Journal of the Backwoodsman 3;

June 19

Tonight I did a short little campout in my back yard for testing my gear in a 24-hour scenario. (I did not actually sleep out on this, although I have, for the reason that it is 90 degrees even at night) I only had my paint can day pack, tarp, water bottle, a hunk of wax, and my hatchet, along with the stuff on my person including 3 knives and a fire kit.

I really think the beginner can learn something from this. The first thing I started working on is my shelter. I have a raised bed and a permanent ridge pole I setup a while back, along with my 7' by 7' tarp. I rigged this as shown, with out staking directly to the ground for increased air flow. My paint can is hanging on a hand-forged hook nailed to the tree. Once I got all that done, I headed for the nearby woods.

First I got 3 good strong poles for my tripod. Then I grabbed some sassafras roots, and some fatwood from a dead cedar. These I brought back to camp. I made the tripod first, lashing it with some wire from my paint can day pack. Then a paracord loop was attached to a stick with a few bail notches so I can raise and lower the pot as needed. Next made a fire in my keyhole fire pit, so I could rake coals into the narrow part for easier cooking. I made it with a dead grass and shredded cedar bark tinder bundle and a ferro rod with char.

Over that fire I made some sassafras tea, and while that was going I started messing with the wax. I wanted to see if waxed paracord held a knot any better than the regular paracord. So melted a little wax in one of my spare tins, and lightly waxed about 1'. When it was dry, it held the best knot I have seen in a long time. You could also do this with nylon to help with tying it. Alright, back to camping. Now the tea was ready and I added sugar ( another thing from the paint can) and sat down to sip. Then I started throwing my knife and after that I used a stone to make a bone spear head. By this time it was dark, so I just sat on my bed and took it all in. 

In the morning I got the fire going again, and at once began making breakfast. First I got some tea on, then I got a good coal bed raked into the narrow part of my keyhole fire. Over this I set a baking pan and I used the hot surface here to cook on. I made bacon and bannock, which tasted really good. My bannock recipe is on the journal of the backwoodsman 

1;http://lessonsfromatrapper.blogspot.com/2016/06/journal-of-backwoodsman-1.html  . After I ate, I started picking up. In about 5 minutes I had everything up except the tarp tent, which I plan on leaving. I hope you liked my adventure, and that you learned something. one more thing I did; I sealed a plastic bag over a  branch, and let it sit over night. In the morning there was a few drops of condensation, but not enough to drink. have fun camping, 

Caleb