A quick outing

[Tilley Knife]

Today the good Lord blessed me with a day off from work and a North Carolina July morning of only 71 degrees. If you live here, you know that is a miracle regardless of your religion or philosophy. So, I grabbed my pack and my walking stick and headed for the forest. I'm just now getting over my third case of Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever, the second case since last July, and I haven't spent much time in the woods in the last few weeks. Note: That may seem like a lot of tick fever but in light of how much time I spend in the woods and the ungodly amount of ticks that jump on me, it's really not that bad. The light was wasn't great and I only brought my point and shoot, so please excuse the poor picture quality. Enough chatter, on to the photos....

The walk in:

This cedar was covered in so much poison, it looked like an oak tree

View of the creek from the ridge

In to the hollow and pass the fishing hole

cont....

 

[Tilley Knife]

Today's pack. Frost River Standard Book Bag that I picked up from a forum member. This is a great pack with plenty of room and very comfortable. My wife just informed me this evening that she ordered me an FR Seven Bridges Pack so I'll probably be posting this one in the blanket. They are too comparable in size to justify keeping them both.

Today's tools. Trusty BK16, Opinel No9, and ye ole Farmer

cont....

 

[Tilley Knife]

I picked a nice flat rock in the middle of the creek to get some lunch going. The view from my table...

cont....

 

[Tilley Knife]

Fired up the Esbit ultra light stove and filled my Toaks titanium pot with water to boil

Today's menu consists of fresh garden squash, snow peas, and chicken soup washed down with some hot tea

Tea is ready

The soup is finished and lunch is served. I packed up just in time for the temp to jump ten degrees and the humidity to rise to 70%. What a great little outing. God is good, far better then I deserve. Thanks for looking and happy trails.

 

[Woods Walker]

Nice post! I am also a fan of the Opinel. Mine is a Carbon # 8 and it looks like hell warmed over but cuts like a champ.

 

[mykel m]

Thanks for sharing Wooly B.
I do not miss the heat 'n humidity,the Poison Ivey & Poison Oak or the ticks & chiggers, but I sure do miss beautiful North Carolina.

I was wondering about the Esbit Ultra Light as I bought one on a whim,but haven't fired it up yet, how does it perform?

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Great post Brother!!!

 

[Tilley Knife]

Thanks guys. I'm a big esbit fan. I've tried gas, alcohol, and of course open fire but for day hikes, it's hard to beat the light weight attributes of the traditional esbit stove. I've been using this titanium ul version for about a year now and it's great. It literally weighs less than a small bic lighter. I put a small piece of foil under the tablet so it cleans up quickly. Just be sure to use a wind screen. I make mine from the disposable aluminium oven pans and they last forever. Regards

 

[lambertiana]

So much greener there! I grew up on the east coast, and sometimes forget the green!