Went out on a 24 hour overnighter by myself in the forest yesterday-today. I would have liked to stay longer but I feel bad leaving my dog at home alone with no one to feed her.
Pack list
5.11 RUSH 72
5.11 Flashlight
Mora bushcraft black
Sleeping bag
UL Tent
Thermarest sleeping pad
Trekking poles
Headlamp
Fire kit (Ferro rod, PJ cotton, Bic lighter)
Water kit (1 smart water and sawyer mini)
Jetboil with 1 serving each chili and spaghetti
Glock 23 with 3 mags
Folding saw
Mini survival/fishing kit
Snivel gear(glove liners and neck cover)
100' rope with 2 caribiners, 15' webbing, and an 8 plate
Things i'm happy never left my bag.
Tent, Sleeping pad, headlamp, flashlight, Fire kit, Jetboil, Food, Folding saw, Snivel gear, Survival Kit.
I set out at noon. My goal was to bring everything I could need, but use as little as possible, and to do some general navigation without a compass. I planned on hiking off, trying to find the creek for water, get to it for a water supply, set up shelter, fire, and maybe food.
I parked off a hardball road next to a creek. I hiked in for a bit then started hiking up the mountain to try and get a general idea of the surrounding topography, and which way the valley with the creek snaked along. I hiked for a good ways up a seemingly never ending mountain. Forgot how hard it was to get a good viewpoint when surrounded by trees. Found two little breaks before the end to get a general idea. Using the sun I head back down at an angle towards the direction the creek snaked off to.
Got close enough to hear running water so I hopped down the side of some somewhat steep terrain. Once I got down I could see the creek, but it was too steep to get down without some serious tumbling, so I hooked up my rope and rappelled down. I 'm sure I could have found another way down if I hike a good distance left of right, but I kind of wanted to get dug in a little and figure out how to get back. And it's fun.
Got to the creek, hiked up it a ways and found a site to build my shelter close to the water supply but not right on top of it. Went with a debris hut lean-to so I could have a fire next to it with a heat reflecting wall. Turned out to be a mistake later, wish I had just made it completely enclosed. Lined the inside with a decent layer of ferns and pine boughs and set up my fire all ready waiting for a spark. Wasn't feeling particularly cold and with the forest being so wet I decided to save what wood I prepared for the cold part of the night.
Thought I was going to get by without touching my sleeping bag. My ground insulation worked better than I thought. Around 8 it started sprinkling, but was it still wasn't freezing. Woke up around midnight to some good rain. Screwed up and didn't have my prepared fire protected under my shelter overhang, and it was too late to catch a spark. I wussed out and grabbed my sleeping bag. Slept snug as a bug in a forest rug until morning. Tried to start it again once it was light out but it was still too moist.
Put away my sleeping bag and headed out to kill a little time looking for food on the hike out. My 24 hours was nearly up, no reason to mess around with the fire, or gather the food without a fire. Found some edible mushrooms, frog, a couple small fish I didn't bother trying to catch, and a few edible plants.
Continued hiking along the river until I came back to the hardball road and then up the trail to my car a little wet.
Couple of good lessons learned. Wish I hadn't used my sleeping bag. Happy I didn't touch a lot of other stuff I thought I might, including a flashlight. When it was dark, I couldn't see. Simple enough. Pitch black, no moonlight. Any bumps in the night, oh well. Slept really good with the peaceful sound of the creek and rainfall.
11-13-2014, 10:38 PM
hunter63
Hey very cool.....best way is to go out and try it.....sounds like a positive experience.
Good report....vid says "private".
Thanks for posting.....need to hear about more of these.
11-13-2014, 10:43 PM
wilderness medic
Thanks.
Sorry about that, should be working now. Think it was still processing.
11-13-2014, 11:01 PM
hunter63
Works now....need a road flare?....LOL.
Good job on the vid............Thanks
11-13-2014, 11:06 PM
wilderness medic
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Works now....need a road flare?....LOL.
Good job on the vid............Thanks
Haha at that point probably. I'm pretty confident that when I built it it would have gone no problem, but after all the dry insides of the wood from careful preparation got doused, it was not going.
11-13-2014, 11:13 PM
Tokwan
Good job! it will be a good experience
11-13-2014, 11:31 PM
hunter63
Greatest plans of mice and men......can go sideways.
That in it's self a valuable lesson.
11-13-2014, 11:34 PM
1stimestar
Nice video and gorgeous area. Looks like it was a good trip. Thanks for sharing.
11-14-2014, 01:23 AM
natertot
Thanks for sharing! Looks like a good time and practice.
11-14-2014, 03:04 AM
wilderness medic
Thanks for watching :)
Something i'm not that used to. Dealt with it a little in basic, and KY, but the humidity...man...
Maybe Tokwan can offer some advice?
If i'm moving i'm hot and sticky. I overheat easy. Even thought it's winter in low 40's high 30's if i'm moving my shirts unbuttoned and i'm sweaty here.
If I stop i'm cold and wet. When I sleep, heck I can't even decide if i'm cold and wet, or hot and wet. I'm not bone chilling cold, but the extreme wetness/humidity is new to me. It's part of the reason I went with the lean to and fire.
I considered hot rocks under my may for a minute, but then thought it might steam me like a lobster.
Another question. I know not to use river rocks because of air pockets and explosion danger...but how do you know they are "river rocks" besides to obvious they were in a river bed? What constitutes a "river rock"? How do I know ones I find up on the side of the hill aren't filled with air pockets?
Any tips critiques or suggestions are appreciated.
11-14-2014, 07:43 AM
natertot
I have never used rocks. I have dug a pit about 4 feet long, two feet wide and 6 inches deep. Start a good fire in it as the sun starts to begin to fade. Let the fire burn in this pit real good and get a real good bed of coals in it. Then move your fire to where you want it all night, but keep the bed of coals in the pit and cover them with the dirt you dug out of the pit. Lay down a good bit of bedding over the former pit and sleep well!
11-14-2014, 10:51 AM
finallyME
Boots in the field BABY! There are some things that you can only learn when getting out there. Thanks for posting the video (go pro?).
11-14-2014, 11:59 AM
wilderness medic
Quote:
Originally Posted by natertot
I have never used rocks. I have dug a pit about 4 feet long, two feet wide and 6 inches deep. Start a good fire in it as the sun starts to begin to fade. Let the fire burn in this pit real good and get a real good bed of coals in it. Then move your fire to where you want it all night, but keep the bed of coals in the pit and cover them with the dirt you dug out of the pit. Lay down a good bit of bedding over the former pit and sleep well!
I like that, i'll have to give it a try next time if I can. Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by finallyME
Boots in the field BABY! There are some things that you can only learn when getting out there. Thanks for posting the video (go pro?).
GoPro on a headstrap. Been meaning to make one of those RickPro? GoRick? Backpack strap mounts LOL. Still have the piece from the box in my garage.
Head strap tends to make everything wobbly like this. I couldn't find my three way (Pole/tripod) on my way out for more stable shots. Of course I found it as soon as I walked in my house after. :FRlol:
11-14-2014, 01:37 PM
hunter63
You had a flame there for a few seconds........bring a candle end and get the wick lit........then start piling tinder, sticks, then wood.
11-15-2014, 12:29 AM
Adventure Wolf
Awesome, thanks for sharing!
11-15-2014, 12:38 AM
Rick
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter
You had a flame there for a few seconds
Either that or bring the tinder outside the wood and inside a tinder bundle (bird's nest) where you can control and protect it better. Once you have a flame then you can slide it back under the wood. But it looks like you had a good time anyway. I've had a lot of trips where I didn't make a fire and relied on my stove to cook. Fires are nice, certainly for warmth, but I don't have to have one just to have one.
Nice job all around. Thanks for posting and taking us along.
11-15-2014, 03:16 PM
Batch
I camp in rain all the time. I gather my kindling and smaller firewood when the sun is out, if possible. I lay a dry protective layer on the ground. I use palm fronds. Then I set my fire lay with a good tinder ball if dry grass and palm dander. I use a lot more tinder than most people. I also use a lot more twig sized kindling than most people. After I have my fire lay good. I cover the whole shooting match with palm fronds. You could just as easily use a trash bag or tarp.
I gather a tinder ball and put it away in a ziplock and keep it out of the rain. When I am ready to start the fire I place my tinder from the ziplock bag into the tinder bundle and ignite it. It will get the other fine tinder going even though it has drawn moisture from the humid air.
Worse case scenario I use PJ cotton balls.
Good trip out!
11-17-2014, 03:49 PM
Fort fireman
quick question. After your repel, how did you get back up? use the rope back up or find another route? or did you stay down there? If so, how did you get your rope back? Just kind of curious.
And how are you carring your Glock? Chest rig?
Looks like a good time and great video.
11-17-2014, 04:53 PM
wilderness medic
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fort fireman
quick question. After your repel, how did you get back up? use the rope back up or find another route? or did you stay down there? If so, how did you get your rope back? Just kind of curious.
And how are you carring your Glock? Chest rig?
Looks like a good time and great video.
I spent three hours prusik'ing back up. No jk :). Once I got down the side I spent the night there. The next day I hiked the creek back to the hardball road to my car, then retraced my steps back up the mountain to retrieve my rope. Well, more like to retrieve my biner. The rope will now become utility rope, I would not trust it to do that again. New rope each time until I can afford some static LB rope. Basically just made a big circle back to the top where I marked my left behind rope and carabiner, then back down to my car.
The Glock fits perfectly in the velcro cross draw pocket on my 5.11 taclite pro shirt. If i'm out like that without needing it to be completely concealed I can leave the handle poking out of the pocket with one velcro patch undone. Out there i'm carrying for protection against guerrilla grow guards. They're like a plague here and normally shoot first, hide body later. Or don't even bother hiding the body.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Batch
I camp in rain all the time. I gather my kindling and smaller firewood when the sun is out, if possible. I lay a dry protective layer on the ground. I use palm fronds. Then I set my fire lay with a good tinder ball if dry grass and palm dander. I use a lot more tinder than most people. I also use a lot more twig sized kindling than most people. After I have my fire lay good. I cover the whole shooting match with palm fronds. You could just as easily use a trash bag or tarp.
I gather a tinder ball and put it away in a ziplock and keep it out of the rain. When I am ready to start the fire I place my tinder from the ziplock bag into the tinder bundle and ignite it. It will get the other fine tinder going even though it has drawn moisture from the humid air.
Worse case scenario I use PJ cotton balls.
Good trip out!
Good idea thanks, i'll always cover my fire with water protection from now on. I thought about leaving the tinder in the plastic bag until I needed it. I knew even without rain it would soak up the surrounding moisture, but wanted to try and keep it more survival oriented without the plastic bag. Surprisingly as you can see in part of the video the tinder still actually was catching a spark and igniting, it just wasn't taking very well.
Had I had more time out there I would have attempted another go at it, and then resorted to PJ. But I was leaving so I just spent the remaining time poking around for food and taking my time back. No sense in lighting a fire just to extinguish it and leave.
11-18-2014, 09:36 AM
Wildthang
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
You had a flame there for a few seconds........bring a candle end and get the wick lit........then start piling tinder, sticks, then wood.
Amen to that, I always have a few tea candles in my Bob just for that reason! Those little dudes will burn for 1 hour and actually dry out small sticks and tinder.
11-18-2014, 01:33 PM
crashdive123
Looks like a great outing. Thanks for taking us along.
11-18-2014, 02:45 PM
TXyakr
River Rock, heat, lower humidity
Quote:
Originally Posted by wilderness medic
Another question. I know not to use river rocks because of air pockets and explosion danger...but how do you know they are "river rocks" besides to obvious they were in a river bed? What constitutes a "river rock"? How do I know ones I find up on the side of the hill aren't filled with air pockets?
Good questions. I have used "river rocks" in various ways for many years. A river changes course over the centuries and deposits these smooth rounded stones all over the valley. If they are up high preferably where the afternoon sun hits them most of the moisture will have evaporated from them so less of a danger of cracking or exploding, rock chip or wood coals in eye etc.
I have built a stack of them around tea candles (or homemade bee's wax in pet food cans, multi wick) then the heat radiates from the rocks after the candles burn out and keep your shelter/tarp/4 season tent drier and a bit warmer. Most difficult part is reducing oxygen but still not allowing candles to go out.
Other use of "river stone" is in a "Dakota Fire Hole". If you are in mountains difficult to dig down much in rocky soil so build stack up mostly. Similar problem of oxygen control: tunnel or vent from windward side but dampen as much as possible to reduce smoke, burn fuel (wood etc) slowly all night long.
Last is to heat "river stone" beside campfire. Wrap in fabric or bark/fiber or whatever and put in your bedding to preheat it. This does not last very long. Beside your "femoral artery" will theoretically warm up your entire body the most effectively just be careful to buffer with fabric to avoid roasted nuts, bears like those I am told. (a poor tasteless joke.)
11-18-2014, 03:06 PM
wilderness medic
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
Good questions. I have used "river rocks" in various ways for many years. A river changes course over the centuries and deposits these smooth rounded stones all over the valley. If they are up high preferably where the afternoon sun hits them most of the moisture will have evaporated from them so less of a danger of cracking or exploding, rock chip or wood coals in eye etc.
I have built a stack of them around tea candles (or homemade bee's wax in pet food cans, multi wick) then the heat radiates from the rocks after the candles burn out and keep your shelter/tarp/4 season tent drier and a bit warmer. Most difficult part is reducing oxygen but still not allowing candles to go out.
Other use of "river stone" is in a "Dakota Fire Hole". If you are in mountains difficult to dig down much in rocky soil so build stack up mostly. Similar problem of oxygen control: tunnel or vent from windward side but dampen as much as possible to reduce smoke, burn fuel (wood etc) slowly all night long.
Last is to heat "river stone" beside campfire. Wrap in fabric or bark/fiber or whatever and put in your bedding to preheat it. This does not last very long. Beside your "femoral artery" will theoretically warm up your entire body the most effectively just be careful to buffer with fabric to avoid roasted nuts, bears like those I am told. (a poor tasteless joke.)
Thanks for answering my question. So the moisture eventually leaves the rock if it's not subjected to water submersion it sounds like.
11-18-2014, 03:17 PM
hunter63
Yeah, just put them around a warm up....then move toward the fire.......Avoid just tossing one in until you know it won't go 'Kaboom'
11-18-2014, 03:44 PM
TXyakr
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Yeah, just put them around a warm up....then move toward the fire.......Avoid just tossing one in until you know it won't go 'Kaboom'
Yes exactly! I agree with that. First try to get the driest stones you can. Then heat up slowly to dry out. Most of us are not geologists and cannot begin to guess which ones will contain the least moisture from rain or water submersion based on appearance and geographic location etc. If you are car camping you can use an inverted clay pot over a shallow aluminum cook pot with tea candles in it but when primitive camping river stones stacked around a shallow hole works just fine, a bit more work however. Candles or whatever natural fuel you can find. I know some "friends" that use chicken/pig feed pans (Behrens Utility Pan) or aluminum /steel baking pans they put under and use in a 3 season tent but this is crazy for several reasons, IMO. A debris shelter, tarp or 4 season tent with "dirt" floor is much less risky, but still be very careful. Same thing for Little Buddy Propane heater which I have never used but hear are great as long as not extremely cold.
11-18-2014, 03:53 PM
hunter63
Pretty impressive when they do go....and people don't think about it as most any camp fire I have ever seen in movies, TV....has the mandatory stone ring around it.
Fire ring = stones......I mostly did a trench and flip over the sod if possible...
Hot rocks can boil water or cook stews with even in a hide.....just go slow and allow them to dry out.
11-18-2014, 04:45 PM
TXyakr
Always some risk with stones and fire, use common sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter63
Pretty impressive when they do go....and people don't think about it
I have seen rocks crack several times in fires. Once I was at a friend's very nice (expensive) house in the suburbs with stones in a raised natural gas ring beside their swimming pool. The high end builder had installed a "river stone" fire pit with "quality stone" and surrounded it with custom masonry. But it had rained recently, one of the stones evidently had absorbed enough water so when they lit the natural gas it heated it up fast enough that it popped and a piece of the stone almost hit our friend's daughter in the face. Best to keep the metal screen over these fancy fire pits at all times, or risk loosing an eye. Clay pots can flake/chip off if moist and heated quickly as well.
11-18-2014, 06:44 PM
TXyakr
Just watched your YT video on a large screen. Very impressive. Not even a tarp! I can positively identify many poisonous mushrooms (by stem) but am not courageous enough to eat those I am fairly certain are not. Constructing a debris shelter in a few hours is very labor intensive and always a balance between sweat, rain/snow moisture and hypothermia exposure etc very difficult especially in winter. Little tools like Ti cat hole trowel can help, I have one from:
Protects knife from abuse. But I have been building these shelters since I was in grade school (40+ yrs) and it always takes a lot more time than I estimate. My Father built jungle huts and Canadian barns etc for decades before I was born, taught me a few tricks.
11-19-2014, 03:27 AM
wilderness medic
Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
Just watched your YT video on a large screen. Very impressive. Not even a tarp! I can positively identify many poisonous mushrooms (by stem) but am not courageous enough to eat those I am fairly certain are not. Constructing a debris shelter in a few hours is very labor intensive and always a balance between sweat, rain/snow moisture and hypothermia exposure etc very difficult especially in winter. Little tools like Ti cat hole trowel can help, I have one from:
Protects knife from abuse. But I have been building these shelters since I was in grade school (40+ yrs) and it always takes a lot more time than I estimate. My Father built jungle huts and Canadian barns etc for decades before I was born, taught me a few tricks.
Thanks! I was surprised how well it held up against rain. Only the outside highest edge leaked water, but I was in the corner enough to stay out of it. The only wetness I had was from the surrounding moisture that condensed on me.
I absolutely LOVE this forest for the sheer amount of building materials there. Where I lived before it would take forever to make sufficient insulation. Here, even thought it was all soggy forest leaf litter, there was so much I could pile it on quickly enough to offer not only rain and wind shelter, but feel my body heat warming the inside. And it was only a LEAN TO. Not a full surrounding shelter. If I had made that thing 360 degrees and omitted the fire I think I would have been more than warm enough.
The mushroom situation is weird. Much like a lot of flora, if you know something well, it can provide you with a plethora of food for a short amount of time. Literally hundreds of pounds of food. A certain species usually fruit for a week or two and then stops. It is also weird I am more comfortable and familiar with a deadly genus than the usual edibles.
For instance if you happen to notice in the video... There were hundreds, if not thousands of Boletes/Suillus mushrooms. I couldn't walk without destroying them in places. I could have stuffed my face with those for a couple weeks. But, I wasn't positive on those so I avoided them. I am surprised, for as much plant/fungal life as there is in this forest there seems to be an insane lack of animals. In my hikes and trips I rarely hear a bird, let alone mammal. I seem to be the only creature roaming, amongst many plants and fungi. And I do try to be quiet and observe the surroundings.
