A Little Closer To Heaven

I’m gonna share a little secret with you all that my dad taught me when I was just a little kid. He taught me a lot of things about life. He taught me how to change the oil in my car. How to skin an animal. How to catch fish, clean it, etc. One thing he taught me that I’ll never forget is how to make waterproof matches.

Making these matches is really quite easy. All you need are some storebought strike-anywhere matches, a candle, and a film canister to store them in. First, light the candle and let it burn for a while until there is a nice puddle of hot wax in the candle. Then, just dip the head of the match into the hot wax, making sure to cover the entire head with wax. Let it dry and, VOILA, waterproof matches.

I generally store them in a little film canister and throw them in my pack in case of an emergency. I’d rather carry that around than fool around for hours trying to get a spark to catch fire, or wearing myself out as I twirl a stick between my hands trying to create enough friction to start a fire.

2 Comments »

When I was at the National Youth Worker’s Convention in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, I came across a really awesome organization. It is called the Wilderness Trail. It is based out of Southern Virginia. It blends hiking and outdoors activity with spirituality.

When people go to the Wilderness Trail for a week, they spend it backpacking and learning about God. Most of their time is spent on the AT and in the Grayson Highlands area (known for it’s wild horses). Days are spent learning Leave No Trace principles, survival, outdoors skills, and team building. Evenings are spent around a campfire studying the Bible. Wow…this is a great concept. I wish they would have had things like this while I was growing up.

Definitely something to check out for my youth group. They also do family stuff. You can read more at http://www.wtrail.com .

No Comments »

Wow, I just read a report that some places in Orange County, CA are about to start recycling toilet water for other uses, such as drinking water. They say it’s actually cleaner than tap…but I think I’d take my chances. Is the drought a result of global warming? Is it too late for humans to do anything about it? Is global warming even happening? Maybe, but I’ve heard so much negativity about global warming and so much worry about what will happen to the Earth. With the media providing such a dreary outlook on life, I have compiled a list of the top 10 reasons I’m excited about global warming:

10. A longer hiking season.

9. It will take longer for my tan to fade.

8. Lower electric bills in winter.

7. No more carrying around heavy winter gear on backpacking trips.

6. A new desert in the midwest to explore.

5. Lots of neat formations where the glaciers used to be.

4. More shade out west from the rising treelines.

3. A greater chance of spotting grizzlies as they scavenge next to my camps.

2. More solitude at our National Parks.

And the number one reason I’m excited about global warming…

1. A shorter drive to the beach.

See, even in threats of Biblical proportions…you can find a diamond in the dirtpile.

By the way…before I get any hateful comments or death threats…this is a joke. C’mon…you know you cracked a smile.

No Comments »

After several backpacking trips, and after drinking out of a lot of questionable water, I’m ready for my next review.

The good:

My favorite part of this filter is that it not only filters out cysts, and other nasty things, but it filters out viruses. That is very rare in a filter. It is also convenient to use and nice because you just sip right through the straw without any waiting. It’s also easy to clean.

The bad:

The filtration seems to take forever. As with any filter, you can’t ever tell when it needs replaced, which means you’re more likely to get sick. This filter is very high maintenance. Also, the bottle is very cheaply made and the replacement filters are just as expensive as getting a new bottle.

Bottom Line:

Save your money and buy a nicer filter that filters into your nalgene bottle or a Steripen that kills the DNA of all of the harmful substances. Or, you could save money and weight and buy yourself some tablets. But, this puppy takes up way too much space and I’m pretty sure I got giardia once while using it (I won’t go into any details). It’s been with me on many a trip (my first and only filter), but I’m looking forward to replacing it next month with a Steripen…good riddance.

No Comments »

Let me formally apologize to all of my readers for dropping the ball lately. My life has been super crazy. I went to Atlanta for 5 days and then I was home for 1 and 1/2 days before I headed to Southeast Missouri for Thanksgiving (Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!). I am finally home for a while and will be posting daily like I used to before my time disappeared. I ought to be pretty faithful again until Christmas gets here.

I noticed that 500 people have viewed my blog. That’s really awesome. I know that I probably checked it myself like 200 of those times, but I’m still pretty excited because that’s a pretty big number for an everyday person like myself. Keep those visits coming!

My visit to Atlanta was wonderful. The trees were still very beautiful there. The colors were pretty strong, unlike around here. Ours have passed peak and turned an ugly brown color. I wish I would have had time to get out and explore nature while I was there, but all of my hiking was on pavement as I walked all over the downtown area near the World Congress Center.

I’ll be outdoors this week as much as I can so I can give some reports from the Ozarks.

Tomorrow, I’ll be reviewing  the Katadyn ExSTream Water Bottle Filter.

No Comments »