Winter Hike and Gear Review WI

[JGON]

Hi All,

You may be asking yourselves... who is this JGON fella who is always making ridiculous comments on bladeforums? Well, here you go...

Yeah yeah yeah... the hat is ridiculous, I know.

It's been a few months since I've had a camera, but I finally pulled the trigger on one so that I can take pics of my outdoor adventures. I've acquired more than a few pieces of gear since I had my camera last, so this was an opportunity to show them to ya'll.

Today's Hike

• Kettle Moraine Forest Southern Unit
• Ice Age Trail
• 12 Degrees Fahrenheit
• 5 Inches of recent snow

It was pretty cold, and the winds were whipping around pretty good, so I bundled up pretty warm. I was wearing Mountain Hardware Gaiters and Danner boots in addition to many layers. I brought my Osprey 40 Liter Pack and a few goodies to play with in the woods.

There are 3 backpacking shelters on the Ice Age Trail in Kettle Moraine South. Each one has a primitive shelter and fire ring. You have to hike in to access them. I have visited this site before, and I've never seen anyone else here. It's about a mile hike to the site from the nearest road, but I usually take the long way.

I wanted to head out this way, test my fire making skills, and use some of my newer tools in the process. If all worked out I was going to build a fire, have some tea, and relax for a bit before packing up and heading back home for the day.

Here are some images from my hike in to the shelter...

continued with pics of the shelter and fire making...

 

[JGON]

At one point, I veered from the trail to follow a creek that I knew of in the area. The creek is very small, and I was expecting it to be frozen over, but it wasn't. I knew that this creek went all the way to the base of the hill that the shelter was on, so I followed it for about a 1/2 mile. When I neared the end of the creek, or at least the section I was following, something scary happened which I sort of show a little later.

At this point, something scary happened. The creek veered to the right, and I went to the left, away from the water. I was more then 15 feet away from the closest water that I saw when I took a step and sunk into some freezing mud. My boots were stuck and I was up to my waist. I reached back and grabbed the ground and pulled myself out. Here are some images of the hole I fell in, as well as my pants and gaiters afterwards. It doesn't look too bad, but it was still very dangerous. Here is where I went through, and you can see the water after the fact, but as I was walking it just looked like solid ground to me. I honestly thought I was going all the way in. It could have been much worse than it was.

After I climbed out, I ascended a small hill and I was at my shelter.

 

[JGON]

Next I proceeded to check out the shelter and get ready to make some fire and tea...

Snow filled fire ring

Digging out the fire pit with my snow peak titanium cup.

view from in the shelter

Another one

These following pictures are from the scenic overlook outside the shelter. When you look down, you can see the creek I followed to get here.

Some of the dead wood I am going to make fire out of.

My tools...

• Victorinox Swisstool
• Silky Accel 210
• Bark River STS-3
• Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet

 

[JGON]

Silky Accel 210

My splitting technique. Place a log on the ground and use it as your anvil or splitting round.

Get a solid hit with the hatchet, and you can split in one chop. Otherwise, switch to the other side and you got yourself a split log.

This was a beetle killed tree, and inside there was a bunch of sawdust created by the beetles and/or the larvae. I attempted to use this is tinder, but it didn't yield the results I was hoping for.

 

[HornyToad]

In spite of the "sinkhole" looks like you had a good time. I like the snow pictures since we don't have that down here in Houston. (You might cut the resolution down a little so they fit on the screen and load faster). Good to see someone else with the STS-3. A nice knife. Mine has the false edge. I guess the stainless steel is an advantage in that wet snow.

 

[JGON]

Lastly, it was tea time...

And one of my pack also. I brought my showshoes, but there wasn't a need for them as the snow wasn't as deep as I thought.

Also, here is a review I did of the Silky Saw while I was out.

[youtube]J62dLyVPpU0?fs=1&amp[/youtube]

All in all an awesome hike. Other than ending up waist deep in freezing mud, it was a great outing despite the cold.

Thanks for looking,

JGON

 

[Guyon]

You've read "To Build a Fire," right?

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JGON]

You've read "To Build a Fire," right?

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.

Never read it before, but I just googled it and I am reading it now! http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html

Good read, and parts of it sound just like my day today...

Thanks for the heads up Guyon.

JGON

 

[Wilkenstein]

Awesome pics!



I'm no expert, but I was tought to melt a little snow at a time instead of all at once. Ends up being much faster.

 

[mtnfolk mike]

great pics man... :thumbup: looks cold.. nice gear selection too...

 

[VANCE]

Awesome pics!



I'm no expert, but I was tought to melt a little snow at a time instead of all at once. Ends up being much faster.

funny,
i just read in backpacker

to not fill the cup all the way because it will act as a insulator...just add some as it melts.....it also mentioned to put a full cup of snow on top of the 1st cup to take advantage of the heat rising

...im not sure...we dont get much snow in GA.

 

[JGON]

Awesome pics!
I'm no expert, but I was tought to melt a little snow at a time instead of all at once. Ends up being much faster.

That's a good tip. I bet that would work better, and I will definitely try it next time I'm out... this is why I love the Wilderness and Survival subforum...

mtnfolk mike great pics man... looks cold.. nice gear selection too...

Thanks much...

I wanted to mention this in the original post but I forgot. Out of the four main tools I brought, the Swisstool, Silky Saw, Bark River, and GB Hatchet, I reached for the hatchet far more often than any of the others. Next was the Silky Saw. It made incredibly short work of sectioning some downed trees and limbs so I could split them with the hatchet. I only used the Barkie for making some feather sticks, but I could have used the hatchet for that since it's razor sharp. Even though I love the tool and appreciate it's versatility, I didn't reach for the Swisstool once. I will still bring it though, because I have a feeling then when i need it, I'll REALLY need it. It's weird, but I feel like I could get by without a knife at all. The hatchet is so useful.

Thanks

JGON

 

[JUST1MOR]

I was more then 15 feet away from the closest water that I saw when I took a step and sunk into some freezing mud. My boots were stuck and I was up to my waist. I reached back and grabbed the ground and pulled myself out.

JGON, growing up on our farm, we had "sink holes" similar to this along both of our creeks. These were as far as 75'-100' away from them, & the only way you could tell they were there was the grass was a darker shade of green than the surrounding area. We were 4-wheeling my senior year in high school when I ran into one of these with my GMC 4WD. By the time I tried rocking it back & forth to get out, the truck had angled into the muck, & I crawled out the driver's window onto the ground. It took dad & my brother with two tractors to pull my truck out.
Glad you are ok, great time of the year to be out, & proves you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times when out with "Mother Nature" . . .
Be safe.

 

[JGON]

JGON, growing up on our farm, we had "sink holes" similar to this along both of our creeks. These were as far as 75'-100' away from them, & the only way you could tell they were there was the grass was a darker shade of green than the surrounding area. We were 4-wheeling my senior year in high school when I ran into one of these with my GMC 4WD. By the time I tried rocking it back & forth to get out, the truck had angled into the muck, & I crawled out the driver's window onto the ground. It took dad & my brother with two tractors to pull my truck out.
Glad you are ok, great time of the year to be out, & proves you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times when out with "Mother Nature" . . .
Be safe.

Honestly it scared the heck outta me. I got out quick and was able to make a fire fast enough where I wasn't too cold or wet, but as soon as I realized my foot wasn't hitting solid ground and it was going into water/mud in single digit temps... yeah it was a little unnerving. But I live to fight another day, and I will definitely be more careful about my footing in the future.

JGON

 

[n2wilderness]

Love that backpack...has served me well.

 

[m]

Great pics and post. Thanks for sharing. Thank the Lord you were able to get out of that sink hole quickly and get warm. It reminded me of the time my buddy fell thru the ice when we were pheasant hunting one day. Getting wet at that temp and then almost being stuck in it too is scary indeed! What kind of camera were you using?

 

[JGON]

Great pics and post. Thanks for sharing. Thank the Lord you were able to get out of that sink hole quickly and get warm. It reminded me of the time my buddy fell thru the ice when we were pheasant hunting one day. Getting wet at that temp and then almost being stuck in it too is scary indeed! What kind of camera were you using?

Using a Casio EXILIM EX-G-1. It's shock and water resistant, which is good for a guy like myself who likes to break things. It was only around $170 on Amazon, and I'm very pleased with the purchase so far.

n2wilderness Love that backpack...has served me well.

Mine has also served me well, but as you can tell from this I am looking to upgrade. Most feedback has me leaning towards a bigger pack for the winter stuff.

Thanks

JGON

 

[kgd]

Cool pictures. Wish we had shelters like that, seems like all our provincial parks have gone to the 'designated campground' model.

Lastly, it was tea time...

Hey, aren't you supposed to put the tea in the cup instead of in the fire

That silky saw looks good.

 

[BChou-E29]

Nice pics thanks for sharing!

Cool hat. The ladies practically come to you when you wear it don't they?

 

[Walkabout]

Great pics... thanks so much for posting them!

Looks like a great time, although a bit more exciting than intended.