Update on the Blog-Front...

I decided, with good reason, to change the name of the Blog into something more easy to remember and quote...

Although it sounds like a medieval tavern, the name is chosen for a reason. First, the oak was the sacred tree of Zeus the leader of the Olympian Gods and up until the middle ages felling an oak was considered a crime... The Greeks, for hundreds of years,have used the cups of the oak seeds in tanning and the seeds as an emergency food... In ancient Greece, there was a large oak over the Oracle of Dodoni in Epirus which was said to rustle its leaves when a prophecy was given... The Mountain is chosen for its sheer size and rooted power and because most of my journeys take me to forests up in the mountains...

On "Survival Kits"....

As Wood Trekker says, don't buy the hype...There are so many videos and tips and tutorials on how to build your own kit and what to put in there and "bug out bags"(or something like that...) and silly little kits that cost a lot of money and have things that you'll never need except on a school project or an award winning film...

There is no such thing as "survival kit" for a civilian or for a woodsman...

The so called "survival kits" that are so reasily advertised and built by so many are something that only two categories of people would need...
1. Ship travellers that are afraid of being marooned on a desert island in the Pacific. They usually end up showing off their superior technology to friends at a beach party made by the ocean cruiser they travelled on...
2. Army Personel at war conditions or in superior combat training...(they usually need more specialized kits)

Why, you wonder am i writing such a post...I just got tired of youngsters, that haven't learned how to shave, and dont know what an aspen or oak or yew looks like, brandishing survival kits that nobody that has ever walked in a forest for 2 days would ever agree on taking with him...

And i see in those "survival kits" the kind of weaponry that would be used in the Vietnam war, machetes, bayonnetes and other military knives that serve particular purposes. Now, forget about "survival kits" there is no survival when you walk the path of the hiker...Ther is only living with your surroundings and the "tools" you need to keep on living... And if you are a regular traveller in the woods you know what these tools are and what you carry with you...I, sure as hell, don't carry a "survival kit"...Only my tools....

Regarding Local Reality...

Mountain path up in Mount Voras

As many of you around the world may have seen many videos and read many things about equipment and "survival kits" and various suggestions, you should always reflect upon your locale and what kind of equipment should be carried with you...

Now, let's be honest. Unless you work as a park ranger up in the rockies or you undertake a gigantic task of walking 2000 miles through jungle and desolate forests, you will need only some relatively simple equipment. Let me give an example. In Greece even if you plan on camping for a few days, most paths will take you to an average of 30 - 40 miles away from any form of civilisation. And should you get lost in the woods where most Mobile Phone Companies manage to get a decent amount of signal, you can contact someone to come and get you...Plus, if you think that spending 150$ or more for a huge machete that can cleave a cow in half, then you might as well buy a sat phone with built in gps and be done with it. After all, should the unfortunate incident happens, you propably have to wait at most 1-3 days before you are found. So if you are even basically prepared you should tough it out until help arrives...

Consider your local reality before going off to buy some fancy and/or expensive bit of gear that will most likely burden you with extra weight and more anxiety of not damaging it or using it improperly...So, first of all, gather information about the locale and country you're going hiking and learn about possible dangers and secure pathways from any source, be that a local climbing association, or just local folk that often go up the mountains for hunting or sheperding (these two last categories of people will give you infinitely more wisdom regarding the forest than most books). It's worth having a cup of coffee at a local shop and just talk about the area you're visiting...

Next we will see some basic set up for those that decide to go hiking in the forests, even if that is for a day trip or you decide to camp for the night there...

Why go hiking?

The canyon over the hot springs of Aridaia.

There is something almost magical to hiking and camping in the forest. You get a sense of belonging and spiritual tranquility that's hard to find these days in our cities of concrete, noise and pollution. Travelling the woods is not about being a fitness fanatic. Hiking in mountain forests is something that always excited me and has been something that lingered from the army days in the special forces. My goal is to encourage more people to walk the forest paths , always with respect to the natural world that surrounds us and with the best preperation that i can think of...There is an old greek saying that translates as "if you prepare, you will take care...". So to tackle the first step of going out into the real world....