the rock garden hike.

[JV3]

took off friday for a day hike to scout a new location for an overnighter...right at the trail head are two abandoned cars. really old cars so it's probably been there for a long time.

man, this trail is freaking steep and rocky. it just kept going up the whole trip and when there weren't any rocks the ground was covered with slippery leaves.

when it did flatten out it was covered in ankle twisters.

near where my turn around point is i smell something stinky - a marshy area.

my cell phone's camera can't show how neon bright this sphagnum moss looking thing is! amazing how it copes just fine with the harsh cold around here where everything else around it goes into hibernation.

just under two hours i reach the spot. the stream looks a lot smaller than what the mapped showed.

i hike further up for another 15 or so minutes for a spot for a late lunch. this whole trail is covered with dead fall and not once did i see any trash whatsoever. that's why i like hiking in steep terrain - keeps all the casual hikers (and dog walkers who don't clean up after their pets) and kids looking for a spot to drink beer away!

lunch - beef stew and coffee...i forgot my damn hot sauce at home...arrgh! i always tell friends i'll even eat tree bark so long as it has my hot sauce on it with the freaking accident that jammed up traffic on the way there and the 4:30 sunset around here i ran out of time for a camp fire.

i went lightweight this time - by my standards anyway 35 lbs with 3 liters of water. i could've left the jetboil at home to save 3 lbs though.

i could've left my spyderco bushcraft and sak at home to save more weight but that's as minimal as i'll go. with just a liter of water my pack weight is easily 25 lbs.

but why is it that i still look like i'm going for an overnighter? i brought enough warm clothes for a freezing night with no sleeping bag just in case. sometimes i wish i can go back to being ignorant and just hike in with an energy bar and a bottled water, relying on just a cell phone as a safety net

i saw lots of these and i have yet to find fatwood anywhere. we definitely got jipped!

perfect habitat for snakes - we have two types of venomous ones that are native here. i'm a snake guy (at one time i owned 13 of them) but i'm weary of them in the wild. a couple of members have spotted huge rattlers in the area but i have yet to actually see them in the two years i've been hiking.

after two hours of straight up hiking i was actually looking forward to going back down but it turns out it's harder...for me anyways. i'm used to just leaning back and let my mountain bike do all the work. i'll probably do one of those hike-and-bike overnighters too.

i noticed this wall of rocks. not really sure if it's deliberately arranged that way or not. it didn't look like a stone wall that toppled over. it just bordered on being random enough that if that's man-made, those are some really bored trail maintenance crew!

at the base of the rock wall...this is what we mtb'ers call a rock garden. at night i bet it'll creep me out since i can already imagine them looking like skulls

was tempted to reach in but...nah.

i was 100 ft away from this tree and it looked like a claw so i just had to take a closer look.

i've never seen anything like this before - it appears to be two different trees up top but the base looks like it's just one. they are completely fused together but it's not like the bigger tree is swallowing the smaller one.

despite what the arrows insisted on what i do, i turned left here to get back to where i parked

two trees in love...obviously the other is heart broken.

one of the few scenic spots.

looking back at where i just climbed down. maybe i've just watched too many of those japanese shows but i'm expecting giant foam boulders coming down from there any minute now trying to knock me down the hill!

more dead fall.

the bent living tree is a huge clue - the squirrels have setup a spring trap for bushcrafters - pick up that perfect piece of wood for a bow drill setup and bamn!

this area's been hit hard. this particular snapped branch alone will easily provide firewood for 5 winter overnighters. it looks small from the pic but that branch's thickest part is over 2 ft wide.

last look at the rock garden before reaching my truck.

aside from sore legs, the only casualty is my left boot's sole. they really grip on the rocky terrain we have here so not too bad.

 

[Shotgun]

Thanks for the pics. As for your gear you could probably shave some weight here and there but I think your biggest problem is your pack. Isn't that 6-8 pounds right there?

 

[kgd]

Awesome pictures and commentary. This time of year, clothing selection can be the toughest part. You never know if you'll be down to a t-shirt or bundled in a heavy layer. Too bad about the boots, always a bummer when a well broken in pair bites the dust.

 

[Shotgun]

Awesome pictures and commentary. This time of year, clothing selection can be the toughest part. You never know if you'll be down to a t-shirt or bundled in a heavy layer. Too bad about the boots, always a bummer when a well broken in pair bites the dust.

Yep. No mosquitoes but you're loaded up with extra layers. No free lunch huh?

 

[crossada]

Great photos and write up as usual. The way I got away from carrying so much was to shrink my pack down. It forced me to pick and choose what I was taking but if that Kifaru is comfortable for you I don't see a reason to change it. It looks versatile to me being able to expand for serious trips or shrink down for day hikes.

 

[PropThePolecat]

Great pics man!

 

[trailbum]

On the subject of fatwood, we did get jipped.

 

[Brutane]

sometimes i wish i can go back to being ignorant and just hike in with an energy bar and a bottled water

I know exactly what you mean! Now I have so much more survival knowledge than I did when I was younger. I could probably survive with only the most basic of equipment but I find that I now carry a load out similar to yours even on day hikes. I feel as though if I would have to spend the night I would want to do so in comfort and not simply "survive."

 

[JV3]

Thanks for the pics. As for your gear you could probably shave some weight here and there but I think your biggest problem is your pack. Isn't that 6-8 pounds right there?

you're welcome. it's 8 lbs empty. a similar capacity/load rating osprey is only 2-3 lbs lighter though so this pack isn't going anywhere. i'm only 5'9" but 180 lbs so if i ever want to do the ultralight thing, i know exactly where to start

Awesome pictures and commentary. This time of year, clothing selection can be the toughest part. You never know if you'll be down to a t-shirt or bundled in a heavy layer. Too bad about the boots, always a bummer when a well broken in pair bites the dust.

thanks, ken! yeah, i sweat very easily so while hiking i was down to a t-shirt but as soon as i stop i had to put on my full blown winter jacket...as for the boots, i used heavy duty epoxy to put that sole back. i'll see soon enough if it holds up.

Great photos and write up as usual. The way I got away from carrying so much was to shrink my pack down. It forced me to pick and choose what I was taking but if that Kifaru is comfortable for you I don't see a reason to change it. It looks versatile to me being able to expand for serious trips or shrink down for day hikes.

thanks! yeah this pack is very comfortable so it's now my do-everything pack.

Great pics man!

thanks, prop!

I know exactly what you mean! Now I have so much more survival knowledge than I did when I was younger. I could probably survive with only the most basic of equipment but I find that I now carry a load out similar to yours even on day hikes. I feel as though if I would have to spend the night I would want to do so in comfort and not simply "survive."

i'm going out later for a quick hike to burn off calories before stuffing myself silly - i'm only going to bring an axe and a 4" knife...as close to ultralight i'll ever do

 

[lmalterna]

J, Thanks for sharing! I know what you mean on going bare minimum, seems I seldom get below about 18 lbs of stuff. Yet I see people leave the parking lot for a 4 mile up mountain hike in tennis shoes and carrying only a 16 oz bottle of water. They make it just fine, but I prefer knowing I will be fed, well hydrated and enjoy my hike.

I agree on the snakes. I played with them as a teen, kept them as pets and bred them but prefer not to encroach with fingers and toes in the wild. The pics of swollen and split fingers and toes taught me to avoid the bite.

Bill

 

[JV3]

@bill: you're welcome!


update on my shredded merrell chameleon ventilator 3's soles:

merrell's customer service/warranty rocks! they sent me a refuge core mid as replacement today (they requested 3 models and even though the first two i listed were way cheaper they sent me this one which is the most expensive one).

i was bummed when it got shredded - it was very comfy, but it was a blessing in disguise since i bought the phaser peak and it's an even better boots.

..anyway, merrell will get my business again when it's time to buy new boots!

 

[sm-100]

Love your posts man. Would be curious to see your gear all spread out with a description of each item and when you take it. Thanks for the entertainment!

 

[VTguy17]

Nice pics and report as always! I don't know how you shlump all that gear for a day hike but keep it up brother.

 

[JV3]

Nice pics and report as always! I don't know how you shlump all that gear for a day hike but keep it up brother.

thanks! i'm just a gear whore even if i wanted to go light, i shouldn't because aside from walking my dogs/road biking on week nights and mtb'ng on weekends, it's really all the exercise i get

 

[JV3]

Love your posts man. Would be curious to see your gear all spread out with a description of each item and when you take it. Thanks for the entertainment!

thanks! grab some popcorn because i'm a picture posting mad man this is my core gear that never leaves my pack (whether day hike or overnighter):

the contents of that canteen/cup kit:

for overnighters, i bring this msr stowaway 775 ml pot with my hook mod so i can hang it over the fire:

i have a water filter and snowpeak gigapower stove (both are rarely used) but i like to play with fire often so i bring my emberlit most of the time:

as far as cutting tools go, these are my most used now for the past two years:

although with the addition of the emberlit, i'm starting to leave the choppers/axe behind and favor folding saws nowadays:

i've tried a lot of tarps but i've settled on the bushcraftusa's 10'x10' multicam as my go-to shelter (heavier than the regular coyote brown version but it's fire-retardant, more waterproof coating, and the less transparent material gives better sun/heat protection):

for a lighter package/day hike i carry an o.p.s.e.c. multicam poncho instead:

i favor winter camping the most (the colder and more snow the better!) so my go-to sleep pad is an exped downmat 9 (r-value of 8)...for summer, i just use the regular ol' thermarest foam pad.

when the temps are in the low teens thick wool socks aren't enough anymore so i wear wiggy's booties to keep my feet warm. next to it is kifaru's doobie and rei pillows inside kifaru's compression sacks:

i do a lot of gear testing to find out which ones work for me so often times there's more there than what i've listed here. aside from day hikes, i've been going on an overnighter a month since late last year and you can read about why/how i came to pick the gear i use now:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/909959-pics-from-my-solo-3-days-2-nighter
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/919674-another-2-nighter-2-types-of-shelter-used
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/928770-another-2-nighter-emberlit-stove-and-happy-feet!
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/938875-another-overnighter-the-white-rice-episode
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/946115-2-nighter-lite-machete-comes-out-of-hibernation!

 

[sm-100]

You're the man, Brother!

 

[gregorio]

nice post as always, must take you forever to load so many pics.