Cool (weather) Tips

Hey Everyone,

I went out for a day on the river yesterday. The weather was very nice- mid to low fifties, and overcast. I'm sad to say that the fishing was very slow. I did manage a couple fish, including this very strong fifteen incher. I guess cold weather slows everyone down a bit.

One thing to remember is, if you are venturing out this time of year, you should wear layers. With morning temperatures in the twenties or thirties, and afternoon temps getting into the fifties, layering is a great way to adapt to the weather. I think that a couple of thin layers are better than two heavy ones. Also, it's fine to have a cotton shirt for camp and sleeping in, but for strenuous activities you should be wearing synthetics and fleece. Synthetic drys faster and fleece will still keep you warm if it gets damp. I like to wear a nice long sleeve synthetic shirt with a light or medium fleece over that. If it gets windy or rain starts to fall, it's very easy to put on a light shell.

If you have any winter backpacking trips or just plan to camp out for a night, remember to put your canisters and water filters into your sleeping bag with you because these items can freeze, and either ruin your filter, or make that warm morning cup of coffee slow coming.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Reinventing the Wheel

Hey Everyone,

I just watched a video from Tinny on Mini Bull Design. It seems that the pot that I, as well as many others have been using, is even better than we thought. Tinny has been creating many different pot designs over the past year. He's made everything from pro 20oz wide mouth pots to little QMH 8oz pots. He recently built a new wide mouth ring for the lip of a pot. He also has started to make lids for Snow Peak Ti-mugs. His recent endevor was a new bottom that featured heat sinks. The question was, was it worth the time that he put into the manufacturing of this new pot. This is the kind of thing that I love about Tinny, hes always experimenting with new ideas and designs. That is the reason that I consider him the finest alcohol stove builder around. This is also why I only carry Mini Bull stoves. Here's the video from his site that explaines the rest.



See you on the trail,
Lance

Cold Weather Num-Nums!

Hey everyone,

With the weather cooled down a bit its time to change the menu for backpacking. I usually carry cereal in a ziploc with 2/3 cup of Nido dried milk (add one cup water and shake...cold cereal). However, in the colder months, it sure is nice to have a hot breakfast to get the day started right. I usually carry oatmeal or cream of wheat which is good but... the other day I came across a ten grain cereal (www.bobsredmill.com/cereals/) in the grocery store. When I read how easy it is to make, it screamed backpacking food. I took it home and just added some brown sugar and WOW! I have played with it with my backpacking cook set and have come up with a good portion (the bag directions make way to much). Here it is.

At home put this into a ziploc bag.
1/2 cup cereal
1tbsp brown sugar

On the trail
boil 1 1/4 cup water (or just boil 2 cups and make some coffee or cocoa)
turn stove down to simmer or like me, take pot off stove and place in cozy.
pour in cereal and let sit for about five minutes.

I like to put milk in so here is an addition...
put 2/3 cup Nido in a snack sized ziploc and place it in the other ziploc with the cereal.
mix this with one cup of water in your Nalgene bottle (while your waiting)
add to pot and there you go hot cereal with milk on the trail.

Feel free to add some nuts or dried berries to spice it up (oooh blueberries!)

There are a tone of different types on the web site. If you have already tried some of these let me know your recipes or favorite kind.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Eighteen and Eighteen

Hey Everyone,

I spent yet another day on the water. It was a great day for fishing with overcast skies and temperatures perfect for a light fleece shirt. I brought along a buddy of mine to share in the fun. It was a very eventful day. I caught around eighteen fish. I also landed a beautiful eighteen inch rainbow that just made the day for me. I have noticed that this site is slowly becoming a backpacking/fly fishing blog, although, most information is relevant to backpacking. If you're interested in fly fishing and hiking, Jason Klass now has created a web site www.backpackflyfishing.com that covers just that. I will be a regular visitor there so come check it out. Now if I can just find some hike in fly fishing spots I'll have it all.

See you on the trail,
Lance

The GREAT Outdoors

Hey Everyone,

I had an exceptional day on the river. I caught well over twenty trout. I showed Christi how to tie a fly and promised to use it when I went yesterday. Well not only did it catch fish, it caught the biggest one of the day. Here are a few photos from my outting. A day like this is just another reason they call it the great outdoors.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Outdoor Etiquette

Hey Everyone,

I spent yet another day on the stream. I know "what is this a fly fishing blog". The truth is its just easier for me to get out for the day rather than to get out for a week right now. I promise I have a backpacking trip in the works, and you can always post a question if you have one.
Back on the topic of this post...
I think we all agree that nature is very relaxing, and it's a great way to just get away from work, bills, traffic, and ,most of all, people. I had my first encounter with, whats termed as, a "hole crasher". I was fishing a nice quiet spot alone, and I was catching fish. Well, I guess this guy thought he could join in. He threw a bright green spinner into my run. He did this to me twice in two different spots. I was polite and didn't say anything, and besides, he didn't catch any fish. As he was leaving the second spot, I hooked up with another rainbow (my modest version of the middle finger). The point is that when you are out hiking, biking, paddling, fishing, or whatever, be respectful of others. They have just as much right to be there, and they want to enjoy the outdoors just like you. I like to call it outdoor etiquette. Show "outdoor etiquette" and make everyone's trip outdoors a great one.

See you on the trail (or on the water)
Lance

Rainy Days and Rainbows

Hey Everyone,

Well, I spent yesterday on the stream and in the rain. It started out as a nice day- good temperatures, overcast skies, and quiet. I managed to do quite well, by catching some nice rainbows. As far as I know, I only shared the stream with one other person, whom I ran into and chatted with. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday about rain jackets. I have a very nice Stearns "rain coat", but after about eight hours it reached its limit, and by the end of the day the only dry part of me was under my waders. Think about this when purchasing a jacket for hiking or fishing, what looks good and works from the house to the car may not be so good for long term use. Needless to say, I will be looking around for a new fishing jacket. Do you think they will let you return something if you've had it on in the shower? jk.

See you on the trail
Lance

Lighten Up

Hey Everyone,

With the fall backpacking season in full swing, I have been seeing a lot of large packs out there. One of the first things people assume when they see my pack is that I am sacrificing comfort somewhere. I have had the chance to show my camp setup to a few of these people and the most common response is, "man I need to lighten my pack load". The best way I have found, to lighten your pack, is to make a gear list. List every little thing in your pack, and next to it list the weight (be as close as possible). Once you have made the list, look at the heaviest items, and find a way to either lighten it, replace it, or eliminate the need for it. I have made a list of what kind of weights to be looking for with the major pieces of gear.

Pack - under or around 3 pounds. There are several packs in the 50 to 65 litre size in this range.

Solo Tent or Shelter - around 2 pounds. Of course, more money = less weight, but I know of a tent that is 2 lbs 9 ounces for $80.00

Sleeping bag - 2+ pounds. Down can be much lighter, but even a good synthetic bag can be in this range.

Cook set - -1 pound. OK-OK, I'm way under that weight, but my setup is custom. A pocket rocket and a snow peak mug or GSI soloist pot are great and you can buy them anywhere.

Water treatment - This depends on your method but most filters are in the 1 pound range

Clothing - this is the one killer of hikers. I carry one pair of shorts or zip-off pants, 2 or 3 pairs of socks and underwear, two shirts (one for hiking, one for camp and sleeping). In really cold weather I may pack a light fleece, but a rain jacket is a great warming layer because it holds in a lot of heat.

I hope this helps those of you who are in the "I need to lighten up" mode. If anyone has questions, feel free to post a comment. The important thing to remember is that ultralight may not be for everyone, but I'm sure anybody would appreciate shaving a pound or two.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Rookies, Brookies, Rainbows, and Browns

Hey Everyone,

I took Christi's brother Josh trout fishing for the first time yesterday. The weather was perfect, temperatures in the low 60's, overcast skies, and the water was in the mid to low 50's, a little cool for wet wading but we toughed it out. I had no idea that he had never fished for trout until we were almost to the river. (needless to say the pressure was on). Once on the water, I tried a few different flies and techniques, and soon landed a nice brown trout. I explained what color lure the fish were likely to hit, and where each species was holding in the pool. Taking my advice, Josh soon landed his first trout ever (another healthy brown). Josh's second fish was a net worthy rainbow, that ended up being the biggest fish of the day. We where soon pulling in fish quite regularly, and I'm happy to say, not only did Josh catch his first trout yesterday, but he ended up catching all three species. I found that changing flies (sunken drys and nymphs all in light colors) every few fish was the trick, and by the end of the day, I had landed several rainbows and brookies. With the combination of good fishing and beautiful scenery, I'm pretty sure that Josh is hooked on trout fishing! I for myself cant wait to get back up on the stream.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Fall

Hey Everyone,

Well, Fall is finally here and temperatures have started to show it. The other day, it was 31 degrees on top of Mt. Mitchell. With the recent rain and the low temperatures, the trout streams have cooled off a bit, and with today being the start of delayed harvest, the fishing should be very good. I keep day dreaming of a dry fly floating through the current as a light fog rises off the water and seeing that small ripple from a trout rising to my fly.

Fall is also one of my favorite times of the year to hike. There is nothing like waking up and smelling the cool, crisp autumn air and hiking along a high ridge or up to a summit bald to see the collage of fall colors, which is, for lack of a better term, breathtaking.

This time of year temperatures can vary widely with the daily highs and lows being very far apart. When venturing into the back country, pack some warmer items, but be sure to layer clothing so that you can strip down during the warmer part of the day.

Maybe I'll see you out there and we can discuss the hot fly of the day or what trails have the best views. If we see no one then no worries we just picked a good stream or the right trail

See you on the trail,
Lance

Natives on the Fly

Hey Everyone,

Well, I finally received my custom fly rod, and have already had it on the stream a few times. I headed out the other day to a quiet, native trout stream. I managed to do a lot of climbing, crawling, and a little bit of fishing. Besides taking in the beautiful scenery of small water falls and rippled pools, I managed to catch a few small rainbows. Tomorrow I am heading out for another day of slipping and stumbling in hopes of catching a few more.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Other Adventures

Hey Eveyone,

I have decided to add a label of "other advetures" to the site. Although the site is primarily backpacking, I do many other outdoor things and figured that I should share them on here. This label will have everything from caving and rock climbing to paddling and fly fishing. I hope that you will all enjoy the new section, and hopefully I'll get someone to try something new.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Baby Hiking Boots

Hey Everyone,

I'm sorry for the lack of activity on the site lately, but as some of you may know, Christi and I just had our baby girl. I have been preoccupied and put the site on hold. I will just have to post during nap time for a while. I'll also be checking Zappos for some extra small hiking boots(jk).

See you on the trail,
Lance

Waterproof Bag

Hey Everyone,

I had some people ask about these bags, so I figured I'd make a video to show you exactly how I do it. Oh, I like to use Gorilla tape because it's just like Duct tape but stronger.

See you on the trail,
Lance

New Maps!

National Geographic has come out with some new maps for 2009. They now have maps in Georgia, which not only cover the AT starting at Springer Mtn, but they also have the entire Bartram trail and a good portion of the Foothills trail. As any seasoned outdoorsman can tell you, a good map is invaluable in the back country. I trust Nat. Geo. maps for their accuracy, but they are also printed on waterproof, rip proof paper which means they last forever.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Classes

Hey everyone,

Well, my class and event schedule has been pretty busy lately. I just attended the hunt-n-fish day event and, as always, had a blast. There is nothing better than hanging out in the woods talking about backpacking all day. I have also been regularly teaching classes to individual units. I really love doing these kinds of events, which give me a chance to share what I have learned over the years, and to help people start out in the right direction. On top of that, the scouts are always attentative and have great questions. I want to thank all of the units that I have spoken to lately for your support, and I look forward to future meetings.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Trial Cooking

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that the site "Freezer bag cooking" is no more. It has a new name "Trail Cooking". I have updated the link so it will take you to the new site.

See you on the trail,
Lance

News 14 | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Warm, wet weather means mosquito season

My fifteen seconds of fame. I have done many news reports in the past on paddling and hiking but never had a web site to post them on, and now that I do, my first one is about bug sprays. I know it's not backpacking but I thought it was funny. Watch out for them skeeters!

News 14 | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Warm, wet weather means mosquito season

See you on the trail,
Lance

Hydration Quick Tip

Hey Everyone,

I forgot to add where to get the grommets. I found these coated aluminum ones in the craft/fabric section of Walmart all you need is a hammer and good aim.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have updated the posting on the site. Now anyone can leave a comment.

Cook Set

Hey everyone,
This is my current cook set. I say "current" because a backpacker's gear list is constantly evoloving. I have weighed every piece and it all comes out to 5.7 ounces. Having custom made gear is one of the ways in which I am able to save a lot of weight and size. I love this setup; it has worked extremely well for me. If you choose to switch over to an alcohol stove, all I can say is practice with it and your setup at home until you are 100% confident with it before hitting the trail. If you have any questions let me know.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Ultralight Trail Mix

Here is the recipe for my trail mix. Don’t get me wrong, nut based trail mixes are great, but I wanted to make a light weight version that still tasted good. If you find something else that is good or beneficial in it let me know. The nice thing about trail mix is you can customize it to your personal taste and needs. I’ll leave the quantity of each ingredient up to you.

Here’s how I do it

Cheerios - (I used Honey Nut because, surprisingly, they have more potassium than Banana Cheerios).
Dried Cranberry / Blueberry mix
Blueberry granola clusters
Shaved Almonds
Reese’s Pieces – (I used these instead of M&M’s for the peanut butter).

I package this into the small snack size Ziploc bags.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Foothills Trail Thru-Hike Video

I'm Back

Hey everyone,

Well, I finished the trail and a day early at that. I started at 12:00pm on Saturday and finished about 6:00pm Tuesday. Don't let me fool you though, it is a very demanding trial. I just kept moving and hiked farther than planned each day. Ill be posting a video montage of pics and video soon.

See you on the trail,

Lance

P.S. I want to thank whoever left the Leki trekking poles tucked in the luggage rack of my jeep. I really appreciate the gift. They will be used often.

Foothills Trail Gear

This one is a little longer so i cut it into two parts. These videos cover almost everything for my 9.5 lb base pack weight.

Foothills Trail Food

All packed up

Well, here it is... all packed up for five days on the trail. I will post videos of my food and my gear so you can see what is in it. I leave tommarow for S.C. and will hit the trail first thing Saturday.


See you on the trail,


Lance

Hello

Hiking season is on its way, Hooorayyy! I already have my first trip planned for the year. I am very excited about this spring because with the addition of some new gear, I am officially ultralight. I find it harder to sleep the closer is gets to my 80 mile Foothills Trail thruhike. I'll spend five days on this trail (March 21- 26), which not only summits the highest peak in SC, but also passes several waterfalls. I plan on doing a video blog of my setup for this trip in the next few days.

See you on the trail,
Lance