Bears and other Scary animals

Yes Biak. The mosquitos knew that I was coming and were sitting in wait!

 

You heard the pipes and survived? Lucky. The same as a banshee scream- something is coming...Too bad you didn't see Frank Slide. ..The ravens are big/smart. And they hang out in gangs(murders?). Do not piss them off. Even crows, they will never forget. Squirrels/chipmunks/pack rats can be a problem when camping in those areas. A packrat made a nest in the engine compartment while we camped. Caused the engine to overheat. Good thing we had canvas waterbags to refill the radiator. Those bags were great. That would have been late 60's, early 70's. http://www.damnyak.ca/2012/05/canvas-water-bags.html

 

I discovered the Backwoodsman magazine while in BC and I am hooked! I want to make everything featured from an Aztec drum to a longbow and buy a keyhole pocket stove and a Frontier Emergency Water Filter System. Will add the canvas waterbag to the list Poppy!

 

Do they still make canvass waterbags? Those bags would sweat just a little and that evaporation kept the water cool.

 

Just like the water canteens. https://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081208203000AAjEua0

Do the still make 'em? Doubt it. ..Cars are more efficient?

 

Yeah, that was actually pretty smart technology. I had a canteen with a wool cover on the flat sides - do you remember those? They usually were patterned like a Hopi or Navajo rug, or maybe it was a Hudson Bay blanket pattern? Anyway, you'd wet the wool sides and have cool water to drink. Now everybody carries a couple of plastic water bottles and drinks warm water.

 

I don't recall the wool covered ones. Picture?... Wineskin though- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bota_bag
Seen a lot of those.

 

These:

 

Oh hell yeah...I am re living my life- does this mean ima dead? Is this real life?

 

If I ever see one of those at a garage sale or someplace, I'm going to buy it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=canvas%20water%20bag&sprefix=canvas+water+b%2Caps

 

At least according to the sources I looked up last week ravens actually tend to be found either alone or in pairs. Crows on the other hand are often found in flocks (Murders) sometimes numbering in the 100's. Ravens are bigger and smarter though.

 

This is the canvas water bag we're talking about. There were military surplus ones around, then I guess the makers made them for the civilian camping market with various logos. They held about a gallon of water and were very practical.

 

I want to hang one on the front of my Honda Fit. Just because. It says "I am old. Been there, done that. Get off my lawn."- which is really, all I have to say anyway.

 

Eggzackly!

These things we're talking about should be popular in today's world. They last for years, unlike the plastic bottles that get thrown away after one use. It's simple technology that works to keep water cool without refrigeration or power use. This stuff is eco-friendly in a real way.

Up here in Alaska we get all these knuckleheads every summer loaded down with all this useless plastic and electronic gear - GPS (ever heard of a frickin' compass?), collapsible aluminum hiking staff, over-sized pack with weird shit hanging from D rings all over it, synthetic clothes covered with logos and zippers of all description. You'd think they were leaving for an expedition to conquer the Himalayas, but no, they're just taking a day hike up to some lake a few miles back in the hills... When they get there, they'll take some selfies and send them to their friends in LA to demonstrate how they've conquered the Alaskan wilderness. Meanwhile, just out of frame in that selfie is a local guy in windbreaker and tee shirt with his 7 year daughter catching a string of dollies out of the lake.

 

Hold up there Rip Van Winkle. Took some work driving truck. GPS is a god. In a city of anything more than 5000,000- it is hard not to use one. It really is a huge time saver. Tells you which lane to get into etc. Like having Suri sitting next to you (wish she had hands). NSA can follow me around like a jealous pimp, do not care. Just get me home sooner...Looking for a GPS. Looks like Garmin is the best /cheapest for this poor boy. Wanted the 500 dollar model. Has a back up camera- which would be great for this newb...Anyone done research on best GPS? Map update is an issue.

 

Might be useful in city driving, but out in the boonies I want a compass and a map. That GPS is going to get wet or the battery will die or some damned thing.

 

Yes. Feel you...Have paper maps for back up... GPS can also cause strokes- trying to leave on highway when "turn left", but sign says "straight", go straight - "make an immediate U turn"...

Trying to find a place to pull over, park, turn, etc in a big city during rush hour is difficult. And very stressful. Which leads to some other issues. Tourette like.

Upon exiting Highriver, there was a 5km backup on #2. GPS didn't say that. Add 1 hr OT, thankyouverymuch.

 

Up here, the sun doesn't even help most of the year. Right now it rises and sets almost due north. The rest of the day it just revolves around the sky in a big circle, so at midnight(ish) when the sun sets you might know where north is and a couple of hours later when it comes up just a point or so east of where it set you'd have another bearing. The rest of the day you're screwed. In winter it just pops over the southern horizon in a short arc for a few hours, so you'd better hope it isn't cloudy and you know how to find the North star.
Further north you're totally screwed because it doesn't set or rise at all much of the year.

I've always used just a compass and never become lost, even in some extremely remote fly-in hunts. You just leave camp with a known bearing to hike that day, check every fifteen minutes or so and then reverse that coming back. Even without a map it's pretty damned hard to get lost. Sometimes you'll run into a swamp or lake or something that forces you to change your direction, but you just make a mental note and take it into account when returning.