seams several inches down and fold in the resulting flaps, restitching them into their shorter configuration and reinforcing the pack body in one go. I will add leather reinforcement for the strap anchor points. I will add in breast and waist bands and make the shoulder straps adjustable by adding buckles. I shall add in d-rings and lashing points, leather of course, and completely encase the bottom section in leather.

The straps are currently webbing but I will probably make them of leather instead. I will dye the canvas with my walnut powder so it will be a brown instead of canvas white. I will take care to ensure it will work with my bedroll and quiver, and be able to accept other things as needed.

I may design a new quiver and some pouches specifically for this pack...but of course, useful without it too.

Assuming I can solve the problem my displaced left clavicle presents, this might very well be the Ranger knapsack I have been after having for a long while.

I shall record the entire process and when done, add it to the MERF how-to section. As always, these things are more of a 'How I Did It' than actual 'How To Do It'. They are only one way; the way I have come up with. There are many other ways to tackle the same problem.

Huzzah for new projects! ;)

Eledhwen

Staying the Course

Increasingly these days I am seized by a wanderlust. I used to be the sort who would look at a path, or a hill, or even just the horizon, and wonder what was just beyond it, or around the corner. During my years in the Corps I got to wander in places I never would have otherwise..and it was good. Later, I married and have had children...and as is common in such cases, became anchored by it. Now my youngest is only two years from (legal) adulthood and the wanderlust is growing stronger. I often think that had I not married and had a family I would even now be wandering the hills and vales of the land, living free and independent. Of course, these days everything is owned so being able to do that in most places is exceptionally difficult, what with nosy folk and overweening government telling everyone what to do and how to do it.

Mind you, I have a care for folk, so am no neo-conservative or republican mantra singer...nor am I liberal or neo-progressive; I am a free person, by the Gods, and I make up my own mind about each thing as I go along, sometimes this way, sometimes that, mostly in my own direction.

I wish to be free again. I have not felt so in a long while, I have realized. Everything has changed and I guess I have not changed with it as much as other folk. I'm out of sync and out of time. Guess I wouldn't change that, for all that it can be a problem from time to time. I do not mean free from family, no, I mean free from interference. That, of course, will never happen.

I spend a lot of time running about the woods and hills, camera in my quiver, hunting up 'Middle Earth' scenes. Naturally, the world is Middle Earth...but most of it here these days is far from what I would like to see in Middle Earth. We are not in harmony with our world. We ought to be. In time we will be...we shall have no choice...the only question is what sort of world will it be by then? Poisoned, blasted, Angband and Anfauglith and Mordor all brought to fruition at last? By our own hands (although a case could be made for the Shadow moving us, this time in dispersed form, rather than cohesive).

I'm a Druid, well, a neo-Druid as it were, more akin to Radagast than anything else in Middle Earth I suppose...and I guess I'd be counted amongst the Green folk if they had a rather less wacko set of things in their agenda. I deal in reality, not utopia. Humanity is not essentially good..nor essentially evil...we are neutral by nature, our choices determining which way we go. If there is a lot of evil in the world, it is the work of those who have chosen that path, or who by inaction have allowed that path to take precedence. We're all a bit dirty I guess.

I note that in the books it was the Goblins and Orcs who were fascinated with machinery and explosions. What does that say about us? ;) Yes, a commentary on the industrialization of England it was, and now on the world at large, but the question stands. How many even think about it?

This is the Age of Men...and the Fourth Age is ending, I think. I have no idea what lies ahead; my sight is curiously veiled beyond a certain point.

So what is one to do? Well, this Ranger lives as simply as she can, learning hand crafts and doing for herself as much as modern life allows. Increasing it all the time as things go along. I hunt, spend a lot of time in the forest and about the land. I listen, and observe. Spend a lot of time in thought. I think for myself and rely not upon the words of others, being suspicious of the Shadow and its various routes into one's thoughts and heart.

I can do nothing but see to myself and my own...and hope any example I set will inspire others to take their own path to simplicity. The pursuit of wealth wearies me..it is a false path, a trap for those with less than their overlords have. The truly valuable things lie within each of us, in my opinion.

I do what I can. It is little enough.

Eledhwen

My stuff

This design is mine. I created it myself from scratch. It is the symbol of my own group, the Northern Rangers. I found out this morning that someone nabbed it and has been using it as their group badge for some Steam connected group. There is nothing I can do about it of course. However, I can, and I will, make the statement that the design is my own...not that of another person. I would not have minded but apparently the person using it has claimed creation of it.

The dangers of the Aether.

I am in the design process of making a painted silk flag of this design that we might fly it at events of every sort. I may add some Sindarin or Quenya script to it, I have not yet decided. The basic design, however, I shall keep. It is my own and I will be damned if I will set it aside.

Honorless orcs aside, I have been busy.

Once I have figured out where I put the tillering cord...and why it isn't with the other things...I will begin bowyering in earnest. :) Two hickory staves to work with. Hopefully I will get fortunate and make decent bows the first time out. Probably not, but we shall try in any event.

I have arrows to make for myself and my sons, who are both keen to be Rangers as well. Warms the heart, does that. To that end, I shall make Jim Hill's spine tester so I can get the shafts as closely matched to the bows as possible. Both of my sons also want to hunt..and that requires being able to draw a 45# bow as well as passing all required hunting courses. Once they do those things I will give them a proper horn.

Garment making is ongoing; I am working more with browns and greens these days, leaving the black out of the equation. Black is too easily spotted in the forest except at night. I will work in some nice golden yellows and crimsons for the Autumn, and of course dark grey features for the cloaks. I am still working at making my own boots but for the moment I have the 'Maiden' style of boot from SCA Boots and they are *very* nice. More than acceptable to my mind. I can pull them up over the knee to cover the lower thigh, or cuff them down beneath the knee for a more traditional look. I wish to make these in brown hence the patterning and experimentation.

Also working on leather projects; mostly to do with shooting gloves and arm guards, but also a bit of jerkin design and quiver making. String making is also under way; jute and linen cord for making bowstrings. :)

Hunting season begins soon. I personally believe a Ranger ought to have some skill at hunting, but that is a personal thing.

For now I am using my hunter's knife when I go into the forests..I cannot carry a sword else I would spend some time trying that out. Viggo Mortenson slept with his and kept it with him always when filming Lord of the Rings. Knowing and being comfortable with one's gear is a necessity...but here swords are forbidden so I cannot go this route. For me, knife and hawk.

Lots of work to do all around.

Eledhwen

Update

Well, it has been a while. Computer death, tendonitis, garden work...there has been a lot going on.

On the Ranger Forums I posted (finally!) the bit on the bedroll I use these days. I have as yet not found anything preferable to it based on actual use. When Winter rolls around again we'll see, but so far the minimalist aspect suits me well as both Longhunter and Ranger. After all, if I am scouting about, especially in potentially hostile territory, the last thing I want is more weight than I need, more gear than I need. Less is better.

Assuming we get actual snow of reasonable amount this coming Winter, I'll be working with the wooden snowshoes as well...there was no opportunity last Winter.

I am still building a heavy canvas pack based on the Ranger sort used in the late 17th through middle 18th centuries. It will get a thorough field testing as well. The only place I can currently see it shining over the bedroll setup is the haversack....which pulls on one shoulder and can be a mild hindrance at times. I am thinking of making a smaller one and using it in conjunction with a slightly larger belt pouch. The only way to be certain is to field test all of it, and that at least, I can do, and do well. I am happy with my need wallet...it carries the ten essentials plus a bit of simple food so does not have to be very big. It sits in the small of my back, out of the way.

The more I run around the forests, the more I appreciate my composite bow; being smaller, it is easier to maneuver off trail. Being composite, it packs the same punch as my longbows and doesn't take a set as easily. The only other one I need to work with is the reflex deflex bow has elements of both..a self bow, but with recurved..reflexed ends..it is shorter than a longbow, longer than a composite, takes a set less easily than the longbow but more easily than the composite,and packs just as much punch. It is faster than a longbow I find.

Since swords are forbidden in this state I have learned a great deal about the use of knives, tomahawks and axes. I have found the combination to be just as effective as a sword...IF you now what you are about.

Hunting season begins in about two and a half months. I am hoping the tendonitis takes time off as it makes holding a good site picture with the bow very challenging..and I will not risk injuring an animal and causing undue suffering; that is dishonorable.

At least the later black powder season is doable; I have my longhunting still.

Anyway, that ought to do for today.

Eledhwen

Working Stuff

A bit of delving and I find woodcuts and drawings of medieval folk using backpacks...sometimes made of basket weave, sometimes more like bound bundles, but others look exactly like a simple rucksack. *grins* I am not surprised, but it is nice to have proof. I can use them now with my St. Hubert's Rangers work as well as my ME Ranger activities.

The bedroll, or blanket roll, can stand alone for very lightweight needs. Admirably so. Yet for those who might want a bit more, a rucksack is a good thing. In that you can take a folding frying pan..the Romans had them, I might add, perhaps some extra bries or hose/socks. A journal, if you've a mind to. Just remember, the more carrying space you have, the more you will carry..and the heavier the load will be. It is a tradeoff, like most things. Weight vs. comfort and convenience.

I like minimalist kit because if I can get by with that I can easily get by with a bit more. Confidence builder. It does not mean I won't use a rucksack, just that I enjoy going as light as possible.

I have a design in mind; it will be made of heavy forest-green canvas...I will use elk hide to reinforce the bottom and bottom sides of the pack. It will have leather straps and incorporate a chest strap/tie. It will be made so I can lash my quiver to it, or a sword or what have you. Swords I tend to find heavier than they are worth for a scout, although they have their merits otherwise. I will design it so my bedroll can be slung underneath or carried on top. I need flexibility in the design so it won't be huge, and it won't pack a lot of stuff, but it will allow a bit more in the way of provisions and preparation items as well as the odd bit of additional clothing. I have noted some of the images seem to have a waist tie as well...this is a good thing in my opinion as it helps transmit some of the weight to the hips and off of the shoulders. With a permanently damaged left clavicle and shoulder, taking weight off them is not a bad idea.

I'm thinking my bowyer/fletcher kit in basic form would be a good candidate; I could repair arrows, rough out bows and arrow shafts, not to mention their use in camp making and whatnot. Again, it is a question of weight.

An additional pair of shoes is not a bad thing; the day shoes can be aired and dried by the night fire while one sleeps with the dry pair on the feet. In cold weather this helps a lot. You can rotate footwear to keep the feet fresh and happy. This is why I favor shorter footwear over boots.

The clothing is closest to 13th century, with the somewhat longer tunics common in the 12th and the bries and hose or pants found throughout. The longer tunic resembles a shortened dress, which for a gal is not a bad thing. Mine are not split for riding. It is comfortable kit, the inner can be more like a shirt and the outer short-sleeved in hotter weather or worn alone. Flexible.

That's where I am at the moment.

Eledhwen

Musing

Off on another scout here in a bit. Living in Rhovanion means frequent scouting; Mt. Gundabad isn't all that far off really. ;)

I am slowly replacing the black items in my kit and clothing with brown, green, or grey items, with splashes of color here and there where it seems desirable and appropriate. Black is not really a good color for the forest, except perhaps at night. It stands out too starkly from the background as can be seen well enough with my own recent pictures. A better choice is a neutral color, such as brown, or grey...or greens. Slate blues have their place and small splashes of color will not hurt; there are flowers and other things of color in a forest. You simply have to avoid overdoing it.

I have two grey wools to use; one is a softer, misty grey and the other is a dark, richer heather grey. My inclination at this point is to make a hood and blanket cloak from one or both of them. The cloak proper can be carted about as the blanket roll when not in use, the hood and mantle, being separate, can be worn or rolled away as best suits me. Lightening the load and making things do multiple duties is a goal of mine. One could make a lightweight cloak and wear that, leaving the blanket as just a blanket I suppose. Not sure how practical that is..and after a while, weight matters a lot.

To my mind, the need to travel light, and sometimes swiftly, is a high priority. Never mind fantasy aspects, real world needs could trigger the necessity to be able to do this.

In 'Born of Hope' we see Rangers, although not usually loaded out for overnight trips. We see Aragorn with his cloak rolled into a bundle at his back in 'The Lord of the Rings'. Aside from that, and mentions of backpacks with regards to Hobbits and Dwarves, we do not really know how long distance patrols were handled. If scouting in hostile lands one obviously cannot be taking along a wagon. A horse is possible of course, but not when infiltrating or getting into areas where the animal could give you away. Even so, horses have a maximum load and it isn't as much as one might think.

This makes me think that perhaps the way a colonial longhunter did it is not too far off what a Middle Earth Ranger would do. Certainly within the bounds of possibility. This is why my kit has begun to look as it does.

I am also finding that certain things work better than others in the tools department. I have a lovely Elven hunting knife I forged..but it is limited in its applications by its very shape, which is very Elven. Far more useful and better suited is my 15th century hunters knife. Heavy and long, it can at once clean and butcher game, or by the same token, gut a foe. It is finely balanced. Much as I hate to admit it, it is better for general use than my Elven hunting knife. Both have secondary edges which allow for the cutting of hide in a controlled fashion, both are very sharp and finely balanced...but the hunter's knife can also chop or cut, which the Elven blade does not do so well.

What it is coming down to is that I am finding the more practical items to be the more likely chosen by a Ranger in Middle Earth...just as they would have been in the middle ages and still are by most folk I know. There are exceptions; the ones who want blades that belong in some nightmare fantasy, but they tend to be the exception around here.

With my bows I am finding a great deal of freedom exists in the choosing. The descriptions of them are few and not generalized leaving a wide range of materials and shapes to play with. Rangers, being those who 'range' over wide swathes of territory and travelers extraordinaire, would have access to styles and types not their own...and some might find those better suited to their individual needs. In this case I think most sorts of bows could fit into canon without difficulty. In the end, that is an individual choice of course.

Many interpretations of the Easterlings lend them an oriental flavor...and that would bring with it certain things that are associated with that aspect; bamboo items, different swords and spears and usages, for example. A Ranger scouting East of East might find a bow made with bamboo, or a spear more like a yari, which the Gondorian spears are very similar to already. Remember that Tolkien did not model his cultures off of any one historical culture, but blended many of them from across time and space to create his peoples. It is an aspect easily forgotten or overlooked.

Our need to classify things tends to get us into the mindset that only certain things could be found in a given culture. In Tolkien's works this is not the case. Not to my mind at any rate.

Obviously I do not get caught up as much with the whole cultural purity and canon correctness that troubles other folk. Thank goodness!

In the end Middle Earth as we know it is a world built by Tolkien, populated by Tolkien....based on real world elements to be sure, but essentially a fantasy world. We want it to be the world we live in..so we try to define it along those lines...but we cannot, in either case. Not really. I would go there like a shot if I had the opportunity.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen
Peperharow
Rhovanion

Scout & pics

This morning's scout was excellent. Ran into a number of folk, it being the weekend and all, and nary a one of them had a problem with me, my dress, or what I was doing. Since we were out taking pictures for the most part, I wasn't trying to avoid detection...and really, with the number of people here and the lack of cover for much of the place, it would be exceedingly difficult if I did.

I created an album on my Photobucket account called 'Rhovanion', as that is the area of Middle Earth I tend to associate this place with. So I am up in the foothills of the Hithaeglir scouting about the 'Sunderwood', another made up name.

There are a few pics of me in the Rhovanion album, and more will be coming as the year progresses, along with the occasional 'How I Did It' piece.

A good day. A good scout.

Eledhwen
Peperharow
The Sundered Lands

Today

On scout this morning, or will be soon. Use-faded green tunic-shirt, well-used black drawstring pants, the same hood and mocs as in the other pictures, forest green belt, belt pouches, quiver, cased bow, knife, and the bedroll.

I am going to experiment with combining the bedroll with the quiver and/or pack for a bit and see where that leads. With this will be a variety of belt pouches and/or shoulder bags. I am going to see which of them suit me best and are most efficient and effective for the widest range of uses. There will be pictures here.

At the risk of causing much gastric distress in folk, I uploaded the two earlier pics to my photobucket account and then linked from here to there...so clicking on them ought to trigger a much larger photo...as I say though, be warned about potential gastric distress. ;)

I shall also be bringing the work table in later today; there are arrow shafts to cut and other items for other things that need a higher and more robust table. I will also fetch my buffalo hide in from storage.

Work on the Númenorean shortsword begins soon. Changes to the hilt area are minimal, but the grip and pommel will change significantly and a proper wood and leather scabbard with appropriate decoration will be made for it. I have my Del Tin Glamdring, which I love, but a shortsword suits me better and this Kris Cutlery version needs work anyway...neglect correction mostly...and so I may as well work it up as a proper blade for my Ranger activities.

I like my shoe packs. I am looking at making a pair based on them, but taller with a full length tongue and laces with a buckled cuff. Still soft enough to use with the ground, high enough to protect the calf and shin, easily bound about the foot for comfort and support. Progress and eventually a 'how I made it' series here.

Speaking of 'How I Made It', the bedroll series is nearly complete; look for it soon.

Lots going on, on multiple fronts.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen
Peperharow
The Sundered Lands

Projects and a Scout

Going on scout tomorrow in Ranger kit and clothing. :) It is basically my hike on Mount Toby but in appropriate outfit with skill practices and whatnot. I will see about some pics. I do have one pic, taken with the timer, the first time I used it, and I look utterly horrible and not a little silly in it, but I will put it here as a base point from which to measure improvements.

As you can see, I am looking toward the camera as I did not have any notion of exactly where in the field I would be. You can clearly see the fat broad here, even though I am a lot less fat than I was three months ago.

Anyway, these are my baseline images. While it does not show well in the photos, the tunic is actually green and the pants are beige. The vague bow in my hand is my ash longbow with horn nocks, a traditional D section made for me some years ago.

Tomorrow I ought to be wearing either black pants or the beige ones again, a black tunic, and of course the black hood..unless I reverse it out for the green side, which I might do. Same quiver, different pouches, probably a different bow.

I am currently working on a new tunic, a green Norman style tunic with keyhole neck opening, short sleeved, and black hosen/pants...probably more like the footed Thorsberg sort than not. Not going for precise here, just for works.

A new quiver is under way as well, this one is being designed to go with the blanket roll and shoulder bags and/or pack. I am experimenting here and it will be documented here as I go along and as I have the time.

A new hood is also in the works; one without dags. ;)

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen

Learning

The more I think about it, and the more I cart it about and use it, the more appropriate the bedroll seems to be for a Ranger of Middle Earth. It is simple enough, easy to carry, can be tied to the bottom of the pack or carried by tumpline, it can carry things not immediately needed, such as the copper corn boiler stuffed with coffee beans or even chocolate and muscovado sugar or whatever else you want to go in there. Extra shoes of the soft sort..and I might say that shoe-packs would fit perfectly into Middle Earth, especially with a little modification, perhaps some extra pants or an extra tunic, whatever really. That would leave the pack or haversack free for things like the folding frying pan carrying a bag of corn meal or flour, or perhaps parched corn or what have you.

Yes, the Longhunter's basics are pretty much the same, but then what the two are doing is essentially the same.

My Middle Earth Ranger self has already incorporated elements from my Longhunting activities, generally the bedroll and some of the food/food prep stuff. Still pretty minimal...and the added benefit to that is it leaves weight and space for things like the quiver and other weapons, meaning that even fully loaded I have pretty minimal kit in place so can travel fast and light.

Really, the two activities parallel one another, with occasional curves here and there where they overlap.

The 'single blanket tricks' of the Longhunter are perfect for the Ranger too. Note that I am not speaking of imminent large scale battle here...no, for that the Ranger would don armor and fight with others in a different way. I am speaking here of skirmish, ambush, interdiction, and harassment. The need to move swiftly, silently, and strike with sudden strength. The ability to patrol large regions efficiently and quickly. Armor does not lend itself to this sort of movement; I have tried it often enough over the years.

I have armor yes...several sorts in fact. Yet for me the Ranger is the ultimate Reconnaissance source, and recon means light. 'Swift, Silent, Deadly' was the motto of 2nd Recon (still is I think), and a very accurate one too..and pertinent to the ME Ranger as well. In my own opinion, naturally.

The same foods a Longhunter took along would be available to an ME Ranger too; parched corn, various sorts of tree syrup for sugar, jerk of various kinds, corn meal or other kinds of flour, perhaps even some kind of raw sugar or something, although I do not recall it being mentioned in the books. Still, coffee is mentioned, so bringing along green coffee beans for roasting and crushing, or tea for brewing is appropriate. It is said that an Eastern Woodland Indian could go all day on a handful of parched corn and a cup of water. Not a bad thing to aspire to as an ME Ranger either.

In my Longhunter pursuits I have been running about in moccasins and shoe-packs...and it has begun to really toughen up my feet and legs, really doing a nice job of it. This benefits the ME Ranger too...soft boots work just fine, are easy to field repair, and easy to make and it means I do not have to worry about hard soles and that I can literally feel the earth under my feet (and other things). I noted the other day while running about that I was actually using the entire foot, not just the toes, to grip things. Walking on a log, the arches of my feet curled around the surface and my toes gripped as well...it gave me a seriously solid grip on the log, something unobtainable with hard shoes.

I am learning a great deal from my scouting and rangering....and it all crosses over. A Ranger I am becoming...but the journey is only just begun. There's a lot of weight to lose, a lot of muscle to trim, and skills to re-master. It is all fun, and anything that gets me into the outdoors and active and away from computers and televisions and the ridiculousness of modern culture is a Good Thing in my book.

Lacho calad! Drego morn!

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen

Bedrolls and Ranger-Longhunter kit

I began taking pics of my bedroll this morning, along with the tumpline and the rolling and tying of it all. There will be pics of the making of my Longhunting bags and kit, much of which is perfectly applicable to my ME Ranger activities as well. I will also be making moccasins and shoe-packs, and eventually having a go at shoes and boots.

I will put some of this here as a tutorial of sorts, and maybe on the MER site too; there are some who might find it useful after all.

I am going to be recording a lot this year, as I delve more deeply into living the history, not just learning it.

Stay tuned.

Eledhwen

Ranger & Longhunter

Right then. That's me. There's a mixture of medieval and colonial in that picture. Drawstring pants and the soft high mocs...SCA pieces. Osnaburg shirt, haversack, powder horn, bedroll, and belt axe all colonial longhunter pieces.

They are not so different as one might think. If I had my quiver and bow with me and traded my hunting horn for the powder horn, perhaps a hood for the hat...a Ranger would be standing there.

The bedroll and pouches combination appeal to me far more than the more commonly used backpack. Simpler, often lighter, it does the job and does it well.

Either way, the scouting and the tracking and trailing, the hunting..all of that is the same. Just the weapons and some of the clothing is different..and even with the clothing a LOT of it is really just stylistic in difference.

It has been a curious thing, finding the commonalities and watching the differences diminish.

Food for thought.

Eledhwen

Scout

I am sauntering along the road to the summit as is my wont, making occasional deviations in course to climb a hill topped with hemlock, or to gain a vantage into a cut or gully. My progress up the road is slower than usual, but the ground I am covering is rather more than usual. It is a nice enough day; a bit brisk so that the melting has not yet begun, although it will be well under way before I return this way.

I cross the Hayhay brook where it meets Roaring Brook, loving the sound of the waters blending and rushing off down their bed. The Sunderwood lies quiet all around me as I continue questing back and forth as I climb the road. I have noted the RF trail where it joins the road..and the fallen trees from last year's storm that make an obstacle course of the area.

I climb to the Bend, where the road almost doubles back on itself as it makes its run for the ridgeline above. Here the RF bypass splits away; it will join the trails that run into North Mountain Road after a time, yet I turn and head up the Mountain as I ever do.

I pass through the glade that lies at the foot of the last real ascent; all is quiet here and as it lies in a saddle between two ridges, sheltered too. I pause for a moment to soak in a bit of sunlight and the sounds around me.

Almost two hundred paces later I am brought up short; voices are coming down from the Mountaintop...I think I perhaps recognize one or two of them. I slide off the road and 'tree' as I consider. In my quiver are only six common arrows, in my hand my ash war bow, unstrung and cased. I have not even a knife with me this day; it was an excursion meant for pleasure and exercise rather than real scouting. I am well dressed; hooded mantle over tunic, simple braccae and high soft-leather boots. My belt with its pouches and need wallet is comfortably cinched about my waist.

After considering for a moment I decide to see who is up there, but I do not wish to be seen in turn. I raise my hood and wrap the liripipe about the lower half of my face, tucking the tip under my quiver strap. Now I take on the aspect of the predator hunting prey. I exercise silent movement and slip across the ground with very little sound. I note that I am not as fast as once I was, but I am more sure of my route and footing, more patient in my technique; wisdom has refined the raw skills of the younger years. The intensity remains but the flame that sustains it is a steady, constant one...not the blazing and flickering one of years earlier. I am working my way around to face into the wind...if these are the ones I think they may be there will be at least one dog present.

It takes some good time, but that is no matter as the work itself benefits from the care...and I manage to slide into a small depression screened by bushes that lets me see those on the hilltop while remaining hidden....and I am only some thirty feet from them so can hear quite clearly. I was correct, there is a dog present, and some children, running about the place. The wind blows into my face so I do not worry overmuch about my scent reaching the dog.

They are speaking of someone they seem to have expected but have not seen. No name is mentioned but they say that sign of said person was noted at the trailhead and that they had taken a faster route to here in order to beat 'her', who always takes the road up. Another, who comes in from the road, offers that he has seen no sign of anyone coming that way. I have no idea who they might be speaking of, but I do recognize them from some days before. I observe them for a time; closed, wary, shifty...all words that pass through my mind in regards to these people. I see no reason to remain here, and I definitely do not wish to reveal myself. As I am considering the best route down, a squirrel scampers across my buttocks....I am amused.

I slip from the Mountain and return to the Road by the glade. Down the Mountain I go, once again questing from side to side along the way. I am moving faster now though, I wish to put distance between myself and the folk on the Mountaintop.

Near the trailhead I come across a gentle walking up the Road. We pause and exchange greetings; he asking me about the Road ahead, myself simply wishing him a good day. He goes his way, and i go home to Peperharow.

By the way, the device on this page is the one I created for my Guild of Rangers & Foresters. It is both in and out of the SCA..in, it is a kind of Baronial Guild, out it is all about Rangers, Hunters, and Foresters. It is unusual, especially in an SCA context, as to be a member requires one to have attended the basic hunting safety courses, whatever they might be, wherever a person resides. It also expects said members to actually hunt....it isn't about make believe or pretends. It is really about hunting and scouting and the surrounding activities and crafts.

Probably why it has a membership of just one; me. Hehehe My son and lass might join, once their hunting courses are sorted. The courses here are free courtesy of the Wildlife Service, but they are offered by volunteers and fill up so fast it is hard to get into one. That and they are not one day evolutions either. They are quite thorough..and I will say this for them; they are acceptable for licenses in any state of the union...the archery course too. They cover a lot.

Lady Siani
Peperharow
The Sundered Lands

Stuff & Nonsense

Last post was a bit ago.

I've been working hard on the new eating regimen and exercise. I have lost a lot of mass and improved my health considerably..in less than six weeks. This is excellent. I brought down my blood pressure by 15 points, dropped my triglycerides by 101 points, and my cholesterol by 10 points.

I will soon begin doing my daily hikes in Ranger kit and clothing. These will vary since I have various guises, given Eledhwen has traveled extensively.

A fair bit of this will be Easterling or Haradrim influenced as I have an interest in those places. Never fear, I still have my mainstream Ranger kit, which will also be used. I will take photos of these on occasion. I still have to get some of the scenery photos up but I have been far too busy of late. Between the hiking five miles daily, half of that UP the Mountain, and then drumming, dance, and housework, I haven't had a lot of time.

I do not post much to the MERF these days; while I check it daily, the medievalists have gained so much ground there I just don't have much motivation to say anything. For my part, if I wanted medieval reenactment I would join Acre or some other group. The SCA for recreation. That, however, is not what I want...I have been a Scadian for more than 40 years..I know whereof I speak. The tendency of Scadians to find a forum and then turn it into some extension of their Scadian activities is not new, but it has grown more than a little annoying to me over the last several years.

To each their own. The good folk there like it that way, and that's shiny. For myself, I have withdrawn because it is less about Tolkien than about the European Middle Ages these days. Not my thing. So I read and ponder, but I don't post much. I'll save that stuff for here...where the medievalists can just choke on the fantasy. LOL

Seriously though, it has kind of put me off a bit. Old and set in my ways I guess. I have this place and that's enough for now.

Eledhwen

Shelter

Forandiri..my kith and kin. Rangers...but not only that. I have a mind towards real world needs in extremis so this cannot all be fun and games.

As a Ranger Eledhwen has been to Far Harad, where the stars are strange...and East beyond the Sea of Rhûn to from whence came Wainriders.

I have a love of Central Asian Dance..and a fascination for Tribal Fusion dance..which can be interpreted and adapted in many different ways.

Eledhwen has seen a lot...as have I. Been around for a time.

So as real world things go something I have to consider is the very real possibility that someday we may indeed have to be wanderers. To that end I have looked into Rom style wagons ala the Wainriders, and foot and horse travel ala Central Asian cultures and to a degree, Great Plains Native Americans. Three items come from these as far as being able to live and move as survival may dictate; wagons, yurts or gers, and tipis.

A wagon requires outside motive power. In fact, they all do, but a wagon must have either a car, an ox, or some sort of horse or mule. Gers can be loaded onto carts hauled by people..or goats, or what have you. Tipis like gers. I have plans for transforming common utility trailers into Rom style wagons or wains if you prefer.

Yet....I am considering, strongly, the yurt. The tipi is nifty and is no question a fine shelter for all seasons...but the yurt appeals to me far more. Why? I am not sure. Perhaps because I have a fondness for things Central Asia...or maybe I do not wish to be yet another thief of the Native American's cultural heritage..although that doesn't really affect me much in this instance, to be honest. I am Dewin Arthes...aka Medicine Bear. That name was given me so I think it clear I haven't got a lot of hangups on that score.

Yet I love the horse cultures, and I have been in yurts often enough to be familiar with them. Tipis only once or twice. Shelter is vastly important to a nomad or wanderer so it must be portable...more or less.

I think it will be the yurt that I choose, despite the fairly recent yuppy induced bloom in prices and status implications they have.

Still some thinking to do on the matter, but that is where I am leaning.

Eledhwen

Still going

I'm still hiking daily; Summit Road again today. Tough climb given conditions and weather, but exhilarating nonetheless. I've gotten better already; I made it to the usual turnaround in 30 minutes vice 45 from before. I need to lengthen the distance.

I may stand down tomorrow and do a flatland walk; one day out of seven perhaps, but we will see. I do not wish to overextend myself.

For these hikes I have used modern gear as I get back into trim; ALICE pack, cartridge belt, canteen, Ka-bar, poncho, firemaking gear, stove, lensatic compass...sometimes my camera, and modern clothing. Once I am more comfortable with the routes and in the walking and timing I will switch to Ranger kit and clothing.

Minimalist stuff in Winter is a serious challenge...but one worth pursuing. If I can hack that, I can hack pretty much anything. The one thing I cannot do, unless hunting in proper places, is go armed, more's the pity. It is a constant annoyance, the rules of this Commonwealth vis a vis weapons. You cannot legislate good behavior or safety. You can, however, punish hell out of those who violate same...only we don't. DUI man...seven offenses. Still driving and hurting folk. Just one example.

Anyway, I'm taking notes on the trails and bearings as I aim to update all the topo maps of the area; things change a lot between map runs and prints so if you want to know, really know, your area, this is the what must be done. And a Ranger ought to know their area of operations.

I watch for sign too, listen for animal life...now that my breathing isn't so loud. ;)

Weather has been ugly here but that has not stopped me. It will not. There is not a lot of time to get things done so I shan't waste a moment if I can help it.

Eledhwen

Sharpening Skills

North Mountain Road kicks ass. About twice as strenuous as Summit Road. O-o

More interesting though, is that there is a maze consisting of roads and trails winding all through there. A brilliant idea came to me; in the Corps we learned how to draw topo maps from measurements taken on the ground using pace counts and compass bearings with a bit of math. This is an awesome opportunity to do a number of things all at once; dust off the old cartography skills, sharpen orienteering skills, exercise naturally, and most importantly, updating old topo maps. By the time Summer proper rolls around I ought to have the entire Mt Toby area down like the back of my hand. I can do the same for the Pocumtuc area, the Pelham Dome proper, and then start working father afield. :) Keeping skills sharp, you bet.

I have been taking pics now and then as I ramble...soon I will put some of them up under 'Rhovannion' or some similar title.

This year's hunting license is in hand. :) Hunting commences at once. Hehehe. Rangering comes naturally.

It has been a long time since I felt so good, so healthy, so active...it is very pleasant indeed. So far, so good with the new program. Nifty part; I eat all day, essentially, but end up consuming less calories overall than I had been AND get more and better exercise in the form of forest rambles. :) Can't beat that with a stick!

At the moment I drive to the trailhead but it will not be long before that is no longer necessary. I will in time be able to hike to the trailhead and then hike the inner trails too....since there are several access points within pretty easy reach, I do not think it will take me long to achieve this and it will minimize the amount of people disturbed by my kit and clothing in the process. Here in the Commonwealth, that's a good thing.

Well, as long as the trailheads lead to Mt. Toby I'll be able to hike to them. Once I get out to the AT..the goal for the Summer, I *have* to drive to get there as it is a considerable distance to the West of us in the Berkshires proper. :)

We are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow tomorrow..first time this Winter. We shall see. I will be out in whatever it is anyway; a Ranger cannot count on good weather so must be comfortable in all sorts.

Practice, practice, practice. Keep those skills sharp!

Eledhwen