Photo Contest - Open to all members
May 29, 2018 14:27:41 GMT
Post by ember on May 29, 2018 14:27:41 GMT
Introduction
My name's Ember, just Ember, in my part of the world there's not much need for a second name. I'm an explorer in bandit country and the nearest large-ish civilisation is over a hundred miles away. Most of my time is spent finding things that would be useful to my small farming village, finding them before other people do and getting them home without being robbed. Of all the places I search I like old industrial sites best. Materials and tools, that the human race no longer have the skills or equipment to make, can be most valuable.
So, that's my job but everyone needs a hobby. I make maps and draw pictures. Pictures are just something to do but maps and notes about the landscape can prove valuable, occasionally I sell them to other travellers, most of the time I keep them for myself, after all, paper is a rare resource.
The landscape is harsh and resources few and far between. At my latitude the winters are ice cold with lakes frozen and peaks deep in snow. The summer is hot and dusty dry. leaving spring and autumn wet and muddy (you will likely see an emphasis on waterproof things in my kit). Two hundred years after the nuclear fallout there may be little contamination but the effects are still felt. A large amount of plant life was killed by the bombs, greenhouse gases (methane included) reached an all time high leaving the ozone layer thin and patchy. Plants have recovered but the damage to the atmosphere will take much longer. The suns rays are dangerous, even more so in summer. There are still patches of contaminated land, a large one lies forty miles north-west from me. It remains marked by metal posts put in place by people one hundred years ago. Sometimes I travel close to the border where ground water can't be trusted and animals shouldn't be hunted in case they have recently strayed into the radiation. As always risk doesn't only come from weather, woods are home to bears, mountain sides to wolves, and everywhere to bandits.
Kit
My pack is made from waxed canvas, which is reasonably waterproof, it's not perfect but it helps. Certain things that I want to be quickly at hand (water, ground cloth, rope etc..) are tied to the outside:
A light weight nylon mesh bag (normally rolled up inside my pack) can be tied to the outside to carry anything I find on the trip:
Pack contents (from left to right):
- Oil skin ground cloth
- Pack with attached wind up communicator (To keep in touch with home village and call for help if necessary – it has a range limited to 10 miles so further from home than that, I'm on my own)
- Nylon mesh bag
- Huge thick boiled blanket
- Penannular brooch to allow use of the blanket as a cloak in cold weather
- Spear clothes
- Oil skin cloak large enough to wear over pack (If communicator is removed - and fire triangle is carried separately) in very wet weather
- Wool knitted gloves for cold weather
- Telescope for searching land from vantage points to plot routes and spot dangers/places of interest
- Finely woven linen cloth for filtering water, making bandages, wrapping food supplies in and anything else it's useful for
- Cotton dish cloth/flannel
- Writing kit and ink
- Sewing kit
- Hatchet with oiled leather sheath
- Spear knife
Shelter:
Something that is always packed in the top of my bag for easy access.
- Nylon shelter with cord already tied to corners for ease of construction
- Pegs with bag
- Extra nylon cord in case more length is needed
- Waxed bag for shelter to keep rest of pack dry (underneath shelter)
Climbing kit:
Which I thought necessary in case I need to climb or descend a cliff, wall or tree, ether to get in or out of somewhere, escape a danger or take a short cut. Most of this is makeshift, my thoughts being that after 200 years of next to no production of things any technical climbing kit would prove very hard to get.
- Various carabiners
- Figure of 8 descender
- Makeshift climbing rack to allow me to place rope anchor points in rock (the nuts have the threads turned out to prevent risk of damage to the chord)
- 30m Nylon rope
- Makeshift nylon webbing seat harness (tested and functional)
- Various thickness of nylon chord to tie ascenders
- More nylon webbing to tie anchor points/repair my harness
Cooking Kit:
- Stainless steel billy can with adjustable length hanging chain
- Cutlery
- Copper mug
- Aluminium fire wind shield
- Stainless steel water carrier
- Ready cut linen squares for filtering water
- Fire triangle:
Sewing Kit:
For fixing kit, shelter and equipment, thread and needles can also be sterilised in boiling water for first-aid use if needed. It is inside a waterproof rolled case made from waxed canvas.
- Needles contained in leather case
- Leather stitching punches
- Various cotton and linen threads (including waxed thread for leather)
- Spear buttons for clothing (and nice ones I've collected on travels)
- Fabric and leather patches for clothing
- Leather cord
Writing Kit:
Although it's very basic, it's functional, the drawings and maps in the photo were all made using that kit. (The ink is of the shelf dip pen ink, I would have like to have made some from natural resources but sadly there's a limit to my time)
- Waterproof waxed leather case
- Dip pen
- Graphite stick (Which can be sharpened using a knife)
- Paper (Some of which is made using natural resources, the rest is scavenged)
Belt
The aim is to have things I am likely to need in a hurry and may be necessary for survival, closer at than than in my pack. This also makes it possible to leave my pack hidden to lighten the load, and make scouting an area less conspicuous.
Tools/Weapons:
Out in the wilderness in a post-apocalyptic world there are few decent things left to find and this far from the nearest larger civilisation I would have to part with a lot of trading goods for something as good as a sword.
- Utility Knife with thick blade
- Functional makeshift ice axe, with hardened steel pick (can also be used as a close quarters weapon)
- Smaller light weight axe with oiled leather sheath
- Small knife for more delicate tasks, ground from tool steel with oiled leather sheath
- Sling and ammo pouch for collecting rocks
The sling remains hooked through the catch on the front of the pouch by friction only, it is tight enough not to lose it but weak enough to pull free in a hurry:
An attempted photograph of using the sling:
Fire Kit pouch:
- Char cloth (in tin with rubber seal for added waterproofing)
- Polished stainless steel signal mirror
- Flint and steel
- Wire (for making fishing hooks)
- Compass
Garb
200 years after most mass production of things stopped there will be very little left of clothing from before the bombs. Right out in the wilderness in my small village most things are hand made with the very utilitarian view that it doesn't have to look nice if it works:
I have chain mail standard to protect my neck and shoulders and upper leg armour, steel lower leg armour to protect me from bracken as much as in a fight. Underneath the lower leg armour I have wool Viking leg wraps on to pad the armour and for warmth. My boots are waterproof leather. The leather vambracers do a great job of keeping my arms warm and dry as well as for protection. My under tunic is thin linen. My grey over tunic and trousers are both thicker much more hard wearing linen. Underneath the over tunic I have a thin cotton surcoat on, the lower half of which is waxed to help keep out wind and water. My head and eyes can be completely covered for protection from the suns rays or a dust storm. The goggles are made from aluminium and leather, they take 50mm/2” lenses and can be fitted with UV screened plain or tinted glass depending on the conditions:
In wet conditions I will wear a waxed canvas cloak, that normally remains rolled in my pack:
My primary weapon of choice is the good old fashioned pointy stick, one of the oldest weapons in human history. The point on mine is fire hardened, it doubles as a walking staff and if there are no trees where I make camp I can use it to support my shelter.
Also carried on my person are a few items of gold, silver and pewter for use as trading goods in emergencies:
Photo's of me in a post-apocalyptic environment
Sadly, here in the UK if I went anywhere dressed like that I would probably be arrested, so these are all made using chroma-key with varying levels of success. (All the background images are my own photography)
Exploring an old industrial site searching for useful things:
In a dark forest:
Travelling across the wilderness:
Thanks for reading