The Simple Pleasures - Trekking T-shirt Design

You walk up the mountain, carrying a heavy backpack, sweating a lot but... what for?

There's no ready made answer for such a question. The simple pleasures of admiring the view, lighting a fire and sleeping in a tent are sufficient. Passionate trekkers and outdoors enthusiasts know what I mean.

My suggestion for printing your trekking T shirts and hoodies

Be safe!

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The Simple Pleasures - Trekking T-shirt Design

How To Light a Fire in One Try - Video

I love fire! For a few simple reasons: it brings light, it gives me warmth and it makes me happy.



There are occasions, often while being up on the mountains, when I light a fire for pure joy, just to lift my spirit. And since I'm such a big fan of fire I should be able to light one in almost any type of weather conditions, right? I thought so too but in my last mountaineering trip I had a little bit of a struggle...

It was dark, freezing cold, the snow was big and all the wood we could find was either wet or frozen. We even tried to light the fire using one of our camping mini-stove and still failed. So then we brainstormed and came up with a neat solution that worked first time like magic:

• Over prepare your fire starter fuel! Don't you ever think you've gathered too many twigs or that they are too thin. More is better and thinner is even better. Also, any other type of tinder will help - you can't find much in wintertime though - dry grass, leaves, pieces of dry tree bark.
• Find a small opening between trees. You want the smoke to go up and you don't want to set the forest on fire.
• Clear the snow or tread on it until you have a flat spot for your fire.
• Make a U shaped bed for your fire. You don't want to waste the fire's energy for melting the snow, at least in the beginning you don't want that as the fire is weak. Also by doing this, you will ensure a better ventilation for your fire as it will be slightly above the ground. Build the bed out of spruce branches, dried wood of various thicknesses.
• Take a few medium sticks and roll them into sheets of paper. Three or four will do.
• Put the kindling paper inside the U shaped bed and add the "paper sticks" across the bed.
• Add the bundle of thin twigs and tinder on top of the establishment.
• Light the paper under the paper sticks. Try to light it from both sides so you'll increase the chances of drinking hot soup later.
• You should now have a lively flame which asks for more wood. So add more wood to the fire. Increase the thickness of the wood as the fire grows stronger.

Now you can prepare your food, get some warmth, dry your clothes and let's not forget - tell stories by the fire.

Conclusions: It's essential to prepare thoroughly all the details before kindling. If the wood is wet or frozen you need more paper for starting out your fire. More tinder plus very thin twigs are always smart things to have before building the fire.

These tips are not necessarily for a survival situation. I usually carry matches and paper when I go outdoors, trekking or hiking, for more than one day. I sincerely believe it's good to be prepared for bad situations - frost or falling into water or whatever - and carrying some extra gear and gadgets is one way of being prepared for the unexpected.

Keep yourself dry and warm!

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How To Light a Fire in One Try - Video

How To Shoot Wildlife - Photoshoot That Is

An article in a national newspaper once said that Romania is home to one third of the large carnivores in Europe, another third belongs to Russia and the last third is scattered across the remaining continental Europe.

There's no doubt here you will find the largest variety of wildlife, like nowhere else on The Old Continent. And by wildlife I mean wild animals roaming free in the Carpathian forests - not in enclosed reserves like in western Europe.

As a mountaineer and outdoor enthusiast I often encountered wildlife on and off trails but I rarely caught any still photos or videos. Last autumn for example (2009), I was riding downhill my mountain-bike and I passed by two beautiful adult stags. I got scared of them, they got scared of me and they took off through the raspberry bushes, puffing nervously. Had I been wearing a GoPro camera on my bike helmet then, I would have shared some nice footage with you...

Since I've met Sebastian Mastahac, a passionate photographer, mountaineer and mountain guide, I gained more interest in wildlife photography. He's the man who knows the hidden spots for taking photos of bear, deer, owl, stag, chamois, wild boar, hawk, lynx and so on. He promised to take me bear shooting in the summer and I`m looking forward to that!

I asked him to give us some tips and ethic rules for taking wildlife photography:

• Use a non scented soap before going outdoor hoping for an encounter with wild animals. Any hint of fragrance, deodorant, antiperspirant will be noticed by the animal - they have a fine smell sense - and they'll leave the spot so you wouldn't even know they were there.
• Smoking or lighting a fire will scare them off as well.
• Don't put any pressure on the animal! Be a distant and stealthy observer. This is the only way you will get the shots of your dreams with the animal in its natural habitat, showing normal behavior.
• Never interfere with animals during their rut season, when they're nesting or when they nurture their young - this is especially dangerous with bears. Never put yourself between the mother bear and her cubs; chances are you may get killed!
• Patience is of utmost importance. You may go in the woods ten times in a row and not get anything, not even a squirrel and then when you're waiting for your deer to appear, a silent lynx comes into view and you desperately press the shutter button over and over again. That's the reward nature gives to you for being patient and for respecting and protecting wildlife!
• The best tactic is to learn where the animal hangs out and then find a good hide where you can observe the it. Make sure the animal is never cornered - leave it some running way in case it sees or feels you.
• There is no photography more important than the peace of the animals! They are in their home, unaware of you who are trying to immortalize them with your newly bought DSLR camera. If you cause them any trouble for that photo then you should reconsider what you're doing. Get yourself a telephoto lens and keep your distance!
  
• Be sure to know as much as you can about taking photos and about the specific gear you carry with you. From exposure time to setting your tripod you must master it all! There's no time for testing when the subject is there for only a few seconds.

If you are a wildlife photographer in need for a guide to show you where to take shots in Carpathian Mountains then drop an email to Sebastian at ma5tac[@]yahoo.com and he'll be more than happy to assist you.

Camera gear used for taking the above and below photos:

• Canon EOS 40D
• Canon telephoto lens 300mm F4
• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon telephoto lens 500 mm F4
• Nikon D3
• Nikon telephoto lens 400 mm F2.8
  

Bear photos out of focus due to unexpected encounter

- poor light and overexposed

A proof that even experts make their mistakes. But it's a known fact there's no other way of becoming proficient than going through failures ;-).

Respect nature!

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How To Shoot Wildlife - Photoshoot That Is