i headed out again yesterday afternoon for another sort of survival kit test trip, and again didn't make it through to the morning.
BUT, this one was very different from the other two...
when i went out at about 3:30 it was about 34 degrees F, big difference from last time. then, the high was about 25 degrees. when i came back in at about 1:30, the temp had got down to 27 degrees, which was warmer than the high of the last trips.
this time, when i went out at 3:30 and found a spot, i didn't feel rushed at all. i felt totally relaxed. like i was doing this on purpose or something
i took a quick video clip and scrabled down the rocks to a fallen pine tree, pulling out some branches and knots (fatwood) for a fire. i carried them back to camp. i found a couple of small cedar trees lying down so i took those to camp too. i got my fire going with a piece of cotton cord soaked in wax with pine twigs and branches. i used my fiskars 14" hatchet to pound some of the branches out of the tree and to section up the cedar into manageable pieces. i just stuck it in my cargo pocket and carried it around with me.
once i had my fire going i found some oak and started carving it into a spoon, but got bored with that quickly, so i ended up just sitting against a tree next to the fire for several hours. i was quite warm, so i opened up my jacket and relaxed.
still bored, i pulled out my saw and cut up all the firewood to length. unfortunately, this only took about 10 minutes. i noticed that i didn't really have a whole lot of wood, so i took my hatchet back to the oak (downed, rotted outside, rock hard inside) and dragged several good sized chunks back to my spot. sectioned these up.
relaxed by the fire for a while more. at about 7:00 i decided that i was going to have some nourishment since i was feeling a little hungry. i broke out the coffee can billy and a tea bag and a jar of peanut butter. i love peanut butter for the woods, since it is calorie dense (avg about 100 calories per tablespoon) and it is nice and sweet, something i miss in the woods.
a trick i figured out: when you want to make sure your pot is dry to prevent rust, stick it back in the fire to boil off any moisture left in it. it took me about 30 seconds with a good bed of coals. got the pot glowing red hot on the bottom too!
i finally dozed off around 9:30, but woke up at 10:00. i felt two or three snowflakes on my face, so i laid down (instead of sitting up against the tree) broke out the poncho and laid it over me. as an extra blanket. i was also wearing my airline blanket over my legs to keep the backs warm (the front of me was warmed by the fire). this worked incredibly well. a fleece blanket is a great piece of kit, and about 1/3 the weight of wool. i can't speak to how it retains warmth when wet or how it deals with sparks.
laid there for a while. at about 11:00 it started to snow for real, so i decided to sit up against the tree, wearing my poncho with my backpack between my knees. this kept me and my gear dry, and i was reasonable comfortable.
i dozed a little bit, and then i realized that i was running low on wood and wanted to kick the fire up nice and hot for more heat. i stuck my backpack under a small rock ledge to keep it dry (it was still snowing) and i stumbled back to the pine tree and gathered some more branches. tossed them on the fire and got it going pretty hot again.
sat next to it on the edge of a rock and dozed off again warming my feet. i woke up when i started to tip over to the side and fell on the ground (pretty funny looking back! just like in school...
). i realized my whole left leg was asleep so i stood up to get the blood back into it.
i decided then that i might as well come back to the house, since i had enjoyed my time in the woods and i had again learned a couple of things about my kit.
the woods this morning (edited to put in the right picture):
big lesson learned:
those instant heat packs don't work! i seem to remember using them in the past years ago and they got pretty hot. these ones didn't get about 60 or so degrees (guessing). they were basically luke warm. i put them in my shoes to warm my toes, but they didn't help at all. maybe i got a bad batch or something, but these didn't work at all.
the main difference between this outing and the past was that i felt totally comfortable and at home in the woods, vs the last times when i felt like i was in hostile territory or something...i felt like i was fighting the woods. this time i felt like i was much more in harmony with the woods. i think i was more nervous the last times, this time i felt like i belonged.
so i still haven't spent a night out with my basic gear, but i enjoyed myself alot this time.
BUT, this one was very different from the other two...
when i went out at about 3:30 it was about 34 degrees F, big difference from last time. then, the high was about 25 degrees. when i came back in at about 1:30, the temp had got down to 27 degrees, which was warmer than the high of the last trips.
this time, when i went out at 3:30 and found a spot, i didn't feel rushed at all. i felt totally relaxed. like i was doing this on purpose or something
i took a quick video clip and scrabled down the rocks to a fallen pine tree, pulling out some branches and knots (fatwood) for a fire. i carried them back to camp. i found a couple of small cedar trees lying down so i took those to camp too. i got my fire going with a piece of cotton cord soaked in wax with pine twigs and branches. i used my fiskars 14" hatchet to pound some of the branches out of the tree and to section up the cedar into manageable pieces. i just stuck it in my cargo pocket and carried it around with me.
once i had my fire going i found some oak and started carving it into a spoon, but got bored with that quickly, so i ended up just sitting against a tree next to the fire for several hours. i was quite warm, so i opened up my jacket and relaxed.
still bored, i pulled out my saw and cut up all the firewood to length. unfortunately, this only took about 10 minutes. i noticed that i didn't really have a whole lot of wood, so i took my hatchet back to the oak (downed, rotted outside, rock hard inside) and dragged several good sized chunks back to my spot. sectioned these up.
relaxed by the fire for a while more. at about 7:00 i decided that i was going to have some nourishment since i was feeling a little hungry. i broke out the coffee can billy and a tea bag and a jar of peanut butter. i love peanut butter for the woods, since it is calorie dense (avg about 100 calories per tablespoon) and it is nice and sweet, something i miss in the woods.
a trick i figured out: when you want to make sure your pot is dry to prevent rust, stick it back in the fire to boil off any moisture left in it. it took me about 30 seconds with a good bed of coals. got the pot glowing red hot on the bottom too!
i finally dozed off around 9:30, but woke up at 10:00. i felt two or three snowflakes on my face, so i laid down (instead of sitting up against the tree) broke out the poncho and laid it over me. as an extra blanket. i was also wearing my airline blanket over my legs to keep the backs warm (the front of me was warmed by the fire). this worked incredibly well. a fleece blanket is a great piece of kit, and about 1/3 the weight of wool. i can't speak to how it retains warmth when wet or how it deals with sparks.
laid there for a while. at about 11:00 it started to snow for real, so i decided to sit up against the tree, wearing my poncho with my backpack between my knees. this kept me and my gear dry, and i was reasonable comfortable.
i dozed a little bit, and then i realized that i was running low on wood and wanted to kick the fire up nice and hot for more heat. i stuck my backpack under a small rock ledge to keep it dry (it was still snowing) and i stumbled back to the pine tree and gathered some more branches. tossed them on the fire and got it going pretty hot again.
sat next to it on the edge of a rock and dozed off again warming my feet. i woke up when i started to tip over to the side and fell on the ground (pretty funny looking back! just like in school...
). i realized my whole left leg was asleep so i stood up to get the blood back into it.i decided then that i might as well come back to the house, since i had enjoyed my time in the woods and i had again learned a couple of things about my kit.
the woods this morning (edited to put in the right picture):
big lesson learned:
those instant heat packs don't work! i seem to remember using them in the past years ago and they got pretty hot. these ones didn't get about 60 or so degrees (guessing). they were basically luke warm. i put them in my shoes to warm my toes, but they didn't help at all. maybe i got a bad batch or something, but these didn't work at all.
the main difference between this outing and the past was that i felt totally comfortable and at home in the woods, vs the last times when i felt like i was in hostile territory or something...i felt like i was fighting the woods. this time i felt like i was much more in harmony with the woods. i think i was more nervous the last times, this time i felt like i belonged.
so i still haven't spent a night out with my basic gear, but i enjoyed myself alot this time.
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nights we have had.