After a great weekend in the wet weather, my friends have had a chance to upload the pictures they took (at least a good handful of them) to their flickr accounts. Molly and I decided to leave our DSLR’s at the house being that there was another DSLR and a Point&Shoot already packed with the other guys’ stuff.

For the most part we followed the itinerary I outlined in the “Planning for a Backpacking Trip” post. Though, because we purposely didn’t take watches or cell phones we didn’t exactly stick to a schedule which meant we had to cut a couple of the bigger hikes out of the day(s). Part of it may have also been due to the literal downpour we received on Friday evening and Saturday morning. We’ll go back later one or two weekends to finish up the Cloudland Canyon trails.

With the successful trip, I’m going to be planning a “car camping” trip for sometime in Mid-December or Early/Mid-January so more of my friends can come along, and enjoy some better camp-cuisine. I’ll have a couple of posts related to that coming up soon enough.

View the full post for the pics from this weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

After his last brew, and actually on the tail end of while it was still being enjoyed, Rob (a.k.a. StubbornMan) mentioned that he was brewing a bitter. Having rushed to get clean bottles back to him so he could bottle everything on time, I was anxious to taste another example of a bitter. I gave him plenty of 22 oz. “bombers” this round of filling so he wouldn’t have to collect as many (and I figured that would mean more home brewed beer for me, HA!). With every chance I have to try one of his brews, I get closer and closer to buying my own set of home brewing equipment to give it a try myself.

From BeerAdvocate: “The Bitter style came from brewers who wanted to differentiate these ales from other mild brews, enter pale malts and more hops. Most are gold to copper in colour and are light bodied. Low carbonation. Alcohol should be low and not perceived. Hop bitterness is moderate to assertive. Most have a fruitiness in the aroma and flavor, diacetyl can also be present. These are traditionally served cask conditioned, but many breweries have bottled versions.”

I don’t think he has a name for it yet, but that doesn’t matter… Lets just cut to the chase, shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to StumbleUpon, I have managed to come across multiple plans for DIY Lightweight Alcohol Burning stove. I finally decided to combine the knowledge I gathered from each of the articles and put one together myself.

After getting my first one together I modified the plans a bit and made a second one with the goal to have it hold a bit more fuel (for the longer cooking time). Version 2, as I’ll call it, was able to produce a 7-minute boil time, and a 20-minute run time before dropping down to a simmer. I used a windscreen and Heet as my fuel source.

Instructions after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a quickly thrown together checklist of gear, with notes, that anyone should be mindful of when going backpacking. I tried to be as complete as possible, though I’m sure I’m missing something…

Packs & Sleeping

Tent, poles, stakes, groundcloth
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad
Backpack
Day pack (small school backpack)
Rain cover for backpack (trashbags work well)

Essentials

Water Bottle (32oz or more)
First Aid Kit
Sun Protection
Bear Bag
Rope
Knife
Flashlight
Rain gear (poncho or light wind-breaking rain jacket)

Clothing

Ziplock freezer bags (to pack clothes in to stay dry)
Boots or trail shoes (ankle support)
Camp shoes
Socks (pack an extra pair)
Underwear
Light Pants
Light Shorts
Light Shirt(s)
Light Jacket or Long Sleeve Shirt(for warmth)
Cap or hat

Cooking & Food

Pot (1 per group of 4-6)
Cooking Utencils
Camp Suds (environmentally safe soap)
Dish Cloth
Cup
Stove
Fuel
Lighter
Water Container (for cooking, etc)
Breakfasts (Oatmeal, fried potatoes, cereal, protein bars)
Lunches
Dinners
Snacks (peanuts, raisins, oysters, crackers, jerky)
Spices (Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Cayenne)
Drink Mix (Gatorade, CapriSun, Tang, Hot Chocolate)

Optional Items

Camping pillow (a ball of clean clothes works well too)
Insect Repellant
GPS
Camera
Extra Batteries
Binoculars
Camp Chair
Fishing gear
Cards + games
Hiking Stave or Poles

I captured a discussion my father, AI4ZV, was having with KJ4KET while trying out my UStream feed (for use at the office as a way of allowing me to listen to the Ham Radio waves in a basement).

Some of you may catch some information that could prove useful. I hope the tags I add to the post helped direct you here for some useful purpose (if not your intended search).

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2204933