The Adventurer's Gear Thread

[Martinis at 8]

Understandable. I've never seen you speak of it before personally - is there a thread I missed? I'm interested...

Somewhere back in there is a thread or a post. Short version, I am an independent consultant, 1-man company, niche technical specialty.

 

[bbc1969]

Getting back to adventure gear, does anybody here use SPOT on their adventures. SPOT is a personal satellite tracker.

I find it to be a great device. I picked mine up a couple months back after work let me down and didn't have the sat phone available. I have used the device during several trips in Asia/ SW Pacific. Works as advertised.

I didn't subscribe the first time around to the continuous tracking feature. I have not decided if I will or not in the future. But even without that, the 911, need help, and check in Ok functions are enough for me. The $100,000.00 in evacuation insurance for about 7 bucks wasn't a bad deal either.

Of course the SPOT does not replace the compass(es) and GPS I carry in my kit when I travel.

 

[Martinis at 8]

...Of course the SPOT does not replace the compass(es) and GPS I carry in my kit when I travel.

Of course not. Compass I carry. GPS, I don't use. I'm still a paper map kinda traveler. Onion skins too. Something about using a GPS just strikes me as cheating It takes the fun out of land navigation.

 

[Mojave Jack]

We used to use these in the Army to lay the mortars. I believe this is still done as a manual back up.

We used them in the Marine Corps for 81 mm mortars, as well, and is still done from what I've seen around the base.

Of course not. Compass I carry. GPS, I don't use. I'm still a paper map kinda traveler. Onion skins too. Something about using a GPS just strikes me as cheating It takes the fun out of land navigation.

No one should be allowed to use a GPS unless they have mastered conventional map reading and orienteering! lol It's painful watching people in the park try to figure out what their GPS is telling them, but they don't have a proper frame of reference. [huh] A GPS is certainly not a replacement for map skills, but so many people seem to think so. I use a GPS daily for work, but still have to depend on good map reading skills.

It's good to know where you are when you have to contend with this sort of thing lying around.

 

[Jerekson]

Were you lucky enough to find that little specimen yourself, Jack?

 

[carebear]

One thing I enjoyed about the Stumps was the small, but real, issue of walking up on missed unexploded munitions. Made staying alert on point a little less theoretical.

 

[bbc1969]

No one should be allowed to use a GPS unless they have mastered conventional map reading and orienteering!

I agree completely! But when in a work situation, or if I have to try to E & E overseas, I am glad to have the gizmos to send the "come save my bacon" signal, and the "this is where I am" information very quickly. But the map is always on the person (as well as the compass... even if I'm urban and its a little pocket survival type.....) There are so many things that don't take up much space that a person can carry to make their lives so much easier in a bad situation....

 

[Mojave Jack]

Were you lucky enough to find that little specimen yourself, Jack?

Yes, but it's a pretty common occurrence. We were out doing a survey in preparation for the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion to dig a series of tank hull down positions. They wanted to put their positions right in the middle of a concentration of archeological sites, so I had to go out and find them a new spot to dig their positions. From there we went on to relocate a desert tortoise that had taken up residence in a very bad spot. When we got there we couldn't find the tortoise, but his burrow had been crushed by a tank. Fortunately the tortoise had moved on. On the way back we found this 500-lb bomb. It's a practice bomb, though, since it is painted blue, but live ordnance is used just as often as practice ordnance.

You're right, of course, bbc, and I wouldn't go without a GPS when the situation is serious. Hell, I carried a compass in NYC! Being down in those concrete trenches was completely disorienting, and I had no idea which way I was facing. Give me the desert any day.

 

[MrBern]

stan & ollie

I can across this pic & thought it might be enjoyed by this thread

 

[Gutshot]

Well I guess the desert boot knock offs at Target weren't a big seller around here as I just found a bunch of new pairs with tags sill on them a the Goodwill for 15 bucks a pop. Something you all may wish to check out in your area.

 

[Gutshot]

Wow, this thread has been quiet nearly a week now. Is everyone out adventuring?

 

[avedwards]

Once my mother finished the adjustments on the cuffs I will post pics of my beige/off-white '50s sport coat. It would be good for "dress safari" as well as for proper outdoor wear since the only thing differentiating it from a safari jacket is the shape, the material is the same.

 

[Mike K.]

Wow, this thread has been quiet nearly a week now. Is everyone out adventuring?

That's what I have been doing!

 

[Gutshot]

That's what I have been doing!

Shooting lions? Wrestling polar bears? Punching gorillas? Details man, details!

 

[carebear]

Good news for those who realize that "leaving civilization behind" doesn't mean that civilization (the worst parts anyway) will leave you alone.

Michael Bane's "Trail Safe: How to Avoid Danger in the Backcountry" is back in print.

http://www.flyingdragonltd.us/trail-safe.htm

link contains an excerpt

Talks about awareness, risk assessment and planning and self-defense strategies.

I recommend this book to anyone who adventures in the great outdoors.

 

[Mike K.]

Shooting lions? Wrestling polar bears? Punching gorillas? Details man, details!

I am an Audubon Society wildlife warden. My "office" is a 13,000 acre wildlife preserve that I share with 14ft alligators, fire ants, panthers, and countless thorny and poisonous plants. Every single day is an adventure of one kind or another.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Shooting lions? Wrestling polar bears? Punching gorillas? Details man, details!

Absolutely out adventuring! Today I spent doing maintenance on the Bighorn Sheep guzzlers we have located up in the mountains at the east end of the base. It was a great opportunity to test my new Stratton under adverse field conditions. It hit about 99-100 today, and very little wind.

Here's our ride for the day, a Bell HC412. That's the new Stratton, an F-42, rebashed and with a brown pug added. I find that chambray simply can't be beat for hot field days, and is still comfortable even in long sleeves.

We flew from Mainside at the Combat Center to a relatively smooth spot on the mountain, where we had to hike about a half kilometer to the guzzler. Look closely at this pic, and you'll see the two tanks of the guzzler in the wadi. They're camouflaged to help protect the Bighorns from poachers.

At the guzzler, which collects and stores water for the Bighorns, I had the unenviable task of cleaning out the pan where the bighorns drink. It is the stinkiest conglomeration of dead bees, bird poop, algae, and Bighorn Sheep saliva that you can imagine, made all the more interesting by the 400-500 bees (80% chance they are the Africanized variety) constantly hovering around and in the pan. No photos of that,unfortunately, because we had a limited window before our ride came back and we had to get the job done. I did not get stung, incidentally. The bees generally do not get agitated unless you kill one,or flail like an idiot every time one comes near you.

Here's the hike back up to the LZ from the guzzler, with Safari Steve, one of our biologists. Although it was only about a 500 meter hike, it was a helluva hike!

Our ride arrives

Back on board for the flight to the South Guzzler

 

[Mojave Jack]

The view from the LZ near the North Guzzler. Amboy Crater is just visible. as a dark black lump below the far range of mountains.

On the LZ at the South Guzzler. By now it was way too hot for pants, so the zip-off legs had to go. The chambray shirt still amazingly comfortable, and the Stratton working like a dream. I am loving that hat!

My base, the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, from the air on our return. Look familiar, Matthew?! And no, the smell from Lake Bandini has not changed a bit!

 

[Mike K.]

Wow Jack, great photos. It looks like both of us have been getting in a lot of flight time lately. I spent the day conducting an aerial census of endangered Wood Storks. Not the most classic adventuring, but here is...

Me and pilot (Sean) acting like lunatics, 1500ft somewhere over Florida

Close-up of one part of the stork colony (over 1400 nests to photograph)
Yes, we actually count every adult, chick, and egg!!

A few bird-watching tourists I spotted along our boardwalk trail

 

[NelsAnderson]

Some great outdoor photos and interesting stories to go with them. You guys do have much more interesting jobs than most people

Just how do you count every last bird when they are packed together like that?