a little mountain biking and hiking.

[JV3]

not much useful info so i'll lump these two outings in one thread...i've been mountain biking a lot lately and not much hiking. i still keep my eyes out for potential survival-related resources though while out there. plus, i think a bike is an excellent tool to have as part of my gear. i can cover a whole lot more distance and carry a lot more weight.

anyway, every time we take a break my friends like to take pictures so this time i try to do something silly. most of them are sheeple so every so often i try to incorporate little survival tid bits that i've learned from you guys to them. little by little they don't get freaked out anymore at the sight of a knife if i explain how i'd use it for, even though it looks as silly as this!

potential emergency shelter.

timber!!! lots of orange on me since it was the last day of hunting season on this state park. we were the only bikers (and no hikers) that day since they probably got scared by the hunters. we did hear 5-6 gun shots out in the distance. not too bad.

gotta strip to pay for more knives...don't judge me, it's good money!

hmmm...it's perfect for a figure-4 trap!

my buddy pretending to push the boulder up when in reality, he looks more like he's getting ready to be frisked by a cop! he's got plenty of experience i'm thinking.

near the parking lot i saw this small patch of bamboos! up until that point i didn't think they even existed here in the north east. i'm pretty excited that i have a local source since i used to play with bamboos all the time while growing up in the philippines. the species that grew there were massive though - easily 8" in diameter and 3-4 stories high. i actually have an uncle who still lives in a 100% bamboo hut near the ocean. it's a very versatile resource. the fattest one from this patch is no more than 1.5" in diameter but i'll take it anyway.

here's a couple of lanterns i made for christmas decoration over a decade ago (my uncle brought some bamboos while on vacation in the philippines). we're still using it today.

 

[JV3]

i went on a solo hike last wednesday...it was a chilly 20 deg f and 25-30 mph wind gusts.

i love seeing these wall of icicles.

potential emergency shelter although it'll be a tight squeeze since it's barely 2 ft high.

this is weird. i've been noticing these animal foot steps that started about 300 ft from the parking lot. it seems to be following the trail markers like i was but there's no sign of any human foot steps nearby. i'm thinking it's a dog on a leash since a loose dog would at least be sniffing from tree to tree while following a human but this is perfectly centered on the trail over the mile i was hiking. did they finally invent a personal hovercraft or something?

some gear porn...my a little over a week old blind horse knives bushcrafter (with a vinegar patina), freshly stripped (but no patina yet) bk-2, and junglas.

pretty bleak everywhere you look.

i was going to go to the nearby shelter to play with my knives but someone was there already. i didn't want to freak them out with my knives so i just went further down the trail, hid behind this large rock to escape the howling wind and prepared coffee. i usually carried a hobo stove but i just got this white box alcohol stove. i must say i like the fact that there's no smoke to give my position away in case i ever want to go off trail hiking or stealth camping...not that i'd ever do such a thing

a man-made looking structure although i have no idea what it could've been for.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Great Photos and Cutlery

Looks like you would be ready if something happened

Thanks for posting

 

[mtnfolk mike]

great pics man...:thumbup: i haven't gotten on my mtn. bike in months.. we have been so busy and we have been getting dumped on by rain lately..

 

[dboles]

Nice scenery
What will you use the bamboo for
Thanks for sharing
Dan'l

 

[Mentor]

Terrific stuff. Reminds me of some of my favourite haunts along the Niagara Escarpment. Bonus points for the figure-4 mammoth trap.

Best,

- Mike

 

[jca21]

great pics man.

nice 4th gen ya got there too

 

[BloodGroove4570]

I was looking at that lake pic and was totall thinking it was Tiorati. And low and behold i guess i wasnt crazy after seeing the sign in another pic. I dont live but 15 minutes from there, nice pics and good lookin knives.

 

[GoNadz]

Nice pics, man. My bike sat parked in my parents shed up-county since March-ish . With the full-face and the pads, you look like you're freeriding in the PNW! Where do you usually ride? We still need to meet up!

More on topic, the pics look great, as usual. I'm stoked for some snow and, more importantly, time to go out and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing, bro.

-Nadz

 

[JV3]

Great Photos and Cutlery

Looks like you would be ready if something happened

Thanks for posting

thanks! i hope i'm ready. i have yet to find any fatwood out there though

great pics man...:thumbup: i haven't gotten on my mtn. bike in months.. we have been so busy and we have been getting dumped on by rain lately..

thanks! i started biking more often when it became too hot to hike this summer. now it's getting too cold so i think i'm going to hike more often now.

Nice scenery
What will you use the bamboo for
Thanks for sharing
Dan'l

i'll probably try a friction fire with it. it's probably easier than a bow drill method. here's one i saw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y46eQ_siA14

Terrific stuff. Reminds me of some of my favourite haunts along the Niagara Escarpment. Bonus points for the figure-4 mammoth trap.

Best,

- Mike

thanks! now i just have to figure out how to lift the boulder up when the trap is sprung

great pics man.

nice 4th gen ya got there too

thanks! i love that truck. it handles really well for an suv :thumbup:

I was looking at that lake pic and was totall thinking it was Tiorati. And low and behold i guess i wasnt crazy after seeing the sign in another pic. I dont live but 15 minutes from there, nice pics and good lookin knives.

you're pretty damn lucky! that area really is the most scenic state park i've ever hiked on. it has everything really. if i lived that close, i'd probably buy a road bike and ride there 3-5 times a week.

Nice pics, man. My bike sat parked in my parents shed up-county since March-ish . With the full-face and the pads, you look like you're freeriding in the PNW! Where do you usually ride? We still need to meet up!

More on topic, the pics look great, as usual. I'm stoked for some snow and, more importantly, time to go out and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing, bro.

-Nadz

thanks, man! yeah, it was a last minute hike. i should've picked a different day, the wind was just not letting up. we usually ride in ringwood and jungle habitat (where those mtb pics were taken). both of them aren't that far from harriman actually, maybe 20 min away.

here's the ringwood trail we also frequent. i've gone over the bars there during the summer so i'm not taking any chances with the leaves all over the ground. i'd rather not get some quality face time with those rocks i tried going back to platforms but it just feels disconnected.

dust off your bike and join us! there's usually around 15 of us that ride every weekend. the next one is this friday in morristown, nj.

 

[ratamahatta]

man your crazy!!!! I like that......great pics buddy, thanks for sharing!!!

 

[hiwa]

Pretty cool area there , lots of strange formations and stuff.
Good eye for the natural shelters and things. Great survival mentality.

I plan on using my bike more as opposed to on foot on future trips. More area covered and adds a different "spin" on the woods excursion :thumbup:

 

[jca21]

thanks! i love that truck. it handles really well for an suv :thumbup:

.

running a 5th gen TE myself

 

[JGON]

Awesome stuff!

How do you like the BHK Bushcrafter? I'm thinking about that one as my next. I'd love a Fiddleback, but it's hard to snatch one of those up.

JGON

 

[j williams]

Great pics. I love mountain biking.

My bike was stolen this past summer by some low down SOB, so Im bikeless at the moment, but hopefully Ill have another one by spring. 29er this time. Still singlespeed. Till the docs tell me I cant do it no more, no gears for me.

 

[flipe8]

Nice pics. What model TREK is that you're riding? Looks sweet:thumbup:

 

[beanbag]

a man-made looking structure although i have no idea what it could've been for.

Considering that you ride with full armor, you should know what that is-- It's a gap jump of course!

 

[Erasmus]

Eggselent.

 

[JV3]

man your crazy!!!! I like that......great pics buddy, thanks for sharing!!!

thanks! i'm not that crazy - full face helmet and now thanks to you guys, i also bring pretty much my whole survival kit as if i was hiking. i see lots of guys wearing just a regular helmet while riding that insanely rocky terrain - as if a face plant over a rock isn't as bad as hitting one with the top of the head worst part is they just have a camelbak and a cell phone while wearing ultra-light biking gear while 10 mi deep into the woods in 17 deg f weather

Pretty cool area there , lots of strange formations and stuff.
Good eye for the natural shelters and things. Great survival mentality.

I plan on using my bike more as opposed to on foot on future trips. More area covered and adds a different "spin" on the woods excursion :thumbup:

thanks! yeah, i find that i can go 10+ mi deep into the woods while riding (except on the roughest terrain i'll get off the bike and walk it anyway if it's just too dangerously rocky) as opposed to just 1-3 mi on foot so i can familiarize myself with a wider area much quicker and still have enough energy to scout and play in the area to practice for potential "what-if" scenarios without worrying about the average hiker stumbling on my camp.

for my most frequented trails (hiking or biking) i've actually thought about burying an altoids survival kit and a canned good or two just in case for the upcoming zombie invasion it's not my original idea but from someone here...hmmm.

running a 5th gen TE myself

sweetness! how do you like it? my sis has a white 4th gen. ofcourse, my dad rolls his eyes since he's running an old school '95 land cruiser...it's really been a bullet-proof rig over the years. right now one of my best friends and i are fighting on the waiting list to buy it when my dad decides to sell it. haha.

Awesome stuff!

How do you like the BHK Bushcrafter? I'm thinking about that one as my next. I'd love a Fiddleback, but it's hard to snatch one of those up.

JGON

i'm really digging the scandi grind! i'm still 50/50 on that grip/finger notch though. at times i find it to be too deep and at times it's just perfect. when i'm doing fine carvings (i.e. my thumb is on the spine type of grip) it's absolutely perfect but say when i'm doing fuzzy sticks (where i'm gripping it like a baseball bat one-handed) the handle notch makes the grip too thin/aggressive.

Great pics. I love mountain biking.

My bike was stolen this past summer by some low down SOB, so Im bikeless at the moment, but hopefully Ill have another one by spring. 29er this time. Still singlespeed. Till the docs tell me I cant do it no more, no gears for me.

thanks! i'm kicking myself for not trying mountain biking sooner (i just started earlier this year). funny thing is it started when i started surfing here. this site started me on the whole knife/survival/hiking thing (i was strictly a gun guy before coming here) and when it became too hot to hike in the summer i started looking for alternatives while still being able to play with my knives...in comes mountain biking so now i can hone my survival skills year-round.

sorry to hear about your bike being stolen! at this point, i realized a bike is a very important part of my survival bug-out/survival kit. a few of my friends ride 29er and single speed. as far as single speed - all i can say is more power to you, bro! it takes a whole different level of physical fitness/dedication to run that kinda setup :thumbup:

Nice pics. What model TREK is that you're riding? Looks sweet:thumbup:

thanks! it's a 2011 fuel ex 8. it's way more bike than my skills will ever be able to back up

Considering that you ride with full armor, you should know what that is-- It's a gap jump of course!

haha. must've been evel knievel's great grand dad's old playground! i can imagine him perfecting the skills with his horse and buggy rig with it.

Eggselent.

yup! wouldn't want to be the next humpty dumpy with my precious skull...given my lack of mad riding skillz