Once in a blue moon...outfitting for a new century

Codger 64, I am inspired and perhaps I can help you out. I can't give away a tent, but I'd be willing to provide you with a loner. I really enjoy the wisdom you bring to the boards and get a feeling of great character when I read your words. I'm going to be in the Desert come Jan and won't need a tent where I'm going. Going to do some research in the UAE.

Anyway, here are two tents that I have. Unfortunately both are bright colors, but they are bullet proof. The nunatuk is a four season, expedition tent that can fit 3 comfortably. It sheds snow like nothing and was designed for hard use. Its problem is weight at 4.8 kg.

DSC_0001.jpg


This is the specs: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442538331&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302702873&bmUID=1191813162754

The second is a lighter 3 season tent at 2.8 kg. The Tarn-3 is still pretty good at snow shedding, it just doesn't do quite as well in the wind.

P5190081.jpg


and its specs
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442537451&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302702837&bmUID=1191813038391

Send me an email.

Sincerely,
Ken
 
Here is the tent I bought under similiar circumstances:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/s...6&storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1

It is as light as you get w/out going to a summer or a single wall tent. I bought it when I was planning on spending several hundred on a tent, but could not find the features I wanted in one tent.

It meets all your criteria, I think, which sound similiar to mine. Take a look. It can button up real tight to stay warm. If there is a downside, it is that there is not much way to see out w/ it all zipped closed. Only got it 8-10 mos. ago, but have had it on 4 trips. Used it twice, but no downpours in use, so cannot comment on that. Did buy seamseal at the same time, just never got a round tuit.

Not too spendy if you don't get a loaner from someone. Have fun planning your trip.
 
Great photos Codger. The big rocky cliff in the first pic looks like some of the limestone we have near us in New Zealand. I love the stuff.... and there is always the chance of finding an interesting cave nearby.
 
"One huge advantage of winter camping from a canoe instead of humping a load on your back. "

Codger, the great thing about winter camping in Canada is the fact that you can load the equivalent kit in a pulk and shoe or ski to paradise. Plus no bugs.
 
Codger,

REI rents tents and other gear. Perhaps this will work for you. Here is a link.

-- FLIX
 
Codger, the great thing about winter camping in Canada is the fact that you can load the equivalent kit in a pulk and shoe or ski to paradise. Plus no bugs
Click to expand...
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no poison ivy, no crowds, no bears, no rain, no noise, no snakes...:thumbup:
 
Wow! Whatta response! OK, I am making a list of recommended tents and links in MS Word to check them all out. And I've never experienced such a show of generosity as from you guys on the tents. Ive recieved offers of loaners left and right! Tempting, yes. But I have this thing about not borrowing tools and equipment. Hmmm... how to explain... Well, I am a week into my trip and a blackie decides to investigate my tent. She gets her head stuck in the door and goes to war on the tent. I come back from my hike to find the gravel bar littered with little pieces of green silnylon and gear. Now, being tentless is no biggie. I just have to use my alternate shelters and river cane and I am golden. But I now owe someone a new tent. ANd after buying the replacement tent and sending it to it's owner with a red-faced apology, I still don't have a tent of my own. Again, guys. The offers are appreciated more than you can ever know. But I was joking about being given a tent.

Brians, snow here is not entirely uncommon, but it is wildly unpredictable. And when it comes, there is no pack, no season long coverage. Besides, for me, even pulling a sled any distance is not doable. At risk of sounding like Bear Gorillas, I have an old spinal injury which limits certain motions like carrying or pulling. I don't say this for sympathy. Ain't going there. Just so folks understand that some of us oldsters have physical limitations that prevent us from doing activities that young fellows, and some oldsters, can take for granted that everyone can do. So we make "work-arounds". My choice of river has no portages but to load and unload the canoe from the vehicle.

Now. One email I received was from a fellow not far from me interested in the hiking trails around the Buffalo River. SOme great trails through some beautiful country. As mentioned above, I no longer backpack. But I used to. And the trail along Richland Creek was nice though undeveloped back then. Since those days, dedicated nature lovers and hikers have worked like beavers to build and maintain an active, quality trail system in Northwest Arkansas. Pam Ernst is one of those people. Her husband Tim Ernst is a renowned nature photographer and they live in a secluded log home on a mountain overlooking the Buffalo headwaters. They call their home "Cloudland".

This is Tim's journal and photograpy website:

http://www.cloudland.net/currentjournal.html

Here is a link to Tim's Arkansas Trails guidebook:

http://store.cloudland.net/merchant.ihtml?pid=1&step=4

ANd one to the National Parks site on the BNR Park:

http://www.nps.gov/buff/

This is a site about hiking in the Ozarks.. info here on the Buffalo trails:

http://www.ozarkmountains.org/hiking.htm

This is Lost Valley mentioned earlier.

http://www.ozarkmountains.org/lv.htm

The lady who invented the Kewpie doll mentioned earlier lived, I believe, in Hemmed-in-Hollow downstream. This is where the 204 foot waterfall is.

http://backpacker.trimbleoutdoors.com/viewTrip.aspx?tripId=31418

Map downloads of the Buffalo River drainage:

http://www.harrisonarkansas.org/hiking.htm

And one Ernst photo to enjoy:



http://www.cloudland.net/photogalleries/BuffaloDreamsGallery/index.htm

More later... off to the hospital for daughter's operation. Hope you enjoy these.

Codger (Michael to my friends)
 
mewolf1 said:
.

no poison ivy, no crowds, no bears, no rain, no noise, no snakes...:thumbup:
Click to expand...


Hey mewolf,
What do you mean no poison ivy or bears? Canada has Polar Bears and you can get poison ivy from the vine even in winter. True, there are no leaves, so it's harder to come in contact with the toxicodendrol. And as far as no noise, most Canadian guys are married. :rolleyes:

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA;4958902]Hey mewolf,
What do you mean no poison ivy or bears? Canada has Polar Bears
Click to expand...
That answers the age old question of where a bear craps.:p:D
And as far as no noise, most Canadian guys are married. :rolleyes:

Doc
Click to expand...

All the more reason to go winter camping.;)
 
I took my ex on one of my winter sojurns once. Yes, bears will crap in the woods, but not every wife will. I learned an important lesson on that trip.

Very few bugs are out in NW Arkansas in late December and January. And poison ivy and oak, and sumac arent a big deal. You learn not to grab Hercules club for handholds when climbing, and not to gather locust for fires. Snakes seem to pretend the area is Ireland in winter. If... you don't step in a nest of them in a cave or mine. I have run across hillsides covered with rattlers in the spring and summer though. But they aren't as aggressive as those snakes on a plane.

Codger
 
Codger_64 said:
Yes, bears will crap in the woods, but not every wife will. I learned an important lesson on that trip.
Click to expand...

LOL - ain't that the truth! That is always the first question when the topic of camping trip is broached - 'What kind of toilets are there?'
 
Yup, women can be the caty-est, but refuse to use cat holes. Oh, not all of them mind you. Some I have known were as at home in the wilds as I. And developed their own habits and techniques to deal with...nature and it's call.
 
Thanks Clint! You know, I first looked at a few Baker style tents on the market. None really fit the bill. But I had frogotten all about the Whelen tent. It is an improvement over the Baker. The price of that one isn't bad either. How did you know that would appeal to a ... codger? :D

Guys, friends... there is no "off the reservation" here. This is an open conversational discussion and I value your input... ideas and opinions. All of them.

Codger
 
CODGER 64 - "Good to hear from someone who knows the Buffalo RIver Country. Was the Aunt Margret Hedges? "


Nope, Nell P. Wright, from Mtn. Home. That's where I grew up. Also knjow the Rush area well. Interesting places down in that country.

Best of luck.

L.W.
 
You know Codger i think you are doing the wrong thing by telling everyone on here where you are going. You dont know what wrong person would read it and you dont know what might happen to you out there.











Look at this way.. Everyone on here would love to go there with you me including... Most of us are too far away and some of us cant get away from work.. some of us both Again me including... But if you play by the # you would see that some on here can get away from work and its never far enough for a drive. SO here you are minding your own.. There infront of you about 20 canoes pulling into shore. With those guys knifes hanging from there necks tent food and beer. They all join you sitting by YOUR fire. You can just emagine all the talk about knifes axes steaks cooking on the fire dogs running around... O.k some of those dogs might be better then the guy that did bring them over. There goes your peace and quiet. LOL Yea wish i could be on that river never done winter camping my self. I promise not to bring lots of knifes and and shut up. My better half wont be comming (its my pup ) he died 13 years ago.

Sasha
 
Sasha, if it turned into a group outing with some of the great folks I've met on here, it wouldn't bother me a bit. Besides, with boatloads or food, beer and knives, I won't even have to strap on my running shoes to get away from the bear! :D

Nah, Ive met some memorable people on that river. Ray was one, an aged Apache Indian who lived in National Parks with his black Lab Nadjia and made great pruno. He was a hoot.

This river has been where my "center" lies for most of my life. It looks like an amusement park for most of the spring and summer. But with the onset of cold weather, it is pretty well left to itself. I certainly don't mind sharing it with a few like souls. I don't need them for my own safety. I am comfortable with my own abilities and knowledge. But some of the best memories are indeed shared ones. Besides, I can bring my share of sharp pointy objects. :thumbup:

Codger

PS- I must say again, this is the upper mid-south. Winter would not be recognizable to a Canadian. Yes, ice cicles hanging from tall bluffs, an occasional snowstorm or ice storm. Once the river froze over and I had to sit in the bow bouncing to break the ice in front of me, then wait while the ice cleared the rapids. It sounded for all the world like a hundred panes of glass breaking as the sound reverberated off the bluffs. You don't want to know about all the wildlife.
 
From one old codger to another, good luck to you, buddy. Sounds like a great trip you have planned. About all I know about the Buffalo River is what I've seen from the road in a couple of places once, but I sure did like what I saw. I'm envious! Have a good time! :D
 
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