I'm back from a relatively non-descript trip down to the ole South with some personal lessons learned.
While this was by no means a survival excursion or even a camping trip, I had left with the thought of testing my real needs when "bugged out" for a bit and assessing what worked and what didn't.
I had with me several knives - a Fallkniven WM, a Camillus EDC, SAK Classic, and a SAK Soldier. Every cutting chore during this trip was achieved with the SAKs. The other knives were always available, but the SAKs were the workers. I had began to feel like the others were merely extra weight, but they (and some OC aerosol and a Cold Steel Shambok) proved very comforting when alcohol fueled racefans started road raging trying to get out of the parking lots after the Coke 600 and several verbal confrontations occurred.
I had several methods of lighting available as well. They included a Photon Green Microlight, a CMG White Infinity, a Mini Maglight Solitaire, several lightsticks, and a Traser glowring. The Photon proved invaluable, meeting all of our lighting needs while walking at night in an area well populated by copperheads and timber rattlers. The Mini-Mag worked well for me too. I removed the head of the Mini-mag to have an area light for reading during the very early morning hours while my sig other slept. I used a green 12 hr light stick taped to my truck's antenna to mark my truck in the parking lot at Lowe's Motor Speedway -making the truck very easy to find in the dark among thousands of other vehicles. The Traser glowring (from Bagheera) was worth it's weight in gold. Attached to my keyring, it made it very easy to find my keys, Photon, and SAK in total darkness. The CMG was utterly useless during this trip.
The CMG did not put out enough light to sufficiently light a path or read by and could not sufficiently light up even the area of a small motel room.
Southern heat became a problem for our thick northern climate acclimated blood, causing a number of problems requiring action. The water seemed to disagree with our systems, forcing us to break out the First Aid kit in search of Immodium - thank god we had the forsight to stock some. We used bottled water and Gatorade afterwords - hind sight being 20-20 again. Wet bandanas and a washcloth borrowed from a hotel room provided cooling comfort for my folicly challenged head. The 33SPF Dermatone sunscreen also proved worth it's weight in gold. Clear-Eyes eye drops provided relief from long hours in the sun and from track dust/debris.
Speaking of the First Aid Kit - it may have been a life saver. A friend was stung by some red ants and suffered an allergic reaction. The Sawyer Sting Relief Pads offered some comfort from the bites, but the Benedryl may have saved her life. She had to be hospitalized the reaction was so bad.
Another well used piece of equipment was my US GI canteen/cup/stove and trioxane fuel tabs. The trip totalled about 2100 miles driving, as we did some touring of Civil War battlefields on the way home. The weather was turning colder and the canteen combo provided some great coffee and soup to accompany our lunches.
Some pieces to give honorable mention to include my compass, binocs, notebook, and pen. The small Brunton compass worked great on the battlefields to orient ourselves to troop movements and positions. It also came in handy a couple times on the road when my sig other (navigator) became Dan'l Boone style bewildered in the mountains of Virginia/West Virginia/Virginia/West Virginia/Virginia/West Virginia. LOL. Of the 3 sets of small binocs I own, only my Minolta's were capable of focusing through my developing asstigmatism (it sucks to get older.) The notebook and pen provided the notes I'm transribing for you here.
Some great personal discoveries from the trip - Goody's Headache Powders and Grits. I also discovered it pays to do field assessments of your gear selection at every opportunity you can sieze.
PS - During the trip, I acquired two more SAKs - a camo Tinker ($12.50 closeout) and a locking blade Trailmaster ($20.00 closeout). Did I ever mention the fact I like SAKs?
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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
[This message has been edited by sgtmike88 (edited 06-02-2001).]
[This message has been edited by sgtmike88 (edited 06-02-2001).]
While this was by no means a survival excursion or even a camping trip, I had left with the thought of testing my real needs when "bugged out" for a bit and assessing what worked and what didn't.
I had with me several knives - a Fallkniven WM, a Camillus EDC, SAK Classic, and a SAK Soldier. Every cutting chore during this trip was achieved with the SAKs. The other knives were always available, but the SAKs were the workers. I had began to feel like the others were merely extra weight, but they (and some OC aerosol and a Cold Steel Shambok) proved very comforting when alcohol fueled racefans started road raging trying to get out of the parking lots after the Coke 600 and several verbal confrontations occurred.
I had several methods of lighting available as well. They included a Photon Green Microlight, a CMG White Infinity, a Mini Maglight Solitaire, several lightsticks, and a Traser glowring. The Photon proved invaluable, meeting all of our lighting needs while walking at night in an area well populated by copperheads and timber rattlers. The Mini-Mag worked well for me too. I removed the head of the Mini-mag to have an area light for reading during the very early morning hours while my sig other slept. I used a green 12 hr light stick taped to my truck's antenna to mark my truck in the parking lot at Lowe's Motor Speedway -making the truck very easy to find in the dark among thousands of other vehicles. The Traser glowring (from Bagheera) was worth it's weight in gold. Attached to my keyring, it made it very easy to find my keys, Photon, and SAK in total darkness. The CMG was utterly useless during this trip.
The CMG did not put out enough light to sufficiently light a path or read by and could not sufficiently light up even the area of a small motel room.
Southern heat became a problem for our thick northern climate acclimated blood, causing a number of problems requiring action. The water seemed to disagree with our systems, forcing us to break out the First Aid kit in search of Immodium - thank god we had the forsight to stock some. We used bottled water and Gatorade afterwords - hind sight being 20-20 again. Wet bandanas and a washcloth borrowed from a hotel room provided cooling comfort for my folicly challenged head. The 33SPF Dermatone sunscreen also proved worth it's weight in gold. Clear-Eyes eye drops provided relief from long hours in the sun and from track dust/debris.
Speaking of the First Aid Kit - it may have been a life saver. A friend was stung by some red ants and suffered an allergic reaction. The Sawyer Sting Relief Pads offered some comfort from the bites, but the Benedryl may have saved her life. She had to be hospitalized the reaction was so bad.
Another well used piece of equipment was my US GI canteen/cup/stove and trioxane fuel tabs. The trip totalled about 2100 miles driving, as we did some touring of Civil War battlefields on the way home. The weather was turning colder and the canteen combo provided some great coffee and soup to accompany our lunches.
Some pieces to give honorable mention to include my compass, binocs, notebook, and pen. The small Brunton compass worked great on the battlefields to orient ourselves to troop movements and positions. It also came in handy a couple times on the road when my sig other (navigator) became Dan'l Boone style bewildered in the mountains of Virginia/West Virginia/Virginia/West Virginia/Virginia/West Virginia. LOL. Of the 3 sets of small binocs I own, only my Minolta's were capable of focusing through my developing asstigmatism (it sucks to get older.) The notebook and pen provided the notes I'm transribing for you here.
Some great personal discoveries from the trip - Goody's Headache Powders and Grits. I also discovered it pays to do field assessments of your gear selection at every opportunity you can sieze.
PS - During the trip, I acquired two more SAKs - a camo Tinker ($12.50 closeout) and a locking blade Trailmaster ($20.00 closeout). Did I ever mention the fact I like SAKs?
------------------
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
[This message has been edited by sgtmike88 (edited 06-02-2001).]
[This message has been edited by sgtmike88 (edited 06-02-2001).]
They have biscuits and gravy. . . Mushroom gravy 
