Camping from my truck then family outing. Lots of LED lights!

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
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Jun 8, 2008
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New England woods.
This outing is really a two for one deal. Occasionally I like to do night outings. These are trips which happen all at night. I start at night and end in the early morning hours before the sunrise or head out first thing in the AM. The key aspects are traveling and setting up a camp at night which offers a very different aspect to a daylight start. Unlike many outings headlamps, flashlights and lanterns are critical gear on par with clothing, shelter kit and knives IMHO. Both outings occurred at the same site and weekend but are very different.


Part 1. The solo night outing.


Sometimes during winter a sled will be employed to carry my pack and haul wood but this time I am using my truck. Unlike a sled this truck runs on gas.





Drove into camp setting up a lantern to claim ownership of the area.





So far the CL25R has been a winner.





My hammock. I found these trees a bit too near for the hammock's ropes but it was good enough.





First priority is a fire to cook as I didn't bring a mess kit, utensils or stove. Did I mention I had a truck? Also a dirt road. Among other things I found a sawed off section of a picnic table. No I didn't do it. LOL!





Also didn't have a tinder, matches or a lighter. But did have a proven friction fire set though given it rained during the day a hike would be in order to find resources to assure my firecraft success. To be honest I also had a firesteel attached to my necker's sheath so this is really just skillz practice. Then again the very same stuff I needed to make the friction fire a success would also be needed if forced to use the firesteel so my night hike from camp was a foregone conclusion.


I will include information to that firecraft aspect of the hike near the end of this report. Glacial erratics were scattered about.





Typical New England woodland setting.





The mother of all glacial erratics.





This is interesting.





Very dry inside.








Look! A stone roof!





My stash of wood. Should be about enough for what I need.





Twigt fire prep. I intend to use this wood to start a larger fire.





My firekit isn't all that indistinguishable from the wood prep. LOL!





And it all somehow works. I will always recommend packing at least 3 ways to start a fire and some prepared or foraged tinder before the actual need however it is what it is.





If my guess it right the naturalized norway spruce really tosses some sparks.





No mess kit, stove or utensils. A bit of a downer but at least I had some food! First up is the cooking sticks. I would use the leftover sweet birch leaves for a chopping mat and plate.





Dinner. GO!








After that it was an uneventful night. Here are the lights and blades used.





1. Fenix HP12 headlamp.
2. Fenix CL25R lantern.
3. Armytek Predator warm flashlight.
4. ANZA knife.
5. BHK Scandi Tiger Knapp.


All of the lights take the same 18650 battery. I never needed the flashlight during this outing however if either the headlamp or lantern required a battery it could have been taken from there. That's the pro of packing electronics using the same battery type. Being a night outing once the night was over so is part one. Packed everything up to get family and friends.





Part 2. The family and friends outing


Same area but moved the hammock.





And brought a pile of stuff!





DIY USB neutral tinted lantern/light bulb.





Sunjack USB light bulb.





Kids from 3 families attended. They went down the river to fish.














We all went on a hike. The kids did great.





Looks like hen of the woods but no expert on shrooms.





The same friction fire set from night one also worked again. A proven set more often than not works. I speculate that back in the day people carried proven sets rather than what we see on TV which shows friction fire on the fly. This is totally possible as done it myself but like packing multiple modern methods today people yesterday probably did everything possible to increase their chances of success. Again based on the fact we are here odds are it worked more often than not.








Lights on!


DIY USB lantern worked!








So did the Sunjack. On a side note the difference in tint or color shade between the two is very obvious.





Big power!





Time to teach the kids some skills. Firesteel practice with man made tinder. In this case paper towels. First up was my nephew. The little guy did "unk" proud.











Up next the 3 girls.











They all succeeded and did so with determination. That and some jabs during each unsuccessful attempt. Still I have seen some adults give up and fail but these children stuck with it until success.


The X factors. Every outing has an X factor. By this I am referring to unexpected snafus. I could be something like an empty fuel canister, bug crawling inside an ear (a nasty story for another day), missing kit, unexpected weather etc etc.


Multiple tents ate up all my tent stakes so had to make more. No big deal.





Now here is something a bit more interesting. Most of the kids left for their respective homes during the night however my nephew remained. Then he got sick so needed to drive the little guy home. Due to the narrow dirt road and parking situation I borrowed my uncle's car who was also camping. Drove the little guy back and once I made sure he was ok got in the car and nothing.... It was deader than a doornail. I tried to call my uncle but he wasn't answering his cell phone. The site was 4-5 miles away so what was I going to do. Maybe in a few hours he might call wondering what happened or maybe his phone wasn't working. There were suggestions for calling a cab or friends but it was 10:30pm. I have been hankering to use my cardio training for an actual purpose beyond just health concerns. I know the area well and could save a mile by running on roads, abandoned tracks, blue trails and a little bushwhacking.


I do night trail running but hardly ever on actual roads. Cracked out my reflective vest from work, grabbed a bottle of water and knife. Tossed everything in a daypack and headed out. Already had my headlamp but took an additional flashlight just incase. My nephew was spread eagle at the door yelling...Unk don't do it! Not sure what the little guy was thinking but told him it was nothing. About 20 minutes into the run my uncle called as he finally checked his messages. Offered to take the van to pick me up but I was on a roll. It was strange to be running and calmly taking on the phone at the same time. Resting heart rate in the 60 range rather than high 80's has it's benefits. About 10 minutes later came flying out of the woods into camp from the back side. Local knowledge really paid off and so did the conditioning. Not a bad run for 30-minutes considering last summer I couldn't walk without a cane due to medical complications. Only had a few funky sets of eye shine looking at me during the night run once I got off the road however that's old hat. It's nice to have another mode of transportation which doesn't depend on anything or anyone other than myself.





Outrageous luxury kit from the family outing.








OMG! An actual pillow.





Here is a video for Part 1. Sorry no video for part 2 as I was too busy doing other things. Kids can be demanding.





A video of the firecraft done on Part 1.





Thanks for looking.
 
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markr6

Flashaholic
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Jul 16, 2012
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9,258
Good times!!

I honestly don't remember the last trip I STARTED in daylight. I love hiking at night, setting up, then finding out for sure whether or not I chose a good spot in the backcountry after the sun comes up! 9 times out of 10, they end up being great spots!

UCO_hammock.jpg
 

Poppy

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Dec 20, 2012
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Northern New Jersey
If my guess it right the naturalized norway spruce really tosses some sparks.






Thanks for looking.
Woods walker, that was a nice pictorial. And I enjoyed your fire starting video. I was surprised at how long you could let the coal smolder before transferring it.

Not long ago, I was with a group of scouts, and everyone got a chance to play with flint and steel. :) A great time for everyone involved!
Good job unk!
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
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Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Woods walker, that was a nice pictorial. And I enjoyed your fire starting video. I was surprised at how long you could let the coal smolder before transferring it.

Not long ago, I was with a group of scouts, and everyone got a chance to play with flint and steel. :) A great time for everyone involved!
Good job unk!

Thanks! You would be surprised as to just how much time a person has to let the coal smolder. In fact rushing the transfer which I nearly did can cause a failure. A FF coal is really just a pile of smoldering dust so until it solidifies there is a risk of it falling apart if moved or even wind. To be honest is was the foraged aromatic hydrocarbons which made it burn so fast.

Spruce which must have insulted a woodpecker. What it did we may never know! Some of these holes get totally filled with pine tar over time which can provide a good amount with little effort. Just dripping with flammable hydrocarbons.




Yellow birch is another good source but then again without the LED lights odds of me foraging some would have declined greatly. :)





 
Last edited:

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Good times!!

I honestly don't remember the last trip I STARTED in daylight. I love hiking at night, setting up, then finding out for sure whether or not I chose a good spot in the backcountry after the sun comes up! 9 times out of 10, they end up being great spots!

UCO_hammock.jpg

I hear that brother!
 

akhyar

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Mar 12, 2013
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Malaysia
Must be awesome spending quality times with the family in the woods.
We city dwellers are stuck in the concrete jungles.

Thanks for sharing
 

pvsampson

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Jul 31, 2015
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Nth East NSW.
Great thread! I have a bit of experience in "living rough",and enjoyed reading this and following the story.Fire starting is becoming a lost art these days,and I was lucky enough,a few years back now,to have a good friend from Bismarck Ranges in New Guinea teach me a few things.Even taught me how to make a bow from a stick,and bamboo, with a sharp stone.Cooking in the ground is a good skill to have as well.

Check out the fire piston.I made one about twenty years ago and they do work.Lot easier than bow and drill.

Good stuff OP.
 

pjandyho

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Singapore
Great write up, photos, and videos! Makes me wanna get out into the woods now. There is just something so fun trying to survive the night out in the woods isn't it? Just love your adventures here.
 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Great thread! I have a bit of experience in "living rough",and enjoyed reading this and following the story.Fire starting is becoming a lost art these days,and I was lucky enough,a few years back now,to have a good friend from Bismarck Ranges in New Guinea teach me a few things.Even taught me how to make a bow from a stick,and bamboo, with a sharp stone.Cooking in the ground is a good skill to have as well.

Check out the fire piston.I made one about twenty years ago and they do work.Lot easier than bow and drill.

Good stuff OP.

Yup have a fire piston and you reminded me that I need to rewrap the gasket string. My prefered fire starting method is either a Bic lighter or ferro rod.

 

Woods Walker

The Wood is cut, The Bacon is cooked, Now it’s tim
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
5,433
Location
New England woods.
Great write up, photos, and videos! Makes me wanna get out into the woods now. There is just something so fun trying to survive the night out in the woods isn't it? Just love your adventures here.

It's a great opportunity to use LED lights to their potential. :) Thanks for looking.
 

LetThereBeLight!

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Feb 26, 2014
Messages
635
Woods Walker, you ROCK so much I want to CLONE you , and every post you put up is incredible!

When the crap should ever hit the fan I could really use someone with your knowledge base.

I hereby declare you, "Survivor-King of the Woods"!

(Move over, Tarzan, you're becoming old hat.) :)
 

BowHunter1

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Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
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Location
SE Va.
What an awesome trip man!! Felt like I was actually there with all the great pics and detailed story....Well Done!! My family camps a few times a year and actually have one coming up the 1st of October so you have really got me wanting to try some new things.....for one could give a little more detail about the USB lights you set up?? They looked really simple and would definitely like to incorporate them when we go out.....Thanks dude!
 
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