Video - S. Mtns State Park Backpacking with my black lab 6-16-12

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Originally Posted by Mr.Tattoo

Great report, nice dog looked like fun..I'm thinking about getting the ESEE-4 also .

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Thanks. We both enjoying being out in the woods. Chief gets pretty excited when I pull out the packs and start loading them up! You can't go wrong with that knife - it's really solid and has a great feel. The black coating on the blade adds some noticeable friction when batoning wood, but hopefully that will wear off soon under use like my RAT-7 did.

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Originally Posted by Bruciehi5

Thanks for the video, tdi tech! What was in Chief’s backpack?

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Not a whole lot. I get him to carry his own food and some water. I'll also add in a few small things just to balance the load. On the way out, I'll put other things in in place of the food.. sometimes the Bahco saw, all the trash, etc. I'll load him up a bit more in the winter, but now when it's hot for him, I keep it pretty light.

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Originally Posted by jayf124

Great video. Looks like your hiking partner had fun too....didn't complain once in the video. I was wondering about those Coleman meals. Thanks for the scoop!

Jay

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They are ok, especially when you're hungry after hiking! But, Mtn House is better. Sometime when I remember, I want to try some other brands that Shug has shown just to do something different. Maybe next trip.

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Originally Posted by MAD777

Thanks for posting your trip. Your camera takes very clear shots and handled changing light extremely well. I was also impressed by Chief. That's one well behaved dog!

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Thanks, he listens very well and learns quickly.

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Originally Posted by NCPatrick

Nice video. I've never visited the Sawtooth sites, but I've been to all the others. Thanks for posting your adventure.

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Sawtooth is nice and not quite as heavily used as some others. There's good water there; I've never seen it dry. The water is about 3 or 4 tenths of a mile from camp, so bring containers to haul back water. That way you only have to make one trip to the creek.

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They are ok, especially when you're hungry after hiking! But, Mtn House is better. Sometime when I remember, I want to try some other brands that Shug has shown just to do something different. Maybe next trip.

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I've been eating a lot of meals from Hawk Vittles and Packit Gourmet lately. Everything I've tried from both companies has been great. WAY better in my opinion than MH.

I'm not a big fan of the packaging of Hawk Vittles though. I steep cook my meals in a cozy and once you open their meals you can't get a true seal on the tops of the bags.

The Packit Gourmet meals come packaged in a zip top bag that's much easier to work with when steep cooking.


Jay

Nice vid mate, thanks for the hike along and I agree with MAD777, Chief behaves great and listens pretty well!

Grtz Johan

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Originally Posted by jayf124

I've been eating a lot of meals from Hawk Vittles and Packit Gourmet lately. Everything I've tried from both companies has been great. WAY better in my opinion than MH.

I'm not a big fan of the packaging of Hawk Vittles though. I steep cook my meals in a cozy and once you open their meals you can't get a true seal on the tops of the bags.

The Packit Gourmet meals come packaged in a zip top bag that's much easier to work with when steep cooking.


Jay

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Thanks for the info - that's helpful!

Looks like a nice trip ... big thumbs up to Chief ... now that's a well behaved ... fine looking beast!

A great looking hiking partner you have there. I just ordered a Ruffwear palisade pack for my lab and I am wondering how long it took you to get Chief used to wearing his?

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Originally Posted by Labrador

A great looking hiking partner you have there. I just ordered a Ruffwear palisade pack for my lab and I am wondering how long it took you to get Chief used to wearing his?

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It seems to depend on the dog. My lab Chief didn't seem to care from the first time I put it on him. Didn't mind at all. Now, when I pull it out and start packing it for a trip, he gets really exited because he knows it's adventure time! On the other hand, I went hiking with a friend about a year ago.. she had a pack for her lab mix - that dog hated the pack and would not tolerate it!

I'd suggest putting just the harness on the dog, and then going for a walk around the neighborhood. Take a few walks with it before putting the pack on, and maybe try gradually increasing the weight from an empty pack up to a normal load.

A video by Steve Bullivant of our Nov 2012 South Mountain trip. A late November backpacking trip to South Mountains State Park in North Carolina.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTMKAu8UifE

Great little video there - I enjoyed the views & the levity :)
The first bear sighting had me (for just a sec anyway).

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Originally Posted by TallPaul

Great little video there - I enjoyed the views & the levity :)
The first bear sighting had me (for just a sec anyway).

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Thanks, Steve did a great job on this.