The Camping trip

I always wonder why I only get to go on these once a year, and I think the reason is because of the people I go with. The idea behind me leaving the modern world behind is to get away from it and the people in it, the problem is I take people too far leaning on the crutch of the modern world.

I was impressed with my own abilities and knowledge out there, the hike was long and difficult but we made it to the campsite I had rented, during this I realized that it would have been far easier to be in a place where I could just walk  off trail or had there not even have been a trail and camped at the time I wanted rather than to rent a campsite.

The luxuries at the campsite were more than I expected, to the brochure a dugout toilet, apparently means to an out house, toilet paper supplied with a roof over it and a toilet seat. the wasps we had were just an outdoorsy option. I was prepared for the idea of digging my own latrine, had plenty of toilet paper of my own. Beyond that I do not think the dugout toilet was even used the female, my wife was afraid to even go in there for the wasps, she now has poison ivy in places.

I came out unscathed no poison ivy, oak, or sumac. I got a few mosquito bites I believe those little buddies got through my net I had around my hammock. which the hammock was a most pleasant way to camp, it was so fast to set up and even faster to take down. I need some better dry bags to store it in but it works well. the Eno system I have now works as it should.

For the other friend that came along with us we duplicated the Eno system buying parts and modifying them to work for the hammock, hobo hammock 19.99 bass-pro shop, two 7 foot tarps Walmart 9 dollars a piece( had to tie them together, and he didn't want to use trash-bags like I had first suggested), a bug-net from bass-pro shop 15 dollars ( it was made for a cot to go to the ground we modified it to hand and used Velcro to seal it together, it still needs some work), also bought some cheap straps to use, didn't really need them though because the lines on the hobo hammock were so long.

My wife, she had to have a tent. Tents are heavy and a pain, I made her learn how to set up the tent and take it down by herself, she also waterproofed the thing with spray from walmart, which is where the tent came from too 30 dollars.

both of there camping setups were cheaper than mine, but you could tell the differences, I think the only problem with the cheap solution was the bug-net, might have to buy a proper hammock bug-net for next time.

This was also the first camping trip I have even went on when it did not rain on me, during the entire hike the first day, I wanted it to rain just to cool me off, we drove through rain getting there, but the mountains  just pushed all that rain aside.

Camping trip

Well normally I do not post on Sunday's but I havent posted in a few days so I thought I would update a bit. Had a friend over for a bit. The wife,I and the friend are going camping tomorrow for three days out on a nature reserve. Trying my hardest to pack light. Packing light isn't an easy thing but I am going with my hammock and bug net, my friend is going the same way and my wife is taking a tent. I'll relay anything I learn from this experience and I will hopefully see some good sights and have a slight rest from my work. However I do know camping is still a lot of work.

Summer Fun/ Summer Heat

Seems every time I come in here to blog its about the freaking weather. I am not a weather man I swear, I just realize that the thing that effects our lives most of all is the weather, you would realize this a lot more if your car leaked I am sure. At the temp we are at right now in the south AC is a godsend if not needed completely I have been trying to avoid using it in my car but it is difficult. Where I live in the city ac is needed for a few reasons and those same reasons are why ac is needed in a car, one being no shade, in this apartment no trees cover it at all, when I lived out in that old lake house I loved, trees hundreds of years old dwarfed everything, and covering over the house and all the ground around me, shade over a home makes a big differences in how cool it gets.

Now about in your car, state highways rarely have shade, beyond that your car does not have curtains. simple?

In your house please be smart, close the curtains in the afternoon, during the hottest times of the day, letting the sun in kills any chance you have of cooling off the place, even if you are not using ac close the curtains, and let the wind blow the air in through them, or place a fan in the window.

beyond all this, carry water with you, this should be your side arm in this heat, dehydration sucks, if kills people every year, more and more younger adults want to drink sodas, and sugar drinks for thirst rather than water, there really should not be a substitution,  and if you are about taste, get over it, train your taste buds and body to just prepare for it, drink water, drink it hot, you never know when you might need the ability to do so, get your picky kids to do it too.

I know this from my own past experiences and my own past spoiled nature. I did not like just plain water. went on a long camping trip, two weeks, ended up in the hospital in the middle of it. My friends and I had all the supplies needed to survive out there, but our bodies were not prepared. your body is the most important thing remember to train yourself for anything.

I dislike thinking that is only June and this warm already, because this same camping trip, was eight years ago now, in the middle of June and I remember being cold at night outside, now it would only feel comfy, and miserable during the day, just like it was this last week when I went on a hike through those same woods. Still I plan on a camping trip later this month. I hope it will be cooler up on those mountains.

In my own back yard

http://www.wbtv.com/story/14744787/chemical-fire-in-hudson-forces-evacuations
This story is what I am referring, I knew nothing about what was going on as it was today, TV wasn't on news, radio wasn't on, neither was the police scanner. I was at a store today looking at a nice pump water filter, debated buying it, now I almost think I should have. I also own gas masks, it wouldn't help in everything but it would be something if nothing more than piece of mind and keeping the smells out. I dislike not being aware of my surroundings, I also do not trust the news or epa saying the air is clear. I believe they will not matter what the situation is, will down play the effect anything that happens to the environment or the people in the area. They evacuated a 2 mile area, they probably should have went further. now its beyond that point of needing to know, its already happened, its settling and wont know the effect until it happens, if it happens to us. More and more its these smaller scenarios  that can lead to a large problem. I think already we have a large problem.

The end of the world wasn't

Well I knew this would happen, the end didn't or more accurately rapture didn't happen. So I suppose e all continue on prepping for the next big thing 2012 I guess. I honestly do not think anything will happen then. There are a lot of odd dates this year and next in numerology but I do not think much of that system either. What we have to work and worry for are more of the same things we see everyday like the tornados and the earthquakes and hurricanes. Not some massive repeat of an ice age or god coming to force us to repent for our wrongs.

If rapture happened the only innocence taken would be unborn children. Everyone sins.

I am but a few posts away from 100 so maybe I'll get a guest poster sometime. Until then it's just me. I am not being a good prepped or mimilist right now I am in one of my moods. Tying to find my own happiness right now and failing and faulting with my self for trying. But I am still here lIke everyone else.

Rapture?

Well I really only heard about this yesterday so its interesting, apparently this guy Harold Camper did this same game back in 1994 and as you can see with us still being here, nothing happened, but apparently to him the world will end in October and we have a few months of torture. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/us/21doomsday.html?_r=1

We have news articles, wiki articles, so on so forth, also amusing to coincide is an article that looks like a troll from cdc http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp 

so uh prepare for whatever might happen and carry a large knife. I doubt anything will happen honestly. I feel the same for 2012.

Storms and Rambles

This year has been interesting. We had a wild winter, a white Christmas that had people snowed in. I had to go to work the day after Christmas though, just because I have a bad job. Tornado's ripped through Alabama and NC/ few other states, the Mississippi river is flooded. I think the big question would be, Is this normal? I do not remember it being normal, not in my childhood, teenage years or where I am now. we are breaking record books or coming close to with this weather. I remember el nino and la nina when they hit seeing that summer haze on the water. I remember when it snowed in NC in 93. seeing it last year I saw it snow on Christmas, and that is something I have never seen.

The purpose of this blog is to go through survival ideas, mine mostly, perhaps others if they decided to send in articles they write, or if I get a helping author. life is lived constantly on expectations, I normally know what to expect with the weather, which extremes I have to deal with for the area I live in, since I have lived in the same state in the same county my entire life. Life has thrown me many curve balls, loosing houses, moving many times, my father passing, its all things I look at, turn off, and move on. A person tends to worry about their own well being, if you are to continue living the way you expect, in the environment you are used to. I suppose I am rambling out of the many things I miss in this world, as prices soar for every product nameable, I guess the price of expectations has gone up most of all