I was going to rush a new episode of The Practical Woodsman out this week, but I’ve decided not to do it. I’ve probably had more ongoing, simultaneous projects going on this week than at any time since I started Practical Woodsman - and I’ve been turning the camera on while I work on them - but they just might not be very interesting to most folks.
I’ve been working on a DIY backwoods portable solar charger support tilt stand, that has been a bigger challenge than I thought it would be.
I upgraded a 23-year-old cotton canvas jacket by waxing it and making it waterproof (it also now looks a lot sexier). By the way, I used the recycled wax of a large candle for that.
I’ve been working on a DIY oil lantern/stove combination that runs off paraffin, lamp oil, cintronella, etc. repurposed from an old storm lantern. I’m loving this. No more separate stove and lamp, stove fuel and lamp fuel. It can just all be done with a single setup.
I’ve been working on putting together a DIY candle lantern that is far superior to the UCO candle lanterns, but functions as a storm lantern and can be easily maintained in the woods. Definitely superior in quality to the garbage UCO stuff.
Anyway, these are some of the things I’ve been juggling. I was hoping to put out a show with the solar charger support tilt stand setup, but I honestly just don’t think it’s interesting enough on its own. So maybe what I’ll do is publish a show next week where I show off all of these little projects combined into a single episode.
I hope y’all are having a Good Friday. Stay safe out there.
Tremendous howling, getting closer and closer, coming up over the ridge. Spooky — and I could still see the trees moving up real good from down in a little Appalachian holler.
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14°F in the Appalachian Backcountry. Tomorrow morning we have to pack up and cover 10 miles, so I boiled water, poured it into a double-walled thermos, and saved the leftover in my kuksa. Morning coffee, no fire required.
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Folks'll spend a heap of money on gear they don't need, then turn around and skimp on the one thing they're totin' every step of the way.
"Brand names aren't better than most cheap, Chinese knockoff brands. Softshell jackets are all polyester. What you're paying for is a logo and perhaps some more appealing colors. Backpacks do seem to matter when it comes to brand names, cost and quality."
So go cheap on your britches and yer jacket if ya want to. But spend money on the pack. You’ll be glad ya did, and she might just become a dear ol’ friend given time.
— The Practical Woodsman
The biggest issue is not the snow. After all, snow is an amazing insulator. The bigger issues are dress, temperatures, elevation, wind, and those sorts of things.
I myself have fallen asleep in the open on snowy, below-freezing nights while on long, multi-day-and-night excursions in the backcountry next to my campfire many, many times. The reason why this has happened is simple - I was cozy. If I had not been dressed with an appropriate number of layers, and if there had been significant wind, I would not have been cozy, and I would have had to move into some sort of shelter, like a tent.
— The Practical Woodsman
