Structural Ridgeline For Hammocks

 If you saw Mondays video on CJ In The Woods, I showed you how to make a fixed structural ridgeline for a hammock. Yesterday I went out and tested it.

I personally did not feel a lot of difference. It felt a little flatter on a diagonal lay, but not as much as I'd read or heard. It did allow me to have a visual aid in set up as I could see if it was level or the foot or head area were higher or lower then the other.

But, something I did not read about or see in videos (at least in my research) was that you lose between 1' to 2' of the useable length.

When you attach the SR (structural ridgeline) you bring the ends in towards center. By doing this you create a sag. As with any sag, you lose length from end to end. That might be an issue if your a really tall person. It certainly is an issue with your suspension. As you saw in the above video I had to set up three times. I sort of knew the first was too short, but the second would have worked fine without that SR attached. My daisy chains are 9', and using the SR, I might be better off buying a set of 11' to make up for the length lost using said SR. It's not just about the right sag but also in keeping the 35* angle on your suspension. Just something to keep in mind if your thinking about an SR for your hammock. 

Distances On Maps

 Let's discuss the distances stated on most maps. Go to a travel information building, order a trail map, or even viewing a trail map on a website, there's somewhere on that map that will tell you the distances. As an example, "Green trail loop is 3.5 miles long.", or "Red trail is 11 miles long.". The reality is you should add at least .5 to 1 miles to that declared distance.

Why?

Because most trail maps have not been modified or updated in decades, and were not created to exact distances of the trails to begin with. They also don't include additions to distances for declines or inclines (going up or down hills). Or know if there's a spot on the trail that's blocked by water or some other object you have to go around.

I will usually add at least .5 miles to any trail I have not been on before. So if the trail map says it's .75 miles to Dirty Undy Falls, I'll plan on it being 1.25 miles at minimum.

Here's a great example of this:

ears back my wife and I decided to hike a trail in the ADKs that was stated just under 2 miles. Adding .5 miles to that I estimated our hike should take about 2 hours. At the trail head they did not mention they were re-working this trail. Over all we ended up crawling under downed trees through water, climbing over other downed trees, going around other obstacles, and even losing the trail. Yes, the trail markers stopped and there literally was no trail. Being in the process of remodeling that part of the trail they had removed the markers, and the old trail was gone and the new trail led to an abrupt stop in the middle of the woods. We went back to the last marker, and I had my wife sit tight while I went ahead to try and locate the trail. I knew the point we had to go to get back to the trail head, and took a compass reading where I left my wife. The plan was if I did not find the trail we would turn back. I zig zagged the woods for about 800 yards before finding the trail again. But was it the right trail? I went back and got my wife and we went back to the point of the trail I found. I took another compass reading. Then I looked for trail markers. I saw none! I told her to sit tight and I'd scout up the trail a little. I went about 100 yards and looked back. Well look at that! Trail markers! They marked the trail for one direction and not the other. I called for her to come up to me. I repeated this, going forward a few trail markers and then having her come up until we got to a building and an old woods road. I eyed the compass and told her the trail head should be this way, and pointed up the road. Once again, I told het to sit tight and I'd scout ahead. I got up over a little knoll and and could see something shiny about 1000 yards down the road. I walked another couple hundred yards and realized, with relief, it was the trail head and the shine I picked up was our car windows. I called for my wife who came up and met me. Then we headed to the trail head and back to the vehicle.

The one sure saving grace was the river. The intention of this hike was to go back into a waterfall on a river. So having that river was the reason I did not panic, thought I was concerned. I knew the river went under a bridge about 3 miles outside of the nearest town. So, if we had had to, we could have followed the river out the the bridge then followed to road back to the side road the original trail head was on.

What should have been a 2 mile hike, marked as easy, and taking maybe 2.5 hours, was really about a 5-6 mile hike that took about 4.5 hours, and loosing the trail at one point along the way.

So, plan your hiking accordingly, and always add some extra distance and time to complete your goal.

Fixed Structural Hammock Rudgeline

 

I Have To Laugh

 So, here I am looking up some hammock stuff. More so, what people carry as a gear list for hammock camping. Which for some reason, leads to some "survivalin" stuff. Sure, because being a banana in a cocoon is my go o shelter for survivalin. I mean nothing says survival like being a bear taco.

So anyway..............

There I am. Trying to make sense of why I'm trying this hammock thing again. I find some survival kits being in lists of must have gear. I can see that. I mean there's a whole lot of cordage involved in setting up a hammock, so injury is a lot higher then using a tent.

Because at times I love to torment myself, I look up some of the brands mentioned, as well as some of the contents. I came across a few that had QR code cards you can scan you get instructions from the web on ow to use the items. WTF! Do you see it? The problem? 

?

??

???

????

?????

??????

???????

????????

If you have internet on your phone you don't need a survival kit. You can call for help. I have to wonder how big of a selling point a QR code in a survival kit is.

I'm not advertising this sort of thing on my blog, channel, or forums!! So no names will be mentioned! However, you are free to look it up yourself.

You can't make this ^**^ up people! 

Lake Bonita, NY

 Myself and a couple friends hiked down into Lake Bonita last Saturday.

It's an interesting area for sure. The land was originally part of the Mount McGregor correctional facility which encompassed over 1,000 acres of land. When the prison closed in 2014 it left a huge area of land that was owned by the state, but was going to waste. In 2021 a little over 7oo acres of the land was transferred to Moreau Lake State Park, and opened to the public. Since that time trails were created that loop Lake Bonita and also go back into the Lake Ann Lean-To.

The land the actual prison facility sits on and all 100 structures are strictly off limits to the public.

But we did gain some nice hiking area with Lake Bonita as the center piece of this 709 acre state run area. There's no camping or hunting allowed in the area, and the lake is said to have some acidic properties. Though some say there's good fishing in the lake. By the sign of all the lures and bobbers hanging from trees and barely submerged logs I'd at minimum say the trees are always biting.

Hammocks

 So a while back I did a Dispelling The Mythos on hammocks. I stand by that post as it was based on facts and an unbiased look. But, I want to take a moment to clarify something, and this one is biased.

While the debate and comparison will probably feud on forever, (or will it?) we have to accept one fact. A hammock isn't a shelter. It's a sleep system. The tarp, is the shelter.

Like a sleeping bag to a tent, so is the hammock to the tarp. So, the debate is over. Since the hammock is not the shelter, it's a sleep system, the tent wins.

That's it. That' all. Nothing more to see, move along!

OK, The Tracker Knife

 I'll keep this as short as possible. After 5-6 years using these, here's the quick and nasty of my findings.

4 years ago:

This Morning:

Not much of a change in opinion on the Tops T2.

Full discussion over on

Firepit Outdoors

Some Tips I Didn't Mention In The Last Video

 

This was my video from yesterday. My hammock is a bit different than most that have the bug net incorporated into the hammock. Generally the hammock will have an internal ridgeline incorporated into it that keeps the net up and away from you. My hammock does not have that, as you can see in the above video. But, you can still create a way to hang a small light inside the hammock, or some other light items.

Let me explain:

Most know how to use a marble, small stick rounded out, or a round rock to create a pull out for a tarp. If you don't you can always check out my video on using a ping-pong ball ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etSdYJYb51E  ). The trick I'm about to explain also involves the stick trick from the video with the hammock. I want to add here, make sure when you use sticks to round off or smooth out any rough or sharp edges on said stick or sticks.

To create a hanging loop simply use the same trick as the ping-pong ball. But, you must be a little more careful as you'll be creating the 'catch' in the screen which is not as durable or tough as the main body. Don't tie whatever you use as a keep to tight. Make your catch by tying a loose knot behind your keep. Now tie a small loop and put a carabiner in it. You just created a way to hank a small lightweight light, a small pouch to hold items like wallet or glasses etc. . If you want to keep it a little higher add the stick to the loops to pull that area tight. You can add the catches to all three sections that have the screen loops if you like. Just remember that this trick is not meant for hanging anything heavy from.

As a side note; This is a do at your own risk tip. It is possible to rip or tear the screen doing this. If you keep any hanging items light you should be fine, but things don't always work out fine. 

Dispelling The Mythos Bushcraft VS Camping

 There is no VS! None, nodda, nope, nil, zero, zilch.......... Bushcraft IS camping!

You can slice it, dice it, chop it, mince it, and even puree it! The fact is, bushcraft is nothing more than camping. It's camping using a different skill set than most others use, but it's still camping. All the old books state is was camping, the skills are forged after camping, or more to the point in the US after the voyages of the frontier. Guess what? The frontier travelers were, hold on..

Wait for it..

...

....

.....

......

.......

........

CAMPING!

Bushcraft or woodcraft in these times is the hobby of practicing the skills those old pioneers used on excursions, expeditions, and adventures. Be it by land or river, by boat or horses, or foot, each night they would make camp. Out skills are at the core, based on this. Foraging, hunting, navigation, cooking over a fire, sleeping either under the stars or in tents.

We as outdoors men and women, who follow and practice these old ways do so as a hobby now. It's a fading hobby, but it's a hobby. For some it's LARPING or REINACTING, dressing in the old style clothes, which just makes it even more of a hobby.

In the purest sense these days, bushcraft is the hobby of camping. Even glamping (to some extent) if you are practicing the skills learned by practicing bushcraft. 

What is camping? Going out to a destination in the woods. Setting up some sort of shelter. Gathering fire wood and making a fire. Cooking over this fire. Sleeping in our shelter. This is camping. Or at least how camping is supposed to be.

What is bushcratf? Going into the woods. Making some sort of a shelter. Gathering wood and making fire. Cooking over that fire. Sleeping in our shelter. The difference is we might build our table and chairs from materials we forage from the forest. Or make our shelter from the same materials. We might use a primitive method to start our fire instead of a lighter or matches and two gallons of charcoal lighter fluid. But, no matter if we build a table or not, we're simply, camping.

To think otherwise is simply, silly.

This message was brought to you by someone who has spent decades camping and practicing the skills associated with bushcraft. I have a knife and a computer, so that makes me a professional. 😆

At The Lake

 Yes, at the lake again. Today we had invited some friends to join us which was a nice change. I had slow cooked two pork shoulders last week and made up a pasta salad. Today I just added more BBQ sauce and heated it up over charcoal. Not a lot of pics, but here's a few.

Fishing

 My wife and her dad used to go fishing a lot when she was young. In memory of him on the first Fathers Day since his passing, she wanted to go fishing. So that's exactly what we did.

I had taken one of his old fishing rigs to try and catch something on. The rod is a little loose and the reel has seen better days. It will remain as it is in memoriam. It is also probably now officially retired. Sadly, I did not catch and fish using the old rig.

I did manage to catch a couple of chain pickerel, but to small to keep so they were released. Below are a couple of cool action shots I took from video as well as the video.

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Velociraptor Tracks!

 BIGFOOT HAS COMPETITION!

While visiting a local lake this morning, my wife noticed some very large bird tracks in the water. I went over to have a look and saw these:

Once we got home I did a quick search and they are blue heron tracks. In all my years playing in the outdoors I think this is the first time I have ever actually seen their tracks. I see the birds somewhat often, but don't remember ever seeing the tracks before. Pretty cool.

I was originally thinking crane, but they are more of just a "Y" track.

Snakes

 If you've been watching the channel, you know I've had an encounters with snakes on most of my outings since the weather got warmer. One of the local spots I go to often has an infestation of eastern water snakes. Yesterday on the walk back to my car a guy asks me if I'm taking pictures (I had my large tripod with me). I said sort of and he said take a picture of all these snakes. Ugh! I dislike snakes, I dislike them very much. I had already seen one, that was enough, but I went to see what he was talking about anyway when he asked what kind they were.

There's a small area on the pond they have railroad ties stacked to keep the bank from eroding. It's not very long, only two in length. He shows me the spot, and sure enough, there's at least 5 snakes laying on top, little snake heads poking out of holes in the wood everywhere. They were going in and out of the wood like something from a horror flick about snakes. All In all I did count at least 11 different snakes ranging from small maybe 8", to one that was about 4 feet.

The eastern water snake we have in my area isn't really venomous. Not technically. But, their saliva contains and anti-coagulant. They are strong, and because they can and do strike several times if they do bite you're going to bleed, a lot. It is recommended to get to an urgent care or hospital. I'd also personally recommend carry some like a blood clotting powder in your FAK if your in an area with them.

You also have to be careful as the colorings on the eastern water snake closely resembles a cotton mouth. Or in some instances, our eastern rattle snake and timber snake. I've seen them light colored like a rattler and darker like the cotton mouth, and almost black like the eastern racer. The latter is what I thought the first snake I saw yesterday was.

This was the first I saw yesterday.

This was a picture of the railroad ties.

Revisit: Bushcraft/Woodcraft VS Survivalism

 I am not a fan of AI. But I do find it's accuracy sort of spot on in many cases, more so then the old days of search assistance.

AI answer for "Why do people insist on using the word survival in bushcraft?":

People frequently conflate "survival" with "bushcraft" because the two disciplines share significant overlapping skill sets, such as shelter-building, fire-making, water purification, and navigation.  Since bushcraft involves living in the wilderness with minimal equipment, many assume the primary goal is emergency survival, leading to interchangeable usage in casual conversation and media. 

However, the terms represent distinct philosophies and objectives:

● Intent and Duration: Bushcraft is a voluntary hobby focused on long-term living, comfort, and sustainable connection with nature.  Survival is an emergency response to immediate danger, focused on short-term existence until rescue or return to safety. 

● Philosophy: Bushcraft emphasizes crafting tools and items for pleasure and deeper engagement with the environment (e.g., carving a decorative spoon).  Survival prioritizes efficiency and speed, using any available method—including modern gear like tents or lighters—to stay alive, often ignoring environmental impact. 

● Mindset: Bushcraft practitioners seek serenity and joy in the wild, while survivalists operate under stress and urgency, focusing on mental resilience and quick decision-making to avoid death. 

The confusion is often exacerbated by media and reality TV shows that dramatize outdoor experiences as life-or-death struggles, obscuring the peaceful, craft-oriented nature of traditional bushcraft.

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Pretty short and to the point. I usually like that, but lets expand the hobby of bushcraft a little more.

Bushcraft, a simplistic manner of practicing a hobby with minimal gear using a skill set based somewhat on primitive skills.

Yet, look at YouTube, type in bushcraft, and you get videos of people building elaborate shelters, a good share of those are half naked women doing the building. I'm not sure who watches those that actually practices bushcraft. Well, I do know who watches them, and the arm of a chair comes to mind. But lets move on.

Go to most forums and you'll see a lot of pictures of shiny new gear that's never seen the woods. Not a mark on it.

Don't even get me started on the videos and pictures of EDC items without a mark on them....... Or most gears reviews......

I also want to add that homesteading isn't bushcraft either. Oh boy...

A lot of that is exactly why Firepit Outdoors was created over two years ago. To get back to basics of actually leaving the house and going into the woods...

OK- I'm veering off here.//Sorry.... Lets get back on point....

American woodcraft (bushcraft) is a practice of using the skills the old frontier people used. Hunting trapping, fishing, making shelters, clothing, and so on. This hobby is based on the camping way of traveling, or setting up a short term camp. Nomadic life as it were. They did not rely on friction fire, many used flint and steel to build fires. They had moved past the days of the caveman. The frontiers people didn't run around clubbing dinosaurs over the head and eating raw meat ripped from the carcass.  Believe it or not, the settlers had and used the modern technology of the time to smooth it. Even the old books use the word hobby, and while they may say survival skills, it's meant as a means of surviving being lost or hurt. In none of those books does it state or show how to build a bomb shelter or stockpile food and firearms. A lot of people just don't get that. Those old timers even say if you have the means, to use the best gear you can get. They even do so in using canvas wall tents, which were modern tech at the time of those writings in most cases. The goal of bushcraft is to have the skills of the settlers or frontiers people, not Rambo. Bushcraft- To go into the woods to have fun and enjoy it. 

Growing up my friends and I used a lot of the skills associated with bushcraft, but we simply called it camping. It was and is, a hobby, which after a while, may become a way of life as those skills carry us through our outdoor adventures. The smell of food being cooked over a campfire, the bonds we make setting and keeping camp with friends, the sounds of the woods. It doesn't matter if you are in a drive up camp site in a state park, or 5 miles into nowhere, it's about being out there. Or should be anyway!

Do I have trips that deviate from general camping or my hobby of bushcraft? Sometimes, and they rarely make it to sharing with anyone. 

I could go on and on about this and the distinctive differences. Sometimes I feel like I have, and do. Probably because I think the distinction between bushcraft and survivalism is pretty big.

Is there a point to any of this? Yes. I hate to use this term, but, if you know, you know. If you know, you get it.

In closing:

Plan a trip! A day trip, a camping trip, a few hour hike, and go get it! Go out, practice a skill, hang your tarp, whittle a try stick under a tree by a stream or lake, cook some food over a camp fire! Go alone or bring a friend or two! But go!

Dispelling The Mythos: Gear Advice

 Not a lot to this one.

Never rely on advice from people who post pictures of unused gear to prove how good or bad something is. Or worse, they don't post pictures proving they have used or even own said item

Never trust a review from anyone who just sits at a table reading the specs of the item or posts pictures of said item unused. To review is to KNOW how something works.

Updating The Camp

 Last Saturday we updated the Adirondack Bushcraft Brothers™ base camp with a some new furniture.

Turkey Vest

 I had an paint ball plate carrier I painted sitting around. I never got enough people interested in getting teams going so it was collecting dust. I painted it last September, left it outdoors most of the winter and it still smelled like paint. Hosed it down a few times and let it dry, but a feint smell of paint lingers. So deer and coyote hunting with it is a no go.

But, turkey don't care much about smell. So I ordered an admin pouch to set this al up as a turkey vest. I opted to take the foam pads out.

I have another of the admin pouches, so I know this would be fine for my goal. carry some calls, strikers, extra shells, and my license. A small box call will fit in this pouch as well as locator calls etc. The elastic bands will hold 20 and 12 gauge shells.

Aside from using some gear that was just sitting around, there's another upside to this set up. I can wear my orange vest over this while walking to or from sets. 

Ping Pong Ball

 

A Hawk In The Bushes

 

Survivalist? No.

 A while ago I made a post about my not being a survivalist. I had removed it after having a conversation with an acquaintance. I have thought about it for a couple of weeks and i want to reiterate: No, I am not a survivalist!

To a lot of people, bushcraft is being a survivalist. The reality is, no, no it's not. I stand by being a bushcrafter and being a survivalist in their most common definitions are not the same. Roll your eyes all you want. Anyone who practices actual bushcraft knows they are different. Allow me to re-explain.

Survivalist:

noun-

◆One who prepares for possible dangers such as natural disasters, societal collapse, or nuclear war, as by stockpiling necessary supplies or acquiring survival skills.

◆A person who believes in being prepared to survive and is actively preparing for possible future emergencies and disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order.

◆Someone who tries to insure their personal survival or the survival of their group or nation.

The above is the most common definition of a survivalist. These are the people with bug out bags, cases of gas masks, underground bunkers, cases of ammo stashed, a 10 year supply of food and water stocked up, etc. etc. . None of this has anything even remotely connected to primitive skills. 

Bushcraft/Woodcraft:

noun-

◆The skills needed to survive in the bush, and by extension in any natural environment.

◆A set of wilderness survival skills that enable individuals to live in the wild with minimal reliance on modern tools and technology. The term combines “bush,” referring to wilderness or uncultivated land, and “craft,” meaning a skill or art form. It is about more than just surviving; it’s about thriving in nature by understanding and utilizing the natural environment to its fullest potential.

The above is the most common definition of bushcraft.

Take a look at the parts I made italic. They could not be on more opposite ends of the spectrum. One is about buying and stockpiling to prepare for disruption. The other about a skill set for being in the woods.

Yeah, a nitpicker will say bushcraft skills are survival skills. That's very true! Key word is skill here. There's no skill involved in mail ordering 5 years worth of dehydrated food or buying 50,000 rounds of ammo. There is skill involved in knowing how to make cordage, build a shelter, make a fire with wet wood, and forage for your food.

Things get even further muddies up when we put the two together, bushcraft survival. Then we have a million schools that teach bushcraft as survival and blur the lines. The truth is, it's more a money making term than reality. Bushcraft is survival in that it teaches skills to survive a night or two in the woods if you get hurt or turned around. It teaches old school, often primitive skills most do not possess or in reality have a want to learn. Including survivalists. Bushcraft isn't about LARPing with your buddies running around the woods in camo shooting trees with firearms. Bushcrafts really not even about being prepared for natural disasters. With the exceptions of knowing how to make a fire and cook over a fire. Bushcraft is about being in the woods, the bush. It's right in the word!

Here's an example:

 A survivalist needs to know a few skills associated with bushcaft, such as first aid, making fire and cooking over it, maybe, MAYBR shelter building, and possible navigation skills.

But a bushcrafter does not need to know anything about being a survivalist, by definition.

Survivalists lean very heavily into the doomsday prepping aspect of the spectrum. This is not bushcraft, at all! Preparing for shit hits the fan is about as bushcraft as an escalator in an outhouse. Bushcraft is about woodsmanship and skills. Not buying 100 cases of TP.

So, again, am I a survivalist? As per the conclusion of the conversation with said acquaintance, I suppose I am, in the manner of being prepared for an extended and unplanned stay in the woods. But, am I a survivalists in the true sense? No.