Recreating Kephart's Outfit

For sure. Do not ingest!

Most of the stuff used to keep away insects can straight up kill you as well. The bug spray I often use is like 30% DEET. And permethrin for keeping away ticks is definitely not something you want on your skin, or in you.

Given the the low volume of the oil in this mix, you'd have to drink down most of the vial for any toxic effects, and the castor oil would make it pretty unpalatable, not to mention the viscosity of the tar. But yes, always be careful when working with medicinal herbs.

I make quite a few salves and herbal remedies, but I wouldn't recommend it for folk who are new to plants. Yarrow can look a lot like Water Hemlock if you don't know the differences.
 
JoshSkaarup said:
For sure. Do not ingest!

Most of the stuff used to keep away insects can straight up kill you as well. The bug spray I often use is like 30% DEET. And permethrin for keeping away ticks is definitely not something you want on your skin, or in you.

Given the the low volume of the oil in this mix, you'd have to drink down most of the vial for any toxic effects, and the castor oil would make it pretty unpalatable, not to mention the viscosity of the tar. But yes, always be careful when working with medicinal herbs.

I make quite a few salves and herbal remedies, but I wouldn't recommend it for folk who are new to plants. Yarrow can look a lot like Water Hemlock if you don't know the differences.
Click to expand...
I think the castor oil would make It pass thru so fast it wouldnt have time to absorb :D
 
Got to do a bit of testing of some of the Kephart gear over the last few days. My lady got me a couple nights stay at a rustic cabin in Fundy National Park. It involved a day of driving through a snow storm, and an hour or so of snowshoeing in the dark in said storm, but I had a great time.

The Duluth pack worked great! Definitely needs a tump line or a hip belt though, and I was carrying way more gear than was necessary, so made for a sweaty hike in.

In the pack I had:

-2, 3lbs wool blankets
-Canadian army air mattress (amazing)
-Fleece sleeping bag liner
-Condor Greenland hatchet
-UCO candle lantern and spare candles
-GSI Bugaboo mess kit (covers Kep's recommended 1 quart pot and 8" pan, and is awesome)
-Canvas bucket (used it as a fridge)
-First Aid Kit
-Repair kit
-Sack with spare clothing
-Book
-2 quart bladder canteen (superfluous, as I just melted snow for drinking water the whole time
-massive Swedish parka. Also unnecessary, as it was too hot to wear while hiking, and any standing around I did was inside by the wood stove. It was nice draped over my feet at night, but not worth the excess weight.

I didn't need a shelter, being in a cabin and all, so the pack was mostly extra clothes and bedding. Most of which was too much.

In addition to the pack, I had a large woolen haversack that carried my bag of food, and a Pathfinder Canteen cookset. The cookset was a great pot, but the twig stove was unnecessary, as was the canteen. The only water carrier I used was a Chinese surplus 1 quart aluminium canteen. In the future, I plan on acquiring a German/Russian mess kit, which can be used to store dry goods, and makes a nice deep pot. I'd eliminate the extra canteens and just use the USGI 2 quart bladder, as you can run a line through the cap, and use a Sawyer mini filter with it. This way, I can purify water on the move, and any boiling etc.. can be handled by the mess kits.

Anywho, the Duluth pack definitely needs the tump line and maybe a hip belt.

The cabin

20190102-102145.jpg


20190102-102250.jpg


20190102-103051.jpg


Some of the gear. Missing from the photo is my little Marbles match safe. The little tin at the bottom was carried in lieu of the leather belt pouch Kephart carried. It contains a spare lighter, some dryer lint, some birch bark, couple sticks of fatwood, and a Ferro rod.

20190102-110824.jpg



All in all, a great trip! There are still some items to make and add, but I think using Kep's gear is going to work out great.
 
JoshSkaarup said:
Got to do a bit of testing of some of the Kephart gear over the last few days. My lady got me a couple nights stay at a rustic cabin in Fundy National Park. It involved a day of driving through a snow storm, and an hour or so of snowshoeing in the dark in said storm, but I had a great time.

The Duluth pack worked great! Definitely needs a tump line or a hip belt though, and I was carrying way more gear than was necessary, so made for a sweaty hike in.

In the pack I had:

-2, 3lbs wool blankets
-Canadian army air mattress (amazing)
-Fleece sleeping bag liner
-Condor Greenland hatchet
-UCO candle lantern and spare candles
-GSI Bugaboo mess kit (covers Kep's recommended 1 quart pot and 8" pan, and is awesome)
-Canvas bucket (used it as a fridge)
-First Aid Kit
-Repair kit
-Sack with spare clothing
-Book
-2 quart bladder canteen (superfluous, as I just melted snow for drinking water the whole time
-massive Swedish parka. Also unnecessary, as it was too hot to wear while hiking, and any standing around I did was inside by the wood stove. It was nice draped over my feet at night, but not worth the excess weight.

I didn't need a shelter, being in a cabin and all, so the pack was mostly extra clothes and bedding. Most of which was too much.

In addition to the pack, I had a large woolen haversack that carried my bag of food, and a Pathfinder Canteen cookset. The cookset was a great pot, but the twig stove was unnecessary, as was the canteen. The only water carrier I used was a Chinese surplus 1 quart aluminium canteen. In the future, I plan on acquiring a German/Russian mess kit, which can be used to store dry goods, and makes a nice deep pot. I'd eliminate the extra canteens and just use the USGI 2 quart bladder, as you can run a line through the cap, and use a Sawyer mini filter with it. This way, I can purify water on the move, and any boiling etc.. can be handled by the mess kits.

Anywho, the Duluth pack definitely needs the tump line and maybe a hip belt.

The cabin

20190102-102145.jpg


20190102-102250.jpg


20190102-103051.jpg


Some of the gear. Missing from the photo is my little Marbles match safe. The little tin at the bottom was carried in lieu of the leather belt pouch Kephart carried. It contains a spare lighter, some dryer lint, some birch bark, couple sticks of fatwood, and a Ferro rod.

20190102-110824.jpg



All in all, a great trip! There are still some items to make and add, but I think using Kep's gear is going to work out great.
Click to expand...
Good to see you back around. Looks like a great time out man, thanks for sharing. You like the Condor Greenland? I was thinking of getting a Condor Scout.
 
The Warrior said:
Good to see you back around. Looks like a great time out man, thanks for sharing. You like the Condor Greenland? I was thinking of getting a Condor Scout.
Click to expand...


Thanks! Holidays were rather busy, so I wasn't around much.

I do like the Condor, but from stock, it need a a lot of work. The bit needs thinning along the edge, and the haft is quite bulky. Some time on a belt sander fixed both issues, and it worked well splitting chopped firewood into smaller kindling. All in all, a good hatchet, with some work. Although the better value, if you can find them, would likely be the Husqvarna 13" hatchets.
 
marchone said:
I imagine if Kephart and his buddies were around today they'd pack a Leatherman too.
Click to expand...
Most definitely! It combines the pliers/side cutters he mentions, as well as packing a backup blade and small saw. The diamond file is good for touching up edges too
 
JoshSkaarup said:
Thanks! Holidays were rather busy, so I wasn't around much.

I do like the Condor, but from stock, it need a a lot of work. The bit needs thinning along the edge, and the haft is quite bulky. Some time on a belt sander fixed both issues, and it worked well splitting chopped firewood into smaller kindling. All in all, a good hatchet, with some work. Although the better value, if you can find them, would likely be the Husqvarna 13" hatchets.
Click to expand...
I've read that many times, that the bit needed thinning. I have a GB Wildlife hatchet. Great hatchet. Thinking of getting the mini, but damn they're pricey.
 
The Warrior said:
I've read that many times, that the bit needed thinning. I have a GB Wildlife hatchet. Great hatchet. Thinking of getting the mini, but damn they're pricey.
Click to expand...

Yeah the GB or HB axes are tremendous, but I don't think I could justify the price on such a mini axe. I have a SOG mini camp axe and a fast hawk, they're probably the smallest I'd carry . Pretty sure Fiskars has a real tiny hatchet as well, if I recall.
 
JoshSkaarup said:
Yeah the GB or HB axes are tremendous, but I don't think I could justify the price on such a mini axe. I have a SOG mini camp axe and a fast hawk, they're probably the smallest I'd carry . Pretty sure Fiskars has a real tiny hatchet as well, if I recall.
Click to expand...
I have a Vaughan Sub Zero I modded, but now I'm modding it again, haha. I made it look more "military", now I'm making it look more rustic. Problem with the Vaughan, is that the eye is too small, and the handle breaks easily there. Here's a before and after, but I've since removed the paint from the handle.

Before. You can see how small it is compared to the BK2:



Here's my first mod:



Here's the thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/vaughan-sub-zero-mini-mod.883392/#post10013244
 
Nice trip report Josh. Glad to see your kit held up. That cabin looks awesome.

Any idea how much your pack weighed? A couple of wool blankets and a parka can add up pretty quick lol.

Got a pair of snowshoes from the wife for Xmas. Was gonna take them out for a spin tomorrow...
 
Aikiguy said:
Nice trip report Josh. Glad to see your kit held up. That cabin looks awesome.

Any idea how much your pack weighed? A couple of wool blankets and a parka can add up pretty quick lol.

Got a pair of snowshoes from the wife for Xmas. Was gonna take them out for a spin tomorrow...
Click to expand...

I'm guessing I had nearly 50-60lbs, between the two bags and canteens. 10 lbs of water, nearly that much in beer, 6 lbs of blanket, probably 10 for clothes and coats...it was way too much. Definitely packing waaay lighter next trip.
 
The Warrior said:
I have a Vaughan Sub Zero I modded, but now I'm modding it again, haha. I made it look more "military", now I'm making it look more rustic. Problem with the Vaughan, is that the eye is too small, and the handle breaks easily there. Here's a before and after, but I've since removed the paint from the handle.

Before. You can see how small it is compared to the BK2:



Here's my first mod:



Here's the thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/vaughan-sub-zero-mini-mod.883392/#post10013244
Click to expand...

Really nice man!
 
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