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

Michael, great shots, and great gear! You'll be happy with the H51, love mine, use it all the time. The hipbelt on the Catalyst is insanely nice right? I couldn't believe how comfortable the hipbelts were on my Ohm 2.0 and Circuit. And the huge side pockets are so freaking awesome. I usually carry 1L Smart Water in each along with a fuel bottle for my alcohol stove in one and my Patagonia Houdini in the other. And the 500D cordura, man, these packs should last for a looong time. I'm so stoked for you, congrats! Looks like you had an excellent trip up high! Microspikes and Ice Axe and all :thumbup: Looks like that was 10 miles with significant elevation gain... Where were you?


Owen, above and beyond, friend:thumbup:. I was worried that the straps would be too narrow and would rub against my neck when hiking, looks like you maybe encountered that problem. The pack doesn't seem as large as I thought it was, which is nice. Joe is a kinda small guy I guess, so when he models stuff it looks huge. I would use it exactly what you're using for, PSK stuff, and maybe more. That way my belt and pants aren't so weighed down with the crap I wear on it. I'm glad you commented on the hipbelt thing, since that would have been my concern wearing it over my stomach and not my chest. I really want to try one, maybe your video finally pushed me over the edge and I'll get one this month. How quickly can you get it on and off, for when you want to add/remove layers?


ETA: Argh, I was hoping to get out on another overnighter this weekend, but it looks like I won't be able to swing it after all.:grumpy:
 
Last edited:
Getting in and out of the chest rig only takes a few seconds. All the attachment points use Fastex-style buckles.

After staying home this week, I'm gonna be out the gate come the off days. That's why I've already got the Dragonslayer out. I have a plan..and a 150' rope;)
 
Fun times ahead! :thumbup::thumbup:

Aw man, I'm tempted to get the multipack, but damn, SAC is selling a Fenix LD22 right now... I could use another light for the vehicle.... :D
 
Thanks Mano. I was hiking today in the Olympic National Park climbing Mt Ellinor. Elevation starts pretty low, only about 700 ft but you end up at 5600ish. Had to park the car lower than the trail head so it added some miles as well. Walking in slushy snow is tiresome, but I love getting out and seeing this part of the country. I have been forgetting to bring my camera on my hikes lately so I am posting less. I went on a hike a few weeks ago with a friend that was close to the one I did today where we sat on the summit and watched as 4 eagles rose up from below. Higher and higher they came up riding the thermals until they were way above our heads. I wish I had captured it with my camera.
 
Yeah, I thought so, that's some nice gain :thumbup: Very cool, buddy.

And yeah, having a camera is nice and all, but (I think Owen and I discussed this here a while back) it does tend to take away from being present in the moment and enjoying it for what it is. It's a constant dilemma for me: take pictures for recorded memory and to share with others, or just soak it in and live in the moment. You may not have enjoyed watching those eagles as much if you were fiddling with a camera...

Again, great stuff man :thumbup:
 
Rainy Easter hike, just a few pics
P1000588_zps86b0919d.jpg

P1000591_zpsfe908a17.jpg

P1000593_zpsc1a93ed2.jpg

P1000595_zps234b3dd9.jpg

P1000598_zps2d880c6a.jpg
 
I've been ready to go since Friday, and am sitting here waiting on my phone to finish updating while hooked up to the computer. It's been over an hour...:(
Gotta try out my new gloves!
dscn9539x.jpg
 
T, I really like that BHK! Nice looking, simple knife! :thumbup:

Owen, go get em brother, looks like you got some awesome climbing fun planned. I'm looking forward to the pics! :)

CrazySanMan, welcome!
 
Crazysanman! I like that knife with the green handle, and I like that dog, and I like that nessmuck with the white handle, and I like that setup with the two dutch ovens, and I am sure I would like whatever is cooking inside.

Who made the knives with the green handle and the white handle? They look like they could be customs.

Do you have a "bear story?" I would like to know about your interaction with that bear!
 
Last edited:
Yeah, I'd like to know what the green micarta handled knife is. Looks familiar but I can't place it. It looks like a BRKT Aurora from that angle, but I could be wrong.

I've been meaning to pick up the Aurora and Liten Bror for so long, haven't got around to it yet. The Ultra-Lite Bushcrafter has caught my eye recently for a backpacking blade...
 
HikingMano said:
Owen, go get em brother, looks like you got some awesome climbing fun planned. I'm looking forward to the pics! :)
Click to expand...
Rappel, anyway!

Yesterday, I did a hike I'd been skipping that's attached to Walls of Jericho, because it was supposed to be ho-hum, and it was great. Then I hiked into the WoJ from the TN side(it's on the state line, and has AL and TN trailheads a couple miles apart). Very different hike than coming from AL. Now I see why they recommend staging a vehicle at the AL trailhead and coming out that way instead of going back up the TN side. From our trailhead, the elevation gain on the way out is constant, going up into TN is longer and has more flat hiking, but the same or more elevation gain in shorter, much steeper sections. That hike is "less fun" on the return, no matter which way you're going...

Setting up above the waterfall didn't work out as I'd hoped, but I did several raps into the amphitheater of the Walls.
dscn9890u.jpg
 
Nice! Yeah, gotta love the huffer and puffers. But on the flip side, the pay off in less traffic is usually well worth it.

Can you explain to me what you do when you go out and rappel off stuff? I've only ever done a bit of wall gym climbing, but my interest in climbing/rappelling outside is growing as getting off trail and scrambling is just plain fun. What's the minimal equipment, are there set anchors or do you use natural features more, how do you find places, how did you learn etc.

Man, I can't wait till the weekend. My outside time was nixed for a variety of reasons, stupid and not, last weekend, and I've been in acute withdrawal, haha. I'm thinking about stealth camping it again this weekend, but I'm always worried about the vehicle, and I can't go farther out to places with no restrictions since I've got to be back Sunday midday to pick up the GF from airport. Probably settle for a day hike on Saturday.
 
Last edited:
I haven't done any rappels on hikes before, and have been meaning to all along. What got me into rock climbing was wanting to rappel while hiking. I had talked about it with one of my friends, and he hooked me up with a guy who worked at the same place as us who was into climbing, and agreed to give me a refresher(my last rappel was in the military >15yr before), but I'd have to wait 'til he and his buddies were done climbing, or I could climb with them. Then I got sidetracked into toproping with them, and then solo toproping on my own.
If I was starting over, it would be with lighter, thinner diameter canyoneering ropes, 'cause my gear is all heavy, and not really intended for carrying far.

Since I take pics of everything(my mother asked me on the phone earlier if I took pics of the gnats that were buzzing around me, and named all of them), I've got pics of the stuff I took with me, and the setup, and will put them up and show you, but it'll probably be tomorrow.

The gist of how I got started is: Climbing up is safer than climbing down. There are lots of places I can safely climb up from that I can't safely get down to.
This video that I put up about 3 years ago, right at the start there's a waterfall, but there's also a place that could easily be climbed that you can't see almost right next to it. I was bushwhacking, looking for a way down to the river in the background to scout some rapids when I discovered that drainage, and wanted down there really bad. It would have saved me a lot of time, plus I thought it would be neat to rappel off of stuff. Could make for some really cool dayhikes...
youtube music, since I was(naturally) talking to my mother or somebody the whole time:rolleyes:
[youtube]MUD_FPCIgRE[/youtube]
Um, same music, but this was my (ex)coworker the first time we rappelled after climbing:
[youtube]E_aO1DuHcPw[/youtube]
I've only rapped Aussie a few times, and I make it happen, but feel more like I'm just flapping my legs than running down a wall...
 
That's exactly what I want to do, rappel while hiking so I can get out to unique places. I'm getting more experience scrambling/climbing up stuff, slowly, but I've always thought being able to reverse easily and safely would be the ticket to true freedom. No rush on the info, and you can email or PM me if you want instead. I'm sure others wouldn't mind more info though.

That Aussie rappel is pretty badass, haha.

I have a few friends who boulder, and that's useful and something I've been wanting to start seriously learning from them. I've sort of been winging it and picking up things piecemeal... It'd help too if I had someone experienced to go with.
 
HikingMano said:
That Aussie rappel is pretty badass, haha.
Click to expand...
It IS! It's also a good way to get tore up if you mess up. I was really careful the first few tries, using a doubled rope so there'd be lots of friction, and walking down to get a feel for it.
It's actually easy-the hard part is getting started. Going facefirst off even a little 45' cliff like that one is a gut check!
 
Awesome Owen. Aussie style is fun. I've only did it a few times and it wakes you up!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top