This is my backpack. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. A little too dramatic using the opening line to the Marine Corps Rifleman’s Creed? Well, maybe I guess, however I had a backpack-oriented scare this morning and I found myself feeling quite sentimental towards that little bundle of backpack joy.
Here’s what happened. I awoke this morning to prepare for a weekend of competition handgun shooting (IPSC) and was gathering equipment: Holster rig, handgun, ammunition, hearing protection...Hearing protection...Where is my bloody hearing protection! I went to the backpack where I last left my hearing protection...And couldn’t find it. The backpack I mean. I searched high and low and could not find it anywhere. Tracing my steps back I remembered the last time I used it was on the cattle farm where I cull ferrals; Thursday night. Oh no. I left it there I think. Or worse I placed it on the back of my truck, forgot it and drove off and it rolled off on the road somewhere. BACKPACK, WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUU!
Now, I don’t just have one backpack of course however the backpack in question is the one I take culling and so is full of some very expensive equipment.
Lightforce LED spot light $380
Bushnell Conx rangefinder $1200
Earpro hearing protection $300
Kestrel Drop weather meter $320
Laser sight (green dot) $350
Wet weather soft shell jacket $300
The back back itself $200
LED Lenser headlamp $200
Ok, so you get the idea I think.
Hoping I would get lucky I jumped in my truck and headed up to the farm to (hopefully find it). Once I turned off the blacktop I slowed right down scanning the scrub for the backpack in the advent of the fell off truck theory being what actually happened. No backpack.
On arrival at the farm I opened the gate and entered, closing it behind me. (Always leave gates as you find them people). I drove into the area I generally park my truck and BOOM! Backpack! It was sitting all by itself beside the spot where I park. Near the little house. The house is not lived in so no one is there to alert me to *lost-back-pack-incidents like this.
To say I was relieved is an understatement. It’s not the backpack itself of course, it’s the equipment inside that I have worked hard to acquire that I was so worried about. I am not a rich person and so everything I have holds great importance and value.
So, after hugging my backpack several times (it was soaking wet as it’s rained a lot in the last couple of days) I tucked it to bed in the back of my truck and left. It’s had a terrible ordeal and it fell into a deep, contented sleep.
Driving back down the hill I decided to call into the Inglewood Bakery for a coffee and to write this post. Forgive the typo’s as I’m doing it on my phone. I also decided to purchase some more tritium vials (online) to place on my backpack. I should have done this already I guess as I use them extensively on my camping equipment and anything that I take into the outdoors at night.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope that glows reasonably brightly for about 15 years non-stop. The vials are small (about the 5cm long), and can clip onto things to identify them. There are many colours. They are perfect for night operations where a person can identify different items without the need for actual light. They don’t cast a light so are quite suitable for times when one doesn’t want to draw attention to oneself. Anyway, I’ll be adding them to my night time culling equipment this week so that the backpack debacle is not repeated. I’ll also be re-evaluating my process to ensue oversights like this don’t occur again.
Anyway, you’ll have to excuse me, I want to go check in on my backpack and make sure it’s ok.
[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default -]