I mentioned before that I was
heading out on a camping trip with the Minions (my sons, ages 8 and 5) and my brother... well, the camping trip was over a week ago, so I apologize for the delay in getting these pics up. The bad news is that I was too busy having fun to take all the pics required for the merit badges I was going for, but the good news is that we had an absolute blast on this trip (and perfect weather too)!
We headed out to Gales Creek Campground in the Tillamook State Forest here in Oregon. The Minions and I love this campground. I love it because it's only about 45 minutes from home and there are no ATVs/dirt bikes/etc. allowed in this area. The Minions love it because they get to throw rocks in the creek for hours on end. It's a great little campground -- very peaceful.
Before I start with the story, allow me to answer the most important question and list off the tools that I brought with me.
My primary carry was my ReCharge (carried with a ferro rod and LED Lenser M1 in a custom Skinth), ESEE 5, Vic Compact with emerald scales, Olight i3S, and LED Lenser H7 headlamp. Backup tools included the Mini Surge 2.0, Crunch, Croc, Vic Farmer, Mini Griptilian, and ESEE Candiru. Backup lights were an Olight S10 and LED Lenser F1. I guess you could say I was prepared.
sidenote: I have been moving away from folders lately as they seem to be redundant with my setup. I brought the Mini Grip in case the older Minion wanted to try using a knife again.
The first night, it was just the younger Minion and me. Here's a shot of our campsite once we got the tent set up:
Once we were set up, Minion #2 wanted to try out the Leap that he got for Christmas -- more specifically, he wanted to use the saw. After getting the green light from me, he started out with a very ambitious project...
Please note that I was not letting him use the saw in the dark -- he didn't need the headlamp at this point, he just wanted to be ready for when it got dark.
After a few minutes, he decided to tackle a more reasonable project and announced that he would help get the kindling ready for our fire.
Mission accomplished!
Dinner that night was a dutch oven pizza... his half was just plain pepperoni, but my half was pepperoni, ham, baby kale, and chopped baby garlic. It might have been because I was just plain hungry, but it was FANTASTIC.
The pic is a bit blurry, but that's what happens when you have the 5-year-old
hold the grinder take the picture.
I forgot to include my MT in the picture, but I thought the fire looked pretty cool after I got the Minion put to bed.
Breakfast the next morning included some spork usage. I used my snow peak titanium spork:
and Minion #2 used a Light My Fire spork:
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my MTo Million Post CRKT Eat'n Tool, so I don't qualify for the Sporkman merit badge.
I did use some paracord to set up a clothesline (this would prove especially useful later when both Minions fell in the creek) and used two of my favorite knots in the process. First, a bowline on one end of the line:
and a tautline hitch on the other end to keep things tight:
sometime that afternoon, my brother and Minion #1 made it out to join us!
both Minions were enjoying the caterpillars around our campsite, especially Minion #2.
I put the ESEE 5 to work splitting our firewood for that evening... these pics are for you, Aloha!
to be honest, I've gotten so used to using the 5 for splitting wood that I honestly think I prefer it to a camp axe at this point. It obviously can't compete with a full-size axe, but it can certainly replace a camp axe if you don't mind beating it up a bit.
Dinner that night was bratwurst, sweet onion, baby garlic, and corn on the cob.
We spent most of the next day down by the creek. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the 4 of us had a blast together. I took a few pics of the scenery, but I was too busy having fun to take pics of anything else.
When we came back to the campsite for the evening, Minion #1 decided he wanted to try using his Leap for kindling prep too.
and keeping with what is quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions, dinner for our final night of the trip was Steak on a Stick.
the next morning was pretty simple -- just taking down camp, packing up, and making sure we left everything in better shape than it was when we got there. all in all, it was an awesome trip. I can't wait to go back.
Donations
Community Links
