spencer rifle
Grandmaster
My oldest son and I spent 4 days in the Deam Wilderness backpacking and testing out our tech and skills. We were prepared to hunt and gather and roam off trail. Some things we learned:
1. The pine branch water filter is extremely slow and requires a live pine branch, not dead or "mostly dead."
2. Fresh frog legs are delicious.
3. Ripe pawpaws are also delicious, as are persimmons, and fresh sassafras tea.
4. American chestnuts are tasty (if you can find any) and are even better roasted on an open fire. We planted a number in various places along our hike.
5. Soaking chestnut oak acorns and certain (probably bitternut) hickory nuts for several days in several changes of water will not always render them edible.
6. Chiggers suck.
7. Multiflora rose hips are not so great this early in the season, and are full of seeds.
8. Spicebush berries are a great pick-me-up on the trail.
9. Chiggers really suck.
10. Multifuel stove, solo stove and army surplus solid fuel stove all worked adequately, though it seems the multifuel stove needs a new gasket on the intake and more spring tension on the striker.
11. My sense of direction is not as good as I formerly believed. Though we didn't stay lost for long.
12. The AR7 worked great - too bad the first clear squirrel sighting was on our drive out.
13. The plastic trowel from Walmart is just what you'd expect, and didn't even survive the first day.
14. Sawyer 30% DEET lotion is inadequate to repel chiggers.
15. Wool socks powerfully attract various sticky seeds.
16. Titanium cookware is really nice, really light, and really expensive.
17. All our water purification processes worked - no one got sick, though we did have medicine along for that.
18. Owls can be pretty noisy.
19. Did I mention that chiggers suck?
1. The pine branch water filter is extremely slow and requires a live pine branch, not dead or "mostly dead."
2. Fresh frog legs are delicious.
3. Ripe pawpaws are also delicious, as are persimmons, and fresh sassafras tea.
4. American chestnuts are tasty (if you can find any) and are even better roasted on an open fire. We planted a number in various places along our hike.
5. Soaking chestnut oak acorns and certain (probably bitternut) hickory nuts for several days in several changes of water will not always render them edible.
6. Chiggers suck.
7. Multiflora rose hips are not so great this early in the season, and are full of seeds.
8. Spicebush berries are a great pick-me-up on the trail.
9. Chiggers really suck.
10. Multifuel stove, solo stove and army surplus solid fuel stove all worked adequately, though it seems the multifuel stove needs a new gasket on the intake and more spring tension on the striker.
11. My sense of direction is not as good as I formerly believed. Though we didn't stay lost for long.
12. The AR7 worked great - too bad the first clear squirrel sighting was on our drive out.
13. The plastic trowel from Walmart is just what you'd expect, and didn't even survive the first day.
14. Sawyer 30% DEET lotion is inadequate to repel chiggers.
15. Wool socks powerfully attract various sticky seeds.
16. Titanium cookware is really nice, really light, and really expensive.
17. All our water purification processes worked - no one got sick, though we did have medicine along for that.
18. Owls can be pretty noisy.
19. Did I mention that chiggers suck?
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