Maine-based Rhon Bell of Backwoods Plaid, details how to best prepare for those temperamental Spring camping trips.  Rain or shine, you’ll be ready.

Your destination may be an old family camp or possibly you’re roughing it in the backcountry. Either way, you’re hopefully far enough from the bustling city so every element of light pollution is filtered from the evening sky. As you lay back  in the dirt against your duffle and point up to the constellations, the chill of Spring nightfall has you zipping up your jacket just a bit more and standing up your collar to cut the breeze. This time of year can be a challenge to pack for. Mornings can be bitterly cold, depending on your location.  Short-sleeves might suffice while working in the afternoons, but as that sun begins to find it’s resting place on the horizon line, you’re reaching back into your truck for your Field Jacket. I’ve found that Filson gear below provides true comfort in between the melting winter snow and the rising summer sun.

1.  Antique Tin Cloth 5 Pocket Pants: A relatively new offering that lives up to the Filson name – tough, cool, comfortable and good-looking. The Antique Tin Cloth offers wind and moderate rain protection while outdoors. Strong enough to resist abrasions in the thick of the woods by day and presentable at night for dinner around the fire pit, or at the local watering hole.

2.  Alaskan Long Johns, Midweight: Layering this “three-season” pair of long johns with the Antique Tin Cloth pants has always been perfect. When temperatures change, you’ll always be glad you layered rather than having opted for one heavier pair of pants. In fact, friends often find me kicking around camp in the long johns alone.

3.  Alaskan Guide Shirt: By far this ranks as my favorite outdoor shirt from any company. Dirt wipes right off, it’s tough as nails while remaining supremely comfortable. I like to pack a fresh one for each day I’m at camp, but I’ll admit to wearing one for more than a couple days straight while on canoe trips. If you get warm, the cut is loose enough to roll up the sleeves and unbutton the shirt to manage your body temperature while staying protected from the elements.

4.  Mackinaw Blanket: Wool is an option you can hardly ever go wrong with. Plaid is a close second. Feeling rustic? Keep the sleeping bag at home. The Mackinaw blanket will be the warmest option, whether tossed over your shoulders by the evening fire or cot at camp.

5.  Tin Cloth Field Jacket: Stands up to anything, whether splitting and hauling fire wood or the winds and rain while motoring down a large lake to find your favorite fishing spot. Several large pockets keep your essentials at hand. One roomy rear pocket holds your map. The partially lined, Made in USA jacket is perfect for every Spring outing.

6.  Large Filson Duffle: Enough room for days of clothing, food, blanket and boots with plenty of left over room for essentials that make your trip worth remembering, like a good camera, flask (or two), an atlas, and a favorite book. The quality craftsmanship of the bridle leather, stitching, brass zippers and rugged twill will never disappoint – year after year… after year. Because if you’re going into the wild – you “Might As Well Have The Best.”

Maine-based Rhon Bell of Backwoods Plaid, takes Filson on a record-setting ice fishing trip.

Fishing is my ultimate connection to nature, so it’s without hesitation that I agreed to a two-day ice fishing trip with long-time friend and Registered Maine Guide, Steve. Within an hour I booked a rustic cabin conveniently wedged between two remote lakes. One lake offering traditional targets of trout, salmon and white perch. The other, pickerel and bass. Most would choose to fish only waters with prized trout or salmon, but there is something to be said for fishing waters promising greater activity; we’re told the bass are hungry. With fishing plans in the books – we anxiously await arrival to the countryside.

Staring into the glow of his iPhone, Steve raised his voice slightly above the AC/DC blaring on the classic rock station to inform me, “The snow forecast for day two is 8-10 inches”. Approaching the camp road, I feared that tomorrow might be our only good day of fishing. It’s my experience that fish feed heavily going into a winter storm. “We’ll be fine”, I muttered and turned off the truck.

Day one offered a beautifully sunny afternoon. Other than an Easterly wind, conditions were enjoyable. We brought three White Perch to the hard-water surface. Each ranging between 11-14 inches. Beginning with a few traps set near bottom we hoped of luring a fat brown trout from a ledge. Others were strategically placed just under the thick ice in case a good-looking salmon were to pass by. Seven hours on the ice were well spent and as grey clouds rolled in, we called it a day. Proving to be amateur meteorologists, a heavy wet snow began falling by the time we arrived back to the cabin. Tomorrow would be the real test.

Quarter to five, I rose and began percolating the Folgers. Peering from behind the cold kitchen window revealed a few inches of fresh powder. Perhaps today wouldn’t be as bad as anticipated. By the time we reached the second lake, snow began to really accumulate. We setup the portable ice shack to provide a refuge from mother nature. The lab we brought along chose to avoid the shack like a plague – there is evidently nothing to explore within the four nylon walls.

We hadn’t setup our fifth tip-up when a blaze orange flag rose. The line spun furiously from the reel as we lifted the trap from the depths of the ice water. Whatever fish was on the end liked to fight. We slowly peeled line onto the ice and watched the line dart back and forth in the depths of the hole. Within moments we surfaced one of the largest bass I’ve ever caught. Weighing in near 7lbs, we quickly snapped a photo and returned him to his native waters. This trend continued all afternoon, large bass after large bass. Each played a good game of tug-of-war. However, we only lost one to not setting the hook just right. Outdoor-sporting chatter was enjoyed as we each learned from the others experiences and laughed at our greatest mistakes.

As the forecast proved accurate and the ten inches fell, we watched from within our warm shack and agreed we’d chosen the right piece of water. The joys of spotting flags rise for hours on end is second to none. As always, two days in Filson gear kept me warm enough to take pleasure in the outdoors. A base layer of Filson Mid-weight Long Johns, an Alaskan Guide Shirt, and Whipcord Wool Pants were the perfect choices.

Words and Photos by Rhon Bell of Backwoods Plaid

A smile spread quickly across her face on Christmas morning as she ripped the tape from the top of the cardboard box and pulled out a green-checkered Alaskan Guide Shirt. I had seen that big smile two days earlier, on our sixth year anniversary, when without her expectation, I proposed on bended knee in front of our parents at a surprise dinner that was weeks in secretive planning. I’d traveled 6 hours North two days earlier just to ask her father’s permission. Both her father and Gabrielle, my new fiancé, said “yes.”

As a post-holiday get-a-way, I planned a 5 day lakefront cabin retreat in the woods of Maine for us to escape all the stresses from a Christmas week booked solid with family events and obligations. This would be our time to enjoy life’s simplicities: test out new snowshoes, fly down a surprisingly steep hill on flying saucers, and merely watch the snow fall. Oh, and to warm ourselves by the fireplace while enjoying the fire in her new diamond.

I admit that I bought her the Filson Alaskan Guide Shirt for selfish reason. I own the men’s version and I thought it would be humorous that we could match. Of course it will keep her warm on fall hikes and while ice fishing in the harsh of winter, but it would be particularly important today. I knew heavy snow was in the forecast and the lake was beginning it’s slow winter freeze-up so I invited a photographer friend out to snap a few photos of us for Save-the-Date’s (or wedding invitations, if you will). I couldn’t have planned a more perfect afternoon for a walk along the edges of the frozen lake. The combined beauty of nature and my future bride, the sparkle in her eye and the laughter as I hoisted her onto my back for photos, all culminated to remind me of why I love spending time in the outdoors, no matter what the reason.

All of this puts a great story behind an amazing shirt. What’s the story behind your Filson?