[Ansteorra] GW camping in cold/hot weather tips

[Sonja Crocker]

We attended Gulf Wars last year and this is what we learned from that
experience.

1. Garb: Cotton fibers are best. Dress in layers! It was wet and extremely
cold (in the 40s) at night and cool to warm during the day. The average temp
was between 65 and 75 during the day. I suggest wearing headgear with a wide
brim or with long scarves. Most of us had sunburned necks and shoulders. I
also suggest wearing very comfy shoes. Expect on walking around 1-2 miles a
day at least. There are many things to see and do but they are very spread
out and can be far from camping areas.

2. Tents: Use rain flies or tarps over the roofs of your tent/s and/or
pavilions. It rained a lot and it rained hard. I also suggest putting a tarp
down as a floor and connecting the corners to make a sort of bath tub. This
will help in keeping the rain out of your gear. We packed all of our garb in
plastic storage bins. We plan on having a mesh bag to hang from our pavilion
frame. We will use it to keep our dirty garb in.

3. Bedding: We used cots and they were wonderful. The ground gets cold at
night. Be sure to bring plenty of bedding or a tent heater. We had three
quilts on us and still had to borrow a heater to keep warm. The kids each
used a sleeping bag made for cold weather and they were fine. Being cold at
night and early morning were our biggest problems. I hated changing into my
garb in a cold tent.

4. Cooking/Firepit Safety: You can buy a cord of wood on site. That is what
we did. We bought one cord for a group of 30 people and it lasted all week.
We still had some left by week's end.

5. Heaters in Tents: Be sure to use a heater that has an automatic cut-off
system in place in case it turns over or runs out of fuel. Also be sure to
keep your windows and doors cracked open. This will help with proper
ventilation. The small cans of fuel will not cut it. It will be best to use
the big 20+ pound container. We used the small ones and they did not last
the night.

6. The most important issues to be aware of are sunburn and dehydration.
There are MANY water bearing tents so please make use of them. There is also
one tent that serves the best pb&j and bacon sandwiches. They are offered
for a donation. They are wonderful and the protein is a definite plus. Be
sure to take plenty of snacks that are full of protein. This will help keep
your strength up during the day. We took lots of peanut butter and crackers
and beef jerky. They really helped keep the kids happy and full.

7. Camping with Kids: We had about 10 kids in camp with us. Here are some
ideas for keeping the tots happy. There is a Minister of Children area. It
is a wonderful resource. They have classes every day. They are offered for
kids 6-12. They have classes for a couple of hours in the morning and a
couple in the afternoon. Gulf War policy is that kids must always be in the
line of sight or in hearing distance of their designated adult. There are
also youth archery competitions and youth combat. As long as an adult is
with the child, he or she may also attend various demonstrations which are
fun and worth it. My kids are 8 and 11. They loved playing in camp, going to
class, and watching the fighting. They also loved watching the blacksmith in
the Early Period Encampment. A lot of the camping is very open. This year,
we are setting up tents in such a way as to have a closed in area for the
kids to play in. Having kids running around a fighter's tent at o dark
thirty was not a pleasant experience for the fighter I am sure.:) Pack many
snacks for the kids. They will eat more than you think. We had a 12" by 12"
by 36" box full of snacks. I thought it would be plenty. It lasted three
days. I have a better idea this year. We plan on having a gallon baggie for
each child per day. This will be full of snacks (peanut butter crackers,
goldfish, jerky) for the day. I noticed that the kids ate more while in
camp. We plan on grabbing a snack bag each and leaving for the day.

More good info:

There are plenty of places to eat there. There is The Goode Bakery. They
sell meat pies and pastries for a reasonable price. There is also a grill
and a cafeteria onsite. The grill is a little pricey, but the cafeteria is
not really. The cafeteria sells meals for about $6.50 a piece. For this you
get a main item, two sides, bread, a drink, and a dessert. The helpings are
very generous. They have a weekly meal plan. You can by meal tickets. You
get a discount when you purchase them I think. There is also a gas station
at the entrance with a grill. It is inexpensive and they have great food.
They also sell ice onsite. They have a golf cart that comes around and sells
it to each camp once a day. I think it ran about $2 - $2.50 a bag. They have
onsite showers and toilets. They installed better water heaters last year.
Now, the water actually gets hot and stays that way through most of the
shower.:) They are well lit and have power outlets. Our bath house had two
showers each and about 5 unisex toilets. There are also porta-potties but
they had queues constantly and they were smelly. Be sure to get EVERYTHING
out of your car that you will need. Cars must be moved early in the week and
it is a good mile's hike to the car parking area. We forgot some things in
the car that first day. After trekking out there once, we made sure that did
not happen again.:)

This will be our second war. I am hoping to be better prepared this year.
Take lots of garb. Figure at least one outfit per person per day. For the
kids, I suggest two outfits per day. My kids were constantly covered in mud.
This will happen. I have heard that there will be lots of rain again this
year. Bring an umbrella too. I wouldn't care if it isn't period. I will be
dry.:)

I hope I covered everything, but I am sure I forgot something. I usually
do.:) It's that Mommy Mushy Mind Syndrome, you know.

Lady Cait O'Hara
Camping at the End of the World with Loch Ruadh
Come find us, we don't bite - much!:)







On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 3:27 PM, Hillary Greenslade <hillaryrg at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Greetings,
> With Gulf Wars looming on the horizon in a month, I thought I'd post a
> few questions about camping in very cold/hot and perhaps wet weather, and
> hopefully get some answers from folks to prepare those on our list for whom
> this is their first war:
>
> 1)  Garb:  recommendations on fibers, layers, under/outerwear, headgear,
> footgear?
>
> 2)  Tents:  recommendations on rain protections, ground preparations?
>
> 3)  Bedding:  ground/above-ground beds, bed clothes (blankets, sheets,
> furs)?
>
> 4)  Cooking/firepit safety:  emergency fire extinquishers, ground
> preparations, wood to use?
>
> 5)  Heaters in tents:  proper use of tent heaters, venting, carbon monixide
> poisoning issues?
>
> 6)  Health issues:  Hyperthermia, overheating issues,  insect prevention
> and treatment?
> Irritant plants presention and treatment (poison ivy/oak)?
>
> Anything else forgotten that might be good to share with newcomers
> preparing for their first camping?
>
> Here are a few links that might help in your preparations from a variety of
> great SCA war websites:
> http://www.gulfwars.org/rules.html
> http://www.gulfwars.org/faq.html
>
> Camping ideas from other great wars, these may not apply to Gulf Wars:
> http://www.estrellawar.org/Portals/EstrellaWar/articles/PACK-LST.pdf
> http://www.estrellawar.org/PreparingToAttend/Weather.aspx
> http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn39/GENERAL/pack.html
> http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn39/GENERAL/guide.html
>
> Happy planning and packing,
> Cheers, Hillary
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-- 
Cait O'Hara
mka: Sonja Crocker