I went on another overnighter this past Monday night with the same buddy as last time, but brought along my little brother too. Same place as well. Roaring Brook campsite on the Tunxis trail, Barkhamsted CT.
My buddy was planning on spending two nights, some other friends were planning on meeting him there. They bailed last minute (thank goodness for cell phones, right?) so he headed out of there Tuesday evening. He packed heavy, with plenty of extra stuff for both nights. He also brought a large three room dome tent, which I ended up carrying the 1/2 or 3/4 mile to the campsite. He had it lashed to his pack, but the jute cordage snapped as soon as he shouldered it, so I carried it on my head porter style.
I ended up only having about 10 minutes to pack for the trip for both my brother and myself. I had a phone interview that ended only shortly before the time I expected my friend to pick us up.
My brother also does not have any camping gear, so I gave him stuff that I had, and we used a large, heavy sleeping bag that we've had laying around for sleepovers and things.
The packs. My buddy's on the left with all the stuff laying around it, mine in the middle, and my brothers hiding on the other side of the tree:
My brother's pack:
He's only 11, and weighs 90 pounds. The pack was definitely too heavy for him, and the sleeping bag made it unwieldy. On the way out, I repacked everything into the frame pack, lashed my bag to the front, and carried it all out. My brother carried my sleeping pad over his shoulder on a twine sling.
An experimental stool that I made and took along. It was an equilateral triangle, 12" on each side, with pockets sewn into each corner. It was two layers of a midweight cotton fabric that I had laying around. It worked alright, and only weighed 1 ounce. Unfortunately, it started to tear, and the small size made it a little uncomfortable. Mark II will be 18" on each side, and be made from a heavier canvas fabric.
Dinner was beans and franks, cooked up in my buddy's stainless steel mess kit. He forgot any eating utensils, and I ended up having the only eating utensil; a LMF spork (which I keep in my EDC baggie which came along). I gave the spork to my brother and my friend and I both ate with quickly whittled wood paddles. I don't usually cook on overnighters, so the only eating dish between my brother and I was the canteen cup that was with my brother's canteen. I ate out of the pot.
Some Miscellaneous pictures of the stream right by the site:
My buddy was planning on spending two nights, some other friends were planning on meeting him there. They bailed last minute (thank goodness for cell phones, right?) so he headed out of there Tuesday evening. He packed heavy, with plenty of extra stuff for both nights. He also brought a large three room dome tent, which I ended up carrying the 1/2 or 3/4 mile to the campsite. He had it lashed to his pack, but the jute cordage snapped as soon as he shouldered it, so I carried it on my head porter style.
I ended up only having about 10 minutes to pack for the trip for both my brother and myself. I had a phone interview that ended only shortly before the time I expected my friend to pick us up.
My brother also does not have any camping gear, so I gave him stuff that I had, and we used a large, heavy sleeping bag that we've had laying around for sleepovers and things.
The packs. My buddy's on the left with all the stuff laying around it, mine in the middle, and my brothers hiding on the other side of the tree:
My brother's pack:
He's only 11, and weighs 90 pounds. The pack was definitely too heavy for him, and the sleeping bag made it unwieldy. On the way out, I repacked everything into the frame pack, lashed my bag to the front, and carried it all out. My brother carried my sleeping pad over his shoulder on a twine sling.
An experimental stool that I made and took along. It was an equilateral triangle, 12" on each side, with pockets sewn into each corner. It was two layers of a midweight cotton fabric that I had laying around. It worked alright, and only weighed 1 ounce. Unfortunately, it started to tear, and the small size made it a little uncomfortable. Mark II will be 18" on each side, and be made from a heavier canvas fabric.
Dinner was beans and franks, cooked up in my buddy's stainless steel mess kit. He forgot any eating utensils, and I ended up having the only eating utensil; a LMF spork (which I keep in my EDC baggie which came along). I gave the spork to my brother and my friend and I both ate with quickly whittled wood paddles. I don't usually cook on overnighters, so the only eating dish between my brother and I was the canteen cup that was with my brother's canteen. I ate out of the pot.
Some Miscellaneous pictures of the stream right by the site:
