Short backpacking trip with new gear and lessons learned

futurencswat said:
Awesome pics! What kind of pack is that you got for your dog? I would love to pick one up!
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Boy, I can't remember and there's no brand on it. We picked it up for our previous pooch...it wasn't expensive, but great for two reasons: First, your pooch can carry his/her own food, treats, water bowl and even water; Second, if your dog is prone to being "trail-hyper", this pack will slow them down a bit:D Most large outdoors stores probably carry them and I'm sure REI has them on their site.

dawsonbob said:
Is that Spam I see grilling in one photo? So I'm not the only one, eh?
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Ha! You caught me:D My wife usually does the good outdoors cooking, I carried a big'ol prime rib steak with plenty of seasoning salt in a Ziploc for our first night's dinner. The spam was left over from Y2K and I figured it might as well get used along with some instant grits for breakfast. A little heavy, but works quite well for the campfire meal list:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Ha! You caught me:D My wife usually does the good outdoors cooking, I carried a big'ol prime rib steak with plenty of seasoning salt in a Ziploc for our first night's dinner. The spam was left over from Y2K and I figured it might as well get used along with some instant grits for breakfast. A little heavy, but works quite well for the campfire meal list:thumbup:

ROCK6
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Spam's good. Steak is better.

When the steak is gone, Spam can be a real treat.
 
MustardMan said:
Awesome shots - I love seeing a fellow Blackbird owner out there enjoying some hammocking.
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Yeah, I'm really enjoying it. My son has the Hennessy youth Scout model and I still like them for their simplicity. My son was really struggling at correctly tying the knot for the Hennessy, so I found a couple of the larger Nite Ize Figure 9 rope tension devices. His main hammock line is about 6mm or so and works great with this size device. He can now get the tree anchors set on both ends and get the right length and tension set; finished off with a couple of half-hitches and quick-release bite and he's all set. He was quite happy with himself using these and they are more than enough for his weight (I think the devices are rated for 150 pounds individually).

The good news is that everybody in the family has no problems sleeping in the hammocks...this makes load distribution a lot easier for me!

ROCK6
 
Really nice trip report. Hammock and gravity filters are certainly great. As is quick dry clothing. And I agree, food is HEAVY. I'm really trying to determine the quantities of dry food in regards to appetite while walking.

If you have any more photos, please put them up!
 
Great trip report, I have found out the same as you, menu planning is the toughest, really makes me mad to carry more than you eat, most of the time it just gets thrown away before the pack out.

Try any fishing in the creek? Chris
 
August West said:
Great trip report, I have found out the same as you, menu planning is the toughest, really makes me mad to carry more than you eat, most of the time it just gets thrown away before the pack out.

Try any fishing in the creek? Chris
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Yeah, need to work on my meal-planning!:o

That little creek mostly had minnows. My son said he saw some hand-sized perch/sunfish. We had our mini-fishing kits, but didn't pull them out; I may try next time. An inlet is about 100 meters or so away, so I may try some bass or crappie fishing next time also...fresh fish would be great for breakfast!

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Yeah, need to work on my meal-planning!:o

That little creek mostly had minnows. My son said he saw some hand-sized perch/sunfish. We had our mini-fishing kits, but didn't pull them out; I may try next time. An inlet is about 100 meters or so away, so I may try some bass or crappie fishing next time also...fresh fish would be great for breakfast!

ROCK6
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Almost all my trips I try to supplement my food supplies with fish or game depending on the season. Makes packing food a lot lighter, but you can get pretty hungry if you don't catch/kill something. If you go back up there, try that little stream, you might be surprised, I have caught some decent fish out of places that you wouldn't think held any, maybe that's why they do. ;)

If your gonna be around Augusta when I get home maybe we can get together, Ft Stewart hog hunt maybe. I like to go down to stewart after the deer season, hogs are still legal and there's no crowds, they have a really nice campground too. Chris
 
August West said:
If your gonna be around Augusta when I get home maybe we can get together, Ft Stewart hog hunt maybe. I like to go down to stewart after the deer season, hogs are still legal and there's no crowds, they have a really nice campground too. Chris
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I'm hopefully out of the deployment cycle for the next year, so I'll be around. My son and I would enjoy a good hog hunt!

ROCK6
 
Great pics!

looks like it was a great time.

Thank you for taking the time to share.
 
Sounds good, I was stationed at stewart for 4 years and know the area and woods/swamps fairly well. Can't promise hogs, but if we go when small game season is still in there will be plenty of squirrels and the fishing is always good. Chris
 
I'd be happy with the golok, the bush tool, the OHT and the sawvivor. (They work great, but they feel a bit fragile sometimes)
 
August West said:
Sounds good, I was stationed at stewart for 4 years and know the area and woods/swamps fairly well. Can't promise hogs, but if we go when small game season is still in there will be plenty of squirrels and the fishing is always good. Chris
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Yeah, my son hasn't hunted yet (just because of the deployments and him not being around family to take him hunting over the past four years). He's been begging me to go squirrel hunting, so next season is my goal...squirrels and fish feed you quite well!!! We'll have to coordinate something when you get back...

Fubarski said:
Great post!

And that's either a wisteria or the biggest ggddmm lilac I've ever seen.
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Spot on...it's a bunch of Wisteria...smells good to; just not sure if any part of it is edible???

Liam Ryan said:
I'd be happy with the golok, the bush tool, the OHT and the sawvivor. (They work great, but they feel a bit fragile sometimes)
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I really like the Sawvivor (kind of a goofy name). I've used it on several trips and it's pretty thick aluminum. What I like about it the most is that you can actually store two blades when folded up ( you have to remove the backup blade when in use). I should of snap a picture, but I cut through a 10 inch log...had to rotate it a little, but pretty impressive for such a small buck-saw.

ROCK6
 
Great pics Rock! I am going out myself to hit Springer Mountain tomorrow morning to spend Sat night. Oh, and we did Pather Creek trail 2 weeks ago. What a spectacular site that is. Thanks for the recomendation!
 
milani74 said:
Great pics Rock! I am going out myself to hit Springer Mountain tomorrow morning to spend Sat night. Oh, and we did Pather Creek trail 2 weeks ago. What a spectacular site that is. Thanks for the recomendation!
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Good deal...we're going to do a couple more trips to Mistletoe...I need to get the wife and daughter out and work out their own bugs. Panther Creek will be next on our list.

Take some pictures of Springer Mountain, that looks like an interesting hike! How's that Kifaru holding up?

ROCK6
 
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