another overnighter: food death march.

[JV3]

i just came back from another overnighter, this time with mountainmistwanderer, manofsteel89, and his buddy tom. sorry, no pics of the hike in since i was too busy just hucking it! title says it all - we were carrying 6+ liters of water each since everything was dry on top of the usual food, booze, and gear.

mountainmistwanderer is one sick dude! he brought us to his usual spot which is a crazy steep, rocky off-trail hike knowing full well how much we were carrying...from now on, when he's in the hike i'm going ultralight always. i think i discussed with manofsteel89 during our 5 times water breaks which one of us is going to fake a broken ankle so we can just camp right there on the spot

anyway, pics...my pack contained 3 machetes, 3 belt knives, 3 tarps, a gb axe & a cs trailhawk...then there's the pm2 in my pocket and a sak hiker in my hpg kit bag

group shot of all the knives & axes we brought.

manofsteel89 showing his mad skills.

it's not the knife, it's the skill of the user that matters

mountainmistwanderer's gb wildlife hatchet.

i used the wildlife to carve a new handle for my cs trail hawk to get a feel for it...took a lot of will power for me not to order one right then and there!

don't turn your back when tom is taking down a tree. mountainmistwanderer and i had our backs turned and we're trying to id a tree when next thing i know i hear the sound of this massive tree crashing down just a few feet away...i checked, my undies had no skid marks, whew

 

[JV3]

manofsteel89 giving bow-drill a try. for his very first attempt, he's already got the technique down! lots of smoke but no coal...i think he'll knock it out soon enough.

a big thank you once again to coldwaterboys for this creole seasoning...i wished i brought a whole lot more potatoes after taking my first bite with it.

my woods lounge and behind it is manofsteel89 and tom's shelter.

this literally was how i spent most of the overnighter: laying back and watching iron chef tom do his kitchen magic - he competes in bbq competitions

super secret dry rub.

easily one of the best pork i've tasted...i'm patenting this ultralight plate/cutting board by the way - just a couple sheets of printer paper

if it's an overnighter and i'm there then there will be spam

more of coldwaterboys' seasoning on about-to-be-fried rice.

one of the rare moments we weren't eating, drinking or chopping wood!

 

[JV3]

the meat reaper!

thanks to mountainmistwanderer - polish kielbasa time...before we over-ate to death the rain started rolling in.

ultralight doesn't always mean it's the best way to go. i woke up at 1 am when i rolled over to change sleeping position and only to feel an equivalent of a cup of cold water that pooled on my woobie dumped on my t-shirt. it turned out my brand freaking new bcusa ultralight tarp (coated with nanosphere supposedly) was literally seeping rain water in one whole quadrant of the 10'x10' - it looked like a glass filled with ice and water

i was debating whether to publicize this or not (this will clearly affect their future sales once word goes around - it's one of their most expensive tarps too) but i figured if they show excellent customer service and make things right with me then that'll spread too and overshadow the negative...so here we go...i'll update this thread/start another thread to show everyone the outcome after i contact bcusa asap.

you can see a whole quarter of the 10'x10' soaked and sagging and that side wasn't even in front of the wind (the other 3 quarters were bone dry).

i knew the forecast was going to be in the low 40s and a strong storm so i came prepared i slapped my tried-and-proven integral designs tarp over it and went back to sleep.

i've used several tarps with a traditional waterproof coating on it through strong storms/soaking and not once had any problems...this tarp with the nanosphere failed big time! anyone else experience something similar?

 

[JV3]

the next day, manofsteel89 showing off marriedthemedic's skull cap

check out the white liners on the junglas.

manofsteel89 gets stabby when he's hungry!

mountainmistwanderer cooking kielbasa with scrambled eggs.

mountainmistwanderer put a ton of work in this camp already with the benches and whatnot.

mental note: bring a bigger plate/lid next time for when mountainmistwanderer or tom is cooking!

apparently the only thing this tarp is good for is collecting rain water...welcome sight actually since i had to watch my water intake closely the day before.

preacher james...no kool-aid - he's waiting for the following to grow a bit more first

anyway, another epic overnighter done...a big thank you to james, kyle, and tom for the food & beer! you guys are alright in my book

 

[JV3]

update on the bcusa tarp: received a reply from guy (founder of bcusa) and he said no problem! he stands behind his tarps and i have the option of full refund, exchange for the same tarp or a different tarp and he'll refund the difference...now that is excellent customer service!

he said my tarp is only the 6th return out of the 5,000+ that he's sold so this was definitely just a fluke i'd say...i'm switching over to the silnylon 10'x10' when it comes in-stock.

 

[tman038]

great pics. looks like it was a good time. thanks for sharing. love that group shot... of the knives... not you guys.... happy to hear they are taking care of the tarp issue

 

[JV3]

great pics. looks like it was a good time. thanks for sharing. love that group shot... of the knives... not you guys....

thanks! haha, that's why i purposely stayed behind the camera the whole time, my ugly mug would've ruined the thread right from the start.

 

[Translash]

very nice! was this also in harriman bro? Sucks that you have rain, because I went yesterday and the weather was heavenly...

 

[North]

Looks like a good time and no danger of you guys running out of food or cutting tools!

Bill

 

[JV3]

very nice! was this also in harriman bro? Sucks that you have rain, because I went yesterday and the weather was heavenly...

thanks! yes, harriman - near the seven lakes drive area. i'm glad it did rain though so i got to test that tarp in relatively mild weather. i foresaw trouble since in the outdoor section/latest purchases thread i mentioned i already had to seam seal it right off the bat since just pulling the seams apart (simulating it being pitched) i can see sunlight in the needle holes and the fabric literally felt like silk it was so thin/soft.

i keep forgetting but if you'd like to hang with us, you're more than welcome to! i'll shoot you a pm next time...we need more becker knives in these trips i've been trying to get the becker and esee folks to do group overnighters for awhile now and only now that it's starting to roll...hopefully it'll grow.

Looks like a good time and no danger of you guys running out of food or cutting tools!

Bill

thanks, bill! haha, most of those cutting tools were mine since i wanted to show it to manofsteel89. i was just being nice but man, next time i'll just ship the knives to him!

 

[plue]

Great thread, thanks for posting!

It sucks about the tarp, nothing ruins a trip like a leaky tent. It's great that they're replacing it, but that shouldn't be happening to begin with. You shouldn't have thought twice about posting it, I personally appreciate insight on poor workmanship.

A quick question, did you get a chance to play around with the FB 12" machete and compare it to the Wildlife hatchet in terms of wood processing? I have the G&B, and it's an amazing hatchet, but I was wondering about getting a machete as well.

 

[untamed]

Wow! Looks like a very good time! And I second how great that Creole seasoning is!

 

[scruffuk]

Always good to see pics of your outings amigo. That last photo is super.

Thanks for taking us along :thumbup:

 

[Translash]

thanks! yes, harriman - near the seven lakes drive area. i'm glad it did rain though so i got to test that tarp in relatively mild weather. i foresaw trouble since in the outdoor section/latest purchases thread i mentioned i already had to seam seal it right off the bat since just pulling the seams apart (simulating it being pitched) i can see sunlight in the needle holes and the fabric literally felt like silk it was so thin/soft.

i keep forgetting but if you'd like to hang with us, you're more than welcome to! i'll shoot you a pm next time...we need more becker knives in these trips i've been trying to get the becker and esee folks to do group overnighters for awhile now and only now that it's starting to roll...hopefully it'll grow.




thanks, bill! haha, most of those cutting tools were mine since i wanted to show it to manofsteel89. i was just being nice but man, next time i'll just ship the knives to him!

Hmm I keep forgetting too haha! I just go whenever I feel like it and I go alone. I can bring other brands to the table besides beckers like busses/bussekin/customs. Though I usually go light nowadays to enjoy the dayhikes more. Ill add you.

 

[trailbum]

Great thread.
I like all the new kydex.

 

[JV3]

[ double post ]

 

[JV3]

Great thread, thanks for posting!

It sucks about the tarp, nothing ruins a trip like a leaky tent. It's great that they're replacing it, but that shouldn't be happening to begin with. You shouldn't have thought twice about posting it, I personally appreciate insight on poor workmanship.

A quick question, did you get a chance to play around with the FB 12" machete and compare it to the Wildlife hatchet in terms of wood processing? I have the G&B, and it's an amazing hatchet, but I was wondering about getting a machete as well.

thanks! this was my first overnighter this year but i'll hopefully do more as the temps get lower.

i agree about the failure and i'm now leery about the rest of their tarps...i ended up ordering a kifaru shelter instead.

i did use the fiddleback and the wildlife side by side and for me it was very close in performance. i really liked the wildlife and will probably get one down the road too for when my scandinavian forest is overkill. i usually carry a folding saw with me so i still prefer the fiddleback because i can do some light clearing with it. it really comes down to whether you're in the batoning or no batoning camp because they're so similar in performance.

Wow! Looks like a very good time! And I second how great that Creole seasoning is!

indeed, it was a good time. i wasn't kidding when i said most of the time i was eating either. that creole seasoning was actually good enough with just plain ol' steamed white rice!

Always good to see pics of your outings amigo. That last photo is super.

Thanks for taking us along :thumbup:

thanks, scruff! i hope to be able to go on more overnighters now that it's starting to get cold again.

Hmm I keep forgetting too haha! I just go whenever I feel like it and I go alone. I can bring other brands to the table besides beckers like busses/bussekin/customs. Though I usually go light nowadays to enjoy the dayhikes more. Ill add you.

heh, after this trip i'm going back to lightweight again. my usual overnight loadout is now in the sub-25 lbs with food and water but i think because it was my first overnighter this year that i overdid it again...the lessons learned in the past were quickly forgotten in the name of steel, haha.

Great thread.
I like all the new kydex.

thanks! your kukri kydex sheath inspired me to make my own sheath for it, haha.

 

[grunt soldier]

As always sir. great review and pictures. very cool sir. thanks for sharing.

 

[spoolup]

Sorry I missed this thread but thanks for pointing it out. Sorry also to hear of the issue with the BCUSA tarp, hope they get you figured out. What Kifaru shelter did you go with?

As always, great write up and AAR, keep it up. Ill post mine when I return from next weeks outing. If ever in Utah, look me up.

 

[22-rimfire]

Thanks for sharing your outing. You guys brought a lot of hardware. Car camping without the car.... not really, didn't see one cooler.