Darkside's GHB...( UPDATE...THE TRIP! )

[Regular Guy]

Ok, as an incentive to improve post quality could there be a prize or place to honor a Hall of Famer?
Maybe put something on the avatar?
Just a thought. I'll post this in Ask ZS as well.

[Master2u]

Nice write up! I was wondering if a rectangular kiddy pool would work as a raft for you. I am not really sure if it would work or be cost effective but if you try it please get some one to film it, I have got to see that!

[Woods Walker]

Great post. I liked the raft and videos. Carp can move out fast if they have too. I am more of a pan fish kinda guy.

[Canadian Guy]

I guess with alligators you definitely need a raft of some type, nice try at building one! How about one of those lightweight, cheap, PVC one man inflatable dingys you see at Wally Mart?

[xxxDarksidexxx]

H*LY SH%T! A F@#$ING RAFT!!

Bravo Sir, bravo!

What he said. Nice GHB adaptation for your local enviroment.

thanks for the coment blackdog!

Really cool write up of your experience. This is what ZS is all about, getting out and practicing before you have to use your gear or skills. Well done!

thank you sir for the comment, and for thowing me the hall of fame bone!

Awesome post, great documentation, and props for a good variety of usage of your gear... you even got to use your FAK a bit

thanks for the great comment! yeah i used the FAK, and even though it was just a little scrape i did get to use another piece of kit.

Hall of Fame'd.

thank you!

Ok, as an incentive to improve post quality could there be a prize or place to honor a Hall of Famer?
Maybe put something on the avatar?
Just a thought. I'll post this in Ask ZS as well.

maybe a small sig banner with a link to that members hall of fame entry? just getting mentioned in the hall of fame is good enough for me though, but you have a cool idea.

Nice write up! I was wondering if a rectangular kiddy pool would work as a raft for you. I am not really sure if it would work or be cost effective but if you try it please get some one to film it, I have got to see that!

good idea, and i did think about that. like i mentioned i have been thinking about this for a while. one day while i was at the pool supply store getting chemicals i was checking out the kiddie pools. i was reminded of the round life boats that have the tarp over the top. they are round, though im 100% sure they are built 100% times better. great idea, and im still thinking about this. when i come up with a solution i will post it up.

i was going to set up my camera on shore and film it, but i wanted to talk about what i was doing while filming, so i had the camera lanyard in my teeth while i paddled. since i wasnt floating so well i didnt take my hand off the paddle.

thanks for the comments!

Great post. I liked the raft and videos. Carp can move out fast if they have too. I am more of a pan fish kinda guy.

thanks for the comments WW!

when i filmed that i may have sounded like i was talking a big game when i said it would be an " easily netted fish " i should have been a little specific. the net i was thinking about was a cast net, not really a dip net, though a large enough dip net with a long enough handle may in fact work. you may know what a cast net is. its actually simple how it works, but it would be hard for me to explain. with enough practice a cast net can be thrown just about any where you want it to land, and once you have enough practice you can actually control how wide the net opens, you can "pancake" it or keep it a little tight. only one problem with a cast net for BOB's or GHB's is they are HEAVY, as they have a lot of egg sinkers attached to them. i can throw a pretty damn good cast net. i did most of my fishing with 6' and 8' nets for shad in the glades and finger mullet, pilchards, sardines, ect from the jetties down south. the bigger they are, the harder they are to throw.

im with you 100% panfish for the win!

the best way to cook carp is to bake it on cardboard in the oven, when done throw away the fish and eat the cardboard!

here are some youtube links showing how a cast net works.

this kids pretty good with a 12' net! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcRkCK_Ub_E

and this guy with a 14' net that weighs 24lbs ! really nice throwing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkapAoiELZA

I guess with alligators you definitely need a raft of some type, nice try at building one! How about one of those lightweight, cheap, PVC one man inflatable dingys you see at Wally Mart?

thanks for the comment!

i was thinking about a small blow up boat/raft, and this may in fact be what i end up with. i just need to do a little research and see whats out theye before i buy.

[6UNF1GHTER]

My friend, (Mr. Darkside Mc.Guyver)
I find your posts most impressive, and thought provoking.
Nice to see you made the Hall Of Fame with this one, Good on ya!

How about a round of applause!




Regards,
Gun-

[uncleben03]

all around my AO there are these signs. next to these signs there is a tall poll with a loud speaker, and trust me they are big ( forgot to take a pic of the speaker ). every so often the county will test the system. the test can be heard all over the place.

"THIS IS A REGULARLY SCHEDULED MONTHLY TEST, OF THE OUTDOOR... WARNING... SYSTEM. THIS IS ONLY A TEST...... WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!"

FPL owns a nuke plant near me too, they're required to install/maintain/test the siren system in the surrounding area. Which is nice, they've also "allowed" the counties they occupy to use them as tornado sirens as well, so I used to wake up every 1st wednesday of the month to that message.

[Woods Walker]

i was thinking about was a cast net,

The last time I used a cast net was off the Marco bridge, before Wilma took out the fishing piers. I cast the net and it kept going....gone...... Yea I forgot to hold the rope.

[Dogan]

i was thinking about was a cast net,

The last time I used a cast net was off the Marco bridge, before Wilma took out the fishing piers. I cast the net and it kept going....gone...... Yea I forgot to hold the rope.

In HI I'd just tie the rope to a belt loop. Cast nets work great with a little patience and practice.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

My friend, (Mr. Darkside Mc.Guyver)
I find your posts most impressive, and thought provoking.
Nice to see you made the Hall Of Fame with this one, Good on ya!

How about a round of applause!




Regards,
Gun-

thnanks for the comment bro!

[xxxDarksidexxx]

all around my AO there are these signs. next to these signs there is a tall poll with a loud speaker, and trust me they are big ( forgot to take a pic of the speaker ). every so often the county will test the system. the test can be heard all over the place.

"THIS IS A REGULARLY SCHEDULED MONTHLY TEST, OF THE OUTDOOR... WARNING... SYSTEM. THIS IS ONLY A TEST...... WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!"

FPL owns a nuke plant near me too, they're required to install/maintain/test the siren system in the surrounding area. Which is nice, they've also "allowed" the counties they occupy to use them as tornado sirens as well, so I used to wake up every 1st wednesday of the month to that message.

ah, so you know how loud they are. not long after our house was built i was mowing the lawn, it was summer, and very hot! i didnt know about the loudspeakers/testing as we were not in the house long at that time. well, there i was mowing the lawn feeling like i was gonna die from the heat, so i stopped mowing to get some water. about that time i started hearing "voices from the clouds" i thought i was dying and god was talking to me.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

i was thinking about was a cast net,

The last time I used a cast net was off the Marco bridge, before Wilma took out the fishing piers. I cast the net and it kept going....gone...... Yea I forgot to hold the rope.

sweet! thats a CLASSIC cast net fail, ive seen it done before.

besides throwing your net to the fishes, the other worst thing that can happen is it gets snagged on submerged rocks/debris. sometimes, depending on where you are you can get it un-tangled, but it almost always involves swiming and diving for the net. thats cool if you are at a beach/jetty, but not so cool in the glades or a canal. ive seen guys lose nets before, and i also lost a net in the glades.

i was thinking about was a cast net,

The last time I used a cast net was off the Marco bridge, before Wilma took out the fishing piers. I cast the net and it kept going....gone...... Yea I forgot to hold the rope.

In HI I'd just tie the rope to a belt loop. Cast nets work great with a little patience and practice.

all the nets i owned came with a loop tied to the end. all you do is pull the rope through the loop and put it around your wrist...works like a charm.

[Laconic 24]

I'm really impressed. This definately inspires me to reexamine my get home strategy and get together some gear for it. Hell, I might even try it out one night. Although, my area definately looks more boring than yours.

One thing I thought while looking through your pics is how much concealment is available in your area. Were I in a similar AO, I think I'd look at ways to camouflage myself in that area. Some appropriately colored clothing, maybe a can of Krylon to cover up reflective areas on the backpack, maybe a bit of cork to burn and cover skin with.

And I have to say, you have my full respect for trying out the raft. That's the benefit of trying out your gear before things go south.

[CipherNameRaVeN]

Awesome post! Nice videos!

Any way to avoid the bad area of town when SHTF? I doubt you would wanna go through there at that time even with a gun. Though no place will be safe during that time, these types of areas in particular tend to break out during civil unrest the most and with increased passion. Everyone becomes a target!

Instead of carrying a compressed air, I recommend picking up a small plastic pump. Compressed air is very heavy. Plastic pump weights nothing. Extra small ones can be picked up at bike shops.

I am not a pro in making rafts, but considering what you had to work with (blow-up raft, nice hollow bamboo sticks) you could have made a nice raft where your feet would not have to be in the water. Or, you can look into small blow up rafts. I doubt they are super light (5 - 7lb) , but you may be able to find a small raft.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

I'm really impressed. This definately inspires me to reexamine my get home strategy and get together some gear for it. Hell, I might even try it out one night. Although, my area definately looks more boring than yours.

One thing I thought while looking through your pics is how much concealment is available in your area. Were I in a similar AO, I think I'd look at ways to camouflage myself in that area. Some appropriately colored clothing, maybe a can of Krylon to cover up reflective areas on the backpack, maybe a bit of cork to burn and cover skin with.

And I have to say, you have my full respect for trying out the raft. That's the benefit of trying out your gear before things go south.

im glad this gave you some ideas!

i tend to wear greens/tans/browns while hiking/camping. the clothes i have for this kit are khaki shorts, green shirt, and green bandana. there is a lot of wooded area in my AO, and if needed i would take advantage of that. i like that the pack has some reflective areas as that would/could be good if i needed to walk at night.

thanks for the comments, and ideas!

[xxxDarksidexxx]

Awesome post! Nice videos!

Any way to avoid the bad area of town when SHTF? I doubt you would wanna go through there at that time even with a gun. Though no place will be safe during that time, these types of areas in particular tend to break out during civil unrest the most and with increased passion. Everyone becomes a target!

Instead of carrying a compressed air, I recommend picking up a small plastic pump. Compressed air is very heavy. Plastic pump weights nothing. Extra small ones can be picked up at bike shops.

I am not a pro in making rafts, but considering what you had to work with (blow-up raft, nice hollow bamboo sticks) you could have made a nice raft where your feet would not have to be in the water. Or, you can look into small blow up rafts. I doubt they are super light (5 - 7lb) , but you may be able to find a small raft.

yes, there are ways to get around the bad areas of town if needed. the road i took made the trip shorter. if this was a real SHTF situation i WOULD NOT have went through there even with a pistol.

you posted exactly what im thinking. a raft, and a bicycle pump. all i need to do now is research whats available locally as far as the raft goes, get a bike pump which should be easy enough, and try this out again. another idea i had to blow up a raft involves using co2 cartridges ( the kind used in pellet/BB guns ) i would of coarse need to fabricate a tool/tube that the cartridge could be put into that would puncture it, but then allows me to turn a valve to let out the air in a controlled manner. with that said i have no idea how much air those cartridges hold. i know i can shoot the hell out of my 1911 BB gun with one before they need to be changed....i have some other ideas as well. im just going through it all in my head.

thanks for the comments!

[CipherNameRaVeN]

I was going to offer you that idea also. But, I did not think it through completely.
Cyclist use CO2 pumps. Like this:

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes//C ... chTerm=co2
Initially, I thought it was a good idea. Now, however, I see more negatives than positives:
1. It is geared for a bike tire as a female. I am not sure how to gear it for a blow-up raft as a male. They may have cheap conversion kits. I did not research.
2. I do not know how many of these CO2 cartridges you will need. They are heavy and do not hold much.
3. These pumps fail a lot.
4. They are not that cheap.

I still recommend a small pump.
1. They are small and light. They literally fit in your pocket.
2. They are not expensive.
3. You do not rely on heavy CO2 cartridges that may not be available when needed.
4. They serve a second purpose. You can use them to help you start a fire. I have done it many times.

You still need a conversion kit. Thing is that I am thinking as a cyclist, because I am familiar with cycling gear. You may want to go to a small canoe shop. They may already have inexpensive solutions out there.

[epirider]

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! How the fuck are we supposed to compete against an epic trip like this?!?!?! AND you built and USED a RAFT?!?!?! Closest I could come to even competing with this trip is if I stuck a jet pack on my back and flew fucking home?!?!?! My hats off to you sir... The Hall of Fame was well earned.

[xxxDarksidexxx]

ciphernameraven - the co2 pump you posted was what i was thinking about in my head. you made some good points about it not being a good pump. as i mentioned i dont know how much air they hold, and a full box of them start to add up in weight. the other pump you posted is more along the lines of what probably will work, and i was thinking about something like that as well.

ill work on this again, and i WILL post an awesome water crossing!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! How the fuck are we supposed to compete against an epic trip like this?!?!?! AND you built and USED a RAFT?!?!?! Closest I could come to even competing with this trip is if I stuck a jet pack on my back and flew fucking home?!?!?! My hats off to you sir... The Hall of Fame was well earned.

thanks for the awesome comment! i would LOVE to see you strap a jet pack on your back! PLEASE post it when it happens!

[epirider]

ciphernameraven - the co2 pump you posted was what i was thinking about in my head. you made some good points about it not being a good pump. as i mentioned i dont know how much air they hold, and a full box of them start to add up in weight. the other pump you posted is more along the lines of what probably will work, and i was thinking about something like that as well.

ill work on this again, and i WILL post an awesome water crossing!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! How the fuck are we supposed to compete against an epic trip like this?!?!?! AND you built and USED a RAFT?!?!?! Closest I could come to even competing with this trip is if I stuck a jet pack on my back and flew fucking home?!?!?! My hats off to you sir... The Hall of Fame was well earned.

thanks for the awesome comment! i would LOVE to see you strap a jet pack on your back! PLEASE post it when it happens!

Ummm... OK... If I survive the flight I will post accordingly. Any ideas on where I can pick up a cheap used - undamaged jet pack?

[xxxDarksidexxx]

ciphernameraven - the co2 pump you posted was what i was thinking about in my head. you made some good points about it not being a good pump. as i mentioned i dont know how much air they hold, and a full box of them start to add up in weight. the other pump you posted is more along the lines of what probably will work, and i was thinking about something like that as well.

ill work on this again, and i WILL post an awesome water crossing!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! How the fuck are we supposed to compete against an epic trip like this?!?!?! AND you built and USED a RAFT?!?!?! Closest I could come to even competing with this trip is if I stuck a jet pack on my back and flew fucking home?!?!?! My hats off to you sir... The Hall of Fame was well earned.

thanks for the awesome comment! i would LOVE to see you strap a jet pack on your back! PLEASE post it when it happens!

Ummm... OK... If I survive the flight I will post accordingly. Any ideas on where I can pick up a cheap used - undamaged jet pack?

when im ready to sell mine ill let ya know.

[elkhills]

Dude, nice! Enjoy your Woodsmans Pal, and other fabulous prizes

I'm a little embarrassed to say I actually skip some of your posts sometimes, because of the picture size/56K doom. I'm glad I waited the extra few seconds for the enormous, but awesome pics this time!

ps. I've said it before: wish I lived in a tropical paridise (instead of an overcrowded, overpriced desert!)

[WhoShotJR]

I don't know what happened, somehow Darkside's name was left out of the poll. Must be a forum glitch.


Best Mob Voice: If you want to be in da poll, you gotta pay da toll. 25% up front, 25% back end. Capiche?

[epirider]

ciphernameraven - the co2 pump you posted was what i was thinking about in my head. you made some good points about it not being a good pump. as i mentioned i dont know how much air they hold, and a full box of them start to add up in weight. the other pump you posted is more along the lines of what probably will work, and i was thinking about something like that as well.

ill work on this again, and i WILL post an awesome water crossing!

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! How the fuck are we supposed to compete against an epic trip like this?!?!?! AND you built and USED a RAFT?!?!?! Closest I could come to even competing with this trip is if I stuck a jet pack on my back and flew fucking home?!?!?! My hats off to you sir... The Hall of Fame was well earned.

thanks for the awesome comment! i would LOVE to see you strap a jet pack on your back! PLEASE post it when it happens!

Ummm... OK... If I survive the flight I will post accordingly. Any ideas on where I can pick up a cheap used - undamaged jet pack?

when im ready to sell mine ill let ya know.

Crap....