Where are the minimalist campers at?

[TFin04]

Anyone else enjoy trekking into the woods for 24-48 hours with just a few basic items? I like to go with just a small bag/pack (about the size of a Maxpedition Versipack, I think I'm going to pick one of those up soon) and a tarp/blanket roll that houses a shelter kit for me.

I've adapted quite a few ideas from Dave Canterbury, he has a lot of videos on youtube about this type of stuff. He's a traditionalist hunter who likes to carry as little as possible into the woods. Check some of his stuff out.

For those that enjoy this type of camping, what all do you carry with you? I will get some pics and a list of items up soon. I've been modifying my kit quite a bit over the winter and have scaled back a lot since last season. I hope to have a leaner and smaller kit complete here soon.

Check out a few of these videos. Dave's a good guy as well. He has helped me locate some hard to find items and even went as far as buying them from his local source and shipping them to me for no profit.

http://youtube.com/user/wildernessoutfitters

 

[andrew7978]

I wouldnt say I am a full minimalist, but I usually camp for a weekend with my survival gear, a tent, and sleeping bag and thats it. But my survival gear includes water, knife etc. It probably weighs like 8 pounds.

 

[baldtaco-II]

Dog and I do 24hrs fairly regularly with little more than fits in that red bag. De nada.

 

[TFin04]

Looks good. Here is my shelter kit and a few set ups I use.

 

[baldtaco-II]

I wont carry poles unless I'm going with a full-on tent. The exception is a single pole about the width of a pencil and less than a meter long that can be slid into the hood of my bivy bag to keep it off the face. I tend to only use that when it's mosquito time.

How much weight is that you have there all up?

 

[gundy]

Maxpedition Pygmy Falcon 2;
Torch
Jerky
Barlee Sugar
Water/cup
Thermals
Compass
Cups of soup packs
1x small alloy pan
Matches
LMF sparker
Maya sticks
Goretex bivvy
Gortex Jacket
Beanie
Small hooks/line/sinkers/flys
Leatherman Wave
Busse ASH1

Lets go!

 

[TFin04]

I wont carry poles unless I'm going with a full-on tent. The exception is a single pole about the width of a pencil and less than a meter long that can be slid into the hood of my bivy bag to keep it off the face. I tend to only use that when it's mosquito time.

How much weight is that you have there all up?

I haven't weighed it. The poles are very light, less than a pound for all 6 of them. I would guess the whole roll is 2-3 lbs.

My bag weighs about another 12lbs fully loaded or so. I'm not really going for ultralight or anything, just some basic stuff to give me enough comfort for a day or two.

The tarp is nice in the winter. The inside is a silver reflective material and can really focus the heat from a fire down on you at night. Usually that kit has a wool blanket rolled around it as well, I don't carry a sleeping bag.

 

[HighDesertWalker]

I did a three day backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon with a pack that weighed only 20 lbs including food, water, shelter, sleeping quilt, bivy bag, mess kit and an extra layer of clothing. Bear the Dog got me started on this super-ultra-light approach with his numerous backpacking posts, and I'm now a total convert. :thumbup:

 

[baldtaco-II]

I haven't weighed it. The poles are very light, less than a pound for all 6 of them. I would guess the whole roll is 2-3 lbs.

My bag weighs about another 12lbs fully loaded or so. I'm not really going for ultralight or anything, just some basic stuff to give me enough comfort for a day or two.

The tarp is nice in the winter. The inside is a silver reflective material and can really focus the heat from a fire down on you at night. Usually that kit has a wool blanket rolled around it as well, I don't carry a sleeping bag.

Looks like you can get a bunch of options from it. I tend to the long and low rather than the pyramid 'cos of wind, but it looks useful for when you've got to sit vigilant, like fishin'.

Often, I wish more people carried poles. It sickens me when I see people repeatedly beatin' on perfectly good trees for no apparent reason other than laziness. I have a word for that, and that word is vandalism. It's incongruous to the spirit of the outdoors and minimal impact. You know the sort; “but there are so many trees here, one McBurger carton wont matter”.

I tend to both extremes. I load up heavy on protracted trips, or with my playmate. She doesn't need pampering and can out chin-up me, but the fact remains that I can haul more, so I get to be donkey. Given some of the pack weights I see quoted on this forum I'd blush at announcing the heft of my Macpack Cascade loaded. “Any fool can be uncomfortable” - J. Wiseman.

24 / 48 hrs though and I'll scale down a lot, especially if I know where the water is likely at. Usually, my shelter consists of just rigging up a poncho over the bivy so knocking up a nosebag isn't so miserable if it rains etc. Dog comes into his own here too. Buddy up, back to back, exchange warmth.

 

[hwtsauer]

You could call me a minimalist. I usually go for trips up to a week long with just my outdoor vest, and I dont use 90% of the gear.
I couldn't begin to list the contents of the vest. It has survival and medical kit. Space blanket, poncho, para cord. Fire starting equipment, water purifying, hydration system. Fishing and hunting gear, and of course knives.
On a typical outing the only things that will get used are the poncho, knives, fishing pole, para cord, and fire starting. I try not to use the gear in the vest and do pretty well with out it. When I camp I usually use the poncho as a ground sheet and sleep next to the fire. I eat fish, small game, wild plants, and of course power bars
Here are some pictures of me in my neck of the woods.

 

[hwtsauer]

here are picts of the vest and its contents.

 

[HighDesertWalker]

You could call me a minimalist. I usually go for trips up to a week long with just my outdoor vest, and I dont use 90% of the gear.
I couldn't begin to list the contents of the vest. It has survival and medical kit. Space blanket, poncho, para cord. Fire starting equipment, water purifying, hydration system. Fishing and hunting gear, and of course knives.
On a typical outing the only things that will get used are the poncho, knives, fishing pole, para cord, and fire starting. I try not to use the gear in the vest and do pretty well with out it. When I camp I usually use the poncho as a ground sheet and sleep next to the fire. I eat fish, small game, wild plants, and of course power bars
Here are some pictures of me in my neck of the woods.

That's the real deal hwtsauer. Living primarily off the land with a minimum of equipment requires serious woodsmanship. Thanks for the pics and info.

I'm curious about a few points. First, how much does your vest weigh for a typical one week trek. Also, do you have any military training, or did you grow up on a ranch or otherwise close to the wild. You have a level of comfort and confidence in the outdoors that exceeds what most of us can muster. Would like to know how you developed your skills.

 

[DWK2]

Hwtsauer,

Thanks for the display!

Is that a paracord wrap you have around the barrels of your Springfield survival rifle? I've thought of doing something like that but have been concerned that tensioning the barrels like that might have a negative effect on accuracy. [My little rifle has an amazingly accurate .22 barrel.] Does your Springfield shoot just as well with the wrap as it did before you wrapped it?

Thanks for your advice,

DancesWithKnives

 

[Blue Sky]

A couple questions for you guys:

Looks good. Here is my shelter kit and a few set ups I use.

Some nice set-ups there. What's the overall size of that tarp?

You could call me a minimalist. I usually go for trips up to a week long with just my outdoor vest, and I dont use 90% of the gear.

That looks like one of the more useful vest layouts I've seen. Would you tell me what model that is?

 

[Dannyboy Leather]

Going minimal can REALLY maximize ones enjoyment on outdoor travels -- providing he has the skills, and observes all of the reasonable safety concerns.

I have been involved with historical or period trekking groups for many years. We travel in the woodlands much as the colonial frontiersman would have early in this countries history (remember Last of the Mohicans movie?). As a frontier reenactor (not the mountain man with tipi and a trailer full of accoutrements), your definition of "minimal" will usually take on a whole new meaning. I learned my "going minimal" skills with these ultimate survival woodsmen. See
http://www.historicaltrekking.com/ for more information.

When not doing period trekking ,necessarily, I will often head into the wilderness, taking only my lightweight Egyptian trail tarp, Wilde wool blanket (best hand-woven wool blanket ever made), canteen, compass, cordage, knife, flint & steel, a couple of first aid items, small bible, mucket (for boiling water), and a small sack containing parched corn (or corn meal), jerked beef, nuts, raisins, dried berries, and most important...my tea.

"When I lost my possessions, I found my creativity. I felt I was being born for the first time." -- Yip Harburg.

 

[hwtsauer]

That's the real deal hwtsauer. Living primarily off the land with a minimum of equipment requires serious woodsmanship. Thanks for the pics and info.

I'm curious about a few points. First, how much does your vest weigh for a typical one week trek. Also, do you have any military training, or did you grow up on a ranch or otherwise close to the wild. You have a level of comfort and confidence in the outdoors that exceeds what most of us can muster. Would like to know how you developed your skills.

I did grow up on a ranch in N. Cal, one of those little places that time forgot. We didn't have power until I was in the 6th grade. I grew up playing in the woods, my dad is a big out doors guy and my uncles were Special Forces; one was Force Recon Marines, the other was a Seal. So I got influenced all the way around. My old man had me catching trout bare handed out of creeks as soon as I could walk, and we would build traps for the foxes and raccoons that came near the chicken pen. We would go for hikes and he would point out edible plants, show us how to make fires and shelters, we were always hunting something. We would go with minimal gear, usually our rifle (.22), pocket knife, lighter, and water bottle and he would take us out for up to a week at a time and teach us to live off the land. This was when I was still about 10-12 years old. He gives me a lot of crap about how much I take with me now, but he likes the first aid kit since it comes in so handy.

 

[3wolves]

I am an extreme minimalist. On a hike or camping trip from 1-3 days, all I carry is
- a nylon tarp,
- a light hammok made of some kind on net,
- about 50 feet of paracord,
This is my shelter, the tarp is strung up between the trees and I hang the hammock below it.
- hatchet,
- 5" fb
- TP
- either a swisstool or OHT
- small pot
- fire starting kit with a bic, about 25 matches, fire steel and tinder.
- canned or non perishable food,
- flashlight
- diamond rod, (same as hwtsaur's)
- extremely small FAK
- extremely small fishing kit,
and a 1 quart canteen.

And for day hikes, its just a OHT, fire kit, water and FAK (oh yeah and TP)


I can't enjoy myself if Im burdened down with luggage which I don't even use.

 

[hwtsauer]

Hwtsauer,

Thanks for the display!

Is that a paracord wrap you have around the barrels of your Springfield survival rifle? I've thought of doing something like that but have been concerned that tensioning the barrels like that might have a negative effect on accuracy. [My little rifle has an amazingly accurate .22 barrel.] Does your Springfield shoot just as well with the wrap as it did before you wrapped it?

Thanks for your advice,

DancesWithKnives

The para cord wrap did throw off the accuracy and I have since removed it. The gun would shoot over 3 feet high at 100yrds. I now have a red dot sight on it and it shoots very well. My M6 is in .22 hornet, wish it was .22long rifle.
Here is a pict of it in action, killed this gray with the 410 shotgun. They are good eating!! MMmmm.

 

[hwtsauer]

here is the link to the vest
http://www.specialforces.com/store/catalog/product_26225_Search_and_Rescue_Vest.html

my set up is probably about 10-15 pounds of gear, but the hydration system holds 1.5 gallons, so there is another 12lbs if its full. All of the contents are stored in Sea-Line dry bags, because there are a lot of rivers that I end up swimming across, and the vest actually will float me and I am 265lbs.

 

[go2ndAmend]

I have an M-6 Scout also. I just read somewhere where the guy fitted a small block of aluminum between the barrels and then wrapped it in paracord. Seems like a great idea and I'm waiting to find the time to try it.