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Anyone do minimalist camping?

Snake45 said:
That was the first thing I thought, too. You can get a sealed 6-pack of them at Walmart for a couple bucks. ONE of them HAS to work, right?
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I have a pile of zippos too which work very well in windy conditions.

When we used to go camping in the mountains in Colorado when I was a kid I remember my dad having a little steel, water tight cylindrical container that held wooden matches. They never failed us.
 
Bassbob said:
Yeah, but it's hard as hell to light my cigarettes with one of those. :ROFLMAO:
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All the more important/urgent to get a fire started!!! I used to never be caught without one or the other ... a BIC or a Zippo. At the stroke of midnight on 3/11/09 I made the decision to quit a 4 pk/day habit and put them down cold turkey, along with the lighters. Today the only use I have for a lighter is come B-day parties for the kids to light their candles.
 
jumpinjoe said:
All the more important/urgent to get a fire started!!! I used to never be caught without one or the other ... a BIC or a Zippo. At the stroke of midnight on 3/11/09 I made the decision to quit a 4 pk/day habit and put them down cold turkey, along with the lighters. Today the only use I have for a lighter is come B-day parties for the kids to light their candles.
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4 packs a day ? Holy crap dude. People think I smoke a lot. I'm under 2 packs.
 
Sld1959 said:
Used to do a lot of primitive camping, basically rifle, knife , belt ax, bed roll, knap sack eith things like corn boiler, tin plate, fire kit maybe some parched corn, or bacon if we went extravagant. Bed roll was generally one maybe two Wool blankets in cold weather. Not much else, was great fun like you slipped back in time. Haven't done it much since dad and Don passed.
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Never heard of a "corn boiler" as far I recall ... is it an implement simply as the name implies?
 
Bassbob said:
I have a pile of zippos too which work very well in windy conditions.

When we used to go camping in the mountains in Colorado when I was a kid I remember my dad having a little steel, water tight cylindrical container that held wooden matches. They never failed us.
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As a kid I did a lot of camping to run trot lines and set hooks to help feed the family. Before a weekend trip I'd always make up a tin of char cloth. Makes for very easy fire starting with even a small spark. 'Course back then we still had metal tins of band-aids, etc. Those little tin boxes were great for making char cloth and storing while in the woods.
 
Bassbob said:
4 packs a day ? Holy crap dude. People think I smoke a lot. I'm under 2 packs.
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I was a 4 pk/day user for more than 30 yrs. Occasionally I would even open a 5th, but rarely if ever smoked it up. I was so bad about it, I'd often have one lit in my mouth and go ahead and drop my welding helmet right down over it. I'd keep puffing away while I burned up 2-3 rods and never raise my hood. Was a scuba diver and snorkler at the time and could hold my breath for more than 3 minutes. Not bragging about it, just a fact. But laid them down that night cold turkey and never touched another one since. I still love the smell of tobacco and have no issue with anyone riding in my truck with lighting one up.
 
jumpinjoe said:
I was a 4 pk/day user for more than 30 yrs. Occasionally I would even open a 5th, but rarely if ever smoked it up. I was so bad about it, I'd often have one lit in my mouth and go ahead and drop my welding helmet right down over it. I'd keep puffing away while I burned up 2-3 rods and never raise my hood. Was a scuba diver and snorkler at the time and could hold my breath for more than 3 minutes. Not bragging about it, just a fact. But laid them down that night cold turkey and never touched another one since. I still love the smell of tobacco and have no issue with anyone riding in my truck with lighting one up.
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I’ve been smoking since I was about 11. So 44 years. Never smoked more than 2 packs a day. And I’d guess a good amount of the ones I smoke are wasted by just hanging in my mouth. Are sitting in an ashtray next to me.
 
Bassbob said:
I’ve been smoking since I was about 11. So 44 years. Never smoked more than 2 packs a day. And I’d guess a good amount of the ones I smoke are wasted by just hanging in my mouth. Are sitting in an ashtray next to me.
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I guess that's pretty much the way most of us started. I'm sure I wasted a few of them much like you described, but not many. I started real smoking at about 10-11 by stealing 'roll your own' smokes (Prince Albert and papers, occasionally a bag of Mixture 69 IIRC) from grand daddy. Then when about 17 went into the service and smoked some Picayune (sp?). Then about 20 years of Camels/Lucky Strikes, then on to Marlburo soft pack filtered till 2009 when I gave them up. Probably the best thing I ever did for myself considering I never really did a lot to take care of myself when young. Not proud of much of it, just was what it was in those days.
 
jumpinjoe said:
OK, so it's basically a boiler/pot but not necessarily dedicated to boiling corn? The only boiler I can remember made with that much copper was my grand daddy's moonshine still from about the early 1950's. It was considerably larger than these though and held several gallons more I'm sure. :):D(y)(y)
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There are various sizes depending who makes them. I think mine was like a quart. They got the name corn boiler because two of the biggest staples for longhunters frontiersmen etc was corn meal and parched corn and generally you boiled parched corn or made a corn mush in them. Parched corn and bacon, fatback or jerkey makes a passable stew.
 
MrMichaelActual said:
Seriously though, I am curious as to the why... is it sort of a spiritual or mental reboot, a get back to nature and put your feet in the dirt, a hunt and fish, a test... what is the goal? Even though you folks in Tennessee have plenty of fresh natural water in the woods, I would probably take a filter straw or fire starter of some kind these days myself. I did my first survival training in NC and Tenn and it was a great time, you couldn't pick a better spot.
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I live in NW Alabama but same difference.
The reason behind it is to see if I can and also build the skills needed so if a shtf scenario were to take place I would be able to go to the woods and thrive not just survive. Getting back to nature and/or finding peace with myself is a byproduct hopefully.

Multiple ways to have safe drinking water is in hand.
 
Jester560 said:
I live in NW Alabama but some difference.
The reason behind it is to see if I can and also build the skills needed so if a shtf scenario were to take place I would be able to go to the woods and thrive not just survive. Getting back to nature and/or finding peace with myself is a byproduct hopefully.

Multiple ways to have safe drinking water is in hand.
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ahhh okay, I saw this in your post > Livin' the quiet life on the banks of the Tennessee River


Anyhoo, we are taught in a no shI#(*&%*( survival situation to use all the thing s around, as such you can always find cans or bottles to boil water for drinking. I always have a fire starter and knife minimum, my knife is a tool kind of knife, like the old K-Bar. Really, no reason to not start with good gear in a bug out bag, get your knife, fire starters, fishing gear, cooking kit etc and start with that. Also Tape, always have a roll of 1" duct tape and or a roll of fiber tape, both are perhaps the most important things ever and can be used for any of a million uses from first aid to trapping...
 
Jester560 said:
I am getting into it at the moment. Been getting a backpack together and have the first trip planned later this month. Going for 2 days and not taking anything to eat or drink. Gonna live totally off the land.
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NO! I don't have to practice being uncomfortable, it just come naturally.

There is a big difference between minimalist and reckless. It happens all the time. News about hiker/camper rescued with hypothermia, dehydration, lost, etc. Always at taxpayers' expense, generally unrepaired. Sometimes the headline reads "Body found of missing...".
JMHO, quit watching Cody barefoot whatever his name is, surviorman, etal. and rethink what your doing. Out of curiosity if you're not carrying food and water what's the point of the backpack?
 
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Yes, quite a lot. Wilderness camping in both winter and summer, getting in by foot/canoe or snowshoes/skis. I did the Wet Highland Way (yes, I know it's called the WEST Highland Way, but with all the cold highland rain that week I feel fine with "Wet". Also, midges are the devil) with some friends this summer. There are plenty of places to stop if you need to but we mostly just carried it all. Definitely bring a couple liters of water. A few days without food is no big deal. A couple days without fresh water is bad. Take some, and a water filter. I have boiled water before with no giardia yet but it's something I'd like to not experience. Practice lighting fires with whatever your chosen means will be. They aren't always as easy as they look on TV or YouTube, especially if it's wet. DO NOT skimp on footwear or socks. I had a guy who thought Crocs would be nice because they are light and feet breath. He was wrong. Mud ate them. Pack your pack a few times before you go and do some practice hikes to figure out where things sit and what rubs the wrong way.
 
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