caching this past weekend

Well, it's been over a month since I last posted. Lets see...most recently, I participated in my first geocaching tournament, called the great northern tier geocaching tournament . I took my nephew, Josh, and we had an absolute blast! We camped out 2 nights, and met some wonderful new friends. I slept out in my hammock, which alot of folks thought a little odd...but, I slept like a baby. First night we had a good thunderstorm....didnt get wet at all...and even got to watch it out over the pond through my tarp. It was truly amazing. Now, on to the caching...
First day, we linked up with Scout98, and went out. We didnt intend to compete at all, but, after the first day, we had an amazing 22 caches, in one day! Then, on to the night caches....there were 8 in all, and, after a great dinner o BBQ chicken, potato salad, corn, and other fixings, we were off at dusk to grab 8 more. We finished up about 8:30 or so that evening, and called in a night.
One thing I forgot; the night we arrived, Friday, I went out ad did a few local caches with some people there for the event. I even got to FINALLY log one of my DNFs, at Lyons falls. My plan was to hit 300 caches this weekend, and I didnt count correctly, as I only counted the ones from the tournament. This threw my count off a little, but, thats ok. Anyway, on to day two...
The next morning, we got up and, much to our surprise, Scout98 was in the lead for single cachers! Well, without even trying, he pulled ahead! We set up a game plan for caching that day, and didnt stick to it. That happens. We grabbed a bunch more, including a few in areas where tournament ones were, and I finally hit 300 at Shore of Wicket Pond. After that one, we decided to hit one more, and call it a day. Again, mind you, I had forgotten about the "other" caches I did outside ofthe tournament.
So, we get back, and they tally up the totals for the day. It turns out that Scout98 missed making best by ONE CACHE!!! we were literally 1/10th of a mile away from him winning. Ah well...there's always next year.
As an aside, I did the whole weekend kilted, and it was EXTREMELY comfy! This I ill definitely be doing kilted from now on...
I have attached a couple of pics here, to share both my 300th cache & a small prank played on us by fellow cachers. You'll see the kilt on me. It is made by Freedom Kilts, and I was VERY happy with it. It most definitely took a beating, much as Steve (the maker) told me it would.
So, here are the pics:

Update

I know I havent posted anything in a while. I have done some geocaching as of late, & recently passed the 250 mark. I have about 8 left within a 10 mile radius of me, which I plan to finish up tomorrow (hopefully). But, that isnt the biggest news. The Big news is....(insert drumroll here)...
I've started on the bagpipes!!
This is a culmination of an 18 year old dream. The opportunity to start playing kinda fell in my lap. I started the end of May, and have been practicing diligently since. I now have two tunes down, one by memory, the other, well, I'm working on it. This has taken up most of my free time, as I hope that, by this time next year, I'll be playing with the local band. This wont take away my love of outdoors, naturally. But, it is something I ALWAYS wanted to do, and, well, I simply couldnt pass it up! And, well, not to toot my own horn, but, in May, I couldnt even read music...now, I have two tunes, and soon to be a third. I will not be on the actual pipes until around christmas, at which time I'll buy a set (they are expensive, you know!!).
This week, I am headed to NEw Orleans, so, I'll post some pics when I get back. Take care, and thanks for reading!!

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First overnight with the hammock

Well, I had an extra day off this week, so I decided to do an overnighter in my local area. I was going to drive out west to Mount Greylock, but where I had planned on parking is closed until 2009. The closest area to park was about 9 miles from where I wanted to be, so, I decided on an easier plan.

    Instead, I did part of the wapack trail, about 6 miles in. I weighed my pack before leaving, and, with food for 3 days, and 4 liters of water (water can be unreliable, once you get into the hills), I topped 35 lbs. A little too heavy for an overnighter, and a LOT heavier than where I want it to be normally, but, it wasnt too bad. I had the following (to the best of my recollection):

pack-Golite trek

hennesy asym hammock, with tarp, & underpad

Golite rain jacket & pants

patagonia R4 lightweight fleece

longlseeve nylon flyfishermans shirt

extra pair of socks

wool cap

glove liners

flipflops

small paperback book

my journal

pencil

compass

map

first aid kit

bandana

msr miniworks water filter

Kifaru Woobie synthetic blanket

3 Liter platypus

1 liter bottle for water

metal cup (goes on the bottom of the bottle)

titanium cooking pot 2L

titanium spoon

clikstand stove cover & windscreen

pepsi can stove

1/2 liter of alcohol for the stove

princeton tec micro headlamp

battery powered glowstick

Mora knife with sheath and firesteel

camera

    As you can see, I had quite a bit. I could have easily pared the weight down, but, as I was only out for an overnight, I figured I could pack the extras. So, anyway, off I went, about 11 yesterday morning. I hiked up to Nuuting Hill, then began my journey northward. It was about 75 degrees, sunny, with little breeze. A pleasant day to be ouside, to say the least. I had decided that I'd take my first pack off break at the last reliable watersource bfore I hit the hills. This is located just north of Binney Pond, and I made it there in about an our (just about 3 miles). So, I got to the spring, took out my filter, topped off platypus, and filled the extra water bottle for cooking. It was a little past noon at this time, and I wasnt too hungry as of yet, so I decided I'd hit the top of the first hill, Pratt Mountain, for lunch. I knew there was an excellent overlook of the pond, and I thought that that would be a great place or lunch. So, having topped off, I started up the hill.

    About 20 minutes later, I got to the top. Dropped the pack, and broke out lunch. Lunch consisted of a raisin bagel with peanut butter. I had mixed up some gorp as well, but, the heat destroyed it. I was stuck carrying a baggie of melted chocolate with nuts & coconut in it. Ah well.   

    So, I finished lunch, then broke out the map. Looking at it, I saw that my final destination wasnt that far away, maybe another hour. My trek would consist of walking the current ridgeline, giving up some elevation, then climbing to the top of New Ipswich Mountain, which was my destination for the day. Looking at the map, I thought that there may be another spring in between the two mountains, as it was a fairly steep draw. 30 minutes later, I hit that draw, and, sure enough, a small stream!! Now, this will, in all likelihood, be dried up in a couple of weeks. But, for now, I took advantage of it. I sat down, drank a liter of water at a leisurely pace, topped off the bottle again, then began the final climb of the day. took about 20 minutes to get to the top.

    So, finally, I am at my destination. I begin looking for a place to set up camp. Hanging a hammock makes this MUCH easier. I locate two old apple trees, and string up between them. I set up camp, then settle in & start reading my book I wanted to stretch the lines a little, then tighten them up again when I crashed for the night.

    So, a little while later, I start dinner. Now, I havent tried this stove out before, but am familiar with alcohol stoves in general. I also never tried the clikstand before now, so I was kind of experimenting. I fill the stove all the way to the top, & lit it. I filled my pot to the 1000ml line, poured the macaroni in (only time I ever eat mac & cheese is hiking), and put it on the stand. So, about 5 minutes later, its boiling away. Too much fuel. Also, too much water, as I had to drain quite alot of it out. Other than that, dinner was uneventful. I had some awesome views of the valley though. was nice to sit there & eat, looking out over miles of countryside. I had mount monadnock as a backdrop, which topped it all off.

    I finish eating, clean up, then fart around camp for a bit. I decide to rig my tarp up, just in case. I got everything all set up, crawled in, and read some more. I finished reading about 8:30, and it was still light out. The breeze picked up quite a bit, so I rigged the tarp up to keep it to a minimum. Finaly settled in for the night. I found myself constantly sinking in the hammock. Not realy a big deal, as I was never uncomfortable at all, like I would be sleeping on the ground. I just woke up several times, and stretched out again. The night temps were in the 40s, and I had on only boxers & a T-shirt. I later added a wool cap, as my ears got a little chilly. The combination of the underpad, tarp, and woobie kept me well warm. In fact, I constantly vented to keep from overheating. And, forutnately, I DID set up the tarp, as we had a light rain all night up in the hills. It was all fog in the valleys, and a light rain above that. My pack got wet, but, everything inside it was in a garbage bag, so the stuff stayed dry.

    I awoke next morning, expecting the stiffness I normally experience when sleeping on the ground. Nothing! I wasnt even sore from the walk in! Needless to say, I was quite surprised. I was also completely socked in with fog. I decided that, instead of cooking for breakfast, I'd have another bagel. So, I packed everything up, and ate. I also took a look at my water situation, and decided I could make it back the 6 miles on what I had. Even if I ran out, I knew where I coul locate it, as I passed many streams in the valley on my way up. So, off I went.

The walk back out was completely uneventful. But, walking along a ridgeline, at 6:30 in the morning, with fog banks offering only glimpses of the valleys below you, are truly breathtaking. I tried to snap a coupe of pictures, but I truly dont think they do it justice. It was a surreal feling, standing there, looking down to where the valley is, and only being able to ee a few hundred feet in front of you.

    By the time I got back down into the valley, the fog had lifted. I made good time back to my jeep, as I didnt stop at all with the exception to take pictures. My water situation stayed fine, and I didnt have to stop to filter more. It was a great experience, and a good gear run. I decided though that I need a bigger tarp. Maybe next payday. Please check out the pcitures in the photo album when I post them up (should e tonight). Take care, and I hope you enjoyed reading this!

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Overnighting tomorrow

Well, a REAL brief update; I am going to head out tomorrow night, for at least an overnighter on a local mountain. I want to test my new hammock out. I also picked up a neat little gadget for my alcohol stove called a clikstand.

This little thing folds neatly into my pot, providing a potstand, and windscreen, all without taking any additional room. I will snap some pics of my camp tomorrow afternoon. I plan on leaving right after work. So, it will be an evening hike up the hill, followed by a little relaxation, dinner, and maybe a book. I will also weigh my pack & post if for everyone, so you have an idea what I'm carrying. I try to go lightweight, but am not obsessed about it. Anyway, more later!!!

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A fine spring day

Well, as it was again a wonderful day, I decided to go out geocaching all day. I didn't hit as many as I normally do, which is about 7, but I got a couple of good ones, so it paid off. I started off with a new local one, hear a baseball field. However, with so many folks around, I gave up on it, leaving it for another, less busy day. So, I went off in earnest for others.
I started in on Birch Hill WMA, but only did part one. The second part will require a little planning, as there is no access to it road wise. I'll have to break out the topo, using my maptech program, and work it out from there. So, I went on & did a couple easy ones, and topped the day off doing Spirit IN the Falls and Doanes Fallies. Both were awesome, and memorable. The Spirit in the Falls one, had an awesome view from the first waypoint, and was well worth the hike up to the ridge. See the picture attached to this.
Doans Fallies was a double treat, as, first, this is one of my favorite local places, and second, I came upon a beaver swimming lazily in the pond! I, of course, snapped off a few pictures...unfortunately, only one came out. But, hey, that life, right?
Both of these caches are muliticaches, and required quite a bit of hiking. Which, again, was fine, as it was a nice day.
Then, this evening, I went fishing with my oldest nephew & my brother in law. My nephew, Josh, was the only one to catch on tonight, despite several strikes on everyone's bait. He caught a large mouth bass, but has never taken one off the hook before. Well, I showed him how to do it, and told him he was on his own next time!
One last thing; I am currently trying my hand at two home made items; one will be an alcohol stove, and the other will be a homemade firesteel. I picked up two firesteel blanks recently online, and will be making a handle for one out of black birch. I plan on taking several pics during construction of the firesteel, so stay tuned!!

Odd day out

So, its a beautiful day outside, I have the day off, and decide to go for a little walk in the local wildlife management area. I decide I'm gonna take my hammock, as 1), it hasnt really gotten any good sleep time in it yet, and 2), I was up WAY too early this morning, to bring a buddy to the army barracks, so he could ship out to Iraq today. So, as it was nice, I decided to take my nap outdoors.
A little background of this area; It is located behind a maximum sercurity prison. The area, the size of a small town, used to house inmates that were mentally deficient. It was a small town-like community, and they had the inmates work farms. There used to be massive housing facilities, several the size of mansions. IN addtion, they also had huge tracts of land to farm. They produced fruit & vegetables, as well as dairy & meat products, for the local communities.
In the 70's the state stopped funding the program, and all of the inmates were transferred to traditional facilities. TRhe community was effectively abandoned. It was taken over by the state wildlife commision shortly after they were shut down, and part of it was (and still is) used for training of police and corrections canines, and some national guard training, for fighting in urban areas (the buildings used for these were finally condemned & razed in the mid 90's). The vast majority is now just a wildlife management area (hunting & fishing allowed, no camping), where they are allowing the forest to reclaim itself. Walking in this area is a treat, as you are on some paved roads, that end abruptly, will be walking through the woods, and find an old fire hydrant in the middle of nowhere, a line of telephone poles through a copse of trees, odd things like that. But, all in all, it is a gorgeous area (no vehicle traffic allowed here at all).
So, anyway, this is where I spend the majority of my time wandering. Today, I walked to where I thought was WAY off the beaten path, to set up my hammock, & just relax. Well, I fall asleep, & wake up several times due to snoring (my hennesy is arguably more comfy than my bed). Finally, I doze off good. Then, I hear a truck. In the middle of the woods. Well, come to find out, there is an old paved road about 100 yards from where I was. In it were 3 cops. They ask me if I were living there, which, of course, I wasnt. I explain what I am doing, they are amicable, we exchange niceties, I even turn one of em on to the hennesy website, and they leave. Well, naps over, I pack up, and leave myself.
I dont take a direct route, instead, I wander some old footpaths, heading in the general direction of my jeep. I notice a police helicopter, doing lazy eights over the whole area. Now, I figure its one of two things; a pilot training, or somethings going on. So, I head back to a paved road, to make a beeline baqck to my jeep. I figure, if they have a chopper up, its serious.
Well, I run into the same cops that came across me napping earlier. It seems that a 24 year old decided he wanted to take his own life. He had left a note at his home, stating he was going to overdose with drugs in the woods. They asked if I had seen anyone fitting the description, which I hadnt. I told him of several other folks I came across out for a walk today though, and roughly where they were. They graciously offered me a ride back to my jeep, but I wanted to walk. It was a little less than a mile back, no big deal. The whole way back I kept calling out the kids name, hoping he'd respond. Unfortunately, he didnt.
As of this time, I do not know the status of the situation. I, for one, am hoping for a good outcome, and that maybe this was a call for help. I would hate to think that his life could be so bad that suicide would be the only answer. I sincerely hope he is found. There are LOTS of places one could go to do the deed in this place, and quite possibly never be found. That, IMHO, would be the absolute worst, as the family would never get true closure. Its sad that, on such a gorgeous day, someone elected to attempt to take their own life. My heart goes out to him, & his family.

Recent WA trip

I recently went out to Washington State to visit my brother. This is quite possibly the most beautiful state I've yet been to. I was only there a few days, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I had the opportunity to go to the Point Defiant Zoo on Friday, see a Beluga whale (simply amazing), a 3200 lb walrus (graceful underwater, not so much on land, I'm sure), and several other animals. They had a fantastic wildlife exhibit, although it was only a "practice run" (not tourist season yet). Got to spend lots of time with my niece & nephew there.
Saturday, my brother took me wheeling in his jeep. We went to some place near Mt. Rainier, in a forest harvesting area. I will post a pic up here; feel free to check my album link though. And, before someone harps on the cruelty of deforestatiuon, I want to point several things out; first, the company that owns most of the forestry industry in the PNW does the environment pretty good. They buy the land from the state, harvest the trees (mostly pine & hemlock, I think), then plant 2 trees for every 1 tree cut down. On top of that, they then GIVE the land back to the state, to allow the forest to re-grow. Being softwood, they grow to maturity in about 40 years or so. This allows land to be harvested, left alone for several generations, then re-harvested. This is actually good for the environment, as it allows smaller plants to grow, providing food for the abundant wildlife. Now, on to a couple of pics. Enjoy!!

Another beautiful day

Well, I got a chance to get outside yesterday & do some caching in New Hampshire. I did several in a couple of local forests. Nice areas. Weather was cool, winds gusty, about 45° or so. Trails were a combination of frozen ground, wet snow, compacted snow, ice, & mud. But, despite all that, I still managed to grab 7 (seems to be my average on a day out lately). All that being said, The second to last cache I did, called Conversville Cache, was my favorite. I got a chance to get a few pics, which will be posted shortly. In particular, I got some of a few wood ducks, both floating around & taking off into flight, a nice picture over the pond, with a local hill as a backdrop, and, my favorite, I got a pic of a beaver lazing around on the ice. He was too far off for me to eye him, so, I whipped out the camera, zoomed in, snapped a pic, & hoped. Sure enough, when I downloaded the pics, it was definitely a beaver. I was kinda proud of myself. See the link to my album above. I am loading them as we speak.
Well, thats all I have today. LAtely I've been getting out a lot more with caching, and hope to continue that into the spring & summer.

A beautiful day to be out

Well, spring is finally here! As it was such a nice day outside, I decided to do two geocaches that were a bit of a hike. The first one was MA Ghost Town. This is in the Quabbin Reservoir area, which was originally the site of several towns, until they evacuated them all to make room for Boston's water supply. A good site for the history of it can be found here. The walk in was great, with the warm sun, the snow melting, and a pleasant stroll through the country. The cache itself was a virtual, which, technically, they cannot list anymore, so the hider placed a physical cache with the coords to the final (and other areas) in a can, that you can log after you make it to Dana Common.
Walking up this old road, one has time to ponder (it IS a 2 mile walk, after all) how much effort it must have taken these people to build towns back then. All that was made was done by manual labor; the rock walls New England is famous for, old cellar holes, dug by hand, foundations, with stones weighing more than the people moving them, even the wood was gathered locally. I cannot begin imagine how all these townfolk, from all the towns they were forced to abandon, must have felt to be relocated from what they built with their own hands. There were churches, schools, cemetaries, inns, as well as the farms & dwellings. There was even an old railroad that ran by here. But, their sacrifice has given us a beautiful place to walk, a controlled area for both forestry & wildlife, and has probably spawned more than a few ghost tales.
The second cache I went after was Harvard Forest. A more complete history of the forest can be found at this website. The walk, again, was about 2 miles one way, but well worth it. The route takes you around the pond, following a road. The road was a mix of dry forest floor, mud, slush, and combinations of the last two. This one also took about 2 hours to complete, but, I am a slow walker, and paused for several pictures.
Well, thats about all I have for now. I decided to take the day & do some caching instead of homework, so, now, I am once again behind. I am thinking that, this week, I will compare my two gear setups (ultralight & bushcraft) and post them here. So, until then, get outside!

Hammock experience & a camera

Well, I purchased a hamnmock from DD hammock last week, & got it in the mail Wednesday night. Needless to say, I was excited to try it out. Well, yesterday (thursday) was a gorgeous day, about 45 degrees outside, perfect for a trial nap. So, I throw the hammock, tarp, sleeping bag, mat, & canteen into my daypack, & head off into the woods.
I also brought along my new camera, and Olympus something or other. I figured I'd give two new items a try today :)
I find a nice spot, next to a beaver pond, with good, stout trees to set up. I get the tarp up, in about 5 minutes (with fiddling). Next, I string the hammock up. Get everything nice & set up, get the bug net up, then am about to get in, when I notice that there is a ripped seam. Disappointed, I take everything down, pack up, & head for home, to email the maker.
So, I email DD hammocks, and they ask that I ensure it is actually torn, as some folks confuse the two layers of nylon (to slip a sleep mat between)with a tear. I write back that, no, I am not confused, and take a picture of the tear. Upon further inspection, I see that, it is in fact not a tear, but the machine had missed stitching about a foot's worth of material (in the picture). So, as it stands currently, I am awaiting a response from them. In the interim, I've ordered a hennessy asym, and will review that as soon as I get it.
Oh, and the camera kicks ass ;)

More gear!

So, I am working on completely kitting out a rucksack designed specifically for bushcraft overnights. I have worked out the gear so far, and have either ordered it, own it, or am awaiting financial resources to aquire it. In no particular order, here is the list of what I have, will have, or want:
Karrimor 45L rucksack, with external pockets. Everywhere I've read, this has been suggested for a decent weekend pack. I had to order one from the UK, and it cost quite a bit of money. So, as I await its arrival, I'll collect everything else. Review will follow.
Military Sleep System- This is essentially a winter bag, a summer bag, and a goretex bivvy bag, that can all be snapped together. Very rugged, I've had mine for years.
DD Hammock-another piece of gear that comes highly recommended. I only once spent a weekend in a hammock, when I was 14, and it was a miserable experience, to say the least. But, I have acquired a wealth of knowledge since then, and am willing to give it a try again. Besides, I once fell asleep walking, in the Army...so, how bag can a night in a hammock REALLY be? ;)
Swedish Army Stove- one word-GREAT! This stove, although heavy, is idiot proof, and works in any weather. And, its cheap!
1L canteen-NATO issue, with aluminum cup. Ah, holds water.
Mora Knife-with a nice leather bushcraft sheath.
Swedish firesteel-ferro rod & striker. Nice & simple for starting fires.
Poncho-military, for shelter.
First Aid Kit-I have an AMK ultralight .7-I havent added anything to it other than hand sanitizer.
Survival Kit-I'll go over this in detail in another post.
AMK heatsheet-an emergency blanket, just in case.
cordage-I could tie up a battalion of boy scouts!
Food-whatever I feel like putting in there. currently, I have a mac & cheese dinner, two packets of oatmeal, 5 packets of cocoa, and 4 instant coffee packets.
Clothing-appropriate for the season.
Sleeping mat-a Z-rest 3/4 length.
Wet weather bag-Army issue, turned inside out.
Flashlight-if I remember to pack something other than the one on my keychain, I use a princeton tec micro whatever its called. Its tiny!
Shovel-Army issue tri-fold. The blade part is sharp, and can double as a light duty axe.
Axe-cheapo one I picked up at a hardware store. I dont normally chop trees down, and it sits mostly in the back of my jeep. It goes in if I remember to put it in, but, not normally carried.
Saw-I have a Gerber hand saw, with a retractable blade. I havent tried it out yet, but, it looks like it will do the job. Next time I go out for a day, I am going to try it out building a lean-to. TRhe blade retracts right into the handle for nice, easy packing.
Thats it in a nutshell. It will be interesting to see if I can get all this into the rucksack when it arrives. you may notice that quite a bit of stuff in there is military issue. Being an ex-grunt, I've come to appreciate the functionality and ruggedness of army issue gear. I normally am a light hiker, and have a LOT of gear designed specifically for that. An ultralight pack, stove, sleeping bag, all that. But, for general bushcraft, where I am going to be less than nice (read: abusive) to my gear, nothing beats military issue. As most of my bushcraft stuff is done within 2 miles of my jeep, I dont really hump it very far. Besides, the gear total may weigh around 30 lbs or so, which isnt all that bad. Now that I think about it, I may weigh both my hiking setup and my bushcraft setup, item for item, and compare weights. That sounds like an excellent project! Stay tuned!

Out for a day of instruction

Well, my nephew has the week off, so I decided we were going to spend a morning teaching him how to set up a poncho shelter. So, he came over last night, and I went over a couple of knots with him, to help set the shelter up today. This morning we got up & headed right out. It is about 20°F today, with gusty winds. We had a fresh coating of snow, about 3" or so. Pretty good conditions for what I had planned. I also wanted to try out my new swedish army stove in the woods, in the cold. It worked quite well, and took about 15 mins to boil a full pot of water.
So, I had my nephew set up his poncho as I was setting mine up. He had some trouble with the knots. I think its because he is unsure of himself. I went over it with him quite a few times. He finally got it, after a LOT of trial & error. So, we got the ponchos set up, then cut a few limbs to sit on. I then started the stove to get some cocoa going. He wants to get out alot this spring & summer, which is what I want to do as well. I told him that, come spring, I am going out regardless of the weather. So, I told him, we gotta keep working on the basics before moving on. the pics on the side are, in order:
Me drinking a cup of cocoa, after everything was all set up.
A picture of our little setup. those branches are what we sat on.
My stove chufgging away. As cold as it was, it only took 15 mins to get to a full boil. A lot quicker than I expected.
Another shot of our area, with my nephew holding a bag of cocoa in his mouth.

Winter camping

Well, I just spent last night out on a local pond. Actually, next to it. But, I went out to try several different things; a 0* bag, my stove, to see how cold it could get before it didnt work, and a set of Bivvy Wear tops & bottoms. Also, I wanted to try lighting a fire using flint & steel. I did tape alot of the afternoon, until my camera actually froze, and no longer worked. So, on to my story.
It got a record low of -10* with the wind last night. Pretty damned cold! My first experiment was to light a fire using the flint & steel. I grabbed a bunch of dried grass along the edge of the pond, and attempted to light it. With the constant wind, I soon gave up without a fire. There really wasnt a convenient place to hide from the wind, and, as it was bitter cold, I gave up fairly quick. however, I went into my survival kit, and took out a vaseline soaked cotton ball, to give that a whirl. With just to strike of the flint, I got flame. So, needless to say, I will NOT be going out without this!
Next, my stove. I have an MSR pocketrocket. This, unfortunately, did not work at all in the bitter cold. I ended up putting it into my jacket, and laying in my sleeping bag, to get it warm enough to work. I boiled a cup of water, for cocoa, inside my tent. Not the best idea, but I needed something warm inside me. So, in extreme cold, the much vaunted isopro mix, good for sub freezing temps, didnt work. Good thing to know!
Next, I tried out my bivvy wear. Now, THIS stuff is amazing. With both the tops & bottoms on, I was fine, even with the wind. Good stuff. Packs small, is VERY warm, definitely a worthy purchase.
Inside my tent, I was alot warmer, without the wind. I had a candle lantern burning, and it was a relatively warm 20*. So, I thought I'd be fine with my sleeping bag. But, I found MANY cold spots throughout the night. I ended up putting on my military issue heavyweight longjohns. A little better. Ultimately, as the temps dropped considerably, I put the bivvy wear on too. This was relatively comfortable. I slept fitfully, mostly woke up when I rolled over. My toes were cold throughout the night. Had my stove worked, I wouldve heated water & put the bottle down near my feet. Ah well, again, lesson learned.
The final temp reading recorded on my digi thermometer was 9*, inside the tent. Then, it too died. I taped alot of the day, but, unfortunately, electronics & exteme cold weather dont mix. So, I got nothing of this morning. But, I made it out, toes & all!
The coolest thing was listening to the ice settle all noght. Huge BOOMs were heard all night long. The tent wall was constanlty compressed onto my face, due to the constant wind. But, I made it through fine. I actually got alot more sleep than expected. Thats all for now. As soon as I get my video loaded, I'll post that.

new knife!

I just wanted to post that I picked up a new knife. I picked up a Mora Model #731. A you can view their collection of knives here. My blade looks discolored, but, I intended it that way. To protect the knife, I used a neat little trick I learned. As it is a mix of carbon & stainless steel (I wont get into the technical aspects of knifemaking, but, a mixed metal blade will provide excellent cutting edges, retain the edge, and not stain/rust as readily), it requires some protection from elements, particularly staining. So, to do that, you stain the metal first (doesnt hurt it at all). To do this, I wrapped the blade in a paper towel soaked in white vinegar for about an hour (went & washed my jeep). The result is what you see on the blade. It faded it, and you can see the mix of the two steels quite well (of course, not with MY camera...).Anyway, I wanted to share this with you.
ON a geocaching note, I went out yesterday, and actually came across a white hare. First wild rabbit I've seen in quite some time. Had I a rabbit stick, I may have had rabbit stew last night! He was a big, fat one too. Came across an interesting cache container as well at this cache. It was actually a piece of a log a beaver had cut down, and it was hollowed out, with a hinged lid. Pretty clever.
I also picked up a new vehicle GPS. I picked up a quest 2, and was using it quite extensively yesterday. Overall, not a bad little machine. It does take some time to re-calculate routes, and this can become quite annoying. It does acquire satellites very quickly though. I have an external GPS antenna, and that may help in the acquisition/lock department though. It is definitely easy to read. The suction cup thingy kept slipping off my windshield, so I mounted it where my old one was, using a slightly different method of mounting than suggested. But, it never slipped off, so, all is good thus far!
I will probably be going out caching tomorrow as well. I am going to start taking my nephew out, & teaching him some wilderness skills. We will (hopefully) get lots of pics using just our kits. The idea is to go out for 2-3 days this spring & live just off the land, with only our little kits. We shall see! anyway, the pic of my new knife:

Nothing doin!

Well, I stasted back in College this week. Taking CIS (computer information systems). Not really survival related, except maybe for the fact that I need to keep my mind amused to live! So, as this programming stuff is taking up my time, I may not be posting as much. We'll see though.
I receinty hit my 200 mark in geocaching, & surpassed it. I am currently at 207. I may get out tomorrow or Saturday to do a few more. My PDA backlight died on me the other day (static electricity), so, I had to buy another GPS for my Jeep. I ended up picking up a quest 2, for alot cheaper than advertised (by about $400). I do hope that this unit will last a few years...it is waterproof, which is a HUGE plus, as I dont normally keep the top on the jeep during the summer. It is supposed to be here tomorrow, so, I'll give a quick review when I put it into use.
Anyway, my 200th cache ended up being here
A pretty spot, right on the Quabbin Reservoir. It was a rather frustrating day of caching though, as I seemed to be losing my geosense. I logged several DNFs that day...not really sure why. I think that alot of them were due to the fact that they were NOT in the woods; instead, right out in the open, on roads, etc. I'm not a big fan of these, but, will attempt them regardless.
In a totally unrelated story, I am now back on the SAR team I belonged to years ago. You can check out the website here. We have outdoor training next week, and I'll snap some pics to post up. Until then, stay alert, stay alivE!

EDC

Well, as I have a few minutes, I thought I'd post what my Every Day CArry is. I carry most of these items all the time, with the exception of my pistol (dont carry that to work. Here are the descriptions of everything there;
pistol-Beretta model 9000s, .40 cal
mini mag light, LED
Doug Ritter PSK
LG CU500 cell phone
wallet-credit cards, ID, etc
Doug Ritter RSK1 mini folding knife
keychain, with 12' paracord & thumbdrive
windproof lighter
watch-Suunto Vector, with velcro strap
PDA-garmin Iqueue 3600
moneyclip.

new gear

Well, I have been experimenting with some new gear over the past couple of weeks. I posted my new boots. Update on those; I did some pretty tough hiking this past week (day hikes only), and they held up fine. I also picked upa new backpack, a North Face Yavapai. I needed something a little bigger, particularly for winter time. The Yavapai is perfect; allows me to put in an extensive survival kit, in the event I get caught out overnight; all my geocaching stuff, some snack foods, and an extra set of clothing, to include all layers. Also, room for water bottle (I dont use a bladder in the winter), and a lash point on the outside for my jacket. Two water bottle holders hold my canteen & a first aid kit.
I am now 10 caches away from 200...I have a special one planned for my 200th, provided it doesnt snow. Stay tuned, as I'll have pics!!!
This week, well, yesterday actually, I went out and grabbed 10 more caches. I found a few really cool places for hiking. Even did a little bushwhacking...for about a MILE. As is typical, I found the trail on the way out. I started on an old logging road, that then petered out into nothing. I then dead-reckoned to the cache. I think I crawled over or under every god damned tree that was downed in that forest! Crawled through a bunch of mountain laurel too. In case you've never had the experience of going through this; its like trying to walk through a chain link fence. So, you can imagine how tough this was. Here is a link to this cache: up, up and away