To The Dynamite Sheds! Part II: The Water Torture

[sargevining]

When last we left our intrepid explorers, Scout The Wonder Dog had detected lethal danger lurking in the weeds in their path!



Thinking quickly, SargeVining, loyal manservant, driver, and cook poked at the miscreant with his Old School Hickory Hiking Pole as Scout The Wonder Dog let loose a Mighty Bark and it slithered off into the underbrush! If snakes wore boots, he'd be shivering in them still! Team work is essential in such situations.

They continued on their way, inspecting the Dynamite Sheds for safety and suitability for occupation.

These were deemed unsuitable as there were signs of rodent and bird droppings, rotted floors, and roofs.



This one was substantial in construction and there was little evidence of pests, but the ground about it showed much evidence that it was popular with the wild hogs.



They trudged on down a side road. Scout inspects the area as it opens onto a small clearing.


And finds more evidence of the cheapness of life out here. This possum didn't have a chance.


There! Down in the clearing. Those look promising.


The one at the far end is locked, and has been for at least 10 years. SargeVining first discovered these sheds before Scout The Wonder Dog was even a pup and his mother Punkin The Wonder Dog led the way.


What about this one?


It looks safe and substantial. And the doors are quite impressive.

"Nay," replies Scout. "The doors face south with the forest but feet away. We would lose the light within as the sun sets, and the rooms are too small to hang the hammock in. Let's inspect that one in the distance.


"I believe this is the one" says Scout. "The door faces west, there is no evidence of rodents or birds having taken up residence, and the door sill is high enough to keep hogs, coyotes, possums and such out should they come nearby. You might need to give me a boost, but it beats the heck out of most AT Huts, doncha think?"


"Besides, it is close to a water source so that you can conduct your experiments"


So it is decided. "This long abandoned tripod that will greatly aid in conducting your experiments by providing the perfect mounting place for the Katadyn gravity filter."


"Yes," says SargeVining, "but I'm not so sure about this water."


"We'll allow it to sit for a while and finish setting up"


And enjoy the view.



"What have you brought us for dinner tonight?" says Scout.
"One if your favorite Spam dishes." replies SargeVining.



In less than 10 minutes, a bounteous repast is spread before them.



"Now, lets experiment!" says SargeVining. 16 ounces of the water is run out of the gravity flter into a plastic bottle and compared to an unopened one.



"This is somewhat troubling, but I was prepared for such an eventuality. We shall run it through the Sawyer Squeeze!"


"Hmmmmm. This does not inspire confidence. What say you Scout?"


"Speaking for myself, I drink it straight from the bar ditch and lick my private parts to get rid of the taste. You're on your own."

"Then we shall relegate it to washing dishes and bathing until we can get more input." Says Sargevining.

They repaired to their separate sleeping arrangements, SargeVining's necessarly more eleaborate than Scout's, and spent a pleasant and uneventful evening, the site have been a superior selection.

The next morning they rose late, and enjoyed a most excellent breakfast.






And the dishes were done using the questionable water.


Then packs were packed, slings were slung, and thier steps were turned towards home.

Just as they approach the Bridwell gate, a hostile gang of cows aproaches!


"I don't like the look of that one" SargeVining says.

"Which one?" asks Scout.

"The brown one." says SargeVining

Scout gives him a sideways glance. Then lets loose a Mighty Bark, and the gang scurries away.


And so ends our story. The intrepid pair made it safely to the country bungalow to once again assume thier secret identities as mild mannered country folk. SargeVining still searches for more information on the safety of twice filtered water from sources common in the Texas Coastal Plain, however.

[oldgringo]

A good story, well told. You have reset the bar.

[Rockdawg69]

Now that there be a story. and some good pics to make it real. Nice hooch you folks got for hanging. Must a been one of them old gov'mnt jobs.

[mph5]

Love your story tellin' style!
Hope there are plenty more to come.

[Pipsissewa]

Thanks for taking us along, Sarge. Great story! Really enjoyed it!

[sargevining]

Thanks everyone. There will be an Epilog comig tommorow nite that includes some lessons learned & some stuff that didn't fit in with the story.

[AKA Pete]

Loved the post.

Liked the continuing adventures of Scout the Wonder Dog and his loyal man servant.

That shed looked like a good place to hang out when an evening thunder storm would roll through.

[lubbockhammockguy]

Great story, have you ever thought about writing any short stories?

[waddy]

The ability to tell agreat story is a gift of great proportions. You Sir, have been gifted with greatness. Please keep up the good work!

[sargevining]

Again, thanks for the comments, I will address them individually wth the next post, but first I need to tie up some loose ends and do a mea culpa.

This trip was unplanned---and that's not ever a superior idea. Due to the torpid state of the construction industr, I found myself with some unwanted time off. The previous weekend I'd been at the HHHNGNGHHH at Brazos Bend State Park. That was my frirst overnight since before my wife passed away. She passed three years ago come August and was sick for two years before that.

My reasoning was: "Since I've got all my gear out, I'll just hike down to the Dynamite Sheds and test out that water fltration stuff I've never used." I've also gotten a new Ribz pack that 've taken on one short day hike and wanted to test out (I love it BTW). There came a day of rummaging through boxes and transferring contents of a long shelved day pack into the Ribz. I had to unpack the pack I'd chosen and go with a bigtger one. Never having had to carry the hammock before I had to do atrial and error packing system.

The net result of all of that is when I got to the shed and unpack I discovered that I'd not packed a shirt to sleep in. Temps were going to get down to the low 60's and I had decided not to ring a UQ or poncho liner and was relying on a fleece mummy liner and a heavy shirt/sleeping trousers arrangement to keep warm. As it was I had to sleep in the lightweight UV resitant shirt that was still damp wth sweat. Had not been inside the shed where I could close the door I could have spent an uncomfortable night.

The next thing I noticed was that the batteries on the camera were running low, and that I had not pack any extra batteries or the solar back-up wth AA charger. This was no great tragedy, but still a lesson as it could have been a more essential piece of gear that was affrected.

The worse mistake had to do with aslight injury I had gotten at the HHHNGNGHHH. I'd cinched my shoelaces a bit too tight on the left foot and had raised s blister that burst before I was aware that I had it.



After removing my sock and the bandaid that I'd put on that morning and cleaning it with Wet WipesI went to the First Aid Kit that I'd taken off the previous day pack and put on the overnight pack 'd taken wth me.



Nice looking kit, right? Not one bandaid in it. Not. One. And no anti-biotic ointment. No Neosporin. No mercurochrome. No Iodine. And the pocket first aid kit that I normally put in the day pack for such injuries didn't make it into the Ribz pack. I was pretty disgusted with myself. I had a first aid kit that can treat a huge gash, a sucking chest wound, or a broken finger---but not a common boo boo. The only thing I had was the old wives tale that if you let a dog lick it, it will get better. I looked over at Scout and saw what he was licking and knew that just wasn't ever going to work.

On a longer trip, this could have been disasterous. The climate down here is sub-tropical for 9 months out of the year. You can tell by the pics of the water that most of it is slow moving or standing still. The heat and humidity promote putrification and decay. Had I gotten a similar or worse injury in the middle of a days long hike, I could have been in a bit of trouble. Suffice it to say that right now that it includes 30 band aids, a tube of Neosporin, some iodine, and an X-Acto knife.

So. Lesson learned: Never assume that you've got a pack, or part of a pack, you an just pick up and take off with---especially the survival and first aid gear. Keeping it packed is Ok and a good idea so is inventorying before taking off.

I'd like to think that if I was going to take off on a longer hike far from home instead of one that started and ended on m own doorstep I'd have taken more precautions, but I'm not going to look at it this way

The other issue is the water. Water is of some very real concern to me in these arts during the hotter months. I'm going to start a new thread to get some input on the filtration I did and the safety of the water as this whole concept s rather new to me I'd gotten the Katadyn for hurricane emergencies to treat water kept in the bathtub and/or trash bucket or for "boil first" treatment after the water is turned back on after being off for a couple of days.