….. (to be read whilst listening to The Wild Ones by Waylon Jennings) …
Nice evening weather and curiously (and relatively) quiet.
The bbq’s started at 2pm with a family from Bedfordshire driving past the VERY large ‘no fires no bbq’s’ sign at Owler Bar without noticing it …. on their way to having a bbq on Big Moor. To create the imaginary legal framework for their fire they removed the ‘no fires no bbq’s’ sign off the gate 2 metres away from their bbq. Genius. InvitedToLeave™️
Various bbq’s around the Eastern Moors. Groups of people still wedded to the idea that it’s okay to walk down in to valley woodland and light a disposable bbq, or light one in a lay-by adjacent to moorland. Like it’s an entirely normal thing to do.
Another episode of chatting to ‘wild campers’ and being told 174 times in the first 5 minutes that they ‘Leave No Trace’.
Dear reader, the principles of LNT implore you to ‘make it hard for others to see or hear you and leave no trace of your visit’. If your ‘wild camp’ is on the bend of a road and visible for all to see then it really isn’t ‘LNT’. Leaving no trace is a behavioural set of responsible ethics NOT just a mantra to repeat on loop if ever you meet a ranger. I actually had to (politely) ask him to stop saying it.
All the usual stuff really. Unbearable midges in places. Cars in ditches. Hinds with calves. An owl sat reading the information board at Burbage. The dark beginning to nibble in to the daylight hours. Lots of talk about prep’ing kit and evolving tactics ahead of darker nights. We bloomin’ love the cold and dark we do.
And whilst all of that nonsense was going on there was a chap on Ringinglow Bog with a suite of sensors tracking bees with miniscule reflective magnetic strips on them to better understand their behaviours 🐝🤯
(Can you use that tech on people with bbq’s ?)
Experience tells us that whenever we get a relatively quiet Friday night the following night is mayhem. Let’s wait and see …
P.S. we’ve been ruminating about starting a ‘buy me a coffee’ thing to keep our small rangering team topped up with hot drinks c/o anyone kind enough to donate. It’s about £15 a night for a tea break x 6-8 a month (currently out of our own pockets). Anyone in for a quid or two ? 🤷♂️