Last weekend I spent two nights (Fri - Sun) out in the Southern Adirondacks near the Great Sacandaga Lake. The weather was great. Clear skies all day. We did get a dusting of snow on Friday night, but no big deal. Friday the temperature didn't get out of the teens. The weekend low was on Saturday night at 2*F and the high was on Sunday afternoon at 29*F.
Some of the following photos are mine, but a few are from other participants.
Here I am in the parking lot ready to step off. Everything I am wearing and what is in the pulk weights 83 pounds. Details at the end of this post.
Here is my buddy Robbie waiting to get underway.
It was a nice leisurely hike up a trail packed down by snow-machines. I had my Kahtoola MICROspikes on in case we ran into any ice along the way, but they ended up not being necessary. The hike was about a mile with an elevation gain of only 200'. Camp was a 1718'. It took us about 35 minutes to cover that ground - everyone was a year older this time don't you know! I had just the right amount of clothing on; a polypro top and bottom, synthetic t-shirt, nylon pants, nomex flight gloves, Smart-wool socks, Danner Acadia boots and a ball cap. I was warm enough without overheating and sweating.
Once we got to camp we set up Robbie's 8 man tipi with large stove. There were a few other campers who preceded us to the spot. I had my tipi and stove with me also as we anticipated more people, but a few of my friends had to bail out due to sickness or work.
After getting the tipi pitched and the stove set up, we went about getting some wood ready for the evening. Robbie had a couple of bucksaws and they made short work of some nice hardwood that was suspended up off the ground - very dry!
Here is Jim dragging a load of wood back to camp. We made two trips in order to have enough wood for a couple of days.
Jim's small snowshoes did well when Robbie and I broke trail for him, but where they really shined was around the edge of the tipi and in camp where the snow was still soft enough to post hole a bit. His smaller shoes kept him from sinking in, but weren't getting in the way like my bear paws can.
One thing I tried that was new was to turn my ExPed Snozzle bag inside out and use it to collect snow for melting.
Once back inside the tipi it was easy to repeatedly fill the pots to make water. The JB Weld repair job I did on my cook pot didn't last long - it broke off again just sitting on the stove. I've ordered a new cook pot from Primus
On Saturday, after all the camp chores were done (and a lot of BSing), we managed to get out and do some shooting. We shot at 10" steel plates (similar to the ones shown below) out to around 100 yards.
I managed to capture a picture of the en bloc clip ejecting from Robbie's M1 Garand.
"Canadian Guy" gives his Lee Enfield "Jungle Carbine" a workout.
Also managed to capture the clip ejecting while Canadian Guy was shooting.
Jim gives my Savage 99 a go.
Just a picture of the range packs (ammo, eye & ear pro, D.A.R.K., etc) and a few rifles.
Here is some kit and the sleeping bags set up to let moisture escape.
Some Shepard's Pie and Summer Sausage cooking away on the stove. A trend I have been on lately with regard to food is to cut up some meat into medallions and fry it up. Normally I saute it with vegetables, but there was so much food contributed by everyone that I barely ate any of my own food. I think I only ate meat the whole weekend; Canadian goose, chicken, venison, Polish kielbasa, Summer sausage, linked sausage and bacon.
Sitting in the 8 man tipi telling stories and sharing food.
Ken hams it up for the camera as "WoodsWalker" looks on.
Knowing the local area much better than the rest of us, Ken leads everyone through the woods on a night snowshoe hike. The moon was in its first quarter, but obscured by some high clouds. By the time we finished the hike, the clouds were gone and moon and stars really shone through. We saw a few sets of deer tracks, but no game. That night after going to bed, many of us were awoken by two owls hooting to each other. they were close by and really neat to hear!
Part of the motley crew.
Following WoodsWalker up a hill.
Another installment of grub on the stove.
Robbie heading back down the trail to the parking lot.
Details of equipment:
8 man tipi
2 Bags of GORP
Black fleece jacket
Camp Booties
Casualty blanket
Contact gloves
Corona saw
Crazy creek chair
ExPed Downmat
ExPed Chair
10 Dura pegs
Fire Kit
First aid kit
Fish mouth spreader
Fiskars hatchet
Fleece hat
3 Freezer bag meals
Gryo radio
HPG kit bag (complete)
Kelty Morraine
Kifaru large stove
Kleen Canteen (full)
Knife (SOG Gov Agent w/ sheath)
MSS (complete)
Mug
Fork
Neck gaiter
Air Pillow
Polypro bottoms
Polypro top
Primus Cook pot w/ lid
Pulk
Shovel, Life Link
Spoon
Swiss Army Knife (camper)
Synthetic hoodie
Tipi LED light
Trekking poles (Leki)(pair)
Tubbs Snow Shoes
USGI mess kit
USGI Pad
USGI Wool Glove liner
Wind stopper gloves
Some of the following photos are mine, but a few are from other participants.
Here I am in the parking lot ready to step off. Everything I am wearing and what is in the pulk weights 83 pounds. Details at the end of this post.
Here is my buddy Robbie waiting to get underway.
It was a nice leisurely hike up a trail packed down by snow-machines. I had my Kahtoola MICROspikes on in case we ran into any ice along the way, but they ended up not being necessary. The hike was about a mile with an elevation gain of only 200'. Camp was a 1718'. It took us about 35 minutes to cover that ground - everyone was a year older this time don't you know! I had just the right amount of clothing on; a polypro top and bottom, synthetic t-shirt, nylon pants, nomex flight gloves, Smart-wool socks, Danner Acadia boots and a ball cap. I was warm enough without overheating and sweating.
Once we got to camp we set up Robbie's 8 man tipi with large stove. There were a few other campers who preceded us to the spot. I had my tipi and stove with me also as we anticipated more people, but a few of my friends had to bail out due to sickness or work.
After getting the tipi pitched and the stove set up, we went about getting some wood ready for the evening. Robbie had a couple of bucksaws and they made short work of some nice hardwood that was suspended up off the ground - very dry!
Here is Jim dragging a load of wood back to camp. We made two trips in order to have enough wood for a couple of days.
Jim's small snowshoes did well when Robbie and I broke trail for him, but where they really shined was around the edge of the tipi and in camp where the snow was still soft enough to post hole a bit. His smaller shoes kept him from sinking in, but weren't getting in the way like my bear paws can.
One thing I tried that was new was to turn my ExPed Snozzle bag inside out and use it to collect snow for melting.
Once back inside the tipi it was easy to repeatedly fill the pots to make water. The JB Weld repair job I did on my cook pot didn't last long - it broke off again just sitting on the stove. I've ordered a new cook pot from Primus
On Saturday, after all the camp chores were done (and a lot of BSing), we managed to get out and do some shooting. We shot at 10" steel plates (similar to the ones shown below) out to around 100 yards.
I managed to capture a picture of the en bloc clip ejecting from Robbie's M1 Garand.
"Canadian Guy" gives his Lee Enfield "Jungle Carbine" a workout.
Also managed to capture the clip ejecting while Canadian Guy was shooting.
Jim gives my Savage 99 a go.
Just a picture of the range packs (ammo, eye & ear pro, D.A.R.K., etc) and a few rifles.
Here is some kit and the sleeping bags set up to let moisture escape.
Some Shepard's Pie and Summer Sausage cooking away on the stove. A trend I have been on lately with regard to food is to cut up some meat into medallions and fry it up. Normally I saute it with vegetables, but there was so much food contributed by everyone that I barely ate any of my own food. I think I only ate meat the whole weekend; Canadian goose, chicken, venison, Polish kielbasa, Summer sausage, linked sausage and bacon.
Sitting in the 8 man tipi telling stories and sharing food.
Ken hams it up for the camera as "WoodsWalker" looks on.
Knowing the local area much better than the rest of us, Ken leads everyone through the woods on a night snowshoe hike. The moon was in its first quarter, but obscured by some high clouds. By the time we finished the hike, the clouds were gone and moon and stars really shone through. We saw a few sets of deer tracks, but no game. That night after going to bed, many of us were awoken by two owls hooting to each other. they were close by and really neat to hear!
Part of the motley crew.
Following WoodsWalker up a hill.
Another installment of grub on the stove.
Robbie heading back down the trail to the parking lot.
Details of equipment:
8 man tipi
2 Bags of GORP
Black fleece jacket
Camp Booties
Casualty blanket
Contact gloves
Corona saw
Crazy creek chair
ExPed Downmat
ExPed Chair
10 Dura pegs
Fire Kit
First aid kit
Fish mouth spreader
Fiskars hatchet
Fleece hat
3 Freezer bag meals
Gryo radio
HPG kit bag (complete)
Kelty Morraine
Kifaru large stove
Kleen Canteen (full)
Knife (SOG Gov Agent w/ sheath)
MSS (complete)
Mug
Fork
Neck gaiter
Air Pillow
Polypro bottoms
Polypro top
Primus Cook pot w/ lid
Pulk
Shovel, Life Link
Spoon
Swiss Army Knife (camper)
Synthetic hoodie
Tipi LED light
Trekking poles (Leki)(pair)
Tubbs Snow Shoes
USGI mess kit
USGI Pad
USGI Wool Glove liner
Wind stopper gloves
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