So true! It didn't immediately occur to me that my buddy wasn't carrying a water bottle with him. I did wouldn't have thought it would be a big issue since we were together but when he lit out on his own it could have been an issue. You can't walk a hundred yards through that part of Idaho without stepping across a creek, stream or spring so probably he's have been fine but it's a valid concern.

This was literally the first time in recent memory that I've been out in the mountains without a jacket or second layer. Hard to imagine what possessed me; best I can explain was that it was get-home-itus.

Ultimately though anything that doesn't kill a person can be a lesson. I will tweak my kit a little bit. When you're sitting at home it 's easy to 'war game' things and envision scenarios where you'll need a certain item. And just because I didn't need a given thing this time doesn't guarantee I won't need it next. But a few things probably could be omitted.

I must also sing an ode to the power of duct tape! When my tarp ripped in a couple spots it saved me from having to deploy another. Plus it was easier to modify the lay of the blanket with some tape vs tying more knots.

Pretty easy to get complacent if you're been on the island a bit, even if not in that area. Always wise to confirm position!




Ah, the insidious foe- dehydration! When exerting oneself it's easy to go through a lot more water than you'd think. I began my adventure with two full liter Nalgenes and wound up drinking them both (save a bit I used to extinguish my small fire).

I'm glad it worked out okay!

Andre Francois Bourbeau stress something we rarely talk about, luck or lack thereof, if you are lucky we never hear about you, but get enough of what Andre says are red and yellow flags and then add in some bad luck and we end up talking about it.

I highly recommend listing to this and every other presentation from the 2019 Global Bushcraft Symposium. Most of the Keynotes are on YouTube, but sadly only maybe 10% of the sessions and none of the conversations which lasted from 07:00 until at least 22:00 each day. This level of presentation is why I mentioned a few months ago to everyone that they should take the time to attend, getting the perspective and knowledge from real experts from 5 countries, spread across two continents is a rare thing. Hopefully we will get the chance in 6 to 8 years to run another in North America. Next one is in 2021 in the UK.

Thanks so much for the link, Roarmeister! Bourbeau's presentation might be the best single survival video I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot). I highly recommend it to anyone that has not seen it.

Last night I noticed I had some rewards points built up so I decided to order the Helikon-Tex Swagman Roll Poncho from Amazon. It's a lot like the HPG Mountain Serape I think. It's got Climashield Apex insulation which is what Wiggy's uses to make Lamalite so I have a lot of confidence that it will be warm even when wet. The Swagman roll can be worn as a ponch/coat, spread out as a blanket and even has a zipper to convert it into a sleeping bag. Over the last couple months I've read a lot of reviews and watched quite a few videos on Youtube of this item and it seems pretty good. While it comes with a stuff sack I ordered a couple of compression sacks, too, one of which I'll use to cram this down smaller. The one I ordered is in Flecktarn camo; a bright color would be better I suppose but they don't offer one. Flecktarn is probably my favorite camo though and it will match my German rain poncho! However, I do have Orange and Yellow ponchos for emergency use.


Also, I think I'm going to ditch the Hazard 4 Rocket Sling Bag in favor of a more conventional 2-strap bag. I have a Mystery Ranch Gallagator on order; if it meets my expectations I'll use it for my ditch-bag/dayhike-survival kit. The Rocket has some cool features but when fully loaded it's not super comfy for long hikes (after carrying it a few hours I decided that two straps would be better than one).