Tracker Action

I finally sat down this weekend and figured out how to make a movie.

So I made two ;)

Thanks for the tunes A.C.!

MRC Custom Leather Belt Pouch Review

Backpacking in the High Sierra is one of the overpowering joys in life. Luckily I get a chance to do it now and then. My trips mostly include hiking in a little ways and setting up camp for a few days. Usually I’m only gone for up to three nights at a time, so traveling deep into the wilderness is out of range. Also, as you travel higher up the hill, campfire restrictions begin to come into play. Mostly with no fires at all allowed above 9,000 or 10,000 feet. And I sure do enjoy a camp with a fire to raise the spirits.

So what I do is head in and set up a base camp from where day trips are set out from. This is a good way to get a feel for and explore an area. Really immerse yourself in the place to let the mountains soak in and flush out whatever ails you.

Usually these day trips are fine and I am able to return to camp by dark to enjoy the campfire life and everything it entails. But what if something were to happen where I couldn’t make it back to camp that night. I don’t know, say a slip and fall, broken limb, severe rainstorm, chupacabra attack! Whatever. I would surely like to be able to carry enough gear on these day hikes to ensure my returning home.

Summer in the Sierra is usually still fairly hot. Even at elevation if you’re not in the shade. So sweaty backs are the standard, especially with a daypack to hold in the heat. So I’ve been leaning more towards a belt pouch setup that might keep me cooler, thus reducing the water loss from my body due to perspiration.

I’ve also found that at the end of the day, my shoulders are in some amount of pain from the burden of the initial hike in with a full backpack. And I know the modern packs have hip belts that are supposed to take some of the burden off the shoulders and transfer the weight to the hips. But I have just not found that system to my liking. Another reason to go to a belt pouch system is to ensure more weight on the hips, allowing a smaller, lighter load in the backpack, and keeping the items in my pants pockets to a minimum with only a map and compass.

And as my time in the woods has progressed, I’ve found I like to carry my Canon Eos Rebel in a pouch on the hip. That allows for a quick draw and shot if I see something that lights the scene. Then back in its protective pouch, and onward up the trail. It’s near impossible to have that camera on my hip with any kind of backpack with a hip belt. This, combo’d with a canteen or water bottle on the other hip for easy access, helps balance things out rater nicely.

As I ponder these questions in life, as I often do, I came across an elk hide Longhunter pouch that Mike at MRC Custom Leather had for sale at a really good price. It is made of a combo of soft elk hide, and stiffer leather on the backside to keep its form. Top quality indeed. After receiving the pouch and being satisfied with Mike’s craftsmanship, I checked out his website and the other gear he has listed there.

www.mrccustomleather.com

He also talks about the stuff he creates along with some very nice info on leatherworking on his You Tube channel

www.youtube.com/user/agilewoodsman
Or search for Agile Woodsman on You Tube

He makes very nice custom leather gear like the Longhunter Pouch, but he also has a series of belt pouches which he calls the Bushcraft Budget Series. He explains the concepts and design of these pouches on his You Tube channel, so I won’t go into depth here on that. Their titles fit them well though as they are high quality leather belt pouches at very reasonable prices. I ordered two of the larger Wanderer pouches to round out my belt pouch combo idea I’ve been playing with.

Here’s my setup. Camera case, MRC leather pouches, canteen kit, and belt knife. Just under 14 pounds when all loaded up. Again, this kit will most likely enable me to stay alive until I can make it out on my own, or sit and wait until Search and Rescue can find me. I attached these to a Condor tactical belt that has a little bit of extra padding compared to a regular leather belt. Maybe someday I’ll round it out with a leather camera case and leather or canvas canteen pouch, but for now, this works comfortably. The oil stain on the elk hide is my fault for leaving it on the kitchen counter where cooking oil gets tossed about ;)

One of the Wanderer pouches contains lunch for the day, tea, extra water bottle, and tins with various accoutrements. Sharpening kit, fishing kit, tool kit, tin with three candles for warmth and light, whistle, random tinders and MRC tinder pouch. 

The other Wanderer pouch contains a fire steel, 3 hanks of 80 lb bank line for shelter building mostly, head lamp, bug head net, buff , tp, bug spray, reflective blanket, 2 mil 55 gallon trash bag, and a saw with detachable blades. This blade is small, but other larger attachable blades will be back at base camp. 

And the Longhunter pouch is just the right size for a synthetic fill insulated jacket.

Canteen kit with iodine tablets. Camera case with Sawyer Squeeze water filter, poncho, 5x7 BCUSA mest, and first aid kit in the front pocket round out the rest of the kit. 

I must say I am very pleased with the comfort of this setup, and the quality and function of the MRC pouches. High grade, top notch leather gear for those who wander the wilds. Thanks again Mike.

AC Myles Musical Intermission II

Alright blues fans. AC's new album Reconsider Me has dropped!! If you like the blues, you won't be disappointed!

You can pick it up here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/acmyles1

Nice promo video too! Enjoy

Green in the Shade

We ride off towards the hills
As so often inclined to do
Their draw sweeps over us
Like the breakers upon the sands of time

Unlike the heat wave mirage in the distance
They are real
They are present
They play no tricks upon our retinas
Held in place by the pressures of grace

As the foot of these hills soon spread out before us
My daughter asks "When did God make us?"
I reply "Well, God made this Earth over 4 billion years ago
And we came along long after that"

Perhaps a better answer would have been
"Whenever he durned well pleased!"

But I am glad to see
That these cathedrals in the wilderness
Bring far off distant thoughts
Of time and space
And humbled life upon the rock

For we are merely scratches upon the surface
Imperfections raised in the rough hewn grain
Waiting to be smoothed over with the grace offered us
By the fine honed blade within His hand

For want of polish to shine
Like the green grass in the shadows
Alive and sheltered from the mid-spring sun
That beams down among the rolling clouds overhead

Too often have we wandered among them
And once again the rattlers have told us
That these places are best viewed from a distance
Do not come here until the cold sets in

Yet surrounding these shadows of illusion
Wind the paths of truth now easily seen
Along broken steps weighed down wearily
Under the burden of the countless masses

Here boulders are woven with heavy laden lacings
Of grass and gravels blooming sprigs of live oak
Trying hard to hold it all together
As the fibers dry clean through in the sun

For let's get one thing straight here
This is drought upon the land
There's no two ways around it
This is the raw deal in the cards

This was not brought on by some scornful wrath
Nor by the coyote as he leaves his hillside den
This is the nature of things
Unwritten tidings in the ebb and flow

The Woodsman's Elixir

When the early spring comes to the North
Before the buds have awakened from winter
And come into their essence unfolded
The guitar twangs its tune's delight

Twinkling on the strings like the rains from the heavens
Harmonizing with elixirs flowing life
As rivers in the sapwood flush their banks
Deep in the mirkwood hollow swamps

The birch guzzle their earthly waters
Drenched in wintergreen flavors coursing through
As the woodsman's taps return the favor
Roaming the glades in shades of nostalgia

And the hand carved kuksa ring and rejoice
Beaming to the brim of their revelry
As the tree frogs echo their joy in the harvest
Keeping time to the drip pot stomp


Inspired by Alex Yerks' latest pics and instructional movie on how to tap a birch tree the old fashioned way.
Pics and movie used with his permission. Thanks Alex.

www.theaxeisboldaslove.com

AC Myles Musical Intermission

The best blues guitarist in the country is back! Sorry to all you other guitarist folk out there, but it's true. He'll tell us he ain't the best because that's his modest way, but go ahead and go toe to toe with the guy if you want. My money's on the dude from Fresno. The best way I can describe his style is that he plays Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes with the fluidity of Jimi Page. No joke. In fact, I think he actually conjures up a little Jimi Page juju whenever he pleases. The thing is, he just makes it look so damn easy to play. Just find him on YouTube and you'll see.

He's upped his suit and jacket game too. I would assume there comes a time in every good bluesman's life when it's 90+ degrees out and you're layin' down some sweltering hot licks in a dad-gum suit when you have already realized that you might be pretty good at this gig.

I've seen him play about a dozen times, and the most memorable besides playing on our wedding day was when he played in a little joint in my hometown called The Hot Pepper. It was a small restaurant with only about room for the 20 people in there, but my wife to be and I had a table for two right close to the band. And if that wasn't the best damn blues display I ever seen! They played a rendition of Hendrix's Voodoo Chile that was spot on to the T!   Even down to the distortion that perfectly mirrored the album version. I mean nailed it perfect! Hot I tell ya!

So now, After a couple years World and US tour playing for John Nemeth alongside Kid Andersen and gang, AC's back home and just cut a new album at Kid's studio. It ain't out yet, but it's coming and I'll post an update when it hits. It's called Reconsider Me.

Here's a video of him jammin' and another of him touring with John Nemeth. Also check out John's double disk Live album. AC and Kid are in that lineup and it is pure Fire!

www.acmyles.com
www.johnnemeth.com

So ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu, AC Myles....

Trapping the Muse

She is not as of the ancient Athena
Of beauty untold bathing
In marbled stone pools perched
In courtyard of the mountaintop temple

More a phantom in the trees
A wisp on the breeze
Floating in and out from brush to brush
Appearing and the next instant gone

Haunting the thick chaparral
As a small creature of the hillsides
Single
Solitary
Hidden in silence like the hare

I study her ways
Watch intently and take notes
Scratch sketches upon paper
Glass her from afar
She is illusive

I check bait along the traplines
Clack horns and mouth calls
Or sit silent amongst the brush
And lie in wait for days on end

I stick to the basics until drawn
Then flip the set and move on
Over the next ridge on a whim
And reload again and again

She will creep gracefully into the scene
Munching grass and herbs with leisure
My heart pumps blood heavy
With slow anticipation

She sniffs my snares warily
And then to my surprise
Knowingly looks me in the eyes
As I am frozen in amazement

She feeds me images pumping
Her stream of thought consciousness
Rambling on like a rush of waters
As I am now ensnared in her currents

I have coaxed her to this spot
Only to have become trapped myself
Left here in sweet scented sage
She bounds away again free

Sometimes in my wanderings
I see her tracks laid out upon the forest floor
Traces upon the rock
Or deep set clearly in the wet earth

I go to the woods to hunt the words
Fine morsels of meat and flesh
Hidden amongst the vegetation
I am haunted by these ghosts

When I am done for the day
Satisfied with the fruits upon the vine
I gather my quarry and move on
And head for camp to cook my meal

Other days I let time go by
And as I walk along the waters edge
I catch a gleam from the corner of my eye
Of something shiny in the slow moving stream

I reach my arm into the water
And pick her out of the gravel
And place her nugget in my pocket
And move on again over the ridge
For I will be hungry for meat again