Adventure 11, Part 2: The Woods at Her Finest

Part 2 of 2. I truly love the woods at any time in winter. But she is never as beautifully dressed as she is fresh from a new snowfall. The woods are the most beautiful at night during a snowstorm, and also the following day, when the snow is fresh and the woods are enveloped in it all. Never will you experience such silence and a communion with nature anywhere else, or at any other time.

Snow does create plenty of difficulties for anybody wanting to experience the woods in isolation and close up. But those difficulties can be overcome, and they are really not all that difficult. We have a saying where I'm from: "There's no such thing as bad weather - only of being inappropriately dressed."

For a woodsman (or woodslady) we could say, "There's no such thing as bad weather - only of being inappropriately equipped."

I am using the GoreTex version of Keen Targhee boots here, and they didn't quite cut it. GoreTex is great, I love it. But what happens in these sorts of conditions is that snow will gather on the boot and over time slowly seep in. Even if the snow doesn't seep in, the accumulated snow will freeze your toes. For that reason, I am considering some L.L. Bean Snow Boots for future snow outings. (The style I'm referring to have a solid rubber covering up to about the ankle, which means even snow resting upon the toes cannot slowly penetrate.)

I'm using my floorless Luxe Hexpeak 2P Tipi Shelter here, which is my favorite for wintertime use. I do have the 1 1/2 person insert with noseeum mesh for summertime use, but this is not my preferred shelter for summer.

My saw of choice is the Silky Gomboy 240. Note that it cuts on the draw, not on the push. It is about ten times lighter, and packs about ten times smaller than the Boreal 21 Foldable Saw, which I also own and love. But the Boreal 21 is a beast. Save it for your base camp. In any scenario where you are traveling over land by foot, the Silky Gomboy 240 is the sweet spot. (By the way, I backpacked for over ten years and had great fires every night without ever carrying any saw at all. So a saw is a luxury item, not a necessity. But as a luxury item, it sure does earn its weight and space in any pack.)

My fixed-blade, single-tang belt knife is the PKS Mountain Lion. I love it.

I'm using my favorite water bottle and mug combo of all time on this adventure: The BCB NATO British Canteen of Osprey Pattern 58 fame, and British NATO Crusader Cup. There's not a superior combo anywhere on the market, and I truly doubt there ever will be. The lid for my Crusader Cup is a Rothco brand stainless steel lid that I bought from Amazon for next to nothing and bent the outer lip on using pliers.

This 100% wool blanket you see me using here is from Ektos off of Amazon, and sells for about $250 less than the more famous brands, and yet, in my humble opinion, it is just as good, if not better. I love the two that I own, and I hope to buy more.

I packed the Hillsound BTR UL Backpacking Stool but never got to use it on this occasion. My mattress is the Klymit Insulated Static V Lite. I love my Feuerhand #276 Baby Special Storm Lanterns. I once questioned whether they truly were worth the extra cost over, say, a generic Walmart oil lantern. The answer is that yes they are. They are worth every extra penny.

My hardshell jacket is from REI. My headlamp is the Petzl Tikka, several generations back. Bigfoot makes some obnoxious noises. I also use, and show off, the HydraPak 3L Seeker water bag.

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