The Winter Bug Out Contest! Rookie of The Year Award!

[RGR SNAPLINK]

RGR.

I would have liked to see that cottonmouth. I haven’t been down south in a decade.

Well let me know if you wanna do the southern quarter of the AT. I will come up "north" and we can do some walking.

[aa1pr]

Cool entry. I need to review it some more later but packing up right now for a trip. Yup it is better to let the fire do the work for you. Sometimes I will slide longer branches and saplings into the fire or let it burn them in 1/2, just depends on the size. What type of wood did you employ for the spindle and fireboard?

Thanks! The wood was driftwood, so no bark or anything. I'm going to assume it was cottonwood. I just grabbed some that was off the ground and dry. I pressed my fingernail into it and it seemed right. Not a hard wood but not extremely soft either. I like to use cottonwood. Very common up here and works very well. I use the same on both the spindle and fireboard as opposed to some who use a harder spindle.

I concur nice outing, it is amazing how much one can truly find to aid their needs out in the bush, perfect example of bugging out with not really being prepared in a sense.

[Blackdog]

Regulator, Nice job. Big fat Bravo to you.

[drewder]

Regulator, Nice job. Big fat Bravo to you.

I will PLUS ONE (+1 ) that. That is balls out impressive.

[oldsoldier]

Coincidentally, I am planning a winter overnight with my nephew in a couple of weeks. We are going to combine some shooting with some camping out. My local range has a large plot of land for hunting on, and members can use it for camping as well. I JUST got their blessing yesterday. So, we are working on arranging a weekend to do this. I am going to take an old EMS 4 season tent, but I think we are gonna work with poncho shelters & a fire for heat. We will see. I have to carry in wood, as we cannot cut down any trees, and there is currently 2+ feet of snow on the ground. Which isnt a big deal, as the hike in will not be far. I am excited, and havent dont a cold weather trip in YEARS. I just stumbled on this thread, and, though I dont want to be entered in the contest, I DO want to post our expereince. I honestly dont need any more gear-I have been selling off extra stuff a it is. But, its great to share experience amongst brethren, and I look forward to that!

Thanks all for the contributions so far. LOTS of great stuff here!

[FreeRider]

Great entry regulator!
This weekend is looking quite warm for a winter outing for me (lows only down to -10C) but I do have to test my stove/tipi combo so I'll save my entry for next weekend, and use this weekend to test some of my new gear.

I found out the hard way earlier this season that being ill prepared for the weather (read : Stupid) can get you into a mess of trouble very quickly. I was testing out some new shelter system which was intended to be used in early spring/late fall. That night I was expecting temperatures to hover around 5C but at about 10pm during the evening the temps dropped down to about -10C. By about 2AM I knew I was in bad shape (far to dry in the dense bush for a fire in my "non emergency" situation) and decided to pull the plug and trek home (thankfully I test my gear about a mile or 2 from my house in the bush so I have a bailout in situations like this). Sure is amazing how being cold can fog your brain and make your legs dumb.

[aa1pr]

OK so the little guy is out for the night to do his portion of the contest [& now back home]

EDIT: 1/22/11 @5:30PM

Here is what I have took for photos of him getting started so far & will edit this post later with his complete adventure or mishaps...will have to see what he captures on his camera. The camera battery has presented itself with failing big time due to the cold weather, regardless of the prior charging cycle before the trip. 24 hours should past very fast when you are having fun at something you love. His idea of bugging out at his age may not be the same as ours, so please keep that in mind. Also interesting what he felt was important enough to take photos of…hopefully they provide the events of what he did appropriately. Trying to tell the tales of his adventure 

It was a somewhat sunny & warm 22 degrees when he started out around 4pm on our way to the drop off point


Road headed up into Green Mountain National Forest to give an idea of where he will be.


From our home this is the general are where I want him to be. Yellow arrow provides a visual clue.


Getting his stuff out of SUV

What he does not have room in the pack for is now in the sled, we really need to build a pulk


Here he is avoiding the camera or trying too


Trying to get his pack situated


Off he goes...


This is his bug out food he made a couple of weeks ago, he says he wants hearty wholesome food & not some quick thing to boil with water…whatever, he has breakfast sausage, sweet sausage with onions, chicken patties, & bread, not shown is the oatmeal, cocoa & kool aid mix he also has in Ziploc baggies, plus other items like spam, soup etc. he calls it his B.O.M.B bug out meal bag.

He then seals it up in one bigger bag??


Here is the photo I shot while driving home that somewhat shows the falling snow we are getting tonight. Hopefully this will keep the temps warmer.


It was -6 last night at our prearranged midnight health & welfare safety check [phone call]. All was good except the camera batteries as they were failing, he got this shot on the way into the area, a stump provided his camera support.


He says that it was too dark to shoot pictures once he decided upon a location, so the pictures kind of show what he did for supper with the stove. He used the Coleman stove as he did not want the pocket rocket as it is prone to cylinder freezing and becoming useless & the whisperlite was too hard to prime for him. He had some PJ cotton balls in his gear & that is what he used to get a small fire going for the evening. He let it burn out around 9pm he claims.


Only after sleeping with the batteries to keep them warm for the morning, he says he was able to get a few pictures
He mentioned how he changed his socks in the morning. One can sweat while they sleep and soggy feet suck.


The camera also allowed him to see the spot on his face, since he forgot to bring a mirror to check for frostbite. One has to be careful with any and all exposed skin. In the background you can see how deep the snow was and searching for firewood was tough work.



Morning was very bright and around 12 degrees at 8:30am.

It is amazing at how well a plastic sled works for an improvised shovel. This allowed him to clear the snow and make room for camp in the night. Otherwise setting up on 2 plus feet of snow would have been too challenging. Or to even keep you off the cold snow while doing other chores



He quickly got the fire re-going to warm some water for oatmeal. Warm food out in the cold bush makes for a happy camper. Other than the water he had in a 3 litre bottle he melted snow for his use. You can also see where the fire started to turn the snow bank into ice crystals.

Here he is warming his sausage links


He searched around for a campsite and chose the tall pine tree for some added protection in case the snowfall got to be too much. The tent is a Coleman Sundome 7x7 which in no way was ever meant for these conditions. He feels the temperature inside of the tent during the night was around 15 degrees. The ticket was the -15 sleeping bag and the foam pad that keeps the cold from penetrating into your gear and body.


This photo depicts how dense the forest really was; he followed an old tele-mark trail for easier hiking in the waist deep snow the area offered. Otherwise snowshoes would have been very helpful.

Little Mikie says it was surprisingly bright during the night even though the snow was falling & was so tranquil. Nothing like being in the outdoors this time of year. When I met him around 4:35pm this evening, he seemed to be a bit wet & tired, but nothing else. I think 24 hours was enough for him in these conditions and tonight is supposed to get to around -15.
Now if only the camera would have functioned properly would we have more photos to share of the events. I do hope you enjoyed his adventure. I really do not think he has done that bad for only being 14 years old.

[wyominglostandfound]

Best of luck! hope he makes it back safe and sound

[riverjoe47]

Way to go for having faith in your boys judgement .
Lots of stuff more dangerous then the woods . (low self esteem , lack of confidence , incompetence , inability to meet any challenge not in a video game .)
It occured to me that I had no boots except mickey mouse or running shoes so had to spend $79 for new boots from Dicks . I just kept thinking of that 53 chevy I bought one time for $65 and drove all the way to Fl. with it and then lived in it for a couple of mo.
But I see no boots on the prize list so I took em out for a spin and am really pleased . 10 degrees F and toes didn't even get slightly cool .
Took some pics on my little hike. Wish I had the rest of the gear ready . Probabley hit 0 tonight . Oh well ....

[Dubbya]

Great posts so far! I really enjoyed the bushcraft in the last one.

Hopefully I will be out next weekend to document my entry. 5 miles in to a nice campsite at Tejas Park.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

WOW! great work regulator!

that is an excellent example of what one can do when you know your AO and have a few skills in your pocket!

well done sir!

riverjoe47 - great looking pics! cant wait to see what you come up with. REALLY cant wait to see the sled in action. i like the teaser pic with it loaded up with some wood!

aa1pr - looks like the boy is off to a great start! i hope he stays safe! does he have a cell phone so he can keep in touch with you, or any comms if he needs them? great looking post so far!

rgr snaplink - your first post was awesome! and i really like the follow up hike! your dog looks cool as all hell! bet hes a great hiking buddy!

[Bakeel]

Out doing a shake down forgot some gear to so I have scrounge up some supplies from the truck. This isnt my trip for the contest but I thought I would post a pic or two to try and give the contest a pop.





Not sure what the track is and how good the picture is. It is large though.

[elricfate]

Looks like a cougar track.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

Looks like a cougar track.

im going to say coyote... i dont think cougars are in souther NJ, but could be wrong.

thanks for posting upo some teaser pics bakeel!

[wyominglostandfound]

aa1pr.... definitely a winter bugout for your son. that much snow is tough to deal with. very good job and too bad the camera would not cooperate. still, he showed some grit doing that alone. thanks for the excellent entry!!

[stimpy321972]

Looks like a cougar track.

im going to say coyote... i dont think cougars are in souther NJ, but could be wrong.

thanks for posting upo some teaser pics bakeel!

yeah, more of a canine track than feline

[elricfate]

Looks like a cougar track.

im going to say coyote... i dont think cougars are in souther NJ, but could be wrong.

thanks for posting upo some teaser pics bakeel!

yeah, more of a canine track than feline

I would agree if it had the markings for the claws of a canine. It appears to be (from the picture) retracted clawed type, which led me to believe cougar. Illustrated below.

Cougar


Coyote


Hard to tell without stride and other markings.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

looks like i see a claw mark on the right side of the track in bakeels photo?

[elricfate]

looks like i see a claw mark on the right side of the track in bakeels photo?

I see what you're talking about. Picture is kinda dark, but I see it.

[RGR SNAPLINK]

Woods,
Maybe you posted it and I missed, but what kind of pack is that in the pics you posted on the second page?

[xxxDarksidexxx]

aa1pr - the boy did good! nice pics, and good use of gear!

thats a lot of snow on the ground. he has learned from you, and is learning some valuable skills!

[xxxDarksidexxx]

well my weekend is set. ill be heading out the first weekend in feb. even got my buddy on board to join me. all permits are in order, now all i need is a nice cold front to come down that weekend...

i will be doing a section on the FT, and will throw some small game hunting into the mix. sorry i wont be clubbing rats and hanging squirells like the regulator! nope, i will be using my little mossberg .22

ive got some new gear i will be taking out as well. also gonna try and throw some bushcraft in too.

[Bakeel]

I think they are coyote tracks myself, the only big cats I know of in NJ are in the zoos, and my orange tabby. Here is another picture that I took with the camera. These tracks aren't fresh, they look like they have melted and refroze once or twice.


Knife is an ESSE-4 for size comparison.

[Woods Walker]

Woods,
Maybe you posted it and I missed, but what kind of pack is that in the pics you posted on the second page?

Osprey Argon 85.