Rose managed the Smith & Edwards website & online store from 2013 to 2017. She enjoys spending her off time reading, hiking around taking pictures, or trying not to sneeze at a rodeo!
More than once we’ve even heard someone on a law enforcement scanner heading over for a fun stop at “Smutt & Ugly’s” (Don’t ask us how they came up with that one).
Does your family have any nicknames for Smith & Edwards? Send an email to help@smithandedwards.com and let us know!
We were privileged to have Travis Sparks come by and do a packing demo the other day. Hunting is a totally different experience with horses. One hunter told me his story about finally getting his deer right at the end of the day, and was dreading the hike back uphill to the truck. Luckily some horse packers saw him, came down, and helped him quarter & pack out the deer. He would have been out there way past sunset without their help!
Packing isn’t just about packing out quarters. Your mule or horse might have tent poles, a shovel, lawn chairs, your bedroll, coolers, cooking supplies, or feed on his back. When you throw in antlers into the mix, packing turns into a real art & skill developed through practice.
Travis is a member of the Back Country Horsemen of Utah & does a lot of packing himself. He gave us a detailed demonstration of the Double Diamond hitch, and answered several questions about packing.
Watch Horse Packing Tips & Knot How-To
I split Travis’s presentation into two videos for you. First, you can see exactly how to do the Double Diamond knot on our trusted cavalry horse. This is a great hitch for top packing. Then, sit back and listen to Travis’s question & answer session about packing elk antlers, using a pack scale to balance your load, using soft packs vs hard packs, and tightening a cinch.
Packing with a Double Diamond knot. Thanks to Troy Higgs for this picture!
Watch: How to tie a Double Diamond Knot
Use a 45-foot rope to make this hitch, which starts out similar to the box hitch. Make sure and pull the rope tight.
Watch: Horse Packing for Hunting Q&A
Where to get those Pack Bags
We make the pack bags shown in Travis’s demo, these are the #663 designed for coolers. We also make a narrower bag without flaps, #1665, and #1666 with flaps.
Do you have questions about horse packing that Marty or Travis can answer for you? Let us know in the comments below!
Travis’s Tips for Packing
Check your cinch after moving your animal – always make sure it’s tight!
Your goal is to make everything into a single package that moves together, without a pivot point
Keep your horse safe from antlers: make sure the rack moves along with the pack bags. Try not using a stick or a branch to elevate the horns, because they don’t ride well.
Keep the center of gravity low
Keep in mind what will hit a branch first: your pack bags or antlers?
Don’t take shortcuts, don’t get in a hurry – pack it right.
Rule of thumb, pack 15% of an animal’s weight. So for a 1000 pound animal, aim for 150-160 pounds split over the two sides.
While I was walking past the Rope Room the other day, our Hardware buyer, Blaine Taylor, called me over. “I have a surprise for you,” he said.
Next thing I knew, I found myself in a dark sideroom looking at a bundle of paracord that glowed in the dark!
Just a short time under an LED flashlight was all it took to activate the PARAGLOW white and light blue paracord Blaine just got in. “Wow!” I thought. “This would be so cool to turn into a bracelet for hiking!”
I like having reflective gear, especially as it starts to turn fall, so if I’m walking near twilight the cars can still see me.
A glow in the dark paracord bracelet would be GREAT!
“That’s not all,” Blaine told me. “I’ve got another new paracord. This orange paracord has a jute strand, for starting a fire, AND it’s got an 8lb test fishing line inside.”
You can find reflective & glow-in-the-dark paracord online here, and at the Rope Room in-store at Smith & Edwards. This is some neat stuff!
And the bracelet? Jerica in the Web Department helped me make it. Well, I found the bracelet and she figured how to make it! This is a Trilobite bracelet, aka ladder rack or boa paracord bracelet. Here’s how she made it!
Making the Paracord Bracelet
You’ll need:
About 85″ each of 2 colors of 550 paracord (6″ wrist) If you want a single color bracelet, use 170″ and skip step 1.
1. Thread the ends of your paracord into the receiving end of your buckle. Then, melt the ends together.
Make a lark’s head knot, hiding the seam of the thread so it doesn’t scratch your wrist.
2. Put the paracord through the two openings in the other buckle. Measure the paracord around your wrist. Add 1/2″ and move the buckle to that point.
3. Tape the buckles to the table, with the 4 strand buckle at the top. You have 2 outer and 2 inner strands now.
4. Make a 4 with the outer left strand, and hold it over all other strands. Bring the outer right strand over the 4 tail, over the inner strands, and under the 4. This will make a Granny knot over the bottom buckle.
In the photo above, for the fourth picture, bring the strand you just wove with, over the outer left strand, under the inner strands, and over the outer right strand.
Then, take the outer right strand and weave it under the strand you just wove with, over the inner strands, and under the outer left strand.
Good job – you’ve finished the hardest part!
We made the bracelet twice, and flipped the colors the 2nd time. We apologize!
5. Now we’ll just weave to the top of the inner cords.
Take the left outer cord and weave it over the first inner cord, under the middle inner cords, and over the last inner cord.
Take the right outer cord and weave it under the last inner cord, over the middle inner cords, and under the first inner cord.
Repeat this process all the way up the bracelet!
6. Now and then, stop to adjust the snugness of the weave, so you can have a consistent & tight weave.
Finishing the Bracelet
Here’s how we finished the boa bracelet.
1. Push & tighten the weave. Then, loop the strands so that they are next to each other. Trim the paracord to be just long enough to grasp.
2. Take your lighter and melt the ends of the strands. Hold the ends together and press with flat nose pliers to seal them together.
Tip: Have a friend hold the lighter for you, so you can hold one strand in each hand, and melt them together!
You’re done! Enjoy your bracelet!
Want to make more Paracord Bracelets?
Looking for more Paracord Bracelet patterns? Here are some sites & channels we found that have GREAT tutorials!
What do you do with a couple pounds of fresh Utah apricots?
Some of the best ways to preserve that fresh, tangy sweetness are dehydrating apricots and turning them into apricot freezer jam.
Maggie & Hannah are 10-year-old friends, cousins, and daughters of Smith & Edwards employees. They gave it a shot! Here’s how they did – and if they can do it, YOU & your kids can, too!
Cut and discard the apricot pits, then mash the apricots.
Add sugar, lemon juice, and the Freezer Jam fruit pectin, according to the package directions.
Stir, then ladle the apricot jam into freezer jam jars.
This apricot freezer jam will keep in the fridge up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer up to a year! Their grandmother has a secret about adding crushed pineapple to the recipe. Try it out and see what you like!
Your Turn!
What’s happening in your kitchen? We love to see pictures of what you’re making! Leave a comment, tag us on Facebook or Instagram, or send us an email.
Beets are a yummy vegetable packed with nutrients like manganese, potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6. They’re a delicious Utah summer crop, and you can freeze beets to enjoy them year-round.
Our produce experts Vickie Maughan, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, teamed up to freeze beets last week and here’s how they did it.
Wash the fresh beets and cut of the beet greens, leaving 1″ of beet green stems. Don’t remove the tails or beet green stems, because if you cut them off, the beets will bleed out and lose their color.
Boil the beets in a pot of water until tender. Then, set aside and let them cool off.
Boiling the beets with their stems & tails on will keep the rich purple-red color from bleeding out!
Peel the beets. You don’t need a tool: you can massage the beet skin, tail, & beet green stems and they’ll fall off the beet in your fingers.
Slice, dice, cube, quarter, or halve the beets any way you’d like. We love mandolins for slicing vegetables!
Put in a freezer Ziploc baggie with as many servings as you’ll want.
You can freeze them individually like cherries (view our How to Freeze Cherries guide), or if your family loves beets, you can freeze them all together. Tip: Flatten the bag when you put it in the freezer so they stack nicely and will thaw evenly.
This winter, you can take the bag out to enjoy garden-fresh beets at the peak of their flavor. Microwave or lightly simmer them in a covered pan with butter, when your family’s ready to eat!
Adventure is in the eye of the beholder. There are many adventures around every corner. An adventure can be as simple as a picnic with the family, to something more complex, such as a vacation or a new living location. We can choose whether what we are going through is an “adventure” or something else.
This summer, my adventure included spending time with my family while in Oregon USA. We were able to go on a family trip for the first time in 3 or 4 years. It was great to reminisce about old times and build new memories together. We were able to see some beautiful sights and enjoy the surroundings of nature.
We were able to go zip lining.
I loved walking along the beach for miles and miles. It was amazing to see the vibrant green color, and the enormous size of the Redwood Trees.
The highlight of this adventure was finally being able to see Crater Lake. It was a beautiful sight that will not soon be forgotten.
Everything from seeing these beautiful sights, to having our car overheat and the AC not work, made this trip the perfect Summer Adventure.
This Oregon adventure was a well timed event, because just as life seemed to be getting settled, it threw us another adventure.
No matter where life takes us, we have to embrace the adventure. I am so happy that I got this time with my family and was able to make those memories that will last a lifetime.
Here in northern Utah we’re lucky to get large yields of cherries in late June & early July! While there’s no end to what you can do with fresh cherries – cobbler being my favorite! – freezing cherries is a wonderful use for these short-seasoned juicy treats!
Freezing cherries will let you taste that sweetness even in January. Plus, you can use these for your shakes & smoothies.
Vickie, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, got together to show me how to freeze my own cherries. Take a look!
Wash the cherries and remove their stems. Tip: use a colander!
Pit the cherries. Jean & Vickie like using a handheld cherry pitter and collecting the pits in an extra jar or measuring cup.
Place the pitted cherries on the cookie sheet.
Secret Tip: Double decker your cherries! Place short drink cups or tupperware on the cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. Then, fill another cookie sheet with cherries and place it on top of the cups to freeze twice as many cherries!
Let the cherries freeze overnight.
A chest freezer is GREAT for freezing cherries…
The next day, take a spatula and release the bottoms of the cherries from the cookie sheet.
Gather the cherries and place them in freezer Ziploc bags. Quart, gallon – your choice!
Questions we get asked about Freezing Cherries
Q: Is it messy?
YES! Wear surgical gloves so it doesn’t stain your hands, and wear a work shirt.
Pitting cherries is messy business! Wear gloves.
Q: Why not freeze them in bags from the get-go?
By freezing them individually first, they don’t get stuck to each other. Then after you put them in the bag, they break apart easily.
Q: What can you do with frozen cherries?
Vickie LOVES to make smoothies with frozen cherries. YUM!
Eat these fresh-picked as a treat when the snow’s flying in January, just like you were eating it fresh in July!!
Do you have more questions for us? Leave a comment & let us know!
Muck-covered overalls? Horse leg wraps? Greasy shop rags? There’s no way those are going in the nice front-loading washing machine.
Here’s a neat way to turn 5-gallon buckets into a shop washing machine that keeps the mucky things out of the clothing laundry. We saw this on Pinterest and HAD to try it out!
Plus, you can also keep this on hand for emergencies: the Zombie Apocalypse or when the power goes out.
Thanks to Melissa in our Housewares department for showing us how to do it, and Marty for cleaning the leg boots!
Tip: Did you just buy a new pair of dark-wash denim jeans? Add a cup of vinegar and don’t add soap. Then, add your new jeans and let them sit overnight. This will help set the dye, and you won’t get as much indigo rub-off on the rest of your laundry!
Make your own DIY Laundry Bucket at Home
You’ll need these supplies:
Two 5- or 6-gallon buckets (We offer 5 gallon on our website.)
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Send us your question to help@smithandedwards.com. We’ve got good advice, bad advice, & years of experience with all kinds of crazy outdoors activities. Send us your question, you just might get something fun or helpful back!
Question:
I saw your post on how to clean a rifle. I’ve never used a Gun Vise to clean my rifle… does it make any real difference? -Major Paul
Answer:
You don’t have to use a gun vise to clean your rifle. But it’s a good idea to have one, or a bipod, so your rifle is secured and the stroke of the cleaning rod is consistent with the plane of your bore.
A lot of people also use a bore guide so that when you clean from breech to muzzle, you don’t scrape your crown on the muzzle end. You don’t really want the cleaning rod to contact the crown. A vise will help you clean consistently without scraping the sides. Also, that keeps the mess in one area.
It’s that time of year to check your preparedness gear, make sure you have a communication/meetup plan for your family, & rotate your food storage.
One important piece of your preparedness plan is having a bag with all your necessities. Some people recommend a bug-out bag, but here in Utah a 72-hour kit is the most recommended pack to have.
What’s the difference? Mike Vause from our Sporting Goods department asked Ryan Seager, our Surplus manager, and Jean Dimick, our Preparedness manager, and here’s what he found.
What Ryan suggests for a Bug-Out Bag
A bug out bag, or go-bag, is a small bag designed to get your from Point A to Point B. Point B should have more supplies, such as your 72-hour kit or your food storage.
You might keep your bug-out bag in your car or truck, or in your desk at work; some place you can get to it easily and go.
So it’s a minimalist kit that has just the necessities to survive. You can buy a pre-made bug out bag, or create your own based on your needs & preferences:
1 quart water, a container, & water purification method
Food (preferably a high-calorie bar)
Bivvy or compact sleeping bag
Poncho
Paracord
First aid kit
Multitool with a good blade
Lighting: headlamp or area lighting
Gloves, hat, scarf, light jacket, and spare clothes (if possible)
Fire starter
Personal defense
Jean’s picks for a 72-Hour Kit:
A 72-hour kit has the supplies you need to survive for 3 days. You’ll store more food and supplies than a bug-out bag, and for this you should consider a large backpack from the camping department, rather than a slim tactical pack. See Hiking & Camping packs here.
Save the Children has excellent resources for teachers, parents, and caretakers. Check them out here! You can also make your own ID cards for your children on the Child Safe Kit®’s website.
