Expedition Overkill - a camping tale

[Captain Maltese]

Part 1.
Will be edited and have photos added.

There's one thing I have wanted to do this summer and now it's already autumn. Going innawoods, meaning heading into nature and stay at least a couple of nights tenting. Fishing is going to be involved, but the season is tapering off fast. I have a specific area in mind, where I have been once before many years ago. From car to target area it is just three miles of easy walking. I have plenty of practice with walks this summer but this time I am carrying a pack. This is where the Overkill is coming in; I am bringing along a lot of untested equipment.

It is late Thursday as I start writing this; I am planning for leaving tomorrow Friday and returning Sunday. Weather forecast promises overcast, windy and on Sunday very rainy condition. Temperatures between 70 to 50F, wind factor not included. I hope it will stay dry on Saturday at least; if the forecast gets any worse now I'll have to postphone with a week. There's really a lot of rain and wind headed this way the next few days. Tomorrow morning I will know. If all else fail I'll stay at home, drink wine and write instead.

The route goes through a popular outdoors area. There'll be a path to follow all the way, and simple facilities in the target area includes a toilet and tourist shelter with several walls and a roof. Most likely there will be other people there and I'll probably be avoiding them but we'll see. As outdoors difficulty goes, this will be boy scout cubs level.

Over the years I have ammassed enough outdoors equipment to equip a small army. They are serious pick-me-ups in the recycling stores I frequent and at pocket change prices. I've been given some stuff by relatives too, and sports stores have faced much increased competition over the last decades from online and new chainstores so prices have dropped a lot. At least I have not fallen into the 'the more expensive it is the better I become' trap where so many outdoorspeople have fallen. All my gear is economy model and much of it shows wear. I take some pride in this.

Back in the boy scout of my childhood, camping electronics meant a flashlight and at most, wrist watches that had batteries. Times have changed. A lot. I could probably do with just a flashlight now, but this is field testing. So now my electronics kit include cell phone, two way radio, solar recharging set and head lamp plus a spare battery. The plan is to return home with as much power as I left with. The two way radio is a Baofeng UV5R which is a shopping cart among gokarts and I have noone to talk with within its puny range, but I can scan the waves and recharge it while in the field, and it sports inbuilt FM radio and flashlight. In theory the cell phone will be in range in at least the top of the nearest hill. I have tested it but not in the field. The headlamp is new and untested and should be rechargable. The solar recharger has been tested before but not on a trip; it too has a little flashlight built in plus multiple cable options plus being a power bank. On top of this I have a tiny Y-cable thing that bridges the spare battery to any of the other units and can recharge the battery from one of the other items if necessary. All of this combined, including the plank of a cell phone I rely on because I don't read small letters well, would fit within a moderate lunch box.

Cooking kit: I'm really, really spoiled for choice here after a lifetime as camping stove collector. On this trip I am bringing a gas camping stove I was gifted, plus an alcohol burner and kettle set which I bought cheaply online. The left one folds into the orange can after the gas has been detached. The right one goes into the little bag. I have used neither of the latter before. All of this kit should be reliable as it is simple and rugged. Well, I am not 100% sure about the gas stove as I managed to fry it this spring. It has been used since then though. One important element is that I can not make a conventional fire other than in an emergency; the general fire ban is still in place until mid September and in spite of the recent rain the woods are still fairly dry. So all food need to be made over a stove. At least I won't be wearing down further on the woods of a popular tourist area. Instead of firewood I bring a gas canister and a bottle of alcohol/spirit. The kettle set includes a kettle, a frying pan, a lid and two pots. It is a small set but seems more than sufficient for one person.

Food from left to right, up to down, with total calories content: A bar of cooking chocolate (500), a pack of bacon (420), three energy bars (480), three boxes of raisins 400), salt, frying oil, cooking coffee, freeze dried pasta (550), freeze dried Mexican stew (800), pan cakes (840), goulach soup (260), and a box of oatmeal porridge (1890). Basically food for three full days and then some; these are 6140 calories or about 2050 per day. By comparison a US Marines combat ration per day is 3500 calories while a civilian emergency ration is about 2200. The chocolate can be eaten as is, or with the raisins as trail mix, or heated with water as cocoa. The oatmeal includes raisins and vanilla and is my regular breakfast anyway; the box contains 6 to 8 meals depending on appetite. It can be mixed with the extra raisins too. The only fresh food I'm bringing is some baconwhich can be used with most of the other meals and should not go bad within a few nights outside a fridge. I hope to add some fish to this but I'll be okay without too. I'm optimistically bringing some frying oil and salt for the fish, but the oil is also for the pancakes. All in all I expect to be bringing home some uneaten food.

Clothing: My army boots and my wind/rain jacket are military surplus. I also have a weather resistant fleece jacket, which can be worn in combination with this; this too is second hand. With an eye on the weather I am bringing a thin but woolen inner sweater; all this stuff combined should see me through anything but full winter.

Main gear: My tent is brand new, bought online from China for the price of a plastic bag. Could be good, could be not so good, and I will take some care where I pitch it as the wind will be the real joker. Water resistance will be interesting too. I've only assembled it once - in my living room! My sleeping bag is from a second hand store. I have not used either before. Also my backpack, an old Northpark 65L, is second hand and untested although I have gone through the straps and snaps and replaced one.

Sharp stuff: I am forgoing the hatchet and the folding saw. No need for either. I bring one oldschool home made belt knife which I look forward to testing, and a sturdy swiss folder in the pack in case I manage to lose the other knife. Yes, that has happened to me before.

The rest of my kit is the usual sundries; eating and drinking gear, firemaking equipment, map and compass - yes I know I am oldschool - knives and sewing kit etc. Plus fishing kit - a shoulder bag which included a collapsible rod and various accessories; I'll have to swing by a sports store and pick up a can of fresh bait.

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Saturday update, damn it. The weather forecast turned nastier than expected. Now it is promising heavy rain the whole Sunday, and a nice gale to go it. That is not optimal for tenting, and even less so with an untested tent. And if you haven't tried rod fishing in a gale - don't. The fish goes deep and loses its appetite completely. This little local tempest is currently scheduled from tomorrow morning and the next five days, and forecasts up in the mountains are notoriously unreliable. With forecasted temperatures right above freezing point I am postphoning this. After all, no point in reexperiencing the previous trip up there. Which I had to break off after the first night because my companions were wet, miserable and had ruined their tent so everyone were sharing mine. I'll get you yet Crow Lake but not today.

[Captain Maltese]

Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt0nFwtQZGc

Iacta alea est. I've got a full backpack and a two-rod fishing kit, totaling near 35 pounds. I've got a fishing card, fresh bait in the backpack, the cats are provided for, my nearest relatives have been informed of my whereabouts, the local weather forecast promises no rain until wednesday evening which is my latest return time unless I chicken out and return home early with my tail in a sling. If something is missing in my plans I really don't know what it is. Time to go.

Edit: Woah, close call. Almost forgot my medicines. It's almost the only thing guaranteed to force me to return early.

[Captain Maltese]

Part 3

Well, I made it back. Didn't even need a search and recovery team. This time.

This post is based on the keyword notes I jotted down on my cell phone, plus the photos taken. Next post will cover the equipment test.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Sunday: Finally made it out into the wilderness. Crow Lake is right next to the border to with Sweden, about 1600 feet above sea level, and mostly cliffs and marshes with a few small pockets of forest. It is a popular terrain for day walks, hunting, fishing and camping. From the parking area to the lake it's just 2.5 miles but it's mostly steep uphill. There's a well used trail which is mostly rock, and I will shake the hand of anyone who manages to get to the lake on a bicycle. Someone have done it, I could see wheel tracks, but only the one set. Along the route I hear sheep bells and see three reindeer. I also say Hi and Hello to about 40 people coming down the path from the lake area, as per social custom. Damn there's a lot of people. I don't see anyone else going my way though. Some of these guys are wearing just jogging outfits; probably taking the trip as a day exercise.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

My pack; everything but what I wear and what is in my pockets. A full backpack and a full fishing gear shoulder bag. In all about 35 pounds. More than I need, but that's fine considering the purpose of this trip.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Well, lookie here. The perfect camping spot. Ten feet away from the lake, ten feet away from a fireplace with bench, a quarter mile to the outhouse and THAT view. Obviously many have found this setting ideal before me.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

I raise my little tent, get my gear sorted out, have a nice pasta and bacon dinner and then coffee. In between this I get my fishing rods activated. The rest of the evening is basically just more fishing and coffee; the sun vanishes beyond the mountains at 8pm and it's dark around 9. Not completely dark; just for once there are no skies above - this has been a wet autumn - and I can actually see the stars. Lots of them. It is beautiful. So far my only concerns are the state of my fleece jacket and the lack of delicious fishes. I polish my boots and fiddle with the radio and the other electronics a little. The last I do before going to sleep is strip down to my tee shirt and boxer in order to test the sleeping bag, after placing my wet jacket in the bottom of it.

Monday: I have slept well. My feet are a little chill but the wet jacket is to blame for that. The weather remains nice. With fishing rods placed out I decide for a walk around the lake. This is about 5 miles of what's just a whisper of a path compared to the trail leading up to the lake. But I have the whole day ahead and no pack.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Soon my feet and my beautiful leather boots are soaked. So much for polishing them. I accept that they are wet since by then I have passed through swamps, marshes and streams. Fortunately the water isn't cold. I keep going. Down in the valley the berry season is over but up here there's still blackberries, blueberries and cranberries to be found. And a total of three cloudberries, which taste awesome.

>go NorthWest
>You see: You have arrived at a deep narrow gorge, through which a winding stream heads due west. There is a slender rotten log crossing the stream. You will have to follow the stream westwards otherwise.
>You can go: West, back, or across log

Just getting down to the bottom of the ravine is a bit of an obstacle. There's a narrow path made entirely out of mud and slick stones, and every branch on the nearby trees is stretched and twisted from many hands using them as grips. There's no way in hell I would have ventured down if it had been rainy or snowing. But I manage down there. Then there's the log. At this point there are two voices in my head.
- "I don't like this. At all."
- "See all those footsteps? Lots of people have crossed here."
- "Yeah, but did they cross over this log? Look, it's real brittle and not that worn. And it is old."
- "Don't be a wuss. Look, the stream isn't that deep and the water isn't that cold in September."
- "Maybe I should drag myself up the ravine again and follow it. Maybe there's a more sensible crossing point further down it or even a bridge."
- "Come on. You don't want to walk along the log? Sit on it and wiggle over."
- "I'm going to slide over and hit the drink, maybe even knock myself out on all those rocks. I don't mind dying but I'd rather not die stupid. Remember that automatic ox back then?"
- "BE A MAN!"

I get as far as sitting on the log and thinking this is really REALLY stupid. That's when I look through the branches of the nearby tree and notice there's a neat row of rocks behind them. I get up from the rotten log and am over the stream ten seconds later. Those rocks look a lot more obvious from the other side of the stream.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

I make it back to the tent eventually. I left my entire kit there and didn't worry about anything being stolen; there's very little of any sellable value and theft is generally not an issue up in the mountains. It's still a good place to be.

I have other worries. My boots are clearly not made for this kind of wet terrain. They have an inner liner of soft leather and obviously they are soaking up water. And swelling. In a colder season this would have been a disaster but it's bad enough now; I stuff them with toilet paper and use them with naked feet in the camp. Wet naked feet. Sloshing around in wet boots have also earned me several blisters.

Nothing new in the fishing area. I am starting to realize this is probably a bad part of the area to fish in; I could have found better spots if I had gone further from the main camping area. But I am also getting another bad news; the box of live bait I bought turns out to have ten worms at most rather than fifty as advertised. There's nothing I can do; at nightfall I pack down my rods and that part of the trip is over. The weather has turned worse anyway; it's getting ominously dark skies and the wind is so choppy there's white wave tops on the lake. That's bad enough to make me double secure all equipment. The tent is perfectly placed in the terrain though so inside with the awning closed I don't feel the wind. The temperature is also dropping. On top of everything there's a few raindrops. For just a moment I start considering my options. I could break camp and head for the car; I have a solid head lamp and the trail is easy to follow. Or I could retreat to the nearest cabin and seek shelter in the wood shed or even under the cabin. But with the tent not at real risk as far as I can judge there should be no need. I am where I want to be doing what I came here for. I fiddle with my electronics for a bit again then call it a day. And life isn't bad. The wind is singing in the trees, the lake is sloshing so close it's almost like being at sea, and the crows the lake must be named after are singing in the wind. Or are they ravens? With my dry spare pair of socks on my feet to drain some of the water from my skin I fall asleep.

Tuesday: Oh, I'm loathe to leave my sleeping bag. It's chillier than yesterday, the air is raw and the sight of my still wet boots is not a happy one. Staying in the tent won't solve anything though so I get up. Oatmeal porridge and coffee for breakfast gets my mood up. And I'm happy to see it can't have rained more than those drops yesterday; that wetness on my tent is morning dew. Far away on the other side of the lake I can hear the occasional gun shot. Grouse hunting season probably started today. There's still food left for maybe two more days but I have done what I came for and a third night won't make any difference. I'm out of fishing bait anyway. I pack my gear together, and heads back to the car. Limping every step of the way because of yesterday's blisters. I don't see a living soul on the way back and I am grateful because they would have asked me where the rest of the penguins went. Almost two hours later I'm back in my car and heading out on the road with just two things on my mind. Pizza. And beer. Mission: Completed. Pity about the fish.

[Captain Maltese]

Part 4

Equipment test results

Dividing this into Clothes, Fishing Gear, Quarters, Food Gear, Food, Electronics, Other and Missing.

Clothing:
Fleece shell jacket, built for wamth and for wind and rain resistance: Looks good, feels good to wear, but turned out to be a disaster. I did not realize this until I started walking briskly and began to sweat. The jacket stops water from coming in but it also utterly stops humidity from getting out. I was getting drenched by the end of the first mile. I could open the front zipper but the arm cuffs are elastic. I eventually had to turn the jacket inside out and wear the damn thing like a cape - which, when combined with my deerstalker-like cap must have looked hauntingly familiar - and it still hasn't dried out. It's a great jacket for sitting still but that's not good enough.
Shell jacket, an ex Bundewehr Nässeschutzjacke - basically an unlined Goretex garment: This milsurp item is incredible at keeping wind at bay. I can only assume it will stop rain but the material is a lot better at allowing moisture to escape. The arm cuffs are wide and can be close by velcro straps. My sample looks like it never left the depot. It is an overlayer and isn't built for warmth but I wore a field shirt on the inside and was nice and warm.
Field shirt, also called a Norwegian, originally a Norwegian Army design but also used by other armies and civilians: With a polo neck with a front zipper goint down to the lower neck and buttoned arm cuffs it was specifically designed for field use, and it is comfy as heck. My sample is new. I am so glad I brought this with me so I didn't have to use the fleece job again.
Pants: The set I used is actually carpenter's pants; hard wearing, with many pockets and comfortable. With them I use a pair of Y-style shoulder elastics, as it is a hundred times comfier for rugged terrain than a belt.
Gloves: A last minute addon was a pair of light woolen gloves. I found use for them on the windy cold evening.
Headgear - an old Russian Army cloth field cap with visor and deerstalker ear/neck protection. I am grimly aware that it makes me go "Elementary, Dr Watson" but you haven't frozen until you have been long enough outside in sharp wind that you can't feel your ears any more. Heading into naked mountain terrain I found it perfect.
Boots; a pair of old second hand Mont Blanc leather boots that's either civilian or military: Looks good, is nice to have on your feet, and I will never take them on a real trip again. That water leaks in is a much smaller issue than the inner leather liner soaking up and making them much harder to dry. Test result: abject failure. I need to get myself new boots.

Fishing gear:
I brought a shoulder bag with a catching net, an 8 feet long and a 6 feet long rod, and two reels, and a selection of hooks and floats. Plus a freshly bought box of 50 maggots that turned out to have just 10. Teaches me to bloody well check the bait before I head innawoods next time. There were no issues with the gear otherwise, but I'm not bringing a 6 foot long rod next time I go to a lake. Might as well bring two 8+ ones; it makes a difference to how long I can throw and where I can put the tackle.

Quarters:
Tent; a cheap and small 7x5 feet 'festival tent' from Wish: This was a new and untested purchase and I got really good value for my money here. The design is familiar enough by now but the bottom is fairly thick. After putting in the two bow rods the tent is up and the four anchor plugs are all the backstays there is. No ropes to fall over in the dark and at worst even pull down the tent at the same time. Inside there's mosquito net in the air vents and inside the awning. And weighing right below two pounds is great; I have a tunnel tent that isn't much bigger and weighs twice that. The only damage I managed was pulling a stitch when I pulled hard in the wrong place. I'll repair in a moment. that while the tent dries off. The strong wind didn't even make the tent wobble. No rain so I didn't get to see how it manages there. I'll give it a quick spray with water repellant before I pack it down anyway.
Sleeping pad; a well used cheap one: I'm old school and don't have much taste for those air mattresses some people use these days. I like lying on hard ground and what I need is to not get cold transfer or humidity transfer from the ground. The one I have look flimsy but it does the job I ask of it nicely.
Sleeping bag; an old Fjellsport Dovre I got from a second hand store. Newly bought and untested. This turned out to be a great sleeping bag; I was warm and toasty in just my underwear even when the temperature got close to freezing point. The overlapped zipper going all the way down and the sufficient room meant I could have laid down in my full clothes and still shut it. Then get a heat stroke, unless it was snowing outside. I'm very happy with this purchase.

Food gear:
The gas stove: Very fast to get going, isn't vulnerable to wind, makes a lot of heat at max setting. I have used this stove before but it turns out I need to work on the simmering technique. It is also awkward to estimate how much gas is left in the can. These cans are roomy and there's a limit to how many I can carry.
The alcohol stove: New. The stove itself weighs very little but I carried a whopping liter of fuel, of which I used maybe a couple of centiliters just to test it. This stove is practically indestructible but it gives less heat than the gas one and there's no heat adjustment. It is also more vulnerable to wind.
Pots set: New and untried purchase. I immediately burned my food, realising a little too late that this set is made of far thinner metal than my old one. At least the hot surfaces has some kind of coating so I managed to rescue the equipment. The set itself is brilliant though; a pan, a pot with lid, and a kettlie - perfect for my needs, and lightweight. I'll be using it again, but I'll be more careful about how much heat I put underneath them next time.
Cup, bowl, cutlery, all plastic: The folding cup is 30 years old and it looks brand new. Awesome. The bowl I got from a recycling store and I thought it was a bit big when I packed it, but I used it for various purposes and the size worked to its advantage. I might look for one in a different shape than circle though. The cutlery was okay but I didn't really need a knife, fork AND spoon. Next time I might go for a spork.
Canteen, plastic, conventional shape: Another recycling store find. Nothing special but I had an unexpected issue. A few weeks prior when I brought it home I washed it thoroughly with hot water and dish washing soap. When I started using it on this trip - it still tasted of soap. Sharply. I had other drinking gear and was right next to water all the time so it wasn't a vital issue, but how the hell do I make this taste go away?

Food:
I brought raisins, protein/energy bars, oatmeal porridge and various freezedried stuff. It turned out to be a lot more food than I needed. The oatmeal stuff is a mile better than bread on a trip but it does require boiling water. The raisins and bars were excellent tent snacks and if the weather had turned really bitter it would have saved me from having to leave the tent. Strangely I think I ate less food on the trip per day than I do at home.
A last minute addition was a tube of effercent C-vitamin pills. These are put into about a glass of water and makes a fizzy drink; each pill is the size of a thick coin. It's a nice luxurious feeling to have a glass of juice in the middle of nowhere and it weighs nothing. Recommended!

Electronics:
Cell phone: I have a real plank of a Samsung because my eyesight is bad and need big letters. On this trip the cell network fell out before I had even reached the parking area, which is no surprise up in the mountains. When it got dark at night I fiddled with it, which I normally don't. Evidently I have no music installed, no videos, no games or anything else of entertainment value and up to now it had not been a problem. I did manage to use the Memo function to write a couple lists of keywords for this Expedition Log, but it's hard to see the keyboard and harder to hit the right buttons. Next time I am bringing pencil and a notebook. I also eventually found the Flashlight function while sitting in the dark tent. BRIGHT LIGHT! Damn. Never used that before either. Ironically it turned out to be overdone by my massive headlight.
Baofeng UV-5R radio: Another new toy I brought with me for testing. It can talk with other radios and sports an FM radio and flashlight as well. Pity there's no FM to listen to after Norway decided to be the only country on the planet switching to DAB. There still are a few stalwart local radios but the big state antennas are done. The flashlight was a mere pinprick compared to the cell phone one, but I could still use it to find stuff in the tent. I didn't catch any conversations but this is short range stuff. I got a couple of traffic signals but they were too far away. I need to learn how to scan properly with this radio; the handbook is no use when it's on the computer at home.
Head lamp: New purchase and solid quality, with 5 different light strengths of which the strongest went several hundred meters. For emergency signaling it could have been seen from the next mountain. The main reason I bought it thought was for the 18650 lithium battery, which I am trying to make interchangeable for my gear. One of its most important aspects is that it can be recharged an estimated 500 times.
Camera: My old Sony camera is well used. With just a 4x digital zoom and an old battery type it is reaching the ends of its practicality, but it can still take pictures of a quality that suffices for my need - when I get the settings right. I am not sure I can even get a replacement battery for it and I am not sure I want to throw money after it when I could use the money toward a camera with more everything and a recharging option that doesn't require gear as big as the camera itself.
Solar panel USB charger: This one is the same volume and size as my phone and is the greatest thing since sliced bread. With a small and big USB gate and a small flashlight built in it generates power as long as there is daylight, and then I can recharge my cell phone effectively. On this trip I never lost the power to my cell phone even though I used it for various purposes. I also have a small extra cable with an 18650 battery chargery so I can get my head lamp loaded up; I also carry an extra 18650 battery so I can load one battery without taking my head lamp out of action. If the USB charger runs really low on power it can pull energy from the 18650. All I need now are the attachments to plug in my radio and camera.

Other:
Knife, from a recycling store: I found this 70-80 year old Mora-style sheath knife and paid one dollar fifty cents for it. It was jagged, tip broke off, rusted, bent, hammered with a rock, smelled of possibly sulphor, had paint stains and a mismatched sheath it only fit halfway into. I had to have it. I brought it home, discarded the sheath, removed the rust and paint and dubious chemical stain, filed a new tip, filed away the hammer damage, put it into a vise and bent and hammered it back into a reasonable straight line, polished the handle, honed a new edge and sewed a new sheath. All of this was possible because the core of the blade is prewar type, high carbon soft steel. This is the knife I had dangling from my pants in a carbine hook on this trip. Well. I used the knife many times; putting together the fishing tackle, cutting twigs, frying food in the pan etc. I am not entirely happy because in spite of all the time I used on sharpening it the knife still isn't sharp enough. Fine. I will take it to a millstone next. A knife is sharp if you can cut yourself on it. It is sharp enough when you can cut yourself on it by accident.

Missing:
Foot maintenance gear:When I was nursing my sore feet I found myself wanting a pair of scissors to cut my foot nails. Some talcum would have been nice too because the wet was deep in the skin. They still make talcum right? Or some kind of powder?
Kitchenry cleaning: While a handful of moss and leaves combined with water made the pots and pans etc clean enough, I was wishing for a scrub and at least a few drops of dishwashing soap. I should be able to come up with something that will fit within the kettle.
Pan spade: I used the knife and some twigs as food making utensils but a teensy wooden spade would have been useful and have less risk of scraping the pan. This too should fit into the kettle.
Sugar: I made pancakes. They were good, especially with bacon, but a little sugar could have gone a long way. Or maybe maple syrup?

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Okay, that about wraps up Expedition Overkill.