An overnighter in full kit

So moot it be...

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SierraStrider
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An overnighter in full kit

Post by SierraStrider »



Here's the video of my recent trip--my first ever in full gear, which is kind of crazy given how long I've been working on this.

Everything worked great--Surprisingly great, really. My garb was comfortable, my tools worked perfectly, and my food was delicious. I managed to sleep warm in sub-freezing temps, thanks to experimenting with my fire. If I had one issue, it was that my tiny elderwood bottle of salt is just not capacious enough. The other seasonings are luxuries--if I run out of tarragon or pepper, oh well--but unsalted food is pretty rough, and I used every last grain on one small pot of soup. I definitely need to carry the "big" glass bottle at least, and maybe something larger yet.
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Greg
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

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I'm going to put all my comments (which include some thoughts on the Dakota Firehole, which I know has its own thread) because the video is here and I'm directly referencing what I saw in it.

For starters...awesome trip! The terrain looks very familiar to my old haunts in CA.

My thoughts on the Dakota Firehole:
I think it's an awesome use of the firehouse as a pre-buried fire to turn around and sleep on top of it. Makes perfect sense. I also was thinking about how important it could be in the tinderbox-like environment you trek in to have a fire so well contained like that...no need for things to get out of hand!
I've been thinking for some time that it would be ideal in nearly all environments in the context of a solo Ranger, to be able to keep a low profile while sleeping and not light up the woods for tens of yards in all directions with a larger open fire. Not quite so helpful on group outings when you have several cockpots that need to get in the coals at once, but on trips like this one, it's a fantastic way to reduce the visual footprint that might attract orcs.

I saw one thing that I'd like to make a recommendation for: You were trying to put your put lid back on at 8:55 and had to reach over both the fire and the bail to get it centered with your bare fingers...the MERS guys have been carving hooks into the back ends of our wooden spoons for years now to use as lid lifters for removing and replacing cookpot lids and the entire pot via the bail, and they work VERY well. Just a thought!

Looking forward to more like this.
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SierraStrider
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by SierraStrider »

Greg wrote:I also was thinking about how important it could be in the tinderbox-like environment you trek in to have a fire so well contained like that...no need for things to get out of hand!
I've been thinking for some time that it would be ideal in nearly all environments in the context of a solo Ranger, to be able to keep a low profile while sleeping and not light up the woods for tens of yards in all directions with a larger open fire. Not quite so helpful on group outings when you have several cockpots that need to get in the coals at once, but on trips like this one, it's a fantastic way to reduce the visual footprint that might attract orcs.
Yeah...even now, in December, we've had high fire-risk warnings. It's rained once this season. That's the main reason I did this video now instead of months ago. The firehole definitely helps manage the risk, though.
And yes--even with an open flame, the amount of light it puts off is dramatically diminished. It was honestly a bit of a pain for filming this video, because I didn't have enough light to film dinner by! A very stealthy fire indeed, and depending on the vegetation and soil, you can cut plugs of sod from the tops of the holes, pile the soil on a piece of cloth as you dig them out, have your fire, and when ready to move on fill them in and replace the sod plugs--a truly leave-no-trace campfire!

As for multiple cookpots, you could conceivably dig your intake hole with multiple fireholes connected to it--one to either side, say, or more radiating outward in a ring. Two seems like the max you could sleep on them, though.

Greg wrote:the MERS guys have been carving hooks into the back ends of our wooden spoons for years now to use as lid lifters...
My spoon actually does have a hook carved into the handle! However, the method I'm using to support my pot--a fork on either side of the hole supporting a spit passed through the bail--doesn't leave much room to manipulate the pot lid with anything other than your fingers. That said, it wasn't too fiddly to manipulate everthing by hand. The pot bail and the ring on the lid stayed quite cool, even when the fire was roaring.
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by Taylor Steiner »

What song was that?
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

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Taylor Steiner wrote:What song was that?
"Herr Mannelig", an old Swedish folk tune.

"Early one morning, before the sun rose up,
Before the birds started singing,
The mountain troll approached the handsome squire
She had a false tongue.
'Sir Manly, Sir Manly,
Betrothe yourself to me
For all I so gladly offer.
In the end, you must answer yes or no,
Whether you will or not."

She goes on to offer him lavish dowries if he'll marry her--seven unbroken horses, seven mills with bronze millstones, a magic sword and, in an odd echo of Scarborough Fair, a shirt without no seams nor needlework. What was up with old timey folks' obsession with seamless shirts?

Whatever she offers, Sir Manly turns her down because she's not a Christian. This seems very similar to Tam Lin, where "Christian" is a synonym for "human". In the end, the mountain troll laments the failure of her suit, revealing that marrying him was her one shot at becoming human. It's unclear to me whether we're supposed to applaud Sir Manly for resisting temptation or scorn him for dashing her hopes of transformation. Hard to grasp old timey folks' motives sometimes.
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by Taylor Steiner »

Cool
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by Iodo »

I said already on the YouTube comments, but I'll say again: Awesome video :P
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by Cimrandir »

Very very cool video! The Dakota Firehole is such a good idea and I'll definitely have to try it myself!
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Re: An overnighter in full kit

Post by Elleth »

That was REALLY COOL - I finally had a chance to sit down ant watch the whole thing start to end.

I loved the tune especially, and seeing the "how to" at the end was great.

... did you record the passing stars yourself? I'm curious what kind of camera you used, as the stars seemed visible far into sunrise, which seemed odd.



(.... also, where's your trail friend? :mrgreen: )
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