Think I need an ark for christmas !!!

[pitdog]

The rain was so nasty this morning that I even had to drag Snicker out the door, man it just won't stop.

All the hiking trails had become streams or mud baths !

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

Even my camera didn't like the rain, all my pics came out crappy !

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

There's now wonder us west coasters rely on Fatwood so much, I don't care if ya Ray Mears you'd struggle like hell to get a fire going with other natural tinders in this !

In fact I doubted fatwood would work today so decided to give it a try. I used my Swiss Spirit to make some fatwood dust and some fine shavings, as I fumbled around with cold wet fingers for my camera Snicker ran by and knocked my tinder everywhere !!!!!:grumpy:
I was too cold and wet to make any more so just salvaged what I could...

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

My cheap North 49 fire-steel wouldn't work on this today ( Just shows they are not all the same eh ) so I resorted to my trusty Primus which I believe is the same as an LMF and after a few strikes I had flame. Once again by the time I managed to get my camera out the flame had almost died out...

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

If I could get fire with Fatwood today I'm convinced I could do it any day.

By pitdog2010 at 2010-12-14

I tried to film how wet it was but the lighting was so bad for my basic camera it didn't come out very well. Maybe it still gives ya some idea though !

[youtube]z6adgPYiBWU[/youtube]

 

[tknife]

Thta's some crazy rain, bet it's cold too We're supposed to see rain starting tomorrow, but it's been in the high 70's to low 80's the past few days. Hate to tell you that I've been in shorts and t-shirt for the past week or so

 

[pitdog]

Thta's some crazy rain, bet it's cold too We're supposed to see rain starting tomorrow, but it's been in the high 70's to low 80's the past few days. Hate to tell you that I've been in shorts and t-shirt for the past week or so

I thought I'd messed up today. I wore a Stansfield wool mix base layer ( pretty thick ), a Merino wool roll neck and a Pertex windproof smock over them. I hate waterproofs such as Goretex and prefer a more breathable combo like I had on today.
When I first got on the trail I was really chilled, the damp air just seemed to seep through my clothes, I even thought of turning back. Anyway as I got into the hike my clothing allowed the heat to build up and I was just right.

I'm seriously thinking of investing in some Filson oiled tin cloth pants though if I get enough money for christmas !

 

[PDE]

I'm seriously thinking of investing in some Filson oiled tin cloth pants though if I get enough money for christmas ![/QUOTE]




Single or double.( I am thinking about the singles, not sure if I would be able to walk in the doubles!)

 

[pitdog]

I'm seriously thinking of investing in some Filson oiled tin cloth pants though if I get enough money for christmas !

Single or double.( I am thinking about the singles, not sure if I would be able to walk in the doubles!)[/QUOTE]

Yeah singles, I think the doubles would only be good for the coldest winter weather !

 

[kgd]

Good stuff Pit, those are bloody demanding conditions! I have a few of those north49 sticks from Crappytire kicking around. I find they are really good for removing the plastic handle and fitting them onto Going Gear steels

Keep up with the vids man, they are fun to do! Also, fact that you got fire in that wet is a good demo of firecraft. Lots of folks don't really give credit to keeping it real in the wet. Not as easy as it looks!

As for tin cloth.....It will be pretty darn spark resistant, but heavy too and a hell of a lot less breathable than gortex. If I were in that wet, I'd just go with gortex 3-ply with decent waterproof zippered pitzips. That will give you decent ventilation. No, I haven't spend long days on your Island, but I spent many days in a boat and I suspect they are both pretty close to one another. I see 3-ply as being good until the temperatures turn that wet back into snow!

 

[Bushman5]

ya mega rain today. Trucking was fun, at one point i had water coming in the door sills of the truck as i drive thru a construction site.

Pitdog,

NEVER have doubts about fatwood........the stuff we have here is so good it is like napalm. It will burn in the fiercest of winds, the wettest rain and the cold. It is VERY IMPORTANT for us Wet coasters as a fire starter, because that INTENSE heat and flame will rapidly dry out the rest of our wood and ignite it. Would you rather **** around trying to light a fire with traditional gnats butt hair or twiddledeetralalala plant fluff or some other "uber bushcraft" tinder in our pissing rain? or do you want a fire RIGHT NOW with readily available, easy to prep and light FATWOOD?



case in point.....

click for video!

 

[Walkabout]

Nice pics! That's some pretty wet stomping grounds you have there. It won't be until March or April that we see some liquid precip here on the prairies.

Hope thing dry out a bit for you!

 

[milani74]

Pitdog,
Nice of you to get out in this weather. It's been really windy, cold and rainy here. I lived in the PNW before down in Oregon some 10 years ago but I dont remember the winters being this wet and windy. I think they said it dumped as much as 11 inches of rain this weekend.
On a side note: what gloves do you use? I'm looking for some mechanic like gloves that are waterPROOF and warm without costing me an arm and a leg!

 

[sambo.]

it's gonna be a wet christmas for us out in central Australia this year.

thankfully it'll be warm.

 

[pitdog]

Pitdog,
Nice of you to get out in this weather. It's been really windy, cold and rainy here. I lived in the PNW before down in Oregon some 10 years ago but I dont remember the winters being this wet and windy. I think they said it dumped as much as 11 inches of rain this weekend.
On a side note: what gloves do you use? I'm looking for some mechanic like gloves that are waterPROOF and warm without costing me an arm and a leg!

I have lots of different gloves that I wear ranging from Wool ones, Polartec ones to Goretex depending on the weather. I have found that Mitts are definitely warmer than gloves when it's really cold.
These are my Mitts,

http://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/Mitts.htm