Appalachian Trail Hike to Sun Fish Pond -June 2nd-

Just wanted to say that being sick really stinks.

I hate it.

But I have finally gathered my thoughts and am now back in action, with crazy tips

and fun facts.

First off!

 If no one knows, that is for anyone and hopefully alot of people that are living in

New Jersey or Pennsylvania, I have a request to make for those of you that read this and want to do something fun on June 2nd(Saturday). 

At the Water Gap section of the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey, I will be hiking that day and I'm inviting anyone and everyone to join me.  To make something clear, you wont get anything out of this, because it is not a sales pitch for my site or any of that bogus stuff.  This is strictly for those of you that want to be outside that day and just want to a take a few deep breathes into nature and just go on a nice hike to Sun Fish Pond or even hike up the peak of the trail that looks over the Delaware River and have lunch.  I plan on meeting some interesting people that day, so I hope to see you there!

Dan

-Mountain Swag-

Ps. If possible for anyone that reads this to please tweet this or facebook it or just simply pass it along to those you feel would be interested.

Thank you so much



Improvised Spear Fishing

IMPROVISED SPEAR FISHING

When spear fishing, make sure to stay in waters that are waist deep if not more shallow waters.  Though their are tribes that spear fish by diving into deep waters with their spear guiding the way,  but today's lesson is being directed at those just starting out or just wanting to give it a try. 

If you have a knife that's great, then common knowledge as to what you would do with that knife and a stick is pretty clear, but DO NOT start throwing your spear around like it's some toy.  If  you lose that knife then your confidence goes way down, because to some if not everybody having a knife is a sense of security just as having a gun would be a sense of security.  So! picture yourself losing that knife because  your were dumb and thought that fish was close enough to start feeling confident, but then all of a sudden your knifes gone.  And then what!

SO REMEMBER, DON'T THROW THE SPEAR.

Now onto the main topic, when creating your improvised fishing spear make sure to find a sturdy branch that is straight, if you come across bamboo then that's even better.  As shown in the image above, animal bones and metal which you will probably find as one mans garbage but your treasure as i went over yesterday, will work very well.  Even carving out your one spear tip will work, but when spear fishing you want all odds on your end.  So which brings me to my next point as shown in the image below.

When spear fishing especially by hand without the use of a spear gun or elastic launching device, you want to be as creative as possible.  so, by taking a bamboo stick for instance as shown in the image above you can take one end and split it two ways so that you get four spearing utensils out of one stick.  Which brings you in favor of getting lucky and that fish losing terribly.  By splitting the end two ways, and sticking a piece of wood or twine and even stripped live branches to make rope with, you can lodge whatever your using in the middle to create that splitting end affect.  By intertwining your rope between the split ends you can make your spear even more durable, meaning you can hunt bigger fish.  Carving hooks into the ends just make it harder for the fish to slip off, but for safe measure you should always grab the fish before pulling your spear out of the water in joy.  Spear fishing in waist deep water is just a common rule of thumb, because you can see below you and while walking around or just standing still you can keep your spear end in the water so you're even closer to your kill.

Improvised Fishing Hooks



Yes, fishing season has started. 

For those of you that are not big into fishing I would consider getting into it because it is probably the easiest source of food to rely on that it good for you.  Especially since trout season just started recently for those of you that live in new jersey that is.  When fishing for trout, try to go for the moving waters or upstream and even at the bottom of river water falls. 

But besides all that, today's lesson is on improvised fishing  hooks, if you are creative and love the outdoors then you should give this a whirl.  As shown in the image above, these are the basics of improvised hooks.  Yes some are a little challenging but they can be done, you're not burning calories and you're not wasting water stored away in your body  to go looking for these items.  "One mans garbage is another mans treasure", or at least that's how I think that sang goes. But yes if you find garbage look at it twice, and think deeply about what it can be used for.  For instance say you find a Pepsi can or a beer can which is usually lying around just about everywhere.  The tab on that Pepsi can, can be used as an improvised hook.  The second easiest thing to do is find some worms, and start baiting that hook and letting 'em rip.  Another approach would be to try some spear fishing or night time light fishing or even poisoning/stunning the fish, which we will get into tomorrow.

So stay tuned!

-Be Happy-

Natural Aspirin (READ)

When mother nature is at its best.

 ASPIRIN, maybe one of the most used pain killers in the world.  What people don't know is where it comes from, and why they waste their money on buying it from the pharmacy.  From way back when, since the 1800's and even before that people were able to extract aspirin from trees.  It's not uncommon now a days, you just have too know your stuff and or learn it to know that.  But that is why im writing this blog, so that the people that dont know can use this skill where ever they go and whenever they feel like saving themselves some money. 

ASPIRIN

Grows just about everywhere, we just don't know it.  Aspirin comes from certain trees and poplars, like:

Populus tremuloides: Quaking, Trembling or American Aspen (northern & western North America)

Populus grandidentata: Bigtooth Aspen (eastern North America, south of P. tremuloides)

white willow/European willow ( Salix alba )

black willow/pussy willow ( Salix nigra )

crack willow ( Salix fragilis )

purple willow ( Salix purpurea )

weeping willow ( Salix babylonica )

Simply by taking the lower branches of these trees listed above and scraping them, as shown in the image above; you can get a chunk of it and stick it in your mouth and let it absorb into your gums, you may feel a little tingle but thats okay, DO NOT spit your saliva you should swallow it because it will kick in faster.  There is a certain layer you need to get too inside the tree and that is the living layer of it which is after the bark layer.  During the spring and early summer it is as easy as just peeling away the bark and chewing on it.

-Hope you like my info-

Tip Of The Day: WATER

When clearing water that is stagnant, foul or muddy you need to first filter it. 

You can let it stand for exactly 12 hours or more in a container, or by pouring it threw a filtering system.  Most people do the old method of rocks and gravel to more fine objects and then ending the filter with a cheese cloth or if you dont have that, using your shirt works just as well.  If you are wearing a hat, it can be used as a good bowl for letting water filter threw, but that is just to get out all that nasty stuff in there that you can actually see.  Using charcoal works , but like whatever else you use it will not taste very well, but then again your attempting to survive so, don't complain.

To get rid of odors in the water, using a red hot coal from  your fire and letting it sit in the water for atleast an hour will help before you drink it.  You can never be to careful with drinking water you just picked up out of a pond or back woods stream, go with your gut instinct because it usually right.  If you feel it is not safe to drink, just keep on filtering it.  A word of advice, if you already have a fire going boil the water before filtering it.  If you do not have a fire and you are wits end, look for running water not sitting water.  If you can smell the odor before even getting close, walk away and stay away.  When coming acrosss dead trees that have been soaked in rain water, you can usually squeeze water out of it, because dead trees are like sponges.

Mountainswag.com: Tip of the day

Mountainswag.com: Tip of the day: When your stuck in the woods and need fire, the good "Old Mans Beard"(which is also a type of lichen) is the way to go because it is ...

urgent. SO DO IT

Need some followers on twitter.

so you can follow me on a hike.

How will you know when the hiking trips are if you cant read them on twitter!

so sad.

https://twitter.com/#!/MountainSwag

Adrenaline Thinking

This is a life long dream.

Im pretty confident that a good amount can relate to that.

Thats what i call free

It's simpler then it looks.

trust me

1 Month.1 Day. Lets go hiking

Yesterday was the first actual warm day in a long time and it was fantastic!

Did alot of hiking and alot of relaxing, and took the motorcycle out for a little spin.

We all need to be active, and no im not giving anyone the be healthy speech.  What im really trying to say is that I hope everyone likes being outside as much as I do,  I suffer from a few medical problems so being outdoors is my motivation.  My motivation to thinking positive and living a straight forward life (or atleast try too). I want to get as many people as possible on these hikes that I will be having and letting people relax and get out for a day.  You see I made a commitment to myself and that was to be a better person and help others along the way, and thats what im trying to do.  Most of the hikes will be on the Appalachian Trail at the water gap in New Jersey, so feel free to join me and whoever else may show up.  If no one shows up its no biggy!  i'll just put my head phones in and start walkin the trails.

Dates will be posted on my twitter account or facebook.

Or even here!

-Be Happy-

The birth of Mountainswag.com

Camping.

Who doesn't love to go camping, it's probably THE most relaxing thing you could do.  smores, fires and the stars late at night, you would have to be crazy to think otherwise.  Mountain swag is a new upcoming retail site for a good portion of your outdoor needs, from fishing to hiking and even hiking trips on the Appalachian trail.  But before we go any further I (Dan the owner) would like to confess that we are not your average Joe, we take this stuff very seriously and for anything asked their will be an answer and for any help needed in the outdoors we will do our best to solve your problems.  Being in the outdoors is my passion above all else and I have finally taken the step to share my passion with whoever wants to be apart of it.  And above all else, I will do my best to stay on top of this blogging world so you guys and whoever else can stick around.  Mountainswag.com is in the process of being created, just one more week and i hope to share what i love with as many people as possible. 

I hope to create a lot of long lasting friends.

until tomorrow!

-Be Happy-