Solo hammock camping trip did NOT go as planned...

[Music] well I can't believe I'm using this again this might be the most uncomfortable mistake I've made in a long time I cannot believe I put on over 500 miles with this stupid pack this week I'm hiking a couple of segments of the Ice Age Trail which is a National Trail that winds its way through about 1,000 miles of Wisconsin I'm going to be using some gear I haven't touched over 8 years including a hammock for a sleeve system a pot that I cannot stand and some new gear as well hopefully this will be a nice stroll down memory lane or it could be a trip I mean there's a reason why I stopped using this gear to begin with oh and this definitely was not in the plan how exactly did I end up here well this is the part in the video where stuff gets weird so a couple guys just showed up said oh we'll just Camp here with you that's not the experience that I wanted to have tonight let to go find somewhere else to Camp I just wanted to take a stroll down memory lane with some old gear I definitely did not anticipate this now the reason I've only completed like 320 some miles of this trail system but hiked over 500 mil on it is that I have to do it in segments I would drive up hike out and back to my car that meant that I would hike most segments twice yeah found a little spur Trail here that leads to what I think is a little Kettle Lake this is where glacial bits would sit and just melt over time and create a huge impression in the earth scattered throughout the kettle Marine area super nice love it and I'm remembering why I don't really like this pack very much so if you're thinking about getting one of these for hiking because they look cool they suck this is home sweet home for the night this is the Maly Lake backpack shelter and if you were going to be backpacking the ice AG trail in Wisconsin then at some point you're going to come across this very shelter so there's only five of these shelters in the state as of like last year there were only 83 people that have through hiked the ice AG Trail since 1958 can you believe that it's over 1,000 miles 600 mil of it are Trail 500 Mi of it are road so it's really kind of a bummer and that is why this is one of the least thhk National Trails in America after putting a few miles on with this pack I needed my space so why why in the world am I using a military style backpack on a backpacking trip well you have to rewind about 8 years ago I did actually a very large section of this trail system using this very backpack why am I using this tool of hatred right here well I used to work as a military contractor designing simulation systems for special forces and as part of that job I actually had to have access to several different types of gear that soldiers would wear so that I could design the hardware to fit them properly not introduce negative training etc etc etc and this was just one of the pieces of hateful gear that I ended up taking home with me and for some odd reason I decided that this would be a great backpack to use on this Trail I didn't really own a lot of packs back then like I have now I have a lot of really great ultral light packs like my favorite pack right now is the Outdoor vital cs40 it's an ultr light backpack 40 L absolutely amazingly comfortable to wear and I am really missing that pack on this trip after using this thing for just a few miles my gosh I don't know how my body did it back then I am a little older now and I'm definitely feeling it more than I used to I haven't used a lot of this in my bag for years so I'm going to show you a few things that I bought with me today that I had back then so this is going to be like I said a funny trip down memory lane okay the first order of business is going to be to find a suitable location for my hammock we're on top of a Glacial Drumlin right now which is right at the edge of the glacier would just dump a whole bunch of rocks off and this is the rock Mound that we're up on the top of right now okay so on the bottom of this monstrosity is this bag which contains all the bits and pieces of my hammock system so let's check it out I used to go out with an Eno Nest hammock uh all the time but I couldn't find it uh I do have this grand trunk which is very similar hammock simple super super simple hammock I never got into the fancy stuff all right next we have the Eno Guardian bugnet this is my hammock tarp and because I'm older I bought some comfort items these are inflatable pillows from outdoor vitals let's set this thing up and these are Daisy chains from grand trunk so you can adjust it quickly by throwing it around a tree missing a carabiner good thing I bought an extra one with me okay I always bring an extra load rated Carabiner with me because you never know when you might need it right okay so this is definitely not the same experience as an Eno Nest that one would wrap up around me more this one is kind of uh kind of kind of narrow in the sides so I don't think I'm going to be nearly as comfortable this is more like a a napping hammock like I'm going to take a break in the middle of the summer kind of hammock this is not like a I'm going to go out camping in this thing hammock I think I'm regretting my choices now I think between hiking with that pack and sleeping in this hammock tonight I might be paralyzed tomorrow morning I think I might want to improvise some insulation underneath my hammock tonight I don't have an underquilt but I think I can improvise one with my gear hammock I think I can put my gear hammock underneath it and then shove my down coat underneath it I think that might actually get me a little bit insulation tonight all right so I slipped my bug net over my hammock cinched up the ends now I have to run a ridge line for this to clip onto and to cut my line I'm going to use my Benchmade tagged out this thing is insanely sharp thanks to today's sponsor to this video Wicked Edge if you're sick of your hunting and bushcrafting knives getting dull after just a few us then definitely check out the wicked Edge ultimate convex kit I sharpened this knife with that kit and it is insanely sharp let's check it out now if you want a blade to be really sharp and durable then you'll need to make the bevel convex this is what your knife edge looks like after you sharpen it a v grind and this is what you're trying to achieve with a convex bevel look at all that beefy goodness there that's going to help keep the edge well supported and sharp Wicked edges created the ultimate convex Edge kit and it takes all the guess work out of making your edges sharp and durable it comes with three sets of platins which are basically handles that have rubber inserts in them that you can mount lapping film to the kit also comes with a Jeweler's Loop so you can actually look at the edge of your knife blade and that's going to be very important as you work your way through the Grits to make sure that you're not cross-contaminating and scratching the edge of your blade bevel the first step is sharpening the knife on a wicked Edge system any of their systems will work actually you need to make sure that all the inconsistencies for manufacturing are straightened out before making the edge convex so if you've classically been sort of unhappy with how long your knife edges last when you're doing Bush crafting or hunting tasks then this is something you should definitely look into because a convex Edge is going to give you more meat in that blade profile and it will better support the edge and keep it sharp for longer this doesn't take any time at all to make a very very high polished suit super accurate Edge on your Blade the blade now has a convex bevel which will hold up much longer with heavy cutting tasks and you'll be able to touch it up faster on your wicked Edge system be sure to check out the link in the description use this discount code for a discount at checkout thank you Wicked Edge for sponsoring this video and making this possible all right back to this ridg line the drer hitch is my favorite hitch for doing ridg lines because you can get this mechanical advantage and uh you can adjust it later on just basically tie the hitch and put a couple of half hitches in it and it'll stay put then I just hook the buget right over the top of that Ridge line like this and this is where I realized that I just rigged this completely backwards so I'm going to have to take this off and flip it around so the doorway faces this way not down the Steep Hill see I mean I'm one of those outdoor influencers and I don't do things right all the time nobody's perfect Hammet camping can be fast or it can be really slow okay now I want to get my tarp set up because I don't know what it's going to do tonight weatherwise there's there's a chance for some rain tonight so I want to be prepared I want to talk about knots really quick I'm going to rig up this camera so we can see what I'm doing up close Okay this is your running end and this is your working end you want to take the working end and you just make a loop in it you want to go clockwise cuz it's time to tie a bowl in right so you make a clockwise Loop Loop and then you take your running end you come up through the hole like this is a rabbit coming out of a hole and then you go around the tree which is the working end and back down through the hole now this is going to create a bowl in knot and that thing is not going to come undone unless you want it to but when you want it to come undone it does come apart very easily and it doesn't knot up or Kink or anything like that doesn't ruin your rope it's a very safe and secure knot so in my bag of goodies here I have some reflective guidelines these are really awesome for hammocks especially for tarp camping because these actually shine in the dark when just the slightest bit of light hits them this allows you to set up a safe camp and not trip over these things in the middle of the night I've seen so many people take a face plant when you don't use these so if you're doing a lot of tent camping or tarp camping then get reflective guidelines it's it's a great investment and there you have it ladies and gentlemen ready for some rain ready for some bugs going to be super comfortable so this military bag isn't all that bad this is an ALICE pack it has a lot of Molly loops on it so you can attach all kinds of different gear and everything this little pouch that I have on my shoulder here the shoulder strap I would actually put my little deep bottle in there so I could easily get my DEET and spray myself down with it if I'm going through really nasty area in the woods with a lot of mosquitoes the organization is really nice the pockets on this thing I've always found them to be very good the water bottle pouches really fit a Nile jeene perfectly uh so I can put two Nile jeans or I can put my lens in one and naline in the other it's it's fantastic but does it make it a good hiking backpack no way no it does not maybe if you're young and you've got a really good back and whatever I mean I liked it like eight years ago I think we just change as human beings over time okay so here's my crazy idea I'm going to use this little grand trunk gear hammock and I'm going to try to string it up underneath where uh my middle back is going to be and I'm going to be able to stuff my down coat underneath my hammock so this is going to create like a pseudo underquilt hopefully because it's going to get kind of cold tonight and I want to have some insulation under me I love it I love it it's going to work so I think I'm going to pull back this bug net so I can have a nice open air rest in my hammock for a little bit then I think we're going to make some coffee we're going to do some Bushcraft projects maybe and have some dinner and then hit the hay all right I got my tarp set up in porch mode with my hiking pole right there so now I got a little bit more room life is good yeah and then this happened well this is the part in the video where stuff gets weird so a couple guys just showed up with a whole bunch of firewood and gear and Tents and they were pretty shocked to see that I was occupying the shelter for the night they didn't know that they had to have reservation uh at the shelter told them that I had a reservation and they said oh we'll just Camp here with you I said no that's okay I will uh I will move on that's not the experience that I want to have tonight so just gave up the shelter to them uh told them that in the future they need to make sure that they Reserve their shelters ahead of time so anywh who I'm going to go find somewhere else to Camp probably going to go down to shelter 1 see if I can get that reserved for the night now I only have about an hour and a half till Nightfall so yeah that should be fun well looks like I'm going to get some road miles in after all so the next shelter is going to be down the road several miles so I decided to pop back out to the road so I can get a shortcut back to my vehicle and then I can take my vehicle down to Shelter One parking lot and Hike into the shelter hopefully get my hammock set up before nightfall hey you know what it's all part of the adventure right this is what I'm looking for right here this this road this is where my car is so I'm tired I'm hungry I don't really want to be uh hiking a whole lot more today with especially with this pack on my back you got to be gracious to those around you I mean these guys obviously didn't do their research they didn't know that they needed to have the site reserved I could have stuck my ground but you know it's not worth it give him some information maybe next time time they can make a better decision and there's my vehicle okay so we are heading to the Milwaukee River segment this is going to be uh shelter number one of five and it's about 3.9 M away I'm going to drive there get it reserved see if I can get my shelter set up before nightfall get some food make some coffee have some fun let's go all right let's see if this is occupied or not so as it turns out shelter 1 is not marked by a post in the ground it's just a Spur trail that I must have missed back at the water spot here I mean that's the only explanation I hiked way too far that way for it to be that way so all right back tracking a little bit here aha okay here we go this I think he's right Famous Last Words Bush wagon definitely got off Trail but the shelter is up [Music] there all right well it seems like nobody's here probably set up my hammock over there somewhere got a lot of work to do real quick get this set up so here we go this is where knowing your gear and being really organized pays off in a big way even though I was in a big rush to get out of that campsite I took an extra minute to organize my gear and that really helped me when I got to this Camp voila all set up okay I'm going to get my down sleeping bags in there and then I'm going to get on to making some dinner because I starving we are all set up this is home sweet home now the outdoor vitals 15f sleeping bag in the grand trunk with the guardian bug net with the Yukon Outfitters rainfly and we're set up in porch mode we are ready for dinner all right you remember how I was saying that I do not like my cook kit whatsoever that I brought with me yeah the jet boil not my favorite but I brought it with me because it's nostalgic right um this isn't the exact one that I had with me on the ice AG Trail it is similar actually got this one from my friend Dan Becker he didn't like it very much either because uh he melted the bottom of it as you can see this plastic is all melted I mean it works fine I think I haven't used it in probably 2 years well as a backup I guess I could use my titanium pot and I do have a little rocket stove kit with me just in case this didn't work out oh boy this does not seem to be working temperamental as I remember it being tonight's Cuisine it's going to be coffee and ramen noodles this is this is the kind of meal that I would have uh while I was out doing my overnights and and whatnot while segment hiking I got to say the day did not turn out exactly how how I wanted to but honestly this is a better location it worked out and those guys are happily camping and turkey hunting or whatever that they are doing up there you know what would you have done in this situation would you have you know tried to call a ranger and get him kicked out would you have uh let them stay there you know would you would you have stayed there with them yeah let me know in the comments what you would have done all right I think it's time to get a fire going temps are about low 50s right now I'm wearing a Packa uh Bas layer and I have an outdoor vitals Marino wool Sun hoodie on which is absolutely awesome and then I think I'm going to put on my Venus hoodie this thing is warmer than it should be really it is so warm for how light it is I've always been a huge fan of this hoodie it never disappoints never ever ever so this this should probably carry me well into the night and then if I get really cold I can put on my Nova Pro jacket that I brought with me um but I think I'm going to get this fire going and do some carving do some sitting all right ethically harvested birch bark from a dead tree of course birch bark contains really flammable resin so it's an awesome Fire Starter armed with Lifeboat matches and birch bark this wet wood had absolutely no chance didn't take any time at all to get fire blazing which was super welcome because as the temperatures were dropping quick one of the most relaxing things to do at night around a fire is just carve a stick you don't even have to have an end goal in mind just the action of carving is so relaxing you could practice making a feather stick which is also a really great way of starting a fire by exposing dozens of fine wood curls on a stick you actually increase the surface area of the stick dramatically so that the wood can dry out really fast and fire has more surface area to catch on but probably best of all it's nice to just put your phone down for a while and just rest and think and now for dessert a little bit of chocolate dark chocolate of course that's the best all right so I had my chocolate fire is dying down I think I'm going to hit the hammock and see if I can get some rest hopefully I can sleep pretty good tonight in that hammock and uh hike my way out of here tomorrow tomorrow you should have seen me try to get in this thing a little bit of a wrestling match getting in here but it's extremely comfortable my back feels so good right now all right well I'm going to try to get some sleep we'll see you in the morning well it is about 5:30 in the morning I am feeling really good this has been a really comfortable night's sleep I had a little bit cold spot on my back back but I just reposition that down jacket underneath me in my uh gear hammock for my makeshift under quilt and uh man it it worked out it worked out really well um the big win for the night I think was the outdoor vitals inflatable pillows uh one I would kind of move around by my knees and uh I would just get in a comfy spot and it was just perfect so I made a bit of a tactical error I did not leave myself enough water to make breakfast and most importantly coffee so I'm going to go down to the Milwaukee River segment of the Ice Age Trail do some of that and probably filter some water make some breakfast and coffee down there it is a dry Camp up here I'm I'm getting out of Dodge just a little bit more to go and then heading down to the river after that so man it is just gorgeous out here this morning so nice this is what it's all about got Sunrise amazing so the river here makes a like a hair pin turn around and doubles back so I think I want to go have breakfast right down there that looks pretty [Music] awesome so I stopped to filter some water so I can make some coffee some breakfast uh this is the Milwaukee River it's absolutely beautiful this time in the morning but you can definitely see why it's important to filter water because there's some dead crayfish in here amongst other things little bit of coffee [Music] have you ever made oatmeal on a log next to the river you should definitely try it well you know my batteries died in my camera I don't care got my iPhone right doesn't look that bad does it this wasn't what I planned but you know what we're here on this River and we wouldn't have been here if those guys hadn't showed up so I'm kind of thanking them right now let me know in the comments what you would have done man what I wouldn't give for a kayak right now this was a great reminder to me that it's not always about the new and fancy gear what's most important is just getting out there and enjoying nature well I hope you found that useful or least entertaining we'll see you later oh and don't forget to check for ticks I had to evicted this little guy when I got home [Music]