Favorite tripping tip or trick learned on-line?

[Guest]

This comment from Rob got me thinking about the “smoothing it” tricks I have picked up from Canoe Tripping (or ST or CCR).

One by one the ideas aren't "earth shaking" but rather, gently make the fusses in camping smooth out and let us enjoy the trip!

The one I have found most useful and trip smoothing was HOOP’s tutorial on using a ridgeline and prusik with a CCS Tundra Tarp.

I can’t seem to find a link to it, but once I set up my Tundra Tarp in that fashion I have never used anything else. It is fast, easy, adjustable, taut, simple and spreads the wind load over the Tundra Tarp loops without undue strain or abrasion on any one point.

Anyone got a link to that tutorial?

Or have a favorite tripping trick you’ve learned from the boards?

 

[Odyssey]

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=36603

He's on youtube as Wintertrekker I think. Great videos.

 

[Iskweo]

Again, I take my HOOP inspired waxed jute fire starter rope in a piece of copper tubing. Works like a charm.

Christy

 

[oldie moldy]

I've been trying to think which tip I'd judge the best. And in fact trying to remember if the idea was mine or somebody's else. I'm kinda like the old Sci-Fi movie "The Blob" I come on an idea and if it works I just engulf it! Later I forget that it wasn't mine all along.

My all time favorite came from over on Solo Tripping, somebody brought up the idea of fire starting using Vaseline soaked cotton balls. Now that sounded mighty peculiar; cotton balls? Aren't those used in lady's make-up somehow?

Well I borrowed a few cotton balls from my wife and squshooed them full of Vaseline and tried them out. My stars what a great idea!

Now, I sure enjoy reading about how everyone makes a fire, but in the end I'll stay with cotton balls and Vaseline.

What in the world do the ladies use those cotton balls for, I'm almost afraid to ask?

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Robin]

I use those Vaseline soaked cotton balls stored in 35 mm film canisters hanging off my PFD. I might have mentioned them back when on Solotripping, I agree they are very good for starting a fire. I think I got that originally from a book, maybe Cliff Jacobson. I would check, but I lent those books to a guy on Solotripping and he never returned them.

I can't remember what ideas came from the net and or from books, but a few I use alot are:

rolling a rock in a tarp corner and wrapping a tie down rope around it to make a really strong corner tie,
DIY removable thwart pads for the portage,
carry a zip lock bag full of birch bark in your pants leg pocket for fire starting,
check your emergency mylar pocket blanket for deterioration or just replace it yearly,(this I know I read on the net)
carry a lightweight mesh "hunter orange" vest in your other pants leg pocket if you travel in remote areas. Makes you easier to spot from air in emergency and it's always with you (ie, heading back across a portage trail and you become emobilized)

 

[Guest]

I use those Vaseline soaked cotton balls stored in 35 mm film canisters hanging off my PFD.

Same here, although they are in my ditch kit. I’ve used them in non-ditch situations where wet wood and conditions made getting a fire started difficult.

check your emergency mylar pocket blanket for deterioration or just replace it yearly,(this I know I read on the net)

That may have been me. I had a mylar “space blanket” in my ditch kit for years and when I went to open it the thing just delaminated and tore.

carry a lightweight mesh "hunter orange" vest in your other pants leg pocket if you travel in remote areas. Makes you easier to spot from air in emergency and it's always with you (ie, heading back across a portage trail and you become emobilized)

And I just learned a new one. I was on a swamp trip in NC a month ago. Deer season had opened and I was wishing I had some blaze orange.

 

[Guest]

I learned about long parka length rain coats online. I bought one and love it for canoeing in the rain.
Turtle

 

[Hanz]

Thankfully I haven't needed it but I bring a pre-made fire with me when cold water paddling. If I dump I can just get into my rucksack and pull out a pre-made bundle to light and warm up. I think I got that from a Cliff Jacobsen book.

 

[Rippy]

For me it's my pin on ball compass. I have it fastened to my PFD. I have a Silva compass in my day pack for back up and in case I need more accuracy. Most of the time I just need general headings and the ball compass does fine for the size lakes I've been on. I don't have any metal objects on that side of my PFD. Dave

 

[Seeker]

Wow... too many to pick just one... Probably the best thing that happened overall online was my discovery of "ultralight backpacking" and the trip that took me on, gear/philosophy-wise... went all the way over to the dark side, and when I came back, I kept a lot of the lessons but reverted to what I think is sanity... then my back gave out and i had to start canoeing again.

The single best book I read was Ray Jardine's "Beyond Backpacking". Got a lot of my inspiration to DIY from that one, as well as the inspiration to make a tarp and then learned to use it properly... this in turn re-awakened lessons I'd learned about site selection in boy scouts.

I learned about hammocks on-line, from a place called Sgt Rock's Hiking HQ... picked up my alcohol stove addiction there.

Fed that addiction at Zen Stoves, and finally cured it with the discovery of the SuperCat stove, which still goes with me even though I seldom use it.

Learned about freezer bag cooking and one-pot meals from Whiteblaze.net (Appalachian Trail site).

The old Solotripping site re-awakened the canoe-er in me, right about the time my body started to complain about trips, and I thought I was going to either have to canoe by myself or not go at all... fortunately, my youngest daughter refused to be left behind, and a canoe made it much easier to carry her snivel-gear along... eventually, she gave it up (the dolls, their clothes, books, special snacks and utensils and dishes, etc.)

I still get a lot of cool ideas from people's trip reports here, and over at BushcraftUSA.

 

[Guest]

For me it's my pin on ball compass. I have it fastened to my PFD. I have a Silva compass in my day pack for back up and in case I need more accuracy. Most of the time I just need general headings and the ball compass does fine for the size lakes I've been on.

I carry compass overkill (not as bad as knives, but close). I have one in my PFD pocket. And another sentimental one in my essentials bag. But the one I use the most is a deck compass mounted to a thwart in front of me beside the map.





I am still a map and compass guy and I like to know where I am and what I’m looking at along the way. OK, in truth I am easily confused if I don’t pay attention, and having a map and compass spread out before me is an I-know-I-am-here comfort in unfamiliar waters.

The size and easy visibility of a deck compass is worth it to me, and for sailing purposes a deck compass is ideal; I can just lock in a sail and rudder angle and hold that line with an occasional glance.

 

[Odyssey]

Good thread. I'm struggling to sort out the little knowledge that's seeped into my memory and stuck. Another thread might be "What have you learned first hand?", as opposed to books and internet. Being offered traditionally made bannock on another thread really shook me, both for the hand to hand - heart to heart that sharing bread represents, but also because I realized that most everything I've managed to learn has been from books. No father, Scout leader, tripping companion or guide has given me any headstart. That's not because I know it all, but the contrary; the circumstances have been that I've usually found myself paddling with newbier newbs than myself. The first book I loved was Path of The Paddle - An Illustrated Guide to The Art of Canoeing by Bill Mason. His second Song of The Paddle - An Illustrated Guide to Wilderness Camping rounded out my meagre education. Practise practise practise and my 2 book library was all I had to learn with, before any internet age reached into our home. A third book Paddle Your Own Canoe by Gary and Joanie McGuffin has poked more knowledge into my gaping gaps of imperfect skills.
But the excellent OP was tips from the www, so I must sort through some memory flotsam and jetsam. Kevin Callan always has entertaining and informative blogs to share. http://www.kevincallan.com. I'll have to say that tarpology was perhaps the biggest help in our camping lives, and Hoop's tarp tutorial http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/view...p?f=20&t=36603 became my blueprint for our "sheltered" fireside lives. To aid in my rope fumbling has been this helpful site http://www.animatedknots.com/trucker...matedknots.com.
When winter wanes and spring peeks around the corner, I put down my "other" books, and start skimming through my canoe "library" of books and internet sites to refresh my poor poor memory. "How did I tie that?" "Will my muscles remember that stroke?" "What was that bannock recipe?"
Last, but firstly in my daily internet routine year round, has been soaking up the steady rain of shared experiences and knowledge that is sprinkled throughout the threads of this very site. I've learned and forgotten more than I'll ever remember. That's normal for me.
I'll just keep up this daily routine to laugh and learn. Thanks Robin; and all of you canoetrippers.

 

[memaquay]

What he said!

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

It was long before there was an internet or even personal computers, but one of the most eternally valuable things I ever learned was the trucker's hitch.

I don't care much for most modern electronics, but I suppose I first became aware of the versatility of a GPS for canoe tripping, and car tripping to and from canoe tripping, by reading about GPS's online. I've now had a hand-held GPS for 10 years and I never leave home without it. It goes in all my vehicles everywhere, in all my canoes and kayaks, and in my pocket wherever I hike. My current model is a Garmin GPSMAP 78sc, which has a three-axis compass; altimeter; road maps of all of North America; topo maps of all of the USA; BlueChart coastal maps of all of the USA; and the ability to download satellite or other map images, which are essential to emerge alive from the Sparkleberry Swamp.

As to smart phones, tablets, Kindles, electronic dog fences, flat screen TV's, and touch screen anythings . . . I say, phooey and ptooey.

 

[sweeper]

We usually paddle with a couple'ah three kids so I spend a lot of time looking for woods related activities for them. My favorite is using Chaga for starting fires. It easily takes a spark, that can be transferred to a birds nest and aids in the use of a bow or hand drill. We usually have plenty of volunteers to start the fire.

 

[Guest]

Another thread might be "What have you learned first hand?", as opposed to books and internet.

Good alternate question. I paddle with some friends who guide and have picked up a number of “smoothing it” tricks along the way from them.

One of the simplest, and one that I use almost every trip, is carrying a piece of line knotted for minimum and maximum spacing for the tarp and hammock.

Some places, like piney coastal forests, offer unending choices of trees between which to string the hammock or tarp. Some are just a wee bit too close together and some are too far apart to be useful without rigging auxiliary lines. Add to that I would like the tarp positioned as a break against the prevailing winds. And if possible spaced so that I can hang a hammock underneath.

Too many choices, and I don’t care to waste time getting half rigged only to discovering that these two trees are just barely too close together, and dang it these two are a wee bit too far apart. A length of line, knotted at specific distances with a push pin on one end, greatly simplifies that trial and error.



In the best of all worlds I can find the ideal placement and spacing to accommodate both wind sheltering tarp and protected hammock.



Another issue with those sandy pine areas; they don’t offer much weighty debris to toss over a branch, which on loblollies tend to be fairly high up. No rocks, and in those coniferous areas I have a 50/50 chance of tossing a piece of downed wood or a ditty bag of sand and getting it looped or otherwise irretrievably lodged in the tree. How the heck am I going to get that out of there?

To that end I carry an eye-bolted golf ball. I can throw it, or if need be sling it, with fair accuracy. And if I do miss and loop it the small and slick golf ball pulls free without binding (so far, knock wood).



The golf ball also serves as an all-terrain bocce ball, and if you leave the eye screw in it adds a degree of difficulty to placement shots.

 

[Odyssey]

A golf ball and a rope?? Now now Mike, you confuse and disappoint me. I thought all retirees took up the grand game of golf? What you really need in those environs is a sand wedge, maybe with a telescoping shaft? But then you'd need golf shoes, with soft spikes of course ( soft for hull protection, not the greens). Cat holes could double as putting cups, before using for you know what.

ps I know what you mean about the rope and tree spacing problem. I'm never without the required number of them, they're just not always in the best location or most helpful distance. Mother nature can be so inconsiderate at times. I just consider it a test of my ropeology finesse. And then sometimes we go without a tarp and hope for clear skies.
That's a really nice looking campsite. Thanks for the tips. They're good.

 

[Odyssey]

Seeing Mike's excellent golf ball trick gave me a "Why didn't I think of that?" moment. My father and my many uncles played golf. A lot. It became a post-wedding semi-tradition to pull a club out of the trunk and whack a couple balls from the churchyard to...I've played, but it never really appealed to me much. A nice walk but usually down the wrong fairway looking for an errant ball from my wicked slice.
As far as "Why didn't I think of that" moments, I've had a few. Some tips and tricks are not always big momentous ones. Some are simple silly ones. Only one I'll admit to is this one. I love pasta, and have all kinds and shapes in our pantry, but my favourites have always been spaghetti and spaghettini. Maybe they're just fun to eat, I dunno. I usually include a package in our food barrel. You can eat it with fork or spork, whichever floats your boat. I read on-line that it's handy to snap the pasta at least in half for easier storage; there's really no need to pack these fragile and brittle strands of fun in full lengths. That was my own forehead slapping moment. Doh! Now I break ours in half, and yes they do pack away more compactly. And it's still fun to eat.

 

[Guest]

A golf ball and a rope?? Now now Mike, you confuse and disappoint me. I thought all retirees took up the grand game of golf?

I do paddle with one friend who is an avid golfer. He is a skilled paddler and guides a bit, so I forgive him that peculiarity, provided he refrain from telling me about his latest round.

He one-upped my golf ball and carries a baseball with an eye screw, proclaiming that “Every America lad knows how to throw a baseball”.

He gave me my own hardball and eye screw last time we paddled together, but I have yet to fling it.

 

[Odyssey]

I do paddle with one friend who is an avid golfer. He is a skilled paddler and guides a bit, so I forgive him that peculiarity, provided he refrain from telling me about his latest round.

He one-upped my golf ball and carries a baseball with an eye screw, proclaiming that “Every America lad knows how to throw a baseball”.

He gave me my own hardball and eye screw last time we paddled together, but I have yet to fling it.

dang! My forehead is getting awfully sore this morning on this thread.

We found an old deflated soccer ball once on a trip. Not having a pin or means to inflate it was a bit frustrating to my son and nephew. It had just enough oomph to be playable for them. They disappeared down the lake with it paddling. How do you play with a soccer ball in a canoe I wondered? I didn't ask.
On that same trip I'd brought a frisbee. We deployed it in a "throw and dive high in the air and into the water" game. I'm now thinking that would've been an interesting exercise in frustration, hurling that thing into the trees with rope attached.
I use one or more heavyish carabiners as my rope throwing weight. Baseballs sound way more fun. I almost snagged a foul ball last summer, sitting in the stands. I came that close to adding to my tripping gear, and didn't even know it.