RIP, Jeff Dorr: 1964 - July 17, 2009
"When young men seek to be like you, when lazy men resent you, when powerful men look over their shoulder at you, when cowardly men plot behind your back, when corrupt men wish you were gone and evil men want you dead . . . Only then will you have done your share." - Phil Messina
i have heard that as well...and it kinda makes sense if you think about it.
however, my guess is that the rock would just crack instead of actually exploding.
though, if you were sitting on it or something, you could maybe get burned.
anyway, great report landlord. i often do backpacking trips with my BOB. there is no better way to figure out what you need and don't need, to realistically understand how far you can hump your BOB in what amount of time over what type of terrain, and to improve that number.
you mention "if you had had a tent...". one suggestion i would make is to consider a bivy sack, rather than a tent, for your BOB. a bit less weight...a bit less room...easier and quicker to set up...can be set up in smaller spaces...can actually be warmer (as there is less air for your body to heat up), etc. imho, they offer a lot of advantages over a tent (of course, tents have their own advantages as well).
of course, you could also skip the tent/bivy sack entirely and just go with a poncho...
I have a piece of Tyvek building wrap that is 8 foot by 6foot in my BOB and GHB. It weighs very little, and is very tough.
The tent debate has me boogered up pretty bad.
I'm considering a hammock:
I thought about that, Longhunter.
The idea is interesting, but what if you want to set up camp in a field?
My problem is hiking is often getting from point A to point B. Sometimes due to circumstances beyond my control I end up getting to the end of day later than I had planned. I often end up where I end up and although I am rarely walking into camp after dark, pickings are sometimes slim. I see this as simmular to a BO situation. You are trying to get away from point A as fast as possible and on to point B (although not always the case I recommend that you have a point B in mind). Point A could represent a major population center, so the faster you get away from there the fewer people you are likely in encounter.
Pick (and practice using) a tent/shelter that is quick and easy to setup. So easy that you can set it up in the dark with little or no light, and can be setup in as many types of areas you are likely to be seting up in. In my area of operation, if I am using a tent, I have made the decision to go with a free-standing tent (they typically weigh more than a non free-standing one). With the rocky ground that I usually find myself in I often could not drive a tent stake in the ground if I had too. If circumstances dictate, a free standing tent also alows me the opportunity to pick it up and move it without a full teardown (better site found, realize you are in the middle of a water run off area, etc.).
Nice report. It has me thinking though. What are you all preparing for? Nuclear war, riots, bio attack, avian flu, running from the law? All?
I like the idea of being prepared but it seems like in most of those instances (I guess running from the law would be the obvious exception) and in my typical southern suburban neighborhood it would be better to stay in the house and fortify rather then camp in a park. Hell, I love to camp but it seems like you would be likely to get your weapons confiscated and get run off. Maybe I am not preparing for the right scenario though, what is the prospective emergency?
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