Ahhh... the great outdoors - the sparkling brooks and pine-fresh air!
What better way to charge up the soul than to commune with nature; to get tired and ravenous from long walks; to wake up at dawn with a white dew all around; and to rid your head of that nagging metaphysical ennui that plagues the weary minions in their fast-paced concrete jungles? Switch off your computers and pack your bags - we're going camping and we're preparing for a feast...

Food

Don't waste your time buying 'camping' food in a 'camping' store.
There are many kinds of foods which are perfect for hikers:

• Energy Boosters. Kendal Mint Cake is a great energy food - as are jelly (in block form, undiluted) and dextrose tablets.
• Small, strongly-flavoured sweets are excellent for waking up your tastebuds if you're going a long time between meals. They are also particularly good for morale on long walks in miserable weather.
• Dried eggs
• Bacon bits (to put in the dried eggs)
• English muffins, tortillas, pitta bread or other starchy food
• Cheese
• Dried soups
• Dried fruit margarine
• Dried milk
• Instant 'noodles with sauce'
• Instant rice ¹

Know Your Nuts (and Berries)

Nuts and berries seem to grow virtually everywhere in the
countryside. If you know what's what, they can make the basis of a meal, or a good snack.

Blackberries² are possibly the most common berry in Britain and they go well with apples. Elderberries are also very refreshing; if you have the time, you can squeeze the juice out of them to quench your thirst. Hazelnuts are also quite common in Britain.

Dead nettles look exactly like ordinary stinging nettles, except for the long white flowers. If you pick one of the flowers (they won't sting you!) and suck the base, you will get a short, sweet taste of nectar - a great energy boost! If you pick a stinging leaf by mistake and end up getting stung, find a dock plant; there should be one nearby. Pluck a dock leaf, scrunch it up a bit to extract some juice, then rub the leaf on your sting - the juice should release a natural antihistamine, helping to ease the pain.

Equipment

• A knife and sharpener. A sharp knife is incredibly useful and absolutely essential - conversely, a blunt knife is very frustrating.
• Lots of water bottles, and a canteen.
• If you've got tins of food, take a proper (working) tin opener. The type found on a penknife sound like a good idea, but in the experience of many researchers, they are too much trouble, especially if you are hungry!
• A camping stove is essential, but only if you want a hot meal. If you are carrying a lot of weight, you'll probably want to leave it at home.
• If you want margarine for your muffins and eggs, you'll need to buy some food tubes - plastic tubes with a screw cap at one end and an opening at the other. Fill these with your substance of choice, then use the clamp provided to seal the opening. Just be sure to pack the tubes in bags that are can also be sealed, in case the tubes leak.
• A folding spade, in order to build your fire...

Lighting a Fire

Dead wood, still attached to trees, is often suggested as a good
fuel substitute for fallen branches that are soaking wet; the explanation being that dead wood should be drier than that lying on the ground. However, the problem with any branches still connected to the tree is finding it hard to tell if the wood really is dead. If you take wood that looks dead, but in fact leave a wound, the tree can become infected and die. Even if you are sure, it is impossible to tell how long wood has been dead; it may still have sap, making it harder to burn. Therefore, you should only take dead wood from a tree if it is vital that you do so.

Another thing to consider while you're gathering wood is to also
find materials to both start and extinguish the fire. 'Old Man's Beard'³ lichen makes an excellent firestarting material, as do fir needles, pine cones and tree bark. Loose dirt, sand or available water are great for putting out a small campfire and much safer than stomping on it with your shoe!

If you're going to be building a fire on grass, dig out a sod slightly larger than the size of the fire you want to build, trying to keep the turf intact⁴. Remember to leave a large clear area around the fire so the flames can't jump the gap. Keep the sod somewhere safe, and light your fire within the small pit. When the fire is out, replace the sod and stamp it in firmly. This means you aren't burning grass or leaving your fire-site in a mess when you leave.