Spring hike in the Ozarks

**LostOutrider** · 04-27-2009, 11:20 PM

I'm gearing up for another two day, two night hike. This time we've picked a spectacularly beautiful trail around Devil's Den. The last backpacking thread I started seemed fun enough ( http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=3967 ), so between now and when I leave out I'll be walking you all through my preparations.

The trail is a 14.9 mile loop in the Ozark National Forest. We've both done this trail before in the summer and were just in awe of how beautiful it was. Our plan is to hit this trail in all four seasons, so here's the Spring hike.

First step is to check the extended forecast. Weather report isn't great. Highs around 70, lows around 50 with scattered thunderstorms on all three days. Most of the really bad weather will have cleared out by the time we shoulder packs, but it is still bad enough that two of our crew dropped out already. Me 'n the other guy just don't mind walking in the rain so much.

Anyhow, have to start with the weather report. Knowing I'm going to be in rain will definitely influence what kind of gear I'm packing. I'll likely still bring my jungle hammock since tossing a tent down in the mud doesn't appeal much to me - but that means I'll need to bring warmer sleep gear. I don't care if the low is 50 - when the rain is pouring down and that wind howls under your hammock it sucks the heat right out. To tie this into your basic survival situation discussion, the key here is staying as dry as possible. We won't be completely dry (especially if it is pissing down on us when we're trying to make camp), but there's ways to minimize the moisture and stay warm and comfortable.

So, planned sleep kit:

jungle hammock - recently modified it by removing the thick, heavy ropes and replacing them with 550 cord and carabiner clips. Greatly reduced the bulk and the weight.
0-degree sleeping bag - I'd rather be too warm than too cold when I'm trying to sleep
fleece blanket - This to put between the sleeping bag and the hammock for just a little added insulation. I'm considering just sewing it permanently onto the canvas.
nylon tarp - what I do with the tarp is tie a drape line above the hammock then lay the tarp out and tie it on the bottom. Like a nice little waterproof tube to sleep in. I've slept like a baby through nasty rainstorms this way, just rocking in the breeze.

The whole kit rolls up tightly and fits in a water-resistant stuff sack strapped under my ALICE pack. (pictures to come)

If the winds are bad, I'll just sling the hammock low enough that I'm almost ground-level and try to aim for a thicker clustering of trees nearby to act as a windbreak.

Because I know some of you guys are going to ask, I'll just go ahead and anticipate it. Why head out in what could be miserable weather? The answer is simple: Water features. This trail is going to be sick with waterfalls and swollen fast-running creeks. It'll be a sight we can't really see in the dry summer and fall.

Next -> Clothing or What to wear when the world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.

**Aurelius95** · 04-28-2009, 06:37 AM

Great start, keep the detail coming. I'll be interested to hear about your trip. Good luck!

**crashdive123** · 04-28-2009, 06:54 AM

Have a great time...and pictures, don't forget the pictures.

**LostOutrider** · 04-28-2009, 06:53 PM

Walking gear -

Columbia hiking boots - high-top, gortex waterproof. My hiking buddy and I disagree on footwear. He goes for sandals and wet feet. They're lighter than the boots, for sure, but I've come too close to stepping on one too many copperheads for me to feel comfortable letting my toes air out. I am just more comfortable in high-top boots that I can stomp through horse mud and low water without much concern.

two pair wool hiking socks, one pair of liner socks. - just something about having a fresh pair of socks the next morning.

For pants I have a pair of lightweight, 100% nylon cargo pants. The legs zip off at the knee if I get the urge to wear shorts - which may happen if it gets warm and muggy enough. The pants have a mesh underwear in them, kind of like a bathing suit does. Real men go commando.

The pants are meant for fly-fishing, I think, which is another obsession of mine - but they work great as trail pants. They also do good as swim-trunks. This trail has some great swimming holes and we'll stop at every one of them just to jump in.

T-shirt - just some cheap Walmart rag made out of recycled water bottles or something. I used to carry two, but there's really no need. I'll likely end up shirtless for most of the hike anyway.

wide-brim hat, bandanna tied into a do-rag under it - I have long hair (down to the middle of my back) and, while I'll have it braided and tied back, the bandanna helps keep it from getting snarled up and in my face.

Simms waterproof windbreaker - more fly-fishing gear. This is just a beautiful piece of jacket, worth every penny. Draw-string visor hood, velcro wrists, double-layered zipper, draw-string waist. You strap this baby on and you're going to stay dry. Felt-lined pockets in the front to keep your hands cozy. It also happens to be big enough to drape over my pack when it is resting against a tree - keeping it dry overnight. I can fold it up tight enough to fit into one of the outside pockets of my ALICE pack. You can keep your little survival kit garbage-bag ponchos. . . I've got my Simms.

**Survival! Tip - The key here is drying time. I could dive into the water fully clothed in that gear and before I'm too far down the trail, I'll be dry again. It just doesn't hold moisture - wicks it right off of you. I anticipate being rained on for at least part of the trail and walking around soggy is just not fun.**

Sleep gear -

Fleece pants, fleece pull-over, wool knit cap, moccasins - If it is raining when we set up camp, I'll string the tarp first so that I can put up the hammock and change into my sleep gear without soaking it. Fleece will dry pretty quickly, especially since the fill in my sleeping bag will help wick away the moisture. If the wool cap gets wet . . . well, I'll just put on a bandanna and tuck into the mummy bag.

If it is dry out, or looks like it might not rain overnight, I'll string up some 550 and make a clothes-line for my walking clothes - let them air out a little, let the socks dry before I stuff them into the pack. If it is raining, then I'll hang them under the tarp on the drape-line.

Boots, socks and pants are treated with REPEL Permanone insect repellent, I'll have a small can of deep-woods OFF for my arms, chest, and calves. I hate ticks. That won't stop 'em, but I'm smart. . .

I never walk point.

**Survival! Tip - Not walking point not only means you'll have fewer ticks to worry about but you won't walk into any spiderwebs draped across the trail and you're less likely to get snakebit. Don't let your friend read this thread, though, if you plan on employing this strategy.**

Next: Food!

**Alpine_Sapper** · 04-28-2009, 07:14 PM

Dude, those warranted some rep points. Nice posts. Look forward to reading the rest.

**Rick** · 04-28-2009, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by LostOutrider

I'm considering just sewing it permanently onto the canvas.

Why not considering adding some velcro strips to the canvas and the fleece. That way if one gets damaged it will be much easier to replace. In the meantime, the fleece will stay put.

**LostOutrider** · 04-28-2009, 08:00 PM

That is an awesome idea.

**Rick** · 04-28-2009, 08:02 PM

Why thank you. I'm usually at my awsomest early in the morning but I had a flash of awesome that just happened to crop up. Looks like a win/win.

**LostOutrider** · 04-28-2009, 08:52 PM

I love food.

Really. I'm a hell of a cook, too. Which is good because my wife can manage to burn water and ruin my best sauce pan at the same time. Normally, I try to eat pretty healthy. Low on the fats and salts, high fiber. Lots of veggies, good slab of rare beef now and again. I keep my daily caloric intake down at reasonable levels. All the things that makes my doc happy and keeps the man-boobs from growing.

On the trail, though, is an entirely different matter. My pack will come close to 40 lbs, give or take a few. I plan on a goodly portion of that being food. High carb, high protein food with lots of sugary and salty snacks on the trail. Gatorade powder to mix double-strength into my water on those tough climbs. Good stuff. If I could find a way to bring a Wendy's Baconator on the trail with me, I'd do it.

I carry with me several ways of making fire. I have a butane lighter, a zippo, and two cheap plastic lighters crammed in my survival kit. I have a magnesium fire starter and enough gauze pads in the first-aid kit to shred for tinder. I even have a couple packets of chemical fire starter. That is all fine and good, and I'm sure if I ever need to make a righteous bonfire and burn down the woods in order to get saved - then I'm good to go. Of all of that, the only thing I'll use is the butane lighter.

My cook kit is composed of two nested titanium pots (one lid and clamp handle), an esbit pocket stove, 24 fuel pellets, a 'light my fire' utensil, an aluminum foil wind-break, and a plastic scrub pad for cleaning.

Light-weight, simple, and leaves no trace. We usually don't have a campfire unless we come across a primitive campsite with a fire ring. . . and even then only if there's an excessive amount of deadfall around. (Should be plenty this hike - a murderous ice storm came through and just tore up the trees a few months ago.)

Two pellets stacked will burn for about 10 minutes and can bring a pot of water to boil. You can do just about anything these days with just adding water. The first night, I plan on having red beans 'n rice with a loaded mashed potato side dish. Since I always carry a packet of dried milk, for desert we'll crank out either a no-bake cheesecake (with strawberry topping) or a no-bake oreo pie.

I usually don't buy the freeze-dried astronaut backpacker food, but I got a couple of packets of beef teriyaki w/ rice from a local big-box outfitter that is closing down. They were clearing out their stock and I got a decent deal. So, that and some cheddar rice w/ veggies and cheese.

**Survival! Tip: Those of you stocking up for SHTF might look at the shelf life of "just add water" side dishes. Great bit of variety from your MREs and dried beans.**

The first night, I'll hump in an extra half-gallon milk jug full of water strapped to the pack. That's mostly because we each carry 2 1-qt bottles of gatorade and that just makes for nasty cooking the first night. I'll keep the empty jug in my pack the rest of the trip just in case we need it. We won't, though, because the trail follows two creeks for most of the 15 miles.

Breakfast is oatmeal w/ powdered milk.

My last backpacking thread (now linked in up there at the top) listed the full menu of what I usually carry, so I won't list it again. Instead, since the theme of this thread is about staying dry and not letting the rain kick your butt, I'll talk about food prep out on the trail.

If it is raining down, the tarp is the first thing that goes up. It is big enough we can both fit under it. We both carry the little folding stoves, so every man for himself. We usually end up swapping food around like 5th graders at the sack-lunch table anyway, though. With the possibility of cold, wet, and nasty coming down at us - it is nice to toss on an extra pot of water to boil for tea. Now, Sarge, tuck your pinky back down and don't you say a word about tea parties. I always keep one of those one-bag sample packs of tea in my survival kit and always carry three or four more loose bags of decaf herbal tea for the trail. Nothing warms you up like a nice hot cup of tea, soothing and quenching. Good for resting and relaxation, but in all seriousness, there is a psychological effect to consider as well.

**Survival! Tip - you are out in the badlands practicing survival just like you saw on your favorite TV show, except you left your camera crew at home. Sure enough, you end up hurt, afraid, and real close to panic. You remembered enough to start a fire with the last match in your Rambo survival knife. What you need now is to gather your thoughts, focus and regroup. Nice warm cup of tea to sip on is just what you need to calm down, assess the situation, and remember that if you yelled out loud enough your mom might hear you from the kitchen.**

For water, we'll get it all on-site. We both carry Polar Pure for drinking out of the streams and enough fuel pellets to boil when needed.

Those survival tips are fun. Next: Miscellaneous other gear

**LostOutrider** · 04-29-2009, 10:18 PM

Now we've covered shelter, clothing, and eating. What about all the other crap I drag along?

digital camera - I have an old camera that I foolishly carried in a hip pocket while climbing down water-slicked rocks to get a better view of the waterfall. I got a better view, alright. Cracked the viewscreen something fierce. It still takes pictures just fine - point and pray. I keep bringing it because, well, I don't care if it breaks now. Might as well keep using it. I was furious at myself the first time I broke it. Ever since then, it is like that angry old uncle that just won't die no matter how nasty a 3rd world nursing home his kids put him in.

waterproof/fogproof binocs - nothing fancy, just a $60 set of Nikons.

walking staff - I used to carry a pair of lightweight telescoping aluminum hiking poles. The last two hikes I went on, I ended up ruining at least one each time. A stiff breeze will put a crimp in those things. Enough is enough. I now have a 5' willow staff that I salvaged from a tree-removal job I was lending a hand to. It is about an 1.5" at the base, tapering up to about 1.25" at the top. Stripped off the bark and took a dremel to sand down a hand-hold and wrapped a grip with 550 cord flush to the rest of the staff. I cut the lid off of a small coffee can and hammered it into a tight cap on the end.

survival kit - contained in a small arms ammo pouch, contents detailed in the kit sticky.

Other gear - head-strap flashlight, toilet paper in a ziplok bag, 1.5 oz hand sanitizer (starts fires, cleans hands, and cures the dreaded red swampass), small mesh bag with various lengths of 550 cord stuffed in it, hand-held journal that I use for notes and leaf-rubs of stuff I want to identify later.

**crashdive123** · 04-29-2009, 10:50 PM

I feel your pain with the camera.

**rat31465** · 04-29-2009, 11:59 PM

Does Arkansas still allow Rappelling and Rock Climbing at Devils Den? Went many years ago there but haven't had the chance since.

**LostOutrider** · 04-30-2009, 05:57 AM

Don't know about rappelling. As for rock climbing, we're both quick to shuck the packs and head up a particularly beautiful bluff wall or down a water feature for a better look. ('s how I broke my camera viewscreen) My partner is the world's only known monkey-human hybrid, so he does this considerably better and more often than I do. As for allowed . . . well I can say that for every time we asked permission beforehand, we've never been told no. I've not seen signs or literature prohibiting it. And, 'course, we've never actually asked permission beforehand.

**LostOutrider** · 05-01-2009, 08:16 PM

Well, instead of slogging up the trail right now - I'm sitting at home. The weather went from scattered storms to a full on flash flood warning w/ ff watches until Sunday. All of our chosen camping spots, as well as a good portion of the trail, are beside wide creeks. Walking in the rain is one thing. Taking stupid risks is something else entirely. We called it off.

You want to learn something about survival? Step one in being the ultimate survivalist (fit for NEW TV SHOWS!) is to know what situations not to put yourself in. Growing up in a very rural, forested part of the state I got to see my father head out time and again with the county rescue squad to find missing hunters or weekenders who didn't pay attention to the weather, sometimes dragging waterways for bodies. If I ever need someone's daddy to risk his neck like that to search for me, it better not be due to my own intentional stupidity.

I'm going to cycle out the food and keep the pack ready to go. We'll hit the trail in a couple of weeks, maybe right at the end of May. I'll resurrect this thread then with pictures.

**LostOutrider** · 05-29-2009, 06:25 AM

What a difference one month can make around here. We finally worked our way around to rescheduling the hike, so I thought I'd resurrect this long enough to discuss how I've had to change my planning. Originally, with the gear described in the above post, I was humping about 40 lbs on the pack.

Since the theme was planning for & staying comfortable and effective in wet weather - let's start with the weather report. All three days: highs in the mid- to high- 80's and lows in the 60's. Abundantly sunny.

Time to drop some gear. The tarp is gone now, as is the heavier fleece pullover for sleeping. I've removed the garbage-bag liner from the inside of my pack and replaced the long-sleeved thermal underwear shirt with a light cotton T. My walkabout gear is all synthetic material. My plan there was to just get wet walking and dry quickly before crawling into the hammock. Biggest change is in the sleep gear. I chose not to swap out my 0-degree sleeping bag for my 40-degree mainly because I'm still going to be in a hammock. If it is too warm, I'll just use the bag as a blanket instead of a cocoon.

My buddy is bringing his wife along this time, so it'll be three of us. She has the entire Appalachian Trail under her belt, though, so I'll be the least experienced of the three. I'm okay with that.

I've added sunscreen and a little extra food in the form of Cliff bars to give me a boost up the last climb once the temp reaches 89 and I'm feeling how I haven't hiked since September. Pics coming.

Losing the wet/cold weather gear shaved about 4 lbs out of the pack.