The NEW Post Your Campsite/gear/knife/hiking/anything Outdoorsy Pic Thread!

Now that it is finally snowing in the Sierras, this is appropriate (but not from this year, sadly I haven't been up there yet this winter).
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I like it :thumbup: I had my eye on the Xray a while ago, but the capacity in the express is more to my liking nowadays. More versatile for day hikes AND overnighters/weekenders. I want to try one someday... it'd be nice to use a pack which provides both durability and proper load bearing capability.
 
Cleaned up an abalone shell for my GF for her Valentine's gift. Figured I'd share the result :)

Before
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WIP
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After
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Many thanks to Oakietree for a great Abalone diving trip last fall and sharing the wealth :thumbup: :)
 
Last pics of the abalone, I swear :o. Just wanted to post some I just took in diffuse daylight this morn... a little less harsh and you can see the color spread a bit better I think.

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In brief:

1. Washed the shell out after removing the meat

2. Let dry outside for at least a month, not in direct sun (these were sitting around for a few months before I got to em)

3. Scrubbed exterior with steel brush UNDER RUNNING WATER. You do not want to be breathing any calcium carbonate dust you may create. Wearing a properly fitted N95 respirator is ideal.

4. Wash and dry interior. Then coat with vaseline to protect the nacre against the following acid treatment.

5. Treat exterior with relatively concentrated hydrochloric acid. You can buy it from hardware stores like Lowes, it sells under the pre-IUPAC name "Muriatic Acid". The one I used comes in at <25% according to MSDS and did the job. Other manufacturers that retail commercially provide HCl in the 30s, but you don't need reagent grade 37% to get the job done. I used it undiluted, but if you dilute concentrated acid in a container, always add acid to water and never water to acid. Wear personal protective equipment when handling concentrated acid (gloves, safety glasses or face shield, full length clothing and closed-toe shoes), and treat with lots of ventilation - don't breathe fumes. Neutralize acid with baking soda, apply it until foaming stops. Otherwise flush with lots of water to dilute. For this shell I did two pour-over coats at 5 min per coat. Rinse shell and do as many coats as you need to get the shell to where you want it.

6. After thoroughly rinsing your shell, take a steel brush to it again under running water to scrub off any remaining crud.

7. Wash off vaseline from interior. Scrub nacre lightly with scotchbrite to clean and help bring out irridescence (green scotchbrite does the job, I use the no-scratch blue ones to start with then work up if I want to)

8. Let dry

9. Finish exterior and interior (to bring out shell color and irridescence) however you like. I personally give the exterior and interior a light but thorough rub-down with mineral oil because I have it handy. You can use lacquer or other finishes. Some prefer the finish left by a matte lacquer over the glossier finishes left by mineral oil and others.

10. Enjoy :thumbup: :)
 
Those are some giant trees, I would hate to have a branch fall on me.........good lord man
 
If a branch falls on you, it could ruin your whole day. A branch fell off the Sherman tree a few years ago, from about 200' up, and the branch is about 4' diameter. In the winter, if you go there just as a heavy snowfall is ending, the upper branches shed large sheets of snow. You hear a big thump, and look over to see where it landed. You have to be pretty vigilant, it would not be good to have the equivalent of several snowmen fall over 200' and land on your head.

And you have to be careful where you park, this is why:

http://www.kaweahcommonwealth.com/08-03/giant/fallen_giant.htm
 
Fixed your links, mate :thumbup:

Edited: Well, they were fixed :confused: Now they're gone again.
 
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Sorry for the inferior photo quality, but....
You're out there that's all that matters. Look at the sorry state of those I just put up. The skies in particular are appalling. In the future we'll look back at all the images here and laugh at the quality. No point sweating the small stuff outside the photography sub-forum. Keep 'em coming. ;-)
 
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