Saturday, February 8, 2020

hiking not camping


HIKING NOT CAMPING
We are spoiled consumers. Everything we do must cost money and require extra tools. Even prepping TRIED to introduce new tools that we absolutely positively needed, but not really, and the whole industry pretty much sucked an egg and took a big squishy. You might maintain that this downturn was the Trump Effect, but I think it was just the continuous unemployment as mass layoffs and store closures took their toll. Too many minions, Bison's Little Helpers who report as boots on the ground ( which frankly I need on occasion as I am isolated and out of the loop ), even gun sales crashed.
*
Think about that for more than two seconds, or however long you can pleasure your lady-whichever happens first-and ask yourself why Scary Black Plastic Poodle Shooters are flying off the shelves at a reduced rate? Why are Bubba's having no luck consigning used guns? I know, you know, and if Ross Perot was alive he'd know that the economy is going off the cliff and Bernie Sanders might get elected, as welfare money will be needed from the hovering Federal Reserve helicopters to quell the riots from the ghettos and suburbs.
*
That means now and now only and perhaps for never more if Virginia is any indicator, this is THE time to be buying and burying guns and ammo ( vacuum sealer is the Amazon link O' The Day at the end of the article ). Why aren't sales higher than ever? Because we already have enough guns? LOL Damn, Chief, that is a GOOD one. Hilarious! As if there is any such thing as enough guns. If there is any one thing gun owners, also know as patriotic Americans, can all agree on is that you can never own enough guns. That crap is like, Guns 101, dude.
*
No, I think less people can swing FINANCING guns. It has nothing to do with desire. Oh, their credit card company is happy to extend them more debt, but they are already using the cards to pay the utility bill each month. No way you can also buy another gun. The wife says fifteen is more than enough. Bubba can't sell his used guns for the same reason Palmetto State ONLY raised their AR kits ten percent after Red Flag laws and Virginia. They don't have enough demand to raise the price further. So, to get back on topic, the indicators I look at seem to be telling me the Prepping Industry is dying from demand, not disinterest but lack of ability at spending.
*
And prepping was almost always about cannibalizing demand from other industries, not providing their own tools. Outside #10 cans of freeze dried foods ( and a lot of that might just be frugal campers buying in bulk and creating their own meals rather than buying an expensive pouch ), preppers don't need their own tools. What I mean is, why buy from a preparedness vendor what you can buy cheaper from a camping supply store or gun/knife store or military surplus company? Demand crashed with the REAL economy ( that part not propped up with inflation ), and ad revenue died as did the whores profiting off product pimping.
*
One of the few product placement successes seemed to be from camping. Sammy Survivalist might not be buying freeze dried yak spleen, radiation meters or FLIR scopes, but he just might still want camping supplies, so by gum and to sacrifice another slice of your soul at the alter of Mammon, you start writing articles on bushcrafting and camping! Winning! I've even fell into this trap, not the gear queering, but the statement that going camping helps you practice your survival skills. And it can.
*
Yet, it seems to me, on reflection, that camping errs on the side of preparedness rather than survival. It is all just consuming mass quantities of tools. It isn't REALLY about skills, past a certain point. To some, it is just an excuse to drink beer, but I doubt any of those are reading here. I think camping is helpful learning to wing it, learning that not all your needs need to be met by tying yourself to a vulnerable grid. You can see how well those off grid tools work. You can see what isn't worth the weight of packing. To actually experience a bit of discomfort, and learn to overcome that with real gear, as opposed to Peacock Feather gear.
*
To illustrate one small example, now we have folks pimping the military high tech layering system, those pieces of clothing a few hundred bucks EACH. What The Ever Living Hump? The military went WAY too high tech ( cough, FLIR, cough ). I don't think you really need much past WWII military gear. Cotton thermal underwear, cotton clothing, wool and an outer layer of whatever for wind. If it wasn't keeping soldiers alive in Russia eighty years ago, being MORE artificially manufactured shouldn't make one whit of difference.
*
Throwing money at a problem rarely solves a problem, and often makes more of them. Camping can rapidly turn the biggest learning experience about CONSUMPTION. That is the danger. You spend more time researching products, then spending the time working to afford them, than actually camping. And while camping is great for the above listed reasons, are you really going to be spending a lot of time camping, after the collapse? If you employ the hermit nomad plan, sure. But how many of you are going to be living outside full time, resupplying from caches?
*
As an emergency measure, sure, you might need to retreat to a selected forest location with supplies, as marauders attack the village or homestead. BUT! How do you usually avoid those attacks ( or, at least, know of them well in advance )? By patrolling. Which is...Bueller, Bueller? Hiking. And by practicing hiking primarily, you learn quick what not to pack for camping. Which is just secondary. On patrols you'll be packed light and not pitching tents ( you want to be in an enclosed fabric room if you are attacked at night? ) or worrying too much about fires ( of course, in case of a freezing rain or similar accident...).
*
I believe we should be focused on hiking, NOT camping. Forget all the gadgets and doo-dads. Forget all the expense. And for the love all that is good and just, forget “ultralight camping”, an excuse to spend ten times the money, and having flimsy gear. Spend your recreational hours chosen to spend outdoors hiking. If you have adequate footwear, and foul weather clothing, which we all should, your expense is negligible. And you learn your area, learn how to move silently, learn how to condition your muscles. And Seniors can hike!
*
Not the most doom porn relevant information right now, but a nice change of pace from Beer Viruses and Liquidity Crashes.
( .Y. )
( today's related Amazon link click HERE )
*
note: the locusts have hit Pakistan and are now moving over to India.  Got wheat?
*
note: I thought this was a relevant video.  The top five best movie heroic last stands.  Motivation for our own HERE  And, unrelated, but always priceless, "Scrubs" on bastards HERE 
*
Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon links here ( or from http://bisonprepper.com/2.html or www.bisonbulk.blogspot.com ). Or PayPal www.paypal.me/jimd303 

*** Unless you are in extreme poverty, spend a buck a month here, by the above donation methods ( I get 4% of the Amazon sale, so you need to buy $25 worth for me to get my $1 ) or mail me some cash/check/money order or buy a book ( web site for free books, Amazon to pay just as a donation vehicle ).
*** My e-mail is: jimd303@reagan.com My address is: James M Dakin, 181 W Bullion Rd #12, Elko NV 89801-4184 ***E-Mail me if you want your name added to the weekly e-newsletter subscriber list.
*** Pay your author-no one works for free. I’m nice enough to publish for barely above Mere Book Money, so do your part.*** junk land under a grand **  Lord Bison** my bio & biblio***my web site is www.bisonprepper.com *** Wal-Mart wheat***Amazon Author Page***Screw the NRA, join the GOA HERE
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there

49 comments:

  1. You ought to check out stealth camping on YouTube. Basically they camp places they shouldn't be at after dark and see if they can get away with it. Mostly city parks and stuff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen a few. Amusing, interesting to a small degree, but mostly, meh.

      Delete
    2. “Everything we do must cost money and require extra tools.”


      Well, you could always take a cue from 19th century wilderness badass, John Muir:

      "On excursions into the back country of Yosemite, he traveled alone, carrying "only a tin cup, a handful of tea, a loaf of bread, and a copy of Emerson."[30]:52–53 He usually spent his evenings sitting by a campfire in his overcoat, reading Emerson under the stars).”

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir

      Though personally, I’d choose some different reading material than a book of poetry, written by a 19th century turd burglar, but that’s just me :D I also recognize that today’s society of haves, could not likely do without some added luxuries.

      Camping with Steve does a lot of stealth camping videos. He’s very entertaining, and provides many “Arnold Schwarzenegger like” lines: “The Moose have moved on” (They were right where he planned to set up). “My favorite kind of Moose” :D “Time to start a survival fire” (Proceeds to whip out a propane torch and a duraflame log :D He was a doing a livestream one time, and a few of the participants started up with political talk. He instantly shut it down. The dude’s smart, and knows which side his bread is buttered on (There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere, for the hollyweird and “woke” SJW corporation, morons).

      Delete
    3. You know, off hand, I can't think of one book I could read over and over. Not without waiting years in between

      Delete
  2. forever fire starter...…..fire piston

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doesn't the tight fit degrade with use? What am I missing?

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. This is how we learn. Gathering more information. To me it also sounded like a gimmick, until I tried it. Far superior to a spark. I just didn't realize they worked so long between charges. Now, to me fair to the critics, I HATE built in rechargeables you cannot change out. It the manufacture screws you on the quality, and it doesn't last too many charges, it will be a waste of money. So reluctance might be understood. I think you've made a case, myself.

      Delete
    4. I have a couple of those lighters. I just tried both after about 1.5 years or so since I last charged them, and both lit right up. The kind that I have, have an element, and more than a few reviewers mentioned that you don’t want to actually touch whatever it is that you’re trying to light right to the element, but rather, very close to it, or it will fail prematurely. I would think that for outdoors use, you’d want the style that is a plasma, or arc, like the one that I sent you a while back.

      I don’t remember what mine cost, but they were cheap enough to be worth the purchase price. I’d also always have one of those thick 1/2” ferro-rods on me as well. Unbreakable, no moving parts, and won’t gel up in cold weather, as will butane.

      Delete
    5. Bic goes into the whitey tighties in severe weather, but point taken

      Delete
    6. Exactly. Bics are about a buck a piece in bulk and a dozen will last your lifetime. I have all the other stylish stuff but it's boxed up somewhere and a Bic lives in my pocket all the time. With some thinking and some practice a Bic will make a fire every dam time.

      Delete
    7. https://bisonbulk.blogspot.com/2018/04/bic-brand-lighters-50-count.html

      Delete
  3. Brilliant, again. There is a cultural holdover paradigm from the oil age that is an influencer in the camping schlepp.

    My Vegas example. Urban sprawl in desert wasteland. Folks that are inclined with mobility ability in their queer crossover plastic transports have to drive out of a valley many miles to cheesy assed gov't. Managed recreation areas. Every holiday the prissy parks, sissy tree stands called forests, and fetid federal resevoir lakes are packed with humanoid mouth breathers. To the point roads are closed due to congestion and overcrowding the amenities capacity. The r.v. sales lots advertise as much as lawyers every season to put yuppie families in an r.v. with financing, so as to commune with nature as a family unit, seldom, as they are not hardly ever out there due to those other life committments. When these freaks are out there they muck up the place and do everything "camping" half assed like coeds in a dormitory kinda level of stupid. I wish there were more predators on a level of the best b movie versions out there to kill off and carry away the debris. Not ranting, providing field reports.

    Hiking, as in patrolling, reconaissance, honing an ability to E&E, fitness and martial skills building. These are the only items on the spicy times final exams. NOT, watching a t.v. in the woods in an r.v. or s.u.v. while feeding self on void factory food. Nope.

    Stay frostier in them forests.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's funny is, the island of Oahu that I grew up on (ages 5-25) which is by far the most populated, still has vast areas with no one in them. It has areas there were more people living on 150 years ago then now.

      While there are no dire wolves or rocs picking off the unwary, there are crags and shit people fall off of and are not seen again. And wild/feral pigs that'll eat your corpse which is why a lot of these lost hikers are never found again. And the water's got sharks, which were "fished down" when I was a kid but have rebounded. One left a movie-worthy bite mark in someone's paddleboard just within the last few days. They just bite to see if you might be a nice fatty monk seal.

      Crags and hogs notwithstanding, there's plenty of really nice (if you consider hiking nice) hiking there. Lots of trails.

      Delete
    2. Not sure why the greenies feel they need sharks as an apex predictor when we are overfishing anyway. Don't get me started on the cammo commies.

      Delete
  4. Hiking... or backpacking while avoiding the high tech ultralight gear that is not built for the long haul, as you mention. Both are in line with escape and evade, rather than stand and fight. Backpackers get good at knowing good spots to stop overnight where there are more resources (eg water). This plus caches and you can backpack for an extended time. Hard to deal with a moving target, as our homesteaders learned on the plains. Good article.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why I love caching. You don't need to protect it with a semi and pallet of ammo

      Delete
  5. Apologies Lord Bison for going off topic (what's new, eh?).

    So while shopping at my friendly Indian grocery. I spied shelf stable clarified butter (ghee).
    I know in past you've made passing reference to ghee; however, you've decided to go the Crisco route for your fat storage. Your choice is dollar driven, yes?

    Sorry, but Crisco is a bridge too far for me. The idea of licking it off a spoon is the 6th level of Hell. I think I'd rather eat roaches.
    On the other hand I LOVES ME SOME BUTTER but can't swing price of shelf stable ghee ($$$$).

    Anyway...my question is more along the lines of calories. Mazola corn oil & generic olive oil both have 120 calories per tbs while mayonnaise & stick butter (not margarine) are 100 cals per tbs. A 20% difference.

    I, unlike you, am a believer in taste fatigue. I'm thinking a bit of mixing of fat sources might be a better course of action.
    Now of course I'm assuming electricity stays on for a while to provide refrigeration for the mayo.
    So in the spirit of soon coming imposed quarantine courtesy of CoronaChan I would appreciate your thoughts on MAYO as a short term fat source and spirit lifter (BLT sammich!!).

    Nota bene. Mr. Patel, the Indian grocer, only had one variety of very pricey jasmine rice, $13.99/ 10 lbs (yikes) but a plethora of more economical 'basmati' varieties. Easily had 100 sacks of various rice varieties just on shelves, probably lot more in back. I skipped his rice but did get a jar of spicy mango relish and some spices. You know...taste fatigue fighters.

    Since Indians are very plugged into real 'on the ground intel' across Asia I'm using Mr. Patel's inventory as an indicator of 'worry level' amongst his fellow ex-pat co-religionists. Lots of them have lived in Singapore, Indonesia, South Africa & Hong Kong. Their family networks are very active. If things really go tits up in Asia I expect them to have a week's head's up. I imagine they will start topping off their larders when the things gets close to blowing.
    Western MSM is just playing the part of 'Pied Piper of Hamblien' and won't inform us minions for squat as to what's going on.

    Helpful hint...be a "known face" in other communities (excluding the 13%). You don't have to be best buddies or tuck them in bed at night. Patronize their businesses and drop a few coins.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a sensitive gut, now. I can no longer eat the liquid oils. Especially soy, but also corn. Here is my point. Mayo is one of the few items I can still eat heavy in oil that doesn't bother my belly. I conclude whatever they use in mayo is better than a liquid oil ( beware olive oil, often inferior oils are added ). So mayo gets a thumbs up from me, and the 20% reduction in calories is an acceptable sacrifice. And mayo does okay out of the fridge. I've used smaller jars and had them last a half to a full week out of the fridge in summer. Always be very careful never to contaminate with a foreign body. Spit ( licking the knife ) or food particles must be avoided. Have a buried box as a kind of root cellar, on the shaded side of the house or basement. Keep the mayo once opened in there. I'm confident in my pressure canned butter, but you should also be able to make your own ghee without canning. I do think shortening is disgusting, but it is all about the cost and longevity. And please, pass the word on for the minions if your boots on the ground Asiatic food hoarding begins.

      Delete
    2. You might consider those blocks of Armour brand menteca. Manteca means lard. You can find it in any decent sized market out West here.

      And yes, you can can your own butter, drippings, all sorts of good stuff.

      Delete
    3. My Lord, 🧛‍♂️

      Last month, I did up 16 pounds of butter that I got on sale over the holidays. I was going to do the clarified butter/Ghee as I have always done. (oven can method) We are still working on the 2015 stock. As mentioned in the past, Ghee sucks on toast.🍞 🤢 But, works great for cooking (frying taters and such) 😛

      When I went to start my canning process, I decided to do the pressure canning method you recommend. Out of the 16 lbs, I filled 39 1/2 pints. That is a lot of Butter, as we normally remove 'bout 25% of the volume with the milk solids and fats. 😵

      We have not had the chance to try this batch on toast yet. I hope that with the milk fat still in there, I'll be able to get at least 2 or 3 years of storage life. We will see. 😉

      PS: It did suck having to keep shaking the jars while cooling to keep the fat distributed. 😟

      Delete
    4. Honestly, the whole canning butter process sucks. But the results!

      Delete
    5. Alex-I didn't have any luck with lard past five years ( sub-optimal storage ). If you are going to rotate, I think I'd try peanut or such.

      Delete
  6. Right, skip the cheap chicom china mart boy scout one day a year camping badge gear.

    If a Minionite is veteran of some form, stick with the gear version of what you cut your teeth on. (Mine is "Alice" US g.i. version of kit, made it work in some funky austerity parties, in and out of service to the empire)

    Always work the gear over in functionality and utility, so as to get the bugs and kinks out. I always find some pickle in the equipment whenever gearing up checks, or when engaged in afterhours spicy sporting hobby things.

    Funny how the old school simple peasant partisan chap with hand hewn gear usually seems to do well out in those spicy badlands.

    Keep your kit the frostiest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Warning: use of ALICE gear automatically cancels your membership in Tommy Tactical super ninja operator units.

      Delete
    2. Right, I'll lone wolverine it solo with my old geezer kit. Let the beard boy operators and air soft graduates of the golden redoubt with molle and whatever is newest gear get drone striked for dressing and acting too much the part of a mole that needs to be wacked down. Duh. Stay the out of the way frostier.

      Delete
  7. Kinda OT but I'm reading about restaurants having trouble getting people in. The article linked it to beer virus but it was happening before beer virus was in the news. People just don't have the money to spend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When a Big Mac is $5, you lose customers even from the ghetto

      Delete
    2. In my neck of the woods, for a while there, it was cheaper to eat the the Denny's across the street than at the local McD's. A meal of burger, fries, and drink was like a dollar less, the food was better and the drink came with at least one free refill.

      Now they're both just expensive, but the Denny's is still a better value if you pick the right things. So it makes sense to go to the Denny's unless you're a filthy crackhead which explains the crowd that's there all hours, or a worker lemming at the huge worker lemming nest across the street, which explains the "surge" crowds.

      But it gets better: McD's changed their menu system to a set of screens, and not only do the screens have horrible layout and even color choices (fries are listed with the desserts, in easy-to-read yellow on the white background) but what's displayed on the screens CHANGES PLACES. You're just starting to work out what's on one screen and flip! There it went!

      There are only two solutions Go online before you go and know *exactly* what to ask for, or just don't go. The latter has worked well for me for years now.

      Delete
    3. McDonalds went to toxic food, and Denny's went Full retard on prices of crap that is all frozen or canned. I choose neither. To be fair, I have tentative reports that Denny's was showing better service and better food recently. The service could just be a new manager at the up to now poorly run location, and the food could only seem better as all other restaurants cheap out on their ingredients, making the king of crap foods shine as they have the most experience with serving TV dinners on nice plates.

      Delete
    4. I loathe those touch screens

      Delete
  8. have always used best foods mayo BUT recently discovered that the bastards are now using canola oil GMO SHIT !! all commercial canola is gmo, yes they also have mayo with avocado oil but at quite a price diff.up of course.the NEW mayo is thinner than the old stuff to my 70+ yrs of using it.DAN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love mayo. I don't use it often, but when I need it, I want it. Not enough bad oil to matter in my overall diet. I just ask it doesn't give me heart burn. Cancer is okay, I won't live long enough for that to matter. :)

      Delete
  9. Did you say China's 6 largest ports were shut down? I saw a thing yesterday saying their 8 largest ports were shut down so a loss of 100,000 containers a day, but now when I go to look for it the news has been scrubbed. Do you have an active link?
    Romans 14:11

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to say either Ice Age Farmer, or Peak Prosperity, but I'm only 80% sure on that. And the 100k containers a day is just ONE port. What I watched said six for sure, possibly eight but the last two were unconfirmed, at the time. It might be Silver Report Uncut. I just can't remember with any certainty. Sorry, common occurrence. I'll never be a good editor.

      Delete
  10. When I was about 11 we moved from suburbia to a place up in the hills, and we kids did a lot of hiking. We didn't know it wasn't supposed to be fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everything is fun when you are a kid. You don't have to worry about rent or food bills. And if you are young enough, you don't have to worry about getting laid.

      Delete
  11. This article reminds me of the show Duel Survival.
    When it was Dave and Cody.
    Cody was and still is one of my favorite masters of survival, with minimal or no gear.
    Whereas Dave never did impress me. Army this , army that. I know better, been there done that (although it turned out that Dave didn't and lied about it)
    I still follow both of those guys on Facebook.
    Cody is still proving that skills matter and gear doesn't !
    Whereas Dave is schilling product and gadgets for survival. That and has actually learned old school technics of the old mountain men. That being said, Dave would likely die without his gadgets.
    While Cody might thrive...shoeless even !!!

    Between the two, I'd still rather have Cody than Dave. But would gladly want either in my tribe.

    It is true that hiking your AO is prudent for health and Intel.
    Ask the homeless about camping...bet they'll survive much longer than yuppie scum will. Or even longer than Joe six pack rednecks with their campers and 5kw Coleman generators.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is 5kw enough to run a beer cooler, deep freeze for steaks, air conditioning and deep fryer, at the same time? Perhaps an upgrade.

      Delete
    2. In a word...nope, just the AC and maybe the beer cooler. You'd need at least 10kw for all that.

      Delete
    3. Well, that puts a crimp in my Bubba Prepper plans.

      Delete
    4. Some of my Bubba friends burn like ten gallons a day to run their trailers at hunt camp lol.
      While I use maybe a half gallon per day , for cold beer a fan or two and lights...

      Delete
    5. 10KW may not be enough to run an electric deep fryer. This should be propane. Air con and deep freeze may be okay with gas 10kW, but everything all the time may need a Diesel 25KW set so it's not over stressed. Add a battery bank and inverter, and you have overnight power for smaller loads while Diesel gets checked and serviced overnight.

      Delete
    6. Remember the Ol Remus article on the diesel locomotive generator?

      Delete
  12. Ultralight camping depends on one peice of gear to determine your level of cost and luxury: tarp. You can get a tarp with some mix of size weight and cost, from heavy effective and free like canvas tarp, to medium weight low cost visqueen polytarp, or lightweight TP coated nylon medium cost, or outfingrageous "cuben fiber" which is aramid but is somewhat burn resistant tough and a 10x10 weighs 9 ounces. Add no weight, skill, a few cords and you are dry and sheltered.
    I have seen people go from Mexico to Canada on Pacific Coast Trail with light tennis hiker shoes, with 12# bag including food water starting late winter and walking North into the Spring.

    pdxr13

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why don't they rename that the Narco/Sanctuary/Commie Trail?

      Delete
    2. Hippies with a Prius at home also hike PCT. Oh, commies.

      Delete
    3. See? Cover three countries and three states

      Delete

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED