Four day hiking trip and no knives allowed?

I would take a two layered SAK , a Compact or Soldier, or maybe a Alox Farmer or Celidor Huntsman carried on your person (coin pocket in the jeans). Or stuff it in your underwear if you think they are going to look in your pockets. And a stout walking stick in case the mightly leader goes all "Jim Jones" on you. And definitely take a firesteel and/or a lighter plus a compass/map.
A sak and a firestarter plus compass/map and the (decent and appropriate) clothes on your back are the absolute bare minimum you need to get yourself back home if need be.4 or five 20$ bills are good to have as well.
I think a tool-less camping trip could be interesting/informative if those in charge are experts in primitive living skills and the course is about improvising from the available natural resources.
However i don't think thats what you are paying for in this instance.
 
Found myself flip-flopping back around seeing their site and the pictures. Here I was worried we're dealing with a commune deal, turns out it's more of a harmless outing type.

I'd still take the SAK, but the only reason I'm not deleting my earlier babbling is to make fun of it later.
 
I won`t leave the house without my edc. For an outing in the woods I carry more tha one knife. As for the watch? Thats wierd.I can do without a watch, but a knife I must have. I`m not suggesting you to break rules, But I think when you are in the woods a knife can do a lot for you. The scissor idea is good, but how do you peel and slice potatoes? Keep a good knife tucked away. If you don`t need it ,Who will know. And if you have fried potatoes for dinner, you can peel and slice them.
 
I wonder what they would say if you jazzed up your tofu and couscous with a bit of trout or bushy-tailed tree rat.....:eek:
 
After reading more and thinking about it I think the SAK or Leatherman is the way to go. I'd go Leatherman because it has more tools and because you'd be putting money into my local economy.;) But seriously, you can do a lot with those.

On an aside, what about talking to the guy/gal organizing it? I believe asking for forgiveness is much better than asking for permission but this is what I think you should do. Say to the contact,"Hey, I'm an outdoorsman and I don't feel comfortable not carrying any kind of multi-tool(knife) with me so I was wondering what kind of objections you had about carrying a SAK or Leatherman and maybe a hatchet(if they're open otherwise stick to the multi's). Be honest about your concerns. At the very least you'll get an FU you freak, the middle...we're not 5 minutes from a MickyD's, and at best "yeah sure that's fine." If they get all weird on yah just join a frat like me and you won't have to worry about it.:D
 
Wow what a hornets that post stirred up! 185 posts & 3035 views... I agree with what just about everyone has said i.e. they're idiots. I also agree with shotgun (and anybody else who might have said it as well, I skimmed over a few pages), "asking for forgiveness is much better than asking for permission". Better to have (even if hidden) and not need than to need & not have. Or just don't go, Geez-Louise... :confused:
 
"unexpectable" is not found in Webster's. The word you probably wanted was "unexpected," which IS found in Webster's.
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Unexpectable is found in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a variant of expectable. The examples read:

1598 BARRET Theor. Warres I. ii. 9 Brought through manifold daungers, and vnto vnexpectable euents. 1604 T. WRIGHT Passions v. §4. 289 The difficulty of obtayning that we desire..rendreth the thing desperate and consequently vnexpectable. 1664 N. INGELO Bentiv. & Ur. v. 30 The concatenation of like Successions..seems to make the end of sinning almost unexpectable. 1749 BYROM Rem. (1857) II. II. 489 Your brother's journey to Smithills was indeed unexpectable. 1825 BENTHAM Offic. Apt. Maximized, Indic. (1830) 27 One of the most unexpectable of all incidents. 1863 HAWTHORNE Our Old Home (1879) I. 260 Our kind friend kept bringing out one unexpected and wholly unexpectable thing after another. 1892 Graphic 16 Apr. 478/1 Where the unexpected, or rather unexpectable, occurred.
 
I skimmed through most of this thread, so if this has been asked and answered, I apologize.

Marzola, did these rules get to you before or after you paid and did they provide you with any information on what they would provide? If all info was provided after you paid, go get your money back or take what you want and tell them your bringing the essentials on the trek or getting your money back (they can choose). If info was provided before you paid.....well..... your bad :p ;).
 
If I am going out into the field I will make the decision myself, and only myself as to what I will carry. No knife rule. Forget it. Either I go camping with the group with my own gear, or I will cancell out, and go camping with a group that has some common sence.

If I get separated from the group, or something changes making the trip difficult I want to have the gear and knives I use and be properly prepared. Being properly prepared comes first over group politics.

Another thing, You are a college student, not a highschool kid. You are an adult, not a child, so you can make your own decisions, I do not think you are violating any state law, when carrying a knife in the woods so just screw the twisted anti knife spin.

Keep a low profile, carry what you need, and if questioned just look them into the eye and tell them what you think in no uncertain terms. Damn the fallout when they drizzle the anti knife rant. This has no place in the forest/field.
 
For those who skipped most of the posts:

This is likely to be a walk in the park, that is, along a local nature trail, not through the wilderness. Hopefully, they will be out of sight and sound of vehicular traffic most of the time! :)

It's a 4-day sleepaway camp before starting college, to meet a few other freshmen under relaxed circumstances

Even if it were held on-campus, I personally would be carrying a pocket knife of some sort and my own snacks. But it doesn't sound like an inherently life-threatening environment.
 
And just to clairfy, this is not going to be held on the grounds of the wilderness school except for when we first get there to get our supplies and when we get back from the trip to go back to the college. We will be setting up camp at night along the trail. I agree that chances are this will be a walk in the park. I highly doubt they will want to send a bunch of college freshmen on a tough trip, and the Appalachian trail is a very well defined path. But I still want to be prepared, so I will be taking all the gear I need. The only stuff I'll be receiving from them is the food. I'll just keep a low profile about my knife as was suggested.

And these rulse did get to me after i paid, so i would have grounds to ask for a refund on.

I am considering sending them an email tonight to inquire about bringing as swiss army knife, as well as to where i could obtain a good map of the area where we will be.
 
I wouldn't inquire about the knife. They will tell you no and then bringing one will be an act of disobedience not just "ignorance". Plausible denialbility must be maintained. Get the location and then you can google earth it and know the score. Mac
 
Personally, I give up a lot of freedom when I walk into work. No knives. I do it because I can improvise. ;)
 
Raymond1000 said:
Unexpectable is found in the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a variant of expectable. The examples read:

1598 BARRET Theor. Warres I. ii. 9 Brought through manifold daungers, and vnto vnexpectable euents. 1604 T. WRIGHT Passions v. §4. 289 The difficulty of obtayning that we desire..rendreth the thing desperate and consequently vnexpectable. 1664 N. INGELO Bentiv. & Ur. v. 30 The concatenation of like Successions..seems to make the end of sinning almost unexpectable. 1749 BYROM Rem. (1857) II. II. 489 Your brother's journey to Smithills was indeed unexpectable. 1825 BENTHAM Offic. Apt. Maximized, Indic. (1830) 27 One of the most unexpectable of all incidents. 1863 HAWTHORNE Our Old Home (1879) I. 260 Our kind friend kept bringing out one unexpected and wholly unexpectable thing after another. 1892 Graphic 16 Apr. 478/1 Where the unexpected, or rather unexpectable, occurred.
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English is a living language. I don't need some book that is out of date the moment it's published to tell me how to speak. As long as I'm understoodable then I don't care.:D
 
I admire your desire to do the right thing Marzola, but I tend to agree with Pict. If you send them an email with the word knife in it you might really get their attention, plus they have written evidence that you were aware of the rule.

A small knife kept out of sight and only used when absolutely necessary is not a big crime in my opinion. I certainly would not even mention the knife to anybody else on the camp unless you are sure it is the right thing to do.

Nevertheless, I am a strong believer in following one's own intuition, and if you honestly feel in your heart of hearts that you have to do, or not do, a certain thing.....then that is the course of action you must take. You are the only person who knows what is right for you...no matter how much well-intentioned advice you might get from people that you trust and admire. You have to be sure that you are listening to your own 'still, small' voice, and not fear or reason. This applies to everything in life, and I wish I was aware of it much earlier.

I like 'unexpectable'. Now I have to wait for the right opportunity to use it.

Dang Silenthunterstudios....no knives at work? Not even a teeny keychain version? Wow. But you are right... you can improvise. Even if you never need to improvise something to substitute for any of the various uses of a knife at work, it is a great exercise for the imagination which may bear fruit when you have a need in the future.
 
Marzola take the knife and keep it hidden away until you need it. If you do end up in a real survival situation you will be the one with the tools to survive and your skills will help the others to survive. Most situations like that happen in areas where there are well defined trails, not in the middle of nowhere.
 
That is one spooky school, to say the least with its "forbidden" items.


If I couldn't take my hair dryer, I just wouldn't go!!

L.W.
 
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