American Grouch

A Late Winter Rove

2019-04-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

It's nearly mid April and most of the U.S. is enjoying the beginnings of spring, some of the country is starting to bud and green up. Sometimes I envy that, sometimes I don't. Winter's skeletal grasp upon the neck of the north wood still has strength, though waning. Spring's rebirth is yet to come. Most days our skies are still steely and grey, the wind carries flurries and ice more oft than

Of Hares, knives, and Chaga

2018-12-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

I haven't been procrastinating, I've just been doing other stuff, I thought to myself as I stitched the rabbit furs together in the loose form of mittens. This was the second and final pair, they are to be gifts for my daughters on Christmas, tomorrow. As I was rounding the bend on the last curve, using a locking stitch, I heard the mail truck pull up outside. The dogs were sounding the

godaddy rant for piss poor customer service

2018-12-12T09:02:00.001-06:00

I spent nearly 8 hours in some form of support chat or call yesterday. A ridiculous series of escalations because the tech support at godaddy couldn't figure out an issue I was having. Over and over again they'd come to the same conclusions which typically was to blame squarespace for a hosting issue, never mind the fact that squarespace isn't the host, godaddy is, or was. At one point they

What's In Your Parka?

2018-12-08T15:13:00.000-06:00

Living, working, playing in the depths of winter? By winter I don't mean anything north of zero Fahrenheit. The winter I'm referring to commonly has temperatures well below zero and wind chills in the significant double digits below zero. Skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, hiking, or working for a living in extremely cold environments can put a person in a bad

Road Gear; The Air Armor M240

2018-09-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night, the highway was empty, black and wet. The double yellow vaguely illuminated by the headlights, a ding sounded twice, the low air warning flashing on the dashboard. The right rear tire was under inflated... It was a cold morning, the sun hadn't cleared the horizon, he could see his breath on the air as he walked to his car. "Crap" he said as he noticed the flat

American Grouch Discount

2018-04-02T15:48:00.000-05:00

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Survival Nomads

2018-03-16T23:12:00.001-05:00

I can't say that 'retirement' is filled with idle time, in fact I'd say it's quite the opposite. I'm staying busy, tween the kids, the house, the chores (I'm still raising chickens and goats) plus cutting and splitting firewood to heat the place, I'm fairly engaged. However. My latest endeavor has been bringing a few businesses online, besides www.outdoorsman.net www.woodsmansremedies.com http

My Son

2018-03-13T00:49:00.000-05:00

My second oldest son is off and running, and I am proud to say, following in his old man's footsteps to and extent. (I hope he avoids most of my mistakes along the way). If you've the time, his work is worth the follow, he writes his own blog now. Check him out at Notes of the Nomad. And to use his tag line, "Stay safe out there!" Good luck in your travels, my son.

The Best Field Watch

2018-03-10T23:21:00.000-06:00

I don't really know why I've always been fascinated by timepieces, classic timepieces more so than modern. What I do know is I've had a watch on my wrist since I was a young man, I believe I was twelve or thirteen when I got my first one and I've had one ever since. Before I retired it wasn't uncommon to hear me say things like 'lose an hour in the morning and you'll spend all day looking for

Destroying our social fabric...

2018-03-09T22:02:00.001-06:00

No matter who or where you are, spend the 15 minutes the following takes to see, and spread the word.

An Update

2018-03-09T11:24:00.004-06:00

I spent nearly three hours this morning cleaning up the comments section here. I deleted nearly 1000 comments there were spam and I still don't know if I got them all. As a result I'm turning on comment approval for the foreseeable future. I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience to the regulars here. I've also launched a new website, www.outdoorsman.net It's in its infancy and only a

Hard

2018-02-08T23:18:00.000-06:00

They say that we all grieve differently, that the process for each person is both similar and yet not. We don't have much in the way of instruction, once it happens we look for answers, we read about it but that's always after. I don't know anyone who studied grief before grief descended upon them. When we're young and we're busy falling in love we often hit the ropes a time or two. Heartbreak

Bloodshot Eyes

2017-11-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

I just got back from four days in Nebraska, attended the 88 Tactical / Bushcraft USA meet. It was good, and it was good for me to get out with old friends. I hit the emotional wall on the way home, she was always there, no matter where I roamed. Trampled by Turtles is a local band, and as I pulled up the drive all I could think about was bloodshot eyes.

Well, now what?

2017-10-23T11:29:00.000-05:00

Having spent nearly thirty years with my wife I found that life became less of two lives, and more of one. In losing her I lost at least half of me, of what I have become over these many years. I know I am a better person because of her, because I know what I was before her. Throughout our time together we lived through good and bad and in many places, had five children, three of which

God, I miss her.

2017-10-17T10:37:00.001-05:00

Two Months

2017-08-29T13:16:00.001-05:00

The 25th was two months since she died, it was also my birthday. My first one without her in 29 years. There are no easy days, only some that are slightly less hard. We have moved back to Minnesota, we spent more time here than anywhere else. The memories here are our happiest. I haven't been able to go into the woods yet, though I have the time. She was always there to come home to, now I am

In Loving Memory

2017-06-26T15:12:00.000-05:00

Carol Michelle Dellinger, wife and mother of five slipped from this world on Sunday, June 25th.Carol was born in Radford Virginia, December 1970. The daughter of Margaret Ann Bain and Daniel Ray Lytton. Sister to her younger brother, Jason Lytton. She attended Auburn High School in Riner Virginia where I, her loving husband, met her in 1988. I knew then as I know now, she is and always shall be

Four Months of Backcountry Exploration; A Photo Odessy

2016-10-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

Guest Post: Jack Neely; 7 Must Have Items for Wilderness Survival

2016-09-27T08:43:00.000-05:00

You need more than just your wits around you to survive the treacherous terrain and obstacles that the wilderness will throw to you. Time and again, we have been regaled with stories of campers and hikers who succumbed to the adversity of the wilderness after things went downhill and the unexpected happened. Life has a way of throwing mean curve balls at us, so if you're planning for

Changed my mind, switching from dedicated GPS to a smart device.

2016-09-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

Three years or so ago I was a die hard dedicated GPS user. Up to that point I had not been impressed with GPS utilization via a smart phone. Between battery life and durability as well as the mapping sets available vs Garmin and other providers like DeLorme. That has changed. Late last year I migrated to a new phone and converted my old Galaxy Note 3 to a dedicated back country tool that goes

Update

2016-08-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

I've gotten a couple folks who read the rambles reach out to me recently as a result I thought I should probably update the blog. First, I appreciate the fact that there are folks who care. Sincerely. Second, the move happened largely without incident however I think I might be the only sick fool to have ever driven a giant moving truck through Yellowstone on Memorial Day. That was interesting

14.48 Mile Overnighter

2016-05-23T11:00:00.002-05:00

I've been a walker all my life. I don't have a problem with heavy packs and long distances, never have. There are the extremes of course, like the Alaska Caribou pack out but for the most part I've not had problems. Since I arrived in Utah I've been trying to get out as much as possible. I've not lived at higher elevations before and there was some acclimation necessary. There's a difference

Sunday Stroll...

2016-05-15T22:15:00.002-05:00

Presented with no commentary. Words have no value with scenery this magnificent.

Quick Hike into the High Country -Tribute to the Geezers-

2016-05-12T00:59:00.000-05:00

It isn't a new one, in fact this one (of two as I understand it) has been kicking around in the world for a while now. I came by it second had, having bid on it in a charity auction to help another fella out. I'm hoping it helps ya Ka Bar, keep on kickin' Geezer! Well it arrived today and with daylight lengthening and a heck of an urge to get out I did just that. Not far away there's a

Interesting photo editor

2016-05-04T22:36:00.000-05:00

I don't usually edit photos other than to just resize them for use here. I have in the past used them though and never really found one that was both robust and user friendly and cheap. I found Polarr quite by accident and I couldn't get the Windows10 version to work, buggy as hell, however, the Chrome Polarr Editor 3 did work. I liked the free version enough to buy the $19.99 Pro. I found it