Chacos(tm)....'cause boots are too hot....

These are  my Chaco's- Some are new(on feet), some need soles, some straps...."ReChaco" repairs 'em....

Desert rats dig the Chaco ( Z1 and Z2) sandal, Its got some distinct advantages whether walking over rock and sand, or running desert rivers:

• a genuine Vibram Lug sole, for traction.
• an arched footbed, offering better support for most peoples feet.
• a continous single strap, alows very precise adjustment and fit( the Z-2 has a loop for your big toe adding a little security to the whole shebang....)
• Resole, and restrap-able- Chaco will repair you shoes when they get beat down, hopefully you can make them last the rest of your life, or at least keep them out of the landfill a little longer...

My twin(allegedly)...Jimmy- you suck.....

My pal Jimmy says I am the Karl Pilkington of Salt Lake City- Which sucks...I don't wanna be like Ricky Gervais' stupid, douchey,  sidekick from Gervais' hilarious podcast...I am however grateful for Pilkipedia- yeah you guessed it, the world according to Karl, represented by a selection of quotes from Mr. Pilkington from Gervais's world famous show....Enjoy!...

A woodburning camp stove....(- Wait for it....with a USB charger!...)

Holy shit-a-ree.....Some people might be familiar with, or have even used the ZZtove, a long time near curiosity of the backpacking stove market( which heats dinner via a tiny fan and  bits of  wood charcoal, or even dung....I shit you not...so to speak...) . A newer cyber era twist has now hit the market in the form of the Biolite Campstove, which not only uses the uses the fam powered woodstove concept of its older sibling, mut also integrates a heat exchaner to provide power to a USB plug for recharging your mobile devices....
The iPacker crowd is perhaps rejoicing and saving pennies to purchase this little bit of insurance against ever having to be without Jay-z or their Twitter feed again- I, however find myself firmly in the " I will be tempted to smash this if I ever see it in the wild" camp....We shall see... I can see certain advantages- If one truly needs to make a rescue call, or need to top off a GPS in dire circumstances, It could be a true lifesaving product....I guess we'll have to rely on our good judgements....I tend to believe that trait is in short supply however and expect to see even more iZombies, even further from the roadhead in remote places....

Fishing Report?...well, a little weak...

Well,.....Hell......I guess the Trout gods were cranky this last weekend- Its been unseasonably cool and rainy here  for a few days. It seems the weather has made the trout a little standoff-ish. I didn't draw a zero, but marked off less than a fistful - which on my stream is unusual, at least  for me....Not that I front like I am a fly god or anything, but still- I expected a better showing since I was showing a couple of recent inductees to the fly fishing fraternity, and I do pride myself on getting new junkies seriously hooked....I'm listening to Public Enemy and The ( English) Beat,The Jam, James  Brown And Stevie Wonder...Cheers!

Roadkill Report 7/11/12

Roadkill report 2012


Date:                 Animal                      Location                                  Photo?...(Y/N)
7/10                mule deer( fawn)         I-80 EB, Parleys CYN, Ut.         N-(@work)
7/10                cat(?)orange(y?)          I-15 NB Layton, Ut.                   N- (@work)
7/11                Mule Deer, doe           Mantua Ut,                                  N- (@work)
7/11                Racooon                     Plain City Ut.                               N- (@Work)
7/11                Raven?                       Plain City Ut.                                N-(@work)

Tricky fly fishing products ...

ain't seen this on the market yet....

Evernew Titanium Alchol Stove

For a good decade I ( and countless others, I might add...) have been tinkering with homemade alchohol stoves made from anything lightweight and incombustible, mostly beer and food cans, with some - shall I say "more exotic " choices too...Most every one I built worked just fine, with minor caveats, namely I was always a touch concerned that on a more serious trip, or in a "must have " situation the  gossamer little things would fail some how- if not from the insubstantiality of the material, then from my backyard construction methods. YouTube is permeated with videos and tests of inumerable permutations on the idea, and  I have been wondering for much of the decade why some production manufacturer hasn't addressed this particular trend with a commercial entry in the game.
Now, someone has. Evernew (of Japan- a long time manufacturer of Titanium cookware) has a new Titanium Alcohol Stove, released for sale a few weeks ago that seems to be the same general design as the beercan stoves, but with the durability twist of titanium construction. I haven't read ANY reviews yet, but based on my experience with the homebuilts, in performance it should be a step up from the Trangia ( the alchohol stove market leader) and be a bit tougher than the homemades....
Cheers!

Comments?...

Roadkill Report....let us pray....or prey?....

I have meant to start a running tally of the roadkill I see, and can identify , we shall start today..So without further ado, let me introduce....

Roadkill report 2012


Date:                 Animal                      Location                                  Photo?...(Y/N)
7/10                mule deer( fawn)         1-80 EB, Parleys CN, Ut.         N-(work)
7/10                cat(?)orange(y?)          i-15 NB Layton  , Ut.                     N- (work)

Junior M.F.-ing Brown Y'all!....

If You don't Know Junior Brown....Well, I'll cut you some slack- I guess...Check the man out, he plays a double necked Tele/Steel guitar ( he calls it a "Guit-steel"...), and though hes a traditional/retro country, Texas good ol' boy player, almost always throws some unexpected Rock and roll in there too....WONDERFUL STUFF.........

"Innovation" in outdoor gear...Never mind the Bollocks....

I DO NOT intend to do a whole lot of gear reviews here, I see the same thing over and over again and it would be SO damn redundant having gear tests end with "...Overall, the minor benefits don't solve a(the) problem..."  This little article by Ryan  Jordan of Backpacking Light magazine details what innovation REALLY is- and what it isn't... and why-perhaps, the bar should be set a tad higher in the outdoor industry before applying superlatives to ( at best) marginally "improved" gear...Frankly I won't be impressed until both my Baby( who is enthusiastic, yet unfamiliar with the minutiae of outdoorsperson-ship) and my Pal Jimmy ( who, though having plenty of early life experience in the wild, has been permanently scarred- and SCARED, by a continuous parade of outdoors gear that CANNOT live up to their hyperbole its advertised under, leaving him stranded, and endangered too often to believe that there IS such a thing as a "good or great" piece of gear...), can both head down to a local outfitter and easily and  reliably  get into a setup that keeps them warm, dry, and fed, without UNDUE( as we know being out involves risk..) concern that the equipment will work as expected, and when used within the envelope of reasonable expectation ...We arent there yet...some will argue that better gear isn't needed , more knowledgeable  users are...I call bullshit. If the stuff  DID what the industry claimed, we wouldn't have to have this discussion at all,  as much as I have seen gear improve in the last thirty years, the proof is in the double headlamped, goretex-ised freeze dried pudding....

Old Complicated French Gastronomic Delight

Again, one of the things UDA isnt, is a culinary site, frankly in the field my menu is pretty basic( yet- tasty and nutritional!...), usually of the "add stuff to boiling water" variety- while eschewing prepackaged "backpacker" freeze dryed folderol. Having established that- here's what has become a bit of a favorite around Casa De Accidente:

Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, salt, pepper ( optional garlic cloves or onions)

Equipment: roasting pan, ( big enough for a chicken...)  paper towels, cotton twine for trussing, trussing needle...

Recipe:   Preheat oven to 450F. remove neck, giblets, etc. from chickens cavity. Pat dry with paper towels inside and out. If desired( absolutely not necessary and I don't usually do it... )add garlic cloves or onion to cavity. Truss bird( again, you don't have too, if you want too, and don't know how, Google "trussing Chicken".. but it ain't rocket science....). Salt and pepper chicken. Put chicken in roasting pan, with lid on (for the simple...) and cook for one hour at 450. rest bird for 15 minutes, save liquid( and, I add this  grudgingly..save neck, giblets for dogs- or soup....assuming you like Offal Soup...I damn well DO NOT...you're on your own there..)....

Eat chicken.

...and some simple side dish...rice,  or potatoes perhaps...

 After you've had enough of chicken sandwiches etc, boil whats left of the carcass  in its own juices and have some kind of lovely chicken soup.....

UDA on YouTube- just like a REAL redneck!....

 I suppose I have to get all multimedia and shit if I am gonna have a weblog....I don't like it but that seems to be the way of this bilious wretched world. So heres a stab at an "informative video" ....I had a "first take" on YT that I thought was funnier, but it wasnt as concise, and featured me handling gear with one hand and manipulating the camera with the other....so now, if you can wade through all the fistfights, cute babies and ironic moustache videos, on YT, you can find me....unloading a pack.....purely for your edification dear reader....

I have put up a short video describing what I have( and what I think people should have) in a day pack....now that I think about it- it should have had a pocketknife,( which I keep in my pocket-go figure...), and toilet paper...( which, in the field, should be BURNED...or in the case of severe drought- like this year, packed out- what fun that is!- seriously, double bag the TP in a pair of ziplocks...At any rate it should not be left in the wilds as some obscene  monument to your  visit....)

As usual ,I love you,
Please leave comments!

Bonus Desert Culture of the week....Paiute

I decided to link here because of course I live in Paiute country....( all the land stealing and stuff was done before my family got here...sorry about that though...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paiute_people

Desert culture of the week?...Taureg!...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuareg_people

Who cares what Infidel Dogs think of your hat ?....

"...By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy Casbah sound..."
               -The Clash "Rock the Casbah"

"...A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value — you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble‐sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand‐to‐hand‐combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindbogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. "...
                    - D. Adams " The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"

Jeez...smile a little , buddy....( tied around the head like them Saudi fellers taught me...)

 I've mentioned it before, but a the head covering known as a Keffiyeh ( often worn with an agal -a headband )to the Saudis I first bought it from (and as  a Shemagh to the servicemen involved in the more recent  Middle eastern conflicts...) is a terrific all around piece of equipment for the desert rat, its a simple piece of cotton( or if you can find an old timey one a cotton wool blend, which seems a better design for several of its multiple uses...) roughly 40 to 60 inches square , and is generally noticed around the wearers head - or in the case of soldiers and ( unfortunately) trendy kids tied around the shoulders. But there are a myriad of practical uses as suggested by the late Douglas Adams(... referring to towels, but you get the gist of it, a nice big piece of cotton cloth is always a good thing to have at hand...) 

Tuban style- fo' when I done los' ma hat..

I use mine not only as a head covering  or as a traditional type scarf ,but (most effectively) in the arid desert as a personal swamp cooler...this won't help in areas where there is significant humidity  but in arid places you can get a LOT of relief from hot air evaporating moisture from cotton cloth,  a whole list of other uses should pop immediately to mind  such as : pot holders , lid lifters, padding for grabbing pointy  things, sun shades, a short rope, tourniquet, bandage, sling, ...you get the idea I am sure...

Colors of Keffiyeh I prefer/own ( ..stealthy...)

The drawbacks are, I guess,  worth considering, if in my opinion, overblown. I suppose there is an implicit "political" or "religious": statement in use of a piece of middle eastern gear in the  whiter skinned parts of the world...personally I can only roll my eyes and deal with the consequences, but having said that you should probably only use the things in the outback until islamo-arab hysteria is a thing of the past-assuming you are concerned about what idiot rednecks, cops and rangers think of you towel. However, (blessedly) most of our modern military guys will recognize the item itself and its utility, so you should be pretty safe from their ire...

kerchief/cowboy style(Also: Nice hair ...Jackass.....)

fashionista/douchebag style( I actually wear this this way in town so as to be unobtrusive, but bunched under a jacket it keeps your neck warm when out in the boonies too...)

Personally, I couldn't give two cents though for any shit-kickers opinion on such a useful piece of cloth, I wear and use it as I please, and I might admit that that I do have a fondness for ( usefully) camouflaged gear in general, so I have been very happy to be finding keffiyeh in outdoors  and surplus stores  lately in colors that blend in rather than the more traditional primary colors on white( having said that though, I imagine that white should reflect more sunlight away from your dome than any other color...), looking through the pile I have khaki/olive, tan /black,  sandy yellow/black, white/tan  tan/sandy orange, brown/sandy orange , plus my girlfriend has a blue/black ( to match her pretty eyes...)

love to hear from you- leave a comment!

this IS the UDA

"...Is this the MPLA
Or is this the UDA
Or is this the IRA
I thought it was the UK
Or just another country 

or another Cunt-like tendency....."

-J. Lydon( SexPistols)

..No its definitely the UDA...Sorry kids, its got no relationship to the UK...perhaps "cunt like' as the man said,...and certainly not the Ulster Defense Association either ...just the half assed weblog known the living room over as Unfortunate Desert Accident... Named- some years ago, for my propensity for going of into this Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and surrounding desolation(s) generally "unprepared"  and  careless like, alluding to a friends estimation that I am likely to die out there someday...

And perhaps so...but fuck it- as the mystics and shamans remind us, you cannot see it or control it, so the concern and anxiety over your ( far TOO ) imminent demise is not particularly helpful....

And that's the way I think NOW of course....But any one who has noticed my last post was two years ago might get the impression that something has occurred and that would be correct, several somethings- and that something(ses..?...) is(are) nobody else's damn business.... and I'd love to post about it all- because its been a wild ass ride- so to speak...type, but there are other folks to protect and appease- and it is pretty likely only funny to sick bastards like me....I will say this there are  psychiatrists, drugs,  the inevitable lawyers, and booze and treachery and double deals, and "(non)breakings and (non)entries, cops and guns and even a little bit of good old fashioned perversion involved, but as the son of a mentally ill,disabled, gas huffing  triple murderer, I am relieved to admit that I was completely almost entirely passive in the whole mess, and though divorced by my wife and shunned by my peers, I now have a new comfortable home in mu humble hometown, and a lovely new "girl"friend who is a hell of a lot less maintenance and much more fun( who incidentally caught her first fly fished trout last weekend in southwest Wyoming....)  than what I see in those rare moments I peer into my rear view.....

So I came out at the end a little( very little, i guess..) wiser and better off in some ways , but I am at a bit of a deficit on tools and some outdoorsy ephemera, but I still get out and I feel like I can once again post here without provoking the wasps of the past unduly,.. and frankly - philosophically, I just dont give a shit about what happened anymore , I recovered- and life is to goddamn short to dwell on 'The Past" ...I recognize it's there, and I grudgingly admit that I have to drag some of that baggage around with me - But I drop bits of it as fast as I can, and I sure as hell don't WANT any of it...I'll be posting more frequently and I have seem plenty of adventure in this hiatus, but you probably won't see many posts dredged up out of this period, I prefer to look forward , and
I think I have some good stuff lined up!...
Namaste!....

Tactical Advantage, Three Legged Dog, and Lightning

How do you get someone to photograph and "film" trips and activities for a weblog?...

And, from the "Not to Sound Redundant" file.....I went out and fished- This page isn't meant to be about fishing really, but summer is on, the fishing is good, and we've had a really good year so far- the big Green Drakes were on the water in the morning, and a sparse Pale Morning Dun hatch in the afternoon kept the fish looking up...In fact so far since April I haven't "had" to resort to nymphs or streamers at all.. This trip I found the Browns on my home water- at least the ones I've been catching seem bigger than I remember in seasons past.(If you can call water that can only be reached after a hundred mile drive "home water" that is...But what the fuck- Good fishing is good fishing, and my claimed home creek is - as far as I'm concerned, the best dry fly fishing in the state, as well as having a family history in the area- so sue me - I don't like to widen my carbon footprint either, but even a commie environmentalist needs to have a good time- I pick up extra trash as an offset- and believe me - If anyone will make a hydrogen or electric pickup truck that'll get me into the wilds reliably- I'm all ears..)
I knew the weather was going to be overcast, verging on stormy, so even if wanted to do something else, I probably would have fished anyway....
My goal for this year has been to fish sneakier and with longer casts- It seems to be working, but It probably looks ridiculous- I'm making sixty foot casts on a stream that's barely thirty feet wide in the largest beaver pool... but overall my goals for being stealthier have gotten results- I think I hook more and better fish by merely choosing colors that are found in nature, trying to eliminate glare from the gear( I'm considering spraying some of the shinier stuff with a flat clear varnish of some kind...If I ever get around to making my own rods as I plan- gloss finishes and varnish are NOT going to be standard equipment!...), sneaking to a position ( in the water, or on the bank) that puts something between me and the fish...and I try to go to whatever lengths I have to to gain Tactical Advantage BEFORE I cast, rather than shooting from the hip.
Nothing terribly unusual to report though..I saw a 5 point buck go too deep in the creek and panic a little, Saw a kingfisher...a couple of "water-snakes"( Garter snakes for you non-natives)..I caught a Cutt-Bow(a rainbow/cutthroat hybrid) saw a three legged dog( he bites- according to the owner...) found an elk pelvis in the tailout of a beaver dam... I dunno whats up with that...I'm gonna make a Wildlife List ( and a Roadkill List!...) a regular feature- (Yes, I go the extra mile for my readers- it's just who I am...)
OH!...yeah, man!... the one thing that happened is that I almost got hit by lightning...I was headed back to the truck when the lightning started creeping over the ridge. I was staying low, moving quick, I start getting the 'electrical feeling" and then the world went white- the BOOM! made me think I was deaf- but then I was happy- because that meant I was alive- I had to check my parts and found them intact-sprinted the rest of the way back to the truck- promptly jumped out again because I had to piss...(adrenaline reaction) ...then I drove home...

Nature Lovers Unite!...and maybe ENJOY nature LESS...and protect her More!...
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/5622/




Let's have some Comments!

Footage of Ed Abbey for a TV program from 1983

This's a lost gem for you, please enjoy! This is one of a series of several Watch them all!
http://vimeo.com/11003484
Leave comments- I wanna hear from you!

No Reservations, The Riot (that wasn't- yet...)- and them damn thievin' Bastijes!....

I'm watching Bourdains show on Liberia and a bit distracted - which frankly doesn't have anything really to do with the fact that despite my good intentions I haven't posted for a week - but what the hell, you can't do it all, and this isn't supposed to be punishment anyway- I've had enough of that since I last posted and the ramifications are ominous- because I fear for the future...
I went out the morning of the day before the BIG ASS HOLIDAY(TM), here in Utah, Pioneer Day- The anniversary of the entry of the Brethren into the Salt Lake valley and the founding of my hometown, is bigger than Independence day and Christmas combined..well not Christmas, perhaps- but you get the idea. And on this morning- bestowed by the Brothers on the faithful in the form of Legal Holiday upon Saint and Sinner(me) alike, I head up to my home creek for a little piscatorial repose.
On the way I make one of those split second decisions to do something different and make a hard right down the winding (barely) two lane that comes out below the dam of an underutilized river that's "Fly Only" regulated- and also has no road access, Its a hike in proposition- fine by me...

...Oh boy-breaking news, via my lovely wife, via Iphone grapevine: "Rioting in Arizona surrounding the State supreme court decision nullifying portions of the newly passed Illegal Immigration Bill"....When I was a young man and I was just hearing The Clash for the first time there was a Compelling Little Number the London based malcontents had drilled into my head called "White Riot":
..."White riot - I wanna riot,White riot - a riot of my own...
Black man gotta lot a problems, But they don't mind throwing a brick
White people go to school, Where they teach you how to be thick
An' everybody's doing, Just what they're told to
An' nobody wants, To go to jail!
All the power's in the hands, Of people rich enough to buy it
While we walk the street, Too chicken to even try it
Everybody's doing, Just what they're told to
Nobody wants, To go to jail!
Are you taking over, or are you taking orders?
Are you going backwards, Or are you going forwards?..."
(...Dear surviving members of The Clash, be careful what you wish for...)

...anyway, I fished below the dam, when I pulled up I saw a couple of cars, but It didn't look crowded and as I walked and fished I also talked with pretty much everyone I crossed paths with- and they all seemed nice and normal and not drug addled, creepy pseudo-redneck tweaker bastardheads....
When I got back to the truck it was about two pm and I talked to a couple of guys in swim trunks and no shirts who were going down the trail for the first time and asked me about it, I advised covering up due to the deer flies, I drove on to my home creek and at the bottom of its canyon where it crosses the highway there's a gas station and I gassed up, and as I did I happened to look into the camper shell through its window and saw truck bed where my rods and tackle duffel reside...
....Apparently there isn't any riot- just Joe Arpaio's boys in riot gear arresting protesters of the Arizona law- allegedly targeting the legal observers, and promising to have police and "volunteers" on the streets to keep order...whatever that means...
I won't bore with detail but in the end about seven hundred dollars in low dollar ghetto fly tackle ("cause dats how I roll , G...") was stolen-If I make an insurance claim the rates go up, and after factoring in the deductible, it isn't really worth it anyway... What I had after it was said and done was my 8 foot 5 weight, a decent reel and line, and 6 fly boxes that I had on my person- every other bit of fly tackle was taken...a float tube, some camp chairs....They left my coffee pot, camp stove, and water jug though so they weren't murderous- just materialistic...
After I talked to the nice young Wasatch County deputy( who was of Hispanic descent- which somehow seems to matter in light of what's happening in AZ right now- I guess...) I went to my creek and fished- I was off my Zen with what'd gone on but there was a blanket midge hatch a little before sunset, and some Green Drakes were still popping here and there so I caught some...right around dusk I got into proper headspace and while not exactly "forgetting" about the events of the day, I was fishing at near normal efficiency.
Just after the sun went down I hooked up- and as fishermen everywhere have experienced when hooking large trout- the fish didn't move- there was some head shaking, and for close to ten seconds nothing happened- which was good because it gave me time to get the damn slack line on the reel before the bruiser took off...and I still almost broke off because I'd dialed the drag up for convenience, and as the trout reached the literal end of his rope the rod tugged my arms like an elephant and I dropped the tip just in time to maintain control and thumbed the drag back ( thanks Okuma- a star drag on a trout weight rod? they scoffed...I ,for one, am thankful...)
I never got into the backing or any thing like that - but it was a long dramatic fight and the fish dragged me up and down stream a few times...
The final measure was nineteen inches- as measured against the rod and marked in mud for tape reference when I arrived home....
I bought a new vest last night- at Cabela's...as a card carrying elitist snob fisherman, I can tell you that buying a Cabela's branded vest in the Walmart of outdoor retailers stung...I could have gotten the Simms- which was pretty fuckin' tits( as the kids say- I don't talk like that...)but it was the mesh model, and I spend a lot of my life in deep willow and I don't need the hassle of a mesh vest in underbrush...and I also felt guilty because we aren't rolling in dough these days- I mean everything is taken care of, but it isn't exactly the same standard of living it was a year ago is it?...
What the hell though, I caught a damn nice fish in a small stream and I can get a patch with "THE CLASH" embroidered on it to cover that hideous logo on the new vest at our local HEAVY METAL SHOP, or Raunch Records....those thieves have nothing...

Leave Comments- I'd like to hear from you!