Lee Harmon
Member
I really can't believe we got to #13 before anyone mentioned a flask of booze!!
Be it Scotch, whiskey, Whisky, Bourbon, rum, or whatever floats your boat (oh yeah, pun intended) a nip of spirits are certainly just the thing to make a paddle, camping, or a tense rescue situation, just a little more tolerable...after all, that was the point of this thread, right?!
Lee Harmon
Member
I got a tip from an avid fishing client at Ozark Outdoors a few years ago...
He fills an old parmesean cheese container with trail mix and keeps it in a cup holder on his gunwale. When he needs a snack, there is no need to try to rinse fish guts or stink bait in the questionable river water...just shake out a mouthful w/o ever touching the mix...
13) Take dried food.
It's a strange way the world works. Dried food frees up the cooler for more beer. More beer negates the need for a book. No book means more room for beer. Dried food means no need for TP (really, who likes dried food? no eating = no...waste) Eventually if one were to follow this path of perfect reason to the end, one would need no tent, canoe, paddle, pfd - nothing but beer.
Seriously though, dried food wherever you can will really lighten the load, and it's not so bad. Dried beer though isn't so good.
You'll have to make that nip or slug number fourteen Lee because Nate beat you to the punch while you were yammering away about grammar. ;-)
14) Carry along a Nip or Slug (so you can toast the Queen properly).
I remember when we were kids; we used to watch old black and white movies about sailing ships with names that began with the letters HMS. At some point about midway through the movie, the ship’s physician would always shout out an order to break open the barrel of medicinal brandy. Why mess with a tradition that is hundreds of years old. You don’t have to drink the stuff; you can use it on cuts and blisters if you like. I think the main idea is to reward yourself for a good days work even if you are only playing around. It doesn’t have to be booze either. Any old treat will do the trick.
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
15) Don't forget to pack the Parachute Cord.
You don't need to pack the parachute but the cord can come in handy for more things than you can imagine. The most obvious one is as a strong, lightweight line for rigging tarps and dining flys. It also works well for rigging bear bags as long as the bags are not so heavy that the parachute cord cuts your hands from the weight. I have used it to mend pack harnesses and waist belts when the grommets or straps have pulled out. It makes super strong lashings for building temporary frames for shelters or camp structures like tripods to get things up off the ground. You might want to rig a mast or sail for your canoe with it sometime and it also makes decent emergency shoe laces. It's not as good as rope for hauling or ferrying loaded canoes but its light weight and strength make it a usefull tool for many other things.
Keep those tips and techniques coming please. ;-)
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
16) Take a tarp.
Leave the tent at home and sleep under it, or set it up as a kitchen. Make a dry place to sit out of the wind. Put it over your tent when paddling in Alaska or other rain forest locations. So many uses.
My first tent was a tarp, usually set up as a small lean-to with half the tarp under me and the other half set at a sharp enough angle so that it could hopefully shed some rain in a pinch. On clear nights it also helped keep some of the heat from radiating out into space above my head.
Sleeping under a tarp certainly makes you feel more in touch with the outdoors but unfortunately it also gets you more in touch with a lot of pesky things that bite and sting, so I'm not sure I would go tarping it in every season of the year but it sure is fun in the fall and early spring and provides you with a cheerful room that includes a view of the night stars and the rising sun. Because I am old and spoiled, I might throw in a yard or two of net fabric to drape over the upper half of my sleeping bag. A tarp over your camp kitchen on a rainy day is pure joy. You can lounge around sipping warm drinks and eating all the extra food you brought along. It makes me happy just thinking about it.
Creating a shelter from a tarp and a bit of lightweight cord or rope is definately a skill that should be practiced by anyone who plans on spending time outdoors. Skill is much easier to carry with you than a heavy pack full of gear.
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
crow
Member
Dennis - 1 day ago »
You'll have to make that nip or slug number fourteen Lee because Nate beat you to the punch while you were yammering away about grammar. ;-)
14) Carry along a Nip or Slug (so you can toast the Queen properly).
I remember when we were kids; we used to watch old black and white movies about sailing ships with names that began with the letters HMS. At some point about midway through the movie, the ship’s physician would always shout out an order to break open the barrel of medicinal brandy. Why mess with a tradition that is hundreds of years old. You don’t have to drink the stuff; you can use it on cuts and blisters if you like. I think the main idea is to reward yourself for a good days work even if you are only playing around. It doesn’t have to be booze either. Any old treat will do the trick.
Shouldn't you guys be toasting the President or the Constitution or something?
The Royal Navy tradition was always Grog - rum mixed with water. And maybe a hint of lime. Hence Churchill's remarks about rum, sodomy and the lash being all the navy was good for...
At the risk of being added to some sort of government watch list [WATCH LIST ALERT] I'll just say that we are more likely to throw brick bats at our politicians than to toast them (that is a figurative description by the way, not a literal one).
Crow, are you trying to tell me that movies are not a true and accurate representation of the world we live in? ;-)
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
Dennis - 13 hours ago »
Sleeping under a tarp certainly makes you feel more in touch with the outdoors but unfortunately it also gets you more in touch with a lot of pesky things that bite and sting, so I'm not sure I would go tarping it in every season of the year but it sure is fun in the fall and early spring and provides you with a cheerful room that includes a view of the night stars and the rising sun. Because I am old and spoiled, I might throw in a yard or two of net fabric to drape over the upper half of my sleeping bag. A tarp over your camp kitchen on a rainy day is pure joy. You can lounge around sipping warm drinks and eating all the extra food you brought along. It makes me happy just thinking about it.
Creating a shelter from a tarp and a bit of lightweight cord or rope is definately a skill that should be practiced by anyone who plans on spending time outdoors. Skill is much easier to carry with you than a heavy pack full of gear.
I'm a huge fan of the modified pyramid tarp set-up. Have you seen Granit Gear's Haven? It's a nice bug insert for sleeping under a tarp during bug season. The company that makes it is based in Two Harbors, Minnesota, so they know a few things about bugs.
I hadn't seen the Granite Gear Haven before (for some reason my family has taken to hiding the gear catalogs from me). I like the fact that it is a modular system and you can take what you need to suit the conditions.
Your tarp pitching photos were first rate and informative. I was wondering the other day if anyone ever uses bungee cord as part of their tarp setups to keep constant tension on the tarp to prevent flapping. I've never tried it but it seems like it might also relieve fabric strain on a gusty day.
On a side note, I've been meaning to get my tent out and see if it needs any work. I loaned it out a while ago and things don't always come back in the same condition as when they left.
15) Check all your gear when you get home and again before you leave home.
Gear should be checked when you return from your adventure. You want to make sure it is clean and dry before you put it away. Properly stored gear can last a lifetime. It's also important to check the gear again before you leave home to make sure that the leak in the roof you were supposed to fix did not soak your sleeping bag or ruin everything in your first aid kit. Is the ax and camp saw sharp? Are they so sharp that they made a couple of holes in the tent you threw on top of them when you piled everything up in the garage instead of putting it away?
New gear often needs some tweaking out of the box. Did you remember to seal the seams on your tent or tarp? Do you need to test your new stove or buy fuel before you can use it? Check the gear often before and after you use it and it won't become a problem later on.
Inside the Viewfinder - My photography blog
crow
Member
Dennis - 7 hours ago »
At the risk of being added to some sort of government watch list [WATCH LIST ALERT] I'll just say that we are more likely to throw brick bats at our politicians than to toast them (that is a figurative description by the way, not a literal one).
Crow, are you trying to tell me that movies are not a true and accurate representation of the world we live in? ;-)
Sorry, Dennis, didn't mean to destroy any illusions. Not at all. Everything I ever learnt about canoeing I got from "Last Of The Mohicans".
crow
Member
16) Be flexible
Have a rough plan of what you want to do, but don't feel you have to stick to it rigidly. If conditions change, and they often do, be prepared to alter your plans.
If the prevailing wind is too strong, go somewhere a bit more sheltered, if it's really calm and the mood takes you, go that bit further and see more. Don't be afraid to explore that little side creek. If you happen to meet someone on the water with interesting information, team up with them, or take a look at that place they recommended.
Often the best adventures come from things you'd never planned to do, but which just turn up.
:)
Being flexible.......does that include Holiday Inn?
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