Recently I discovered a fire pit area at the far north end of Hilton Falls on the blue side trail and posted a thread here with few shots of my Kelly kettle after my first visit. Today I returned with a friend, his wife and our dogs for a hike, a fire, some dinner and a chance to field test some gear. Unfortunately my camera battery was on fumes and only got a few pics. I guess that means I’ll have to go back out there and do it all over again. Jeez. 
The pack is a waxed canvas Duluth Pack Wanderer that I had modded.
I wanted a chest strap and they will add one but it has to be done along with leather straps for durability. They were very stiff at first but some conditioner and daily use is softening them up nicely. The chest strap works good and I added the brass clip as it is more glove friendly. As luck would have it the loop on the sheath for my Bravo necker fits perfectly on the pack straps and today was the first time i wore it this way. I liked it alot...easy access and not in the way while wearing the pack or while donning or shedding the pack.
This was the first outing for my new Coal Creek Forge tomahawk by Steve Liley. It was a complete surprise I was not prepared for. I used it to split wood and kindling and it was so easy to handle I could hardly believe it. Very easy in the hand, well balanced and made short work of everything i used it for. I hate to say this but i’m thinking my days of battoning with a knife may be done. This was effortless and fun. I know I will still batton with a knife but I finally get what the hawk people are saying now.
Possible bag held: firesteel, BBCB’s (bag balm cotton balls), fatwood/twine tinder, cell phone, keys with edc knife and light, compass and map, zippo, paracord, Kershaw Blur.
Today I boiled water in the Kelly kettle but also tried out the optional cooking kit. I cooked some potatoes on the pot lid. As it turns out you need to feed a lot of twigs and sticks in it to get a proper bed of coals going to cook a meal. So great for a snack on a hike when you’re not watching the clock but if you want to feed yourself and anybody else quickly and then get moving, I would not recommend it.
One of the things about the kettle is that it creates a lot of draft when it is positioned over the fire pan, but when the kettle is off there is not as much draft to keep it hot. I will probably drill some more holes in it for this. On my next testing trip I will try the option of cooking over the chimney. Luckily my friend had a coleman white fuel hikers stove and did all the heavy lifting for today’s meal quickly cooking up some breaded perch caught yesterday, sausage rounds and cheesie home fries.
The Bravo necker is a nice little knife...the bravo 1 never made it of the pack as i used the necker for everything today. Great little all rounder...
As dusk set in we could hear some coyotes calling...very close and from all directions. So we decided it would be best to keep the dogs on lead on the hike out. Dark had completely set in by the time we got the the trailhead but all in all, a very nice way to end a Monday. gerry
The pack is a waxed canvas Duluth Pack Wanderer that I had modded.
I wanted a chest strap and they will add one but it has to be done along with leather straps for durability. They were very stiff at first but some conditioner and daily use is softening them up nicely. The chest strap works good and I added the brass clip as it is more glove friendly. As luck would have it the loop on the sheath for my Bravo necker fits perfectly on the pack straps and today was the first time i wore it this way. I liked it alot...easy access and not in the way while wearing the pack or while donning or shedding the pack.
This was the first outing for my new Coal Creek Forge tomahawk by Steve Liley. It was a complete surprise I was not prepared for. I used it to split wood and kindling and it was so easy to handle I could hardly believe it. Very easy in the hand, well balanced and made short work of everything i used it for. I hate to say this but i’m thinking my days of battoning with a knife may be done. This was effortless and fun. I know I will still batton with a knife but I finally get what the hawk people are saying now.
Possible bag held: firesteel, BBCB’s (bag balm cotton balls), fatwood/twine tinder, cell phone, keys with edc knife and light, compass and map, zippo, paracord, Kershaw Blur.
Today I boiled water in the Kelly kettle but also tried out the optional cooking kit. I cooked some potatoes on the pot lid. As it turns out you need to feed a lot of twigs and sticks in it to get a proper bed of coals going to cook a meal. So great for a snack on a hike when you’re not watching the clock but if you want to feed yourself and anybody else quickly and then get moving, I would not recommend it.
One of the things about the kettle is that it creates a lot of draft when it is positioned over the fire pan, but when the kettle is off there is not as much draft to keep it hot. I will probably drill some more holes in it for this. On my next testing trip I will try the option of cooking over the chimney. Luckily my friend had a coleman white fuel hikers stove and did all the heavy lifting for today’s meal quickly cooking up some breaded perch caught yesterday, sausage rounds and cheesie home fries.
The Bravo necker is a nice little knife...the bravo 1 never made it of the pack as i used the necker for everything today. Great little all rounder...
As dusk set in we could hear some coyotes calling...very close and from all directions. So we decided it would be best to keep the dogs on lead on the hike out. Dark had completely set in by the time we got the the trailhead but all in all, a very nice way to end a Monday. gerry
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