Labor Day, 2026
Among my favorite things in the world are a good hardwood forest, a fire that smells like hardwood smells when it burns, good kit, and good coffee. Labor Day this year netted all three for me.
I over slept and started late and still got to the woods by 8:30. I was really surprised that all of the food and gas station places were open. I guess Labor Day is not really for laborers anymore. That sucks. We should do something about that.
After a bit of hill climbing on graveled forest roads that need some work after the rains this summer, I got parked and loaded up. The ridge I have been hanging out on for about 2 weeks is a pretty quick walk from my parking spot and I was in there in less than 20 minutes. The bugs were hellish. The good news was that a judicious cloud of OFF! and clothes treated in permethrin kept the critters back a bit. The smoke from the twig stove drove them away for a while. It's a hard smell to shake out of my head. Maybe the most pronounced sensory experience before the leaves come down and the fall leaf process starts is the smell of burning sticks from a good hardwood stand. Plus it's pretty good at heating water.
I've taken to Nescafe 3 in 1 for days out in the woods. It's strong as shit and probably like drinking candy but I still like it. My taste rolls in cycles. As winter comes on I will move to black and strong and maybe even back to carrying a pour over or French press. It's hard to tell. For now, Carmel Girlie-ato coffee in big honking packets. My silicone collapsible cup doesn't seem to care. I like it all when I am ready to.
Probably the last thing on my list of must try purchases was this knife. I had originally hoped for a set of maple scales but micarta is tough as hell and it's nice looking. Most of my days of serious knife work passed on by when carving a netting needle started to hurt my hands but I still like to have a good one. Cody over at Adventure Sworn makes some of the best. (I'm not a shill and I don't get paid or anything. I have used almost all of them. This one is the one, no matter the handle. Ray Mears is on to something with this design...) I was watching the sun move up and drinking my coffee and decided carving a tent peg from an old stick on the ground might be a good time. My notch cutting and chest lever grip skills are a bit rusty. Anyhow, it's good to have a good knife in the bag and not be wondering about how to get a better one.
I made some notes about the day because getting back to it after a long break can be an exercise in forgetting things... and I did. The kit is getting smaller, I am not going to forget my gloves again, and my binos go around my neck and not in the support bag... and the support bag goes in the truck and not on my workbench, forgotten like everything else. All of that aside though, great day to get out.