Front Pack (essential survival equipment)

Survival Equipment should cover these 3 basic needs to survive, 3 basic items to help get you back to where you need to be, and 3 other niceties that can help save your life.

1. chap stick
2. Bug Spray
3. Space Blanket
4. communication
5. navigation
6. artificial light
7. some food
8. warmth (fire starter supplies or artificial heat)
9. knife

You can expand on this if you like but start here. These items should be kept together in an easily tote able container. I use a fanny/front pack to accomplish this and can wear it with my backpack which I consider my ultimate survival set.


There are many reasons you might consider having this survival kit with you. Day hikes, or a backpacking trip where you might separate from your camping gear, either intentionally or unintentionally like, day excursions, fishing, Mt climbing, berry picking or whatever. Your front pack should contain not just things that you will need for an unexpected overnight er, but things you need on a daily basis.

1st aid kit (medications)
toilet paper(from an MRE)
match container with water/wind proof matches & magic candles
.38 cal with ammo (pinwheel hollow points & snake shot)
two way radio (hot roded ham setup){we'll chat about this later}
Extra AA battery pack for above radio
solar blanket
whistle/compass/thermometer combo
map of the area
Hand warmer (disposable)
couple of candy bars
head lamp
bug spray
folding knife
duct tape
Water Bottle in hand
Purification tablets
Please let me know if I for got something.

Weapon goes in the fanny pack
Weapon; now I know it's not big enough to kill a bear and you can carry whatever you like, but it might scare the hell out of them & maybe even smart a little if I had no choice but to pop one off in its direction. And the Snake shot is great for Grouse(emergency food) or what ever else walks in front of the barrel that might taste good to a starving hiker. I used to carry a 44mag but it was heavy and overkill for Idaho. I would take it to Alaska though.

Radio; This is a Ham Radio, so you must have a license to possess and operate it.
ths radio is 5 watts and can talk to and receive many Freq's. AM & FM for emergency broadcasts, weather, and local repeaters (if any) but also all the family radio and GMRS radio freq's that are so popular with hikers. Also police, medivac, and so on (search and rescue) Now you need to know these Freq's and enter them into the radio prior to your hike and you should have a little frequency cheat sheet to help out. But the Great thing about it is, it will operate on AA batteries (at less power) if need be. It might not be as good as a Satellite phone but it is still pretty darn Versatile.

So this Pack is small enough to wear in front while I wear my backpack. So There is no excuse not to wear it when more than a stones throw from base camp.

Kitchen

I keep it simple but try to accessorize a bit.

Stove, a basic Coleman backpacking stove that uses the disposable fuel canisters.

Titanium 1.3 liter pot from REI

cheap aluminum shallow pan/plate/bowl, part of a mess kit.

nylon spork, MRE spoon and teflon folding spatula

I try to pack "light" stuff (duh) so I can just add hot water for dinner and breakfast plus I'm a coffee drinker but I take Folgers crystals to add to Mocha mixes for the extra caffine.

The dehydrated meals are light, fairly cheap, and are often packaged for two servings/hikers.

I like to take a few MRE's so I have no dishes to wash and no stove to break out for every meal. They are heavier but the trade off is less fuel to pack in and less empty canisters to pack out.

I prefer no cook lunches. Pita bread with a chicken or tuna salad & maybe some fruit and part of an MRE. If it's cold I like to add soup to this above combo for a quick warm up.

If I can, I like to catch fish for dinner, provided I'm by a lake. I pack foil & butter in individual packets from the local chicken & biscut drive thru and a little lemon pepper, add Minute rice for a starch, it's light, easy and fast. you can take individual packets of soy sauce from the local Chinese take out to add some flavor. Wrap the fish in the foil, add the butter and lemon pepper and set it by the fire if you have one. It will be done in about 10-15 minutes

Filtered Water is delivered via an MSR microworks and stored in a Platypus 2 liter container at the campsite. Two 700ml water bottles man the pack pockets on each side of my pack. DRINK LOTS OF WATER! I am very picky about the taste and look of my water. so filtering is the only way to go for me, I prefer the clean look and chemical free taste delivered by the MSR fiter. My back up is boil.

Sleep System and Shelter

The Sleep System and Shelter

I have been gathering info and going through personal debates as to the best approach to this comfort /weight dilemma when it comes to my rack and roof. I have been a tent guy ever since I can remember but I finally asked myself why do I need a tent? So I researched several alternatives and decided on a tarp with a walking pole support. I love the weight of the tarp vs the tent and I like the versatility of the tarp far more than the tent. I must admit I am a fair weather hiker. I'm talking 3 seasons of course and they are as follows; Late Spring, Summer, Early Fall. 5 months of Idaho is all I'm looking to do. Mostly 2-4 night trips with maybe one longer trip in the late fall to put the packing season to bed with an occasional tear or two. So back to the Roof decision. TENT no Tarp. Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 is my shelter of choice after trying the tarp out. Locking all types of bugs out as well as rain is a huge advantage, warmer, cleaner so just more comfortable is an easy reason to go with a tent. To accompany this, I have a Bivy sack ready for deployment that can offer an additional layer of moisture protection and bug screen, weighs in at 13oz's. I consider this both part of my shelter and sleep system. I have two favorite bags, both by Eureka, A Hobak @ 20oz's and about the size of a pop can when in its stuff sack and is good to 60 degrees by itself and 50 degrees when used with the bivy mentioned & a button in Sea to Summit Extreme Thermal liner which adds another 25 degrees of warmth for a mere 9ozs. Adjustable layers for that hot summer night or cold Spring & Fall nights. Second is my favorite, the Cheyenne. good to 40 degrees, 30 with the bivy. What I like about this bag is several things.

Update, went on a shake down with my 11yo son on a 1 nighter to about 6500 ft elevation. We settled on a sagebrush knoll and deployed the TARP, bags & bivy's. Not impressed. Bivy's worked well but the tarp was not our style. We had red ants every where and numerous other bugs. the bivy's zipped them out but there was also dust and dirt everywhere. Tarp is now designated as additional rain or sun barrier. Back to the tent. My goal is to pick up a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2. very light, actually lighter than our two bivy's and the Tarp. so no great loss, just a lateral adjustment in housing.

Eureka Cheyene Sleeping Bag Benefits;

#1 It's not down! Down is a pain in the butt for the inexperienced 3 season hiker. I have had several down bags, spent hundreds of $ only to hate their durability and moisture characteristics. too hot in the prime time hiking weather, too bulky(comparativly), confineing(mummies), and a horible value. So don't insult your inteligence anymore and pad the wallets of the goof balls designing these fluffy money pits any more. Everything else you get for packing is high tech, why not your insulated bag too? Would you buy Down boots to hike in? enough said there.

#2 its rectangular! I toss and turn so a mummy s confining to me.

#3 zips together with my wife's Cheyenne for added warmth! This bag weighs in at only 41oz's and is great on hot nights as well as cool nights + it dries very quickly when wet unlike over priced down mummies.

Under the bag; Big Agnes 66" X 20" Clearview @ 11oz's or my Pacific Outdoor 3 season 76" X 24" @ 31oz's

I use a 4.5oz Inflatable pillow from Big Agnes with a custom made cotton pillow case
This and a 5mg Ambien keeps me comfy and sound asleep until its coffee time.

Next I will go over the Pack and Kitchen. I would love to hear what you are using!

In The Begining

Let there be adventure! So I am so new to this I don't think I have ever paid any attention to the wide world of blogging but I thought I might give it a try and see where it takes me. I will start by covering what this will be about.

The Great Idaho Outdoors!

So why start on Jan 01-2010? Cabin Fever!
Current weather in Boise is cold & windy rain so you can't help but dream of warmer and greener times. So to help ease the dark days of winter I have picked up the hobby of shopping!
I am a guy though, makes no sense huh, Ahh but wait. I am shopping for Summer!

I have had the hobby of backpacking since I was introduced to it by my father as a 9 or 10 year old. Our very 1st outing was to Yosemite Ca. Wow! what an adventure! It was 1973ish and it was great!

I have only been able to go once or twice a year ever since then with a big spurt of car camping in my high school years ad also various fly in hunting and fishing trips to while I lived in Alaska.
I a have also so done a bit of Motorcycle (streetbike) camping trips. I am retired Army Reserves with a 10 years of that in the Idaho National Guard, and 3 years active duty.
the Army loves to go camping.

So this is a brief qualification, if you will, so that I can continue on with my mission statement
Purpose of this blog; to discuss Idaho back country adventures, equipment, experiences and cool destinations in and around Idaho. Also, integrating family, kids, wives, other hobbies, in-laws and maybe even pets.

I hope to get some feedback or generate some interest so lets see where it takes us.

So, In my next entry I will post my list of travel necessities for a 3-4 night excursion. I have been studying many different versions of things to pack and feel I have come up with a "Hybrid" list derived from, others of course, Military and my own experiences in the great outdoors.

the great thing about pack equipment is it is versatile for all kinds of outings to include boating, which we do all summer long (lake boating). and Biking which our family has not yet combined with camping. Hopefully we will do this in the summer of this year, 2010. For now it will be focused on Hiking.