Decided to take advantage of the great weather and build a new shelter today.
Eventually I came across this spot. Nature had already started a good shelter so I saved myself a lot of work by starting with this.
In that photo you can see some of the gear I've been preferring this winter. For a long time I've primarily used kuhkuris for my winter chopper, but I've started to prefer my Fiskars hatchet. It's a more efficient chopper due to the nature of its weight distribution. The hatchet does well chopping poles to length for shelters and breaking apart large pieces of wood for the fire, but for clearing brush and vegetation the kuhkuri still wins. The kuhkuri is more versatile overall in my opinion, but I noticed I rarely need that versatility, I usually just need to chop wood.
The maxpedition versipack is what I got to replace hauling a backpack with me for a dayhike. I like it a lot. It's very rugged and well organized, without being overly heavy or bulky. I carry it strapped around my waist and right leg. I have rope, two LED flashlights, Victorinox Locksmith, Buck Hartsook, rain poncho, bandana, space blanket, lighter, firesteel, tinder, clif bars or canned chicken, a pair of gloves and chapstick packed into it on a typical day, changing the contents depending on what I'll be doing. I feel less weighed down and more mobile than when I carry a backpack, so it's perfect for a dayhike or an overnighter during warmer seasons.
Also brought my Spyderco Aqua Salt out.
It makes a really nice woods knife. I used it with a wooden baton to break apart wood to make smaller pieces for getting the fire going. I also did a little chopping at some very small branches while clearing out the site. It did some food prep as well, quartering and peeling an apple which I roasted. The knife made quick work of thorny growth around the camp site.
Me and my friend hoped to shoot something while we were out, but we didn't come across anything. So we threw up a tarp, made a bigger fire and cooked some spiced sausage.
Felt good to get outside all day.
Eventually I came across this spot. Nature had already started a good shelter so I saved myself a lot of work by starting with this.
In that photo you can see some of the gear I've been preferring this winter. For a long time I've primarily used kuhkuris for my winter chopper, but I've started to prefer my Fiskars hatchet. It's a more efficient chopper due to the nature of its weight distribution. The hatchet does well chopping poles to length for shelters and breaking apart large pieces of wood for the fire, but for clearing brush and vegetation the kuhkuri still wins. The kuhkuri is more versatile overall in my opinion, but I noticed I rarely need that versatility, I usually just need to chop wood.
The maxpedition versipack is what I got to replace hauling a backpack with me for a dayhike. I like it a lot. It's very rugged and well organized, without being overly heavy or bulky. I carry it strapped around my waist and right leg. I have rope, two LED flashlights, Victorinox Locksmith, Buck Hartsook, rain poncho, bandana, space blanket, lighter, firesteel, tinder, clif bars or canned chicken, a pair of gloves and chapstick packed into it on a typical day, changing the contents depending on what I'll be doing. I feel less weighed down and more mobile than when I carry a backpack, so it's perfect for a dayhike or an overnighter during warmer seasons.
Also brought my Spyderco Aqua Salt out.
It makes a really nice woods knife. I used it with a wooden baton to break apart wood to make smaller pieces for getting the fire going. I also did a little chopping at some very small branches while clearing out the site. It did some food prep as well, quartering and peeling an apple which I roasted. The knife made quick work of thorny growth around the camp site.
Me and my friend hoped to shoot something while we were out, but we didn't come across anything. So we threw up a tarp, made a bigger fire and cooked some spiced sausage.
Felt good to get outside all day.
