Dry Bags, Mukluks, Etc.

[Kayak Jack]

For me, the absolute worst part of camping, is cleaning and putting away gear after a trip. Usually takes me longer than the combined preparation and execution phases. I get put-it-off-itus, compounded by delay and postponement.

Last trip, my mukluks and a couple of dry bags were getting pretty skunky inside. Warm, soapy water, and a clear water rinse cures that, of course. Now, how do I cure the water inside? Here's a technique I found useful.

I take the plastic tubes used on vacuum cleaner hoses to extend them out long. Insert a tube into a boot or bag, lay a bag in front of a floor register where air will blow in as well as you can arrange it, and set the projecting mouth of the tube where the register air doesn't blow into it. Air goes into the mouth of the boot or bag, and exhausts out the tube. Since the other end of my tube is way, down inside, air pretty much circulates throughout the entire length of the boot or bag.

Sometimes, a soft bag or boot will collapse and block incoming air. Prop it open with little stick (toothpicks, etc.) to allow circulation. Remember to remove them all before slipping a tender tootsie down into a boot. In the case of mukluks, sprinkling say, about a tablespoon full baking soda in, will help keep odor down too.

 

[oldsparkey]

I like to clean the stuff as soon as possible and get it packed and ready to go again. Not saying I enjoy it , just that it gets done. To do that I rely on an old fashion gadget called a clothes line or as I like to say a Open Air Solar Dryer.

Boots ( cold weather) , shoes ( summer time) , dry bags and even the hammock can be hung up there to dry. Everything gets a washing and then hung out to dry except for the hammock. "O" By the way ... dry bags have a habit of collection sand both on the outside and inside beyond anyone's imagination. :wink:

The hammock is not washed but is hung from the support poles for the clothes line the same as it would be from a couple of trees. The rain fly is draped over the two outside clothes lines to dry and air out with the hammock hanging under it.

This is a Clark Tropical Jungle Hammock and the rain fly is cut differently then the Hennessey Hammock rain fly. Anyway it will show the principal I use in drying it after a trip.......

The head of the hammock......

The foot area ........

The side view

When I was using a tent it was erected , cleaned and air out then repacked.
Even the boat is placed on two saw horses and washed inside and out then left in place to dry before it is put up.

Then everything is put in its respective storage place and ready for the next time. If the trips are a good distance apart then the stuff is taken out , aired ( hung on the line ) to check for mildew and repacked.

Chuck.

 

[islandpiper]

Jack, question from Louisiana, and other parts of the occupied South:
WHAT THE HECK IS A FLOOR REGISTER?

Piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Fenestration in the floor, with a grill or grate in it, to let warmed or cooled air from the plenum chamber of a gas fired, forced air furnace, fitted with central air conditioning, into a room where people want to remain either warm or cool. sigh

In Louisiana, just lay the stuff down outside so chiggers can eat the moisture out of it. :wink:

 

[islandpiper]

Never mind, we have SUNSHINE here.

OK, tell them about MUKLUKS.

piper

 

[oldsparkey]

Never mind, we have SUNSHINE here.

OK, tell them about MUKLUKS.

piper

They are a big shaggy cow type of critter that needs a hair trim in the worse way. :lol:

I believe that Jack is referring to these boots or the same type of them......

Darn nice ones for stomping around in the water and well made... Ideal for the cooler weather but really stink in the hot weather. I speak from experience since I have a pair just like the ones in the picture. NOT something to wear in the south in the summer time.

Dec 2008 St Marys River and cold weather........ Plus I could not get them off fast enough and into some shoes , even then.

A description of them from the below web site .......

Chota QuickLace™ Mukluk Boot
Chota's Exclusive QuickLace™ System keeps this kayaker's Mukluk secure on the foot and provides lateral support. Fleece-lined 3mm closed-cell neoprene keeps you warm and dry up to the knee, while the 7mm vulcanized rubber sole, plastic midsole, rubber toe cap and heel counter provide superior foot protection. The skin-out neoprene gasket, coupled with a nylon cinch strap, keeps the top comfortably in place just below the knee and retards flooding. The QuickLace™ Mukluk is perfect for touring kayakers who want to keep their feet warm and dry, but also need more foot protection and support.

Here is a link to them......... http://www.piragis.com/chotafootwear.html

 

[Kayak Jack]

Chuck is right on mukluks - the second and third guesses. Musk ox was a miss, but highly imaginative.

Some guys I paddle with like water shoes, or some other rig where their feet are wet all the time. I don't care for wet feet. Mukluks are warm to hot, but I just don't like cold, wet feet. Especially if they're mine.

The vacuum cleaner extension tubes work nicely to channel exhaust air out of toe areas of mukluks or other boots, or from the nether regions of dry bags. I don't have a clothes line like Chuck's, so hang my rain fly and hammock or tent in the basement to dry.

Unlike Chuck, I seldom wash out a boat. Hell, I take a shower myself only every couple of weeks or so; why spoil a boat? I still have traces of sand and gravel from such exotic areas as the Suwanee River; Brazos River; Florida Keys; Lake Mijinemungshing in Ontario; Lake Superior; Killarney Provincial Park Ontario; Michigan's Manistee, Au Sable, Red Cedar, and Grand Rivers; and a few unnamed mud holes.

 

[oldsparkey]

I don't care for wet feet. Mukluks are warm to hot, but I just don't like cold, wet feet. Especially if they're mine.

As Jack said , if you do not like wet feet they will keep your lower legs dry along with your feet. One hidden benefit to them , Jack Missed or forgot to tell , is the draw string at the top of the boot....... Cinch it down and go over the top of it when in the water ... You lower leg and foot is still nice and dry. I guess this would be a benefit when camping in really cold weather , you know the snow and ice sort of thing.

Everything has a trade off , down here it is water shoes like the Crocks or normal water shoes for me in the tropics , especially in the summer ....... Up in the colder areas the boots would be a blessing for a southerner who thinks anything under 60 is a freeze and new ice age. Heck it is only 92 with a heat index of 100 today , a cold wave....... :roll:

Man , with everything he listed in his post about keeping ...... I sure hope he did not keep some of the mud from the Brazos River , that stuff dries and becomes concrete over night. :wink: It's almost as bad as the red clay in Georgia after a rain.... every 1/4 mile you walk in it you gain a 1/4 inch in height.

Chuck.

 

[islandpiper]

Yup, spent lots of time in soft sole muk's with 3-4 layers of wool sox inside. Not a bad combination when it is minus 20 all day. ( Oops, just gave Jdupre' a heart attack)

piper

 

[jdupre']

Yup, spent lots of time in soft sole muk's with 3-4 layers of wool sox inside. Not a bad combination when it is minus 20 all day. ( Oops, just gave Jdupre' a heart attack)

piper

Yep, temperature ought not to have a minus sign in front of it. That's just WRONG! :shock:

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

temperature ought not to have a minus sign in front of it. That's just WRONG! :shock:

... and temperature and humidity both should remain below 65. Humidity can remain even lower, say, 35.

While we're at it, tax rates can remain down around, say, 10% too.

 

[islandpiper]

While we're at it, tax rates can remain down around, say, 10% too.

Yup, and people in H**L want ice water.

 

[rpecot]

Hold on, let me see if I got this right :?:

Michigan:Mukluk::Louisiana:Shrimp Boots (or Chalmette Nikes)
:mrgreen:

 

[beekeeper]

Hold on, let me see if I got this right :?:
Michigan:Mukluk::Louisiana:Shrimp Boots (or Chalmette Nikes)

I had the same thought about this. Boots must be like boats. They evolve into what is best for their location (location sensitive). That might be "temperature" sensitive. 107 deg. heat index forecast for today.

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Whatever you're wearing and cleaning, remember to use those extension tubes for good air circulation. If you don't - you'll end up smelling like Yakus Odiferus. And, you don't want THAT - do you? :wink:

 

[BEARS BUDDY]

Minus signs in front of the temperature are wrong, but so are temps or heat indexes with more than 2 digits.

 

[islandpiper]

Bears Buddy, you should know, then, that the "B" words come into play:

Bermuda's
BBQ
Beer
Back porch

piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Bermudas????? What century did YOU come from. Cargo pants, Piper San, cargo pants. sigh

To retain your "B" syndrome, in my case, Broad cargo pants.

 

[islandpiper]

Well, back on topic :

I bought a set of three real nice waterproof nylon dry bags at wally world for about ten bucks, big enough to carry cameras and gear, and a pistol and lots of ammo, and dry food items, but a nice size for a larger pack.

When we were packing boats a few weeks ago, the one loose bag containing packs of muffin mix and cornbread mix went over the side and drifted off. I snagged it with a paddle and tossed it back in the boat. An hour later i checked and all was DRY inside.

Good investment. Sometimes you find nice stuff there.

piper

 

[jdupre']

Piper, I saw your bags and went and bought a set for myself. Yes, I BOUGHT them. :roll:

Nice product.

Joey