- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,443
We went out in the woods with 15 students this weekend for a camping trip and hiking class. I tag along just to help with a few things I know. I got there Saturday morning after QUITE a rain storm (I had a meeting on Friday late enough that I would have had to set up in the rain and dark...) and built a fire for everyone to get dry.
1) I am simply in love with my month old GB Splitting Axe:
http://www.wealddown.co.uk/images shop/441axe.jpg
I would not use it for backpacking - but for backyard and trunk camping - it is GREAT.
I grabbed it out (they only had a small hatchet) and quickly split enough logs (just the pine they had in the pile) to make a quick and hot fire. Their fire was out and the attempts to get it going were smoldering badly. I had a little fat wood with me, so I pulled the students around in an impromptu school circle and showed them what I was doing. I used a few small splits of the pine I had just split, showed them how I got to the center and dry wood, cut some feather sticks and made an upside-down fire. I used a small feather stick of fatwood - lit it with a match (showing them how to strike one properly) and away we went - within minutes the camp was getting filled with clothes drying out.
The knife I brought for this event was a Koster Bushcrafter in O1:
2) I then pitched my REI Quarterdome T2:
I have come to love this tent too - it is quite large for me, light, easy to pitch and easy to take down.
3) We then hiked out around Lake Bescher Stake park for a morning hike. We ended up bushwacking quite a bit because of the high water levels flooding the normal beach line - and ended up quite wet. We stopped and found one of the Geocache's that the state parks of Texas are putting out and picked up a travel bug. I was using a DeLorme PN-30 loaded with USGS maps of the area:
However by the time I was done hiking, my new Propper BDU's were dry - I have come to love these too, they are tough and comfortable. I am thinking these are going to be the pants I wear for bushcraft from now on.
4) We got back, I did a set presentation on Orientation and map use. They were using Brunton Trainer baseplate compasses and I was using a Suunto MC-2G.
I want to thank (in a big way) Kevin Estella and Brian Andrews for all the help on the presentation. Kevin was cool enough to post a presentation on WSS a little while back and Brian was gracious enough to post some videos. I took both, mashed them together, gave a few of my own thoughts and had a great presentation. I gave full credit to both on the presentation and linked both We Teach You and Off the Map Outfitters at the end of the presentation.
5) This was done over lunch, and after lunch we put about 5 or 6 more miles on the boots. I was wearing my Osprey Stratos 24 Day pack - with about 20 pounds of BOB materials, water, and First aid:
I was on the hunt for fatwood - but got skunked. Mostly I am just along for the ride on this part - so I set the pace (about 3mph) and stop when the other professors need to.
6) We got back about 6 pm, and dinner was waiting for us (as we had set it up in a dutch oven before we left). We then went out for a 2 mile or so night hike. This time I only wore my small BOB (a Maxpedition Versipak Fatboy with strap extension) and my head lamp.
I have come to love my headlamp / torch combo. I am using a 2 AA cell Fenix with the headband:
The batteries last forever on the lowest setting, and throws plenty of light. It has 4 brightness settings and a SOS setting. It easily unscrews from the VERY secure headset to be used at night in the tent.
The instructors had the students hunt Snipe for about an hour on the hike (they still don't know it was a farce... man it was funny to watch them call the Snipe... and walk around with small trash bags trying to catch them.) and may snipes were 'heard' and even one was 'seen'.
We got back late - I crawled into my tent about 1 am (after sitting around B.S.'ing) and listened to the stream (where I had located my tent) tickle on by. Zzzzzzz's came quick and in the morning, I started a fire as they broke camp - and headed home.
All in all a good weekend.
TF
1) I am simply in love with my month old GB Splitting Axe:
http://www.wealddown.co.uk/images shop/441axe.jpg
I would not use it for backpacking - but for backyard and trunk camping - it is GREAT.
I grabbed it out (they only had a small hatchet) and quickly split enough logs (just the pine they had in the pile) to make a quick and hot fire. Their fire was out and the attempts to get it going were smoldering badly. I had a little fat wood with me, so I pulled the students around in an impromptu school circle and showed them what I was doing. I used a few small splits of the pine I had just split, showed them how I got to the center and dry wood, cut some feather sticks and made an upside-down fire. I used a small feather stick of fatwood - lit it with a match (showing them how to strike one properly) and away we went - within minutes the camp was getting filled with clothes drying out.
The knife I brought for this event was a Koster Bushcrafter in O1:
2) I then pitched my REI Quarterdome T2:
I have come to love this tent too - it is quite large for me, light, easy to pitch and easy to take down.
3) We then hiked out around Lake Bescher Stake park for a morning hike. We ended up bushwacking quite a bit because of the high water levels flooding the normal beach line - and ended up quite wet. We stopped and found one of the Geocache's that the state parks of Texas are putting out and picked up a travel bug. I was using a DeLorme PN-30 loaded with USGS maps of the area:
However by the time I was done hiking, my new Propper BDU's were dry - I have come to love these too, they are tough and comfortable. I am thinking these are going to be the pants I wear for bushcraft from now on.
4) We got back, I did a set presentation on Orientation and map use. They were using Brunton Trainer baseplate compasses and I was using a Suunto MC-2G.
I want to thank (in a big way) Kevin Estella and Brian Andrews for all the help on the presentation. Kevin was cool enough to post a presentation on WSS a little while back and Brian was gracious enough to post some videos. I took both, mashed them together, gave a few of my own thoughts and had a great presentation. I gave full credit to both on the presentation and linked both We Teach You and Off the Map Outfitters at the end of the presentation.
5) This was done over lunch, and after lunch we put about 5 or 6 more miles on the boots. I was wearing my Osprey Stratos 24 Day pack - with about 20 pounds of BOB materials, water, and First aid:
I was on the hunt for fatwood - but got skunked. Mostly I am just along for the ride on this part - so I set the pace (about 3mph) and stop when the other professors need to.
6) We got back about 6 pm, and dinner was waiting for us (as we had set it up in a dutch oven before we left). We then went out for a 2 mile or so night hike. This time I only wore my small BOB (a Maxpedition Versipak Fatboy with strap extension) and my head lamp.
I have come to love my headlamp / torch combo. I am using a 2 AA cell Fenix with the headband:
The batteries last forever on the lowest setting, and throws plenty of light. It has 4 brightness settings and a SOS setting. It easily unscrews from the VERY secure headset to be used at night in the tent.
The instructors had the students hunt Snipe for about an hour on the hike (they still don't know it was a farce... man it was funny to watch them call the Snipe... and walk around with small trash bags trying to catch them.) and may snipes were 'heard' and even one was 'seen'.
We got back late - I crawled into my tent about 1 am (after sitting around B.S.'ing) and listened to the stream (where I had located my tent) tickle on by. Zzzzzzz's came quick and in the morning, I started a fire as they broke camp - and headed home.
All in all a good weekend.
TF
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) I do have some great kit - but almost all of that stuff I bought used, or on super sale. I got the backpack on here used, the REI tent at a garage sale, and so on... It takes time - but I am getting good kit for good prices. 
