Worth
When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Spring Training
Last February I began a training ritual in preparation for my anticipated journey to Spain. Every weekend that I could, up to the very time of my departure, I would load up my Kifaru ZXR with the heaviest books I owned till it reached something in the range of 70-80 lbs, then head out the door and hike 15-20 miles. In reality, this is far more weight than I usually carry while traveling and I tend not to walk much more than 15 miles a day. But by pushing my body and mind further than where I actually require it to go, the pleasure, serenity, and ease of travel is heightened.
I find that no amount of running, biking, or light-weight day hiking adequately prepares the body for the weight of the ruck and life on The Road. So, this year, I’m continuing the training. Yesterday was day one. I hadn’t walked under my heavy rucksack for a couple of months, so I started out with something probably closer to 50 lbs and did a 15 mile trip that lacked much elevation change.
It felt good to dust off the rucksack and move around some. At the end of the day, I could feel the strain in my gluteal muscles. Today I’m only a little bit sore. The exercise works and I’m glad of my starting weight and mileage.
In the coming weeks, I’ll increase the weight and mileage until I reach stability. At that point, I’ll keep things interesting by using my GPS to clock my speed and see what I can do about cutting down on time.
I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least -- and it is commonly more than that -- sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements. You may safely say, A penny for your thoughts, or a thousand pounds. When sometimes I am reminded that the mechanics and shopkeepers stay in their shops not only all the forenoon, but all the afternoon too, sitting with crossed legs, so many of them -- as if the legs were made to sit upon, and not to stand or walk upon -- I think that they deserve some credit for not having all committed suicide long ago. Henry David Thoreau
RantMedia Independent Cell: WA
Last Saturday, I took a train into Seattle to meet up with some of the members of RantMedia’s Washington cell. In attendance were OneeyedElf1, SideSlide, HatterOfMaddnesz, Avagdu, myself, and another who I will dub PlantGirl.
OneeyedElf1 was the first to arrive at Bauhaus Books & Coffee. I got in a bit past noon, after walking the few blocks from the train station. Neither of us had seen or met SideSlide yet, but, soon thereafter, a fellow walked in with a Maxpedition Versipack and we figured that must be him. OneeyedElf1 and I were both sporting our Rant 10th Anniversary shirts, which attracted SideSlide to our place at the bar. He introduced us to PlantGirl, who was not familiar with RantMedia but had consented to joining us on our exploits, and we moved to a table upstairs.
We talked about the various things that people like us talk about and SideSlide prepared for the day’s main activity: geocaching. SideSlide was the most experienced geocacher in our group – and the most prepared – so he took the lead.
After a while of sitting around, OneeyedElf1 managed to contact Avagdu, who informed us that he would be late (some nonsense about not realizing about what day it was). None of us had contact information for HatterOfMaddnesz, but we thought that there was a good chance that he would be carpooling with Avagdu, so we decided to start the adventures without them. SideSlide selected the first target.
Outside the coffee shop, SideSlide, PlantGirl, and myself waited for OneeyedElf1 to move his car before we all took off.
We knew this first cache was near REI, so we headed in that direction. As we got close, SideSlide consulted his GPS.
The GPS indicated that the cache was probably somewhere in the bushes, so we all dived in. PlantGirl was the one who found it. This first cache was a micro, which is very small. Inside, was a list of those who had previously located the cache.
We all signed our names and returned the cache, after which we ventured into REI to inspect the gear. They didn’t have what I was looking for, so I left empty-handed. SideSlide bought an MSR Dromlite bag and PlantGirl picked up one of those CamelBak water bottles.
While inside REI, OneeyedElf1 and I discovered that we both have Atwood Tactical Whistles on our keychains (though his is titanium, while I have one of the older stainless steel models).
At the checkout stand, we had another obligatory wog moment when I noticed what SideSlide was paying out of. “Hey, is that a Spec-Ops wallet,” I asked, while brandishing my own for him to see. (If this doesn’t happen, you’re not at a RantMeet.)
Back outside, we located the next target and set off.
This cache was in the neighboring community garden and was located by SideSlide.
Before heading to the next cache, SideSlide used the public restroom. When he returned, he digged into his bag, revealing that all important piece of kit: baby wipes.
After this, we heading back across i-5 in search of the third cache. It was more difficult to find, as it was a nano cache, which is very, very small.
Rolled up inside was a piece of appropriately small paper. We signed our names and moved on.
The fourth cache was just down the hill from the previous one, but was the most difficult yet to locate. The GPS first insisted that it was almost right on i-5, so we looked there first.
But it soon became apparent that the cache was actually located on the other side of the street in some rocks. We searched for a while but remained unsuccessful, so SideSlide decoded the hint.
This didn’t help much. We continued to search unsuccessfully until OneeyedElf1 pulled out his phone and found a picture of where the cache was hidden.
Finally, we found the cache (in a place that we had previously looked). It was in an old ziploc bag which we replaced with a new one and returned to its hiding spot.
During all of this, Avagdu had called OneeyedElf1 to inform him that he was in town. We didn’t know how to direct him to where we were, so we decided to walk back to Bauhaus and meet him there. When we arrived, we found both Avagdu and HatterOfMaddnesz sipping coffee.
We talked a bit and in a few minutes, the table was cluttered with multiple GPS systems, compasses, knifes, and lighters.
After HatterOfMaddnesz finished his drink, we decided to go in search of food. Our first attempt proved futile, as the place was not serving food for another hour, so we ventured on in search of another restaurant.
Eventually we found a bar that served pizza, which was good enough for our tastes. We ordered two larges and spent about an hour discussing various subjects and sharing more gear. Most of the excitement occurred on Avagdu’s part. He passed his fire making kit to SideSlide for inspection, which SideSlide promptly dropped directly into his beer. Luckily, Avagdu’s kit was waterproof. A while later, Avagdu reached for a slice of pizza. When he lifted the piece, all the toppings fell off onto the plate. This was dubbed Pizza Fail.
As we left the bar, Avagdu borrowed PlantGirl’s purse for a glamour shot and to demonstrate the latest fashion in tactical EDC bags.
After a quick trip into a drugstore in search of batteries for the GPS, we started to walk down the hill, in the direction of Avagdu’s car and the next cache.
Avagdu had to plug the meter at his parking spot. When we reached his car, we spotted a flyer on the windshield that appeared to be a ticket, but, upon closer inspection, proved to be an advertisement.
After plugging the meter, we went off in search of the next cache. This one proved to be the most difficult to find, but it was eventually found by PlantGirl. After finally locating it, the sun was almost set and we began to head downtown in an attempt to locate the final cache. We did not have coordinates for this final cache, but instead had been provided with a series of puzzles to crack. I had to start the trek back to the train station before we could solve all the puzzles and locate the cache, so I don’t know if that search was successful.
All my photos from the meet are on flickr. Feel free to remix.
Trail Designs Ti-Tri Titanium Stove System
I’ve had a few requests to do a review of the new stove system I’ve been using for the past couple weeks. I don’t feel like I have enough experience with it yet to do a proper review, but I snapped some photos today to let people know what it’s all about.
The system is a Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri Titanium Stove System. It takes the older (and very popular) Caldera Cone and combines some of the know-how of the folks at Titanium Goat to create a light-weight system that burns alcohol, Esbit tabs, and wood. And, of course, it’s made of titanium.
If you already have a pot you’d like to use, you can contact Trail Designs and have them build a cone for you. Elsewise, the Ti-Tri is available with a pot from Titanium Goat. I’ve previously mentioned my love affair with my Snow Peak Trek 700 mug/cup/pot/thing, but I had been thinking of acquiring a larger, 900ml pot for somewhat more extravagant cooking. Because of this, I decided to get the 900ml Ti-Tri from Titanium Goat, rather than have a Ti-Tri built for my Snow Peak mug.
Titanium Goat’s 900ml pot is a basic affair: handles on the body, a decent lid with a thingy on top that allows it to be easily lifted, as well as three holes for venting or draining water. Titanium Goat claims that the pot and mug weigh in at 4.4oz, which seems correct to me.
The Ti-Tri system itself comes inside of the same caddy system as does the normal Caldera. It’s basically two pieces of plastic that screw together. The diameter of the caddy is the same as a 32oz Nalgene, so it will nest in the same cups (such as the aforementioned Snow Peak 700). This is a somewhat bulky way of carrying the system, I find, but the caddy is constructed out of food grade plastic, so both pieces can double as a bowl or mug. It also does a great job of protecting all the components. So far, I’ve been packing everything in the caddy. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep doing it that way or not.
The alcohol stove that comes with the Ti-Tri is a Trail Designs 12-10 which, they claim, has been designed to “perform optimally with the restricted air flow and higher heat retained by the cone during operation.” My expertise in the design of alcohol stoves are lacking and, as I said before, I don’t feel I yet have enough experience with this system to draw a comparison between it and my Vargo Triad XE (which I also haven’t had for all that long), but the 12-10 has seemed extremely efficient so far (and much easier to light).
The Ti-Tri cone itself is made from a piece of very thin titanium foil. On either side of the cone is a rib – the smaller slides into the larger, and there’s your cone. It’s very easy to assemble. The cone has air vents on the top and the bottom. When assembled, the cone goes over the stove, and the pot nests into the top.
The pot’s lip holds it up. Even with the thinness of the cone’s material, it is a surprisingly sturdy setup. You do have to be somewhat watchful when sliding the pot into the cone, as the pot handle’s mountings will sometimes get caught on the edge of the cone’s opening. I say sometimes, but this actually happens to me the majority of the time. It’s greatly annoying.
If you’re sure to center the handles over the opening in the side of the cone, the handle mountings will not get caught.
The base is an optional addition to the Ti-Tri system to be used for wood burning. It’s simply another piece of titanium foil, slightly larger in diameter than the cone. When burning wood, you set the cone on the base, put the included titanium stakes through the holes in one end of the cone and out the other. These then support the pot higher up, allowing you to shove your fuel in the cone’s side opening.
The Ti-Tri’s third fuel option are esbit tabs, which uses Trail Design’s GramCracker. The GramCracker
This setup directs the heat for a much more efficient burn than that offered by a standard esbit stove. (The GramCracker also comes with a small piece of foil to be used as a base, but since I already carry the larger base for wood burning, I leave this smaller piece at home.) With the GramCracker assembled, the cone is placed on top, and the pot is nested just as with the alcohol stove.
The Ti-Tri also comes with an 8 oz fuel bottle and measuring cup. The measuring cup holds 1 oz and has measurements marked in various units on all sides. The fuel bottle itself is the best I’ve found for alcohol. It has a tight screw lid that prevents any leaking (unlike those little Nalgene dispenser bottles), but also provides a plug with a small hole that allows one to fill the measuring cup (or the stove directly) much easier than it is to pour without such a plug.
Today, I was planning on using the Ti-Tri as an alcohol stove. Trail Designs claims that the Ti-Tri can bring 2 cups of water to a boil with 15ml of alcohol. I’ve found that 15ml brings 2 cups to more of a simmer. For a boil, you’d want 25ml. I didn’t measure exactly how much water I poured into the pot, so I decided to use a bit over 20ml of fuel.
Tea, today, would be Doug Fir and Cedar. After pouring the the fuel from the measuring cup into the stove, I lit the 12-10 with a match, tossed on the cone, settled in the pot (after getting the handle mountings caught on the edge of the cone), and shifted my attentions elsewhere. I didn’t time it this time around, but I think it burned for a bit over 10 minutes. My water was brought to a full, rolling boil – much more than I really needed just for tea, but I was just out for a day-hike, so I wasn’t terribly concerned with fuel conservation. After the burn, I tossed the Doug Fir and Cedar into the pot to steep and settled in for some tea and poetry.
Overall, the Ti-Tri comes in at just under 10oz. It’s not the lightest or most compact alcohol stove setup, but seems to me to be extremely efficient. It’s a bit like the JetBoil of the alcohol stove world. Of course, the Ti-Tri’s primary advantage over other alcohol stoves is that it is not an alcohol stove: it’s an alcohol stove, esbit stove, and wood stove. Having three different fuel options in your pack (and at such a light weight) is quite an invaluable thing. I’m greatly looking forward to further use and testing of what has become my primary cooking system.
The Ti-Tri is a somewhat new product, but has already garnered some positive press, such as a 2008 Backpacking Light Staff Pick. I’m quite curious as to how the system’s wood burning compares to that of the Bush Buddy.
Check out Trail Design’s gallery for photos further photos of the Ti-Tri in use, including at -20 degrees Fahrenheit in the Yukon.
Today’s post brought to you by: that feeling you get when you dangle your legs over a precipice that could probably kill you. And blue skies.
Bed in the bush with stars to see, Bread I dip in the river -- There's the life for a man like me, There's the life for ever. from The Vagabond, Robert Louis Stevenson
My Morning Triathlon
I always run on Saturday morning. When my schedule allows it, I try to get in at least one additional run at some point during the week. The past few months, this didn’t happen very often. Since the new year, my schedule now allows me to run on both Tuesday and Thursday mornings, in addition to the usual Saturdays.
This morning was the first run I had taken in close to a month where it wasn’t raining (or snowing). It was so enjoyable that I decided to add something extra: at the park that marks my half-way point, I stopped and did 45 elevated push-ups off one of the benches before continuing on home. When I first started running again, it actually felt a little easier, since my legs and lungs had gotten about a minute break from the running, but soon after I discovered that my abdominal muscles weren’t too happy with me.
After running on weekdays, I only have about a 20 minute break to take a shower and break-fast before jumping on my bike and pedaling off to work. My morning commute is all up a hill that gets progressively steeper as one gets higher. Over the winter holidays, my office was moved about another half mile up the hill. Rather than riding my bike all the way up, I’ve taken to going up only about halfway, then walking up 55 stairs with the bike on my shoulder.
RantMedia 10th Anniversary
I finally got around to uploading my photos and video from the RantMedia 10th Anniversary in Vancouver over the first weekend of the new year.
We had a tendency to hang out in dark places – mostly alternating between Subeez, Vancity Theatre, and Sanctuary – so none of the pictures turned out to be any kind of decent, but there you have it.
The live Afternow (which kicks off a brand new season) was certainly pant-wetting material, but, for me, the highlight must be dinner the night before. The group included Avagdu, Hatterofmaddnesz, Kevin, Yugosaki, Halloween, IceHawk, Ephoy, ButcherShopVegan, and myself. It started off innocently enough, sharing flashlights and knives, but the night quickly degenerated to other debauchery: boots on the table, belts coming off, Kevin trying to teach Avagdu to braid paracord after Avagdu had had too much to drink.
Thanks to Avagdu and Hatterofmaddnesz for driving me up.
Ravenlore
One of my favorite bushcraft sites is the oft-overlooked Ravenlore. The site is very simple, containing information on a number of projects that cover the basics of the craft, such as cooking and cutting. Interspersed throughout the site are stunning photographs that appear as if windows into Arda.
In addition to the site’s excellent and diverse set of information, what appeals to me so much is the manner in which it is presented and organized. It creates a feeling of myth, framing bushcraft as a story that we move through while on the trail. This is important, but undervalued. Joseph Campbell used to say that we were a people without myth. I disagree. I believe that we have an over-abundance of myth. Individuals must pick their own mythology to live within. Bushcraft, when taken as more as just wilderness survival skills, can be part of this.
Your life is a story. Pick up a pen and write it.
(Wayland is also a free-lance viking, pirate, and photographer.)
Do What Scares You
Thousands of years ago, the work that people did had been broken down into jobs that were the same every day, in organizations where people were interchangeable parts. All of the story had been bled out of their lives. That was how it had to be; it was how you got a productive economy. But it would be easy to see a will at work behind this: not exactly an evil will, but a selfish will. The people who'd made the system thus were jealous, not of money and not of power but of story. If their employees came home at day's end with interesting stories to tell, it meant that something had gone wrong: a blackout, a strike, a spree killing. The Powers That Be would not suffer others to be in stories of their own unless they were fake stories that had been made up to motivate them. People who couldn't live without story had been driven into the concents or into jobs like Yul's. All other had to look somewhere outside of work for a feeling that they were part of a story, which I guessed was why Sæculars were so concerned with sports, and with religion. How else could you see yourself as part of an adventure? Something with a beginning, middle, and end in which you played a significant part? Neal Stephenson, Anathem