There is not much forest in TN that are "truly untouched", and if you do find it you want to leave it as close to that as possible.
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Minimalist camping without a fixed blade
- Thread starter kalan850
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Sure, there's the occasional hunter, but not much you can do about that. We have a 300 acre spread out in the middle of nowhere though, which is fantastic. Locals stay off it, and when I go up there, the wildlife is always plentiful.
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Heya Carl. Great question.
The aplinist and the woodsman are the same in that they both rely on their equipment and their skill to stay alive. Tools and technique are both critical.
My daughter is learning to rock climb and as a part of that process and in a controlled environment, she learning how to fall off the rock and to rely on the ropes and her belayer and also to react to the fall and to swing back towards the rock. Related, you may recall that Yvonne Chouinard was forced to sell Chouinard Equipment to his employees, thereby creating Black Diamond Equipment due to a wrongful death lawsuit involving a climber who secured his Chouinard climbing harness incorrectly, fell and then fell out of his harness.
From the alpinist point of view, the adjective "survival" associated with any piece of equipment is redundant because pretty much everything in the minimalist kit is about survival. When I hike above treeline my survival mitts have survival wrist cords, because taking a mitt and loosing it in 40mph (or more) winds can be lethal.
The LNT approach to travel below treeline is the same.
Here is a shot of my gear on a trip a while back in October. 25-35F, moderate winds and rain/snow mix.
IMG_1618 by Pinnah, on Flickr
I need to run to work right now and will come back and provide more detailed later about how I bet my life on my survival tarp, survival stove, survival sleep system and survival clothing system, just as a woodsman may rely on a survival knife.
Just out of curiosity, what is the platform you are set up on? Is that a hunting tree stand?
stabman
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I find it odd that literally the only time anyone ever tries to make me feel bad about using a knife outdoors is on a knife forum. 
Seriously.
There have been times I was talking to someone and they asked "Why would you have a knife or machete for camping?", and once I explained what I did, they said, "Oh, that makes sense. Sounds like fun!"
So people who don't use a knife themselves don't judge me, but supposed knife-enthusiasts do...weird.
Seriously.
There have been times I was talking to someone and they asked "Why would you have a knife or machete for camping?", and once I explained what I did, they said, "Oh, that makes sense. Sounds like fun!"
So people who don't use a knife themselves don't judge me, but supposed knife-enthusiasts do...weird.
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I find it odd that literally the only time anyone ever tries to make me feel bad about using a knife outdoors is on a knife forum.
Seriously.
There have been times I was talking to someone and they asked "Why would you have a knife or machete for camping?", and once I explained what I did, they said, "Oh, that makes sense. Sounds like fun!"
So people who don't use a knife themselves don't judge me, but supposed knife-enthusiasts do...weird.
Indeed, some people think they know everything. Hell if people want to go truly minimalist then ditch your clothes and shoes as well.
The whole I don't take a fixed blade camping crowd on a KNIFE FORUM just makes me chuckle.
stabman
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Indeed.
I don't judge those who stick to trails.
I find it dull, and do not go, but they are a valid path to enjoyment for some.
I don't judge those who drive a nice car or truck filled with expensive equipment to an exclusive spot I never heard of; at least they're enjoying their money.
In short, I don't judge those who do things differently than me. Heck, I don't even judge those who do things I feel are really unwise.
Until they decide to dictate to me what I should be doing, or proclaiming how their way makes them more awesome.
stabman
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True. Lol
Still likely not "truly untouched". Very little such space left east of the Mississippi, particularly in the southeast. If it is found, unless those traversing it or sitting on it try to leave no trace and make no impact, it certainly won't be "untouched" or appear that way for long.
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stabman
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Yeah...this.
For example, REI defines a minimalist camper as someone who carries a pack weight of 12 pounds or less, and someone who carries between 12 and 20 pounds as an ultralight camper.
http://gearpatrol.com/2015/05/26/gui...alist-camping/
Seems many professed minimalist campers aren't actually, based on weight.
But at least I learned that I am an "ultra-light" camper.
Now I get to brag too.
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I get the idea that I have offended you in some way in my posts in this thread. The fact is there are PLENTY of places which are wild, unspoiled places left here in the Southeast, and elsewhere. If you don't personally know where they are, and haven't seen them, that's one thing. But to claim that there is "very little such space left" is...well, politely, it's uninformed.
Also, let's cease with the insinuations that it's only the minimalist ultra-light people who camp and leave no trace, ok? That is fallacious, and incorrect. If that's not what you're attempting to say, then I take that back. If you are of that viewpoint, then I don't know what to tell you.
If you have hiked somewhere, whether you had one pound or a hundred on your back, your footprints are on that ground. You've very much left a trace.
I find it odd that literally the only time anyone ever tries to make me feel bad about using a knife outdoors is on a knife forum.
Could you explain what anything the LNT crowd has said that makes you feel bad.
The only thing we've said is that fixed blades aren't needed for safe backcountry travel. For the life of me, I don't see how that could you or Quiet or Carl or anybody feel bad.
Seems to me that if there is any intolerance being expressed, it is by the pro-fixed blade crowd, some of whom (not you) insist that a fixed blade is required.
I'll concede that machetes (a fixed blade knife?) make some forms of camping easier. They certainly make travel through some terrain easier or even feasible in the case jungle like conditions.
But really, LNT techniques are utterly proven. Saying that doesn't force people to use them (although local regs might).
Its been a curious thread. There's something very deeply held by some fixed blade advocates that make hearing that their preferred camping tools and techniques aren't universally needed.
But, I suppose that if the pro-fix crowd had all taken your posture of "Fine, they aren't needed but they're fun and I like them so I carry them" approach then the thread would've ended in raging agreement on the 5th page.
stabman
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The new official term from now on will be Stabmanning.
It will no longer matter what you put in the bag, how expensive the bag is, or what terrain the bag ends up in.
Stabmanning is for everyone. :thumbup:
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You are incorrect, sorry. Your opinions do not constitute factual discourse. Please stop presenting your opinions as objective statements.
There appear to be some deeply held beliefs held by some that their way is the best way and all other ways are unnecessary.
stabman
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Although I don't feel bad about it, if I recall correctly, you were actually the very first person I encountered ever that got all judgemental about how I chose to enjoy the outdoors.
For a while, I was surprised if I made a thread with pictures of me outside where you didn't show up to espouse your views.
Didn't stop me from going outside, or take away from my enjoyment when there, but it did get tiresome online.
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Count me in! Wait, wait, can you write a book about it? I want to be able to hold it aloft as I use it as a cornerstone that my way is the right way and that other ways are unnecessary. Sign me up for the first copy.
stabman
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I actually might.
There will be sore disappointment if you want to use it to arbitrate the correct way to do things though, because the only way one can go about incorrectly Stabmanning is to die while doing so.
If you make it back alive, you did it right. :thumbup: