Aborted Overnighter

With Monday off for MLK Day and the weather being mild for January in Pennsylvania, I thought that Saturday night would be good for a solo overnight camping trip in the Conrad Weiser State Forest Port Clinton Tract. I did an overnighter there with my daughter last Fall and we had a great time.

So Saturday morning I packed my gear and headed up to the forest around lunchtime. It's a little more than hour away. I arrived around 2:00 PM, hoisted my pack, and headed in using the same trail we used in October and when I went back for a day hike a few weeks later.

I hiked in further that our previous campsite, because on my last visit I noticed some standing dead trees a little too close for comfort. It took me about an hour to find a suitable spot off the trail that was level, away from widowmakers, and had two trees the right distance apart to support my tarp, but with enough room to extend the shelter back.

I setup the tarp with the back to the northwest, to block the prevailing wind. Rather than the lean-to pitch I've used before, I rotated the tarp so that I could extend the sides down to more fully enclose it.

I like to pitch the tarp fairly low so it doesn't catch the wind and is stealthier.

For dinner I had some jerky and beef flavored ramen noodles in a cardboard bowl. Afterwards, the bowl went into the fire.

For boiling water I used my Stanley pot and Etekcity canister stove. The stove is light, cheap, and works well at least down to about 30 degrees. But if I'm planning to be out in lower temps, my Kovea Spider will be used instead. It can be run with the canister inverted and I also have an adapter to allow the use of 1 lb. propane cylinders.

The temperature was about 40 degrees F. during my walk in and until sunset.

My bedroll consisted of:

* USGI casualty evacuation blanket for a ground sheet.
* Ridge Rest foam pad.
* Klymit Static V insulated air matress.
* British surplus jungle sleeping bag.
* Hill People Gear Mountain Serape (medium sized).

My plan was to use the Mountain Serape as an overbag with the British jungle bag inside of it. I ran into problems with this, mainly related to the jungle bag. I've used the jungle bag before without issues, but that was in warmer weather. This time, I had on a fleece top that had a lot of friction with the inside of the bag. This made it very difficult to turn over, which is a problem since I'm a side sleeper.

Eventually, I decided to just unzip the jungle bag and the footbox of the Mountain Serape and use them as quilts. This was warm when they stayed on top of me, but the Serape kept slipping off the jungle bag whenever I turned over. I'm going to have to suck it up and get a light 20 degree bag. Suggestions welcome.

To compound matters, the Klymit Static V air mattress sucks for side sleepers. I'm going to return to using my Big Agnes air mattress. My daughter may like the Klymit better.

After tossing and turning for several hours I got up in the middle of the night and fixed myself a cup of hot chicken broth. By this time it was down to about 30 degrees and expected to drop a few more degrees.

The stove is sitting on a Jetboil Fuel Canister Stabilizer. I found mine at REI but there's an Amazon link. It makes the canister stoves a lot more steady, especially when using the small diameter canisters. It will fit large fuel canisters, too.

Following a few minutes of considering what to do, I said <bleep> it and aborted the trip.

Striking camp when it's pitch dark is a bit more difficult than when it's light, but my headlamp worked well during this and the approximately 850 yard walk out.

Although I ended the trip early due to gear failure, the rest of my gear worked fine. A few standouts:

* Arc'Teryx LEAF Atom SV Hoody. I got this last week from SKD Tactical and I think it's my favorite jacket, ever. It was warm and stood up well to thorns. It merits its own post, which will be forthcoming shortly.

* Princeton Tec Remix headlamp. I mostly used the low power setting around camp, but when set to high it throws a nice beam. I used that when I was working my way back to my truck.

Seriously, don't go into the woods without a headlamp. The ability to work with both hands cannot be understated. I also used an inexpensive Cree LED single-AA light but if I could have only one, I'd keep the headlamp.

* Hill People Gear Kit Bag. I've had this now for a couple years and for me it's the most comfortable way to carry a gun in the woods. My S&W Shield with a spare mag is hardly noticeable. The KB also provides a secure, and easily accessed method of carrying a small survival kit, my car keys, and iPhone, which I used as a GPS. I kept the iPhone in the front zippered pocked of the KB and would stop every 25 or 30 yards to check it to make sure I wasn't walking in circles.

* The iPhone app Spyglass. It's a compass and GPS. Since I'm carrying the phone anyway, it's great to be able to use it instead of my Garmin. On our first trip to the CWSF I had marked my parking spot as a waypoint, which facilitated navigating back to the truck in the dark. (Yes, I had a compass and map. Spyglass is a lot easier to use, especially in the dark.)

* Hill People Gear Mountain Serape (medium). Whatever wind leaked around my tarp was stopped by the MS. Although it didn't work out so well as an overbag in concert with the British jungle bag, I can tell it'll make a great bag for 40 and above, or to carry on day hikes when I'm not planning to spend the night, but want something just in case. It's windproof and highly water resistant, so it could serve as both insulation and shelter. Like the Arc jacket, this merits its own post, which I'm working on.

Even though the trip didn't work out as I'd planned it was a good learning experience.

Day Trip to the Conrad Weiser State Forest

Yesterday I went up to the Port Clinton tract of the Conrad Weiser State Forest and had the chance to try a few pieces of gear.

1. Sony DSC-W810 digital camera. I chose this as my 15 year gift from my employer. I used it to take the pictures in this post. It takes good quality still photos but for video it sucks -- grainy, focusing problems, etc. Disappointing.

2. Etowah Outfitters 10 x 10 tarp. It's polyurethane coated ripstop nylon, and is nice and light. Instead of grommets it has nylon webbing loops sewn on. If one tears out you can sew it back on in the field.

I bought the Etowah tarp so that I could have a larger shelter than my USMC field tarp, for when I go camping with my daughter. The 10 x 10 tarp will allow me to set it up with enclosed sides but still give us adequate room. I brought it yesterday to try setting it up. If I was planning to spend the night I'd rig it so that the sides touched the ground, to block as much wind as possible. This pitch would work to protect you from rain pretty well, however. There was plenty of room underneath it for me and my gear.

3. Etekcity canister stove. Ten bucks on Amazon Prime and it works great for boiling water. I used it with my Stanley cookset to boil water for my Mountain House chili mac & beef lunch, and a cup of coffee. I've lit it a few times and each time, the built in piezo igniter started it on the first click. I don't know how well it'll hold up in the long run but for an occasional use unit, it looks like it'll do the trick.

4. Stanley 24 oz. Adventure Camp Cook Set. Well made except for the plastic tab handle on the lid. I previously replaced that with a stainless steel key ring. I didn't use the plastic cups that came with it. I'd left them home so I could store the stove, a bandana, and a fuel canister inside the pot. An Olicamp or GSI cup will nest over the outside. It is too tall and narrow for eating from, but it's good for boiling water on a canister stove. It has graduations stamped into the side for measuring water.

The foam pad was from Dick's Sporting Goods. It was good for kneeling on, but next time I'll schlep my REI camp chair, which is a lot easier to sit down on or get up from.

I made myself a cup o' joe after lunch using a Folger's coffee single. It's basically a tea bag, but with coffee. I'd rate it as better than instant coffee but not as good as coffee made using a drip, French press, or percolator. However, it's very convenient.

Finally, I practiced a little bit of fire starting. Pic of the ashes before I doused them: