Bushcrafting, the weed addition: Bugout patch

Sorry for the double picture. I think it's my mouse. It used to do it on my old laptop, and it's still doing it on the new one. I'm using the same old mouse.

My buddy was over this afternoon to wrap up that little job he did for me. We got a taste of the just dried lower limb CPDA {ALe#2} bud that I cut last week. Had to cut the rest of it today. Stem got gnawed. Would have loved to got two more weeks out of her, but still not too bad. {excuse the trim job}

My stash bag is getting too full to close.



Smoked some of the CP1 from the BP patch this morning. It's going to be good.

Is your chillum Sassafras, Larry? And, I don't think the stash bag can ever be to full... Reminds me of:

WV: Jetson said:

Is your chillum Sassafras, Larry? And, I don't think the stash bag can ever be to full... Reminds me of:

Click to expand...

So true ^^^^^^^^. That has always been one of my favorite sayings.

I think it is Dogwood. There was a small dead tree in the back yard that I cut up for making bowls. If not, it's sparkleberry, my usual go to bowl making wood.

Speaking of stash, I combined a pinch from all my containers in my garden stash bag {above} as well as my camp stash to roll one really big joint. Not sure if it was nine different plants, but it was at least nine different pickings. The plan was to smoke half, go hiking then smoke the 2nd half before bed. I got two thirds of that done.

Because I am a man of unending optimism, I repaired my rain-catcher today. For the last 2 months all it has caught is leaves and dust. I cut a Holly sapling and tied it to one of the repaired corners. I tied a knot in the other corner of the tarp using a rock, and hung it from a higher limb this time. Also dug out the hole a little deeper that the trash can sits in. It was the weight of water from when the tarp hung down lower than the can that broke the corners before.

I did the 3rd and last clipping on the last plant {CPDA} from the Bugout Patch {ALe} this morning. There was a frost, and it added a touch of color.

This patch worked out alright, but would have done better if my cousins hadn't turned their camp into their home. Down the stretch I was going once a week to water, but there was a time that I wasn't tending them due to having to drive by their house each time. I'm going to throw up a simple tarp shelter and camp back there once in a while, so they won't wonder about me passing. I also do a lot of hiking back there.

I didn't have the camera with me, but the other night at the camp I made 8 tent stakes {with a raised ring for doing a bathtub floor} out of 2 stands for the political yard signs. Finally found another use for them, other than propping up pepper plants. Will try to remember and snap a shot of them tomorrow. I've been using an 8 X 10 tarp for my hiking shelter, but I saw a dude who built the same kind of shelter, but with clear plastic and emergency blankets. I'm all about cheap, so I'll see how one of them sleeps. Plus it will be lighter than the $6 tarp from Big Lots I've been using.

Not cheap; wisely spending your money...

Here are the tent stakes. They turned out pretty good. If I had pliers with a round back I could get the loop a little more loopish.

Time ran out for this old time keeper. The Tuscarora, like many East coast tribes used the 28 pieces of outer shell, and 13 pieces of inner shell for a calendar. And they were not far off. 13 moons of 28 days each is 364 days.

I've made a couple new stoves. They use two cans and a strip of the Flame Protector carbon matting. The pot-stand is built into the stove, so you don't have to worry about losing one leg of your pot-stand. This is my bigger rig, using an old coffee pot and folding cup.



It includes the coffee pot, cup, stove, fuel, lighter, coffee, knife and spork.



You can't see the flame, but I was heating my coffee here.

I use my cup for a cook pot with the smaller stove. Funny story. I had the stove making fever pretty bad. I searched the pantry to find the size cans I wanted to use. I found some tomato paste the right size and two sizes of Deviled Ham I couldn't choose between. Then I went back to the pantry, looking for something that I could cook the DH and TP with. I settled on a Gumbo soup mix. I added both cans of DH and the TP as well as cans of tomatoes with green chili's and beans. The gumbo turned out pretty good, as did the stove. I made it at work, with shit for tools, but it works just fine.

Here is a side by side of the two stoves. They are both burning, but the flames do not show.

Lots of folks use cat food cans for these stoves, so they are usually known as Fancy Feast stoves. I may call my small one the Red Devil stove. It weighed in at 37 grams before I used it. Now it's 34 grams after one burning.

I have been meaning to post these Gorp pictures for a few weeks now, but I never seem to find the time. You can zoom in if you want to see the math. But it shakes down to eight pounds at 4.75 calories per gram. Fuel for the trail. I bought the makings last week for a new batch for $25.26 {with the addition of sunflower seeds}. Haven't mixed it up yet, so not sure of the weight or calorie density.

I took a hiking day for my birthday. It started off pretty exciting. I set my bottle of denatured alcohol on fire adding fuel to what I thought was a cold stove. I got it {and the three or four spots of fire in the pinestraw where I was setting} put out with the coffee water. Lesson learned. When adding fuel to a stove that has been used, pour it in something, then pour it in the stove.

Getting my stove, pot, fuel, grits, eggs and coffee unpacked. {pre-fire}



The grits and eggs before the boiling water gets poured in the bag.



And in the pouch cooking.



The finished product. They were a little soupy, but not to bad for trail food.



See where the cap melted into the fuel bottle. I didn't know it was on fire until I screwed the top on. I was able to save the fuel. I had to empty the water out of a Coke bottle into the bigger Smartwater bottle and poured it in there.

I had Pasta Sides for lunch that day. I need to add something next time to spice it up a little. At least I got the coffee stronger. I used grounds that day, as I forgot the instant.

Looks like a fantastic day!