Sharpening my ax...

Metaphorically that is.

Honestly I have been putting a lot of time in, piece by piece, using and refining my bugout load.   From the day I dug my trailer out of the weeds.  I have used it or its components on various campouts weeding out what didn't perform, and hunting down sales to improve my gear.

Not only have I camped monthly with my Boy Scout Troop using this gear,  I have done several weekends on my own, and whenever I feel like camping, but time responsibilities and schedules won't allow the hours of driving, or life is just "in the way",  I will camp in the woods in my back yard.

Well just before the leaves got to falling, I got one good weekend where I did just that.  Its a penalty free zone for my son to practice setting up our gear,  he would argue that he does more then enough with the scouts already but you can never practice too much.  Its also a way to ease my wife into the great out doors.  I have found she is much more receptive when there is a real bath room a short walk away.  She also gets use to it, and builds up her confidence in her own skills.

Since I made a full weekend of it, I got to pull out all my gear. The only thing I missed was a campfire.  Sadly, my neighbors kind of frown on me burning things so...  I got my Screen house out and put together the full camp kitchen and did manage to do most of the meals on the camp stove.   But i will admit, i went to my gas grill on my deck for my steak diner.  I got to pull out all the sleep systems, and chairs, support and first aid gear, and clean prep and inventory everything while I enjoy the last warm weekend Michigan will see for a while.

I also get to shake down how all my gear works together.  Since when I do this on of these "at home camping" exercises, i use all the gear in my bug out trailer.  I pull out all the components, from the Camp Kitchen Mark II, to my First aid/MASH station, I even set up my motion activated perimeter alarm system along the tree line

One of the best tests I ran was a full deployment of power generation and distribution system.  From the Deep cycle Battery mounted in the trailer, I can power each tent and run Goal Zero Light a life lights from a 12 volt outlet that will also charge phones or other USB gear.  Between my Mars100 Solar panel and two Goal Zero brief case panels, i can produce enough wattage to fully recharge the system during the day.

To me it just fun, but its always an opportunity to learn and test and better my skills to test and get familiar with my gear.  I always have interruptions, be it a work site to stop by, or dropping off or picking up children, or just run of the mill life type stuff, but the key is I can go do it and come right back to camping.  It turns an ordinary boring weekend into something a little special.  My thought is to get out there, even if its only into the back yard.