Photos Blades on Hikes

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Visiting sandhill cranes at Consumnes Preserve in Galt, CA with the Vic Farmer.
EDIT: to add Sandhill Cranes
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Ended up making it out this week after all. I hit a spot called Franklin Falls, in the North Bend Snoqualmie area along the Snoqualmie River. In the summer this is an easy 4 mile or so hike, but since they close the Forest Service Road in the winter, a good 5 miles in the snow are added, making it clock in around 9 miles total. Despite the cold it felt great to get out in wilderness!

I didn't want to fool with the camera in the elements and with gloves on, so only phone pics this time (luckily Sony phones have a dedicated camera button on the side that launches straight into camera mode).

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Ran into this little feller. We chatted about knives for a bit, and he was gracious enough to do a pocket check for the camera

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Took a quick hike today around some of the "off-trail" trails in the Big Creek Reservation (Cleveland Metroparks) with my new Auto Adamas.

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Even though the skies were overcast, there was a slight drizzle, and everything was either damp or soggy, it was still an enjoyable hike.

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The biggest disappointment for me was the amount of trash I noticed all over the trail. It's really got me thinking that I should be bringing a bag of some kind with me on hikes to collect refuse and help keep our parks clean.

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So I ask my fellow hikers and nature enjoyers, do you have a system for picking up trash? Do you keep a simple plastic bag in a pocket or do you wear something on your belt to keep your hands free?

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I had a scare yesterday after getting home. I forgot where I set down my Vic Farmer, started wondering if I had left it on that post at the trailhead. Went from sadness (I loved that knife) to realizing the silver lining (I get to buy another SAK) to happiness (found it :)). If I keep this up, I'm sure I will end up leaving a knife on the trail. Someone can then have their Hatchet Jack moment, which isn't all bad, I suppose.
 
dogstar said:
I had a scare yesterday after getting home. I forgot where I set down my Vic Farmer, started wondering if I had left it on that post at the trailhead. Went from sadness (I loved that knife) to realizing the silver lining (I get to buy another SAK) to happiness (found it :)). If I keep this up, I'm sure I will end up leaving a knife on the trail. Someone can then have their Hatchet Jack moment, which isn't all bad, I suppose.
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I feel ya man. I've posted about this before, so I'll do my best (and likely fail) to keep the long story short, but I had a similar scare a couple of years back.

It was actually on the same trail I just posted about, except for in the summer. We were camping nearby, and I woke up early and decided to hit that trail while I had the entire thing to myself. On the way back, I stopped to soak in the scenery down by the river, and sat down on a log. While I was there I took my knife (Hinderer Jurassic) out and stuck it in the log for a quick pic. I stayed there for a while, just enjoying the place, and when I stood up I heard "KEPLUK!".

It was my phone, it had fallen right out of my pocket into the river. I frantically set all my stuff down on the rocks and started trying to locate it, luckily finding it in the rocks just down river, and luckily it's waterproof (another shout-out to Sony phones). Then I decide it's time to get back to camp, so I gather up the stuff I had set down, do a quick pocket check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything and....MY JURASSIC WAS MISSING!!!

I searched and searched. Did it fall out of my pocket when my phone fell? Did I set it on the rocks and now it's blending in? I was at a loss. Finally, after about a half an hour I sat back down on the log, dejected, coming to terms with the fact that I had lost one of my best knives. Then, I happen to look over next to me on the log, and what do I see...




(this is the exact pic from that time)
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I can only imagine someone coming by and finding it right there stuck in a log. Or better yet, coming across me while I was frantically searching for it, asking me what I was looking for, only to see a big knife stuck in a log right next to me 🤣 🤣 🤣

Anyhow, this experience was one of the things that led me towards my preference for brightly colored knives ;)
 
Knives&Lint said:
Anyhow, this experience was one of the things that led me towards my preference for brightly colored knives ;)
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Certainly can see where the gray tone of your Jarassic would blend in and get lost. Although a couple of your brighter colored one blend in with the color of some lakes you photograph. Glad you found your knife
 
dogstar said:
I agree that trekking poles are better than single poles for making the miles easier on your body. However, the single staff is not without its merits. A walking staff is as old as time. I made mine out of a replacement broomstick from the hardware store; it weighs 9.3 oz. That is carbon fiber territory. You can snap it over your knee, but for its intended purpose, it is plenty strong. There are no locking joints to break. As a solid piece of wood, I don't worry about whacking aside branches encroaching on the trail. I use mine to set up a tarp as well.

In terms of physical benefits, you still can engage your upper body to push yourself along. I regularly switch sides unless one leg is more fatigued or injured. It also keeps my hands from getting numb on a long hike because they are holding onto something. You can place your hand anywhere along the staff to adjust for uphill and downhill. You can also change the cadence of your plant, from the natural 1-2-3-4, to 1-2-3, or 1-2. I increase the cadence as the hill gets steeper. For really steep hills I use both hands and "paddle" myself uphill. It's amazing how much push you can get. If you are really bored, you can see what I'm talking about here:
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I love my trekking poles. They're good for balancing, held out to the side, when walking on logs. It gives you a lot more confidence when crossing over a drop or (like below) when you just want to give your feet a break from pushing through the baby boulders on a very rocky beach. They give me a lot more speed if I want it, especially up hill, and make descents safer. Where the carbon fiber poles don't stack up to a heavier walking stick is if you need to ward off a predator or arrest a fall. Unless you're about to fall off a cliff, you have to let go of your trekking pole to stop from breaking it and just make a good landing (on your pack is generally your safest option).

The other thing trekking poles do is give me something to do with my hands. If you've carried a rifle in the wilderness for a long time, either in the military or hunting, it just feels unnatural and awkward to having nothing in your hands when you're in the woods. That and it keeps your shoulders from stiffening up, when your arms are just hanging there all day, while carrying a pack. It was either trekking poles or shuffling a deck of cards and the poles are a lot more useful. On the subject of knives, in this photo, my Spyderco Walker is in the right pouch (referred to as the 'office' in the book: The Complete Walker) on my hip for easy access. I usually separated the contents of the two hip pouches by: tools and safety in the right pouch; health and welfare (food on the go) in the left pouch.

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I've been following this thread with great pleasure. But help me out here: over five decades of hiking, walking, strolling...while in possession of a knife at the same time as some photographic contraption, not  once did I take a "knife picture." It simply never occurred to me. What's wrong with me?
 
TC said:
I've been following this thread with great pleasure. But help me out here: over five decades of hiking, walking, strolling...while in possession of a knife at the same time as some photographic contraption, not  once did I take a "knife picture." It simply never occurred to me. What's wrong with me?
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I have many, many knives that their only use they have got on them is pic props!!! 😄
John :)
 
TC said:
I've been following this thread with great pleasure. But help me out here: over five decades of hiking, walking, strolling...while in possession of a knife at the same time as some photographic contraption, not  once did I take a "knife picture." It simply never occurred to me. What's wrong with me?
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I know the feeling. Knives were either being used or being stowed. They weren't the subject of any pictures. That was all left for the people, camps, and settings. A lot of the time on a multi-day hike, camp routines had to be done before there was any thought of photography and by then it was sometimes dark depending on the time of year. This is apparently why I don't have an Instagram account...
 
TC said:
I've been following this thread with great pleasure. But help me out here: over five decades of hiking, walking, strolling...while in possession of a knife at the same time as some photographic contraption, not  once did I take a "knife picture." It simply never occurred to me. What's wrong with me?
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No problem 👍. Sharing photos of mundane things is just the way social media works. Nowadays, I always have a knife and phone with me, so why not? If this thread motivates someone to venture out with their favorite knife, that is wonderful.

Other than for cooking and opening the odd package, my knives are for adventures in the great outdoors, either for real, or more often, as a fantasy. This thread just fuels the fire, which is a good thing.
 
TC said:
I've been following this thread with great pleasure. But help me out here: over five decades of hiking, walking, strolling...while in possession of a knife at the same time as some photographic contraption, not  once did I take a "knife picture." It simply never occurred to me. What's wrong with me?
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A reasonable position, one shared by 99.999999% percent of the population. I'm not really sure why I take knife pics, it's just something I feel compelled to do. I don't really do much social media either. I reckon it's just an extension of playing with knives. All in all though, it really makes up for a rather small fraction of my time out there, and even of my photography. I take many more pictures of just the natural surroundings and of family when they accompany me. I've thought about it before, and I don't want my kids to go through my photos when I'm gone see pictures of just stuff, and want them to realize that it's people and experiences that I value most. I'd definitely say that the more people that go out with me the less knife pics I take. Alot of times when I'm alone though, especially when I hike for hours up to these lakes, I spend a good hour or two hanging out up there. I'll explore around the lake, gather berries, have a snack (or breakfast), take a cold plunge in the water, dry off in the sun, just hang out; and inevitably take a knife out to fool with, and play around and snap some pics.
 
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