Florida Hiker

Gram Weenie Pro

2011-02-07T23:08:00.003-05:00

Today I had another good in the mail. It was a Gram Weenie Pro kit from End2End Trail Supply in Lindenwold, NJ. I selected the kit option with no pot since I already had a pot or two in mind. Last week I caught a deal on a great little 700ml titanium pot/lid from Backcountry.com. It was just $27 and too hard to pass up and it's the pot I used for this review. Ok, so back to the stove.

The kit arrived nicely packed with everything I'd ordered. It included the stove, a priming pan, 3.5" x 23" soft aluminum windscreen (5.5" is an option but I decided this would be too tall for my uses), and a 4 oz fuel bottle with the flip cap.

When I opened the packaging I was immediately impressed with the craftsmanship and the light weight of the stove. My scale agrees with End2End's claim of .6 oz. The Gram Weenie Pro holds 1 oz of fuel compared to the Gram Weenie's 1/2 oz.

Much to my chagrin it was raining so I had to stay in our enclosed room. I setup using a cookie sheet to protect my son's Little Tykes table and went to work. I used the new titanium pot and tested the boil time of 2 cups of water right out of the tap. I was impressed with the 4:30 it took to get to a very nice, rolling boil. This is probably the best I've done with an alcohol stove in quite a while.

Here are a couple of shots of the pot on the stove.

The GWP has a very nice rolled edge so there aren't any sharp surfaces. The windscreen is also much nicer than the noisy DIY screen I made from the aluminum foil cookie sheets.

The total weight of the stove, windscreen, and priming pan came in at 1.6 oz. Combined with my 4.4 oz pot that's a total kitchen weight (dry) of just 6 oz. That's certainly a long way from my Snow Peak LiteMax (2.7 oz) and aluminum Trek 900 pot set (9 oz). I shaved almost a full 6 oz or almost 1/2 pound!

In addition to being well-made and super light, the stove is very nice when it's lit. At full bloom it makes a gorgeous stove and I almost hate to cover it up with a pot and windscreen. I'd say that the quality is top notch and I have to admit that I'm really excited about this stove. I can't wait to take it on the trail with me. For the price it's very hard to beat.

For more information or to purchase this stove, please visit End2End Trail Supply.

GorillaPod Original

2011-02-05T19:49:00.002-05:00

Feb 5, 2011

On Friday I received a couple of UPS packages from one of my favorite stores: B & H Photo. Nothing bad ever comes from here. :-) In the packages (why they split the order I have no idea) were my new GorillaPod Original flexible tripod and some additional quick-release adapters.

I've been looking at the GorillaPod for some time as a great way to take self-portraits along the trail when my hiking partner isn't around. I finally bit the bullet and bought the GP and got to take it on the trail today.

To get started, the GP comes with one quick-release adapter. It's not a bad idea to get the 2-pack for any other small cameras you might have. I put one on my Kodak Sport digital video camera. Once the QR adapter is in the tripod socket of your camera slide it into the GP until it clicks into position. There are two controls on the GP head. The first is the release button. Pressing this will allow you to slide the QR adapter and your camera out of the head. The second is a sliding lock to keep you from accidentally releasing the QR.

The North Florida Trailblazers (local chapter for the Florida Trail Association) was hosting its annual fundraiser hike. Just over 60 of us hiked along the Suwanee River from the Big Shoals area to the Suwanee Valley Campground.

Along the way I used the GP to capture myself along the scenic river. Others offered to take my picture but then I wouldn't have been able to write this review. I chose the Original model for its weight. It's hard to beat a tripod that weighs 1.6 oz (from the mfgr; 1.5 by my scale.)

The GP Original worked well enough in that I was able to secure it to some small items along the way or use it as a standard trip for low shots. Unfortunately I realized a major shortcoming in this version right away. The GP design uses flexible joints to allow the legs to be wrapped around an object to secure it in place. Unfortunately, since the Original is only 6" tall (the legs themselves are actually closer to 5") you can only use very small objects. I had a lovely scene I wanted to capture and the smallest tree I could find was about 1 1/2" in diameter. Even at that small size I barely got the legs around it and when I did the camera body was so close that I had to angle it. Needless to say I had to compromise and didn't get the shot I wanted.

Sure, I can always crop and rotate in Photoshop but that's extra work I shouldn't have to do and I'll lose part of the image. The GP works great if you have very small things to attach it to. I don't think it'll work well on the trail in practice. But there's hope!

I think the solution is to spend the extra money to upgrade to the SLR model. It weighs more at just over 5 oz. but provides an additional 3" to the legs. I feel this will probably be sufficient to not only get a better grip making the setup more stable and secure as well as keeping the camera away from the host object. Another potential issue I see with having to stick to small objects is that if you use a small tree or branch then it'll probably be moving in the wind and could mess up your shot.

So I really love the concept. I just think I need to send the Original back and get the SLR.

Site Updates

2011-02-02T22:45:00.003-05:00

Well, I've been staring at the same old site layout for so long and I finally decided it's time for an upgrade. I've already started making some changes and there are more to come. Soon you should start seeing more gear reviews, recipes, and other trail-related information.

I hope you dig the changes and keep coming back!

Buck Lake Day Three

2011-01-23T22:45:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a night! The temperature dropped like a rock. Fortunately I slept very warmly and really didn't feel like getting out of bed. When I heard people talking and looked out the hammock, though, I knew I couldn't pass up the view. The temp dropped to 25.5 degrees overnight and the lake looked absolutely gorgeous as the fog wafted across it with the sun gently rising above.

I was disappointed that I couldn't get better pictures to capture the moment but I took so many pictures last night that my camera battery was dead. Why didn't I bring a spare? Lesson learned.

After an amazing breakfast one of the guys and I got a ride to the FT trailhead on 19. It was a very enjoyable 2.7 mile hike back to the lake. I really had a good time and the scenery was very nice.

I got my site broken down around 1 and hit the road for the drive back to Jax. It took me a little over 2 hours since I had to stop for lunch and I can't really drive past Gander Mountain without stopping. :-)

I had a wonderful time this weekend but had a wonderful reunion getting home. My son was thrilled when I walked in and couldn't wait to tell me how they'd camped out under the dining room table while I was gone. It wasn't long before we had a tent setup in the living room and he was laying it it watching TV through the bug screen. :D

Can't wait to get out again! Happy trails!

A Cold Night At The Lake

2011-01-22T22:13:00.001-05:00

I ended up staying tonight which wasn't planned. To say the food was phenomenal would be an understatement. And abundant doesn't scratch the surface either. The low shrimp boil was massive and the gumbo was delicious. It didn't end there, though. The dutch ovens were working in earnest pumping out tantalizing desserts and even another dinner round of pork and beans followed by more desserts.

After dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the lake which couldn't have made for a better setting for such a cool weekend.

The fire felt great and the fellowship was awesome. Really a great group of people. Now I'm in the hammock to stay warm. It was 34 at about 8. Should be fun!

Buck Lake Day Two Part Two

2011-01-22T21:24:00.000-05:00

Now we're gathering around the fire and the gumbo is on. There's even a pizza in the dutch oven. It's been cool hanging (literally) with everyone and checking out the gear folks are using.

With the shrimp boil and gumbo underway we started breaking out every stove you could think of and fired up Stove Alley. We had stoves of every size, shape, and material. We had commercial stoves and DIY stoves. It was a stove lover's dream. I've been lusting after the Vargo Titanium wood stove for some time and was thrilled when someone brought it out. It was a virgin stove that was a Christmas gift and it was lit for the first time at the hang.

Buck Lake Day Two Part One

2011-01-22T15:27:00.005-05:00

I slept very well even though I didn't feel tired until about 1am. I got up at 7 but jumped back in the hammock and got up again at 9:30. The night wasn't bad at all and there were plenty of night birds and frogs.

After breakfast I headed out and picked up the Florida Trail for a nice little 3.5 mile hike to another lake and back to the site. I fixed up some Spam and garlic mashed potatoes. Love that stuff. I took Buddy Buffalo with me and he had a wonderful time. He really likes getting on the trail and I had to race to keep up with him. He was one happy bovine!

After the hike I walked around the lake to see what setups everyone was using. It was cool to see a varied collection of hammocks, tarps, and other related equipment. Most major manufacturers were represented and it was cool to finally put eyes and hands on some of the stuff I'd one read and heard about. I finally got to check out the Warbonnet Blackbird and fell in love with the Trail to Tree Switchback hammock.

We have a wonderful group of people which makes for an incredible inaugural event. With folks from all over the state and even some that traveled in from TN and SC I was amazed at how well everyone meshed together like one big family. If you said you forgot something hands shot out with the missing item. Everyone was so helpful and supportive sharing their gear, food, etc.

There were a lot more kayaks than I'd expected. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Had I learned of the event more than the day before I would've thrown the yak on the truck and taken it with me. It was a beautiful area and I know the guys that got on the water and a wonderful time.

Buck Lake Rec Area

2011-01-21T23:58:00.002-05:00

Day 1 - 1/21/2011
At the last minute (yesterday to be exact) I learned of a hammock hang in the Ocala Natl Forest. So here I lay at almost midnight.

Arrived about 5:30pm and got setup. Met folks and had dinner followed by getting to know everyone around the campfire.

Looking forward to tomorrow and checking out everyone's gear and the various hammocks.

Day 2 - 1/22/2011
I slept very well even though I didn't feel tired until about 1am. I got up at 7 but jumped back in the hammock and got up again at 9:30. The night wasn't bad at all and there were plenty of night birds and frogs.

After breakfast I headed out and picked up the Florida Trail for a nice little 3.5 mile hike to another lake and back to the site. I fixed up some Spam and garlic mashed potatoes. Love that stuff. I took Buddy Buffalo with me and he had a wonderful time. He really likes getting on the trail and I had to race to keep up with him. He was one happy bovine!

After the hike I walked around the lake to see what setups everyone was using. It was cool to see a varied collection of hammocks, tarps, and other related equipment. Most major manufacturers were represented and it was cool to finally put eyes and hands on some of the stuff I'd one read and heard about. I finally got to check out the Warbonnet Blackbird and fell in love with the Trail to Tree Switchback hammock.

We have a wonderful group of people which makes for an incredible inaugural event. With folks from all over the state and even some that traveled in from TN and SC I was amazed at how well everyone meshed together like one big family. If you said you forgot something hands shot out with the missing item. Everyone was so helpful and supportive sharing their gear, food, etc.

There were a lot more kayaks than I'd expected. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Had I learned of the event more than the day before I would've thrown the yak on the truck and taken it with me. It was a beautiful area and I know the guys that got on the water and a wonderful time.

Now we're gathering around the fire and the gumbo is on. There's even a pizza in the dutch oven. It's been cool hanging (literally) with everyone and checking out the gear folks are using.

With the shrimp boil and gumbo underway we started breaking out every stove you could think of and fired up Stove Alley. We had stoves of every size, shape, and material. We had commercial stoves and DIY stoves. It was a stove lover's dream. I've been lusting after the Vargo Titanium wood stove for some time and was thrilled when someone brought it out. It was a virgin stove that was a Christmas gift and it was lit for the first time at the hang.

I ended up staying tonight which wasn't planned. To say the food was phenomenal would be an understatement. And abundant doesn't scratch the surface either. The low shrimp boil was massive and the gumbo was delicious. It didn't end there, though. The dutch ovens were working in earnest pumping out tantalizing desserts and even another dinner round of pork and beans followed by more desserts.

After dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the lake which couldn't have made for a better setting for such a cool weekend.

The fire felt great and the fellowship was awesome. Really a great group of people. Now I'm in the hammock to stay warm. It was 34 at about 8. Should be fun!

Day 3 - 1/23/2011
Wow. What a night! The temperature dropped like a rock. Fortunately I slept very warmly and really didn't feel like getting out of bed. When I heard people talking and looked out the hammock, though, I knew I couldn't pass up the view. The temp dropped to 25.5 degrees overnight and the lake looked absolutely gorgeous as the fog wafted across it with the sun gently rising above.

I was disappointed that I couldn't get better pictures to capture the moment but I took so many pictures last night that my camera battery was dead. Why didn't I bring a spare? Lesson learned.

After an amazing breakfast one of the guys and I got a ride to the FT trailhead on 19. It was a very enjoyable 2.7 mile hike back to the lake. I really had a good time and the scenery was very nice.

I got my site broken down around 1 and hit the road for the drive back to Jax. It took me a little over 2 hours since I had to stop for lunch and I can't really drive past Gander Mountain without stopping. :-)

I had a wonderful time this weekend but had a wonderful reunion getting home. My son was thrilled when I walked in and couldn't wait to tell me how they'd camped out under the dining room table while I was gone. It wasn't long before we had a tent setup in the living room and he was laying it it watching TV through the bug screen. :D

Can't wait to get out again! Happy trails!

Let There Be Light!

2011-01-17T17:33:00.004-05:00

One of the gifts I got this past Christmas was the Black Diamond Orbit lantern. It's very small and stows away easily. It weighs in at just 4.5 oz with batteries. I found that it fits perfectly in my Snow Peak double-wall titanium cup.

The biggest driving factor for wanting it was being able to have light around the campsite beyond what the headlamp provides. Typically I carry emergency candles since they're usually long burning. Unfortunately they don't work that well in windy conditions and really don't put out a lot of light.

Enter the Orbit. I was very impressed with its light output on high power (good for about 10 hrs per the mfgr). Taking a walk late at night the Orbit was more than sufficient for lighting the trail for two of us. Even on low power (supposedly good for 24 hrs) it provided plenty of light. I used it mostly around the picnic table on the last hike to give us all light instead of needing all of our individual headlamps.

I'm very happy with it and it'll be a regular addition to the pack. It also worked very well in the hammock for letting me get situated and even read before bed.

Thanks to my hiking partner Eric Rousseau for sharing his pics with me.

Heineken Pot

2011-01-13T20:25:00.004-05:00

After reading and watching videos about it for years I finally decided it was time to try my hand at making a cooking pot from a Heineken 24 oz mini keg. I'm not a Heineken fan so I hated to waste the beer but I decided that the ends justified the means.

It took me two tries to find the right safety cutter to get the top of the can off but I got it working. What I ran into with the Farberware and generic Kmart opener is that they both had a little plastic nub (or whatever you call it) at the bottom of the cutter. This works fine on veggie cans that are straight but not so well on the angled tops found on beverage cans.

Tonight I compared the fit of each opener on the can and the Kmart model was closer to being where I needed it. Out came the Dremel and cutting wheel. I cut it off as much as I could and used a grinding bit to finish the job and smooth it out. Next I went to work.

On the way home from the office I stopped at ABC Liquor and picked up two 24 oz Heineken mini kegs. I couldn't find them elsewhere.

Next I started cutting SLOWLY. I also had the can in the bathroom sink in case the pressure caused beer to go flying out of the can. Since I took my time I was able to carefully release the pressure and didn't have any problems at all.

It took just one trip around the can and voila!

My aluminum Snow Peak Trek 900 pot/pan weigh 9 oz. The Heine pot weighs 1.2. Granted I can't use the lid on the can as a fry pan like I do the Snow Peak but if I'm just boiling water it's hard to argue with shaving a half pound off my pack weight!

Cumberland Island National Seashore - Day Three

2011-01-09T18:17:00.004-05:00

This morning we awoke to a much colder day. The temp inside my hammock was 45 and the outside temp was 38. I really do need to buy a Kestrel so I can get accurate temps throughout the night and entire trip. I don't need to know, but I sure do want to.

I quickly piled on additional layers adding back the thermals I'd replaced the night before and throwing on an additional shirt. I ended up with 3 shirts and a pullover and 2 pairs of thermals under my hiking pants. The insulated gloves I purchased prior to the trip certainly came in handy but they made it difficult to break camp later on.

While I was laying in my hammock not really wanting to get up and face the cold I had a horrible realization. Remember I said I was trying out real camp cooking? Well, I'd planned on and had mentioned several times how I was looking forward to fixing pancakes this morning. Unfortunately I realized that I'd left the syrup behind. I still don't know how. It was sitting right next to the things I'd grabbed for my omelet the day before and I'd just prepped it the night before the trip. The worst part is that I'd decided to pre-mix the batter at the house so it would be well mixed and not clumpy with sub-standard camp fixing. The total weight was about 19 oz and I ended up not fixing them. Talk about a disappointment of epic proportions.

Since I'd decided to skip breakfast other than a cup of coffee I broke camp early so I'd be ready when the others finished. They can tear their tent setups down a lot faster than I can my hammock but for me it's a heck of a lot more comfortable.

We left the site at 9:45 and got to the dock about 10 which was perfect for a 10:15 departure. The ferry was packed with some that had come over with Will and I along with a few others including a large group of Scouts. We actually passed them on our way to Sea Camp on Saturday and were surprised they only stayed the night especially with all of the stuff they brought with them. I hadn't kept my sunglasses out so I just sat on the side of the ferry with my beanie pulled over my eyes and "napped" on the 45 minute ride back.

One of the things I like and try to do on every hike is bring something back for my son. I know that he'd really like to be out hiking with me but until he's older and can do some distance (I know he'll give out quickly at this age) I do what I can to bring a little bit of the hike home. I headed to the gift shop and picked up a toy blue crab. He loves hard animals that he can play with in the tub and I thought it'd be a perfect addition to his growing collection.

I've also wanted for quite some time now to have a little hiking buddy to go with me. I don't know why, I just do. I was thinking about a mini sock monkey but today I came across my new friend, Buddy Bison. So now I'll take Buddy with me on all my outdoor adventures and hopefully encourage some kids to get out and experience the great outdoors themselves. Of course, I need to go back to Georgia since I didn't take Buddy's picture at the Cumberland Island sign. :-O

Cumberland Island National Seashore - Day Two

2011-01-08T21:45:00.006-05:00

We awoke to temps in the low 40s but overall everyone had a good night's rest. I think several of us were grateful to the makers of ibuprofen. We got to work quickly and each set about making our own breakfasts. Since I don't normally want to carry all of the weight associated with real cooking on the trail I decided I'd use this weekend just for that. My starting pack weight was 37 lbs which is more than I've every carried but I had pots and pans along with other assorted goods. I also carried 4 stoves since I had several I'd never actually used in the field before.

For this morning I'd packed Backpacker Pantry's scrambled eggs and vegetarian bacon (whatever that is) to mix with my fresh mix of shredded cheddar, diced ham, and salsa. I even carried a freezer pack to keep everything cold! Unfortunately I hadn't practiced cooking this on the camp stove before and it cooked a little faster than anticipated. It was still good but could've been better. Then again, what can you expect from freeze-dried eggs?

Photo by Eric Rousseau

Here's the obligatory hammock shot of my humble abode.

After breaking camp we decided on a change of scenery and took Duck House Trail to the beach. It was a nice stretch and even had a little elevation change through soft sugar sand before leading us back into the final oak hammock before dumping us out at the Atlantic Ocean. The seas were calm and littered with gulls and large pelicans out for a bite. There was also a massive gathering of terns.

I was surprised at how many sand dollars there were along the beach. Had I thought I could get them back home in one piece I would've picked them all up. In hindsight I wish I had there were so many. I also couldn't believe how many and how large the horseshoe crab shells were. We didn't see any alive but the beach was covered in shells at least 1' across. I'd never seen any that large.

It was a nice walk with a cool breeze. It felt good to get lost in the rolling waves while scanning the beach for nice shells and shark's teeth. We hiked several miles down the beach turning inland just before the Stafford Beach walkway. We got back on the PT and stopped at Stafford for a quick break.

We arrived at Sea Camp Beach and found Eric who'd gone on ahead of us. We scored another awesome campsite (#13) with its own beautiful oak and a path up to the dunes (no direct beach access though). The sites at Sea Camp are more family-friendly and have picnic tables, fire rings, pack poles, and even a food box to (hopefully) keep your edibles safe from the prowling critters.

The Food Box

Photo by Eric Rousseau

After making camp and enjoying lunch the guys headed south to the Dungeness ruins. I decided to hang back and stayed at the site. It really was a nice, peaceful time where I was able to catch up on a book I've been reading. While I was sitting there a young doe even wandered into the site for a few brief moments.

When the guys arrived I started a great fire and it worked wonders for driving the chill away. It was like a mini inferno. I'd found a large dead limb that we laid across the pit to keep it going. There really is little else that can make you feel the way a warm campfire can.

Using Flint and Steel

Photo by Eric Rousseau

Enjoying the Fire

Photo by Eric Rousseau

Unfortunately the cell phone died early in the day so I don't have any pics to share after the beach. I hope to be able to share some of Eric's soon.

It had been a long day so we let the fire die down and turned in about 9:30.

Cumberland Island National Seashore - Day One

2011-01-07T22:23:00.004-05:00

Today my buddy Will and I headed out from Jacksonville to St. Marys, Georgia where we caught a ferry to the Cumberland Island National Seashore. We were meeting some other co-workers that headed over yesterday and when we got to the Ranger station we met up with the final member of our group. The ferry left St. Mary's right on time at 9:00 and arrived on schedule at Sea Camp Ranger Station at 9:45. Unfortunately I made a crucial error and left the camera battery on the charger at home. Thanks to that mistake the pictures in this update will be slim.

After sitting through about a 15-minute Ranger introduction to the Island and getting our backcountry permits it was time to hit the trail. None of us were in a big hurry so we took our time and enjoyed the scenery. The landscape is very appealing and ranges from moderate palmetto stands to lush oak hammocks with a few pine trees thrown in for good measure. The old oaks really added a lot of character to the hike and were gorgeous to admire.

We had hiked about 2 hours along the 8.5 mile Parallel Trail towards Yankee Paradise when we decided to take a quick lunch break. Our South African friend Bruce and I had been snacking along the way but we didn't mind resting while Will enjoyed his lunch in a box. Heck, he even had an after-meal mint!

We took a slight detour (ok, we missed the tiny marker for the Parallel Trail) via Pratts Trail and went through the Stafford campsite. It's the greyline of the island I suppose. The only points of the island with treated water are Sea Camp and Plum Orchard. Stafford has running water with bathrooms and cold showers but drinking water has to be boiled or treated.

From Stafford we headed down a short private road and picked up the PT again which took us through Hickory Hill and across the Willow Pond Trail. Willow Pond will take you down to the beach but we continued north where we intersected the Duck House Trail and the Yankee Paradise campsite. We saw a good bit of wildlife along the way including a lot of birds, numerous armadillos, and even some of Cumberland's famed horses.

Yankee Paradise is a very nice site with two large camping areas. The three of us picked our spots (I took the best trees I could find) and made camp. We were a little surprised that Eric and Andy hadn't made it from Brickhill Bluff yet but figured they were taking their time and sightseeing.

Since we knew we'd lose daylight about 5:30 we decided not to wait for them any longer and began the 1-mile hike to Plum Orchard. As it turns out the guys ended up meeting up with us shortly after we arrived.

The NPS only does tours of Plum Orchard twice a month. We actually lucked out, though, and ran into Jeanie. She's a NPS volunteer that's started living in a renovated apartment inside the mansion for the next 6 weeks. She'd only been there since Sunday so giving as a private guided tour was a good practice for her to go over her notes. It really was a great experience.

Plum Orchard was built in 1898 by Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy as a gift for their son George. The mansion is in great shape considering its age and includes 24,000 square feet and over 100 rooms.

Walking in the front door the visitor is greeted by a beautiful sunken fireplace with seats on either side to enjoy its radiant warmth. To the right is a large dining room.

The mansion sports a cavernous marble pool. It's fed by an artesian well and remarkably for its day was actually heated. Its appearance is deceiving when empty and looks much deeper than its 9.5'.

The property that the mansion sits on is absolutely gorgeous. It's easy to imagine the family sitting under the massive oaks that surround the residence while enjoying a superb view of the river.

With a wonderful private tour out of the way and our water supplies refilled we started the hike back to the campsite and arrived just as we were about to lose daylight. We got started on dinner and settled in around what would have been our campfire had it been allowed. We sat in the dark for a couple of hours talking about gear, other adventures we'd taken, and even (gasp!) some of the guys had the gall to discuss work.

Unbelievable Year

2010-12-31T18:02:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it's New Year's Eve and I have nothing more to show for 2010. After a debacle of a hike in May I haven't even set foot on the trail (other than a short local one).

Fortunately that's all about to change. I can't begin to say how refreshing it's been gearing back up for a hike to Cumberland Island, GA next weekend. One of the guys at work puts together a hike there every January and this is the first time I've been able to make it.

I've spent part of my vacation time this week going over my gear, menu, etc. I'm really fired up about it and can't hardly wait. The guys are heading out Thur but another co-worker and I won't be leaving until Fri morning. I'm not sure what the weather has in store but I'm confident I'll be ready for it. The backcountry portion will be a little bummed at night since no fires are allowed. It's understandable, though. It's been so dry lately we've had way too much wildfire activity.

Ok, so that's it for now. Sorry for the loooooong gap between updates. Hopefully that'll change in 2011. I've already gotten started on the re-match plans for the AT. ;-)

Retreat!

2010-05-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

About noon Aaron made it to my spot. About the same time I was coordinating an evacuation with our re-supply man. The wx reports aren't promising so we have decided to pull the plug.

Right now we are back at Beech Gap. We'll rest here until morning and hike the remaining 5 or so miles back to Deep Gap for extraction.

It's not optimal but I think it's the best choice. We're basically sitting a cloud. There's no chance of anything drying out so we risk hypothermia the longer we stay out here like this.

I just had a great brunch of mashed potatoes, fried Spam, and coffee. I'm feeling good. Just have to stay warm!

Guess I'll close this out tomorrow.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Stuck Inside

2010-05-11T10:12:00.000-04:00

It's 10am and I'm stuck inside the hammock. It hasn't stopped raining all night. I'm hoping my gear isn't soaked. Like a moron I put stuff in my pack cover instead of showing it in the pack and covering the whole thing. Guess I wasn't thinking clearly last night.

I haven't seen a soul today. I'm not sure if I will either. I'd at least like to male it to the shelter.

I really need to get out to stretch the legs and get breakfast but I'm pretty cozy.

I'll let you know if the wx changes.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

A Warm Belly

2010-05-10T21:17:00.001-04:00

Forced myself out of the hammock knowing I needed to eat. Didn't think I'd make it I was shivering so much.

The shaking finally stopped as the rain started again. I got the water boiling on my new alcohol stove and now I have a belly full of spaghetti and Oreos!

It's amazing what simple things can make a huge pyschological impact. First the hot meal. Then the candle I brought with me. Not sure what it is about the candle but it was a lot nicer than the headlamp.

So I'll hang out here (I'm in a hammock) and see what tomorrow brings. More news soon.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Almost Made Carter Gap

2010-05-10T19:20:00.001-04:00

What a beautiful day this was. The entire day was moderate and the miles ticked away.

I stopped about 3 for lunch, water, and a foot check. Talked to a couple doing a loop hike to Deep Gap. That's when I felt the first drops. At 3:30 it started to rain. Three $iles later it was still raining.
Caught up with my buddy at Beech Gap. I think I should've stayed with him. It was only 3 miles to the shelter and like a fool I went for it. After getting completely soaked to the bone and slipping and falling in the mud I made it to the first spot I felt I could stop.

I'm now in my hammock under the tarp trying to get warm. I'm only 1.5 miles from the shelter. That bites. But I'll just have to make the best of it amd hope I don't catch pneumonia. I think more rain is coming tonight so it's doubtful anything will dry out. That'll suck big time.

Well. That's about it for now. Sitting at 22.5 miles total. Time to warm up. Later. Enjoy your warm beds. Showing about 45 here. Good night.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

12 Miles Down

2010-05-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

By the time we dropped my truck at Tellico Gap we didn't hit the trail at Dick's Creek until 10. The first mile made me want turn around. :-) it only got worse. :-(

We stopped for lunch at Plum Orchard Gap which has a nice spring. I've decided "gap" is a four-letter word. Every gap has a subsequent climb to make. The one from PO sucked.

We spent most of the day going up. And up. And up some more. I passed two water sources which was a mistake. I had only filled a 1L bottle at POG and the bladder was almost dry.

Fortunately I made it to the nice spring at Bly Gap. That was a very long 3.1 miles. This left about 4 to our destination of Muskrat Creek. The climb from Bly royally sucked.

I survived, though, and rolled into the packed shelter about 7:15. I've been making stops to change socks. Don't want any blisters.

So that's day one. Just laying in the hammock writing this up and enjoying the iPod. Later y'all. I'm pooped. Good night.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Greetings from Franklin!

2010-05-08T22:48:00.002-04:00

Well, I made good time today in picking up my hiking buddy. Unfortunately I required a quick trip to REI ;-). I didn't feel safe using my Hiker Pro since it doesn't appear that I cleaned it the last time I used it and wasn't sure what critters were growing on it. I decided to err on the side of safety and get a new, clean filter element. I also had another issue to resolve. I really wanted to make sure I had a way to power the Blackberry in case I need it during the extended trip.

Based on the recommendation of another hiker buddy I picked up the iGo portable charger. This is cool since it's made by the same company as my car charger. Well, on the trip up I tried charging the BB when it was down to 1 bar. I'm through two sets of batteries and it still isn't completely charged.

While at REI I decided to drop the coin on the Solio Rocsta solar charger. It's currently connected to the laptop I'm writing this with so we'll have a full charge when we hit the trail tomorrow. I figure we can alternate charging our BBs and should be good. We'll see. I'll write up a review when we get back.

Haven's Budget Inn is a bit interesting. It feels as though we've stepped back into the 60s. The TV is old and sitting on a roller cart. The bathroom is right out of the 50s or 60s. Oh well, we weren't expecting the Waldorf.

I guess I'll keep it short for now. Our shuttle will be here at 7 so I want to get some rest. Hopefully I'll be able to provide some updates from the trail.

Almost Time to Head Out

2010-05-07T14:15:00.002-04:00

The meals are dehydrated and the pack is mostly loaded. I have a few last minute odds and ends to address but for the most part I think everything is about ready to hit the road. If everything goes well I'll be on the road to Atlanta by 9.

The shuttle is ready and we'll have another friend and re-supply man hiking with us from Wed on. That should be good. Glad he's able to at least get a small bit of the section in.

That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to send some updates from the trail.

Happy trails!

Heading Back to the AT!

2010-05-01T22:02:00.002-04:00

It seems like it's been forever since I left the Trail the last time. There's been so much going on that I haven't hardly put anytime on the ground since then. Well, that's all about to change.

We're putting the finishing touches on our next section hike. It looks like we'll be picking up at Dick's Creek Gap in GA and hiking about 60 miles to Tellico Gap outside Franklin, NC. This will be our longest hike to date since our group hooked up.

One of the guys can't do the full week so he'll be meeting us at Winding Stair Gap. That actually works out well for us since it'll be a re-supply opportunity for us and we won't have to spend time heading into town or carry a ton of extra stuff.

The plans are moving forward and we'll be on the trail from May 9-14. I can't wait to hit the mountains! I'm not looking forward to the 8-9 hour drive but the trip will be worth it!

Back Again!

2010-01-10T08:54:00.003-05:00

Man, it seem like I really took a break when I look at the last post date. I guess I didn't do a single bit of hiking after I stepped off the AT. I really hope to change that this year.

Looks like it's time to start prepping for the next hike. We've added an intermediate hike to bridge the gap until we can do our 60-miler in May. We're looking to knock out from Woody Gap back to Springer near the end of Feb.

Since the weather will probably be freezing #@&#*$#& cold I decided to take advantage of our unusually cold temps. Last night was in the 20s which doesn't happen too often in Florida. I was remarkably warm in layered clothing and just a 40 degree back. The one weak spot I have is my feet. I think I'm going to invest in some down booties to keep my feet warm. Everything else is ok but when I put my boots back on I can tell my feet got colder than they should. I also think that accounts for why I have to drag myself out of my cozy hammock to pee.

I've also decided I definitely want a Kestrel 4500 or similar before I start hitting the trail again. I'm tired of guessing and/or wondering how cold it got (or down here how hot it got). I want to be able to look at the Kestrel and know.

That's all for now. Hope to have more soon!

Dicks Creek

2009-09-07T16:13:00.006-04:00

As I write this I'm finishing up a 1/4 lb burger and fries at Wendy's. Ain't civilization grand?

This morning kicked off about 8 as I rolled out of the hammock and immediatly fired up the stove some coffee. I listened to a woodpecker rat-a-tatting in the distance as I enjoyed my brew. Breakfast (two packs of instant oatmeal) soon followed.

The hike out of Deep Gap wasn't bad. The hiking legs were really settling in. There was a side trail to a vista that was gorgeous and well worth the extra distance. The morning had a few ups and downs but most of the day was spent heading down.

I really tried to capture the beauty of the trail in this photo. I hope it does it justice but it's really hard to see the whole picture in this small image.

Along the way was the best water source of the section complete with a small (really) waterfall. There was even a bench so you could rest and enjoy it.

Right on schedule we rolled into Dick's Creek at 11:45 (just under 2 hrs).

I'll get into the trip back to Hogpen later...after I've thoroughly demolished my GPS unit. For now it's time to find a shower.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

GPS Update
Ok, my Mio GPS is usually spot on when it comes to routing me to various locations. However, the trip from Dicks Creek back to Hogpen Gap was a debacle of monumental proportions. I believe what should've been about a 45 minute drive turned in to closer to 1.5 hrs. After being routed down dead-end and dirt roads we finally got to 438 but believe me I was beyond ready to hurl the unit down the mountain.

Now what?

2009-09-06T20:11:00.002-04:00

Ok, the fire is out (wood too wet to really sustain it), dinner is done, the crickets are chirping, and daylight is almost gone. What are we supposed to do now? The silence is deafening. :-)

I guess this is why we try not to get to the shelters too early. Oh well. Guess I'll turn in early.

Oh, a bunny did come by for a quick visit. His name was Rabby.

For those of you wondering if bears poop in the woods, I believe the answer is yes. At least based on the piles along the trail. For those of us that want to poop somewhere else, we use a privy.

Purty, ain't it? Just hold your breath or wear a bandana over your face.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Deep Gap Shelter

2009-09-06T17:50:00.004-04:00

Wow. Today was amazing. We must be getting better at the hiking thing. This was expected to be our toughest day yet we seem to have breezed through it. I thinl our total walking time was 4.5 hrs to cover 7.8 mi with insane elevation changes. I still can't believe we covered 5 mi by lunch.

We got to the last shelter of the trip just after 4. It would've been sooner but we stopped to refill water before heading down. I have to say this is the nicest shelter we've encountered. It even has a nice little loft area. The surrounding area is gorgeous.

It feels good to have the hammock up, firewood gathered, and dinner ready to prepeare with a good 2 hours of daylight ahead of us. Once again we have the shelter to ourselves (do we stink?) So I predict a quiet night just enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze.

I did come up with a little saying today that helped me up the mountain: Small steps, big strides. I found I can cover more ground if I just take it slow instead of keeping a faster pace and having to stop more often. So remember that in life you can cover a lot with small steps. That's all for now.

I dub thyself Kudzu. I figured it was about time I had a good trail name so instead of waiting for somebody else to christen me, I gave myself one. If you know anything about kudzu it grows like crazy and spreads everywhere it can. That's pretty much how I am. Just look at the table at the shelter moments after arriving.

I continued on with my exotic dinner selections. Tonight was garlic and olive oil with vermicelli and chicken breast. It was quite yummy.

Ok, the fire is out (wood too wet to really sustain it), dinner is done, the crickets are chirping, and daylight is almost gone. What are we supposed to do now? The silence is deafening. :-)

I guess this is why we try not to get to the shelters too early. Oh well. Guess I'll turn in early.

Sassafrass Gap

2009-09-06T13:37:00.003-04:00

Heading out from Tray it kept looking and sounding like rain. I hated to put the pack cover and and finally decided the breeze was too good to risk the socks not drying.

We've been making great time today and knocked out 5 mi before stopping for lunch at Sassafrass Gap. We put the tarp up since it was starting to rain again but now the sun is out and the sky is blue. There were also some interesting sights along the way. The paper wasps intrigued me. For example, while I'd seen the nests in trees before I'd never seen the ground nests until this hike. During this section I saw at least two.

We have a hateful leg ahead of us. It's close to a mile to Addis Gap and then it gets ugly. Addis to Kelly Knob is almost 2000' in 1.1 mi and then we drop 700' to Deep Gap shelter. Today has been easy to moderate though the long downhills have been tough on me knee. The payoff at the top of Kelly Knob was worth it.

We're in the home stretch,though, with only 3.5 mi tomorrow. Not as many people out as I'd expected with the holiday so they must be wisely choosing easier sections. :-)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tray Mtn Pt 2

2009-09-06T08:03:00.002-04:00

Dinner sure felt good last night. I need to work on longer-lasting food, though. Woke up at 7:30 starving.

We had some rain last night but temps didn't get too cold. I was hot in the hammock and had to strip down until early morning.

There's a small chill in the air now but I doubt it lasts long. The sun is coming up, the birds are chirping, and the coffee is steaming. Life is good. Now where did I put that Ibuprofen? ;-)

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Tray Mountain

2009-09-05T21:15:00.005-04:00

The climb down from Blue Mtn shelter to Unicoi Gap was less than fun. Dropping 1000' in elevation over a short distance makes your knees and thighs scream.

The hike up Tray helped me see why this is rated strenuous. The only way for me was slow and steady. There was the occasional relief with "level" ground but most of it was a gradual to steep incline.
We maintained 30 min miles but took a few long breaks since we weren't in a hurry. One thing to say is that this leg had some nice scenic views. We rolled into the shelter about 6:20 and we're the only ones here.

Here's a nice scene from the top of Tray Mountain.

Tray Mountain Shelter

And my lovely hammock...

Tomorrow looks like more of the same. The first 5 miles look downhill so the knees should be shot by the time we have to climb another 1000' in a mile. :-)

Dinner sure felt good last night. I need to work on longer-lasting food, though. Woke up at 7:30 starving.

We had some rain last night but temps didn't get too cold. I was hot in the hammock and had to strip down until early morning.

There's a small chill in the air now but I doubt it lasts long. The sun is coming up, the birds are chirping, and the coffee is steaming. Life is good. Now where did I put that Ibuprofen? ;-)

Midday Update

2009-09-05T12:46:00.001-04:00

Slept in till 8 today and it felt great. We left Blue Mtn shelter about 11:15 and just arrived at Unicoi Gap. It was about 2 mi with close to a 1000' elevation drop. Downhill sounds easy until you have 35 lbs on your back.

We only hit one snag along the way to Unicoi as we encountered a large tree that had fallen across the trail. If I'd had my Sven saw with me I would've cleared it but it didn't make it in the pack.

After a sock change and lunch we'll head up Tray Mtn. That'll be the rest of our day.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Blue Mountain

2009-09-04T22:42:00.004-04:00

The hike up Blue Mtn wasn't anywhere near what I'd envisioned. Unlike Wolf Mountain after Tesnatee Gap it wasn't a sheer vertical but it went on forever and was rocky.

We took our time and didn't do too bad. After spending some time filling our extra water containers it was a short leg to the shelter. Here is a typical water source.

We met Bradley from AL who started at Springer a few days ago. He got a welcomed fire going while we put our hammocks up and since dinner we've just been chatting.

The temp is stll in the 60s so it might be toasty with all the extra insulation. It's cheap insurance though.

I was bummed to find a blister. Hopefully moleskin will do the trick and keep it from getting worse.

I guess I'll sign off for now and see if I can get to sleep with this cacophony of crickets. Tomorrow...Tray Mountain.

Low Gap

2009-09-04T14:29:00.002-04:00

Well, we've made it about 4.5 mi to the Low Gap shelter. Making good time. Just stopped to rest and get water. Nice, cold stream water.

So far it's been easy to moderate on the ridge trail. Blue Mtn should change that. :-)

During our lunch break I tried out a new menu item. That was pretty much the theme for this trip. Up first was avocado chicken wraps. Not bad.

Hiker Hostel

2009-09-03T22:44:00.004-04:00

Well, the trip from Jax was pretty uneventful. Leading into the Labor Day weekend the cops were out in force but it wasn't a problem. Traffic wasn't even bad until I left 285 to head to my hiking buddy's place. That set me back a good bit time-wise. After that we decided to head to Longhorn for a good dinner before switching to dehydrated "stuff".

We finally reached the hostel outside of Dahlonega about 10pm. Leigh was there to meet us as was Maggie the dog. It's a very nice place and I think we'll have a good night. Heck, they've got a good internet connection. What more could you ask for?

Since it's late and we have a big day tomorrow I'll keep it short. Cell service has already been spotty but I'll make updates as possible.

ETA: Breakfast hit the spot. Leigh fixed up scrambled eggs, french toast, and oatmeal. She also had some watermelon sliced, orange and apple juice. It was tempting just to chill at the hostel and fake updates over the weekend. :-)

Getting Closer

2009-09-03T10:56:00.002-04:00

I'm officially watching the clock. In a few minutes I'll be heading to the bathroom to change into my official travel garb. From there I'll head to a quick lunch with friends (instead of eating Taco Hell on the road as planned) to carb up a little more for tomorrow. And then I'm GA bound.

Hopefully I'll get enough of a signal along the way to make updates but time will tell. I might be able to post from the hostel also. Happy trails!

It's Heeeere!

2009-09-02T21:32:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is the almost big day. Friday is really the day. But I'm leaving work at noon and heading north to Atlanta and then Dahlonega. Just two of us making this hike unfortunately. We're going to spend the night at the Hiker Hostel so we're a little closer to the trail. We'd planned on using them to shuttle but with only 2 of us it's too expensive.

I was sick yesterday and even skipped work. I'm feeling 10,000 times better though. Even better than I was while at work today. I really think I'll be back to 100% by trail time. I can't hardly wait.

Well, gotta keep it short to finish packing.

Finally back on the trail!

2009-08-30T18:57:00.003-04:00

It seems like it's been forever since I last stepped foot on the trail. Today I finally got to do a very short shakedown hike and it was a nice one. Typically I would've hit Hanna Park but a friend told me about some trails I hadn't known about. Nestled in the Theodore Roosevelt Area of the Timucaun Ecological & Historic Preserve is the Willie Browne Trail. There are others but this is where I spent the bulk of my time.

I pulled into the trailhead parking lot late (4pm). Unfortunately the sign said they close the gate at 5. Oh well, I figured I'd cover as much ground as possible. Heading into the woods the trail varied from sugar sand to soft dirt. At .5 mi. I crossed the wooden bridge over Hammock Creek. I was glad to see that while it was brown from tannic acid it was at least flowing. I was tempted to stop and filter just to try it out but I was short on time and decided to keep hiking.

Following the blue-blazed Willie Brown Trail eventually led to alongside the marsh where the trail turned to what must have been oyster beds at one time. The trail splits off to a black-blazed trail simply marked 'Other' on the map. This side trail leads down to the open marsh and a short tower with a beautiful view. The area was alive with wildlife and small crabs scurried out of my way as I walked past. Standing atop the tower I spent a little time watching the white storks nesting in a large tree about 75 yards off to the east.

After enjoying the scenery for a few brief moments I headed back down the black-blazed trail to the green-blazed Timucuan Trail. I didn't spend much time here and only followed it along the marsh's edge until it rejoined the black-blazed trail back to the blue-blazed Willie Browne Trail Loop. By this time I only had about 15 minutes to make it back to the parking area so I picked up the pace a little.

As I headed up from the marsh I came upon a grave marker for a Confederate Sergeant, Jonathan Spiering (1812-1879). Shortly after this I stopped at the Browne family cemetery.

I really wish that I had grabbed my camera before leaving the house. I would have loved to have grabbed some shots of the area and the wildlife. As I neared the parking area I came upon a large tortoise (about 1' head to tail). I was surprised at how much was out with the heat. I'll definitely be back.

Overall I didn't have any problems with the new Deuter pack. Granted, it was only a 2 mile hike but it felt nice. I could definitely tell a comfort difference between it and my cheap Pacific Crest.

New LiteMax

2009-08-15T22:41:00.002-04:00

Well, I got my new Snow Peak LiteMax stove from REI last week. Unfortunately I've been so busy with other projects I haven't even tried firing it up. I'm a bit gun-shy now. I'm tempted to actually pay attention to the manufacturer's warning to only use their fuel canisters. I wonder if the MSR canister (or was it JetBoil?) is what caused the threads to strip.

In all honesty I'm not sure what to do. I'm waffling on whether to trust it or take my Giga also. But then I'm losing the weight savings by taking a backup stove. I guess I just need to spend some time putting it on a canister and removing it to see if I hose the threads on this one too.

The AT trip is 3 weeks away and I can't wait. The way things have gone for me this week and last I'm beyond ready to get away and recharge. While changing out the garbage disposal I realized the cabinet bottom was rotten as the undersink filter fell through it. Then I had to replace the battery in the wife's car. I lost the data drive on my computer. Today I had to replace the battery in my truck and I discovered that my trailer connection isn't working. Calgon take me away!

Travel Country Rocks!

2009-07-29T11:09:00.003-04:00

Ok, so in my haste to leave Travel Country and make the drive back home I made a big mistake. I'd joked with Brian that I wanted to make sure I didn't give anyone a free GPS by leaving mine in one of the packs. I had taken my own gear as I plan to carry in September to make sure it all fit properly. Well, while I was sure to grab my GPS and everything else, I missed the brand new Brunton 15TDCL compass that my mom bought me for my birthday. It was left behind in the right hip belt pocket on the Z55.

I had this nagging feeling about halfway home that I'd left something behind but it was raining hard and I just kept going. When I unloaded my gear at home I realized the compass wasn't there.

I called Monday morning and they were very helpful and found it right away. I gave them my address and asked if they could mail it to me since it's a 250-mi roundtrip for me. I told them to send it COD so they wouldn't have to pay shipping. When I got home Tuesday I was disappointed that not only was there no package in the mailbox but there wasn't a notice from the PO either that I had one to pick up.

I walked into the house and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a bright, shiny box that held my missing gear. The UPSd the compass to me at their expense! Talk about great customer service! I'm hooked. Travel Country has a loyal customer now!

New Pack!

2009-07-26T21:29:00.004-04:00

Well, I finally picked up a new pack to replace the Pacific Crest Denali that was riding too low and killing my shoulders after a few miles. I headed to Altamonte Springs and Travel Country. I met with Brian to go over the packs and spent the next couple of hours with him going through three packs. First up was the Gregory Z55. I really liked it and loved that fact that it shaved a full pound off my pack weight. Next up was the Deuter ACT Lite 65 + 10. This was neck and neck with the Gregory and looks like what my PC was used to model. Feature for feature they're almost identical but the Deuter dropped almost a full pound weighing in at 3 lb 11 oz. The final contender was the Mountain Gear Koa. I couldn't put my finger on it but I didn't like it as much.

Brian was very patient and kept swapping weight back and forth between the Gregory and Deuter. I don't know how many times I walked around the store. :-) What was cool is that everyone on staff was very willing to help. Several of them would make suggestions or comment how one pack rode better than another as I walked by. It was a very long process but in the end I walked out with the Deuter. I think I'll be very happy. I can't wait to get some miles on it.

The Deuter has held up very well over several extended hikes. The torso adjustment makes it pretty simple to get a proper fit for a wide range of torso lengths. There is a small zippered pocket on the right hip belt that is handy for holding a compass, first aid kit, or other small objects.

This pack has three compartments: top, main body, bottom. I use the bottom section to store my shelter (hammock, undercover, etc.) If you need a larger body section the floor can be unzipped. The top section has three separate compartments. I use the small outer compartment for my phone, car keys, headlamp, and other items I want readily available. The larger compartment stores my tarp, rain gear, and other quick-access items. The third compartment is on the inside when you flip the top pouch over.

The body has a nice collar that allows you to stuff a little more in the pack. I find it useful when I have larger items during winter hikes. I've had no problem carrying my full load at 30-35 pounds. It's a very comfortable pack and I see it being my main pack for a very long time.

Backpacking Saws

2009-07-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

Ok, I finally had a chance to get the saws out that I got for my birthday. I had some 5" diameter lengths of pine to test them on and it was an eye-opener.

The first saw out the gate was the Sven. I was impressed with how well it cut. It took minimal effort to keep the saw going through the wood and made a nice, clean cut. I can't say I really had any problems at all with the Sven.

Now for the Sabrecut. I really like the concept of this saw and the size/weight. However, while it may have been an issue with technique I found it difficult to use. The chain would catch and pull the log up with it so I had to re-position it several times. It was also much more of a workout. My biceps were really feeling it after just a single cut. I really can't imagine getting to camp after hiking 8-10 hours and having to use this. Unfortunately I screwed up the timer but I'd estimate at least 5 min to cut the same size log.

At this point I'm thinking that the Sven is what I'll be taking on the Labor Day hike.

I also had a big disappointment last night. It would appear that my nearly new Snow Peak LiteMax stove no longer works. I tried using it while camping out in June and thought I had a problem with my fuel canister. Yesterday I got around to testing it again with another canister and it still didn't work. It's net letting any fuel out. My Giga works just fine. I guess I'll be shipping it back to REI. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want it to crap out on me on the trail.

Hike Preps

2009-07-20T13:25:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a quiet lull for some time. I've been busy this summer with other things and haven't stepped foot on the trail since Feb. It's killing me. Fortunately, though, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

We're getting back into the planning stage for our next hike. The section I mentioned in March is going to happen. We'll be starting at Hogpen Gap and ending at Dicks Creek Gap. I just checked the trail guides and it looks like a weekend of strenuous, strenuous, and very strenuous. Should be fun. :-)

I think I'm going to try to head to Orlando and Travel Country this weekend. I desperately need to get a new pack that fits my torso. I don't want to kill my shoulders like I did the last trip. I'm also going to go back through my inventory to see what I haven't been using. I want to get the weight down as low as possible and hope to keep the "extras" to a minimum. I might even leave the camp chair at home. :-O

Well, that's it for now. I'll post more as the details get worked out.

Another Stove Addition

2009-04-19T09:52:00.002-04:00

I tell you, I can't seem to stop. Yesterday marked the arrival of my latest stove. I decided to get a Brasslite II-D stove. I probably could've gotten by with the I-D and it's smaller size/fuel capacity but I decided to opt for a slightly larger stove and longer burn time if I decide to cook instead of simply boil water. It weighed in at 2.9 oz. It's very light and well-made.

I decided to grab a shot before I put the fire to her and this is what I got. I usually forget this step.

Once it got dark and it was easier to see the flame I did a couple of 1 oz burns. I was able to boil 2 cups in about 6.5 min (didn't keep accurate time on this test) and still had plenty of fuel left over. I'm going to try with 1/2 oz today and see how it does. Here are a few shots from the test.

So far I'm pretty happy. It's definitely lighter than the Trangia. However, I still like the Trangia's ability to store unused fuel. More tests to come. Hopefully I'll have a nice comparison chart ready before too long.

Pot Addition

2009-04-09T23:31:00.002-04:00

No, this isn't about a pot addiCtion, but rather an addition to my pot collection. I stopped by K-Mart on the way home and picked up a new toy. It's a very lightweight aluminum grease pot. When I say light, I mean super light. Without the grease strainer it's just 3.9 oz including the lid.

I just did a test boil of 2 cups of water with the LiteMax stove. I have to say I was a little disappointed. It was about 40 secs longer than with the Snow Peak pot. It took 4:09 to get to a rolling boil.

I have some more testing to do but if I can get the boil time down this will be a great way to shed some weight. Of course with the alcohol stoves the savings will be even more significant. I can't wait to test it some more.

More Stove Goodness

2009-04-08T23:57:00.003-04:00

Well, I fueled my stove addiction a little more today...no pun intended. I added to my vintage collection when I got a "new" Optimus 8R. It's quite a nifty little stove and I'm looking forward to putting it through some paces.

Here's what she looked like out of the box.

Add a little white gas to the priming cup to warm things up...

About 30 seconds later she's all primed and burning like a nice little stove...

Just add the pot and you're ready to boil.

My first 2 cups of water were boiled in 7:47.

Ring Buckles Results

2009-04-08T09:54:00.002-04:00

Well, the good news is that the new suspension system held up well. I forgot to tie the running end of the straps off as a safety measure but I still didn't experience any slippage. I was a little nervous. I had to move around a lot trying to shimmy into the sleeping bag. However, they system did a great job and I'm very pleased.

What I'm not pleased with is the horrible job I did rigging my tarp. I felt much colder for some reason and when I awoke I discovered why. The tarp was sagging so much it was pretty much leaning on the hammock. The hammock was getting wet because of it and that was sapping my heat away. It wasn't enough to keep me awake but I was aware of it at various times during the night.

All in all not a bad night. If the temps are low again I'll sleep outside tonight as well to give it another shot.

Hammock Suspension

2009-04-07T22:54:00.004-04:00

After long last I finally took the time to start the switch to a ring buckle suspension system for the hammock. I still have the original lines connected to the Hennessy as I'm not quite ready to cut them, but that may not be far down the line.

I'm amazed at just how much quicker I can have the hammock up now. I'm tempted to add it to my tarp to speed that up too. Adjustment is a breeze as well. I don't have many pics since we were trying to get out the door for dinner but here's a closeup of the rings.

I picked up 300' of 1" polypro webbing from Ed Speer. I cut two 12' pieces and sewed 3.5" loops in one end of each. I put a biner through the loop and hook the free end through (I'll get pics of that tomorrow). The loose end goes through the rings as shown and that's it.

I'll be sleeping in it tonight to test it out. Hopefully I don't end up flat on my back on the ground. :-)

Another New Stove

2009-04-01T23:07:00.005-04:00

Ok, I guess stoves are my weakness. I keep having to fight the urge to get or make another one. Sometimes I win the fight, sometimes I don't. This time I didn't. I fought with myself for a week but couldn't resist REI's 20% member sale and now I have this.

It's the Snow Peak LiteMax. According to the specs it's the lightest canister stove at 1.9 oz. They lied. My scale reads 2 oz. :-) Unlike the Giga which comes in a hard plastic case, the LiteMax comes in a velour-type bag. With the bag the stove weighed in at 2.3 oz. This is a small difference from the Giga manual at 3 oz and an even greater difference with the Giga and case at 3.9 oz.

Here's a little side-by-side comparison for you. The Giga is shorter but bulkier. The LiteMax is tall and skinny.

I did a quick test boiling 2 cups of water since this is what I usually do on the trail. I was happy to see a rolling boil at 3:03:49. For comparison I fired up the JetBoil and did another 2 cups. The time came in at 2:41:48. That's only a time difference of 0:22:01. Not too shabby for the LiteMax.

Trangia Pot Stand

2009-03-22T12:05:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally finished my plans for the Trangia stand. I think I've got the changes finalized. I put together a PDF instead of posting smaller pictures here. Leave a comment if you find it useful.

Trangia Stand Plans

Just Catching Up

2009-03-11T13:52:00.002-04:00

Man, it seems like it's been so long since I posted. Would you believe I still haven't found the time to go through the GPS track from the AT hike? I guess things have been a little more hectic than I'd realized.

The itch has started and is in full swing now. I'm already working on plans for another hike. It looks like we're going to shoot for Labor Day weekend to avoid having to take too much time off work. If things go as planned we'll pick up where we left off in Feb at Hogpen Gap and hike about 30 miles to Dick's Creek Gap.

I'm working on a modified design for a Trangia pot stand. Hopefully I'll have some pics posted about that soon.

Woody Gap to Hogpen Gap

2009-02-12T23:41:00.000-05:00

2/7/2009

Woody Gap to Almost Neels Gap

We kicked our hike off this morning at about 10:30 by the time everyone arrived and was geared up. We had a cool, clear morning and it was a nice way to start the day. The initial hike up Big Cedar Mountain sure taxed my legs but the view was worth it.

It didn't take us too long to make it to the junction with the Jarrard Gap Trail. That's 5.6 miles in from Woody Gap. We waited about an hour here for the last two to finally drag in before we took off in three different groups.

Things didn't quite go as planned this afternoon after leaving this point, though. I and one other guy were in the middle. Apparently we got bad info on where to turn and we're on our own now. Instead of going over Blood Mtn we're going around it. We already have a long hike tomorrow. I hope this doesn't add much to it. I'm bummed that I'm missing the peak.

We're fine, though. We walked close to 9 miles until we found a place to make a campsite. As it turns out we have a nice supply of fresh water. That was a welcome relief.

The plan is to get on the trail early to rejoin the group at Neels Gap. We're keeping our fingers crossed. :-)

We setup our hammocks and enjoyed a nice sunset before fixing dinner and turning in for an early night.

2/8/2009

Heading to Neels Gap

Well, we had a beautiful sunrise this morning and broke camp 10 to 9. We only made it less than 1/4 mile before we hooked up with the AT again at the crossroads of the Byron Reese Trail. I looked up the AT towards Blood Mtn and saw one of our guys coming down. He'd left early to try and catch us.

We've been waiting close to any hour for the rest of the gang. Hopefully they'll be along shortly since we have a good 10-11 miles ahead of us and I sure don't want to be hiking in the dark.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Since it was obviously going to take a while for the others to arrive we decided to break out some coffee and D hadn't had breakfast yet since he left so early.

Once the next two guys showed up we took off. However, two of the guys went down the Byron Reece trail to the parking lot and the other three of us headed down the AT to Neels and Walasi-Yi.

M & T both had to leave today so after picking up the vehicle at the parking lot they met us at Neels where we said goodbye. We waited 2 more hours for the remainder of our group to arrive and everybody ate lunch. The store at Neels is pretty cool but I refrained from buying anything I'd have to carry. :-)

2/9/2009

Neels Gap to Whitley Gap

After everybody was fed we hit the trail again. Next stop Tesnatee Gap. One interesting point about Walasi-Yi is that this is the only place on the AT where the trail actually goes through a structure.

After walking through the building and saying goodbye to civilization we headed up the trail to the Gap.

It was interesting to see something I hadn't thought about before. How do you blaze when trees are limited? Well, you blaze the ground.

According to somebody back at the store there'd been snow on the ground as recently as Wed and Thur. There was still some snow and ice along the way and the trail was very muddy in sections.

After 5.5 miles we finally hit the Gap. There was a nice couple waiting in their pickup that offered us a ride to Hogpen. I don't know if they were just hoping some hikers would come through or what. We politely declined and said we needed to hike and they left us to face Wildcat Mountain.

Let me say that Wildcat Mountain kicked my butt. By the time we reached it I was worn out. I had to stop at the Gap and eat a quick snack to give my legs a rest and to psyche myself up. Looking up the mountain it appeared daunting. Reality was harsh and brutal. Hiking trails in Florida my legs aren't used to climbing near vertical switchbacks. Unfortunately that accurately describes the scene at Wildcat.

It seemed like it took me forever to make the ascent. I took a lot of breaks and methodically worked my way from one switchback to the next. I was surprised that when I reached the top it had only taken me about 30 minutes. I had to move fast, though. Daylight was coming to a close and I'd accidentally packed my headlamp in my hammock which was tucked away in my pack. Sunset was on the horizon.

You'd think it would have been a great joy to see the sign for the Whitley Gap trail. I suppose it was, but it was also an anxious time. I was rapidly losing daylight and I still had 1.2 miles to hike down the mountain to the shelter.

Even as I was rushing to get down before I was taking a huge risk and hiking in the dark without my lamp I had to stop and enjoy the moonlit scene appearing before me.

I could barely see the shelter as I stepped off the trail and it was a very welcome sight. I immediately set about dumping my pack. It's not really riding well on me and my shoulders were killing me. I arrived at the shelter just before I lost all daylight. The last two guys made it there using their headlamps.

As some of us headed down to the spring to refresh our water supply one of the other guys started a nice fire. It sure did feel good to have that when we got back. It made a nice backdrop for our dinner. We sat around the fire for a couple of hours before letting it die down so we could retire for the evening.

2/10/2009

Whitley Gap to Hogpen Gap

As everybody woke up we sat with what remained of the fire and enjoyed a simple breakfast. It was a nice, relaxed time.

Well, the last day of the hike was pretty easy and definitely brief. Knowing that we didn't have a long hike ahead of us I decided to sleep in a little. It sure felt good. The others started rolling out of bed, though, and I was close enough to the shelter that I heard them and eventually rolled out myself. We had a relaxed breakfast and then set about breaking down camp.

The hike back up the Whitley Gap trail kind of sucked. My legs were ready to get to the top. Like most of the climbs, though, it didn't last long. In about 30 minutes I was at the top of the mountain and hopped back on the AT for the short hike down to Hogpen. It was a beautiful sight to see my truck sitting there.

I did take the opportunity on the way out to take some shots of the view I missed while rushing to the shelter the night before. It sure is some pretty country up there.

Before you knew it we were back on the AT and making the very short final leg to Hogpen. What a joy it was to see my truck! Mission accomplished!

After everyone had made it back to the parking lot we loaded up and headed to Neels to pick up the truck we left there. Then it was on to Woody to pick up the other vehicles. It wasn't long after reaching Woody that we were all starving and wanted some real food. We loaded up again and drove into Dahlonega to grab lunch at the Smith House. Unfortunately, while we were all looking forward to getting our fill of fried chicken and other Southern specialties they were closed on Monday. After regaining our senses we walked to the town center and found someplace else to eat. It wasn't bad, but I sure wish I could've gorged on chicken.

After lunch four of us headed back towards Lawrenceville and the other headed towards his house. We made a quick stop at REI in Buford and I got a few things. They didn't have the descender rings or Snow Peak windscreen I wanted but I did get some new stakes, some plasticware, and small Nalgene bottles. One of the guys left us at that point and the three amigos headed to Wal-Mart where I picked up some ripstop. Our FL stores don't seem to offer that so I picked up 10 yards.

From Wally World we lost one more before two of us headed to the house. It sure felt good to jump in the shower and wash off the trail. I was very happy to not have to smell myself for the long drive home. I finally got on the road at 5:30 and surprisingly didn't have a problem with traffic. I was on I-75 headed south before too long. I made decent time considering the 50 mph construction zones and pulled into the driveway at 11:30. The total mileage for the drive was 887.8 miles roundtrip.

It's good to be home but I'm already looking forward to the next hike.

AT Update #4: Whitley to Hogpen

2009-02-12T10:54:00.003-05:00

AT Update #3: Neels to Whitley

2009-02-08T22:49:00.004-05:00

AT Update #2: Headed to Neels

2009-02-08T10:14:00.006-05:00

AT Update #1: Woody to almost Neels

2009-02-07T19:47:00.008-05:00

AT Day 0

2009-02-06T10:42:00.002-05:00

The day has finally arrived. Today I head out for our AT hike. The pack is loaded and sitting in the truck. The fuel is topped off. I'm cutting out at lunch. Life is good.

In less than an hour I'll be leaving work and hitting the road. I'll make a quick pitstop at Taco Hell to grab something I can eat on the road and then it's just fuel stops after that. I'm hoping to miss the worst of Atlanta but we'll see. Hopefully the construction on 75 has wound down and it won't slow me down any.

I'm really looking forward to meeting up with everyone and enjoying a great hike through some beautiful country. I decided to leave the SLR at home. Hopefully I won't regret that decision later. If I do I'll just have to hike it again. :-)

I'll post the write-up when I return. Happy trails!

Getting Packed

2009-02-04T09:07:00.003-05:00

Last night was spent going through my checklist and packing everything. I'm mostly done. I just have some odds and ends. Need to charge the MP3 player and put new batteries in the GPS and camera. I'd really like to take the SLR but I'm afraid the weight is going to be bad enough as it is.

The biggest group left to pack is food. I did noodles up last night and pulled them and mixed vegetables out of the dehydrator this morning. I fixed two boxes of noodles but now I think that might be too much. I picked up a chicken breast (garlic & herb) that I can slice up to add some protein and bulk. With that and the veggies it might make a good meal.

I took a little break last night to try out some new gear. I've heard so many good things about the Svea 123 white gas stove that I finally decided to pick one up and try it myself. I dropped a little Coleman fuel into the tank, primed it, and she lit up with a single match. It was cold out and I was in shorts and a t-shirt so I didn't do anything beyond the functional test. Tonight I'll probably do a quick boil test to see how it does. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll take it this weekend or not. It's 19 oz plus fuel and it takes up more space. We'll see then I do the final weigh where I am.

AT Final Touches

2009-01-31T19:36:00.003-05:00

Well, I've been busy putting the final touches on the plans for the upcoming AT hike next weekend. I'm really looking forward to the hike from Woody Gap to Hogpen Gap in North Georgia.

I've been trying out some DIY dehydrated meals and still have some more to go. I'll probably finalize the menu early in the week. Today the wife brought home the last of my cold-weather base layer. I was missing a LS shirt so that's taken care of. I broke down on Thur and dropped the coin on a nice Marmot Precip rain jacket. I'm just going to reuse the rain pants I wore when I played golf.

I've been tweaking the GPS track and finally got that wrapped up. My memory card is loaded with the Eastern US and I have the AT track from Woody to Hogpen loaded as well as key waypoints along the way. The USGS maps came in earlier this week so I need to get busy waterproofing them since it takes some time for them to cure.

All I have left to do really is the final loadout and weighing. Can't wait to hit the road for GA and then the trail!

Rockin' Cold Weather

2009-01-24T09:22:00.001-05:00

This is actually an update from 1/23. I stayed in the backyard most of this past week. My mom told me we hit a record low of 16. If that's true then I'm most impressed with how well I did.

Oooooh yeah, baby! Nothing like a 12-hr hard freeze to make you feel alive! I think it got down to 22.

I really didn't know it was cold except for a light breeze on my face every once in a while. I slept like a baby...until the !&!@#*!@#$&*&@#$ sprinklers went off!!!!! I let them run last night so everything would freeze. Guess I forgot to turn them off and they're scheduled to kick off Thur morning. Of course my hammock is setup right next to one of the heads. These aren't dainty little heads. Oh no. These are high-volume rotating heads. I woke up to a damned firehose on the tarp.

Thankfully the tarp held up remarkably well. I don't know why but they ran for over 30 min. I set the time last night to just 10 min and I turned off the zone I was in. I'm not sure wth happened. The tarp was sagging bad from the weight of the ice on it. I was going back to sleep when they cut off but by then the tarp had started to drip into the hammock. I gave up and headed inside. Hopefully we'll warm up enough today and things will dry out.

I can say that I now feel 100% confident in my ability to stay out in at least 20° weather...even if it rains. :-) I put the wool socks on and used my liner socks too and didn't have cold feet. If I could just find my face mask (and if I can sleep in it) I won't have a single problem. I might try to find a balaclava instead but it has to wick so it doesn't get soaked with sweat.

Cold Weather Round 2 Update

2009-01-18T00:18:00.002-05:00

Well, I figured out what happened with the Hennessy. I don't know why I did this but I had it shipped to my business address instead of home. So it did arrive, just not where I was looking. My mistake. Sorry Hennessy. :-/

Last night I slept very well with the Lafuma bag. I almost got too warm a couple of times and had to open the zipper a little. My only problem was my face getting too cold. I really need to find the facemask.

I learned something tonight. Don't try to setup up hammock gear you've never seen before in the cold and dark. I didn't really get the Super Shelter figured out. I got the cover on but the pad seemed to just screw things up. I'm going to have to take a look at it during the day. For now I have the SS cover in place with my old blue pad and space blanket. We'll see what tonight holds. I don't think it'll be as cold but it's 33 right now. Not bad for a test.

Cold Weather Round 2

2009-01-16T23:42:00.001-05:00

Well, much to my dismay there was no Super shelter waiting for me when I arrived home. Alas, here I am in store for another cold night in the hammock.

I picked up a 30 degree Lafuma bag this afternoon. So far it feels pretty warm. There is a noticeable difference in the temp. I'm breathing fog now. Sure wish I knew what happened to my face mask.

Tonight the forecast is 24. The only difference is nice wool socks, my knit cap, and new bag. Let's keep our fingers crossed! We're in for a 12-hr hard freeze.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Cold Weather Update

2009-01-16T09:58:00.001-05:00

When I awoke about 3am thanks to the moon shining like a flashlight on me it appeared to be about 35 but I don't know how accurate it is. According to the local news station's wx page it was 37 when I got up at 6:30. When I got to the office it said 31. So I really have no idea how cold it got last night but I'd be surprised if it was below freezing. Maybe it was just a really dry night but there was no frost or anything on the ground.

Here's my setup:
Hennessy Explorer Ultralight
JRB WeatherShield2
1/2" OCF pad (blue Wally World eggshell special)
emergency blanket
Marmot 40* mummy bag

I put the emergency blanket on top of the pad in the WS2. I slept better in the sleeping bag than I thought I would. It wasn't too hard to get comfortable. I did make the mistake of taking my socks of (just felt better). I did put them back on at 3 but when I went in the house at 6:30 they were pretty cold.

I noticed that even with all that stuff I could still feel the cold to a degree on my back. It wasn't bad, or enough to keep me up, but that could change if we're down in the 20s as I expect. I needed my knit cap since the top of my head would get cold. I did have some ear muffs which helped. I also need to pitch the tarp even steeper. I'd get a good breeze once in a while. Fortunately I was able to hunker down in the bag and avoid most of it.

All in all I slept well. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I wasn't miserable or anything. I just need to make sure I'm really ready for lower temps. If Hennessy is right I'll be able to try the Super Shelter tonight. I think tonight is definitely the good trial night. It's supposed to be in the 20s after 11pm.

Cold Weather Trial

2009-01-16T00:14:00.000-05:00

Well, my Super Shelter is supposed to be here tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's supposd to dip into the 20s tonight. So here I am in the hammock.

I have the WeatherShield with a foam pad and space blanket. The MacCat is pitched steeply. I'm in a 40 degree mummy bag, and I might wear a face mask.

Hopefully I won't be a popsicle before I have to go to work. :-)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Shelter On The Way

2009-01-09T21:29:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been quiet since the chainsaw stuff with the holidays and all. I did get some good hiking stuff for Christmas like Wet Tender, a whistle, Les Stroud's survival book, and "Into The Wild". I've also picked up a couple of knives. I got the Gerber LMF ASEK II and a SOG Flash II. They're both awesome knives.

I'm gearing of my the first hike of '09. I'll be section hiking the AT from Woody Gap to Hogpen Gap. According to the AT data I have it'll be right at 17 miles over the course of three days.

Since it'll probably still be mighty cold up there on the mountain I ordered the Hennessy Super Shelter. I still want to make a DIY underquilt but I don't think I'll have the time with ordering material, cutting everything out, and finding the time to actually sew it. So for this trip I opted for a pre-manufactured solution. One benefit to the SS is that they have a special going where I'll get a free Scout hammock with snakeskins. That's a $80 value. Worst case I'll sell it and use the funds to offset the price of the SS.

I'll write more about it when it arrives. Should be here in 6-8 business days.

FTA Training Pt 2

2008-12-18T09:57:00.006-05:00

This past weekend most of the students from the bucking & limbing course reunited for the felling portion. We worked the same area again and actually ended up setting up logs for the next b&l course in Jan.

Disclaimer: We were cutting down dead trees (ie fire, insects, disease). No live trees were cut down during this exercise.

The cut we were doing is an open face. A traditional cut consists of a 45* and horizontal cut to create the wedge. With an open face you cut two angles. This creates a greater degree of control as the tree falls.

L-R: Traditional, Humboldt, Open face

Of course, it wouldn't make much sense to start cutting down 80' trees without practicing your techniques first. After using the stumps from our B&L class to practice our face cuts it was on to the bore cuts. Our instructor cut a stump leaving two 6-8" wide strips. We had to bore through the width of the tree without coming out the side. Here's what it looks like.

This will give you a little idea of how much wood we had to go through.

After making the face cut and the bore cut (this includes cutting the right amount of holding wood) you still have a backstrap. Even with so much wood removed, the tree is still sound. Unlike the traditional or Humboldt cuts, you can walk away from the tree with an open face and it's still a safe tree. You don't have anything to worry about until you release the tree by cutting the backstrap.

So after some practice cuts it was on to the trees. This is me making the face cut on my first tree.

And the aftermath. The key about this image is that my target was the burned out snag. You might notice that the tree I cut down is laying right next to it. Remember, this is the first tree I ever cut down. I hit the snag I was aiming for I broke off the top 4-5'.

The fibers sticking up are part of the holding wood or the hinge. This helps control the tree on its way down. Notice that I have fibers all the way across. That's good holding wood baby. Here's a better view. Notice the nice face cut, near perfect holding wood, and a level back cut.

Here's a very brief video of my first tree coming down. Unfortunately I'm not in the frame. Oh well.

So there ya go. We had a great time and look forward to using our skills to maintain the Florida Trail.

FTA Training Pt 1

2008-12-18T09:55:00.001-05:00

Greetings. This is quite a delayed update, but with good reason. On Nov 15th and 16th I participated in a chainsaw certification course through the Florida Trail Association. I wanted to surprise my brother so I didn't blog about it until I got my certification card in the mail. That took almost a month as it just arrived last week. I would've blogged sooner but this past weekend I was in the woods again for Part 2.

Bucking and Limbing
Part 1 of the certification is bucking and limbing. Most of what the FTA trail crews deal with is storm damage. If you read my entries about hiking through Ocala I mention how much debris blocked the trail. Since Ocala and Osceola National Forests are roughly in my immediate area that's probably where I'll be working. The US Forest Service has a requirement that anyone using a chainsaw in a National Forest must be certified. That was the purpose of this course.

So based on the primary role of clearing debris, it makes sense to start with the tasks of bucking and limbing. Limbing, obviously, is the process of removing the limbs from fallen trees. Bucking is the processing of cutting (or bucking) a tree into manageable sections. In some cases it may be as simple as cutting the section out that blocks the trail and leaving the rest of the tree to nature.

The first day was mostly classroom education. Paul Varnadoe was our primary instructor. He is the fire crew chief for the Osceola National Forest. We spent the day going over safety procedures, saw techniques, etc. We reviewed different pictures to identify hazards and improper actions as well as the best way to handle a situation based on all of the various aspects. We learned about tension and compression and how the different types of binds need to be approached.

After lunch we headed out to the shop to do a little hands-on saw maintenance. We went over proper starting methods and then broke the saws down completely to do full maintenance on them.

Day 2 was where the fun began as we started the field work. Paul and his partner Tim took us out to Osceola Pond and cut down a number of trees for us to practice our new skills on. We split into two groups and spent the day clearing the debris left by Hurricane Paul. :-) The trees were laid on top of each other to create different scenarios. We each had to demonstrate the ability to manage top and bottom binds as well as creating a wedge cut to clear a section of trail.

Here I am making one of my pie cuts. This tree had a top bind so I was cutting a wedge out to reduce the possibility of binding my bar.

Here's what the finished cut looks like.

Once the wedge is removed from the top you can bring the saw straight down. As the wedge closes it keeps the kerf (the cut made by the saw) from closing on the bar.

Here's a different angle of me making a cut. In this example I'm cutting the offside of the tree. I'll cut the side opposite of where I'm standing and then bring the saw back down from the top. I can also use the tip of the bar to remove the wood from the side facing me and then come up from the bottom to finish the cut.

This is the aftermath we left behind. Keep in mind that we were working on dead trees during this field exercise.

Olustee to Deep Creek

2008-10-29T23:20:00.000-04:00

Olustee to Osceola Shelter
10/27/08

One word sums up this first day on the trail: rain. It rained all the way to Lake City with only brief intermissions. We left one car at Milton's Country Store on US 441 near Deep Creek. Thirty minutes later we were at the visitor's center at Olustee National Battlefield where we met Ranger Frank. We talked for a bit while he told us about the four hunters that had been found shot dead in their stands. Thanks Frank. As we hit the trail we heard a gunshot. Great way to start. :-)

I cheated and took this the 3rd day

Despite the rain this first leg has been nice. The lush pines have given us the occasional woodpecker sighting. Also, contrary to what I was told the trail so far is in fine shape. I had the role of point man today so I got to clear all of the spider webs. The forest will be busy tonight with recovery operations. There were some very interesting spiders I'll have to look up when we return.

White stripes indicate woodpecker nests

We took our lunch break at the spur trail to Ocean Pond. We were both soaked and wanted to wring out. We decided to skip the 1 mile round trip to Ocean Pond and keep trucking to the shelter. After a 30 minute break we headed out again.

Our hike took us through some slightly varied scenery. We crossed several boardwalks. Our longest was through a beautiful cypress stand. The first section of this boardwalk was at an angle and it was very slippery. Both of us made it safely across, though. We crossed roads and walked down others. We stood over I10 and I even got a trucker to honk!

Cypress stand

We finally made it to Osceola Shelter after 9.9 miles. It took us 3 hours 55 min per the GPS. It's a nice shelter with a privy down a short path. The first order of business was to get a line up to hang our clothes. My laces were dripping for quite a while. The rain gear I have stinks. I'll be taking it back. I was soaked inside and out.

The tent is pitched and the hammock is hanging. Dinner was early to get our food bags hung before dark. After a couple of hours sitting in the dark talking we decided to turn in. Tomorrow is another day.

Osceola Shelter to West Tower
10/28/08

Today we awoke to a damp scene. The rain started again last night and a damp mist hovered around the forest. We donned our long sleeved gear and got busy with breakfast. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to warm you up.

We took our time breaking camp. Part of that was strategic. Starting a little later in the morning gave us more confidence that the hunters had already headed home after day break.

We followed the spur from Osceola Shelter back to the trail and began our day. It started off with a boardwalk into a palmetto field. I think we've seen enough palmetto to last a lifetime. The boardwalk took us to a shotgun peppered FTA sign and the Turkey Run trailhead.

We headed down a stretch of old timber road where we ran across the occasional butterfly and the overly abundant spider. Oddly enough at one point we found a burlap sack half full of palmetto fruit. It was just sitting on the trail. Maybe the bears had been out collecting them to manage their prostate problems.

After traveling through some slightly rougher sections of trail and battling every spider species possible we came into another palmetto field. We decided to take a break and that's when I found we had company. I don't know if he was hitching a ride or if he was on the tree I leaned my pack against but there was a large praying mantis. I haven't seen one in years so that was a nice treat.

It was just a short walk until we crossed FR234 and made our way to the blue blazes leading to West Tower.

Not knowing what to expect I was surprised at all the campers and RVs for the hunters. Some seemed to be permanent as they were on blocks. We walked around the loop and finally found the perfect spot. We made camp and put out clothes and boots out to dry in the sun. We were still soaked from yesterday's hike in the rain.

West Tower is a fire tower for the US Forest Service. I wish we could've climbed to the top. I'm sure it provides a magnificent view. There's a real bathroom and a spigot with cold water. That was nice to have instead of having to filter water from the stream behind the shelter while fending off hungry skeeters. Despite all the vehicles, though, it was surprisingly quiet. Aside from the one droning generator almost our only other noise came briefly from a large owl nesting overhead.

We built a nice little fire as it got dark. The wet leave, tender, and wood made some good smoke to keep the voracious skeeters at bay. The fires also kept us warm as the temperatures dropped and helped further dry out our boots.

We finally grew too tired and turned in, settling in for a very cold night.

West Tower to Deep Creek
10/29/08

If "rain" was the word of the day for Day 1 then "cold" certainly fits the bill for last night. I believe we saw 48. Both of us were chilled. As long as I kept cocooned in my blanket I was warm. It's still evident, though, that even my JRB WeatherShield does little to help in cold weather.

I was dubbed Red Riding Hood as I gathered my blanket around me to get the morning started. I seriously needed coffee and I needed it quick. I rushed to pull our food bags down.

I put water on my alcohol stove to get it ready for coffee. Then I fired up the Giga stove to whip us huevos rancheros. I felt like a hearty breakfast was in order to start the final leg of the trip.

After breakfast we set about trying to recover my good caribiners. They got wrapped in an oak tree last night while trying to hang the food. After many failed attempts to knock them loose with rocks and sticks I gave up and climbed the tree. I safely rescued by prized biners!

After breaking camp and topping off our water we walked a short bit down the road to find the trail. We skipped a little here. We didn't see the point in going back to the trail we left just to cross the road we were already at. We saved a little time and distance but that would be lost later.

As we looked at the trail we realized we'd finally found the "bad" section we'd been warned about. Talk about overgrown! A machete would have been nice to cut through the vines and brush. Oh, and how could I forget the thorns?

To say the third day was a challenge would be too little. It felt as if, and the GPS confirmed, that we were meandering through the forest. It didn't make sense but we kept to the blazes.

We finally made it to a timber road and got some welcome relief from the brush. I'd mentioned as we started the day to be on the lookout for snakes. I knew that with a cold night it was likely they'd be out sunning. It only made sense that I'd be the one to walk right past one without even seeing it. It's a good thing it was friendly. Of course he didn't move a muscle so I figure he was still too cold to do much.

The last section had us off and on timber roads. More off than on. We did have a couple of rare open spots that would make nice campsites though. We used one of these to take a break and tend to our feet.

At long last we stumbled out of the brush again and onto FR237. Unfortunately, the trail went cold. We'd followed the blazes the whole way but now they were gone. How could that be? It took a while but we finally found another trail on the same side we'd come from and the matching sign across the road. They were about 50 yards from where we exited. I have no idea how the two trails were so close to each other.

We picked up the blazes again and were thrilled to finally reach the power line leading us to the Deep Creek trailhead. Of course, our journey wasn't quite over yet. We'd parked at Milton's Country Store, not the trailhead. We still had about 2 more miles to go.

We started down the road and even the cows looked at us funny. There were still blazes, though, so we were doing something right. After long last we arrived at Milton's, dropped our packs, and breathed a sigh of relief. Over the three days we covered 25.1 miles. It was tough at times but proved a rewarding experience. I'm already looking forward to the next adventure.

Happy hiking!

Osceola - Day3

2008-10-28T22:22:00.005-04:00

West Tower to Deep Creek

If "rain" was the word of the day for Day 1 then "cold" certainly fits the bill for last night. I believe we saw 48. Both of us were chilled. As long as I kept cocooned in my blanket I was warm. It's still evident, though, that even my JRB WeatherShield does little to help in cold weather.

I was dubbed Red Riding Hood as I gathered my blanket around me to get the morning started. I seriously needed coffee and I needed it quick. I rushed to pull our food bags down.

I put water on my alcohol stove to get it ready for coffee. Then I fired up the Giga stove to whip us huevos rancheros. I felt like a hearty breakfast was in order to start the final leg of the trip.

After breakfast we set about trying to recover my good caribiners. They got wrapped in an oak tree last night while trying to hang the food. After many failed attempts to knock them loose with rocks and sticks I gave up and climbed the tree. I safely rescued by prized biners!

After breaking camp and topping off our water we walked a short bit down the road to find the trail. We skipped a little here. We didn't see the point in going back to the trail we left just to cross the road we were already at. We saved a little time and distance but that would be lost later.

As we looked at the trail we realized we'd finally found the "bad" section we'd been warned about. Talk about overgrown! A machete would have been nice to cut through the vines and brush. Oh, and how could I forget the thorns?

To say the third day was a challenge would be too little. It felt as if, and the GPS confirmed, that we were meandering through the forest. It didn't make sense but we kept to the blazes.

We finally made it to a timber road and got some welcome relief from the brush. I'd mentioned as we started the day to be on the lookout for snakes. I knew that with a cold night it was likely they'd be out sunning. It only made sense that I'd be the one to walk right past one without even seeing it. It's a good thing it was friendly. Of course he didn't move a muscle so I figure he was still too cold to do much.

The last section had us off and on timber roads. More off than on. We did have a couple of rare open spots that would make nice campsites though. We used one of these to take a break and tend to our feet.

At long last we stumbled out of the brush again and onto FR237. Unfortunately, the trail went cold. We'd followed the blazes the whole way but now they were gone. How could that be? It took a while but we finally found another trail on the same side we'd come from and the matching sign across the road. They were about 50 yards from where we exited. I have no idea how the two trails were so close to each other.

We picked up the blazes again and were thrilled to finally reach the power line leading us to the Deep Creek trailhead. Of course, our journey wasn't quite over yet. We'd parked at Milton's Country Store, not the trailhead. We still had about 2 more miles to go.

We started down the road and even the cows looked at us funny. There were still blazes, though, so we were doing something right. After long last we arrived at Milton's, dropped our packs, and breathed a sigh of relief. Over the three days we covered 25.1 miles. It was tough at times but proved a rewarding experience. I'm already looking forward to the next adventure.

Happy hiking!

Osceola - Day2

2008-10-27T22:08:00.011-04:00

Osceola Shelter to West Tower

Today we awoke to a damp scene. The rain started again last night and a damp mist hovered around the forest. We donned our long sleeved gear and got busy with breakfast. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee to warm you up.

We took our time breaking camp. Part of that was strategic. Starting a little later in the morning gave us more confidence that the hunters had already headed home after day break.

We followed the spur from Osceola Shelter back to the trail and began our day. It started off with a boardwalk into a palmetto field. I think we've seen enough palmetto to last a lifetime. The boardwalk took us to a shotgun peppered FTA sign and the Turkey Run trailhead.

We headed down a stretch of old timber road where we ran across the occasional butterfly and the overly abundant spider. Oddly enough at one point we found a burlap sack half full of palmetto fruit. It was just sitting on the trail. Maybe the bears had been out collecting them to manage their prostate problems.

After traveling through some slightly rougher sections of trail and battling every spider species possible we came into another palmetto field. We decided to take a break and that's when I found we had company. I don't know if he was hitching a ride or if he was on the tree I leaned my pack against but there was a large praying mantis. I haven't seen one in years so that was a nice treat.

It was just a short walk until we crossed FR234 and made our way to the blue blazes leading to West Tower.

Not knowing what to expect I was surprised at all the campers and RVs for the hunters. Some seemed to be permanent as they were on blocks. We walked around the loop and finally found the perfect spot. We made camp and put out clothes and boots out to dry in the sun. We were still soaked from yesterday's hike in the rain.

West Tower is a fire tower for the US Forest Service. I wish we could've climbed to the top. I'm sure it provides a magnificent view. There's a real bathroom and a spigot with cold water. That was nice to have instead of having to filter water from the stream behind the shelter while fending off hungry skeeters. Despite all the vehicles, though, it was surprisingly quiet. Aside from the one droning generator almost our only other noise came briefly from a large owl nesting overhead.

We built a nice little fire as it got dark. The wet leave, tender, and wood made some good smoke to keep the voracious skeeters at bay. The fires also kept us warm as the temperatures dropped and helped further dry out our boots.

We finally grew too tired and turned in, settling in for a very cold night.

Osceola - Day1

2008-10-27T18:23:00.020-04:00

Olustee to Osceola Shelter

One word sums up this first day on the trail: rain. It rained all the way to Lake City with only brief intermissions. We left one car at Milton's Country Store on US 441 near Deep Creek. Thirty minutes later we were at the visitor's center at Olustee National Battlefield where we met Ranger Frank. We talked for a bit while he told us about the four hunters that had been found shot dead in their stands. Thanks Frank. As we hit the trail we heard a gunshot. Great way to start. :-)

I cheated and took this the 3rd day

Despite the rain this first leg has been nice. The lush pines have given us the occasional woodpecker sighting. Also, contrary to what I was told the trail so far is in fine shape. I had the role of point man today so I got to clear all of the spider webs. The forest will be busy tonight with recovery operations. There were some very interesting spiders I'll have to look up when we return.

White stripes indicate woodpecker nests

We took our lunch break at the spur trail to Ocean Pond. We were both soaked and wanted to wring out. We decided to skip the 1 mile round trip to Ocean Pond and keep trucking to the shelter. After a 30 minute break we headed out again.

Our hike took us through some slightly varied scenery. We crossed several boardwalks. Our longest was through a beautiful cypress stand. The first section of this boardwalk was at an angle and it was very slippery. Both of us made it safely across, though. We crossed roads and walked down others. We stood over I10 and I even got a trucker to honk!

Cypress stand

We finally made it to Osceola Shelter after 9.9 miles. It took us 3 hours 55 min per the GPS. It's a nice shelter with a privy down a short path. The first order of business was to get a line up to hang our clothes. My laces were dripping for quite a while. The rain gear I have stinks. I'll be taking it back. I was soaked inside and out.

The tent is pitched and the hammock is hanging. Dinner was early to get our food bags hung before dark. After a couple of hours sitting in the dark talking we decided to turn in. Tomorrow is another day.

WS Update

2008-10-20T16:05:00.002-04:00

Well, I had intermittent internet problems over the weekend so I wasn't able to provide an update. Here goes nothing.

Saturday night the low was to be about 53. I quickly discovered that the WeatherShield alone wasn't enough to make the colder temps manageable. I ended up slipping my eggshell camping pad from Wal-Mart between the WS and hammock to create an additional layer of insulation. I did run into a small issue since the pad is 25" and didn't wrap 100% correctly in the WS. Regardless, I felt quite warm and slept well. I only had a few times that the wind was enough that it breached the setup and I got a chill on my back. These were short-lived, though, and I fell right back to sleep.

Sunday night I decided to try again. This time I replaced the eggshell pad with my Coleman self-inflating pad. Frankly this pad sucks. It hardly inflates at all especially when compared to how thick my Alps Mountaineering pad gets. However, it's smaller and weighs less than the Alps. Unfortunately, it's too heavy for the WS and causes it to sag rendering it useless. I ditched the Coleman and replaced it with a new 20" flat foam pad. The problem here is that it must've been rolled up for so long I couldn't get it to lay straight. It worked ok I guess but the temps were more in the high 50s/low 60s so it wasn't a good comparison.

Right now I think I may just go back to the eggshell. I don't really want to cut it down but I guess for $8 or $10 I can always buy another one. I'm going to try to flatten out the 20" pad to see if I can get it to work. Not sure how I'm going to sleep tonight. I might have to sleep inside if it's not cold enough. :-)

WeatherShield Testing

2008-10-18T23:57:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm back in the hammock for the first time since the Ocala hike. Since I froze more than I'd expected to I decided I needed to improve my insulation situation. I now have a JRB Weathershield 2. It's not any underquilt but I'm hoping it'll suffice until I can make one.

The low tonight is supposed to be 53. That's the same as what we faced in Ocala. In addition to the WS I've added pants to the mix and I'll be wearing my socks.

Already I can feel some coolness on my backside. The WS is supposed to give about 10 degrees of additional warmth. I'm hoping it's just me and I'll be as warm as I need to be. I may end up having to throw some additional insulation in between the hammock and the WS but that's just more to carry.

So that's the story now. I'll give any update tomorrow.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Not Hammock Friendly

2008-10-11T15:59:00.000-04:00

Well, my opinion of Gold Head Branch SP just got knocked down a bit today. We've had beautiful weather here as opposed to Jacksonville and I really wanted to take advantage of it. I'd really hoped for a nice nap in the hammock.

Well, the ranger stopped by and said we had a little problem. It seems you can't attach anything to the trees. No hammocks. No clotheslines. No food/garbage bags.

I don't know that I buy the excuse that people leave the lines up and unsuspexting deer get injured. But who am I to disagree? I guess I'll just have to mark this off the list since I can't hang. It's a shame. Otherwise it's a very nice park.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Kitchen Update

2008-10-07T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm still bummed about the igniter on my less than 6 month old Jetboil crapping out on me while on the trail. Sure I was still able to light it with my trusty Bic, but when I have gear I expect it to work. I talked to Jetboil today and they were very nice and knew what the problem was right away.

Here's a tip for you. If the button on your igniter is red, call them and they'll send you a new igniter. Apparently they got a bad run from their supplier and they've had a lot of problems with them. They have since changed suppliers and the problems seem to have been resolved. I'm hoping to have that in a few days and should be good to go after that.

The gram weenies with me on the Juniper hike kept pushing their Giga stoves. Of course, this is the same stove I was debating about when I finally opted for the Jetboil. I do have to admit that we were both impressed with certain things about each others' stoves. Since I was having problems with mine, and since I had a couple of $10 coupons, I decided to pick up the Giga.

I was originally after the auto stove which has its own piezo igniter. However, after some face time with Cool AT Breeze from whiteblaze I learned that a lot of people on the AT have problems with their igniters. He said it seems like the life expectancy is about 2 weeks. So with that in mind I opted for the cheaper manual stove. That saved me $10 to begin with and allowed my coupon to further reduce the impact to my wallet. So now I'm also the proud owner of the Snow Peak Giga. I've been busy with other things getting ready for another camping trip that I have yet to really test it out other than a quick burn test.

When I got the Giga I also needed something to cook with. I suppose I could use my GSI cookware but that's really more of a car camping set. I don't know that I want the weight/bulk while hiking. So I decided to get the Snow Peak Trek 900A. This is the aluminum version of their large cup and pan set. It's about $25 cheaper than the titanium version and while it cost me 3oz in weight, it's my understanding that aluminum distributes heat better than titanium. At only $20 to start with I didn't mind paying $10 after my coupon. Not only is the larger cup going to be (I believe) easier to cook in, it also holds the large fuel canisters.

After Juniper I was really interested in making my own hiking meals. I really don't want to pay the price for Mountain House or Backcountry Kitchen. Plus I want to eliminate shopping trips to the sporting goods stores. :-) I ended up finding a Nesco FD-60 4-tray dehydrator on craigslist and got it down from $45 to $25. I picked up some Tuna Helper (I love the stuff!) that I think will be my first dehydration experiment. I doubt I'll get to it this week but I might give it a whirl if things pan out ok.

Juniper Gallery

2008-10-02T16:16:00.002-04:00

Ok, I just wanted to post a quick link to the gallery from Juniper. Hope you enjoy it.

Juniper Gallery

Juniper Prairie Day 3

2008-09-28T23:18:00.004-04:00

Well, pretty much everyone has gone home. It's just me and two others left behind. They're headed to Orlando and have time to kill so I hang out for a while to see what else the park offers. We take a stroll down some random trail.

Vist Fern Hammock Springs.

And call it a weekend. It'll be good to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Juniper Prairie Day 2

2008-09-28T23:02:00.006-04:00

Wow. Last night was cold. No, that would be an understatement. I knew it would be cooler than normal but it had to be lower than the 60 that was forecast. The fog and dampness made it worse. I had tried to clip my stock tarp as an under-cover for the hammock but it didn't work. The cold, damp air crept through the bugnet and I often had chills despite the blanket. Oh well, I survived.

Today's hike was hot. We broke camp about 10am and struck out headed north. The trail was mostly open and unprotected from the scorching heat. We made our way through the burned out remains of a large pine forest. Aside from the palmettos it seems that very little lives out there. I can only imagine how long it will take to recover from the fires.

We finally reached an oak and pine stand and enjoyed the relief the shade provided. We left the stand for more open but not burned terrain. The next stand was just ahead...uphill...with more sand.

The hill was conquered and we took a break at FR10. After a quick snack and letting our feet dry out we hit the trail again. It only took about 45 min to hike the last bit to Hopkins Prairie where we were picked up and returned to Juniper.

At Juniper Springs everyone dumped gear and relaxed in or around the cool natural spring. It sure felt good even though I only dipped my feet. My blister had reached epic proportions so I'd lanced and dressed it.

I'm sitting at a tent site now. We finished a day earlier than expected. I was wiped out and ready for bed. I really wasn't going to write tonight. However, on my way back from the bathroom a couple of woman stopped me. They used their flashlight to show me our neighbor. Watching a black bear near your site standing no more than 30' from a large, wild animal seems to have given me a little more energy. I would say he was over 6' based on the few times he stood up. Note to self: don't blind the bear with your headlamp. I guess he got tired of everyone blinding him so he lumbered off. And I climbed into my hammock and turned on the MP3 player. If I can't hear him he's not there right?

Hint: He's standing behind the tree. My trusty Marine comrade wouldn't get closer with his flashlight. :-(

This ends most of the adventure for this trip. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

Juniper Prairie Day 1

2008-09-28T22:34:00.002-04:00

Juniper Prairie Wilderness

2008-09-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

9/26/08

Today I started my 3-day hike through the Ocala National Forest. We hit the trail at 9:10am and hiked about 1 mi. to the actual FT trailhead.

I started with way too fast a pace. In no time my 40lb pack was really starting to wear on me. My feet and calves didn't take long to burn. So much for all that beach training. :-) The trail starts with a nice run of white sugar sand. It helps speed up the burn in your legs.

As I got used to the weight things got a little better. I got into a good rhythm and was able to really enjoy the scenery. What really surprised me was the many burned out trees as well as those twisted by severe storms. My clothes are streaked with charcoal marks. Nature has really been busy at work here.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the first water hole. Water shouldn't be a problem. It felt good to walk on the slightly damp trail. Sadly it was short-lived. It didn't take too long to get back on the sugar sand.

For most of the trail you only have a shoulder-wide path. In some sections you don't even have that. I pity anyone trying to wear shorts and t-shirts. The fallen trees and saw palmettos grab at you with every step. Your pants and shirt continually get snagged and debris clutters the path. Each step could easily put you on your face.

We passed several more water sources along the way and had to traverse small sections of flooded trail. Balancing a 6' person on a 6" log with a 40lb pack is an interesting feat when you're not used to it. But the real workout was still ahead.

If you're looking for a good workout, the FL Trail may be for you. Especially after some storms. The "easy" trail was replaced by a grueling dance alternating between duck walking and crawling on hands and knees to clear low-hanging trees covering the trail. After a lengthy section of this I find myself having to slow down my pace as fatigue sets in. Just when I was really sick of crawling it was over. Alas, as before, the joy was short-lived.

Note: this picture is misleading. You can actually see the trail here. :-)

If you ask someone, the camp site is always "just past that line of trees" or "right over the next hill." Hill? But this is FL!

Yes, Virginia, Florida does have hills. On the trail, they're covered with...more sugar sand. Up we trudge as the sand reflects the heat up to you and you start to feel the burn again.

I can hardly believe the amount of fire damage the area has seen. As a wilderness area if it burns it burns. No effort is made to stop it. No controlled burns are done. Whatever nature does is what you see. What wasn't burned was twisted by high winds.

Finally, it's there. The lake. It's not the final stop but it's very close. The water is surprisingly clear. It's much better than the other sources. We take the opportunity to fill up and I top of my hydration bladder and Nalgene bottle. Soon we take off again.

We finally see more people. Well, at least a single woman right around the bend. Perhaps there was someone else in the tent. We didn't stop to talk. We hike around another lake and make camp. We've covered about 6 miles in 3 hours. Not bad considering how cluttered the trail was.

I got a nice spot with three trees. I hang my hammock and tarp and I'm not alone. Out of 9 of us making the hike 6 were hanging. I use my third tree to attach a line to let my clothes dry out.

After some lunch we just sat around chatting. I'm sitting here against my tree looking over the lake. I look down and see I have a little friend. A cocooned worm is crawling by. He's slow yet somehow seems to be covering a lot of ground. I figure he's stocking up before sealing himself in for good.

I seem to have a blister on my toe. I'm surprised. I haven't had this problem before and didn't feel anything while on the move. Overall I've recovered well I think. I've refilled the Nalgene. The sun is going down so it's not too cool now as it's no longer blocked by the trees. There's a slight breeze so that helps. We'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow.

9/27/08
Wow. Last night was cold. No, that would be an understatement. I knew it would be cooler than normal but it had to be lower than the 60 that was forecast. The fog and dampness made it worse. I had tried to clip my stock tarp as an under-cover for the hammock but it didn't work. The cold, damp air crept through the bugnet and I often had chills despite the blanket. Oh well, I survived.

Today's hike was hot. We broke camp about 10am and struck out headed north. The trail was mostly open and unprotected from the scorching heat. We made our way through the burned out remains of a large pine forest. Aside from the palmettos it seems that very little lives out there. I can only imagine how long it will take to recover from the fires.

We finally reached an oak and pine stand and enjoyed the relief the shade provided. We left the stand for more open but not burned terrain. The next stand was just ahead...uphill...with more sand.

The hill was conquered and we took a break at FR10. After a quick snack and letting our feet dry out we hit the trail again. It only took about 45 min to hike the last bit to Hopkins Prairie where we were picked up and returned to Juniper.

At Juniper Springs everyone dumped gear and relaxed in or around the cool natural spring. It sure felt good even though I only dipped my feet. My blister had reached epic proportions so I'd lanced and dressed it.

I'm sitting at a tent site now. We finished a day earlier than expected. I was wiped out and ready for bed. I really wasn't going to write tonight. However, on my way back from the bathroom a couple of woman stopped me. They used their flashlight to show me our neighbor. Watching a black bear near your site standing no more than 30' from a large, wild animal seems to have given me a little more energy. I would say he was over 6' based on the few times he stood up. Note to self: don't blind the bear with your headlamp. I guess he got tired of everyone blinding him so he lumbered off. And I climbed into my hammock and turned on the MP3 player. If I can't hear him he's not there right?

Hint: He's standing behind the tree. My trusty Marine comrade wouldn't get closer with his flashlight. :-(

This ends most of the adventure for this trip. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

9/29/08
Well, pretty much everyone has gone home. It's just me and two others left behind. They're headed to Orlando and have time to kill so I hang out for a while to see what else the park offers. We take a stroll down some random trail.

Vist Fern Hammock Springs.

And call it a weekend. It'll be good to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Packing

2008-09-24T23:16:00.002-04:00

The Ocala hike is almost here. I'm trying to get as much wrapped up tonight as possible so I can get a good night's rest tomorrow. I usually end up running around like mad the night before a trip so I'm hoping to turn a new leaf this time.

I waterproofed the topo maps last night. That was more of a chore and time consuming than I'd anticipated. I didn't get to bed until after midnight. Hopefully they'll turn out ok even though they're supposed to cure for 72 hours and I won't have that time. I used Aquaseal Map Seal. The bottle I got is supposed to do 6-8 maps. I don't see how. I must be using way too much.

I have most of the stuff in the pack. I have a few odds and ends here and there and I still need to pack the food. I was working on a food stuffsack tonight but it's working against me. I'm having a bear of a time getting the channel finished for the drawstring. Oh well. Hopefully I'll knock that out in short order tomorrow.

That's it for now. Need to keep things brief so I can get back to packing.

Beach Redux

2008-09-21T22:07:00.002-04:00

I did my final training hike this afternoon. I pretty much have the final load figured out. There are a few odds and ends I need to add but right now the weight is sitting at 30 lbs. Since we've had some decent rain lately I'm hoping for the best and taking 2L less than I'd planned. However, I'm taking 2 2.5L Platypus bottles in case I find things are slim so I can stock up if needed. They barely weigh anything.

I did 6 miles today along the beach. I was home with the boy while he was sick so it was late afternoon before I hit the "trail". The cold front has cooled things off, too, so those two together made for a fine walking day. The only problem was the high tide left me little beach to work with and the rotting seaweed smelled. On the way back the tide was turning so I had a lot more space.

I guess that's about it. I need to get some rest since the wee lad's been waking us up at 5:30 the past few mornings.

Beachin'

2008-09-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I pulled off another short beach hike yesterday. I was kind of irked when I got home, though. I thought I made incredibly good time for a 4-mi hike. That's when I realized I only did 3. I started at a new spot and used Google Maps on the Blackberry to calculate the turnaround point. However, when I got home and double-checked with Google Earth I realized I was off a mile. Oh well. Still got a workout in.

I've decided that it's time to invest the money in quality socks. I think I'll be picking up some SmartWool socks this afternoon. I wore generic athletic socks and my feet paid the price in the sand. I didn't get any blisters but could definitely tell that one was very close to cropping up right on the base of my left big toe. I figure my foot was sliding around as I was walking through the soft sand. I figure the thicker socks and wicking action should help out. I'm also going to pick up some liner socks.

I also finished off two more Mountain House entrees this weekend. So far they're the only ones that didn't need anything added to them to be palatable. I tried teriyaki chicken and the lasagna. The only thing I'd point out is that with the teriyaki you really need to stir it up good. I must've missed something in the corners because I ended up with a glob of teriyaki sauce that didn't break up too well after the fact.

I'm still digging the MacCat. I think it'll prove to be a great purchase. :-) On Saturday I just used the ridgeline I'd run for the Hennessy tarp. Yesterday I went ahead and dropped the ridgeline and used two separate tie-outs for the ends. I'm not sure which method is going to work better for me. I'm actually thinking of picking up some ring buckles and trying that route with some webbing. I just want to have a light support system that will let me get the tarp up in a hurry in case I'm having to setup in the rain.

Quick Tarpdate

2008-09-13T23:51:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am under the MacCat. I dropped the head suspension line before settling in so the tarp is slightly higher. However, I still feel like I have plenty of coverage.

Tonight is beautiful. The moon is full and bright overhead. The tarp is diffusing the light to make a nice, even nightlight. I think I'll sleep good tonight.

Goodnight!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I Tarp, Therefore I Am

2008-09-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

Well, it was a grueling two days, but my MacCat Deluxe finally arrived in the mail today. I can't say how anxious I was to rip down the stock tarp and replace it. As soon as we'd finished dinner, the wee lad and I went out to make the swap.

When I opened the package, this is what I saw.

I hurriedly opened the stuffsack and laid the tarp out on the ground.

Suddenly I had a horrid realization. Earlier today I picked up 75' of hot pink 5/23" poly rope. I'd planned on making new tie-outs at 10' each. This would give me plenty of line if I had to go further than planned to stake the tarp out. I counted 8 tie-outs from memory which meant I ended up cutting to 9' instead for a total of 72'. Well, when I saw it on the ground I realized the sides only had a single cat cut, not the double I remembered. That's for the 12' Ultra model. Dang. Also, if I use a separate ridgeline instead of individual tie-outs for the ends I'll use the prusik knots and biners. That's two less lines I'll need. So here's a tip: don't cut tie-out lines until you've verified what you need.

Well, I sucked it up and started putting it up. Since my trees in the backyard are so close to the fence, I cheated and put two hooks in the fence to connect the lines to on one side. Here's the overall look. It looks like the MacCat is a little off center with the ridgeline but once I'm in the hammock the sag drops it down and the tarp is perfectly pitched.

Here's a closeup of the hot pink line and my Figure 9 tensioner.

And the end tie-out held taut by a Figure 9 biner and ridgeline prusik.

And finally, the hammock and tarp together.

I was a little concerned when I first started putting up the MacCat. I wondered if I should've gotten the Ultra for its longer ridgeline. Well, I don't think that's a concern now. Laying in the hammock I think it'll provide plenty of coverage. On the ground I think there's definitely enough coverage to sit under the tarp during a storm to cook or just relax. So far I'm very pleased. Construction is top notch!

Tarpin'

2008-09-10T22:59:00.001-04:00

Note this is about "tarpin'", not "tarpon". I don't know much about the big, shiny gamefish. However, I am starting to learn more about tarps. Probably the main thing I've learned is that I'm not a very big fan of the stock Hennessy tarp.

I have lofty dreams of making my own tarp but that might be off in the future a bit. I have some very good plans for making a nice cat (catenary) cut tarp with a 12' ridgeline. Unfortunately material prices have skyrocketed. What used to be around $5/yd is now over $11. I did find a supplier with 2nds for $4.50 but it's untreated instead of silnylon. I have somebody sending me some fabric samples so I can try my hand at waterproofing it myself but we'll have to see. I need 8 yards of ripstop so under $40 would be much nicer than over $90.

In the interim I've decided to go against my initial thought and bought a tarp. After reading various reviews on a number of different tarps I opted for the MacCat Deluxe from Brian at Outdoor Equipment Supplier.

I'm really excited about getting the MacCat and trying it out in the backyard. I never expected to be looking forward to laying in a hammock in the yard hoping for rain. :-D Brian said he'd ship it out today and it's coming Priority Mail. If my finger crossing works I'll at least have it by Saturday afternoon to try it overnight and report back on Sunday.

In other news, we've also decided to move our church camping trip. We'll be doing it in October now. I'm a little bummed since I was hoping for a test run on some of the gear before the Ocala hike but it'll probably work out better for the group. I think I'm pretty prepared for Ocala. I just need to finalize the menu and decide what to do about water. Since TS Fay dumped a lot on us I'm in a quandary. I hate to carry the weight of 5L of water if I can just fill up along the trail. I'm really tempted to stick with the 3L bladder in the pack and carry a 2.5L Platypus bladder. If it looks like water might be more scarce even after the storms I can fill the spare bladder and have slightly more water than originally planned. If I don't need as much I haven't forced myself to carry a lot of extra weight unnecessarily. I need to figure it out quick.

Oh well, not much else going on. Looking forward to more hiking and can't wait to get in the woods.

All hail Permethrin!

2008-09-07T09:40:00.000-04:00

I must bow in the general direction of the chemical gods that gave us permethrin. Our backyard is a skeeter haven and it's difficult at best to do anything without getting eaten alive. Just the other day the son and I were getting attacked while trying to find his flying disc that was lost over the fence. We never had a problem until the city decided to clear cut the "protected" area behind the house for a drainage ditch. Now it's just a festering cesspool of mosquito spawning. But I digress.

After my last outing I was horrible. There were so many bites it appeared as though I had a bad rash on my hand, knee, and foot. And don't even get me started on the itching. Oooh boy.

I picked up the first thing I could to solve the problem. A quick trip to Wal-Mart got me a 6oz aerosol can of Repel Permanone. I soaked the bottom of the hammock and let it dry. I can attest that after a 2-night backyard trial it worked like a dream. I did get a few bites but none while I was in the hammock. I could hear them I could see them, but they didn't get me.

It was a beautiful sight this Sunday morning when I watched the sunrise and could see the skeeters bouncing angrily between the noseeum netting and the tarp. I just laughed and exhaled more carbon dioxide on them so they'd know what they were missing.

So if you've got skeeter problems, get permethrin. If you don't get the Repel version, Sawyer's makes a non-aerosol and a concentrate for soaking your clothes.

Now if only I could find a solution for keeping the !$!#^%$^@ pine tar off the tarp.

A Good Night

2008-09-06T08:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I had a much better night's rest last night. I did realize I didn't allow for the hammock sagging when I got in, though, so the tarp didn't cover me as it should have. Good thing it didn't rain. But that's why I'm doing this backyard testing. It's a grat way to learn.

My new Kelty camp pillow made a huge difference as well. It sure made for a more comfortable night.

I don't seem to be itching any so I guess the Permethrin worked. We'll see in a few when I climb out of the hammock.

Well, I'm starving. Time to finish my breakfast bar, fire up the Jetboil, and make some coffee. :-)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Backyardin'

2008-09-06T00:42:00.000-04:00

Well, Hanna is a fading memory. The skies are clear and the wind is calm. So tonight I'm in the hammock again.

Last weekend I got eaten alive by skeeters. This weekend the bottom is soaked in Permethrin. Hopefully they're dying by the 100s.

Laying in the hammock it appears I still need to work on putting up the tent. I really don't like the Hennessy tarp. Time to make my own.

Oh well. It's hard to type a lot on the Blackberry. Another update later today.

Happy hanging!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Backyard Camping

2008-09-01T22:04:00.000-04:00

Well, since I knew I wouldn't have to be anywhere on Labor Day, I thought it was the perfect excuse to put the hammock up in the back yard. I still hadn't had the chance to try it out in the rain and hoped I'd get my chance.

I have to say that I had a horrible night until I finally got to sleep around 2am. One thing I didn't have that would've been a great help is ear plugs. The frogs were something else! Not to mention my neighbor's AC kicking in every time I was ready to fall asleep.

I also realized how crucial tarp placement is. I thought I'd done a good job. Unfortunately, I created a sauna. The tarp kept right up against the netting and I got almost no airflow. I was just hot and uncomfortable. I got out at one point to change it but the skeeters ate me alive. I rushed and didn't do much better.

I did finally get to sleep and must've been out good. I didn't wake up until 9. The wife wanted to go to the beach at 9:30 so we didn't quite make that. I think a good pillow is a must. That's now on my shopping list.

After the beach we came home, ate lunch, and it was time to nap. I know, it's rough, but somebody has to do it. :-D I did a much better job with the tarp before my nap. I separated it from the ridgeline and connected it to dedicated lines via Figure 9 biners.

*Ignore the rope on the tree. That's from another project. :-)

This worked well and I got a great deal more ventilation. However, I think I'm going to try running a separate ridgeline as a single piece between the trees instead of using two shorter lines.

As luck would have it I got the rain I was hoping for. I napped for a couple of hours and then it came down. It wasn't real heavy and didn't last too long, but I was pleased to see that the tarp worked great. I'm a little worried about the stock Hennessy cut as it doesn't seem to provide quite enough coverage. I did get a little water on the side of the hammock towards my head but it wasn't bad. Had the wind been harder I think that'd be another story.

I did have some cleanup to do after the rain. The tarp had a lot of pine sap on it so I had to remove that for storage. I hope the Goo Gone and mineral spirits don't have an adverse affect on the material.

I've started using the Figure 9 devices everywhere. I've added them to the tie-outs for the hammock and the tarp. They really make it so much quicker and easier to get things taut.

Well, that's it for this Labor Day.

It's Aliiiiiive!

2008-08-31T20:12:00.001-04:00

Well, not quite, but I did finish my very first sewing project today. I decided to start simple and knocked out a ripstop stuffsack. I figured I'd start with a small one so I wouldn't waste a lot of material in the event it was a failed exercise. I actually thought that was how it was going to turn out but thanks to some encouragement from the folks at Hammock Forums I kept going. Here's how it went down.

1. Measure and mark.
It's hard to tell but I used a fabric pencil to mark things up. Sadly, I learned that you can't just follow the lines in the ripstop and expect things to come out square.

2. Marvel at your cutting job

3. Get stitchin'!

4. Stitch the sides

5. Stitch the bottom

6. Add a reinforcement patch and add a manual buttonhole.
This is where the drawstring will come through the fabric after creating a channel for it to run through.

7. Giggle with glee at your finished product.

Uncinched

Cinched

The Whole Shebang

I really wanted to use black paracord for the drawstring but all I had left was camo. Oh well.

Fay Kilt Me

2008-08-29T23:54:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't get much training in last week. TS Fay kept my pretty busy. I was the acting Emergency Coordinator for the county so I spent Wed-Fri managing the emergency communications between the EOC and the Red Cross shelters as well as staffing one myself.

Hopefully training will pick up again this weekend.

Beach Training

2008-08-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

After hiking the local bike trails a couple of times I had a painful realization. It donned on me that I wasn't really training for the type of terrain I'd be hiking in Sept and Oct. The sections of the Florida Trail I'll be doing have a good bit of sugar sand and they're out in the open. Hiking regular dirt trails under the cover of trees isn't really a good simulation to get ready.

So today I decided to change my training regimen. I hit the beach! What better place to find fine sugar sand with no cover/protection from the searing Florida heat? I waited for the heat to kick up a few degrees, drove to the beach, geared up, and hit the "trail". You'd think people had never seen anyone with a full pack hiking down the beach. :-D

I used my Pacific Crest pack today instead of the GoLite. When I packed the GoLite I must've done it wrong because I just couldn't get it to carry right. I needed to try out the PC anyway, though, so it worked out fine. I have to say that for an inexpensive pack I'm pretty impressed. It's a big pack (4000 cu in) but I didn't have it full. The number of pockets is a big improvement over the lack of flexibility you have with the Jam 2. The full hipbelt and improved padding on the back and shoulder straps made a big difference. It did increase the weight by about 6.5 lbs but I almost think the comfort was worth it. As long as I kept the weight on my hips I barely felt a thing. It was wonderful! My only real complaint is that the hipbelt doesn't lock enough. I had to re-tighten it several times throughout the day. However, this wasn't any major issue.

I packed right in at 30.5 lbs of gear. I hope to be in the same neighborhood if not a little lighter for the actual hikes. Since this was the first hike with the new pack and in a new setting I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd planned on a quick 2 mi hike but it was going so well I kept going. I ended up at 3.7 mi. I'd hoped to get to 4 mi but hit a drainage area on the beach that I didn't want to walk around. As it turned out this wasn't a big deal. It started to rain about the same time. Fortunately the PC has a built in rain cover so I just hiked on back to the truck without a care in the world...except for the lightning. :-) My total time was about 2:20.

I'm still going to try packing the Jam 2 to see if I can get it as comfortable as the PC but we'll have to see. I may end up dealing with the extra weight. If I can shave those pounds, though, it should make for relatively simple hikes.

Sloooowing down

2008-08-14T10:10:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been slow in the hiking arena. I have gotten a little spur of interest in a new area, though. After checking out sites like hammockforums.net and diytactical.com I'm really keen on learning how to make my own gear. I'm waiting for a book to be available at my local library. It's "How To Make Your Own Lightweight Camping & Hiking Gear" by Vick Hines.

I've also done something I never thought I'd do. I bought a sewing machine. :-) I went looking at some industrial machines last Saturday. Since I'm not an experienced sewer (?) by any stretch of the imagination I certainly didn't want to spend the $950 they were asking even though it was for a complete setup with machine, table, and electro-servo motor. I called another store with a 60s Singer for $150. I was looking for an older machine with metal gears to put up with the rigors of sewing heavy material like webbing, Cordura, etc. I ended up finding an 80s vintage Singer Merritt 2404.

I've done a bit of practicing on ripstop nylon and cotton webbing. The ripstop is a little hard. I really need to get some fabric glue to hold it in place. The stuff slides all over. The webbing caused it's own issues, though. My intent was to make some longer tree huggers for the hammock. When I folded the ends over to make the seam the foot didn't sit flush. I finally figured I could use another piece of webbing to get started and that seemed to work well. I got two 72" huggers made. However, I'm going to do them over. Cotton isn't really a good material since it'll stretch when wet and eventually rot. I'm on the hunt now for good polyester webbing. It'll hold up much better and isn't as affected by UV either. At least it's giving me practice.

Eventually I'd like to try my hand at making a DIY hammock. Or, at the very least, buying a Speer kit.

I'm still getting ready for my upcoming hikes. Yesterday I ordered some USGS topo maps of the areas. Hopefully they'll come in soon. I also had a training revelation. Since most of the Sept hike will be through sugar sand, it doesn't make much sense to be training on trails that are dirt. So Sat I'm headed to the beach. I'm sure people will be wondering why this guy is walking down the beach with a pack but who cares? I used Google Earth to lay out various distances so I can watch the street signs at the beach access points to know how much ground I've covered. I think that's going to be my new training regimen.

Well, that about covers it for now. See ya on the trail!

Hike Planning

2008-08-06T09:36:00.000-04:00

Well, this has definitely been an active summer when it comes to hiking & camping. We were supposed to go to Juniper Springs this coming weekend but some other things have come up so we'll have to do that later. I'm in the planning stages for a church outing to Gold Head. Really had a good time there and I think it'll be a good time for the group.

The "big" hike is coming up the following week. We head to Gold Head 9/19 and then I'm off to a 3-day hike through the Ocala National Forest on the 26th. I'm really looking forward to the 3-day. It'll be the first time on a multi-day outing in the backcountry since I got out of the Scouts. I've got a lot of new gear I've been trying out, and a lot of new weight/age that I have to carry. Should be, um, interesting. :-)

Well, not to sit too idle I'm also planning another 3-day with a co-worker. This one will be towards the end of October and we'll be hiking about 25 mi of the Osceola National Forest.

I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed in the maps I've bought for the Florida Trail. They're good for a high-level view but they're not always real clear and the data book is very important. However, I just spoke with their trail coordinator and come Sept 15 when the maps are updated I'm going to buy the map CD. It's actually based on ArcInfo GIS mapping data with overlays and that sort of stuff. Should provide a much better view of the trails. And for $60 I bet it'll be well worth it.

So that's what's going on. Hopefully I'll have some more planning info up before too long.

2nd Hennessy Field Trial

2008-08-02T18:05:00.000-04:00

After long last I was finally able to get out in the woods again. I headed back out to Hanna Park by myself and spent about an hour jumping from trail to trail. I had a fun time and only had moderate problems with skeeters. I don't think I got any bites, though. I'm digging the Skintastic spray I'm using now. Even smells good. :-) At the end of the hike I decided it was time to get a nap in.

Step 1: Get Hennessy out of the pack.

Step 2: Hang between two trees.

Step 3: Setup hammock and fly.

Step 4: Climb inside.

Step 5: Sleep.

I was really enjoying the HH today. I think I found a very comfortable sleeping position so I have no doubt she'll work like a dream on the hike. I do want to order the 96" tree straps, though. I have no idea why the 42" straps are standard. I almost had a tough time today since the trees were just a hair too far apart for easy use of the 42" straps. Guess I'll get those on order this coming week.

Targhee Update

2008-07-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm on day two of illegally wearing my Targhee boots to the office. I'm sure the folks in HR would have a coronary to know I'm not strictly adhering to the corporate dress code. Oh well. I love living on the edge.

The boots feel a lot different than my North Face shoes. There's a lot more support in the arch and I'm still trying to get used to that. They still feel pretty good though and I can't believe how little I feel when I walk around. The footbed is textured. That's taking a little getting used to. I feel it when I crinkly my toes. It's not bad, just different.

It looks like I'll be hiking later in the day this weekend. I want to hit the Hanna Park trails again but we have a welcome home party for a Navy friend coming back from deployment. I guess I'll leave from the party and go to the park while the little one naps.

I did end up picking up a camera. We'll have to see how it works out. I spent more than I wanted but it's supposed to be shock and waterproof. I got the new Olympus 850 SW. As a photographer there's very little control that you're allowed. That's a downside for me but a plus for the wife I guess. I only snapped a few pics last night and it was stuck on auto ISO and picked 800. Talk about grainy. I'll post a review when I've had more time to play with it.

Field Trials

2008-07-26T15:16:00.000-04:00

I finally had the chance to take the latest gear acquisitions into the field. The wife was hosting a baby shower so the last thing I needed was for our son and I to get caught up in it. It was the perfect excuse to go hiking. Before anyone arrived we grabbed the pack and headed to Hanna Park.

What did we have to test today?
- Hennessy Hammock (Explorer Ultralite)
- GoLite Jam2 backpack
- Targhee II Mid boots

We hit the trail and after doing the hiking trail for a while jumped over to a bike trail. There's 15 miles of bike trails and far fewer hiking trails. They're also pretty nice with a lot of switchbacks, slight changes in elevation, etc. Unfortunately I didn't realize there was some sort of race going on. There weren't too many bikers that we saw but we did have to wait on the side of the trail several times.

The Targhees felt great on my feet. I finally got the right size! No more pressure marks on the tops of my feet when I take them off! I barely felt the ground under me and I was walking on rocks and tree roots. There were a few spots of soft dirt/sand and they felt solid there also. I'm very pleased with the purchase and can't thank the folks at Gander Mountain (both the Jacksonville [Chris] and St. Augustine [Lisa] stores) for helping me out so much.

Now for the pack. I decided to go lite. :-) The pack weighed in at 16 lbs wet. I had my 3L Camelback in the sleeve and 2 Nalgene bottles on either side. I also carried my Jetboil, Hennessy, snacks, diaper stuff, etc. Unfortunately I didn't get to hike as much as I'd hoped and my pack went from 16 lbs to close to 50 when my son wanted to be carried. That put the hurt on my back with him on the front and the pack on the back. Before that it seemed to be just fine. I might need to fine tune the pack but it seemed to ride well on my hips and I didn't feel a lot of pressure on the shoulders.

I'm going to need to do some more trail time to really make a good assessment, though. I also need to get the larger Pacific Crest pack out there again. I've only walked around the neighborhood with it.

After the hike and a trip to the playground we went to setup the Hennessy. We found a nice spot back in the woods a short distance from the lake. There was a good bit of shade and a cool breeze blowing (one benefit to being close to the ocean). The trees were a good bit apart from each other (maybe 16-18') so I had to put the tree straps overhead. I have to admit that I think the snakeskins are a brilliant idea. If you're considering a Hennessy you're a fool not to get them. If you buy now they're free! I got the hammock up quickly and jumped in. I decided to leave the fly off for now as I just wanted to give it a whirl (at least better than I got the first night I put it up).

My son and I crawled in and it was great. Very comfortable with the two of us. I was honestly hoping that he'd fall asleep since it was nap time. He lasted about 20 min before he wanted to get out and gather firewood. Oh well. While he did that I put the fly up and got in a few times to fine tune the positioning. I think I still need to work on that a bit so I don't get rain on my head.

So in closing, the overall impression of all three pieces is high. I think I made three smart purchases that'll serve me well over the next few years. I have church and a birthday party mid-afternoon tomorrow but I'm hoping to get over to the neighborhood college to hit their hiking trail if only for a bit.

Sorry I don't have any pics. That's the next major item on the list. I really don't like the idea of dragging my DSLR out there. Not only is it heavy, it's also fragile. I've got to find a camera I can take out with me and not worry about something happening to it.

Two Goodies Today

2008-07-24T22:36:00.000-04:00

Well, there was a little snafu with the Hennessy. It was shipped insured which requires a signature. The wife wasn't able to sign for it and I had to wait until this morning to pick it up. Fortunately the PO is on the way to work. When I got home my GoLite Jam2 pack was here also. w00t!

I have to say that I'm highly impressed with just how little the Jam2 weighs. The 1.5 lbs is a big difference from the 4.5 lbs of my other pack. With the Jetboil, hammock, water, and Hiker Pro I'm at 10.5 lbs. I need to throw some more stuff in but so far I don't think that's too bad for a wet weight.

The Hennessy took a little work. Unfortunately I had a meeting tonight and by the time I got started it was about 8 and the sun was going down so I had to rush. It took me a few tries to get the tree huggers at the right height. I still need to play with it some more. I think I was still too low. I was getting eaten alive by the skeeters so that didn't help matters.

Well, it's late and I'm tired so I'll keep it short. I should have pics soon.

Tomorrow should be another great day. I'm hoping to finally get my Kenn Targhee II Mids in. It's been crazy finding the right size. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that 11.5 works for me.

Hennessy On The Way

2008-07-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited. I've heard so many positive things said about the Hennessy Hammocks but I was having a real hard time dropping over $200. I've been watching eBay for several weeks but with my height/weight I felt I needed the Explorer Ultralite. The Deluxe would work but it was heavier than I wanted. Also, the Ultralite is supposed to be good in high mosquito areas. I think FL qualifies as such a place.

As luck would have it, I found a used Ultralite last week. I watched the auction but wasn't really feeling like I'd win in. I waited until 45 min were left, placed my bid, and sat down for dinner. I had about 2 min left when I finished dinner and kept refreshing. With 45 secs to go I was still the winner. 30. 15. 10. 2. I WON!!

I'm a great buyer so I paid immediately and today I received the shipping notice. It's coming Priority Mail so I'm hoping I'll have it by Wed. I can't wait to try it out. I'll post more when I get it up.

Jetboil Breakfast

2008-07-19T11:40:00.000-04:00

This morning I decided to see what it's like using the pot support and stabilizer. What better way than to whip up a nice little breakfast? Today's mission? Pancakes. Mmm.

You can't really start breakfast without a nice cup o' joe. So first off I fired up the JB and boiled my water.

It wasn't long before the water started to boil. The "Jet" part of the name is pretty accurate.

Once I had a nice boil I just turned the stove off, removed the cup, and added the coffee.

Once the coffee was in the cup it was time to add the coffee press.

Ok, so with the coffee steeping it was time to start breakfast. I used Backpacker's Pantry pancake mix. Just add 3/4 cup water and mix. It's kind of hard to get in the corners of the bag to get everything mixed in. I also couldn't get all the clumps out.

Here's my word of warning. Be sure to have the flame on LOW. I had it too high and almost immediately warped the bottom of my GSI pan. I'm really hoping I didn't screw up the nonstick coating.

Here's an issue of concern. With the jet flame right in the center of the pan everything burned in the middle. I don't think I had a single pancake that came out unscathed. I wonder if the actual Jetboil cookware fares better at distributing the heat. I also wonder if other stoves like the Giga Power have the same results.

I was surprised at how much the little pack actually made up. When it was all said and done I had eight pancakes filling my Light My Fire kit.

I cheated a little and took everything back inside to eat. It was a nice, filling breakfast. Overall time including prep was about 25 min. Probably a lot longer than I'd want to spend if I were actually on the trail but really not too bad if you're looking for a filling breakfast and not in a rush.

As you can see, I did manage to clean my plate. :-) If you see the remnant in the other portion of the kit, I decided to save a little for my son so he could try it.

Overall I thought things went well. I'm curious about the Jetboil cookware but it's very expensive. Fortunately, I was able to push the bottom back flat when I pulled the last pancake off and hopefully I got it true enough. I also noticed that the heat did a number on my GSI spatula. It really gave it a beating. I'll have to see if something else holds up better.

One thing I can say is that it didn't take any time at all for a drop of water to boil on the pan once I put it on the support. I think I'll probably stick to just boiling water but at least I know that it's a viable cooking platform for pots/pans also if needed. You just have to be more careful.

Jetboil PCS

2008-07-18T14:07:00.000-04:00

I have to say I'm pretty happy with my purchase of the Jetboil Personal Cooking System. I've been looking at it for quite some time but wasn't sure it would be the best option when compared with other, smaller, stoves. The $100 price tag was also a contributing factor towards my indecision. Well, I ended up finding it online for $75 shipped at Outdoor Daily and decided to take a leap of faith. It's very well rated and figured so many people couldn't be wrong.

My initial hope was that it would be in hand before a planned camping/hiking trip but as the day for the trip arrived, the Jetboil still wasn't in hand. Unfortunately, OD ships parcel post and that takes about as long as Noah's trip with the flood. The package finally arrived three days after we returned from the trip. Oh well.

I need to get some more pics but here's one of it getting ready to fix breakfast.

It really does boil in just over 2 minutes. It's incredibly fast. And it's great for that morning cup of coffee!

What really impresses me the most is how (almost) everything fits right inside the cup. I have the pot support & stabilizer for it as well and it makes one small package. To stow, just remove the lid, drop the fuel canister in the cup, push the pot support in (upside down), follow that with the stove, and put the stabilizer in the top of the stove. Replace the lid and you're done. It obviously weighs more than other stoves like the Giga Power, Whisperlite, etc, but you have almost everything you need. My only beef is that you can't fit the coffee press inside with the rest of the goods. This is just a minor irritation, though.

If you're looking for a quick way to boil water for your prepackaged foods (think Mountain House & Backpacker's Pantry) this might be just what you need. I haven't actually used the pot support yet but hope to whip up some pancakes this weekend. Standby for a future review.