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

[twoshots]

one of my friends, my dog and I just just spend 5 more days out at the bush, It was quite cold but we had fun and got more preps done on the cabin/shelter. I'll update my post on page 9 once I thaw out

[Blackdog]

OK now, take 2 cause I'm bored.

Loaded up the family truckster and hit the road. This time out I am going to the other side of the valley from the place I was at for the last enty. The temps were not very cold but water did freeze. I didn't bother with temp readings, our camp site was at 5530 feet.

Along the way to the start point we passed thru some small villages that are in them selfs are a bit interesting.







Climbed higher: RIGHT TO OPEN VIDEO IN NEW TAB OR WINDOW




Got to our starting point, A comm site sitting on a high point. Some of this site has seen better days.







Strapped on the packs and hit the trail. Along for the ride for the first time is my wife's rescue project Zippy the Pinhead AKA the Fearless Vampire Barker. Really he is not ready for prime time but my wife is visiting folks and I'm stuck. He did OK.







Started trekking down the hill the site sits on and then up, then down and up again. The route was down a ridge with more than a couple good sized saddles.







Along the way I am watching for a water sourse. From a high point I spot this. Looks like a bit of traffic which normally means something. That something was a spring. Win for me. Binos are a wonderful thing sometimes.









Since it is a "high traffic" area we re-climbed the ridge and found a flop spot a few hundred meters and out of sight from the spring. Time to start camp chores.

As luck would have it the south side of the ridge was fat with good dry firewood. For this mini trek I used a Laplander saw and a hatchet to process the wood. I have a Wetterling that stayed back in the U.S. so have been casting about for a hatchet to use here. I am not an expert nor have I used a 100 different hatchets but this guy has. Thats right I grabbed one of those "other" Swedish hatchets.



http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2010/10/husqvarna-hatchet-review.html







Performed the obligatory spiting of the wood. Why do this when I have a hatchet? Just because.







Started preparing my fire. Gathered up all the fixens and made a bundle out of dry grass and a bit of thistle fluff.






RIGHT CLICK TO OPEN VIDEO IN NEW TAB OR WINDOW







Cooked up a lttle grub using my pot cozy. Grub was red beans and rice. Next time I will use less water but good all the same. I like to use one of the little mixing bags that come in MREs for a measuring cup. Food for the trip was a mixture of MRE and need to cook items.








While dinner is cooking in the cozy I scamper down the hill and fetch up some water. I have been drinking spring water for many years and don't feel the need to treat or filter it in any way. Just tastes good coming out of the ground.







Come back and dinner is served.






Stoked up the fire and got a nice thing going. The "Rangerized" Kindle (the white thingy) I took along is working all right. I have hard lexan (?) cover and a Neoprene cover to aid me in not screwing it up too quickly. The rock face made a pretty fair heat reflector.







While Pinhead napped my good fat headed girl friend kept watch.







A low growl and something is going on. Pinhead didn't notice so no frenzy of barking. A band of wood cutters was passing by down the way a bit. Never had a bit of trouble here but would just as soon not let them know a "stranger" is around.









Put up my shelter. In this case Ecotat. I don't use this often but it is a pretty good piece of gear. Tent, bivy bag, tarp, poncho and coat all rolled into one gizmo.


http://www.combatreform.org/ECOTATSYSTEMS/ecotattmp.htm







Passed an OK night, the little Pinhead was, well a puppy and a bit of a bother. Guess he has to learn the ropes. The next morning was a bit more clear and a better view. Last entry I was over on this side of the valley.







Had a bit of breakfast and coffee, lounged around like a lazy muffin and then started the pack out. The bag I used was a Snugpak addaptive sleeping bag (I used both bags). It doesn't compress as well as my down bag but them again with a toothy pup along for the ride the down bag didn't seem like a bright idea. Also shown is my PLB (It makes my wife feel better), field tool kit (AKA PSK), chow bag and my can't leave home without it, I'm a old guy pillow.







Got it all stuffed back where it belongs. Sitting right on top of the pack in the wee pouch are my MicroSpikes, didn't have to use them but when you need them they are near to magic. Shown are my light softshell jacket and wool boonie cap. Not shown ar FAC, Binos, MIOX, rain jacket, compass, GPS and maybe a couple of other missed items. Worn plenty but not pictured is my old pal, a Feathered Friends down jacket, when space is tight and I have to stay warm this is my go to piece. The shelter, ground mat and hatchet are attached with Grimlocks, losing stuff is not cool.







Got the rolling circus on the road and headed back to start. Since I was looking for a spring on the way in I took the high ground, heading out I just took the easy way and followed the horse trail a good part of the way.







Got back OK, the old mule fired up and heading home. I had planned on doing some star and compass drills but the clouds didn't cooperate, maybe next time.


Have fun and stay safe out there.

[riverjoe47]

one of my friends, my dog and I just just spend 5 more days out at the bush, It was quite cold but we had fun and got more preps done on the cabin/shelter. I'll update my post on page 9 once I thaw out

Keep em coming two shots . You guys are definitely impervious to the cold .

[riverjoe47]

What beautiful country Blackdog . I envy you taking your dogs . Im afraid if I took my old chubby golden Id be giving her mouth to mouth at some point trying to revive her .
Is that Kosovoan folk music on the radio ? No reindeer this trip . Is that cause it's not quite as cold ?

[Sealegs]

Blackdog that's a tour de force of gear!!

I actually saved my wallet from buying that knife, and an original Ecotat?! I am so full of envy right now!

[elkhills]

Our first choice of "hike in only" campsite, right across the street, is off limits for camping until March, so went with plan B- a part of the Sierras we like to explore. Called ahead to the local Ranger Station and got the OK to do what we had in mind, once we picked up a Fire Permit from CDF in town. Loaded up the BoB's and hit the road early Sat morning

Takes about an hour to go from this to this


Our destination, a beautiful little lake. Unfortunately, access denied. Posted no camping until May Tried to get close down some fire roads but it just didn't work out, and we didn't want to get into any trouble being somewhere we weren't supposed to be.

Since we only had what water we were going to carry, we needed to camp near some source. Using our detailed USFS map we identified several good prospects where big streams crossed or came near fire roads. Seemed each spot we thought looked good on the map had a camper already there! Who knew winter camping was so popular? After a few of those, decided to hike down stream a ways to see what we would find.
Sent my scout up ahead with one of these. These little radios are invaluable for stuff like this! A little heavy, but worth it I think, and kids love walkie talkies.

Here we are taking off, bound and determined to camp alongside this creek somewhere!

Seems we chose an informal shooting range as a potential campsite. We heard people shooting a ways off to the north from where we jumped off the road, and we were headed south, but some other folks started shooting very close to us from somewhere unseen, and I just wasn't comfortable there. Hiked maybe a half mile I would guess when we turned back. Rough terrain and the 45 lb pack made my hips hurt... whaa!!!
Drove back to the snowier part of the road in search of a campsite. It's afternoon now, and I know it gets dark early in the Mtns, and it's Winter. Almost ready to just pick somewhere at random and melt snow to drink.

The map showed a number of small streams deep into some logging country so we took off 4 wheelin' in the mud & snow. Now that was fun! My navigator saw some water running where the map said it would be, so we pulled into the trees to check it out. I can't tell you how valuable a map is for finding your way around.

Hiked upstream without the packs to see what we could see. We found running water, not sure if it was snowmelt or a spring, but it just sort of ran out of the ground and fed a little brook. It was clear & clean. Not sure that it's true but I was taught as a youngster that its always better to drink from moving water. The trees were too close to camp right there, and I didn't want to be right on the water anyway, just close enough to get to it. Sent my scout downstream this time, and he called back that he had found our spot! A nice little flat clearing downstream from where the little brook petered out under the rocks. Followed the creekbed a ways and found this, guess I wont have to try shelter building this trip! Looked it over and it seemed like it had some merit. Fire pit against the big rock wall probably reflected a good amount of heat back under the tarp.

The campsite. Chopped down a couple of small widowmakers above where we wanted to put the tent with the Cold Steel Shovel. I tried, but the tent was non-negotiable. Something about those thin nylon walls gives a sense of security.


Tent went up in minutes as usual. I bought that when I was 16 years old and it's still going strong. A few pinholes in the walls here and there, but it's been a darn good piece of equipment for 23 years. I think it's a Golden Bear brand?
Next task was to get ready for a fire. I tossed rocks from the creekbed up over a fallen log that would become our bench later. The kid set them up as a fire pit, and we went looking for firewood. Plenty of wood on the ground, but all of it was soggy. The kind of trees that grow here have living branches up high and dead limbs on the bottom. I think it's agreed that standing (dry) dead wood generally makes for the best firewood. Showed my boy to snap them off and he got quite a pile of thumb sized branches for us. I had a harder time finding bigger stuff for us to burn, but being that this was to be a "cold camp" once we were in the tent we didn't need as much wood to burn.

I'm really liking this shovel! Not as much heft as a proper hatchet but it did a surprisingly good job chopping wood.


Tried the Gerber Machete, too. Not as good a chopper as the shovel, but it has a saw. Don't think it would be a good choice for hardwoods, but was easy sawing through the soft sapwood on this pine. I sawed a circle around the outer half and then foot stomped it in two. I think the Gerber may have to get re-assigned to yard duty, and the shovel promoted to BoB rank.




With plenty of wood ready, hiked back up to the water source to load up. Here I'm priming the pump, and a video of my sidekick filling us up.

VIDEO


With the important stuff done we did a little exploring and shooting around camp. Before long it was starting to get dark and time to get the fire going. This is where we had a little camera fail. The good one with the flash somehow got left on in camcorder mode, and my cell is a poor camera in low light. It really wasn't as dark as the pics make it look, but we had to use a flashlight to get anything to show up.
Used a little PJ/Cotton Ball from my firesteel handle to catch a spark. Lit it on a rock, then lifted it with a stick into my firewood teepee.



Moments later...

Cut green (living) Manzaneta branches for cooking utensils. You can make a nice tea from the dry curls of bark of this shrub, so figured the wood shouldn't be toxic or anything.


Have had problems in the past with wild critters getting into our food. One particular little bastard raccoon knows how to open a locked cooler at another place we frequent. The little meat we had left was double sealed in ziplocs, and all of it raised up out of reach with some paracord. Also, practiced the habit of peeing at a different spot at the edge of camp each time one of us had to go. Was taught as a kid it can help to keep certain critters from wandering in to your camp sometimes.

Hit the sack early. Those shooters from earlier shot those guns all night. Seriously, all freaking night. Every couple hours, off in the distance... BANG! BANG! BANGBANGBANG!
I'm glad we moved. No pics cause of the camera issues, but we played with my night vision monocular. Does as good a job in the woods as anywhere, it's like having an invisible flashlight with the infrared spotlight on. Had a big half moon right overhead that would damn near blind you if you even got near it. Turning the lens to a blank spot of sky revealed stars you couldn't see with the naked eye. It's a cool little toy!
It got cold overnight, ground was frozen with little chunks of ice like rock salt when I got up. The Thermorest did it's job though, once or twice I woke up with a cold kidney or butt cheek to find that I had wiggled off the insulator onto the floor. I slept in Military issue polypro's, fresh wool hiking socks w/ Army wool socks over them, a fleece top and wool beanie. All wrapped up the the 3 piece Army MSS combo. The boy started out in sweats and ended up in his undies. The Army "Extreme Cold Weather" bag we put inside his larger Coleman bag was plenty warm enough for him. Well, that and having the metabolism of a 12 year old.

Zero heat left in the coals, so built up another fire. This time my hands were cold and I just used the peanut lighter on my car keys and some pine needles. Brought a little morning treat. There's just something about hot chocolate when your cold Yeah, we're really roughing it!


Cooked up some sausage links on our manzanita sticks, brought some Bisquick to twist on a stick as bread, but neither of us was very hungry... to many smore's last night I guess!
Kid took care of some zombie pinecones while I started picking up camp. Here we are all packed up minus the tent, which we would just take turns carrying, and we didn't camp that far from the truck. The pack is a Military MOLLE II Rucksack, took off the Assault Pack for the kid to wear with both sleeping bags clipped to the top straps. Awkward and heavy for him with the two bags, but he's a trooper.



Had to walk out on the bridge on the way home

[man_of_tanith]

good bug out trip there
nice to see the young 'un out with you i fully intend to take my boy out when he's old enough

[Blackdog]

What beautiful country Blackdog . I envy you taking your dogs . Im afraid if I took my old chubby golden Id be giving her mouth to mouth at some point trying to revive her .
Is that Kosovoan folk music on the radio ? No reindeer this trip . Is that cause it's not quite as cold ?

I have been working the little dog now for a couple of months, when we (as in my wife) took the little creep in he had mange and was skinny as a rail but he made this few mile walk OK and is training up well enough. The music is more American folk than Kosavar folk, that's Steve Earle my favorite hillbilly. In a nut shell the Hide just would not fit in the smaller pack with out going totally Beverly Hillbillys and hanging it off the pack some how. The wiggy's ground mat that I did take works pretty well in some fairly cold weather and is near indestructible but again I am not a spring chicken and like my ground insulation.

[Blackdog]

Blackdog that's a tour de force of gear!!

I actually saved my wallet from buying that knife, and an original Ecotat?! I am so full of envy right now!

You guys up there can knock together some fine sharpies can't you? It was a toss up between this one and the next smaller one, I really do like a round or oval handle for real life, the leather has a nice feel to it and it's a joy to look at (it cuts OK to if that matters at all).

The Ecotat just never seems to get used too much, if it is a solo trip a tarp works well, if it is true crap out or the wife comes along the tent works but as a standalone piece the Ecotat is pretty cool and a lot of thought went into it. Couple of minor faults but nothing that is a show stopper. 1. It is not free standing in it's tent configuration. 2. If you unzip the side zipper past where the head end pole anchors in it's pocket then the pole can slip out of the pocket. Again minor negative points for a piece of gear with so much going for it.

[Sealegs]

The NL series is a beautiful run by FK. They are a pretty good alternative to expensive custom knives IMHO. Obviously I have a "few" of their knives. I can heartily recommend the WM1 as a light edc fixed blade. It's become quite popular at some regiments despite being a decidely "unmanly" blade.

The Ecotat for me, despite it's shortcomings, represent an RMA that is still long in the coming. Some of those ideas are beginning to gain hold today but are still far off from being implemented in anything but name and then only in ranger units. I liked their sleeping bags as well. (LWSB-MP) The patents that were held by Ecotat Systems have expired so there is really no-one making grade A reproductions of them though. Sadly. Otherwise I'd be getting myself the entire line they made just to own the multi purpose goodness they represent.

[Kyle Ryder]

Nice thread, does this contest only cover the USA or is SE Asia covered?

I am in Thailands tropical south and am fixing up for some jungle adventures shortly

Get some video made guys! I see some cool pictures but zilch video

Great efforts though.

the contest is open to the world!

is it winter in your AO?

It is winter, but only just!
As I'm only 19 degree's north of the equator and there's palm tree's blowing in the wind outside

[riverjoe47]

You need to find a mountain top . We were sleeted upon on a mountain top on the edge of the Ashau valley . We spent about a month there freezing our butts off in 68 .

[Blackdog]

The NL series is a beautiful run by FK. They are a pretty good alternative to expensive custom knives IMHO. Obviously I have a "few" of their knives. I can heartily recommend the WM1 as a light edc fixed blade. It's become quite popular at some regiments despite being a decidely "unmanly" blade.

The Ecotat for me, despite it's shortcomings, represent an RMA that is still long in the coming. Some of those ideas are beginning to gain hold today but are still far off from being implemented in anything but name and then only in ranger units. I liked their sleeping bags as well. (LWSB-MP) The patents that were held by Ecotat Systems have expired so there is really no-one making grade A reproductions of them though. Sadly. Otherwise I'd be getting myself the entire line they made just to own the multi purpose goodness they represent.

When I was putting this post together I was surprised on how little information was out there on the Ecotat shelter. That said for a piece of gear I don't use very often I sure wouldn't mind having 2 of them and being able to rig them into one larger shelter.

I did stumble apon this, it looks like someone picked up the ball somewhat:

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=142&CFID=893930&CFTOKEN=77905254

Never actually seen a Ecotat bag in person but they look pretty interesting.

[Sealegs]

Combat Reform had a bit of information on some of their products. Their web page is long since gone. It was awful btw.
http://www.combatreform.org/ECOTATSYSTEMS/index.htm

[twoshots]

one of my friends, my dog and I just just spend 5 more days out at the bush, It was quite cold but we had fun and got more preps done on the cabin/shelter. I'll update my post on page 9 once I thaw out

Keep em coming two shots . You guys are definitely impervious to the cold .

lol, I wish that were the case.

I had a pretty tough go this time between looking out for my friend (this was the friend who is recovering from the crushed skull and broken neck) The cold was a constant challenge at -21c plus windshield considering the amount of dampness present from previous thaws.

My friend is just like his old self (tough as nails) until late afternoon and then he crashes and gets very tired. Once he hits 'the wall' he needs help to stay positive and care for himself and his kit.

He was very proud at the end of the week to have pushed his limits and more than achieved his goal of two nights out. We have several safety back ups in place including, multiple cell phones, FAK, neighbors, hospital etc.

[riverjoe47]

one of my friends, my dog and I just just spend 5 more days out at the bush, It was quite cold but we had fun and got more preps done on the cabin/shelter. I'll update my post on page 9 once I thaw out

Keep em coming two shots . You guys are definitely impervious to the cold .

lol, I wish that were the case.

I had a pretty tough go this time between looking out for my friend (this was the friend who is recovering from the crushed skull and broken neck) The cold was a constant challenge at -21c plus windshield considering the amount of dampness present from previous thaws.

My friend is just like his old self (tough as nails) until late afternoon and then he crashes and gets very tired. Once he hits 'the wall' he needs help to stay positive and care for himself and his kit.

He was very proud at the end of the week to have pushed his limits and more than achieved his goal of two nights out. We have several safety back ups in place including, multiple cell phones, FAK, neighbors, hospital etc.

one of my friends, my dog and I just just spend 5 more days out at the bush, It was quite cold but we had fun and got more preps done on the cabin/shelter. I'll update my post on page 9 once I thaw out

Keep em coming two shots . You guys are definitely impervious to the cold .

lol, I wish that were the case.

I had a pretty tough go this time between looking out for my friend (this was the friend who is recovering from the crushed skull and broken neck) The cold was a constant challenge at -21c plus windshield considering the amount of dampness present from previous thaws.

My friend is just like his old self (tough as nails) until late afternoon and then he crashes and gets very tired. Once he hits 'the wall' he needs help to stay positive and care for himself and his kit.

He was very proud at the end of the week to have pushed his limits and more than achieved his goal of two nights out. We have several safety back ups in place including, multiple cell phones, FAK, neighbors, hospital etc.

Id say hes awfully lucky to have such dedicated friends .

Elkhills I always wanted to camp Northern Ca . and the Lake Tahoe region . It is really beautiful country . Those memories your building with that young camper are going to be pretty precious to him .
I always drug my kid down the river , wed tell the wife "we'll find a farmhouse and give you a collect call when we get tired ".
Sometimes we didn't know if we were in In. or Mi. as the river looped back and forth . One time the deerflys (I dont know if you have those ) drove us out of the canoe with just our noses above water trying to avoid bites . We laugh over that now 30 years later .

Wonder why anyone would shoot all night ? Out here sometimes farmers have timed shotgun blasts to keep geese from fouling their ponds but I never heard of one shooting at night .
I

[Woods Walker]

Blackdog.

I like that hatchet and will give one a try. Nice roads yea got around your parts. The fire steel video was great and guessing tricky to film. High visibility paracord on small black objects is a good idea. I put some on most of my small but important gear items. In the field things grow legs. I agree the puppy doesn’t look ready for prime time. I have also drunk untreated water from springs for years without any issues but gotta tow the party line and not recommend it. Great looking trip.

Elkhills.

I have the same MSR filter and wide mouth Nalgene soft canteen/water bag. They work very well together. Great to see kids in the woods learning the ropes. Nice trip.

[twoshots]

Thanks for putting up the banner.

So, just to confirm.... I just do a write up in this thread for entry? It looks like people are updating their original posts as they compile the pictures and info.

My friends and I have been going out previous to reading this thread but we will be out at least every other week for two or three days minimum at a time. I will take better pictures from now on.

Long story short is we are going out to a 200acre bush property we own and building a cabin with local trees and minimal tools. The challenge is that it is Canadian shield winter and we are sleeping in the cabin as we make it. We are having tons of fun so far and it is therapeutic time in the bush. Two of us just came back from A-stan and another is recovering from a crushed skull and a broken neck two years ago. He cant do any heavy labour or carry his own gear but he is mobile. This is an added challenge but more than worth it to see him having fun.

I'm not sure if this falls under the contest or not but it is related and relevant to the thread I think.

Gear review and pictures to follow.

The bush:

The bush is a mix of soft and hard wood with 150 feet of elevation variation. We have to hike only about 500 meters to camp. This includes a steep climb and also an open river crossing. We made a small foot bridge out of three trees to get across the water.



The Gear:



Bear in mind this kit is spread out between several people.
1. The GB SF axe is indispensable, it just really performs and holds an edge well. It excels at limbing trees with minimal energy expended. It is also useful as a chisel, hammer, etc.
2. The Busse BWM is a big tough blade for its weight. The factory edge was deplorable and not satisfactory for a blade in this price range. With some profiling work it is a quality tool; however, I expect a better edge when I pay this kind of money.
3. The collins machete is a good multi purpose blade, it doesn't excel in any area but like the busse it is a good multi purpose tool.
4. The stihl 170 is a light weight reliable saw, it is efficient and runs very smooth. In a small saw I prefer Stihl and in a large saw,Husky. It is easy to maintain and clean. I recommend carrying a small tool kit including chain oil, bar grease, screwdriver-wrench and files, spare chain. (Depending on the reason for "bugging out" the noise of a chain saw may not be acceptable, your call)
5. The Coleman lantern runs on white fuel and throws excellent light as well as heat. This one has one globe/mantel but you can get them with two as well. I recommend having replacement mantels as well as a spare pump assembly or at least the knowledge of how to pull apart the pump and repair/replace the parts. A protective case is recommended, a small tool box works fine.
6. The winchester trapper is in 44 magnum. It is light and reliable in cold temperatures. Even with liberal CLP it will function 100% after being in -10 to -20c for days. We also carry Remington 870's instead, they are heavier but more versatile. If the temperature is very cold we lubricate with graphite or use less CLP and leave the firearm in the cold to avoid condensation.
7. The gerber is also very useful, no carbide insert in this one so no worries. It is considerably lighter than the leatherman wave. We carry either or as the leatherman is more solid.
8.The fire starter has really earned my respect over time. We carry waterproof matches, zippo's, bics, and the fire starter. We prefer the petrolium jelly dipped cotton balls for starters and wax/sawdust cupcakes to get wet wood to light in cold temps (-10c and below) We wrap in plastic first and then aluminum foil. We use as needed to save time or when the wood is too cold/wet.

more to follow



Our Clothing is based upon the winter warfare training. Clean, don't Overheat, loose and layered and dry whenever possible.
We wear less during the working day and bundle up in the evening.
Synthetic base, Wool and fleece in between, Softie jackets, Goretex Shells. Wool socks and headwear. Much of our clothing is surplus or old school wool.

more to follow.

this is the temporary bridge we made to get in:


The recce: (eagle pack, tubbs 30 snowshoes)


ornery fire,late and wet


The tired pooch:


The sleds: (we carry three day packs and put the heavy gear on the sleds.


The initial lean to shelter:



Limbing more material, these trees were planted in the 80's and are ready to be thinned out to allow larger growth and hardwoods to take over


Firing up the stove:



A friend enjoying a nice cold beer:


The cabin continues to grow:



Tarped in for the night:


more to follow

guess I'll continue here and delete the old one to save sifting through the pages

We set up the fireplace in the corner and brought in our sled fulls of wood to start putting in the floor and interior walls. 11 sleds full had me pretty tired. This is all recycled 2x4 and 1xrandom pulled out of shipping crates. They are 4-5 feet and fit in the sled.

We put down enough floor to set the one cot on and got ready for the night by gathering some wood.



We warmed up our subs for a last taste of civilization


Next day we finished off the floor and moved the stove into the center to take full advantage of the heat


the spark arrestor was getting clogged up so we removed it and once again had good air flow,


the pup was not happy with his lack of cot so I rigged him up some better insulation, he was quite content after that


next on the list was to install the interior walls, all cuts were made with the chain saw so the angles are "good enough"


finally, some clear sky and a warmer morning



We made up a little corner cupboard. The hand crank,solar, battery radio is awesome. We leave it on all night and all day, 3 AAA run 48 hrs. The commercials are louder and wake me up to stoke the fire.

after 4 nights and five days we are ready to leave, we have worked on the cabin for about 15 hours. the rest of the time is camp routine.
Three interior walls are complete.




we have a store demo window to go in the front wall. Total hours in the build are about 22 with two to four guys. $75 for the stove and $100 for the re-useable tarps. This is obviously not a back pack bug out but all items were carried or sledded in cross country.

[DonTrusTheMEDIA]

Blackdog.

I like that hatchet and will give one a try. Nice roads yea got around your parts. The fire steel video was great and guessing tricky to film. High visibility paracord on small black objects is a good idea. I put some on most of my small but important gear items. In the field things grow legs. I agree the puppy doesn’t look ready for prime time. I have also drunk untreated water from springs for years without any issues but gotta tow the party line and not recommend it. Great looking trip.

Elkhills.

I have the same MSR filter and wide mouth Nalgene soft canteen/water bag. They work very well together. Great to see kids in the woods learning the ropes. Nice trip.

I would buy a husqvarna hatchet only in person, not over the Internet unless it was from a reputable dealer. Last time I was in a husqvarna dealership (about 2 months ago) i was checking out their hand tools and the handle of the hatchet they had was of very low quality and the head was very loose. Also they had a husqvarna brush axe that had a loose head. The steel seemed very good and they were not very expensive.

[Woods Walker]

Entry number 3 just because I can.

I went on a group winter campout last week. Left my home around 1 pm Thursday and got back about 4ish pm on Sunday. The area is in the Dacks and anyone who has spent time camping in those hills knows it can get chilly even in summer. I think the temps bottomed out at about negative 12F for the trip, hardly the worse the Dacks has to offer. There was some light snow fall but nothing more than a few inches. Guessing there was 2-3 feet of snow on the deck so I floated my camp (more on that later).

The camping area was near a hunting cabin on a large plot of private land. I arrived around 5pm and hiked in about 2 miles. The low population density combined with private landowner permission allowed for target shooting therefore packed a stainless Mini 14 and Rem .22 rifle.

My overloaded pulk sled. To be honest this trip didn’t comply with the rules. No way could I hope to backpack all this gear.



Rather than digging out the campsite I elected to float my shelter. The first step is to compress the snow down by walking heavy over the area with snowshoes in an ever widening circle. It’s best to make the packed area at least 4 feet larger than the shelter’s foot print so the sides won’t give way. Let the snow set for about 45 minutes though sometime you can get away with less. Once set you should be able to walk over the site with normal boots. I used these homemade snow pegs to anchor the tipi. The long pegs are 34 inches and the short ones 18. Often I will just pack short pegs if not using the sled.



The long pegs are used at the doors.



The short pegs are used on the side tie-offs or for everything if looking to reduce bulk.



I put them at an angle leaving a few inches above the snow. This is done to increase the hold and allows room to drive pegs down a bit freeing them if frozen. Never drive a tent stake/peg/whatever flush to the snow or ground in any season as this makes them harder to remove and much more so during freezing temps.

The stove and center pole are floated on an Al sheet. I like to put some wood under the stove to help insulate the metal and will replace any melted snow when cleaning the coals out of the stove. Normally I can run the stove for a day without any issues.



My 4-man tipi camp floated. Both tents shown are floated on packed down snow.



Loading up a Kifaru KU5200 for a hike on Friday.



It was cold and sunny for most of the day.



Some plinking to pass the time.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW VIDEO. BEST DONE IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.



Did an even longer hike the next day using a KU E&E. This time I had some strong winds and light snow. I was drinking out of the canteen and my knife was on my person so those didn’t get included in the video.



CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW VIDEO. BEST DONE IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.



Canadian guy showed for the weekend and gave me a Canadian combat ration which as it turns out is basically a bag of candy and sugary drinks.



CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW VIDEO. BEST DONE IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.



I followed some deer tracks to their beds under a mixture of large Eastern pine with smaller Hemlocks. I wasn’t hunting for deer but enjoy tracking them though the snow.





My friend from Upstate came on Saturday. He packed in a Northface Cat’s Meow and USGI Gortex bivy.



He had a Glock 27 which was very accurate for such a small gun. We both hit a 6 inch diameter standing deadwood sapling at 150 feet multiple times off handed. The 27 was small for my hands and bit at my thumb’s knuckle. Still it was fun to shoot.

CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW VIDEO. BEST DONE IN A SEPARATE WINDOW.



That’s about it for this trip. Let’s keep those entries coming.

[WhoShotJR]

WW, you already have a KU5200 & E&E, how did you manage that? Also, how about a review.

[Woods Walker]

WW, you already have a KU5200 & E&E, how did you manage that? Also, how about a review.

I just updated the thread with a photo of the pack. Patrick loaned me it for some testing so this was my first time using them. I think we have a Kifaru KU thread around someplace and will post some photos/vids of the packs there as well.

[riverjoe47]

Just to clarify .
woodswalker wrote......
My overloaded pulk sled. To be honest this trip didn’t comply with the rules. No way could I hope to backpack all this gear.

Darksider answered River Joe .....

riverjoe47 wrote:
Uh Oh I see in the rules gear must be strapped to back . Actually BOR is strapable for fording streams etc . Will that suffice ?



The Rules wrote:
Your trip should include some amount of hiking with your gear / pack strapped to your back.




it would be a good idea to have a pack on your back.

with that said the use of a sled, or any other means to carry, pull, or haul EXTRA gear is ok. if i lived in an area that got snow im sure i would use a pull behind sled to help with extra gear. if your homemade cart / sled would be part of your winter bug out gear than its ok with me.


Have the rules changed ww ?

[Blackdog]

Blackdog.

I like that hatchet and will give one a try. Nice roads yea got around your parts. The fire steel video was great and guessing tricky to film. High visibility paracord on small black objects is a good idea. I put some on most of my small but important gear items. In the field things grow legs. I agree the puppy doesn’t look ready for prime time. I have also drunk untreated water from springs for years without any issues but gotta tow the party line and not recommend it. Great looking trip.

Elkhills.

I have the same MSR filter and wide mouth Nalgene soft canteen/water bag. They work very well together. Great to see kids in the woods learning the ropes. Nice trip.

I would buy a husqvarna hatchet only in person, not over the Internet unless it was from a reputable dealer. Last time I was in a husqvarna dealership (about 2 months ago) i was checking out their hand tools and the handle of the hatchet they had was of very low quality and the head was very loose. Also they had a husqvarna brush axe that had a loose head. The steel seemed very good and they were not very expensive.

Good advice, not usually practical for me so sometimes I have to just run on what I have read. This is the first piece of Husqvarna gear I have touched since a early 70s Husky motorcycle that I abused in my youth. In this case it worked out Ok for me. I am not a hatchet expert but I can recognise a POS and I really think I got at least $40 of value out of this deal. The grain is pretty good, it showed up sharp and the head is tight so far with a nice wooden wedge. If it loosens up I am pretty sure a 50 cent steel wedge will make it right. The sheath is nothing to write home about but hey that ain't the end of the world.

I assure you if I thought this piece of gear was a POS one of two things would have happened.

1. You guys never would have seen it (the most likely outcome).
2. I would be trash talking it.