sent in from my kindle...so just a short message. we re drying out today after twenty hours of rain. lots of pics coming wednesday evening. we are not starving. joey and piper
rain and shine at grays creek
- Thread starter islandpiper
- Start date
I'm back, showered and stuff mostly put away. Rain and shine, indeed! We left Monday with very overcast skies about 10:00. It was a short half-mile paddle to the campsite.
Here's Piper's new pirogue on it's maiden voyage. PLENTY room for stuff.
We immediately set out to put up camp. Piper had a large tarp along and we put that up also. Got a good pile of firewood collected and started a fire. Good thing. About a half hour later, the skies opened up and and it rained just about continuously for the rest of the day and well into the night.
The next morning Piper found his boat had a bit of water in it.
Rainsuits were the apparel of choice for the first day and night.
One of many treats......I think this was the cranberry coffee cake.
More later.
Joey
Here's Piper's new pirogue on it's maiden voyage. PLENTY room for stuff.
We immediately set out to put up camp. Piper had a large tarp along and we put that up also. Got a good pile of firewood collected and started a fire. Good thing. About a half hour later, the skies opened up and and it rained just about continuously for the rest of the day and well into the night.
The next morning Piper found his boat had a bit of water in it.
Rainsuits were the apparel of choice for the first day and night.
One of many treats......I think this was the cranberry coffee cake.
More later.
Joey
Got home a couple of hours ago. Unloaded and washed all my cook kit stuff and the laundry is next. Not moving at full speed and if i don't spill the beans on that one Joey will. It's hell to get old, and in combination with stupid and blind it's a killer. More later. piper
Modern technology is awesome. Here's Piper making a post on Southern Paddler with his Kindle from the swamp. Amazing stuff.
Breakfast this morning......... scrambled eggs with leftover cured pork chops from supper last night. Piper is a coffee drinking son-of-a-gun.
Joey
Breakfast this morning......... scrambled eggs with leftover cured pork chops from supper last night. Piper is a coffee drinking son-of-a-gun.
Joey
Jdupre' leaving the put-in area......what a nice day to start a trip.
The water level was up about as high as we have ever seen it there. In 48 hours it dropped a good 2 1/2 feet. Well, either the water went down or the black, sticky mud came up.
My new house A two-person size Coleman, fits one guy very well with keeping all the gear and guns dry.
Joey's house, very cool home crafted hammock under the big silver tarp.
Joey eating....i have a whole string of pics like this, from every trip we have ever been on. i should post them all, one after the other.
Rain barreling down on us, for nearly 24 hours. Jdupre' keeping the fire going.
Joey eating AGAIN.....same chair, different day and meal.
Here's a cured pork chop that survived dinner. it turned into part of a GREATTT!! omlette the next morning.
Here's Joey waiting to eat.
Here's some really knock-out cured pork with some fancy A$$ Rice A Roni alongside.
Here's Joey NOT eating
Dinner on the first day, Porcupine Meatballs and mashed potatoesl
Joey , resting between feedings. Here, he is overseeing the burning of a big log in the middle because Jack taught us to do it that way.
A couple of nice looking boats
Boats, a tent, woods......quiet. How good does it get?
The water level was up about as high as we have ever seen it there. In 48 hours it dropped a good 2 1/2 feet. Well, either the water went down or the black, sticky mud came up.
My new house A two-person size Coleman, fits one guy very well with keeping all the gear and guns dry.
Joey's house, very cool home crafted hammock under the big silver tarp.
Joey eating....i have a whole string of pics like this, from every trip we have ever been on. i should post them all, one after the other.
Rain barreling down on us, for nearly 24 hours. Jdupre' keeping the fire going.
Joey eating AGAIN.....same chair, different day and meal.
Here's a cured pork chop that survived dinner. it turned into part of a GREATTT!! omlette the next morning.
Here's Joey waiting to eat.
Here's some really knock-out cured pork with some fancy A$$ Rice A Roni alongside.
Here's Joey NOT eating
Dinner on the first day, Porcupine Meatballs and mashed potatoesl
Joey , resting between feedings. Here, he is overseeing the burning of a big log in the middle because Jack taught us to do it that way.
A couple of nice looking boats
Boats, a tent, woods......quiet. How good does it get?
I see a chance here to learn something. I'm sure the answer will be simple and obvious but here goes. Why burn a long log in the middle? There! I've ask it. Now for the answer.
Wannabe informed
Wannabe informed
thanks joey and piper for an excellent report . i know you guys had a great time.man them sho is some preddy woods aint sure i havent been there . must have dreamed it. :shock: :lol: yal sho better keep the gp cordances under lock and key. :lol: yal didn,t do any busy tail hunting ( squirrels ) while out. they sure would have been good in pipers dutch.
whats wrong with piper drinking alittle coffee? i like mine too the colder it gets the more i can drink while outdoors.
whats wrong with piper drinking alittle coffee? i like mine too the colder it gets the more i can drink while outdoors.
I learned that if i get toooooo much blood in my coffee system it takes a long time to get anything done. piper
It's good to see you two guys out there enjoying yourselves. Joey IS a determined eater. He usually camps in a swamp cause - if anyone gets between him and his food - it's easier to dispose of bodies in a swamp.
Piper San cooks up a storm in camp - no two ways about it. He NEEDS Joey along, otherwise there would be a 55 gallon barrel of food to carry back home. (I'm guessing that the slit trench around their camp would trap a Panzer tank!)
My memory is getting cloudy; I don't remember teaching them to burn logs in the middle. But, I mighta. I usually put two logs parallel, near each other about 1"-2" apart, ends in a fire, and let them burn each other. As they burn off, I shove'em in a bit further. Two logs with that spacing reflect heat onto each other and let air up through to burn. One log often doesn't support its own burning as well.
Piper San cooks up a storm in camp - no two ways about it. He NEEDS Joey along, otherwise there would be a 55 gallon barrel of food to carry back home. (I'm guessing that the slit trench around their camp would trap a Panzer tank!)
My memory is getting cloudy; I don't remember teaching them to burn logs in the middle. But, I mighta. I usually put two logs parallel, near each other about 1"-2" apart, ends in a fire, and let them burn each other. As they burn off, I shove'em in a bit further. Two logs with that spacing reflect heat onto each other and let air up through to burn. One log often doesn't support its own burning as well.
Jack on the trips you don't make we always burn th big logs in the middle. I checked and a Blue Diamond match is a lot lighter than a saw. So, when they burn through, we have two nice sticks to slide in, side by side and burn. piper
Suits me fine, Piper San.
Jackism of the day: "If you're gonna start a fire by rubbing two sticks together - it's a good idea if one of them is a match."
Jackism of the day: "If you're gonna start a fire by rubbing two sticks together - it's a good idea if one of them is a match."
Actually, we tried a little experiment and had Joey hold a couple of logs upright in the fire so that they would burn from the bottom end, and pre-heat the rest so it would catch faster. He'll be all healed up and ready to go back to work about April.
On a more serious note, i stepped down on a chunk of scrap that some idiot left in the woods, a chunk of plywood with a 16 penny nail sticking UP through it. The nail went through my shoe and well into my foot. It came out when Joey stepped on the plywood and i was then able to jerk my foot up off of it.
It took me a very short time to explain to Joey how much that hurt and only about two minutes more to find my handy SNAKE BITE kit and get the suction syringe out and begin drawing blood out of it. It was not bleeding by itself and like a lot of puncture wounds had closed up. the snake kit got it to bleed pretty good and i use it for ten minutes or so, in the cold with the rain falling around us. A clean pad of paper towel and some shiny blue duct tape made a good bandage. I changed the bandage every day. As of now, there is virtually no discoloration, drainage and only mild pain. I give all the credit to Joey the nail puller and the snake kit.
I'll be in for a new tetanus shot early tomorrow and probably get a good scolding by my regular Doc. I'll keep you posted.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sawyer-Extrac ... t/16930290
Piper
On a more serious note, i stepped down on a chunk of scrap that some idiot left in the woods, a chunk of plywood with a 16 penny nail sticking UP through it. The nail went through my shoe and well into my foot. It came out when Joey stepped on the plywood and i was then able to jerk my foot up off of it.
It took me a very short time to explain to Joey how much that hurt and only about two minutes more to find my handy SNAKE BITE kit and get the suction syringe out and begin drawing blood out of it. It was not bleeding by itself and like a lot of puncture wounds had closed up. the snake kit got it to bleed pretty good and i use it for ten minutes or so, in the cold with the rain falling around us. A clean pad of paper towel and some shiny blue duct tape made a good bandage. I changed the bandage every day. As of now, there is virtually no discoloration, drainage and only mild pain. I give all the credit to Joey the nail puller and the snake kit.
I'll be in for a new tetanus shot early tomorrow and probably get a good scolding by my regular Doc. I'll keep you posted.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sawyer-Extrac ... t/16930290
Piper
Yeah, we accomplish similar purposes in different ways. I traditionally break kindling and such over my knee, break larger stuff with my foot, and haul in stuff too big to kick in two. If I carry a saw, it's a folding pruning saw - one of those with a 1"-11" blade that folds back into a handle. Hatchets are handy for chopping off fingers and ankles, and axes aren't needed for fire wood. I do sometimes use a line with a stone tied on one end to snare squaw wood (standing dead wood) from trees.
DANG! That smarts! Darned good thing a buddy like Joey was along. And, that's the first serious work I've seen done with the Extractor. I love mine for easing sting and itch form bug bites and stings, but never had to do serious work like that. When my Dad was a kid, he ran a nail clear through a foot. His Dad shoved a stick with salt on it up through the wound. I'm gonna guess that hurt a teensy weensy bit.
Just for the record, too, Jack: about two years ago my antique cat was in distress with her toes caught in a laundry basket. when i tried to help, she bit me badly. In two days i was afraid i would lose the hand, it got reallllly nasty. Well, i re-opened the two little bite wounds and use the extractor, and the next day all was well again. Amazing device.
With all due respect, I'm glad your Dad was not out in the swamp with us. I think the screaming could have given Joey nightmares.
piper
With all due respect, I'm glad your Dad was not out in the swamp with us. I think the screaming could have given Joey nightmares.
piper