Gossman Knives
Edged Toolmaker
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2004
- Messages
- 9,402
Looks like you are having a great trip. Thanks for sharing the pics. :thumbup:
Scott
Scott
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike this summer
- Thread starter tradja
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2008
- Messages
- 579
man that is some beautifull country. I think the mammoth section and the toulamne sections are my favorite. I spent a bit of time at the thousand island, clark lakes section. I also love the aloha lake section of desolation. dicks peak is a great place to hike to. I can't wait to see you guys in sept.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
Just checking in. We are in Etna, CA now, 2 days before Seiad Valley. Web access has been unavailable since Tahoe, but I found a wifi signal here so I can post from my iPod Touch. Hopefully I can get on a real PC tomorrow to do a full update and pics.
Short version: This section has been a real treat!
Short version: This section has been a real treat!
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
MILE 1606/2660.
ETNA, CA.
We finally found a semi-operational computer in NorCal! The hike is going great, and we've got a bunch of good photos for ya this time. I'd like to post pics that are of interest, so please feel free to let me know if this flavor/style/quantity is getting stale and a different genre/number of pics would be better. Less? More? Scenery, camp chores, camp setups, etc? At this point, I'm trying to focus on steel and everyday trail life.
We're starting to pick up the miles to make up time, trying to average 25 miles per day instead of our previous 20-22. We have a short-notice wedding to attend in mid-September, which will require that we leave the trail in central Washington for a few days, then return for the last 8 days of the hike to the Canadian border.
I picked up the Bark River Rising Wolf and the NWA Stinger at Sonora Pass and have been running them for the past month. Both knives have been great companions on the hike.
The Rising Wolf is proportioned like a larger Little Creek, a Bark River classic and one of my favorites. I was curious how the Rising Wolf would compare to the Mini Northstar, another of my favorites in this size range. Indeed, it has proven to be a sharp, capable midsize, handy in the neck sheath I pressed for it just before the hike. I like the gentle patina that the A2 has taken these past few hundred miles. The RW is mostly doing food prep duty, gear repair, splinter removal, town chores like packaging, and sharpening posts for our net bug house (pictured earlier). The convex edge is very easy to maintain in the field with a minimum of equipment (I carry a few sheets of 1500 and 200 grit wet/dry paper, and the paintstick mini field strop I made in the KnivesShipFree.com convex videos).
The NWA has simply been a pleasure. The handle is beefy and very well contoured. The O1 blade takes an extremely keen edge and Nick must be doing something right with the heat treat because the edge retention is outstanding. As you can see in the photos below, the sheath rides well, fits a fat firesteel, and is darn good looking to boot. I'm finding the Stinger to be a careful and well-balanced design, simultaneously beefy and nimble, pointy and robust. The two jimping zones (closeup and futherout) are a thoughtful touch that contributes to this and has been very natural in the hand. It's like carrying a big knife and a small knife at the same time. This is no easy feat and one that I appreciate. I've never done the firesteel-in-a-sheath thing, but I've found that it is very convenient for (carefully!) burning TP and lighting the alcohol stove each night. The Stinger is mostly rounding out the heavier duties, processing shelter poles from downed, seasoned wood but also finds its way into my hand at mealtime.
Near Tinker Knob in northern Tahoe:
Lupine and mule ears:
Yeah, it's cold, but 100% worth it on a dusty day:
NWA Stinger after prepping with Spam salad on Ritz:
Above Lakes Basin:
Finally got a decent underwater portrait of the NWA:
ETNA, CA.
We finally found a semi-operational computer in NorCal! The hike is going great, and we've got a bunch of good photos for ya this time. I'd like to post pics that are of interest, so please feel free to let me know if this flavor/style/quantity is getting stale and a different genre/number of pics would be better. Less? More? Scenery, camp chores, camp setups, etc? At this point, I'm trying to focus on steel and everyday trail life.
We're starting to pick up the miles to make up time, trying to average 25 miles per day instead of our previous 20-22. We have a short-notice wedding to attend in mid-September, which will require that we leave the trail in central Washington for a few days, then return for the last 8 days of the hike to the Canadian border.
I picked up the Bark River Rising Wolf and the NWA Stinger at Sonora Pass and have been running them for the past month. Both knives have been great companions on the hike.
The Rising Wolf is proportioned like a larger Little Creek, a Bark River classic and one of my favorites. I was curious how the Rising Wolf would compare to the Mini Northstar, another of my favorites in this size range. Indeed, it has proven to be a sharp, capable midsize, handy in the neck sheath I pressed for it just before the hike. I like the gentle patina that the A2 has taken these past few hundred miles. The RW is mostly doing food prep duty, gear repair, splinter removal, town chores like packaging, and sharpening posts for our net bug house (pictured earlier). The convex edge is very easy to maintain in the field with a minimum of equipment (I carry a few sheets of 1500 and 200 grit wet/dry paper, and the paintstick mini field strop I made in the KnivesShipFree.com convex videos).
The NWA has simply been a pleasure. The handle is beefy and very well contoured. The O1 blade takes an extremely keen edge and Nick must be doing something right with the heat treat because the edge retention is outstanding. As you can see in the photos below, the sheath rides well, fits a fat firesteel, and is darn good looking to boot. I'm finding the Stinger to be a careful and well-balanced design, simultaneously beefy and nimble, pointy and robust. The two jimping zones (closeup and futherout) are a thoughtful touch that contributes to this and has been very natural in the hand. It's like carrying a big knife and a small knife at the same time. This is no easy feat and one that I appreciate. I've never done the firesteel-in-a-sheath thing, but I've found that it is very convenient for (carefully!) burning TP and lighting the alcohol stove each night. The Stinger is mostly rounding out the heavier duties, processing shelter poles from downed, seasoned wood but also finds its way into my hand at mealtime.
Near Tinker Knob in northern Tahoe:
Lupine and mule ears:
Yeah, it's cold, but 100% worth it on a dusty day:
NWA Stinger after prepping with Spam salad on Ritz:
Above Lakes Basin:
Finally got a decent underwater portrait of the NWA:
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
Swipe's day to do the daily nav admin:
More trimming footbeds for a custom fit:
Descending to Belden, CA above the Middle Fork Feather River canyon:
Still collecting summer snow for water in dry stretches:
Swimming outside Burney Falls:
Stinger at Terminal Geyser in Lassen Volcanic National Park. I like the Vulcan/forge/heat theme of this one:
Boiling Springs Lake in Lassen Volcanic. Yes, it's a boiling lake
:
Rising Wolf getting it done at Drakesbad Ranch, Lassen:
More trimming footbeds for a custom fit:
Descending to Belden, CA above the Middle Fork Feather River canyon:
Still collecting summer snow for water in dry stretches:
Swimming outside Burney Falls:
Stinger at Terminal Geyser in Lassen Volcanic National Park. I like the Vulcan/forge/heat theme of this one:
Boiling Springs Lake in Lassen Volcanic. Yes, it's a boiling lake
:
Rising Wolf getting it done at Drakesbad Ranch, Lassen:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
Nothing like sticking the feet in a cold creek (Hat Creek) after a hot 35 mile waterless stretch!
Rising Wolf in Hat Creek:
NWA Stinger in Hat Creek:
My team for this carry. What a pair!
Russian Wilderness:
Fresh blackberries outside Castle Crags/Castella:
Mt Shasta:
Other hikers' tents, to show a representative sample of what others are using out here. 2 Big Agnes in the foreground, 2 Six Moon Designs (?) tents in the midground, and a sweet new 9oz Z-Packs Hexamid in the background.
Making progress!
Camp on the Hat Creek Rim, with Mt Lassen view:
Rising Wolf in Hat Creek:
NWA Stinger in Hat Creek:
My team for this carry. What a pair!
Russian Wilderness:
Fresh blackberries outside Castle Crags/Castella:
Mt Shasta:
Other hikers' tents, to show a representative sample of what others are using out here. 2 Big Agnes in the foreground, 2 Six Moon Designs (?) tents in the midground, and a sweet new 9oz Z-Packs Hexamid in the background.
Making progress!
Camp on the Hat Creek Rim, with Mt Lassen view:
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
Enjoying a "Dirty Palmer" (with apologies to Arnold and Sanchez):
Tradja-eye view of the delicious 2 x 1/2lb Big John burger in Old Station, made with local Hat Creek beef:
Stinger on a water-gathering mission:
That's all for now. Thanks again for checking out the pics! The next update will probably be from Bend, OR in 3 weeks or so -- we're skipping Ashland to save time and $$$ and there will be no internet in Crater Laker NP or the tiny Shelter Cove Resort.
- 1 liter of dirty summer snow (brown pine needles and bark bits a plus)
- cheap iced tea mix
- 2 packets of Tangerine Emergen-C
Tradja-eye view of the delicious 2 x 1/2lb Big John burger in Old Station, made with local Hat Creek beef:
Stinger on a water-gathering mission:
That's all for now. Thanks again for checking out the pics! The next update will probably be from Bend, OR in 3 weeks or so -- we're skipping Ashland to save time and $$$ and there will be no internet in Crater Laker NP or the tiny Shelter Cove Resort.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2008
- Messages
- 7,702
More great stuff :thumbup: I think your pic selection and commentary are just fine, no waning interest here! 
Nick makes a good knife, and I love the excellent ergonomics of his contoured handles.
Nick makes a good knife, and I love the excellent ergonomics of his contoured handles.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,176
:thumbup: We'll have to try this one out! I think it's doable.hard to do on such a long trip, but snow bank + little tequila + margarita mix = fun
I am jealous. The PCT was my plan for last year, to celebrate 40th, but new girlfriend changed my plans (and I went to Switzerland instead). So now it's my 50th year plan.
As for the knife question, everyone I know who has done either the PCT or the AT says that a swiss army knife or similar is all they used.
Best tool you can take is a PMA - Positive Mental Attitude. On the bad days (and there will be bad days) remember the good days. For every day you spend in tears wondering why the heck you've done this mad thing there will be five, ten or twenty days when you are ecstatic to be alive and well and walking in the wilderness.
Have fun!
As for the knife question, everyone I know who has done either the PCT or the AT says that a swiss army knife or similar is all they used.
Best tool you can take is a PMA - Positive Mental Attitude. On the bad days (and there will be bad days) remember the good days. For every day you spend in tears wondering why the heck you've done this mad thing there will be five, ten or twenty days when you are ecstatic to be alive and well and walking in the wilderness.
Have fun!
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2008
- Messages
- 5,421
I havent read the entire thread, maybe this has already been discussed . What kind of shoes are you wearing? Look like running shoes.A cousin of mine hiked that trail. She said a lot of long distance hikers wear aggressive soled ,lightweight runners.
Last edited:
mtnfolk mike
Basic Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2006
- Messages
- 10,040
amazing pics John... many thanks for taking the time to post them once again...:thumbup: i love the Castle Crags area. it's been a long time since i've been there...
- Joined
- May 2, 2008
- Messages
- 961
Page 3 Post 47 discusses shoes.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2007
- Messages
- 2,798
Thanks for the updated pics! This is my most anticipated thread, I check all the time for an update.
I love that stinger, NWA makes some really nice knives with possibly the most comfortable handles I've ever held!
Yay, you're more than half way there!
I love that stinger, NWA makes some really nice knives with possibly the most comfortable handles I've ever held!
Yay, you're more than half way there!