Category: Camping

Camping: Map Contour Lines I

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Due to my obvious lack of attention to detail I never was very good at orienteering by shooting an azimuth and counting my pace. Small errors that I normally find acceptable turn in to large errors when you are traveling great distances.

Luckily I grew up on a state park and got to use topographic maps on a daily basis and quickly learned to associate the squiggly map lines with the hills and valleys I saw in real life. I learned that I could navigate well just by being able to translate map contour lines with the terrain around me.

Translating the lines into elevations became second nature and I can visualize the elevation just by looking at the map.

As a general rule, the lines on a topographic map are tied to elevation above sea level, and somewhere on the map will be a key to tell you how many feet (or meters) the lines are.

The key to remember is the difference is not in distance, but in elevation. This means that the closer the lines are to each other the shorter the distance it is between the difference in elevation. Therefore, on an map that shows 100 meters in distance between contour lines that describe an elevation change of 10 meters will represent a gradually sloping area that rises 1 meter every 10 meters you travel. If the same map has an area where two (or more) contour lines converge it shows a cliff or steep dropoff.

Watch the video on contour lines for a better explanation.

November 6, 2014
How to Estimate Campfire Temperature: The Hand Test

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This is camp cooking temp that tip is handy to know.

If you have ever tried to manipulated something in a campfire fire, you know that the hotter the fire the less time you can stand to have your hands near it.

This means that you can learn to judge the temperature of a fire by knowing how much heat a common person can stand.

Please use some common sense with this.

If you cautiously hold your hand, palm side down, over the fire at cooking height and count the number of seconds you can hold that position and you will have an indicator of how hot the fire temperature is.

Camp Fire Temperature Estimation Times:

5 seconds = low
4 seconds = medium
3 seconds = medium-high
2 seconds = high

This is an awesome prepper skill to have, it works great with outdoor baking as well as other cooking skills.

I have used it to cook steak over coals for a really impressive and testosterone fueled dinner. This skill really separates the woodsmen from the campers.

Until you do this enough to memorize, I would laminate an index card with the chart below and stick in somewhere with your camping/bugout equipment

April 3, 2014
How to Make Dehydrated Toothpaste Dots

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Here is a quick tip for backpacking or camping where space and weight is a premium – make Dehydrated Toothpaste Dots.

To make a chewable single use dry toothpaste “mint” lay out foil sheet or parchment and make rows of toothpaste spots.

Allow to dry for 2-4 days.

Sprinkle baking soda on top to keep from sticking.

Repackage in small bags.

I stopped making these Dehydrated Toothpaste Dots when the boy began thinking they were candy. But they are good for trips and traveling – once you have a can of shaving cream explode, or some shampoo leak into your luggage you begin to think about new ways to pack your stuff.

There really isn’t much more to say about this project other than you should be careful where you let them dry at – you don’t want to leave them in your bathroom because of the bacteria, and you don’t want the to sit out too long because they get really hard and nasty.

If this is not something you want to try, but you still have the issue of packing something light and easy for tooth brushing in the outdoors, you may want to just get a small container of baking soda – but I will warn you – this tastes better.

To use

Pop one Dehydrated Toothpaste Dots in your mouth, chew, then add a small amount of water in your mouth and start brushing.

December 26, 2013