I was lucky to be invited to a group outing. In CT the melt greatly (but not totally) reduced the snow pack however in NH there is still a good snow base. Granted it's here snowing right now as I type this. It's been a harsh winter in New England.
Pulk sleds ready to go.
Rather than float the camp I decided to dig down. This was a mistake as the ground was was covered in a bed a weeds which made holding the tent pegs difficult. Also we kept underestimating the area required to pitch the Kifaru 6-man and depth of snow. I was really getting annoyed at my overly optimistic estimations.
Once the tent was setup went out looking for wood. A pulk sled is more than just a means of getting your gear to a location. It's also a work horse.
Sled full of wood on a steep hill. Used paracord and a stick to anchor it during the foraging.
Wasn't familiar with the area so took my PSK stuff and axe in case we got turned around.
All setup for the night. The orange tape was to mark the trail for a winter race which happened days before. This resulted in a packed down trail which helped with mobility all weekend.
Burn!
Stove looking good the next day. Waking up to a warm shelter rocks especially during a ice storm. The cold frozen rain and snow lasted for the rest of the weekend.
Breakfast.
I like to bring some packs inside the shelter, keeping others outside within the pulk.
Eagle Large OD A-III.
Dunamis gear cargo hanger pocket setup as a shoulder bag with Large Alice pack minus frame, shoulder straps and belt.
Kifaru EMR under my poncho inside the pulk.
Les Stroud Wetterlings axe. The hammer end worked great to drive pegs. I didn't get the opportunity to split wood during this outing due to the thin nature of the available wood.
Fenix HP12 headlamp once again proved to be outstanding.
We wanted to do a hike in the ice storm. I stopped over at Robbie's tent to see if there was more interest in this.
It was a hard sell and I don't blame anyone. A T-shirt hot tent with water boiling and food on the stove is sure more inviting than hiking in ice rain. Checked out some legally owned suppressed guns. The weather was too nasty for target shooting.
We hiked alone which was just fine. The icy woods weren't all that bad.
The snowpack was between 1.5 to 3 feet depending on wind blow drifts.
White birch.
Yellow birch and white intertwined something I never seen before.
Chaga.
This was all high fire grade chaga. I will use this for tea, incense and firecraft. Dug out what remained with my Enzo Trapper 12c27. In an environment like this quality stainless steel really shines, pun intended.
I don't have to worry about rust plus the edge retention and sharpening ease of this blade is nearly par with most carbon steel knives I have used. Though will admit a quality/properly heat treated carbon steel knife is preferred for some uses. No one tool is best for every situation and job.
Hiked along finding the porcupine sign we heard about. Man that critter was working over smaller beech and white pine hard.
The critter clipped off the branch ends guessing to crew on whats left like we would a lobster's legs.
Porcupine scat.
It's trail was easy to follow. In the video we tracked the porcupine back to it's den or at least that's what I think.
Ice storm still going!
I left the EMR on the snow because we took the sled for wood. It got coated in ice during the hike.
Later that night the ice storm was still ongoing. Patrick Smith was wise in using large zippers when destining Kifaru shelters. Some makers resist the extra weight but a big #10 YKK zipper can cut through an ice coating as it did here. The same applies to the number #8 YKK on the Paratipi.
When not using a liner there is always the risk of condensation within a single walled shelter. Water dripping on a sleeping bag can get a sleep system damp. The Gortex MSS bivy cover did a good job mitigating this issue. Most gear has a learning curve.
I was cooking food in the yurt near the wood stove. Got so overheated did 2 miles of night hikes into the freezing rain.
Sunjack USB light is so bright my tent actually case a glow far away from the shelter. This is how it actually appears. The smaller red glow was from my burning stove.
It's even brighter inside. No flash was used in this photo.
Used the flash here so the light could be seen without blurring the image. Earlier it illuminated the yurt before the Guide 10 ran down. Found more Eneloops in my pack. One of the pros to a power pack which takes AAs. I just finished my DIY Goal Zero Firefly hanging lantern. Not sure which one I prefer. The GZ has much less lumens but better tint, heat sink and runtimes but dang that Sunjack is bright.
A wood stove makes all the difference during cold wet weather. The wood foraged during our earlier hike was ice covered. The stove melted that off.
All packed up. The pit of despair. Next time for shorter trips in this case 2 nights 3 days I will float the shelter if possible. Longer than that digging down has paid off more times than not.
Dang this was a pain.
Interesting floated camp foot print. The cut out for seating around the stove can be seen. This may also act as a cold trap though never tried the technique.
The yurt!
Wichland woods.
Heading out.
The frozen iced over woods.
It was around a 4-hour truck ride home. Despite the ice rain this was a good time. Here is a video but be warned, like this post it's long winded.
[video=youtube;3zJ5_eZBgaA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJ5_eZBgaA[/video]
Pulk sleds ready to go.
Rather than float the camp I decided to dig down. This was a mistake as the ground was was covered in a bed a weeds which made holding the tent pegs difficult. Also we kept underestimating the area required to pitch the Kifaru 6-man and depth of snow. I was really getting annoyed at my overly optimistic estimations.
Once the tent was setup went out looking for wood. A pulk sled is more than just a means of getting your gear to a location. It's also a work horse.
Sled full of wood on a steep hill. Used paracord and a stick to anchor it during the foraging.
Wasn't familiar with the area so took my PSK stuff and axe in case we got turned around.
All setup for the night. The orange tape was to mark the trail for a winter race which happened days before. This resulted in a packed down trail which helped with mobility all weekend.
Burn!
Stove looking good the next day. Waking up to a warm shelter rocks especially during a ice storm. The cold frozen rain and snow lasted for the rest of the weekend.
Breakfast.
I like to bring some packs inside the shelter, keeping others outside within the pulk.
Eagle Large OD A-III.
Dunamis gear cargo hanger pocket setup as a shoulder bag with Large Alice pack minus frame, shoulder straps and belt.
Kifaru EMR under my poncho inside the pulk.
Les Stroud Wetterlings axe. The hammer end worked great to drive pegs. I didn't get the opportunity to split wood during this outing due to the thin nature of the available wood.
Fenix HP12 headlamp once again proved to be outstanding.
We wanted to do a hike in the ice storm. I stopped over at Robbie's tent to see if there was more interest in this.
It was a hard sell and I don't blame anyone. A T-shirt hot tent with water boiling and food on the stove is sure more inviting than hiking in ice rain. Checked out some legally owned suppressed guns. The weather was too nasty for target shooting.
We hiked alone which was just fine. The icy woods weren't all that bad.
The snowpack was between 1.5 to 3 feet depending on wind blow drifts.
White birch.
Yellow birch and white intertwined something I never seen before.
Chaga.
This was all high fire grade chaga. I will use this for tea, incense and firecraft. Dug out what remained with my Enzo Trapper 12c27. In an environment like this quality stainless steel really shines, pun intended.
I don't have to worry about rust plus the edge retention and sharpening ease of this blade is nearly par with most carbon steel knives I have used. Though will admit a quality/properly heat treated carbon steel knife is preferred for some uses. No one tool is best for every situation and job.
Hiked along finding the porcupine sign we heard about. Man that critter was working over smaller beech and white pine hard.
The critter clipped off the branch ends guessing to crew on whats left like we would a lobster's legs.
Porcupine scat.
It's trail was easy to follow. In the video we tracked the porcupine back to it's den or at least that's what I think.
Ice storm still going!
I left the EMR on the snow because we took the sled for wood. It got coated in ice during the hike.
Later that night the ice storm was still ongoing. Patrick Smith was wise in using large zippers when destining Kifaru shelters. Some makers resist the extra weight but a big #10 YKK zipper can cut through an ice coating as it did here. The same applies to the number #8 YKK on the Paratipi.
When not using a liner there is always the risk of condensation within a single walled shelter. Water dripping on a sleeping bag can get a sleep system damp. The Gortex MSS bivy cover did a good job mitigating this issue. Most gear has a learning curve.
I was cooking food in the yurt near the wood stove. Got so overheated did 2 miles of night hikes into the freezing rain.
Sunjack USB light is so bright my tent actually case a glow far away from the shelter. This is how it actually appears. The smaller red glow was from my burning stove.
It's even brighter inside. No flash was used in this photo.
Used the flash here so the light could be seen without blurring the image. Earlier it illuminated the yurt before the Guide 10 ran down. Found more Eneloops in my pack. One of the pros to a power pack which takes AAs. I just finished my DIY Goal Zero Firefly hanging lantern. Not sure which one I prefer. The GZ has much less lumens but better tint, heat sink and runtimes but dang that Sunjack is bright.
A wood stove makes all the difference during cold wet weather. The wood foraged during our earlier hike was ice covered. The stove melted that off.
All packed up. The pit of despair. Next time for shorter trips in this case 2 nights 3 days I will float the shelter if possible. Longer than that digging down has paid off more times than not.
Dang this was a pain.
Interesting floated camp foot print. The cut out for seating around the stove can be seen. This may also act as a cold trap though never tried the technique.
The yurt!
Wichland woods.
Heading out.
The frozen iced over woods.
It was around a 4-hour truck ride home. Despite the ice rain this was a good time. Here is a video but be warned, like this post it's long winded.
[video=youtube;3zJ5_eZBgaA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zJ5_eZBgaA[/video]
