Back from our "Bare Bones" Trip(Pic Heavy)

kahuana said:
AMEN, Scott. The fixed blade is king. A note to others, be mindful of the area you go into with minimum gear. Natural shelter is dependant upon materials available. Leaf litter was present, but not abundant. The area was a heavily used site, firemaking materials were thin as well. A great learning experience as all training should be.
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That's exactly right kahuana. Preparedness is what we practice. You don't need to be bogged down with a huge amount of gear but knowing/experience tells you what to bring. The clothes on your back, water, proper sleeping gear and the right cutting tools are some of the essentials on any outing. The water bottle holder set up for me, is an essential part of my gear.
Scott
 
This is a pretty cool thread. I missed it the first time around. I've abandoned the Max. water bottle holder personally and went back to my day pack. I just like being able to carry extra layers of clothes as back up. Plus it's nice to have a proper tarp on you. So what tools do you think you could get by with for firewood? Could you do it with just a saw and a fixed blade or do you guys think you would need a big chopper?
 
shotgun, as far as what cutting tools, you know the drill when these discussions come up. It all comes down to personal perference, terrain, weather, etc. For me I carry a 4 to 5 inch belt knife, saw and an axe depending on the season. Winter, IMO an axe is a must. A big blade, I always have my Tusker with me.
I carry the Max. bottle holder in my pack. I'm going to be running my large Duluth pack from now on because I can fit all my gear in one pack.
Scott
 
Great bump MT!

There is a ton of skill and knowledge in the group that did this. I have had the pleasure of sharing a campfire and learning from all of them, Great bunch of guys there!
 
MT funny you bumped this thread. There are 7 of us in this thread that are doing another "Bare Bones" survival course next weekend in Virginia. The course is being put on by survival instructor Byron Kerns http://www.byronkernssurvival.com
You can check the gear list on his site. Click on the Bare Bones course link. Almost the same deal as when we went on this trip only fixed blades are allowed.
Scott
 
WOW! Hard to believe that was 2 yrs. ago! As Scott said next week at this time we will be in the middle of our class with Byron. We will have more gear though and bigger blades. Less food...
I did a class with Byron 6 yrs. ago and highly recommend him. My group and I have been on a kick of guys going into the timber and setting up a base and going from there. Lots of good stories from Madison Parker to Tony Nester to my two favorites from a guy that goes by Five Arrows and a great story of a guy called "Trapper".
Scott can't wait till Friday!!
 
Scott & harpoon- that looks like a great course! Try and snap some pics

I have no doubt that I will be freezing my butt off on my little outing, but like they say "what doesn't kill you, ....." :D
 
I recently picked up one of those maxpedition bottle holders... need to get a better shoulder strap for it. I got the narrow one with no pad. Very uncomfortable if I'm not wearing a lot of layers.
 
baldtaco-II said:
Stuart's run at the 15 items or less challenge may interest you.
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looks good :) with the water bottle holder your definitely not going to get much of a kit, 15 should be relatively easy :)

^ I've got the maxped 1.5" strap w/ the pad, pretty comfy thus far- I'm thinking about a paracord strap to simplify it even a little more
 
Fiddleback said:
We did a very similar trip in the Boy Scouts for our Wilderness Survival Merit Badge. But, in our case, we had to build a debris shelter and sleep in it. It wasn't what I call a comfortable night. Picture the S. Louisianna heat, and bugs, and rain. I don't think I slept at all, and nobody got a fire lit either.

At least we weren't cold.
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My favorite merit badge ever earned! Loved the build and sleep in a shelter night, though we did it in the rain in WA - 50 degrees but mostly dry (note mostly). Soooooo many years ago. Glad we have boys being taught this stuff still. Not enough, though.

I could still do it today, along with most of my scouting stuff. Good times!
 
mtwarden said:
Scott & harpoon- that looks like a great course! Try and snap some pics

I have no doubt that I will be freezing my butt off on my little outing, but like they say "what doesn't kill you, ....." :D
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Plan on taking lots of pics. The biggest challenge with these types of trips is at nite trying to stay warm and catch some Z's.

I used a strap from one of my other Maxped pieces for my water bottle holder.
I'm going to run with my Maxped Devildog on this upcoming course.
Scott
 
Thought I'd give this thread a bump. Great reading in a heatwave.
 
What's funny is to look back now and how different I would've done things, and how hard it would be now to get a group that size together.
 
mtwarden said:
bump for one of my favorite threads- I'm planning a water bottle holder overnighter :)
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few pics from my overnighter- temps were in the upper 30's, used a lean-to shelter with dry grass as bedding, built a reflector and used a long fire- sleep came in 1-2 hour stretches and then I would have to add a couple of logs to the fire, not overly comfy, but not overly miserable :D

loadout-1.jpg


coffeeson.jpg


isitmorningyet.jpg
 
hayseedw45 said:
It was a good trip. We came up with some conclusions around the fire.

Big fixed blades are a must! We did it with our folders but it could have been much easier with them. A folding saw was missed even more I think. The wood was sparse and where there was would it was so thick that you couldn't swing and ax or a big blade.

I also think most would have rather had a Sportsman's Blanket rather than the AMK heat sheets. But then again if we had made our shelters near the fire the heat sheet would have worked just fine.

It was nice to see what worked and what didn't.

Here's my gear list for the trip:
Clothing:
-511 nylon pants & shirt
-Wool Shirt & Fleece hat
-Force Multiplier Boots
Knife:
-CS Pocket Bushman(I beat the heck out of this knife and it held up!)
Water/Fire/Food
-Maxpedition 10x4 Carrier
-Side pouch
-Camera
-Food(Tea bags, Instant Coffee, Cup of Soup, Spam Single & Metrx Bar
-Guyot Bottle & Snow Peak Ti cook set
-50 gal. Contractor bag in bottom of bag
-Belt pouch
-Ferro Rod & Striker
-VSCB's
-Sm. FAK
-Para Cord and Decoy Line
-AMK Heat Sheet
-Signal Mirror and Whistle
-Taurus 651 and spare ammo

Jerry
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No bear bag? Here in VA food needs a bear bag. My son has seen bears a couple of dozen times on/near the AT in VA and in the Monongahela in WV in just the last year.
 
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