# Gettin antsy



## Newtothiss (Dec 28, 2021)

Now that I have some free time, I got a foot of snow outside and the temp in the 20's.

Tempted to go out to a new potential site in the woods but don't know that I wanna freeze or fall.

Grrrrrrrr


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## Mailman1960 (Dec 28, 2021)

Newtothiss said:


> Now that I have some free time, I got a foot of snow outside and the temp in the 20's.
> 
> Tempted to go out to a new potential site in the woods but don't know that I wanna freeze or fall.
> 
> Grrrrrrrr


Come on, I had to walk 5 miles in more snow than that, with holes in my shoes to get to school 
           Giddy up


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## willong (Dec 29, 2021)

Newtothiss said:


> Now that I have some free time, I got a foot of snow outside and the temp in the 20's.
> 
> Tempted to go out to a new potential site in the woods but don't know that I wanna freeze or fall.
> 
> Grrrrrrrr


I purchased a four-section photography monopod on a sale online. When it arrived, it looked better, was stouter and lighter than I expected. It has a removable cap with an embedded compass at the upper end. It was marketed as a dual purpose monopod and walking staff; but I was skeptical about suitability for the latter function before I received it, fully extended the sections, snugged the adjustment collars and exerted a reasonable portion of my weight against it.





Fully extended, it is nearly as long as the pole for my new backpacking hot tent, which is lighter but does not adjust. So, with a bit of modification, I determined that I could indeed use it as a walking stick as well a camera support, and also have an adjustable support pole for my tent.

Next, I removed the replaceable tip on the ground-contact end and discovered that it attaches via an integral 3/8"-18 threaded stud. Ah, The multi-purpose potential keeps expanding!  So, I ordered a 12" length of 3/8" diameter, stainless steel rod. I did a jury-rigged attachment using a shaft-connecting collar and a cut-off bolt just to test the concept before committing to threading the SS rod.

I did some quick probing of the backyard ground and some of the woods behind the shop. Voila! Works like a charm for what I expect to probe in search of old homestead dumps covered with leaf litter and forest duff over more than a century of seasons sitting forgotten. (I used to find such dump sites by probing or raking with a pitchfork; but I am certain that a walking stick will draw less unwanted attention these days, especially in the hands of an old gray fart like me.) Obviously, twelve inches is insufficient for privy probing, or even searching for ravine dumps that have had dirt and debris pushed over them later by human action.

*"What does all this have to with snow?"* you might ask. Well, Newtothis, that same snowstorm hit me on the day that I planned to pack up hot tent and the new, folding wood stove (still sitting the backyard from when I did its initial burn-in), some basic camp gear and my now four-function walking stick, and get back into bottle digging* (or at least bottle hunting).

I do expect to get out camping this Winter. However, probing for bottle dumps and mushroom hunting will have to wait until this stuff melts away: 

I just walked out to check the thermometer: 19 degrees F. And in the backyard where the wind hasn't redistributed it as much, that Christmas Day snow has only settled to a depth of nine inches.

* The enthusiasm you have expressed for your new hobby in your posting has helped kindle a fire under my butt to get going again myself. GPS technology has also motivated me to resume the hobby. Combined with access to geo-registered maps, I see that technology as enabling me to pinpoint potential sites much more accurately than I could ever do for remote or rural sites that were not in relatively close proximity to some unchanged map feature/landmark from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century back in my compass and pace-counting days.


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## willong (Dec 31, 2021)

Newtothiss said:


> Now that I have some free time, I got a foot of snow outside and the temp in the 20's.
> 
> Tempted to go out to a new potential site in the woods but don't know that I wanna freeze or fall.
> 
> Grrrrrrrr


HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THIS SOLUTION?


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## Newtothiss (Dec 31, 2021)

Mailman1960 said:


> Come on, I had to walk 5 miles in more snow than that, with holes in my shoes to get to school
> Giddy up


Grandpa?!
Is that you??


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## Newtothiss (Dec 31, 2021)

willong said:


> HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THIS SOLUTION?
> 
> View attachment 233677



Should have..

Went in the woods and it was very iffy.
It was a 3 hour game of "don't die".
I'll wait..


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## Mailman1960 (Dec 31, 2021)

Newtothiss said:


> Grandpa?!
> Is that you??


You betcha sonny


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## willong (Jan 1, 2022)

Newtothiss said:


> Should have..
> 
> Went in the woods and it was very iffy.
> It was a 3 hour game of "don't die".
> I'll wait..


The temperatures here are staying cold, for Port Angeles at least, and the snow persists. Waiting seems logical.


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## Newtothiss (Jan 1, 2022)

willong said:


> The temperatures here are staying cold, for Port Angeles at least, and the snow persists. Waiting seems logical.


Snow stopped here, but still frigid.


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