Equinox Pamola

Equinox Pamola

I smaller and lighter version of the Katahdin (a lighter version of the one pound pack).

Lightweight Flatware

Lightweight Flatware

Why Not?

Blacktop Backpacking

Found in the August 2005 issue of Backpacker.

There is a new class of thru-hikers that set out to walk every street of a major city as there goal. Some "trails" include San Francisco (850 miles of treets, alleys and steep staircases), Sydney and New York City.

See:
New Yourk City Walk
Around Manhattan in (less than) 80 Days GoogleCache
Walk in LA
CatronCountyWalk
Mckinney Walk
Urban Adventure in Rotterdam
Urbanranger
A WALK TO REMEMBER

Counterbalance Bear Bag

Counterbalance Bear Bag
Backpackinglight - Bear Bag Hanging Techniques

1. Find a tree with a live branch. The branch should be at least 15 feet (5
   meters) from the ground with no object below the branch that could support
   a bear’s weight. The point at which you will toss the rope over the branch
   should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the tree. The branch should be
   a least 4 inches in diameter (10 centimeters) at the tree and at least 1 inch
   in diameter (3 centimeters) at the rope point.


2. Separate your food and other items into two bags of roughly equal weight.


3. Throw the rope over the branch. Attach one end of the rope to one of the
   bags.


4. Raise the bag as high as you can up to the branch.


5. Attach the other bag to the rope as high up on the rope as you can. Leave
   a loop of rope near the bag for retrieval.


6. Push the second bag up to the level of the other bag with a long stick.


7. To retrieve the bags, hook the loop of rope with the stick and pull it down.
   Remove the bag and then lower the first bag.

Fire from a Can of Coke and a Chocolate Bar

Fire from a Can of Coke and a Chocolate Bar

A solar igniter.

Leave No Trace Principles of Outdoor Ethics

The Leave No Trace Principles of outdoor ethics form the framework of Leave No
Trace's message:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare (in brief or in detail)


2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces (in brief or in detail)


3. Dispose of Waste Properly (in brief or in detail)


4. Leave What You Find (in brief or in detail)


5. Minimize Campfire Impacts (in brief or in detail)


6. Respect Wildlife (in brief or in detail)


7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors (in brief or in detail)

Plan Ahead and Prepare

1. Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.


2. Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.


3. Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.


4. Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6.


5. Repackage food to minimize waste.


6. Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.

Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

1. Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.


2. Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.


3. Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.


4. In popular areas:


1. Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.


2. Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.


3. Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.


5. In pristine areas:


1. Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.


2. Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.

Dispose of Waste Properly

1. Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.


2. Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.


3. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.


4. To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.

Leave What You Find

1. Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.


2. Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.


3. Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.


4. Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.

Minimize Campfire Impacts

1. Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.


2. Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.


3. Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.


4. Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.

Respect Wildlife

1. Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.


2. Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.


3. Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.


4. Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.


5. Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.

Be Considerate of Other Visitors

1. Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.


2. Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.


3. Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.


4. Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.


5. Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises

Katahdin Pack

Katahdin Pack

A ready made one pound pack!

Fire Making

Fire Making
Trick to start a fire and stay alive.

G4 Homemade Backpack

You can save a lot of weight and money by making your own DIY Backpack.

GVP Gear G4 Pack at Backpacking.com

Knots for Hikers and Backpackers

Animated Knots, Knotting Dictionary of Kännet, and UK Scouting Resources.

Knots by Gorp

Figure Eight
Square Knot
Timber Hitch
Hitching Tie
Taut-Line Hitch
Miller's Knot
Two Half Hitches
Two Half Hitches (Quick Release)
Sheet Bend Knot
Double Sheet Bend Knot
Double Fisherman's Knot
Triple Fisherman's Knot
Clove Hitch
Fisherman's Knot
The Bowline
Bowline on a Bight

Tarp Camping

Tarp Camping 101 gives a copule of pointers on how to live under a tarp in the woods.

SGt Rock shows you all the ways to set up a basic tarp.

How-To: Make a cheap portable espresso machine

Make a cheap portable espresso machine out of PVC pipe and a caulk gun.

Espresso anyone?

Tyvek for the outdoors dude

Tyvek is a lightweight noisy waterproof fabric that pretty durable. It can be used to make ground cloths, tarps, stuff sacks and even backpacks.

Joe's Ultralight Backpacking Tyvek Page

Tyvek®: What it is and where to get some

Zen Alcohol Stoves

Zen Bacpacking Stoves talks about all kinds of backpacking stoves - even ones I've never heard of. I'm now just getting started on reading thorugh all of the stuff an there.

There is indepth information on the global differences between the many types of stoves and tells you how they work and even how to make several differnt kinds of stoves.

FEDEX or UPS Stuff Sacks

Found a great project on the web - DIY Tyvex Stuff Sacks

Step 1 - head to Kinkos and grab a stack of large FEDEX bags

Step 2 - head home

Step 3 - Sew up your bags with some cord

Step 4 - crumple the heck out of it and/or wash it to soften it up

DIY Sewing for the Backpacker

Penny has some Tips and Techniques For Sewing Your Own Outdoor Gear.

You can get fabric from Outdoor Wilderness Fabrics and the Cloth Spot

Odd emailings

Just got some odd email today.

death rate :

There have been an average of 160,000 troops stationed in Iraq during the last 22 months.

During this time the firearm death total was 2,112 for a firearm deathrate of 60 per 100,000.

The rate in Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000.

That means that you are more likely to be shot and killed in our Nation's Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: We should immediately pull out of Washington, D.C.

Ever wonder where people get their info?

Where did they get 2112 dead from firearms? Last I heard there were a little over 1500 KIA and not all those were contributed to firearms.

2112 dead in 22 months comes out to 1152 per year which comes out to 720 per 100,000 if there is an average of 160,000 people there.

The DC rate of 80.6 per 100K quoted comes up in wikipedia.org and might be resonable given some of their references.

Anyways - just thought that was an odd email.

First Post

Here I am entering the world of blogging.