overnighter with Andrew7978

S

siguy

Joined
Aug 26, 2006
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[sorry for the bad photos...i don't know why they almost all came out blurry!)

yesterday early afternoon, Andrew showed up and we met, and then headed up into the woods behind my house for an overnighter. it was chilly, but we wouldn't let that stop us! :thumbup:

we set up camp and got a small pile of firewood together, and then headed up to the top of the small mountain...
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we took a bit of a detour coming back down :rolleyes: but we made it okay. neither of us had a PSK on us, just knives and firestarters. on the way back down, Andrew and i collected some Cedar bark and some Birch bark, he stuck it in a baggie that he had handy.

when we finally got back to our campsite, we kept getting ready for the night by gathering some more pine limbs for our beds as well as getting ready to start the fire.
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we were lucky in that we made our camp right next to a pile of dead pine trees, so we would have wood handy all night. :thumbup:

we got the fire going with no trouble, using the tinder that we had collected and my firesteel (only one strike! :eek: ) as well as a bunch of fine pine twigs.

we tried to build the fire up some, but we couldn't really get anything bigger than about thumb-sized to burn. anything bigger would just sort of smoulder... :(
 
so we spent a few hours walking around collecting twigs to keep the fire going, standing next to the fire and talking about different things.
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at around 6:30-7:00 ish, we had dinner...a package of stovetop rice made with water boiled in my coffee can billy. we divided it up between us...i should have brought two packages, but we were alright. Andrew made up some cocoa in his new nalgene nesting cup, and we enjoyed that.

we spent a few more hours sitting next to the fire, keeping it fed with twigs. we started gearing up for bed, as the temp kept dropping. Andrew hunted up a few smallish rocks (surprisingly hard to find in the snow in these woods...he found some in a rainy-weather stream bed). we carefully heated them up, with wood on top in case of an explosion. we also boiled water to use for warmth. i used my 1182ml (40 oz) Kleen Kanteen and Andrew used his nalgene cup.
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once the rocks had cooled enough to take to bed (we both started out using our cups as rock holders) and the water was safely in its containers, we both retired.

Andrew was using a 40 degree (F) bag with a pine bough bed underneath, with his tent's footprint as a tarp overhead. i was using an army style poncho for a roof, with a pine bough bed topped with a fleece airline blanket. i used a double long (two safety-pinned together) fleece blanket and a space blanket on top. i don't know if the space blanket helped at all, but i used it anyways. when i woke up, the condensation from the moisture coming off my body had iced up on it.
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we both slept surprisingly well, but i woke up at about 2 (am) ish to reheat my rocks and water. the fire had totally gone out, the embers weren't enough to light some kindling, so i used a fatwood toothpick and my Bic lighter to get a bundle of kindling (set aside before bed) going. i got the fire going strong, and Andrew woke up. we re-heated our water and rocks and got back into bed at about 3:30.

this time i used a cheap camp towel to wrap up one of my rocks, and held it against my chest. i used the water bottle and the other rock at my feet (wrapped in two pairs of wool/nylon socks). at one point i woke up shivering slightly, and moved my rock against my sternum, and i immediatly stopped shivering...pretty interesting i think.

the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. i woke up at about 6:30 and started the fire again, and boiled some water for a cup of cocoa. Andrew woke up and we sat by the fire for a while, i melted a pair of wool/synthetic socks warming my toes, then we broke down camp.
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we started burning our beds, but we were afraid that the signal fire might worry firefighters, so we scattered the rest. once the weather warms up (in the spring) all the needles will fall off the branches and they will blend into the forest floor nicely.
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a video to give you a better idea of the camp setup:
[youtube]bACgAVZ53CE[/youtube]

overall, it was a surprisingly comfortable night and it was nice meeting another great BF member, and sharing a camp with him.

i'm excited to get my new sleeping bag, because the blanket was tough to keep sealed around my body in the back.

this was the first time i tried out my new Cold Steel shovel on a trip, and i must say i'm rather pleased with it. i just got it the other day, and brought it along just in case. it did a good job of digging out a shallow fire pit, as well as smashing the dry limbs from the bases of pine trees. it also worked well to snap the green pine limbs that would be our beds. i used it to fan the fire and move around coals. it hammered my stakes and i suppose it could be a frying pan, but i would be afraid of hurting the temper. i left the edges with the "working edge" that they come with, but it still smashed and dug fine. i don't think this is the sort of tool that i would take on every trip, but for the more primitive trips or for a longer term camp, i think it would be handy.
 
Simon, great pics and report. You guys had that fire really smoking!!!!! Looks like your KK is no stranger to the coals. I love seeing gear actually being used. Good stuff, thanks for sharing!!

Anyone know if water freezes or thaws faster in a stainless bottle or Nalgene?
 
J, thanks! i had ice forming the threads of the KK as well as the nalgene, so i think they are probably about equal. i think that the steel might have a lower specific heat than the plastic, but i'm not really sure. that means that the metal would get hot faster and cold faster than the plastic, but it will end up the same temp in the end.
 
Nice trip report Simon. Looks like a great time, and you always learn something about your gear.

j williams said:
Anyone know if water freezes or thaws faster in a stainless bottle or Nalgene?
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Hey j,

In my recent thread about winter camping, I had good luck with my 40oz kleen kanteen in the same "fridge" with nalgene's. Nothing scientific, but it seemed to work fine. I will continue to experiment until I find out more. In other words, I won't leave the kk behind.

B
 
Excellent report and really nice photos/video of your set up. That army poncho looks like it provides a lot of coverage, more so than I would expect. Sounds like you have the hot rock technique down pat now!
 
Great report Simon. Looks like a good time.
I learn something every time you post.
Thanks
 
thanks for the comments guys, they are appreciated :o

KGD; this is my first time using this one. i bought it recently to replace one that i got at the local sporting goods store that is too small for me (both when wearing and when used as a shelter). it is pretty big, plenty for when rain isn't expected. if the forecast is for rough weather though, i would definitely bring a larger tarp. i'm thinking a 10x10 silnylon would be good for rainy weather. then you would have plenty of lounging room inside. :thumbup:

i am pretty happy with this new poncho though, it seems to be working well :thumbup:
 
Nice report Simon, I was looking through my pictures and none of them are too good and most are just duplicates of yours so there is probably no point in posting them.

Overall it was an awesome night. I think I learned a lot about my gear and what sort of weather limits I can put up with. Despite it being in the single digits (F), as long as you prepare well it can make for a comfortable night.

Some things I learned:

- Make sure you have a least two containers for boiling water, one for food and one for drinking. This just makes it easier as things are hard to clean in the woods, especially in the dark.

- Stretch out your neck every once in a while. We ended up just standing around the fire and I was always looking down at it, which made my neck kind of sore.

- A solid layer of evergreen bedding is essential to prevent heat loss from the ground. My points of contact with the ground were not anymore cold then the rest of me. Also, make sure your evergreen bedding is wider than you are. I ended up shifting around a few times and rolled off of it while sleeping. This caused me to wake up cold until I shifted back onto the bedding.

- The hot rocks and hot water, while a luxury, really warm your whole body (I used only two small rocks) and help you fall asleep. I held them in my hands with thin gloves until they cooled enough to put them in my shirt. I found in my shirt helped to keep me the warmest. I put the water bottle at my feet to keep my toes warm.

-Figure out how to set up your tent before you go. This was first time I tarp tented and since I used my tent footprint, it didn't have grommets on all sides. It took a few tries, but with Simon's help we got it set up pretty nicely.

-Doing things really warms you up as opposed to just standing around a fire. It also gets your mind off of how cold you are.

-It really helps to have someone to talk to. It keeps you focused and not thinking about the cold.

-Staying close to Simon's house was a nice reassurance in case we got too cold.

-Despite how much it may suck to get out of bed at night, it was worth it to warm up my rocks again.

Simon was the first blade forums member I met up with and I had a blast. Cold weather camping is quite an experience, you need to pack a lot of extra gear and be prepared, but I recommend everyone tries it.

Oh and my stainless steel nested cup worked quite well. It was the first time I used it and was very happy with it. It boils a lot faster with a lid on. I borrowed one that Simon had made. The cup cleans up really nicely with some stainless steel cleaner. I never pulled off the price tag from the bottom of the cup and despite being put on hot coals, in a fire, and being cleaned, the label is 100% readable. Strange how tough those things are.
 
Andrew, I know that sleeping bag ratings need to be taken with a grain of salt, but how warm were you in that 40*F bag? You're a braver man than me. I'd probably use something closer to 0*F for winter trips.
 
it was a fun time, even with the cold. i think that once i get a sleeping bag i will be alot more comfortable, because it will be wrapped all the way around me. it should also be about the same weight, so it won't drag me down.

Andrew, it was fun hanging out and just sitting by the fire.

psychologically...it is so much easier to enjoy the long dark hours in the woods if you have someone else to talk to, as well as share the tasks like gathering firewood and cooking with.

by the way, i just tried out some of this magical cleaner, it worked great!
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Thanks for the cool write-up and pics guys! Looks like a trip that had a lot to teach. Doing it 'right' in cold weather certainly requires more tricks. I'm impressed that you were able to stay warm with the fleece, though. :eek:
 
Great trip report fellas, I went out for a lil yesterday and with the wind gusts it made 16 degrees feel like 0 degrees.

I am curious about the fire, did you not want a big fire?
 
PB Wilson said:
Andrew, I know that sleeping bag ratings need to be taken with a grain of salt, but how warm were you in that 40*F bag? You're a braver man than me. I'd probably use something closer to 0*F for winter trips.
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I was pretty comfortable actually. But I think the key to this was being prepared. I had a nice bedding of evergreens and I slept in a bunch of layers of clothes, a hat, and gloves. When I shifted off the evergreens, I was a little cold due to heat loss through the ground.

The hot rocks and hot water gave me that extra level of comfort, but I think the bag definately did a good job and was suitable for the temperature, despite its rating. Although I wouldn't have minded having a warmer bag so I could sleep in less layers and not have to heat rocks.
 
spooky, to tell you the truth, i'm a bit impressed too! :o the hot rocks and water really make a huge difference. i was afraid i would have to resort to huddling by the fire with my space blanket all night, but it turned out i was pretty comfy.

Tony, there were some somewhat low boughs overhead, and we didn't want to have to spend all night fetching fuel, so we kept the fire small and sat close. we also couldn't get larger pieces of wood to light, so our fire was fed entirely with peices of wood the size of my thumb (in thickness) or smaller...there were no logs that would catch.
 
Simon, since you posted a pic of your cleaned canteen, I figured I would too:

Here is what I used to clean my stainless steel cup. It was pretty much completely blackened after boiling water in it 4 times. I'm sure any stainless steel cleaner would work well, so I am not necessarily recommending this brand, although a price tag at the top says only $1.59 (must be because it's been sitting under the sink for about 15 years)

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Amazingly the label on the bottom of the cup remained perfectly intact.

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