Half Ass Expeditions

Check out our good friends from over the pond, read stories of true winter survival......days of deforestation.....hot toddies, the Thwam Thwacker, and if they still have it, a picture of a naked JB !!!

Half Ass Expeditions (HAE) started back in the '80s as a joke among four guys who go winter mountaineering in Northern New England. It is more or less a reflection of their camping style, which has developed over the years into a peripatetic, rambling, seat-of-the-pants modus operandi. So HAE is unencumbered by elitism and sundry attitudes that characterize high-altitude fraternities and primadonnas who want to be famous. They're certainly not looking to gain celebrity status among the world's alpine cognoscenti with their own radical style of climbing, even if their exploits have earned them notoriety of local renown.

Half Ass Expeditions
http://www.halfassexpeditions.com/

Uffmoor Wood - GPS Tracklog - 22/11/2008

Well last Saturdays walk around Uffmoor Wood was a cold and damp 3.44miles with no sign of wildlife apart form the odd Robin and the rustle of animals in the woods. I pulled into the car park a bit late for a walk and well aware that it would be dark or getting dark as I got back to the car and had visions of the gate being locked and me haveing to bolt cutter my way out of there, not that I've had to do this before ;-)

It was a pleasant walk and would have made for some nice pictures if it had been frosty, but sadly it was just grey and wet without the hope of a few rays of sunshine. Anyway the dogs loved it and were more than happy to bounce off into the trees trying to flush out the Sheep and Deer with very little success, while the owners flip and panic and try to calm them down. Well It's that time of the year when all of the wild field mint has been muched down by the animals and only the wild Garlic remains by the one footbridge, maybe that's due to the steepness of the banks that surround the stream. I did manage to spot a couple of Frogs down by the almost completly overgrown pond. The rest of the walk was mud mud mud and plenty of slip slideing and a couple of stream crossings to add to the chances of getting a dunking. After that it was a pretty straightforward walk back up through the woods, over a couple of small footbridges in a very boggy area, then back around the edge of the woods and join the path that takes me back to the car.

I sat at the one very fast flowing water source and scooped out some water for a coffee when an old couple stopped for a chat, telling me about there walk and how much they love the woods etc etc.....when the old chap mentioned the name of the stream that I was getting my water from, turns out that it's fed by the River Stour, which starts in Stourport and is in turn fed by the River Severn, so that was a usefull piece of knowledge gathered from a friendly local :)

Well the darkness beats me and the last leg of the walk is a dark one with me wondering about the sign that says they lock the car park gate at dusk. Back at the car, muddy and happy that the gate is still open.

All in all Uffmoor Wood is a great place for a walk, it's not that big but has plenty for a ramble about for a couple of hours and in the past we've spotted an abundance of wildlife. It's also well liked by the dog walking brigade, so that hinders your chances of spotting any wildlife. I give Uffmoor Wood a thumbs up for a place to spend a couple of hours mooching about.

Topgears 24hr Ration Pack version 1

A picture I took of Topgears ration pack before he went testing.

I'm interested to hear how you got on with your home made ration packs that you took away last weekend. Also what cooker did you take and what sort of pots did you use ?
I can see that you have some boil in the bag stuff but also a packet of curry, did you cook the curry in a pot or did you stand it in a pan of water ?

I'm just getting together mine to try out when we do that night in the woods to test your new sleep system. When I get it done I will post a picture and contents list.

Gravity-Fed Automatic Water Filtering Configuration Idea

I've just been reading about Gravity-Fed Water Filtering and thought I would post the picture from the website.

Looks like things could be getting easier for us idle types, no more pumping ;-)

We will be testing the method and add our test results to this post.

 

Photos Comms & Navigation

Photos & Video
I use a Canon Powershot A720is + 4gb SDHC + 2AA batts inside it and 4 spares in the front pouch. The camera performs realy good on one set of batteries, the life of which can be extended by turning off the screen and useing the viewfinder instead.

Phonecalls, txts & email
I use a Samsung SGH-Z140 camera phone + spare battery.

Navigation
I use a Garmin etrex H GPS, loaded with routes and waypoints for that day hike or trip and accompanied by a compass & map printed at 1:25:000 from Memory Map. I get between 17 and 20 hours out of one set of two AAs.

Walkie Talkies
Communications between the lads is taken care of by way of long range Walkie Talkies, the make of which will remain anonymous ;-) These are rechargeable and have a standby time of over 60hrs.

The death of a Nikon and the birth of a Canon

It had to happen, I dropped my Nikon Coolpix 2500 onto concrete in Bridgenorth in September of 2007 and it died. It was only a 2MP camera but it served me well from 2003, providing myself and the rest of the crew with tons of trip photos from all of our travels. The only gripe I ever had was with the paper thin recgargable battery and I soon found I had to buy a spare so that I would still be snapping well into my trip. But no matter how cautious I would be with my snapping I would always run out of juice and without a mains supply at hand I was stuffed !

So when it came to finding a replacement I opted for a camera that took AA batteries (always available in all stores) and my three other criteria were it had to have a viewfinder and the option of being able to turn off the screen, thus stretching the life of my batteries. It also had to do great video and have a good optical zooooooom.

Well the Canon Powershot A720is does the trick for me, it runs on AAs, takes great pictures, has all the modes that my Nikon had plus lots more, and it captures video with sound at the same framerate as my Sony Handycam (30fps) and is only limited to that size of card that you put in. I've been useing the Canon with a 4GB SDHC Card since June 2008 and have to say it's the dogs gonads, no more having to carry a digital camera and my Handycam for the video side of things.

So my advice to fellow hikers thinking of a new camera is get one with a viewfinder so you can turn off that fancy juice hungry screen, get a good optical zoom (6x or more) for captureing wildlife, and one that does unlimited video with sound at 30fps.

I know lots of people are trying out solar chargers with mixed results, but I've not ventured down that route due to living in the UK and not being blessed with copious ammounts of sunshine, which to be honest suits me because I'm one that likes to walk on a crisp frosty trail and not be boiled by the sun, biten by bugs and annoyed by fair weather hikers, I use the word hikers tongue in cheek ;-)
And lets not forget the dog walking brigade, not all of them because I love dogs, It's the owners that don't bag the poop, and the ones that bag the poop and leave at the base of trees !!!, and the ones that can't control the dog as he runs at you like a missile, knocking you over like a skittle, then if your packs down on the floor, he's in head first and slobbers all over your lunch and gear, while the owner shouts "It's ok he won't hurt you, he just wants to be friends".

Ok I've lost the plot now and started on those dog walkers with the brand spanking new 4x4s that have never been, or ever will go offroad, you know the type with all the fancy branded gear that they put on just for walking the dog ;-)

Powdered Eggs

POWDERED EGG RECIPES

 

FINE OMELET
Ingredients:
• 6 teaspoons dry whole egg powder + 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon oil or butter
• salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Beat together egg powder, water and seasoning. Heat pan over
medium-high heat. When pan is hot add oil. Pour in egg mixture.
As eggs begin to set at the edges, use a spatula to gently push
cooked portions to the center, tilting the pan to allow the uncooked
egg to flow into empty spaces. Shake pan gently to keep eggs from
sticking to the bottom. When egg is almost set on surface, but still
looks moist, fill half of omelet with herb filling. Slip spatula under side,
fold over filling and slide onto a serving plate.
(FINE HERB OMELET see above but add herbs to taste)

 

 

EASY-TO-MAKE SCRAMBLED EGGS
Ingredients:
• 6 teaspoons dry egg powder + 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons milk
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon butter or oil
Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients except butter. Heat pan over
medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add butter (or oil). Pour in egg
mixture and reduce heat to medium-low. As eggs begin to set , gently
move spatula across bottom and sides of pan to form large, soft curds.
Cook until no visible liquid egg remains, but they are still moist.
Do not overcook! Serve an enjoy.

 

Triangles, "proof" of an Illuminati or Freemasonic world ?

Fundamentalist-conspiratorialists would have you believe that Triangles in coperate logos are "proof" of an Illuminati or Freemasonic world domination conspiracy. So why are we seeing Topgear & The Big Guy carving them into tree stumps !

If your first guess is that it's to mark where a tent is pitched, then you're wrong.....

Besides it's our little secret......we could tell you but then we would have to kill you ;-)

Coleman Dual Fuel Peak 1 Stove

I've taken my old Coleman Peak 1 apart many times to clean and service it. You may find this parts diagram usefull should you have to do the same (click on the picture to enlarge it)

Tip: print it off and keep it with the cooker just incase you have to strip it down while out on a trip !

Charcloth And How To Make It - By The Big Guy

How to make a cloth that can be used for starting fires with primitive methods such as a flint and steel. Note: It is important to use only 100 percent cotton to make charcloth, fabrics containing synthetic fibers will not char. Be sure that the inside of the can is clean.

Materials:

· 100 percent cotton cloth (old T-shirts or Tea-towels) tin can with tin lid (old coffee or biscuit tins work fine)

· A small hot ember camp fire.

· One small stick.

· And two larger sticks to be used as tongues for lifting the can.

Procedure:

1. Punch one small hole in the lid of the can.

2. Pack the can with a loosely rolled cotton T-shirt or Tea-towel and replace the lid.

3. Now lay the can on its side, and onto the camp fire with the hole facing away from the flames.

4. After a short while smoke and vapor should begin to escape through the hole in the lid.

5. 30 minuites into the job you will need to roll the can so that it heats all over (beware the can gets very HOT so roll it with two sticks used as tongues).

6. Now heat the can for a further 30 minutes.

7. Time elapsed should now be 60 minutes which I found was ideal.

8. With the tongues remove the can from the fire and wedge a stick into the hole in the lid, this will stop the charing process.

9. When the can has had time to cool down, open it and remove the charcloth. If the charcloth is brown it has not been heated sufficiently and will have to be returned to the can for more heating. If the cloth is brittle and crumbles at the slightest touch it has been "overcooked" and must be discarded. If the cloth is black and rips with the lightest touch you are then the proud owner of charcloth.

10. Test the charcloth with a flint and steel (you will only need a piece of charcloth no bigger than the palm of your hand). A glowing spark should catch in the cloth and spread with a little help from your lungs!….blow...blow…blow….then offer it to your tinder and kindling and you should be at the start of a healthy fire.

11. Store the remainder of your charcloth in an airtight container or zip sealable plastic bag.

Make Your Bottles Leak Resistant

Earlier today Topgear emailed me this gem of a tip that he stumbled upon while trawling the Inet

So I had to give it a whirl, and it works perfect. These are my test results.

We all carry a few plastic bottles for things like sunscreen, alcohol (the fuel variety, of couse) water, juice, and various other liquids. I know that if I squeeze some of my bottles hard enough or somehow get them crushed in my pack, the liquid inside the bottles can ooze out from the caps. Now here comes the clever tip, just wrap some PTFE Tape (plumbers tape) on the threads of your bottles. PTFE tape is used during plumbing projects to seal threads when screwing fittings on like shower heads. It fills in the gaps in the metal or plastic threads and creates a water tight seal. So I had to try it and I can confirm that it works like a dream, no more oozing!! You just wrap a good 3"-4" long piece around the thread of the bottle neck and make sure it's on there good. Be sure to wrap the tape on the thread clockwise, i.e. the same direction as tightening the cap. Otherwise the tape might slip or shread when you put the cap on. The tape only really sticks to itself, but not really stick like normal tape. You will see what I mean when you use it. Make sure to keep the tape taught as you wrap it around. Next, screw the cap back on. It should feel a bit snug and good to go.

A roll of PTFE tape should cost you less than £1, in my case it cost me 59p from Wilkinsons in the plumbing section of the store. My roll has four yards on it, so that breaks down to 144 Inches, which means if I use 4 inches on each thread, I can seal 36 bottles all for 59p, saving me from anymore nasty wet backpack disasters !

Hmmmmm........ Topgear, do you remember the great cooking oil leak that The Duck had in November 2006, resulting in a whole backpack of gear covered in a nice slippy layer of cooking oil !!!

Dakine Daysack Review

I got one for Christmas as a gift, and I have to say it's not only a nice looking pack, but it's also very functional. I'm very impressed with the build quality. One thing I always do with new kit is checkout the stitching, and this looks like it's been put together to last, which is good for me because I need a pack that can withstand more than the odd knock and scrape, my packs have to cope with mountain and forest hikes, so they need to be strong.  The bag itself is nice and thick and good for jagged rocks, the padded back and shoulder straps feel cumfy. It's a great size for day hikes, which is what I was after. the top pocket that's meant for car keys and sunglasses is big enough for a mobile phone, GPS and a headtorch.  The main compartment holds my big fleece jacket, gloves, hat, food box, map/compass, waterproofs, first aid kit, small radio and a chunk of foam mat to sit on. The two side pouches fit snug around my hexi water bottles. So that's a pack ready for a day hike.  The only modifications I've made is to cut off the waist strap, as i'm not going to be rideing a bike wearing this pack so I have no use for one, and have found on past trips that the waist strap is left hanging off the bottom of my pack and great for getting snagged on rocks, branches and bushes. I've also removed the bunjee cord from the back and replaced it with flourescent green reflective stuff.  Overall this is a great pack and It's serving me well. 

 

A table of woods and their burning qualities

Our fire pictured above is made up of mainly Pine with a few bits of Birch on top. Pine being a great fire starter due to it's high resin content. You can pickup wet rotton pine, a few handfulls of tinder, some kindling and it will burn as if it was dry wood. We find that Pine always forms a good solid foundation for a healthy fire. You can then add other longer lasting woods such as Birch and the daddy of all fire woods, the long burning Oak, which is a great fuel to burn in the late evening when you want to sit around the fire becuase of it's almost zero smoke output..

Hard woods : Good heating power, slow combustion.

Tender woods: Average heating power, quick combustion.

Resinous: High heating power, very quick combustion.

Tree	Heat	Flame	Smoke	Embers	Use	Combustion	Wood
Acacia	good	sparkling, explodes	feable	average	cooking, heating	average	hard
Alder	good	lively	feable	average	starting fire, light	quick	tender
Aspen	feable	lively clear	feable	feable	starting fire, light	quick	tender
Ash	very good	lively	average	very good	cooking, heating, light	slow	hard
Beech	very good	lively, clear	feable	good	cooking, heating, light	slow	hard
Birch	excellent	lively, clear	average	good	starting fire, lighting	quick	tender
Chestnut	average	sparkling, sparks, expodes	average	average	cooking, heating	average	hard
Elm	very good	small	feable	good	cooking, heating	slow	hard
Fir	average	sparkling	abundant	feable	starting fire, light	quick	resinous
Hornbeam	excellent	dansing	feable	good	cooking, heating	average	hard
Larch	average	clear, lively, lots of sparks	average	feable	starting fire, light	quick	resinous
Lime	average	clear	feable	feable	starting fire, light	average	tender
Maple	average	sparkling	none	good	cooking, eating	slow	tender
Oak	excellent	clear	none	very good	cooking, heating, light	very slow	hard
Olive	excellent	short	feable	very good	cooking, heating	slow	hard
Pine	average	sparkling, clear	abundant	feable	starting fire, light	quick	resinous
Poplar	feable	lively, clear	feable	feable	staring fire, light	quick	tender
Plane-tree	average	explodes	feable	average	starting fire, light	average	tendre
Spruce	average	sparkling	average	feable	starting fire, light	quick	resinous
Walnut	average	short	feable	good	cooking if well dry	slow	hard
Willow	feable	lively,clear	feable	feable	starting fire, light	very quick	tender

Hobo stove and meths burner

From Hobo stove and meths burner

This is a copy of the stove that Eb "Nimblewill Nomad" made and used on his epic backpacking trip from Key West, Florida to Cape Gaspe, Canada; 4400 miles, 10 months. During this trip Eb did not carry any fuel. Instead he used this simple metal stove and burned leaves, bark, wood, twigs and other natural fuel to cook his meals. The only mods that I've made is I bent a wire rod to form a grill that sits on the top of the stove, this then lets me stand small pots and canned food on the cooker. The other main thing that I found was my meths burner from my old bulky Trangia set fits in the cooker and sits the correct distance away from the pots so that the flame can lick up real good. The use of the meths burner is ideal when you don't want to start a fire or when you're in an area where fires are not allowed. I would like to say a huge thanks to "Eb" for putting the design on the internet. I've used it for over four years now and have not looked back at my heavy Coleman Petrol cookers and the costly Gas ones.

For a full set of pictures of the stove in action and the templates for making the stove, click on the link below.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/stuthehiker/HoboStoveAndMethsBurner

Geocaching, what's Geocaching !

Both myself and Topgear are Geocachers

Water For Drinking

Topgear showing us a water source that's suitable for
filtering with the MSR MiniWorks water filter.