What do you do in the outdoors??

HAHAHA. Its ok, many do... Adjutant General Corps deal with troop training and personnel management; a very very very important aspect to the Army that many overlook and seem to bash distastefully for some reason...
 
Runningboar it is amazing how much that rock looks like a raccoon . L:O:L

Mostly my woodside adventures are rather sedate when compared to some who post here . Field archery , lopping of branches , made a frame to scrape a skin . Chopped a tree down with a kukuuri machete to get some bow staves out of it . A little knife throwing and hunting/scouting thrown in rounds out a typical fall month .
 
Recently I've been so busy with work that I haven't been doing ANYTHING else. I'm getting quite stir crazy as of late.:(

I normally like to get out for at least two nights a month but it's been a busy year. I live about 1.5 hours away from an awesome wilderness area. I did get out for the day a few weeks ago and took the family out to a 70 meter waterfall for a picnic.

My daughter (15) and I have been exploring the same wilderenss area for several years now. It includes a 4000 hectare lowland hardwood/bamboo forest backed up to a mining lease that includes a 6000 foot mountain range. The mountain part is basically 10 x 14 kilometers, 140 square km with no roads or habitation. The land between the forest and mountains includes a small farm but is mostly given over to cattle, horses, and scrub brush. There are 13 major waterfalls in the land beween the mountains and forest.

Several times a year I run my wilderness survival course and that's always a blast. I take four other guys, most of whom have never spent a night in the woods. The course is geared to the basics of how to pack a well thought out daypack and then based on its contents how to safely handle the most common wilderness emergency, getting lost and getting back out. The material covers compass navigation, firemaking, shelter building, water location and prep, machete, knife, signalling for help, etc. I don't get into wild plants or food gathering.

I also want to expand the course and take groups up into the mountains. So far I've limited the course to lowland scrub and forest. I won't take anyone up top until they've proven themselves in the lowlands. The mountains are just too dangerous for beginners. I have taken select individuals up there but they have to already have enough skills and the right temperment for it.

I had to skip running the course this year due to my near fatal tick allergy anfalactic shock incident.:eek: My waiting list has about 30 names on it right now and I have several intersted in learning how to run the course.

Whenever I'm back in PA I do alot of hunting when in season and survival trips in Spring/Summer. My brother is a police marskman and we get out not often enough but it is always intersting when we do.

We got out for two intresting trips the last time I was home. The one trip we did several days of off trail navigation with topo maps and satellite photos in the same scale orirntation as the maps. That was some hard work but very fun, navigating to things on the photos. His department encourages them to take gear home and learn how to use it on their own time. He was able to borrow some night vision gear and we spent three days in the bush navigating/scouting stuff in the dark. Very educational. You get to do things you wouldn't normally do when you take the police with you.;) Mac
 
For the last 10 years my wilderness experiences have involved sitting in front of my computer promising myself that I'll find time to get out "this year." I went and got serious about my career (boy, was that ever a mistake) and I also married a woman who isn't into the outdoors (also something of a mistake). Then we started having kids, which just blew out my entire life, especially since my wife's idea of roughing it is two stars instead of four. So, I stopped getting out into the woods. Time flew by, all my equipment disappeared.

Before I started taking myself seriously, I used to do week-long solo hikes in northern Minnesota (sawtooth mountains along Superior). Mostly that involved just poking up fireroads and streams to see what I could see. Also did a lot of canoing (BWCA). Later, after I moved, I did my fair share of wandering up to altitude in the Sierra Nevada. So it was quite a change to go from someone who was "out there" a lot to someone growing fat in front of a computer. And the funny thing is, it just sort of happened without me thinking about it.

Over the last year I've started to get serious about heading out again. The kids are getting old enough for it, and I've stopped thinking my so-called career is about anything other than putting food on the table. So I've been piecing my kit together, in part by paying attention to the conversations that happen here on Blade Forums.

Yesterday I took my daughters (ages 5 and 7) on a little 2.5 mile hike in a county park near my house. This was at Grant Ranch park in the Diablo mountain range, so it was more than paved biking paths but less than foot paths along mountain ravines. The hike that we did was all gravel roads, relatively flat, with a single hill (roughly 12% grade) that I had to psyche the kids up for. They're city kids so the wide open spaces and lack of people kind of freaked them out. It took some gentle persuasion to keep them from turning back.

At one point a hawk gave a cry, and I had both girls clinging to me in terror. I guess my obvious amusement didn't help the situation at all.

I spent ten minutes in the parking lot teaching my oldest daughter very, very basic compass usage, and then throughout the hike I kept asking her to tell me what direction we were going in. I also kept showing her where we were on the map and where we were going, and how to line up the map with the compass. All very basic stuff.

"See that barn on the map?" Point off in the distance. "I'll bet that's the barn that the map is showing us. What direction is that barn from us? Does that look like it's in the right direction based on what the map is telling us?"

Like I said, basic stuff.

The 5-year-old just kept sticking her nose into it, very patiently soaking it all up. She can't read yet, having just started kindergarten, so I don't see any point in trying to start her with map and compass work. But I think she got the idea of a compass, just from watching her sister.

It was remarkable how tired both kids were by the end of the hike. We went very slow with lots of breaks (water and trail mix -- the girls kept eating all the M&Ms), and we didn't go any further than if we were wandering around a mall or an amusement park. I think the activity was so alien to them that the stress wore them out.

It never occurred to me that the hardest part of getting kids to go hiking would be their nervousness over unknown environments.

In the end, it turned out to be a great first trip. Both kids this morning couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had with me yesterday.

Next step is to put together camping stuff (a tent, cooking kit, etc) that's large enough for the family. I think I'll head out for an overnighter on my own before I take the kids, just to make sure I still remember how to cook over a fire and/or a camp stove. :) Then I'll start taking the kids with me, so that I can teach them things like how to build a shelter, make a fire the right way (with flint and steel), and basically how not to be afraid of big skies and no people. I'm sure the first time we sleep overnight in a tent in a campgrounds somewhere, there's going to be two scared little girls with me. There seems to be some fear of bears, which is understandable since we had a bit of a run-in with bears on a ski trip last winter.

It takes gentle, gentle steps to ease city girls away from the mall and out into the wilderness. Make that persistent gentle steps. I'm going to have to work to keep getting them out there if I'm ever going to get them to enjoy it.

I know that for the people on this list, this outdoor adventure must seem limited or even lame. But this is how it starts for most kids and their busy dads, especially when you live in a city.

Hopefully this didn't bore you....

(BTW, yes I carried a fixed blade but it was buried deep in my pack where it wouldn't freak out the local suburbanites. I also had a folder with me, as well as enough of a PSK that I could stay overnight with the girls if "shit happens." I felt overdressed for the hike, but rules are rules. We were walking away from the pavement, so all that stuff came with me.

Over the course of the afternoon, we ran into two other groups of people. Not one of those other groups had anything other than a few bottles of water with them. I expect they had water only because it was a fairly warm day. Makes me shake my head every time I see things like that. I guess it's good that Santa Clara county has a good SAR outfit....)
 
interesting posts.... Sorry to hear your wife has distracted you from being outdoors.. The 2 stars instead of 4 was brilliant...
 
Walk around, look at stuff, see how far the idiot loggers have come across my family farm's property line... you know fun stuff.
 
If I'm not on my way to a knife show, I'm in the woods every weekend. We have a small tree farm in the NC foothils and I try to spend as much time as I can up there. While normal activities and hunting usually supply plenty of uses for a knife, I try to invent others. I normally have one or two extra knives being reviewed for an article. Four to five years more till my wife can relocate her job and then it's 100% woods time!
 
enjoyable story, bulgron.

aside from boy scouts 15 yrs ago, i haven't spent much time in the outdoors. i did an overnight car camping trip and some hiking in the spring. this weekend is a 4-day trip to WV for motorcycling, camping, hiking...maybe some fishing. from there, we'll see....maybe some camping/motorcycle trips.
 
My most enjoyable times outside usually take place in my sea kayak. It's a Nigel Dennis Explorer and I'm lucky enough to moonlight as a guide during the warmer months. The only down-side to that is the fact that much of my on-water time is spent catering to clients. Not that I'm complaining. It's still a great way to make a few extra dollars and the pro-deals are pretty sweet. When I'm on my free time, I usually manage to get at least one week-end away down the coast paddling along the New Brunswick/Maine border exploring some of the highest tides in the world. This is usually done with the other guides and some guys from work. If I'm lucky, I'll get another night or two by myself down there as well. For the past couple of years, I've taken my seven year old son with me for an overnighter before school gets in. We both take real pleasure in that. I also manage a couple of winter climbs down in the White Mountains each year as well. Usually anywhere from a week-end to four or five days. Planning to get back out West next summer for some bigger climbs with a couple of guys from the winter trips. It's all good outside, really.
 
morph said:
enjoyable story, bulgron.

aside from boy scouts 15 yrs ago, i haven't spent much time in the outdoors. i did an overnight car camping trip and some hiking in the spring. this weekend is a 4-day trip to WV for motorcycling, camping, hiking...maybe some fishing. from there, we'll see....maybe some camping/motorcycle trips.
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Back before kids, I did a lot of camping/motorcycle trips. It's a lot of fun. When you load your bike up with tents and sleeping bags and other gear, the other bikers always salute you. They can see that you're actually going somewhere you see....

Used to hit Death Valley every march and head up the west coast along 1 towards the Oregon border at the end of every summer. Even got as far as the four corners area on one trip before life changes overtook me. I still want to do the CA -> MN run someday (I'm originally from MN.)

Yep, a bike loaded down with camping gear and fast, twisty two-lane roads. Those are some happy memories.
 
My father has promised me a Rocky Mountains trip since I was 15. I don't think it will ever happen, neither of us are in good shape, he is in his mid 50's, and I have a good amount of weight to lose, and bad knees. I think that a hike along the Appalachian trail isn't out of the question though. We might not be able to do a month in the wilds of PA, but I think we'll do pretty good.


As for what do I do in the woods? I go to several local small parks. Rocks State Park in Pylesville MD. Susquehannock State Park in Holtwood PA. Susquehanna State Park in Darlington MD. Hart Miller Island on the Chesapeake Bay. Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in North East MD. Codorus State Park in Hanover PA.

At most of these parks, I either go swimming, hike, some weekend camping. Hart Miller Island, I boat and do some fishing and swimming there. Camping on the island. Watch the fireworks.

The stupid thing is, my father has about 3 acres of woods on the back end of his property, and they're a stones throw from the back door. They are thick with kudzu and stickerbushes, the kudzu has pretty much laid claim to the woods, they're real bad in his area. Anyway, he has a swamp at the bottom of the woods, and access to a feeder stream to Deer Creek. Beautiful area, I haven't been down there in about 5 years at least.
 
reconseed, forget AG! Quartermaster is great but move past it to CMF90 (Logistician) when you make Captain. This will take you out of standard QM stuff and into the much broader world of Logistics. In my CMF90 job, I had responsibility for supply, maintenance, ordnance, transportation, medical support, and field services. If you want Combat Arms, forget ADA and go FA. If it is not too late, I would even go Armor. This from a retired 06 looking backward! BTW, ROTC was good to me -- Distinguished Military Graduate -- Regular Army appointment.

BRUCE L. WOODBURY
COL, QM
Retired (1976 – 1999)

My current time in the woods is spent backpacking with my children and grandchildren, off-road motorcycling, and big game hunting. I always carry a SAK, a SOG Powerplier, and a fixed blade, which one depends on what I'm doing. For hunting, I have a custom built semi-skinner made of BG42. For motorcycling in the woods -- a Camillus pilot survival knife. For backpacking -- a Randall #5-6, and my last military knife was a Randall #14.
 
Hi Guys...thought I would show you a photo or two of what I do in the outdoors. This was two weekends ago. Lovely weekend trip with some friends.

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Diligence, that is AWESOME! Where were you? It looks beautiful. I haven't winter camped for ages. I lived in Colorado for a year after I got out of school, but I worked so much that I didn't have a chance to really get out and camp or hike or anything. Now I am sad. Anyhoo, your trip looks like it was fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

For me, it's hard to get out and away. My wife and I love to tent camp, hike, and kayak. I like to practice assorted woodcraft and wilderness skeelz whenever I get the chance. This summer I discovered that one of my neighbors shares my (past) passion for minimalist camping. We went on a trip a few weeks ago, and it was a great time. We hope to do more primitive/minimal stuff next year.
 
We were going to do a loop called Northover Ridge in Peter Lougheed Park, Ab. Due to the nature of the ridge (ie steep, exposed and narrow) and the depth of new snow, coupled with the inexperience of most of the group, my buddy and I decided that all of us would just camp in one spot for the weekend. It was a great decision. Lots of laughs, bad language and flatulence :D

We hadn't intended on winter camping. It just happened to snow about 2' in the past couple of days.

D
 
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