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INDEX
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How To Make Your Campsite A Castle.
Part Five: Gear
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In Part Four, we talked about tents. Now, lets talk about what you should consider carrying by way of equipment.
You can load yourself down with all kinds of stuff before you know what hit you, or you can sit back and do a little research and cut your load down by many pounds. Ask yourself two questions:
1. Why do I want to take this thing on my camp-out; and, 2. Will it do at least three things? This will help to keep you from buying a bunch of stuff before you even know why you are getting it.
Now, it isn't always possible to make one item do three tasks well, but you can come very close. I'm going to list a number of items that you might need and talk about the use and care of each item. Before long, you will be a seasoned camper.
Item: Shovel.
Use: Digging yourself out of trouble on the road, moving hot briquettes in the fire pit, putting the campfire out. Oh, you can also dig rocks with it.
Item: Old oven rack.
Use: You prop it up with rocks and use it to cook on. Just keep it clean and it will last a long time. This is also handy for drying other small items, too.
Item: Knife.
Use: A must for camping trips. I carry several types every time I go out. You should make the decision about what kind of knife you use based on how it feels in your hand and what you are going to do with it.
I carry a small two blade pocket knife, a Swiss army type knife, a 6 inch sheath knife, and destination dependent I will have a machete with me. I use these tools for preparing food most of the time. But, in my opinion, you should never be without a
knife when you leave a city environment. A knife is a life saving tool. You can make a snare to catch food, prepare the game for cooking, cut vines to use for rope, the list is too long to go further. Needless to say, I feel strongly about having one
with me. Since this is such an important tool, you should take care in the purchase and maintenance of this tool. It isn't necessary to spend a fortune to get a good knife. But you should not buy junk either. This is one of the few instances where I
do advocate staying with a known brand. There are several from which to choose so you won't be confined to a single supplier. My two blade pocket knife has served me for over twenty years because I have taken good care of it.
The first thing to ask yourself when you are looking for a knife is just what you intend to use it for. Since I use my pocket knives for mainly cooking and food related activities, I want them to be easy to use, easy to clean, and durable. The sheath
knife is for more rigorous activities. Look for a sheath knife that has the metal extending all of the way up
the handle. I won't get too technical with the terms here, but you should stay away from any sheath knife that does not meet this first requirement. Keep your knives clean and dry at all times. Use a soapy/damp towel to clean the knife blade if you use
it to prepare food. Never immerse you knife in water if you can help it. I use wet wipes at camp to clean my knives most of the time. You can swirl the blade in water to clean it (or stir the pot), but never wet the handle or hinges if you have any say
in it. If the thing does get wet any way, clean, dry, and oil it as soon as possible. Use a cotton swab to get in to all of the tight places. Use lint free cloths or paper towels to work on your knife.
Also, never use a dull knife. This is a major safety hazard. A dull knife requires more force to push it through whatever you are trying to cut. If you slip and cut yourself, what you have is a jagged wound. The little buggies just love this type of
injury because they have lots of places to hide and multiply. If you cut yourself with a sharp knife, the blade will cleanly slice the skin and this should eliminate the jagged places for germs to hide in. A clean cut will bleed freely and wash most of
the bad stuff out, too. If you knife isn't sharp when you buy it, then learn how to do it yourself.
Sharpening a knife isn't really hard at all. Now I advocate going out and getting a poor/cheap knife to use as a practice tool. Don't ruin a good blade before you know what you are doing. You will need two stones to sharpen your knife on, one coarse
and one fine stone please. You will also need oil or water depending on the type of stones you buy. Someone will try to sell you special knife sharpening oil. Resist...please. What you need is a light weight machine oil, like what you find in the
sewing machine drawer. What if someone gives you a sharpening stone, or set of stones and they don't know what type they are? Simple, drop a little water on the stone. If it beads up, it's an oil stone. If it is absorbed into the stone, use water. No
problems yet. Right?
Okay, the next thing to do is find a place with no one else close by. Close by is defined by about twice your arm length in any given direction. Announce that you will be sharpening your knife and please don't jump into your lap at the moment. Always
let others know when you are working with a sharp instrument whether it is a knife, ax, or any other tool. Never carry an open knife around your hand. There's no reason to do it and every reason not to. Sit down in a well lighted, open space.
Sharpening a knife is one of the only times that you should ever point a knife at your own body. This is the reason for sitting down. You need a stable base to work from so that you won't injure yourself or any one else.
You are seated, it's calm around you...what next? Lay out your sharpening stones, oil/water, paper towels, and what ever else makes you happy. Open only the blade that you are going to work on and make sure it is all of the way open. A preferred
technique is to grasp the knife in one hand and use the other hand to open the blade with the blade
coming up and away from you. Next, feel both sides of the cutting edge with your finger. This is the only instrument capable of truly detecting the state of the knife edge in my opinion. Be careful. If the edge is smooth and free of nicks, you may not
need to do anything at this time. If the edge is dull, or nicked you must decide if you want to sharpen it yourself or have a professional use a grinding wheel to set the edge back on your knife. Under normal circumstances, you rarely ever have to use
the coarse stone. Most of the time you will use the smooth stone to polish and refresh the surface of the cutting edge.
Hold the stone in the palm of one hand with your finger tips out of the way. Hold the knife in the other hand with the blade pointed down. The correct angle for sharpening is 22-1/2 degrees. How do you find this angle? No problem again. Gently rest
the knife blade on the surface of the stone. Roll it over half way towards the stone and you are at 45 degrees. Half of that distance is 22-1/2 degrees. With a little practice, you can find the magic angle without even looking for it. This is simply a
learned motion that practice makes perfect. Now, depending on which side you are sharpening, you will move the knife either away from you are towards you. Start with the tip of the blade at one end of the smooth stone and practice the motion only of
sliding the blade down the stone while you are moving it towards the base of the blade. What you are aiming at is to cover the entire length of the stone with the entire length of the blade. You started out with the tip at one end and by the time you
got to the end of the stone you should be at the base of your cutting surface next to the handle. Practice the motion many times before you actually apply pressure. The motion is very important.
The sharpening of the blade is done in sets of three repetitions. Run the blade down the stone three times on one side then turn it over and do the same thing three times. This is where you will have to point the knife at yourself. Feel the blade with
your finger. If it is smooth, stop now. If not, do another set of three strokes per side and feel again. If your knife is so dull that you can not get a good edge after the third set of strokes, take it to a pro and save yourself the effort and your
knife the trauma.
Don't over sharpen your knife either. Too many good knives have been sharpened into nubs because an over eager learner wanted to play with the tool. TOOL...NOT...TOY!!!!! This was my mantra when I was teaching camping classes.
With care and common sense, your knife will last for many years. The techniques used for knives can also be used on axes or hatchets.
I have not talked about lock-bar knives because they scare me and I never use them. But, men seem to love them so treat them like a sheath knife if you must have one around you. And do not ever, no not ever, let children use lock-bar knives. They can
not close the blade without putting their fingers at risk.
Item: Ax/Hatchet.
Use: Also not much for these use anymore either. However, my Daddy gave me a hatchet to take with me on my jaunts, so I take it with me for luck. I carry it under the driver's seat of my truck. Thanks, Dad. What a guy!
Item: Hand saw.>BR>
Use: This item no longer used on campouts either. You shouldn't be using wood for cooking anymore any way. Now ,if you are heading way back into country that you personally own and want to clear out brush..... Be very careful and do not use it
alone.
Item: Screw driver.
Use: Also used for prying crystals from the matrix when you aren't using it to move coals around in the fire pit, lift hot pot lids, or even use it to fix whatever loosened up on the truck during your trip over the washboard row enroute to the
campsite.
Item: Foil.
Use: Never leave home without it. You line skillets with it so that you don't have to wash the skillet. You wrap your food in it to cook. You can make a plate to eat off of or a pan to cook in. The uses are endless. Remember to recycle when you
get home.
Item: Black plastic trash bags.
Use: Never leave home without them either!!! You can put trash in them, make designer rain coats for the kids or yourself, put wet clothes in them, put yourself in them when water in standing in the bottom of your tent and you are trying to keep your
sleeping bag dry, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. By the way, those silly plastic bags from the grocery are good to take along and put your boots in at night.
Item: Cast ironware.
Use: One of my favorites! You can cook in a Dutch oven, warm washing water, store fragile specimens during transport, and so on.
Item: Scissors.
Use: A sturdy set is handy around a campsite, but the tiny pair in my Swiss army knife works well, too.
Item: Bucket.
Use: Keep filled with water while you have a fire going, and carrying specimens. Use as a wash basin for the kiddies or a water bowl for Fido.
Item: Duct tape.
Use: You can wrap a split hose, make a belt, stabilize a backpack with a rip, set a broken arm (only kidding!), and so on.
Item: Pliers.
Use: General repairs and pulling that tough specimen loose from the matrix. Clean and oil the hinge when necessary. Try to keep it dry, too.
Item: Rope.
Use: Oh My! You can use it to make a tent out of a tarp or a sun shade. Make a leash for fido or a tow rope to pull your truck out of that pot hole. Always keep coiled up and ready for use.
Item: Tarp.
Use: Another never leave home with one, or two, or three.... They are sit-upon's, ground cloths, tents, wind breaks, and much more. Keep them clean and dry. Store in a black trash bag.
Item: Flashlight.
Use: An absolute must. The new mini-mags are great for keeping close to you during that 2 am trip to the outhouse. Always keep one on you at all times.
Item: Whistle.
Use: Another absolute must. Keep one in your fanny pack with your mini-mag. You can call the gang to dinner, or call the gang to find you when you get lost at 2 am....
Item: Notebook.
Use: Always record your trip for future reference at the time. Don't wait for the synapses to dry up. Write down the good times and the bad times while you are having your evening cup of cocoa.
Item: Bandanna.
Use: A wash cloth, a head covering, a napkin, a sling, a diaper, a bandage, a water filter (remember to use treatment tabs too), a signal flag, and a pot holder are only some of the potential uses of this simple item. Always make sure that every
person has one at the very least.
Item: First Aid kit.
Use: It helps to have at least one person with Red Cross training with you on excursions to the outback. Try to avoid taking dangerous drugs or other things with you that you don't need or know how to use. If some one has a medical problem, then the
entire group should know it before going. If you are hiking, the first aid person is always the last person in the line of hikers. That way the medical supplies are always heading to the injured person instead of having to backtrack.
Everyone should have their own mini first aid kit with them to take care of little things. You can make one out of an empty film can. An empty film can is big enough to hold a few Band-Aids, an alcohol swab, a packet of anti-bacterial ointment (or
honey), a few aspirins (or whatever), and a few antacid tablets. Put a piece of duct tape on the outside of the can and label the contents. Do you know how many empty film cans the local drug store would love to give you if you ask for them?
There are many more things that you can drag along. But mostly you should take things that are destination appropriate, climate appropriate, easy to use, and that are already familiar to you. Please try to avoid buying something and taking it out of the
box when you get to camp. Bad practice. Unless it's chocolate. Chocolate is lucky to get out of the
parking lot. If you have further questions, email me.
The following internet addresses are a place to start in your net search for equipment. Most of the sites are for backpackers, but the info and links are good for what ever level of camping you are planning. I am not handing out any endorsements!
However, I have gotten a lot of good equipment at Wal Mart (particularly Layton, Utah).
Wal Marts Home Page
R.E.I. Home Page
Outside Online
Backpackers Basecamp
The Backpacker
Bon Voyage!
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Copyright, 1997 by Jan Noble
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Jan Noble
The Steel Magnolia
Writer, traveler, rockhound and Mom are only a few of the descriptions that apply to Jan Noble. Jan is a genuine lover of geology and enjoys taking her family with her on field trips when ever time permits. She always has rocks in her pockets and time
to hear a good story. Besides filling her time with rock hunting, writing and work, she enjoys off-roading and camping whenever possible.
Jan is currently in the middle of relocating (with her husband, kids, 10 cats and 2 dogs) to Dallas and is looking forward to exploring Texas thoroughly.
You can email her at steel_magnolia@mindspring.com or visit her web site at http://inthewind.home.mindspring.com/.
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