Finding just the right conjunction of time, three days of delightful spring weather and enough water to make the river canoeable is harder now than it was before the bushfires years ago when the river height was over 1.8 metres on the Waterford gauge all summer. Now it rarely is. Last winter was quite dry […]
This is a really neat boat: a kayak made from willow and poly tarp: http://www.shelter-systems.com/kayak.html I am thinking one might be able to make this or a coracle with withes (other than willow) a tarp and some cable ties which I could leave in a drum at one of my hunting camps upriver so that I
A 567 gram pack rafting paddle: Check this out on Massdrop this morning for US$29.99 each (08/2018). You would be foolish not to buy a couple. I bought two. It will go very well with the Klymit packraft you should have bought from them some time back for US$99 (I bought two as well): http://www.theultralighthiker.com/klymit-packraft/ Here’s
Fishing in a hiking or survival situation is more about getting something to eat than fishing ethics or legality so you may want to make quite sure you do secure that piscine repast. These dual action fish hooks lock onto the fish with a pincer action once it has taken the bait. https://www.amazon.com/Survival-Janders-Inc-Utilizing-mechanism/dp/B01GT3Z3GM http://www.shomer-tec.com/product/survival-fish-hooks-1660.cfm
There is no doubt that one of the best ways to achieve ultralight hiking weight savings is if gear you carry serves several purposes. Thus for example,the Poncho tent I am working on (http://www.theultralighthiker.com/ultralight-poncho-tent/ and likewise the bathtub floor groundsheet/chair I am also working on below (coming soon). However, I finished these 12 gram (ea)
My blog is two years old today. Many thanks to my daughter, Merrin for helping create and maintain it, and to my many readers and supporters for enjoying it. There are now 924 posts here, & probably 10,000 pages, so plenty of things to enjoy! My post about canoeing the Seaforth River Fiordland is also
Here is another neat trick. If you hold your hand out at arm’s length, the width of your fingers approximates to 15 minutes. You can use this to judge how long it is till sundown (and remember you have approx half to an hour of usable light after sundown). Using this you can judge whether
Lots of people are misusing these tiny devices. I guess because they are (relatively) cheap, but really if you want to spend time in the wilds, spend some money to get a decent communication system eg either a satellite messenger or a satellite phone – or both. So many people are pressing the panic button
Another milestone today: my 900th post here at the Ultralight Hiker. I am just back from walking the Dusky Track in Fiordland as my recent posts no doubt inform you. It is getting harder and longer as I age, but I am just glad to be able to be there and other wonderful places, and
I modified our ancient 6’ x 4’ ‘box’ trailer to carry our two Old Town Pack Angler canoes and my 225 cc Yamaha Serow motorcycle. I achieved this with three simple ‘drop-in’ welded steel sections which come out/in in a minute when you need the trailer for something else – such as transporting sheep. It
