Expedition Planning

I spent the last weekend at the Paddlesports Expedition Symposium at Plas y Brenin. The weekend was a series of practical workshops and seminars covering the many aspects of planning an expedition that might escape the attention of event the more experienced canoeists and kayakers.
My first session was all about staying healthy on expeditions. Water purification, jabs, malaria avoidance and how to do what bears do in the woods were all covered in fine style by Loel Collins.
There were slide shows and talks and further workshops on expedition photography, first aid and even dealing with fatalities too. At an open 'experts corner' session in the bar I managed to corner Ollie Sanders and pick his brains on the subject of logistics as I am planning a return to Greenland in the next couple of years.
Day two was largely spent on the bushcraft sessions which covered the safe use of a knife and basic woodcraft skills. We put some of these skills into practice splitting and carving hazel staves into apparatus suitable for grilling fish.
Following a splendid demonstration we followed suit and gutted the fish and grilled them over a fire whist cooking small buns in a dutch oven.
The loaves and fishes proved too much and so the left overs were fed to the 5000 (or so) hungry paddlers nearby.There are some more photos from the weekend here.