shook off the cabin fever saturday and went for a quick camping trip by myself.

it was perfect saturday with temps in the 50's and lows in the 40's at night.it started raining in the middle of the night and my tent failed me and i got wet even after water proofing it before the trip.i need one of those kifaru shelters or something.

for tools i brought the NMFBM,BR,GB 20in Hatchet & my STRIDER SmG.i always bring more chopping tools than needed because i like to use them side-by-side and figure out their strong points and not so strong points.

what i learned..........

i learned that the NMFBM is out of this world.after going side-by-side with the NMFBM and a good sized and quality hatchet no one on the wilderness & survival forums or in the world can tell me a hatchet works better.the NMFBM blew the hatchet away.not even close.

i usually take my DFLE for a chopper but i wanted to play with the NMFBM & BR.the NMFBM is big and heavy but the pay off is so worth it.the BR which is almost identical to the DFLE imo felt and chopped like a pocket knife compared to the NMFBM so the NMFBM is my new go to chopper which means retiring the DFLE from that position.

another thing i learned is that i prefer a 9in or so blade over the traditional 7in blade for duty as a "camp knife".those 2 extra inches made a world of difference in performance but didnt get in the way at all or hinder my mobility while on my hip the whole time.

the GB hatchet just sat stuck in a tree all weekend.i wont even bring it anymore.

i was impressed with the BR edge holding capabilities but blown away with the busse's.this isnt my first time using INFI or the NMFBM but it is since i put a killer polished edge on it.it is still really sharp.i chopped 10 times more wood than needed just enjoying this beast of a blades capabilities.it doesnt cut or chop through materiel.it more like bullies its way through whatever your chopping.much better than my FFFBM was.INFI is from the Gods.

here's some pics.

all packed up.Kifaru Zulu piggy backed with Kifaru E&E pack.weight was about 50 pounds.i wasnt going for the "minimalist" thing this trip.i never do.



here's a bad pic of it on my back i took in the mirror.i'm 5ft 9in for comparison.



this is a solid 50-60ft drop but sure doesnt look it in this pic.



this area is made up of hundreds of 1500-2000ft hills with hundreds of streams running through all the little depressions and valleys.



and hundreds or thousands of little falls like these.you cant walk for more than 10min in any direction without running into a stream like this.



this hill which is about 1/2 a mile and runs really steep {cant tell in pic again} let me know how out of shape i am.it a super old fashioned power line.some of the poles are still standing and they are really old fashioned.all wood.





i battoned through much bigger stuff than this just for kicks.some would take me 20 min to get through.i just love pushing busse kin knives.i also used the spine of the NMFBM to pound in all my tent stakes which where really stubborn



dragging these stones up a couple at a time from one of the nearby creek beds was a royal pain.the climb up is so steep you almost have to use your hands and is about 40-50 feet up.i needed them because the wind was threatening to blow hot embers onto my tent and thats real bad.this helped a bit.



and here's the money shot.



no pics of the tent set-up.i kind of forgot and when i woke up i was wet,cold,thirsty,hungry and miserable so it was the last thing on my mind.here's a pic of it though from last year.i'm kind of pissed at it right now.



staring into a fire,alone on a brisk night,far from any trail or road really got me thinking about the native people who inhabited that land for eons and the settlers who tamed it.i got to thinking about how many indians had stood in the exact same spot i was in right then over the thousands of years.how many native souls or ghosts float through that forest.there's a lot of american history in up-state NY between the french & indian war and the revolutionary war