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Okay boys, I got back from a long 24 day winter backpacking trip (see pics) in the mountains of TN and NC and hiked these main trails--- Flats Mt (twice) Brush Mt Up (Citico Creek wilderness) Seven Mile Ridge (Bob Bald to Hangover Mt) Hangover Lead South/Big Fat Trail down to Slickrock Creek...

Let the games begin. My total Bag Nights for 2020 up to February 11 is--- 21 Backpacking 21 Backyard Bedroll Camping TOTAL 42 I just pulled a 21 day backpacking trip in the mountains of TN/NC and here's some pics--- Trip starts on January 17 with a 95 lb pack and 40 lbs of food etc. A...

OwenM's pic reminds me of the first tent I used in the 1950s---a green canvas umbrella tent with a single wooden pole in the middle. (Not my pic but off the internet---though my old tent looked very similar). My first serious backpacking tent was this North Face A-frame from the 1975...

One of the best things ever to happen to Cherokee NF and Tellico River is the closing of the Tellico Off Road Vehicle playground. The rolling sportmen dropped oil pans into the headwaters of Tellico River and no one complained for years until the area got shut down. The main reason it was shut...

I don't have alot of vintage pics because we didn't carry cameras in the early days---just didn't bother with it. But I got a few--- Anyone remember the old canvas Yucca backpacks? Here I am getting ready for a trip in 1963---age 12. This would be around 1982---when I literally lived out...

I carry both a quilt and a sleeping bag---as my bag becomes a quilt when I use it unzipped and thrown over me as a blanket. This works great from 50F down to about 10F. Below 10F my quilt has the needed option to be fully zipped up and become a mummy sleeping bag---good to about -15F. Best of...

Btw---my backyard bag nights are with this setup---a bedroll on the back porch with a couple sleeping pads---and a real pillow---

2019 Total Bag Nights--- 143 Backpacking bag nights. 212 Backyard Camping bag nights. TOTAL---355 BAG NIGHTS. Most Recent Trip Pics--- I just got back from am 18 day December backpacking trip and this was my route. Saw a little snow too in the mountains of Tennessee.

That's a good one. Actually, the weakest point on the spoon is where the spoon part connects to the handle---it will snap on occasion. But all I ever use are sea to summit long handle spoons. The other question would be: How many lexan spoons have we broken??

I have a 3 Step procedure--- ** Stand pack upright and sit down on side of left foot to tighten shoulder straps. ** Lean forward and lift pack onto back and rise off left foot and place foot flat on ground. ** Rise off left leg using right leg too. I made a joke video once at the start of a...

I actually broke a sea to summit long spoon in half on a winter trip using it as a knife to cut frozen cheese.

The only reason I went the McHale route was because my usual Mystery Ranch G7000 load hauler's hipbelt was poorly designed with plastic stiffeners digging into my hips. The McHale comes in at around 8,000 cubic inches which is what I need for my 21-24 day backpacking trips w/o resupply, i.e. an...

My biggest purchase in the last couple years has been a couple spare Pilot ink pen cartridges which I use on my backpacking trips as writing pens for keeping my trip journals. JUST KIDDING!!! My biggest purchase has been ordering and getting a finished Dan McHale backpack which took about 18...

I doubt if I could do my long trips in Mt Rogers anymore since they may require bear canisters. ??? Hard to get 20 days of food in a BearVault.

Great pics of a great area. I started backpacking the Mt Rogers area back in the 1980s and have some neato pics from the early days. In the last ten years I've pulled two long trips there---one of 19 days and one 20 day trip---and parked my car at the NRA headquarters about 30 miles north on...

I too am a classical musician and was raised a clarinetist---attended North Texas State---USAF Band etc. I bring a little radio on my trips and try to listen to a couple local classical stations and a couple gems pass through when they're not playing 24/7 piano music. Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy...

Bob Wire---excellent. Back in the 80's I had the whole song memorized and sang it to myself as I backpacked. Still remember some of it--- "Oh where have you been my blue eyed son . . " "I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard . . " "I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all...

Kmatjhwy---I hear what you're saying. Once you get to living a "primitive" type lifestyle it'll always be a part of your psyche. I spent 21 years living in a ridgetop Tipi in North Carolina (1980-2001) and cut a 1 mile trail up to the thing on 40 acres of land with a trail elevation gain of...

Bob---if you don't use a mummy bag---and I assume we're talking about cold weather sleeping since we're talking about liners---what kind of bag do you use? A big rectangular bag?? Do you car camp or backpack? Just wondering. And Miya---Reflects pretty much my thoughts.

I see the Pit Vipers (Pit Toilets??) everywhere I go---into Pisgah NF, Bald River/Upper Bald wilderness, Citico, Slickrock etc you name it. If you spend enough time hiking in the mountains of TN and cover alot of acreage in trails you're bound to see the guys. Most especially during the...