Don’t leave the radar detector on. A dead car battery doesn’t help things.

The gear list for my Survival Walk-about arrived today.

Required Non-Clothes Items

1. Day pack, Waist pack, of 5' X 5' cloth (for carrying gear)
2. One 1 liter water bottle
3. Water treatment supplies:
   • We recommend either Grapefruit Seed Extract of Aerobic Oxygen, both of which can be bought at natural food stores
   • Another option is Ioding (Liquid or Tablets)
   • Please NO filters
4. Personal Medical Kit:
   • Band-aids
   • Moleskin (or other blister-care materials)
   • Personal Medications
5. Sharp sheath knife (Mora/Frosts Knife recommended), NO folding knives
6. One heavy duty trash bag

Required Clothes *These clothes are to be worn on your body or otherwise fit into your daypack.

1. A pair of wool or poly blend hiking socks
2. A pair of Hiking shoes
3. One long john bottoms/pants (wool or synthetic)
4. Quick-dry shorts (synthetic)
5. Belt
6. Sports Bra/Athletic top (women only)
7. Long Sleeved shirt (lightweight bug and sun protection)
8. One long john top or sweater (wool or synthetic)
9. Rain jacket and rain pants (lightweight and waterproof)
10. Balaclava or stocking cap

Optional

1. Study pants (synthetic)
2. Sunscreen (unscented)
3. Comb or brush
4. Toothbrush and floss
5. Small 3x5 note pad and pencil
6. Small sewing kit
7. Compass (simply Suunto or Silva compass with adjustable declination) no lensatic or military compasses

The pack surprised me. I thought they would allow only the clothes on your body. Speaking of clothes, that they recommended shorts was also surprising. Not only are they not very popular (or practical) here in the Pacific Northwest, but they also don’t offer much protection while tramping through the bush. I’ll stick with pants.

I’ve never heard of the knife they recommend. I’ll be bringing a Becker Knife and Tool Crewman.

Gunner Palace is a documentary that follows the U.S. 2/3 Field Artillery around Baghdad. With little narrating, the film is neither pro-war or anti-war. Rather, it simply tries to show a day in the life. Check it out.

Yesterday, during my jaunt through the Arboretum, I collected a branch of pine needles. I’ve often heard good things of pine needle tea, so I thought I’d try it. I put a little less than a handful of needles into 1 cup of boiling water, and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Strangely, the tea doesn’t really smell like pine – it had a sort of citrus smell to it. Someone who walked in on me while I was doing this thought it smelled like tangerine.

The tea itself was really good. I think it’s better tasting than most of the fancy store bought stuff, and it’s free. The only downside was that, since I don’t have a strainer, I ended up drinking a few pine needles, too. The needles have a sort of sour after taste and are a little too chewy for my liking. Next time, I’ll try to drink it with my bombilla.

I bought my ticket to Thailand today. I’ll be leaving June 26th and returning July 19th.

There’s a two hour layover in Tokyo on both ends of my trip, so I think I’ll get caught up in the underground world of drift racing.

One of the most useful items I brought to the Redwoods was my recon wrap. Head wrap, neck gaiter, face mask, and water filter all in one.

I’ve been using the soap I made since returning from my trip. The stuff is great. Some of the best soap I’ve ever used, which is high praise considering I normally can’t stand bar soap.