My bushcraft weekend and other adventures

[Woods Walker]

ninja-elbow.

You can also hang insulation under the hammock so it won't get compressed. Someone can get cold back in a hammock very easily. Before getting my winter undercover I used a Ridgerest or self inflating pad inside my Explorer DLX.

I kept waking up every 30 minutes though thinking I heard something and unzipping my tent and looking around with my Surefire (E2D). That sucker lights it up BTW

There is no shame in getting a little spooked. Heck given the right set of circumstances it happens to nearly everyone at one time or another when sleeping out.

[Red Cell]

Looks like a fun weekend adventure NE, Have you used LOC-SAK's for keeping food
smells under control? They do work.
Yeah and whats the deal with the old guys and there 22 pistols?! I guess it's contagious after 60.
Thanks for sharing!

[maddmatt]

Looks like a fun weekend adventure NE, Have you used LOC-SAK's for keeping food
smells under control? They do work.
Yeah and whats the deal with the old guys and there 22 pistols?! I guess it's contagious after 60.
Thanks for sharing!

Less recoil on their old arthritic hands, also they can buy and feed them on a retirees budget.

[ninja-elbow]

Going shooting with my Dad

Yeah, he really likes his .22s and variants. Pistol-wise he has a Ruger, some old cowboy style revolver and he showed up Sunday morning with his newest pistol a Smith and Wesson. No close-ups of his new pistol but here are some pics of him shooting the S&W pistol and walking around with his M6 Scout. He went to the Rose City Gun show Saturday to look around and came home with the new pistol (and a new pocket knife ... his other "drug")



Very few problems, the biggest being he only got 2 magazines for the pistol so had to keep loading them. Dad ran over 100 rounds through the pistol though and the only FtFs were from some old rounds he was getting rid of.

Here he is putting some round through my AK:



Quote: "These things haven't changed since Viet Nam ... gawtdamn safety! You can hear them from a mile away... KLAK!!" Dad still can shoot though - he was popping off 3 rounds at a time. He has not handled an AK since Viet Nam. I asked him if he ever messed with them in the 80s in Pakistan or during OPFOR and he said, "No." He mentioned that having any kind of long arm on you in Pakistan during the 80s was making you a target and for OPFOR stuff he was more an organizer and trainer than anything else. He carried a radio and clipboard, not a rifle. If you didn't know from some of my past posts, my Dad was Special Forces BTW; 20 years army. He's just a goofy old man now He don't say much about his time in and I he never did when I was growing up either. They're his memories so I let him keep them. Every now and them he let's out a little story about Cambodia or Pakistan though.


Here he is shooting his M6 Scout rifle (CZ era). It's his favortie gun, he packs it in a side trunk on one of his BMW motorcycles when he does his long-ass rides. It's .22 Hornet/.410.


One thing we learned that day about that rifle is that when you close it up after loading you have to hold it muzzle down and slam the stock up. If you dont the bullets WILL slide out of the chamber some and you can (as I and my Dad did) bend them rounds and jam them up.

He carries 2 slugs, 2 "3 shot" buck and a few "bird shot" rounds in it when he rides around. He never really tested out the 3 shot buck rounds and he restocked a few at the gunshow so he busted out about a dozen of them for us to run through. Here is what they do to a zombie target at 21 feet:


We all thought that was pretty neat and the pattern was consistent. The rounds are expensive though. He gets them for $3.95 per 3 pack so I am going to search around for some cheaper prices on the netz and restock him proper.

It was a good day of shooting for all. Dad got out there and burned through some old rounds, I got about 200 more rounds through my new Glock 19 and 300 out of the AK (plus working on some drills) on top of testing out some new defensive ammo in both my Glock and 92fs. Brandon got a few hundred round down range of his EDC pistol and also drilled with me. Austin (They Call Me Ash) showed up and played with his new toy - an AR with a 5.45 upper. He also brought a .22 spinner target and we made that dance as we all had .22s of some sort on us.

Brandon decided NOT TO sell his Walther .22 BTW. "Too much fun!" he said.

[ninja-elbow]

Looks like a fun weekend adventure NE, Have you used LOC-SAK's for keeping food
smells under control? They do work.

Thanks. I never had to think about storing my food in bear country; never knew I was in bear country Looking at some options and Loc-Sak looks about right. A few other options too.

[Woods Walker]

Just looking at that area I gotta wonder how many spent rounds are buried there over the decades. The M6 is nice but a bit heavy. I like the ammo storage in the stock feature. Nothing better than spending time with family plinking. Thanks for the photos.

[Kutter_0311]

How did that 5.45 AR upper run? Do those feed from regular mags or special mags?

[ninja-elbow]

How did that 5.45 AR upper run? Do those feed from regular mags or special mags?

I didn't shoot it but Ash didn't have any problems at all and he lit off 3 or more mags from what I remember. The mags are 5.45 dedicated but I think they fit in a standard lower though.

[ninja-elbow]

A few more points.

My new hygiene routine in the woods:

Something I tend to be a stickler on is my woods hygiene. The worst discomfort I can get is itchy crotch, monkey ass and oily skin so I tend to clean myself as best as I can once perday. I have sone everything from soaking at hot springs (nice!) to dry fully clothed dry wash clothe rub downs. I have even done mud slathering and rub downs with hands of sand.

My new normal/general routine is:
Get 2 cups of water going in Jet Boil
Change socks, inspect boots/shoes, change undies if I have to (but with my Ex-Officio briefs, not needed)
Water boiling, off stove, add few drops of Dr. Bonner soap and half a cup or so of cold water
Drop a wash clothe in the the Jet Boil cup
Warm water/soap wipe down - groin/butt region, armpits, face is the base - whole body when warranted
Double up with an anti-bacterial wet wipe bath too if time/need allows
Wipe down hair and comb it to clean scalp
Brush teeth
Use soapy sump water to clean mess kit if it 'aint too bad and still hot enough

I have been using less and less powder and this can be attributed to my using higher end underwear and socks. I have not used any powder at all on my feet and crotch both in the city or out in the dirt in a while. I like my $9 socks and $18 skivvies I'm also thinking about getting a little collapsible wash basin or something like that. I have a collapsible bucket I have been packing a bit lately and love that thing too.

[Kutter_0311]

My Under Armour skivvies rock, but after 6 years, I think they may be a bit worn out...

Still using issue boot socks, but thinking about getting some SmartWool.

I do need to work on the field hygiene routine, I still use baby wipes.

[ninja-elbow]

I have a few pairs of the UA undies and while nice, they still did not deiliver like the Exofficios do. My main problem was the waist band went kind of quick on my, like less than a year. The material also liked to grab hairs and pluck them on me.

Multi-purpose breakfast food

Normally, my bush breakfast consisted of oatmeal that I'd mix in some sugar, milk, dried fruit. Cook it by bringing to a boil, turn off heat and cover then let it sit for about 5 minutes - BAM, bowl of oatmeal. I thought I was so clever. Saturday morning on my trip I had a revelation.

I had brought a bag of normal cashew and raisin granola cereal. Some generic bulk-bin stuff I normally get that I had packed in a ziplock. I wanted something quick and fast, so I poured out about a cup of granola, 1/4 cup of dehydrated milk into my stainless steel cup and was bout to add the water when I thought, "I wonder what adding hot water would do?" so I did that instead.

Nothing like a cup of warm milky granola with raisins and cashews on a cold and misting Saturday morning up in the mountains.

I realized that this granola cereal could be eaten in 3 ways:
1) as cold cereal
2) as hot cereal
3) dry from the bag
...all edible and enjoyable.

My quick oats would need to be cooked to be eaten (for the most part). I've been looking for more options like this in my packing food.

[MikeM]

For a wash basin you can always dig a small depression and line it with a poncho, or if you get a JRB pack cover/gear hammock you can use that as a basin as well (does a few other things too, great piece of gear).

Great write up on your trip.

-Mike

[Woods Walker]

A few more points.

My new hygiene routine in the woods:

My new normal/general routine is:
Get 2 cups of water going in Jet Boil
Change socks, inspect boots/shoes, change undies if I have to (but with my Ex-Officio briefs, not needed)
Water boiling, off stove, add few drops of Dr. Bonner soap and half a cup or so of cold water
Drop a wash clothe in the the Jet Boil cup
Warm water/soap wipe down - groin/butt region, armpits, face is the base - whole body when warranted

Works for me too.





Rocks in winter as well. Nothing beats a hot towel bath.

[Kutter_0311]

Ninja, I'm starting to think this whole "warm food in the bush" concept has it's merits. Granted, I'd never used an MRE heater for its intended purpose past the first time(they STINK!) and even when dear hunting stick to cold sandwiches and snacks. If I'm going to get the wife to camp, she'll demand hot food, and she's freakin picky, too. I'll have to get a camp cooker, and we'll have to train on it in the driveway...

What are these Ex Officio skivvies you speak of? Linky?

[ninja-elbow]

http://www.rei.com/product/684396


They have many styles but I like the sport briefs as it keeps material off my ex-powerlifter thighs.

Hot food is a luxury, I end up packing food that needs preperation though. Been rethinking that. If I could cut it to cold breakfast, cold lunch, cold snacks, hot (but edible cold) supper then I think that'd be good enough. I'm going to pick me up some MRE entrees for that as the whole MRE is pretty expensive unless I can score them for free, which I can sometimes.

[Kutter_0311]

Thanks! I think I like these, though, as I lean toward boxer/briefs...
http://www.rei.com/product/694431

Eating cold food is something you just get used to, though my wife isn't the masochist I am, lol. Just can't shake that grunt mentality, lol.

[aa1pr]

Since it was raining so hard and we did not need firewood for Sunday we just piled the wood we had left on to the fire before bed and hoped that kept going for a few hours keeping creeping boogey men away and then we'd be asleep by then and not worried about it. I kept waking up every 30 minutes though thinking I heard something and unzipping my tent and looking around with my Surefire (E2D). That sucker lights it up BTW

Nice outing! It makes me remember when I lived in Tacoma/Midland back in the 80's. We would camp somewhere on either St.Regis or Weyerhaeuser forest land. I remember one summer out there it rained every day except 3 days out of the summer vacation as a kid.

How close were you guys to Mt. Hood as the terrain looks like you could have been close to the pedmonts? (of some mountainside at least)

I know you were not afraid in all seriousness, but if this was a SHTF scenario, that same fear (if you let it got the best of you) would have devastating effects on your morale and judegments.

A couple of weeks ago on our last outing my oldest son started telling my youngest boy horror stories and he did the same thing for a good portion of the night. It drove me nuts. I finally went to the van & put in some ear plugs so I could sleep.

For the hammock I also use my thermarest ridgerest underneath me, I find it is just the ticket for keeping the backside cozy warm.

I recently started using meal in a bag - meals. Somewhere here in another thread I learned about the book "backpack Gourmet". So I now have a cache of meals in the freezer in preparation for such outings. You may want to look into that as all you need is water. The dehydrated meals are so small and take up so little room.

[Kutter_0311]

I know you were not afraid in all seriousness, but if this was a SHTF scenario, that same fear (if you let it got the best of you) would have devastating effects on your morale and judgments.

A couple of weeks ago on our last outing my oldest son started telling my youngest boy horror stories and he did the same thing for a good portion of the night. It drove me nuts. I finally went to the van & put in some ear plugs so I could sleep.

I think in SHTF, such things can be pretty helpful for the first few days, but it wears off with the learning curve.

The first time I took my boy camping, we got hail about 0200. I never noticed until Doc and his dad cam out and moved the old shed over our tent. That was noisy, and scared the crap out of my 3 y/o son, who was scared enough already.

[ninja-elbow]

I think that the bearanoia has worn off. Now that I know that the area is "bear country", has always been so and no one has been bothered by black bears in decades eases it up some.

[Mags]

Great post, pics, & outing Ninja Elbow!


I am sooo glad you two, (you & WW,) didn't take how-to pics on the ol' bandana wipe down dance!

Again cool post, great time!

[quazi]

I got a Gerber Saw for under $20 about a month ago and this weekend was the first weekend I used it. Meh... it did all right but it seemed a bit wiggly and loose around where the saw blade meets handle. No real opinion or review yet, this will come in due time as I like to use my stuff before reviewing it.

I have a Gerber folding saw, and mine also seems wiggly and loose. It just feels cheaply made, which is annoying because I paid close to $30 for mine. It has got the job done so far, but I've only used it a handful of times.

bearanoia

I like that, I think I'll steel it.

[ninja-elbow]

Was up there again this last weekend with a few other ZSers for Summergeddon. Me and Gretchen, my SO, got up there pretty late Friday night and on the way up we saw deer and a bear cub (10-20 pound guy) waddling up the road in front of us before he dove into the bushes. He had the cutest little hind end!

We get to the camp and T-Man has his AK out because he saw a bear earlier that day too.

This weekend we heard owls doing the classic "ho-hoo, Ho Hooooo" and heard large mammals lumbering about in the nearby bushes. Also saw another deer, a young spike this time, on the way down and Gretchen got a pic of it which I will share here later. Also saw way too many dead skunks (road kill) and one live one that pointed it's ass at my truck but did not spray. Tons of chipmunks and huge-ass black ants. I saw a frog in mini-manbath too, he was chillin under a rock in the water right up were I was washing myself and my underwear. I tried to feed it one of them big-ass ants but it just stayed real still under the rock until it thought I wasn't looking.

Also, blue-berries will be ready in about another 30 days it looks like as will the black berries up there. There's pretty daisies all over the place too.

The real paranoia came from the Yahoous Homosapius that were prevailant Saturday and Saturday night. Lot's of those guys up around there and some were acting quite scary. Lesson me and T-man taught Gretchen Saturday night was we are camping (legally) in non-developed and non supported areas - more freedom but more responsibility for yourself. Other people, if they had the inclimation to, could try anything they wanted up there. It has happened before, I have walked in on the tale end of incidents like this in the past.

"You have 2 Glocks and 2 AKs right around this campfire." is what T-man told Gretchen. "And a couple guys that read about what to do with them on the internet..." I added.

[ninja-elbow]

Here's that spike we saw about 0930 Sunday morning:



He paced back and fourth in front of my stopped truck for about 30 seconds - great for Gretchen to get the pic. I then got bored and honked my horn and booked up the hill to the right.

[quazi]

I had a couple questions about the reflective blanket in this picture:

Is it an MPI All-Weather Space Blanket?

How durable is it?

I've been looking to get an affordable multi-purpose tarp for my BOB, and a reflective space blanket/tarp seems like it would work pretty well, as long as it was durable enough.

I've also been thinking about building my own floorless tipi-style tent, and I thought it might be a good idea to make it with a reflective inside. The space blankets I've seen have been too flimsy to stand up to that kind of repeated use. I was looking at the brown/silver tarps used for covering up vehicles, but I thought that making it out of space blankets like yours might work better.

Edit: Oops, I thought I was sending this as a PM. Sorry for the thread derail.