First Cold Weather Outing of the Season

It was Saturday morning and as I crawled out of bed I could feel a difference in the air. Winter is finally here. The thermometer indicated the air temp was sitting in the low twenties. I went about my morning routine. While sitting at the kitchen table sipping a hot cup of coffee I realized I couldn’t pass up the chance to enjoy this first morning of cool weather. I was sure I would have the forest to myself this morning. Folks in my neck of the woods don’t really get out to enjoy it when the temperature drops like this.

I glanced at the clock, 7:30am; my nephew’s first birthday party was at noon… just enough time for a quick tramp in the creek bottoms. 

I keep my day kit ready to go for just such an occasion so all that was need was to change clothes and grab a coat. Normally when the temps dip down below freezing I would layer up with a Henley thermal base layer. This morning I had some new kit I wanted to try though, a pair of Austrian cold weather bibs. These looked like a fantastic deal when a member of BCUSA pointed them out. So to see how they would do I just pulled the bibs on over a pair of blue denim jeans. A t-shirt, Henley top and duck canvas work coat and I was out the door.

Once I reached the local public forest my prediction was confirmed. I park the Jeep by itself in the corner of a parking lot near the trailhead I would start the morning on. I quickly spotted a game trail so began following that.


I love the forest in the winter. All was quiet and peaceful… until the sky darkened and a roar swept over the trees. It would seem the birds have noticed the drastic temperature change as well. A thick flock flew overhead for what seemed like minutes.


I proceeded to follow the game trail enjoying the walk. The trail opened out into a field. 


It was at this time I heard the distinct sound of a slug gun firing in the near distance reminding me that it was November 15, also known as the first day of deer season. The park boundaries are not distinctly marked and while I knew I was still in the public lands I was nearing the invisible border. Being that I was currently dressed in earth tones with no hunters orange with me I decided it was a good spot to turn back away from the edges of the public lands and get back to the safer territory deeper within the park.

I found myself back in the creek bottoms that I spend so much of my time in. It is amazing what a few weeks can do. Fall really opened up the bottoms. What was once thick with foliage is now open and you can really see all around.


I find that I am drawn to water. I love the creeks and small rivers that snake through the Missouri hardwoods. I got closer to the creek I came upon drainage, the still water has begun to freeze over. It will take a little longer for the streams themselves to ice.

To my eyes this is a beautiful sight.


For the last 7 months I have been carrying a Hill People Gear Kitbag as my primary pack for day hikes. This was the first opportunity I have had to test this pack while wearing full cold weather gear. It carried excellently. This is absolutely my favorite way to carry my core gear.


When sitting and taking in the winter woods a hot cup of tea is a great companion. Since my time this morning was limited, the obvious solution was to fire up a Trioxane fuel tab and heat the water in my canteen cup.


Trioxane is a fantastic fuel source for quick brews. Clean burning and easy to light. It is a purple block and when struck with a spark quickly takes to flame. The flame is nearly invisible in the daylight and a pale blue in the dark. The only indication that it is on fire is that the surface darkens and appears wet.
 

With a brew on I had a little time and set about prepping a split wood fire. Being that I was in the creek bottoms the most prevalent dead standing around me was sycamore. This is not my favorite wood for a split wood fire but I have become proficient with it due to its abundance.

The little saw in the Swiss Army Farmer is a fantastic tool and handled cutting through the sycamore with ease.

I set to battoning the sycamore with my Turley Green River knife.
 

The grain structure of sycamore doesn’t lend itself to splitting well. It tends to blow out in smallish chunks.


For this reason I like my woods knife to have a metal pommel so that I can drive the knife in midway and split down my prep.


Prep split down, time for some shavings. This little scrap of leather makes a great surface for shavings.


By this point there was a fair amount of steam coming from the around the lid of my Heavy Cover canteen cup. So I sat and enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey.

With time running short it was time to take my fire prep down by the water’s edge and light it up. As is so often the case I didn’t really need a fire this morning but I did the prep work so I was going to see the fruits of my labor. This is really the bare minimum prep for a decent sustainable fire. I have a lot of experience with this wood so I was confident in the prep I had, though if I really needed a fire I would have done at least three times as much prep. 


In no time I had a nice fire ablaze. I warmed my hands briefly by this fire before extinguishing in the creek. 


This had been a great morning. The Austrian bibs performed fantastically. The HPG Kit Bag worked as well with my cold weather clothing as it does with my warmer lighter clothing. 
My time was up and I needed to begin heading back towards the parking lot. There was birthday party for a one year old I had to attend. Thanks for looking!