Camping

Old workhorse

/ Tim Burns / 1 Comment

I had been shopping for a backpacking stove. I just wanted something to carry to make coffee or soup or whatever. I thought about the old brass stove my parents bought me back in 1976 for my Appalachian trail hike. I did not think I still had it. I dug around in a bin labeled “assorted camping stuff” and there it was. I could not imagine that it would still work, but after a little cleaning up it worked fine and boiled a cup of water in about 3 minutes. It is a Svea 123r still made. No need to spend $100 bucks. This thing is so simple that it might last another 45 years.

Svea 123r Stove I used on the AT in 1976 when I was 14 years old.

Every little bit helps!

/ Tim Burns / Leave a comment

I consider myself an outdoors man and therefore I consider myself an environmentalist. I need to preserve the venue in which I pursue my past times. When I am out fishing, I pick up trash along the way. When I clean up a campsite, I usually end up leaving with more trash than I brought in.

However, I know that some of the products I need to use in my outdoor pursuits are not the best for the environment. This is often the case when it is time to dispose of the old stuff. This came to my attention when I received a Christmas gift from my daughter. It was a gift pack from a company called “Flyvines” https://flyvines.com . The gift included a sun glass retainer strap, a tool lanyard and a really cool bracelet. These were all made from recycled fly line. This is a great idea! From now on, I will be sending all my used fly lines to this company for recycling. Hopefully, this will keep a little bit more plastic out of the landfills.