Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
in reply to: Emergency Gear #40539
Wose wrote: … I’ve become a “more I know the more I want to carry kind of guy,” when I consider the fact that one of the things that is liable to put me out in the woods longer than I intended is a lower extremity injury, which makes things like debris shelters much more difficult to build.
This is the scenario that first got me involved in SAR, when I contemplated lying on the ground in the winter in MInnesota. I trained my Newfoundland dog to find me and lie down alongside me. Started thinking about how to put that to use and started a SAR dog unit.
I’d carry a PLB if we were back in the Pacific Northwest or AK. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’m alone in the woods. (There’s a search underway right now here in NH for a woman who activated a PLB yesterday in the White Mountains. Windchill in the mountains has been running well below -50 ºF for the last couple of days …)
in reply to: Emergency Gear #39664grumpy wrote: Does anybody EVER remember the TP, and a spare diaper.
The TP is in the unenumerated first aid stuff. Don’t know nuthin’ ’bout no diapers …
in reply to: Emergency Gear #39323Since it’s winter, I’ll list the cold weather kit items, which are packed in a red nylon stuff sack to remind me to bring it:
‘”
- n”.self::process_list_items(“‘.str_replace(‘
‘, ”, ‘Esbit tablet stove and four tablets (like the ‘Hammer’s Emberlit, but not nearly as thin and efficient)
(Allegedly wind proof) matches
Bic lighter
Two PowerBars
Two packets of cider mix
Titanium spork (not for survival, but just in case I bring some food that needs it)
MSR Titanium pot, 1 liter
First aid stuff not worth enumerating here, except to highlight the Combat Application Tourniquet (which actually goes in a pack waistbelt pocket) – http://tinyurl.com/mg6qof9
Something I consider vastly superior to every alternative in the event I’m on the ground waiting for a while, the Blizzard Survival Bag
An extremely loud Storm Whistle – http://www.stormwhistles.com
Backup LED flashlight
Backup compass
Backup cellphone battery
‘).'”).”n
“‘
Wose wrote:
HA!
My SAR experience was a little wetter (Coast Guard) but I found myself crawling through puckerbrush looking for people more than I would have expected.
GSD or Belgian? I’ve never been a professional dog handler, but do love a good GSD. We had to put one down (lymphoma) a year ago almost exactly. We’re gonna get a puppy next year when the baby is a little older.
You couldn’t get me out of the Northwest with dynamite. We really love it here. We’re out past Yacolt, if you know where that is.
Am I gonna find Youtube video of you rolling an MLB as you cross the Bar?
At age 19, I was thirty minutes from signing my enlistment papers for the Coast Guard when my parents talked me out of it. About thirty years later, my wife (not knowing the history) looks at me and says, “You know what, you would have been good in the Coast Guard.”
I worked two GSDs as SAR dogs and started a Malinois as my third, but he’d been abused before I adopted him and he ended up being my companion dog. My wife prefers the Malinuts and now has a five month-old puppy. There is nothing like a GSD for temperament (and nothing like that statement to get the debate roiling here …)
“out past Yacolt” = “we really dislike crowds”, for those who don’t know. You’d need a SAR team just to find that town. +1
Wose wrote: I have a Search and Rescue background, but you are a little out of my bailiwick.
Well, this is going to have to stop right now, or I’ll have to start worrying that I’ve been cloned:
I work from home.
I have a practice range a short walk from my garage door and can shoot several times a week, sometimes twice a day. (But something less than 1000 arrows are being launched biweekly here right now, what with the 2.5 feet of snow and temps near zero.)
We lived in western Washington for six years, and we’re planning on moving back and residing in Poulsbo or thereabouts within the next couple of years.
I was a SAR dog handler for many years, including three in WA.
So, welcome, but fuhgeddaboud hijacking the Enterprise! 😀
in reply to: Wood vs. Propane in Tent #26788For the absolute best advice on picking a backpacking stove, turn to Zen Stoves – How to Choose a Backpacking Stove. Among other things, the Zen Stoves site has the facts, not fiction, about Cold Weather Operation of canister stoves.
in reply to: Wood vs. Propane in Tent #26782john dilts wrote: Always been a big Fan of Coleman Naptha (whitegas) stoves myself.
Yeah, what he said. Here in the States, it’s known simply as Coleman fuel. (White gas hasn’t been available for years.)
I’ve had a SVEA 123 stove and nesting SIGG Tourist cook kit since Tricky was still in office. (John, that’s a Nixon reference.) It has never failed to start, at temperatures running down to -30 ºF. It has never been maintained, much less serviced, in any way. (All that cannot be said for any MSR Whisperlite or later iteration of the same design, I don’t care what you claim.)
My method for starting is simple and reliable: Open the valve. Hold a couple of matches under the tank (in winter, use a candle for additional heat.) Wait for some fuel to come bubbling up, while keeping the flame away from the fuel. Close the valve. Light the fuel. When it has nearly burned out, open the valve.
The obligatory Youtube video link:
Cooking with the Svea 123 and SIGG Tourist cookset
And yes, you can find both stove and cook kit on eBay, often at ludicrously low prices for this classic, reliable equipment.
in reply to: It's getting cold… #58020Hare tracks in our yard. Sun is shining and it’s +17 F here. Hey, what am I doing inside …
in reply to: Does it really matter ? #55202After some Internet research, my conclusions are these:
1. Iron Bull’s family might be on to something. The “cold shortening” process that toughens meat may likely occur when game is field dressed and then cut up at subzero temperatures.
2. Leaving the meat in quarters (possibly even just leaving it unboned) until it can be handled at the “right” temperature might avoid this, by restraining the muscles and thus preventing shortening.
3. I think killing an animal at subzero temps does nothing to affect the meat. It’s the processing that makes the difference.
I rely chiefly on my understanding of this article for my conclusions:
I sure wish we had someone involved in meat science who could clear this up for us!
in reply to: BOW SHOP IN NEW YORK #50362Cabela’s will easily overwhelm you with the range of choices. I suggest that you spend some time first on their website looking at items that interest you. Most products will have plenty of comments on them from people who know what they’re talking about.
in reply to: Bow restoring #49695You will search a long time before you find free resources that exceed Restoration 101 and How to Refinish a Vintage Bow.
in reply to: Does it really matter ? #46949I did some poking around on this question last night. As a result, I may be eating tough, “cold-shortened” crow on this one. So far I’ve found seemingly contradictory conclusions in the meat science literature, but there is a possibility that Iron Bull’s family was on to something. More later when I have waded through the literature on the subject.
in reply to: Does it really matter ? #46295Some non-fabulous advice from people who get paid to advise the rest of us:
“Keep your freezer at zero degrees (0°) or below to maintain the quality of frozen foods.
Most foods will maintain good quality longer if the freezer temperature is -10 to -20°F. At temperatures between 0 and 32°F, food deteriorates more rapidly. Fluctuating temperatures, such as those in self-defrosting freezers, also may damage food quality. Do not plan to store frozen foods for the maximum suggested time if your freezing unit cannot maintain zero degree temperatures. Even foods stored properly will lose color, texture, flavor and nutritional quality but will not cause food-borne illness.”
Refrigerator and Freezer Storage advice from the University of Nevada.
in reply to: Bear Kodiak Magnum #45825I own and regularly shoot a 1966 Kodiak Magnum, a Kodiak De Luxe, a 1958 Kodiak, a 1970 Super Kodiak and a Dave Paxton Talon Swift that replicates the famous 1959 Kodiak. The Swift is the smoothest, best shooting of the bunch and would probably be in any group of recurves.
But it is worth remembering that the Kodiak Magnum as a model has undoubtedly killed more game than all the custom bows and all the high-tech production bows ever produced.
in reply to: Traditional Snowshoes for Hunting #45277Smithhammer wrote: Of course, she also went all the way up the valley and back on her xc skis, in the time it took me to hike about a 1/2 mile. And then, without a trace of irony, she asked me how I liked my new shoes. She’s a keeper.
I’ve been known to bring both many times. (It’s easier when there’s a dog or two available for pulk pulling duty on a camping trip.) I have an extraordinarily low tolerance for inefficiency when it comes to winter travel.
-
AuthorPosts
