Of course, people have been using down quilts for over 100 years. Old school enough?
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
sounds like a good goal to me. The staves, tinderbox, and steel canteen will be fine.Originally Posted by DogPaw
You may want to go a little more techy on the shelter and sleeping bag, but its up to you. The mountains can get cold in the spring and wool blankets are heavy for the warmth that they provide
no problem
Dogpaw, hiking staffs are a classic solution to the requirements of hiking. I always used one, just recently stopped and switched to trekking poles. Europeans have used them for centuries, probably millenia. I wouldn't use oak though, what I always looked for was a fairly fresh pine branch, or, out in California, Redwood. These conveniently are almost the perfect diameter you need for a hiking pole once you find one that fell at the right age. What I did to make it durable was strip off all the bark, which is a fine project for a night at a campfire or whatever, smooth it out using rocks as sandpaper, then adjust it to the right length, which for me was about 5 or 6 feet tall, and thee right thickness, which is about what fits without strain into your fist, a little over an inch on the top part. When I'd get home, I'd sand it then oil it to preserve the wood, now and then I'd refresh the oil coating. What you're looking for is a very smooth top part so your hand can slide up and down easily depending on if you are going up hill, downhill, or rolling flats. In this regard, I think hiking staffs are actually superior to trekking poles, since they don't have any grips per se. Of course the single position with wrist strap also is very efficient, so it's a tradeoff. When I was researching trekking poles, I came across articles where people made some really good suggestions, one of the better ones was to use solid broom handles, available at any hardware store. Very strong if you don't get the cheap ones, a little too narrow for my taste though. My main requirement was portability, ie, being able to collapse the pole for transport by bus, train, plane, etc, so I opted for trekking poles, which I like, 2 used correctly are much better than a staff going up or downhill, but the staff is much better on flats or rolling terrain, at least that's my experience, my knees need the downhill features of a trekking pole though. Personally I think it's great to use real technologies like hiking staffs, I always did it until this past year. For durability, you can fit a cane tip to the bottom of the pole, you can buy those in pharmacies for a few dollars, they last a really long time. I think the tip I used was about 3/4" or so, lasts for hundreds of miles, the cane tips have a little steel disk insert that helps with the wear, once you see that, you probably need to replace it. To make the tip stay on, I would cut a small groove about 1, 1.25" up from end of stick, stick on the cane tip, then twist some thick solid copper wire around it to lock it down, never had a tip slip ever using that method, double wrap the wire around the tip, then twist tighten the copper wire, and bend it down so it doesn't catch anything. By the way, a lot of the fancy ultralight gear is really just people with a lot of money, or people who want to walk really far each and every day, I will always remember some gray haired old guy roaring past me on the trail, with his old external frame pack, almost empty, I'd say his base weight was probably around 10 pounds. I ran into him later at the camp area, he was cooking with an old metal coffee can over a fire, don't remember the rest of his setup, it was all very simple. John Muir did more first ascents of peaks in the Sierra Nevadas than anyone else will ever do in history, and he did with out toys like gps, he used a basic rucksack, or maybe an external frame rucksack, I don't remember exactly. He had a rope, for the climbs, he had hobnailed boots, a bag of beans, some bacon, probably a bit more. While it's clear that in impacted areas, you cannot use some of his methods, like all night fires to keep warm, lean-tos made from cut trees and branches, the basic idea is there, the person who did this more than anyone else before or since, dd not require advanced tools to do that job.
no formatting
sorry, the forum software ate up all my line breaks, makes it hard to read.
Staves and other semi-archaic gear
Just starting to get into multi day hiking/camping in a modern way. I have in the past though done "hardcore" civil war reenacting. It's not the reenactments that are typically seen but instead we try our best to live the life of a typical infantryman for a few days. When the gear is used correctly and together it's really not bad at all.
My hiking buddy uses a staff that was 'cut' by a beaver and found during a hike. She cannot tolerate a trekking pole, even one that is made to fit the natural bend of the wrist/hand. She has put many miles, days, ups, and downs with me on the trails and would not give up her beloved staff for the world. I just went back to using an external frame Kelty...I do and will get a lot of stares and comments on the trails. I hike nearly barefoot, in that external frame with some odd gear that works for me. I live and hike in New England...I know what is 'working' for me...big miles are a thing of my past. I get out on the trail and enjoy myself fully with a mix of 'old', new, and eccentric gear. You will find what works for you...be willing to research and be willing to admit a gear fail to yourself...and a gear fail...well in my experience that is personal. What works for one person...may not work for you. Be honest with yourself and you will sort it out just fine.
One snowy night I tested this idea. I slept a few hours in the snow at about 30degrees F. First in a commercial tent and synthetic 30 degree bag; second, in army cold gear, thermals,gortex bear suit and third only a 2 pound wool blanket, tight weave, 'authentic' replica of 18th century textiles with the lanolin (sheeps natural oil) added back to the wool after weaving. The tent and bag were cold, the army gear was freezing but I would have lived the night, the wool blanket was pure joy. Makes you think doesn't it.
With 100 rabbit skins you can weave a rabbit skin blanket. Snowshoe hare actually.
Just throwing that out there.
Makes a really nice, warm blanket, I've read, but tends to shed. You crawl out covered with lost hairs. But if you have cats like I do, that's normal anyway,
I think you'll do just fine.
The oaken stick will hold up for many years. During that time you and your father should spend some quality time makeing a few more.
Along with the steel canteen you should use the stainless steel cup that comes with it. Wool blankets will do you just fine.
You'll do well and will enjoy the hike. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
My favorite piece of gear from my Civil War reenacting days was a mucket. With a large handle, bail, and hinged lid it made a lot of coffee and cooked a lot of rations. It was just the right size. I tried to find my old one, but unfortunately it disappeared in one of my many moves years ago. Now I see stainless steel ones and I just might get one. Since I'm not doing hardcore any more, I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally letting it boil dry and melting all the solder out of it.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote