GEAR REVIEW: A Tale of Two Shoes – Salomon Trail Running Shoe vs. Army Combat Boot (6)

4/29/10 •

What I didn’t anticipate, getting into hiking, is that in the 8 years between leaving the Infantry and starting to hike, my feet got soft … two years ago, through careful examination and quite a few blisters, I came to realize that what I need is a lightweight cross-trainer or a running shoe with good ankle support. What I don’t need is a heavy combat boot. Here’s the shoe I chose and how it has held up.

GEAR REVIEW: Mountain House Emergency Meal (5)

4/14/10 •

I’m always on the lookout for good trail grub as well as good bugout options. Mountain House consistently puts out some pretty good products, but I’d never seen this one before, so I gave it a whirl.

All together, I like this product – even though I’m not a fan of this particular variety. If I see them again, I will buy a few. It’s an all around good option for me for both hiking and the bugout bag.

Monday Morning Wow… (2)

2/22/10 •

However you happen to enjoy your nature … as a spectator, a hunter, a forager, hiker … whatever…
Can you imagine encountering this?
I’m a little verklempt…talk amongst yourselves.

My New Favorite Knife – Mora 860MG – Homemade Survival System (10)

12/30/09 •

I’ve posted before that I carry the RC-4 by RAT Cutlery as my primary Bushcraft knife. But I also occasionally carry a wood handled Carbon Steel Mora for my ultralight excursions. Both knives are great, but each has its shortcomings. The Mora with its light weight and plastic sheath, felt like a toy and the carbon steel would rust overnight unless I was VERY diligent about oiling it after each use. The RC-4, bulletproof and thick as a pry bar, is unwieldy for intricate tasks like skinning small game or filleting fish.

I wanted a compromise…

Vacation is OVER – and other random stuff - (4)

12/29/09 •

I hate coming back from vacation, I really do. This year though, I did a few things right…

Green Deane is Teaching (0)

11/18/09 •

Got a note from Green Deane this morning saying he will be teaching a foraging class in Melbourne, FL on November 29th at 9am.
He’s a great teacher.
Folks, if you are in Florida or within reasonable driving distance and have any interest in foraging or in wild edibles at all, Green Deane’s class is a MUST [...]

Elements of a Kit (2)

10/27/09 •

It’s been awhile since I posted, but it’s been busy around the nest.
First, some news. It appears that my article, entitled The Next Generation of Backwoodsmen: Can the Call of the Wild Get Through When There is No Signal?, will be published in an upcoming issue of The Backwoodsman Magazine. No details yet, just [...]

Some video…FINALLY! (3)

9/30/09 •

Today, I’m posting the video for my recent trip to Red River Gorge with Drake Tungsten.
Good times.  Great trip.  BEAUTIFUL place to hike.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coX1Di4Fntk]

Quick Thought and an Update (5)

9/24/09 •

First the quick thought: there is nothing quite so funny to me as a terribly intimate text message sent to you by mistake. Except maybe when the accidental sender is someone you know and you can correctly replace the word intimate with sexual. Then it’s just hilarious.
On the other hand, there is nothing quite so [...]