Adahy
Kuksaholic
First Camp of 2012.
My Cousin [Kevin aka Holmes] and I decided we wanted to try out the double lean to pup tent setup we did the week prior. [Which was the last camp of 2011] which can be found here:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55113
Kevin was on fire duty today which gave me time to experiment with other fire starting methods. I played around with the lens to my tinder box on some birch bark. It was a little too windy for this setup, but that made it more fun. I got some results with a late winter's sun. Noon in July, this thing will be a flame thrower!
The pup tent half. A lot of people asks questions about his pup tent so here is one layed out ready to assemble into a shelter.
Nothing feels better than the first fire at camp. Makes your camp feel like home.
I really liked the setup last time we camped. The opposite tent acts as a fire reflector. I also liked the idea of using small log piles as wind breaks next to our heads. The other benefit was the fuel was within arms reach, this way I didn’t have to exit my wool cocoon that I was tangled in.
Pesky unpredictable wind.
This time I used a heavy duty casualty blanket to reflect even more radiant heat back onto me. It worked well. The bad thing was the wind that night. This shelter setup works best if the wind is in your favor. There are different methods of what direction to set this up with the wind in mind. But this lake was unpredictable. I guess this wasn’t the best spot to camp in the dead of winter… but we wanted a nice view. It was worth a little of winter's abuse.
The sun went down fast which left a long lasting twilight of color in the sky. Perfect because the moon was full this night. It was a first for me… the first campout of the year and I’m out by the frozen lakeside in January with a killer sunset and full moon. Couldn’t be a better way to start the new year.
This is the best part of camping. After the sun goes down, the fire ring is where the life of the night is.
My new spice kit to the right. Oregano, Curry, Salt, Sage, Pepper.
I almost forgot that I chopped holes in the ice earlier to cool my beer. After I made lake soup in the cooking pot, we talked about old stories and made new plans. [plans like opening my own store/vendor subforum here to sell handmade goods and kuksas!] I also like to bring things to carve while camping. Usually spoons, faces, or kuksas.
My favorite multi-tool. The Kuksa. Can scoop perfect snowballs, hold coffee, beer, fresh water from a natural spring.
One positive thing I found with winter camping and drinking from a kuksa, is wood actually insulates your drink and won’t freeze to your face. So the beer stayed chilled, and I didn’t have to wear gloves to drink it. Those glass bottles feel like daggers to the hand in this weather.
I did wake up a couple of times in the night. My wool blanket setup was warm, but did get drafty. So far the system I use is:
USGI Poncho as a ground cloth,
foam sleeping pad to insulate me from the damp cold ground,
two wool blankets,
and then the top of the poncho wraps and snaps on top to hold it all together.
It’s not perfect but it worked. For camping in this kind of cold I’d like to be more comfortable. So next week I’ll be testing a USGI MSS (Modular Sleep System). Which I’m hoping will solve all problems with getting a proper nights sleep. Every other season, I like bumming it in whatever I have.
In the morning we made coffee and cooked up some bacon. Wasn’t it just International Bacon Day last week? Well I think every day is International Bacon & Beer Day.
My new beech wood spoon was stained by the curry lake soup.
First Camp of 2012 - YouTube
My Cousin [Kevin aka Holmes] and I decided we wanted to try out the double lean to pup tent setup we did the week prior. [Which was the last camp of 2011] which can be found here:
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55113
Kevin was on fire duty today which gave me time to experiment with other fire starting methods. I played around with the lens to my tinder box on some birch bark. It was a little too windy for this setup, but that made it more fun. I got some results with a late winter's sun. Noon in July, this thing will be a flame thrower!
The pup tent half. A lot of people asks questions about his pup tent so here is one layed out ready to assemble into a shelter.
Nothing feels better than the first fire at camp. Makes your camp feel like home.
I really liked the setup last time we camped. The opposite tent acts as a fire reflector. I also liked the idea of using small log piles as wind breaks next to our heads. The other benefit was the fuel was within arms reach, this way I didn’t have to exit my wool cocoon that I was tangled in.
Pesky unpredictable wind.
This time I used a heavy duty casualty blanket to reflect even more radiant heat back onto me. It worked well. The bad thing was the wind that night. This shelter setup works best if the wind is in your favor. There are different methods of what direction to set this up with the wind in mind. But this lake was unpredictable. I guess this wasn’t the best spot to camp in the dead of winter… but we wanted a nice view. It was worth a little of winter's abuse.
The sun went down fast which left a long lasting twilight of color in the sky. Perfect because the moon was full this night. It was a first for me… the first campout of the year and I’m out by the frozen lakeside in January with a killer sunset and full moon. Couldn’t be a better way to start the new year.
This is the best part of camping. After the sun goes down, the fire ring is where the life of the night is.
My new spice kit to the right. Oregano, Curry, Salt, Sage, Pepper.
I almost forgot that I chopped holes in the ice earlier to cool my beer. After I made lake soup in the cooking pot, we talked about old stories and made new plans. [plans like opening my own store/vendor subforum here to sell handmade goods and kuksas!] I also like to bring things to carve while camping. Usually spoons, faces, or kuksas.
My favorite multi-tool. The Kuksa. Can scoop perfect snowballs, hold coffee, beer, fresh water from a natural spring.
One positive thing I found with winter camping and drinking from a kuksa, is wood actually insulates your drink and won’t freeze to your face. So the beer stayed chilled, and I didn’t have to wear gloves to drink it. Those glass bottles feel like daggers to the hand in this weather.
I did wake up a couple of times in the night. My wool blanket setup was warm, but did get drafty. So far the system I use is:
USGI Poncho as a ground cloth,
foam sleeping pad to insulate me from the damp cold ground,
two wool blankets,
and then the top of the poncho wraps and snaps on top to hold it all together.
It’s not perfect but it worked. For camping in this kind of cold I’d like to be more comfortable. So next week I’ll be testing a USGI MSS (Modular Sleep System). Which I’m hoping will solve all problems with getting a proper nights sleep. Every other season, I like bumming it in whatever I have.
In the morning we made coffee and cooked up some bacon. Wasn’t it just International Bacon Day last week? Well I think every day is International Bacon & Beer Day.
My new beech wood spoon was stained by the curry lake soup.
First Camp of 2012 - YouTube
Last edited:
