Jun 192019
 
Kelty Redwing Tactical 30 Full Load

First lets define what a get-home bag is … it is the gear you need to get you home in case of an emergency (but mine is designed, outside of food and personal documents, to last me forever away from home in the event I couldn’t return to home for some reason.  It is also designed that in case I do get home and for whatever reason home no longer exists, that I can survive indefinitely on the gear I have on me once I secure additional food.).  Home from where?  Home from wherever you are when you need it!  So while reading this, think about how you travel.  Do you normally drive, take a bus, a cab, uber, fly in a plane, etc?

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Jun 192019
 
Is your family prepared?

I get asked these questions often enough that it deserves to have an actual page I can just refer to instead of retyping the same thing over and over.  With all of the tornado’s this year that has affected people near me, and with many of my closest friends knowing I do a lot of things related to wilderness survival, I keep getting asked “what should I have in a kit to protect myself or my family”.  So here we are … discussing exactly that.

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Jul 242018
 

I have a youtube channel, duh!  I call it “adventures of Ed”.  I have had a youtube channel since youtube practically existed.  It covers a wide range of topics from infosec to gardening to self-sufficiency to living in a rural and very remote area to every day life and a lot of things about hiking (gear, trails, tips, etc).  I never really ever pressed the issue of “getting subscribers” or “getting likes” because i did the entire youtube thing for fun and not a source of income.  Therefore, even though I had a lot of youtube content as a content creator, I don’t rely on any advertising revenue to pay my bills, much like this website I have had for years and you won’t find a single ad on it … that means, i absorb the costs of web hosting, domain name registrations, etc.

So when youtube offered monetization on my channel (basically a share of the revenue generated by the ads they displayed), I decided I would use that money to give back to the people who watched my videos.  I would just randomly add a comment in-video with some sort of trivia and then I would use a random number generator to pick a winner from those who commented with the correct answers.  I never even promoted the give-a-ways because that attracts the people who simply watch 1 video on your channel ever, submit an answer and potentially win some item.  I care about my listeners, so I wanted those dedicated to watching my channel to win whatever It was I was giving away that I purchased with youtubes advertising revenue.

So when youtube demonetized my channel, they didn’t hurt me … they hurt you.  But the really sad thing is that youtube still injects ads into my videos that my supporters watch.  And that means, I am still generating income for youtube aka Google who is too stingy to give small channel creators their fair share of that advertising revenue.

Sep 132016
 

I have shared this recipe at many different hiking forums, facebook groups, and with friends and family for years.  Several people have asked me to do a video and I just never seemed to get around to it.  Well, I finally got it done while video’ing my sheltowee trace trail thru-hike series.  In this video I show you how to make one of the ultimate breakfasts for hikers.  It is loaded with lots of calories, carbs, healthy fats, fiber, and protein that are needed for energy, maintain your weight, and to keep muscles from being sore.  I go into details about why I chose each ingredient and several variations of the recipe (I seldom make it the same way twice but the basic recipe remains unchanged).  The variations I go into are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, peanut butter, and even a peanut-butter-chocolate aka receeses flavored.  Have a look at the video to learn how to make this awesome breakfast.  Share any tips or experiences you have with the recipe.

 

Sep 132016
 

This video goes in-depth into what I am taking on my sheltowee trace trail thru-hike.  You should also watch the first video regarding food too.

 

Sep 132016
 

First just let me say that there is nothing disgusting about this video, no limbs were lost, there was no blood, and the video has no gore.  However, if you ever go fishing, eventually some day this is going to happen and let me just tell you to remain calm, the fish hook will come out, it takes a whole lot more force than you think, it doesn’t hurt, and skin is very stretchy.  With that being said …. have a look at the arm I caught!

Sep 132016
 

Another video in the sheltowee trace series, but this time I talk about my food choices and how I buy them in bulk and repackage them to improve nutrition, save money, save weight.  I specifically am using mountain house meals in this video.

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Sep 132016
 

Last year I was going to hike the sheltowee trace trail as a thru-hike.  Due to the timing of buying a new house, I had to delay it.  This year I am going to complete it in the fall.  The sheltowee trace trail is currently 323 miles and runs from Burnt Mill Bridge in Big South Fork State Park, Oneida, TN to north of Moorehead, KY.  It runs primarily though the Daniel Boone National Forest.  It is known as “Kentuckys Longest Trail”, Trail 100, and is blazed with turtles because Daniel Boone who traveled the trail was named “Big Turtle” by the Sheltowee Indians.  You can find out more information at these locations:

The Forest Service USDA has a pdf file with info and trail

SheltoweeTrace.com has information

SheltoweeTrace.org has trail notes, information, reroute information, and a store where you can buy maps and ST Gear.

I have also done a few videos that I will link to on my website.  The first is my gear planning.  I am still a few weeks out from the hike and this could change, so I provided a link to my gear list that I am using for this hike at geargrams.com in the video.  I intend to do the hike at not more than 21 days, roughly 14 miles per day with approx 12 hours of daylight available in the fall.

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Aug 062016
 
view from eagles nest / eagle point buttress

This is the video from my recent hike at red river gorge on numerous unofficial and official trails to form a loop. It takes about 4.5 hours to complete, including stopping for lunch, and requires advanced back country navigation skills. I would recommend you use a gps for this hike (if you want the gpx file for this hike, just let me know via a comment on youtube).

Jul 272016
 

One of the biggest surprises for hikers is how “hard” those hills and mountains are, especially if you have gotten out of shape either during the hiking off-season or due to job, age, etc.  Hiking is an awesome way to stay in shape but getting in shape “on the trail” can be very hard.  So I created a video (the first of a planned series) on how to strengthen your legs and improve your cardiovascular system using a relatively cheap recumbent exercise bike you can buy at walmart.  The nice thing about having the bike at home is that you don’t have to plan your fitness around a gyms “open for business” times and you can do this while at home watching tv, watching the children, or whatever you normally do.  This is great to stay in shape for those “off seasons” or if you just watch to get in shape in general (I lost over 40 lbs using this exercise bike).  The bike I use is the Gold’s Gym Recumbent Bike.