Mike Islander
WKR
The boys on BushcrafterUSA held a "worldwide" group camping weekend starting Friday. Figured that was a good excuse to test my knee with a full pack and honor the victims of September 11th.
Had surgery July 2 and worked really hard on my PT. Doc cleared me to full duty, so I packed up the Exo and headed out to a secluded sea island near Edisto.
55 pound pack including the Fieldcraft, tripod, extra camera gear, binos, pistol, gallon of water and food. Part of my hunt included bushcraft stuff, so also had a new Gransfors forest axe, heavy knife, and Silky to play with.
Thinking about it now, probably not a good idea for a first full backpack "workout" on a 90 degree day with a 79 degree dew point. 79 degree dew point? What's the big deal? Take a minute to look up dew point.
Tough mile, even with trekking poles, but the knee did great! Once I got to my own private beach it was totally worth it, despite the crazy heat, humidity, and our gigantic mosquitos.
Jumped in the water and then set up camp. Big Agnes mesh inner under a Dutchware Gear Dyneema tarp to maximize ventilation.
Set up to glass the marsh in the evening. Saw three does running but no buck chasing that I could see. Truthfully I was hoping not to see a buck because I was so hot and tired from the hike in.
Rain rolled in off the Dawhoo River, so I escaped under the tarp to wait it out. Caught a nice big bottle of rain water off the new tarp and made super. Once the water boiled I snuffed out the TOAKS stove and used it as a smoker to keep down the mosquitos.
Goofed off with the Gransfors and Bone Valley Desert Ironwood knife, since it was a bushcraft event.
Morning was awesome, cooler and less humidity, though still Carolina-hot. Headed home to rehydrate and recover. The hike back was a bit easier. Overall could not be happier with the new knee. Literally gave me my life back.
Had surgery July 2 and worked really hard on my PT. Doc cleared me to full duty, so I packed up the Exo and headed out to a secluded sea island near Edisto.
55 pound pack including the Fieldcraft, tripod, extra camera gear, binos, pistol, gallon of water and food. Part of my hunt included bushcraft stuff, so also had a new Gransfors forest axe, heavy knife, and Silky to play with.
Thinking about it now, probably not a good idea for a first full backpack "workout" on a 90 degree day with a 79 degree dew point. 79 degree dew point? What's the big deal? Take a minute to look up dew point.
Tough mile, even with trekking poles, but the knee did great! Once I got to my own private beach it was totally worth it, despite the crazy heat, humidity, and our gigantic mosquitos.
Jumped in the water and then set up camp. Big Agnes mesh inner under a Dutchware Gear Dyneema tarp to maximize ventilation.
Set up to glass the marsh in the evening. Saw three does running but no buck chasing that I could see. Truthfully I was hoping not to see a buck because I was so hot and tired from the hike in.
Rain rolled in off the Dawhoo River, so I escaped under the tarp to wait it out. Caught a nice big bottle of rain water off the new tarp and made super. Once the water boiled I snuffed out the TOAKS stove and used it as a smoker to keep down the mosquitos.
Goofed off with the Gransfors and Bone Valley Desert Ironwood knife, since it was a bushcraft event.
Morning was awesome, cooler and less humidity, though still Carolina-hot. Headed home to rehydrate and recover. The hike back was a bit easier. Overall could not be happier with the new knee. Literally gave me my life back.
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