Texas Camp Knife Giveaway!! WINNER CHOSEN! See post #61

[btb01]

Great idea for a giveaway, Charlie! I'm enjoying everyone's photos so far, and can't wait to see more!

gunstockjack, I liked your fishing/camping photos. I used to take a fishing trip every summer up to Minnesota with a friend and his dad; they had a Lund fishing boat just about like yours. :thumbup:

I love camping. My wife... not so much. I'm working on that. With our first kiddo on the way, I'm trying to get her warmed up to the idea, because I definitely want the kid to experience camping with Dad like I did as a kid. Anyways, I haven't done nearly as much camping as I'd like to for a few years now. But growing up, we used to go camping all the time.

Here's a photo from what I'm pretty sure was my first camping trip (that's me in the swing).

Here are some shots I found going through some old family photos a while back, from childhood camping trips with my dad (who isn't in any of the photos because he was always behind the camera). That's my brother on the left, and me on the right.

Royal Ambassadors (RAs) was a big thing for us growing up (it's basically the Baptist version of Boy Scouts), and my dad always had an active role, especially when it came to camping trips and RA Racers (Pinewood Derby). This was probably my first pocket knife. I still have it.

I did a lot of camping in high school and college, too, but I don't know that I have any photos. (That would have been a few years before cell phones with cameras, and there was no Facebook or Instagram, so I don't think very many photos were taken on any of those camping trips.)

Thanks again for doing this giveaway, Charlie! Very generous!

 

[clutchcarter]

Not an entry.........

Great GAW Charlie!

You guys are posting some really cool pictures!!!!!! Makes me wish I was out there somewhere in the mountains.

Here's a picture of my Stepdaughter and her fiance on their very first camping trip (last year, in Colorado), they loved it!

 

[abbydaddy]

This is a fun GAW Charlie. I'm mostly putting this here as this post has made me realize how rarely I actually take photos of myself, or my camp while camping. Most of my camping in the last few years has been at archaeological digs, so I at least have a few photos from recent seasons.

Standing on the summit of Steens mountain looking SE at Idaho and Nevada (coincidentally, also my avatar)

Goofing around while digging a trench in the desert

At work on the site, and I'm wearing a traditional fixed blade! To keep the thread relevant.

And how's this for traditional? A ~10,000 year old blade fragment I dug up (this was one of the absolute highlights of my career thus far). It is a stemmed point fragment from well below a 7.600 year old layer of volcanic ash. The exact age isn't determined, but the ~10k date is pretty likely for a variety of reasons.

 

[abbydaddy]

Thanks Charlie. I'm not normally one for contests, but this one kind of hits home for me. Our whole family centers around camp experiences.

Here's my daughter Abby and I at the top of the Goodnow Mountain trailhead, at the top of the fire tower. I was so proud of her, that she was brave enough to go all the way to the top. A stranger was kind enough to take a photo for us.

Here is Abby with her grandpa a few years ago, "helping him" shuck corn for dinner. The picture was taken on the stairs of our family cabin.

Loving these pictures. I haven't taken my daughter Abby camping yet, but I look forward to the camping trips because I know that my camping memories with my parents are just about my favorites.

 

[guy0783]

I'm not eligible, but this topic is near and dear to my heart. My boys, Carter and Hudson, are 7 and 4 now and we spend every weekend we can on 10 wooded acres out in the country. I grew up in the country and I feel like it's important they spend time outside.

It's covered with pines and a couple ponds.



Carter is learning about squirrel and rabbit hunting, they enjoy fishing and riding the 4 wheeler.

I just finished building a treehouse!
Campfire

Carter fishing

8 and 15 pounders, yummy!

Mom, Carter and Hudson riding

Hobo dinners

 

[guy0783]

And the treehouse!

 

[Macchina]

Awesome Giveaway Charlie! Thank you (as always) for not only your generosity but especially the spirit you bring to the Front Porch!
It's not the only way to tell, but one of the best ways to tell if you got a good wife is if she likes to camp!

My wife also loves the outdoors and we try to get out as often as possible. In Michigan the winters are traditionally seen as the season you stay indoors and build up your "reservoirs" to burn off during the other 3 seasons. We have recently taken to an annual winter hike where we build our shelters from snow. We started out with small dug-out quinzees and last year moved up to a full blown bucket igloo with a door and everything!

At various stages of building:









And all cozy (it got down to -20°F this weekend):


Of course, it's not quite camp without a fire:


And where there are fires, there is usually knives:


And steak:



And these pictures show our more traditional quinzee (basically you find a giant snow pile and dig out a few rooms, we have made connected "houses" in them before that are fun to crawl between during the night):



There are 4 people in this "room". It actually gets quite cozy and warm (about 20°). The most prized areas are in the middle of the group where you are kept warm by the other bodies. Anybody have to pee?



And a more traditional backpacking trip with my lovely wife and I. We hiked the loop of North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan to scout out camping spots and hiking routes for our Youth Group later that year. I've been to the island numerous times but nothing beats hiking with the woman you love! One of the best weeks of my life!







My wife is an awesome cook and likes to dehydrate homemade meals to make mealtime on the trail a lot more special than the typical dried goods we eat when it's only guys:


And bacon never hurt anyone (except everyone who ever ate it):


The deer on the island have no natural salt sources. They tend to know that humans also like salt and the sound of camp can lure them in pretty close:

 

[Jenner 515]

We usually roll into camp.

Us At The Great Sand Dunes.

Kids playing Survivorman.

Traditional combo for that weekend.

 

[btmccutcheon]

From this site...



We had this view...

 

[Daniel Dorn]

I don't have any picture handy, at the moment, but will try to post some after the fact.

I still remember my family's trips to Florida, from NW Arkansas, while I was growing up. There were 8 of us, six kids and mom and dad. We would pack like sardines into our old VW Bus, with tons of stuff tied to the roof. We'd stop at about half-way, and set up a tent. Seemed like it was always raining when we set the tent. Actually, Dad would set it up, and we would 'help.'

My brothers all were in Boy Scouts, but I chose a different past-time hanging out with my best friend, rather than Scouting. I missed many camp-outs, and vowed I would camp again. In college, I joined the Wilderness Activities Club. We would have one big campout over spring break, where we would canoe down a river, and camp along the way. Being a Christian college, there was never any beer, but we sure had fun! So many under-cooked 'tin-foil' dinners...

I'm now at the point where 3 of my boys are in Scouts, and I make it to every campout I can. Which turns out to be 4-6 times a year. I've worn out 2 Wal-Mart Ozark Trails tents. I finally splurged on a Land's End cot to sleep on, as I'm not as young as I used to be.

There's nothing like going to sleep to the sound of the outdoors, and waking up with dew above your head, and critters on your doorstep.

If having no pictures DQ's me, that's perfectly fine. I've enjoyed everyone else's photos immensely.

Thanks, all!

 

[johnny twoshoes]

Camping has been near and dear to my heart since I was little.
When my parents first started taking my brothers and I into the big woods of the Pennsylvania National Forrest we used an old Coleman tent and some sleeping bags. Those memories of waking up on the hard, frozen ground are some of the best. We would always turn in earlier than my parents and I would drift asleep to the sounds of the crackling fire and their whispered conversation that they carried on just outside of those thin nylon walls. Waking up to the sounds of the tent door being unzipped, then being hit by the smell of the smoldering fire in the midst of being stoked back to life by my mom. With hot cocoa in hand, I would take in the songs and stories the wildlife shared with each other as they too awoke for a new day. The "pops" and "cracks" of a fire coming back to life instantly flood my mind with those earlier memories I shared with my family in those woods.

We started to spend so much time up there that we invested in a pop-up tent camper. It was a welcomed addition when the cold winds started to howl later on in the year. I remember how much of a challenge it was to level off that old thing in the terrain in which we camped. Once we finally had it level, my mom would get to work on making the camper a comfortable home meanwhile my dad would take my brothers and I out to get enough firewood for the duration of our trip. My dad would go to work on a downed tree with his chainsaw and us boys loaded his old Ford Bronco to the brim with logs. Trip, after trip we haul firewood back to camp until my dad finally decided we had enough, usually he would get right to splitting it with an old axe and my brothers and I would run off into the woods to play.

Once again our conditions changed when we got a tow behind camper that was fully equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, a small table and two cots. It started to feel like cheating though with all this "home away from home" amenities. One trip I planned on tenting out with my brothers and our three bulldogs. I remember calling it a night pretty early and was joined by the pooches. Some time during the night the temperature dropped dramatically and I remember waking up to find the bullies shivering on top of me and the sleeping back, we were rescued that night and welcomed back inside of the camper, it didn't feel like cheating then.

My dad passed away in an auto accidents right after setting up camp many years ago, it didn't dull any of our love for the outdoors, but our camping did change once more.

My uncle's family owned a brick building that borders the National Forrest, they always called that "camp", It was the place we called home every April for trout season and every November for Bear. Hard times hit and they needed to part ways with "camp", it didn't take long for my family and I to decide and "camp" has stayed in the family. It definitely isn't the outdoors like a tent is, but when we are huddled around memories of the past and the excitement of a new opening day, it's a special place...

Pics to be added soon.

Here is camp.

About five miles from camp, the view from a little bridge that constantly floods.

A successful morning.

An early sunrise.

Mist rising in a chilly morning.

I can only imagine the stories that would have been told around this old fireplace.

Knife content.

 

[bozack]

Been camping for a number of years. Three or four trips a year. Here is a few from the years past.


The knife portion of this post.


This is at Indian Island Camp Ground in Riverhead, NY. I am not allowed to post pictures of my girl with out her approval, so here is one of her Doberman, Midnight Blue McMuffin. And finally, the results of our pumpkin ale tasting camping trip.

 

[Jsega51]

Camping.....oh boy do I love it. Started out camping in the tent in the backyard as a kid with my brother, progressively moving it further and further from the house. I've camped in tents, self made lean-to's, campers, cabins and have even had to sleep in the bed of the truck. I could fill the internet with pictures but I'll post some of the most recent.

My girlfriend and I like to camp and hike together. We like to find out of the way places to go, but don't mind a State or National Park. This fall we plan to drive to Acadia National Park in Maine.









Camp for a weekend. We wanted to stay in a cabin for a change since they were just built. Making chicken and spaghetti for dinner:




Don't be alarmed! I got this sleeping bag when I was 7 or 8 I believe. It went on every camping trip (including all my backyard campouts) until I finally had to throw it away on this outing when I was 31. It had been patched so many times that it was basically on life support. We got a torrential rain storm that night and it got soaked. I knew it wouldn't survive another laundering so it went into the trash as it was literally falling apart.

Through it's life, it's been drenched with rain, stained, cut, ripped, fell into 3 different lakes, got plenty of burn holes, and I never could get the smell of smoke out of it. They don't make them like they used to!!




Knives that I almost always carry when camping is my Bret Dowell Trapper in acid etched A2 and my L.T. Wright Hunter Pro Elite in D2 and Ironwood.

 

[rye_a]

Thanks Charlie! Our family has a new tradition (oxymoron?) that we started last year where we rent llamas and disappear into one of Colorado's wilderness areas for a week. This allows us to spend time as a family that is uninterrupted by the distractions of daily life, and for us all to "unplug" from technology for a week. It also allows us to teach our kids some backcountry skills and how little they need in life to be happy.

Here are a few shots of last year's trip when we were about 10 miles into Lost Creek Wilderness:

Our shelter is a nice 12 man sil-nylon tipi that we, our dog, and our gear fit very comfortably in:

Cooking on our wood burning stove:

Our beasts of burden:

Teaching the kids knife skills:

Patching up a nice, big gash after teaching the kids knife skills:

Sustenance skills:

My 40th birthday with a cake cooked in a backcountry oven on the wood stove:

Beautiful Scenery:

 

[Daniel Dorn]

Don't let this contest end, as I'd hate for all the great pics to stop flowing!

Really enjoying this!

 

[Nature Boy]

Stony Brook?

 

[HST]

This is a really really great thread. Some of the pics - just wow. Thanks for sharing members and also to Charlie for doing this.

 

[Jsega51]

Stony Brook?

Yes sir! That picture, the cabin and the bridge are Stony Brook. The waterfall is in Grimes Glen in Naples, NY and the sad picture of my sleeping bag was in Watkins Glen. The picture of my girlfriend, the dog and I, was taken in Allegany State Park during a day hike.

 

[Nature Boy]

Yes sir! That picture, the cabin and the bridge are Stony Brook. The waterfall is in Grimes Glen in Naples, NY and the sad picture of my sleeping bag was in Watkins Glen. The picture of my girlfriend, the dog and I, was taken in Allegany State Park during a day hike.

Man, I miss Western NY! Thanks for sharing!

 

[StoneBeard]

Such an awesome idea for a thread, thanks Charlie. I'm really enjoying seeing all the camping/ adventure pictures from so many different locations. I love to camp and have been lucky enough to do so in a very wide range of environments. I'm up in Yosemite for a few days and it being a Mecca of camping/climbing/adventure I thought I'd share some of the stunning beauty. When I return home I've got some good high elevation cold weather camping/ lower elevation shelter building and camping from the Yukon. Hope y'all enjoy-





Yosemite's historic camp four with the legendary Columbia Boulder. Camp four is one of the most famous campsites in the world for big wall/ rock climbing. In the 60's Yvon Chouinard( Patagonia) was hand forging custom climbing gear in camp four's parking lot to complete the first ascent of the North American and Muir walls.


























30 days of camping in the Yukon. The timing was perfect to to get 75% snow and ice and 25% rain and lush greenery. Started out with all higher altitude mountaineering and camping.



Small footprints as the location changes daily. Snowfall almost every night so having a tarp is a must when it gets going.






Making water. Nothing like hot tea after a lot of climbing.



Using some of that water to make food.



Careful now, those things go up for like no reason!



As the temps started to increase and falling snow became rain we headed back down to a lower elevation towards the coast. We dropped all our tents at base camp and transitioned into building natural shelters and making fires when everything is completely soaked.




Couple of fairly well insulated and rain resistant shelters. Well reinforced was key as wet moss gets heavy. Some are Bear resistant others not so much lol. These were all built with a folding saw and fixed blade.








This ones got a moss front door-





Making a fire square out of soaked kindling and logs. The small logs are collected from the ground then using only a fixed blade knife all the wet material is shaved away until you have the dry core. These are then split, stacked and started by striking a magnesium rod onto one cotton ball coated in Vaseline, if inclined a feather stick would also work nicely.A small log is used like a hammer on the spine of the fixed blade to split away all wet material.






These are just some highlights over the 30 days on multiple 24-72 hour trips out.

Finally to sum up the multi environment camping and end with something a touch more conventional here's a few from camping at dive spots on the coast with the old man. We generally bring all your standard camping gear and food extras but will free dive for all the abalone and fish. Pretty hard to beat ab and rockfish right out of the water.