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