Midwest Bushcraft

Winter Camping... The Paragwam!

2012-01-11T21:05:00.000-06:00

The Paragwam

After following several British bushcraft forums and blogs for years, and seeing how often they used parachutes for shelters at group meets I had really wanted to try one out myself. Then, much to my adulation, I stumbled across a 24’ reserve parachute dating from the late 1960’s in an card board box in an obscure corner of the basement at my work. Needless to say I was giddy.

The first time I set up the parachute was during a early fall camping trip I led, and we elevated the the chute by making a hoop out of willow, slightly larger than the hole at the top, reinforced it with cross-braces, then suspended it from a limb in cotton wood that was approximately twenty or so feet off the ground. I pulled the chute up so that the edges were about 5 ½’ off the ground creating a canopy you could easily walk under. We had a communal fire for cooking in the center and that raised the air temperature beneath the canopy a good 5 degrees warmer than the air outside.

We cut some driftwood we found on the flood plain we were camping on and cut the to 6’ lengths and placed them around the perimeter of the chute and used them to hold the chute edges the desired height, then attached guy-lines to the ground to tighten the whole thing up.

It rained that night, and off-and-on the next morning, but by and large we stayed dry beneath the canopy. I think if we had made more uprights and guy-lines there would have been less leakage. All in all, for not being waterproof it preformed really well. I was sold on the parachute as a warm weather shelter.

The next test came in mid-December, 2011 when I scheduled a winter camping overnight course. We have had a very mild winter thus far, and that weekend was almost too warm during the day to call it “winter camping”. The high during the night was forecasted to be around 250 F, which I thought would be plenty cold since a some of the folks who signed up had never been camping in temps below freezing.

To set up the paragwam this time I needed to use two ropes. The first rope was thrown over two seperate tree limbs in a Red oak (Quercus rubra) and an American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) about 15 feet in the air and spaced about 30 feet apart. over this was thrown another rope, roughly in the center of the first rope and it was allowed to hag to the ground.

Discussion time

One end was used to lash together the cross-brace/spacer sticks the were inserted into the hole at the top of the canopy. They served two purposes: 1) to keep the smoke hole open, 2) to provide an attachment point to the rope that elevated the canopy. After the rope was used to square lash the cross-brace the other end was taken one time around a tree about 20 feet away and to be pulled upon, thereby raising the canopy once it was staked out. We made the stakes from some young Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) that I had thinned out doing some TSI (timber stand improvement) work. Because the ground was frozen, and because of the large size of the canopy I made the stake pretty stout. They were about a foot and half in length and 2-inches in diameter (give or take a 1/2 inch) at the blunt end. Once the stakes were sharpened with the axe we were ready to drive them in.

The center of the canopy was elevated by pulling on the rope that is attached to the cross brace holding open the smoke hole. The top center of the canopy was elevated until it was about seven feet off the ground. I thought this would give enough space for the smoke to fill without choking us out inside, and it made moving around a lot easier since one could stand to one's full height.

Staking out the canopy was very simple. There are loop attachment around the outside of edge of the canopy for attaching the parachute lines and the worked perfectly as stake pockets. Stakes were placed about three feet apart, or every other loop. As the stake were driven in the canopy was spread out and tightened. Three loops in a row were left un-staked on the south east side of the canopy to act as a door. The door was held open with a three foot tall stake that was rounded on one end and sharpened on the other. The sharpened end was placed on the ground and the rounded end rested against the canopy. The downward tension of the canopy on the stake held it in place.

To increase the size of the livable space beneath the canopy springy branches, about four feet long and an inch in diameter at the thick end were placed around the inside of the canopy in the same manor as the stake holding the door. The larger ends of the stakes were rounded, and the narrow eds were sharpened. With this step the Paragwam was set up and ready for habitation.

We took a old tractor wheel that we use as a fire ring in the the paragwam and built a fire. Even before the fire was built you could tell a huge difference in temperature between the outside and the inside. With the sunlight shine on the material the air inside warmed up quickly.

Campfire and the smoke hole

With the fire built in the fire ring we were quickly enticed to begin removing layers of clothing. Soon we were in shirt-sleeves an quite comfortable.As the air inside the paragwam began to warm up the canopy "puffed-out" and expanded a bit more from the rising warm air. The rest of our time was spent inside the paragwam discussing skills, traditional lifestyles, history, knives, gear, philosophy and the like. There was also a lot of time spent singing the praises of the parachute as a shelter and discussing other configurations that could be implemented for different situations.

Below are a list of pros & cons of "The Paragwam" put together by my friend and paragwam enthusiast, Trace.

Pros

About $50 from a surplus dealer
Light-weight, stuffable
Most economical way to sleep 8+ people
Easy to set up in forested terrain
Fire inside
Did I mention it packs to the size of a volleyball?

Cons

Fire inside, can get smokey
Tree dependent
Dirt floor (reaching here!)
May require some waterproofing
Smokey fire when sleeping can be a carbon monoxide risk. Keep the flames high and the wood dry!

The Paragwam at night

An Improvised Day-pack

2012-01-04T09:36:00.000-06:00

While on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters this summer my wife and I took a day trip to see the Picture Rocks on Crooked Lake. We took a lunch of crackers, summer sausage, cheese, and trail mix along. My satchel that I use as a day pack did not have quite enough room for all that and my EDC gear so we improvised a day-pack for my wife to carry. Know what it is? It is a large compression sack!

I shortened two of the straps (facing camera), and lengthened the other two (not seen) to act as shoulder straps. Once the food and a couple of water bottles were stored inside and the drawstring was tightened it is placed on your back and then you tuck the drawstring end beneath the "lid" of the compression sack and you are ready to go.

It worked great with the light load and we did not have to take along an extra pack that would have been taking up space during the rest of the trip. Let me know if you try it out!

An Uncommon Visitor

2011-12-28T20:09:00.001-06:00

Recently my family and I went hiking at a local state park while I was off from work for Christmas. We had heard buzz from a number of bird watcher friends that they had been seeing Saw-whet owls near the bird blind and feeding station. My wife has a special fondness for these tiny owls because she did her ground breaking senior theises on their nest success rates on an aspen plantation in Oregon.

So on a gray, late-December day we bundled up the squeakers (aged 2 years, and 4 years) and made the trek down the road to the state park. We parked the van near the trailhead that leads to the bird blind and made our way as quietly as one can with a 2 and 4 year old along.

We sat for a couple of minutes in the bird blind and enjoyed the sights of the common winter feeder birds, White-breasted nuthatches, Black-capped chikadees, Dark-eyed juncos, Red-bellied woodpeckers, American goldfinches, Downy woodpeckers, Mourning doves, Hairy woodpeckers, and Northern cardinals.

We then began to thread our way through a miriad of trails that criss-cross the flood plain forest that is the state park. We were searching for clumps of Eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) where the Saw-whets like to roost during the day. We had checked all the prime spots closest to the main trail but my wife, ever the birding adventurer, wanted to follow a deer trail deeper into a stand o cedars that we both agreed looked promising.

While she tore off in search of the eluzive owl the girls and I stuck with the main trail and more-or-less walked along and the girls shouted to each other and practiced their Barred owl calls (which need A LOT of work). In spite of the girl's best efforts I did see some game. Namely a very nice looking white-tail buck. We continued on our merry way until I felt my wife would have had ample time to check the cedar grove I tried to talk the girls into heading back. No luck. We had been that way already. Then wanted, neigh NEEDED adventure! So we opted to bushwack it through the timbers and find our way back to mommy and eternal glory! Which we did, and I am very glad. Because if we had not, we never would have stumbled upon our owl.

We made our way into the backside of the cedar stand when I heard my wife give the family "locator whistle" so we veared in the direction of the Bobwhite call and there we found Mommy who stated she had not found an owl. The girls were getting a tad bit cold so we decided to head back to the van, but with heads held high. For even though our goal had been thwarted by the elusive boreal visitor we had spent time in the woods as a family, and there is no loftier goal than that.

The oldest and I took off down a deer trail as Mommy helped the youngest with a mitten emergancy. Just before we were about to emerge from the cedars onto the main trail my oldest stopped randomly (she dominates at doing things randomly, ask anyone that knows her) and started to shake a small tree back and forth vigourously. That was when I caught a flas of yellow out of the corner of my eye. I looked to the yellow flash, and there, 4 feet from me was a very surprised little owl. Had it kept it's eyes closed, we never would have seen it.

I called the oldest back to me and had her sit just off the trail to prevent her from doing anything excessivley random that migh scare off the owl and called my wife up. She was elated, and took the picture you see at the top of the blog from about 6 feet away.

Needless to say we were some happy hikers on the van ride home, and we were all very excited to see what other adventures awaited us during Christmas vacation...

Stuffed Crust Pizza on the Trail

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

Boiling water and making stuffed crust pizza

This was a largely improvised recipe that turned out to be our new camping favorite. To make one stuffed crust pizza you will need:

Two flour tortillas
pizza sauce
cheese
toppings of your choice (ours was pepperoni)

Improvised dutch oven

I improvised a dutch oven using the two fry pan/lids from our mess kit. The smaller fry pan is about 8" across and the larger is about 10". I placed the smaller fry pan on the fire great off set from the fire a bit so it was not catching the full force of the heat. The ingredients were layered in as follows:

Tortilla
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Cheese
Tortilla
Pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Chesse

On top of the smaller fry pan I placed the large fry pan, right side up and filled it with hot coals. When cooking with a dutch over you usually want to err on the side of more heat on top and less on the bottom. Heat rises as you know so the underside will tend to cook faster than the upper side.

Melting cheese

Once the cheese was well melted on top , but not fully browned, I slid the smaller pan over the flames and replaced the top pan still full of coals. This causes the bottom tortilla to crisp up nicely while the top brown.

Ready to serve!

Here you have the finished product. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever dined upon on the trail. Just to be sure it was good as it seemed in the woods we made the same dish again once we had been back home for a week. It was indeed as good, so it was not just deprivation that drove us to crave it.

I am hoping t make it again soon with alfredo sauce and to add more ingredients. I will let you know how it goes. What is your favorite deceptively simple trail food?

Packing for a Canoe Trip; My Opinion

2011-12-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

A packed and balanced canoe

Canoe camping is a great way for people who are a little leery of "roughing it" to get started in outdoor recreation. I see it as a perfect next step after car camping. It is also a way for experienced outdoors folks to hone their skills and push their abilities. Hiking a pack with the bare essentials does indeed take skill, but paddling a canoe across a bay with a 20 mph breeze 4-points abaft your larboard beam? That is poetry in motion! (Plus you get to say things like "20 mph breeze 4-points abaft your larboard beam")

In this post I am going to cover what I took on my last Boundary Waters canoe trip. Did I pack light? No. Why? Because I am big for one, and because I didn't have too because we only had three short portages to worry about. At the end of this post I will go over the items that I did not use and would leave behind next time, as well as the items that I did not use but would take again anyhow.

Our gear

In the above photo you can see the three packs that my wife and I took along on our trip. The grey one on the left was our food pack and you can see our bear ropes daisy-chained and carabiner clipped to D-rings on the front of the pack.

The red pack in the center is a water proof dry bag made from a rubberized canvas type material that my wife used as her personal pack.

The green pack on the right is a "Duluth" style pack made from a East German Army duffle obtained from Sportsman's Guide that the Amish added leather closure straps and buckles to convert it.

Shelley's pack~33.8 lbs

My wife carried a vintage Eureka Timberline tent (oblong green bag), poncho liner (camo), sleeping bag (beneath tent and poncho liner), toiletries (in zip-lock bag), compression sack with clothes (black), and Thermarest sleeping pad.

To pack the dry bag I first loosely rolled the sleeping pad up then inserted it vertically into the bag and allowed it to unroll again. The sleeping pad then forms a tube in which the rest of the content of the bag goes The sleeping pad acts as a barrier between your back and oddly shaped, hard items like mess kits, camp stoves, etc. Works really slick. That is a trick I learned in the Forest Service. At the bottom of the pack I placed the compression sack with the clothes and the sleeping bag, next was the poncho liner, followed by the tent, and topped off with the toiletries.

When packing up your gear be sure to put the last thing you will want first, and the first thing you will want last. The tent is left near the top so that if you are setting up camp in the rain or after dark it can be the first thing you lay your hands on. If it is raining and your tent is on the bottom you will have to lay everything else out in the rain in order to access it. Bad idea.

My pack~40.8 lbs

The contents of my pack included (clockwise starting at top left), tool kit bag (made from brown cargo pants leg), first aid kit (zip-lock bag), heavy green wool blanket (beneath & first aid), mess kit, 12'x12' green Etowah tarp form Ben's Backwoods, dark blue wool sweater, Cabela's 25" x 76" sleeping pad, tent poles (orange bag), tent stakes (small brow bag), my lovely axe, 3 sticks of dynamite (kidding, they are flares), black compression sack with clothes, rubber poncho (under flares & compression sack).

The wool blanket is folded into a thick rectangle, roughly the length and width of the pack. It is then laid in first to act as a pad between my back and my gear. My compression sack and mess kit go in the bottom, followed by the tool bag, and tarp, then the first aid kit and my sweater and finally the poncho. If the weather gets cool I can easily fish out my sweater to add a layer, and if it begins to rain the poncho is on top to throw over myself, or my gear. We used the poncho to cover our firewood when it threatened rain. When I solo camp and have my hammock I lay out the poncho on the ground beneath it to keep my feet clean an dry when getting in and out.

The axe, tent poles, and sleeping pad were all tucked under the three leather straps that close the pack up.

The food pack and Lil' Bastard...

And then there was the food pack. I will go a little bit into our favorite dish on the trip in a future post.

Items taken and to be left behind next time:

Some extra clothing was superfluous. I wore the same thing the entire trip and washed it every night. I had an extra set of lighter weight clothes that I only used as a pillow at night.
Snacks; for some reason when I am in the woods I do not get as hungry as often as I do at home. Leaving behind trail mix and the like would have greatly decreased the weight of our food pack.
File and stone for axe/knife; I need to invest in a small, lightweight, high-quality stone for sharpening in the field. Any suggestions?

Items taken, not used, to be taken again:

First aid kit; fairly self explanatory I think
Flares; the flares could be used for signaling, or starting a fire in an emergency
Sweater; bulkier than it is heavy, if it had gotten cold I would have been happy it was taking up space.
Tarp; had it rained on our trip the tarp would have been priceless. It can be stretched over the cooking area to provide cover. If you have ever spent rainy days trapped in a tent you will understand why it is worthwhile to pack a rain-fly.

Items we wished we had:

Water purifier; we boiled the entire time which worked out well because our trip itinerary was so laid back. It might have been nice to have a purifier on our day trip though.
More pizza ingredients! This will make more since later...

Deer Camp 2011

2011-12-10T15:07:00.001-06:00

We had another successful deer season this year that, yet again, has given us a full larder. My wife and I each took two deer. In the picture up above you can see a portion of the crew from this year. At one point we had 14 hunters*

*Did you know you can fit 14 people in a 4-door Dodge Dakota, armaments included. Impressive, I know...

My buck

Here you can see the buck I took through the neck (the ONLY place to shoot a deer) at about 40 yards with a .50 caliber flintlock long rifle. Dropped where he stood.

Shelley's buck

Shelley took this buck with a .50 caliber in-line. The ballistic tip bullet she used did amazing amounts of damage from the shock of the bullet. This was another neck shot and the buck didn't even wiggle.

Dad's buck

My Dad broke from tradition and took this buck literally between the eyes from a whopping 6' away. How did he get so close? The trick is all the camo and scent blocking equipment he uses. If you don't use that stuff you will never get a deer. Obviously...

The Bushcraft Beard

2011-11-21T12:09:00.001-06:00

If you have ever considered growing a beard but were not sure it was a good idea I would encourage you to visit this site.

http://www.biggerbetterbeards.org/

All the claims are true, I can attest to that...

Bushcraft vs. Leave-No-Trace: A Response

2011-11-11T20:30:00.001-06:00

Brian of "Brian's Backpacking Blog" fame had a post semi-recently asking his readers to chime in on whether buschcraft and leave-no-trace (LNT) are compatible. I started to write my response in the comment box but then it started to take up A LOT of space, so I decided I would use my own blog as a soap box for my opinion. And here it is...

Bushcraft for me is the act of participating in nature while taking an "extreme" (my words) view of the LNT principles is the act of passing through nature. I believe that following the LNT principles as they are written makes them completely compatible with bushcraft. In order to prove my point we are going to explore the 7 principles and my interpretation of them with the juxtaposition of how some LNTers interpret them.

The Seven Principles of Leave-No-Trace:

Plan and Prepare Ahead: Fairly straight forward. If you are camping in winter, don't pack Bermuda shorts, that would just be silly. But seriously, learn as much as you can about where you are going before you go there and pack accordingly. Think of possible scenarios and make sure you are ready for the probable ones.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces:What's a durable surface? Refer to Principle One and learn if there are any fragile soil types that you need to avoid. When I was a ranger in the Boundary Waters I always slept on exposed granite. Pretty damn durable stuff that granite...
Dispose of Waste Properly: Another straight forward guideline. Do not litter. Idiots litter. Do not be an idiot. We will revisit Principal One here, find out if there are backcountry latrines, if so use them, if not find out if cat holes are sufficient, if not maybe you need to pack out your feces. For me, if I can't get by with a cat hole I do not need to see it.
Leave what you find: This is one I struggle with. I am who I am today because when I was a boy I filled my pockets with rocks, and acorns, and skulls, and *gasp* picked flowers for my mother. If I had not done those things, or if I had been told not to do it I think there is a really good chance I would not have developed such a fondness for the outdoors. I see this a lot in my line of work. Teachers are often screaming at the kids not to touch anything in nature because they might hurt it or it might be poison ivy. Which brings us back to Principal One, I'm detecting a pattern here. Learn if there acceptable things to pick up an take home as souvenirs. You will be impacting the environment less by taking a pebble home as a reminder than if you buy a cheap petroleum based knick-knack that traveled in excess of 5000 miles to arrive at the tourist trap you picked it up at. In Iowa, on public lands nuts, fungus, and berries are fare game. In National Forests shed antlers are ok to pick up, but antlers attached to a skull are to be left. I once let a young gentleman who was about 11 years old carry a moose skull with moderately sized spoons out of the Boundary Waters. Illegal? Yes. But if you had seen the pride in that little guys eyes as he passed me on the portage with that skull balanced on his pack you would understand why I did not. His scout leader said he had found it early in the trip and had carried on each portage, including one portage that was over 500 rods (one rod= 16.5 feet). I console myself in that now he may be majoring in natural resources at a major university because of his experiences on that trip.. There are non-native/invasive flowers, trees, shrubs, etc almost everywhere you go. Learn what they are an let your little ones pick the flowers and you can cut the trees and shrubs for your spoon carving and buck saws. You will be things out of the forest and leaving a trace, a positive trace. Educate yourself and make a difference.
Minimize Campfire Impacts: Note that it does not say "never use a fire" which is how some folks interpret this principal. Keep your campfires small. Harvest dead and down wood away from your campsite. Use grate when they are provided. If you want to use a stove look into making your own like one of my woodsman heroes. If you think you are "leaving no trace" by using a white gas stove you need to visit a bauxite mine and an oil refinery sometime...
Respect Wildlife: Another straight forward principal I think. Leave wildlife alone when camping. Other wise you could end up like Timothy Treadwell... Oh yes, I just went there...
Be Considerate of Other Visitors: Be peaceful and respect other recreational users. If they are compiling with regulations keep off your soap box. If you are a hardcore LNTer please do not accost a bushcrafter for practicing there craft if they are not breaking rules. It is a bad idea. We carry insanely sharp knives and axes all the time. (That's joke you realize, sometimes the knives and axes are only moderately sharp).

And that is my take on implementing LNT into bushcrafting. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic, even if the conflict with mine. I will just be sitting here...sharpening my axe...

Part II: 30 Miles There & Back

2011-10-12T13:04:00.002-05:00

Soloing with the Ancients

The wind did indeed die down and we were able to break camp on an absolutely beautiful clear morning. The type of morning where the surface of the lake is quite literally like a mirror. After we broke camp and repacked the canoe I took a minute to plan our route the short distance the a campsite above the upper falls on the Basswood River.

Planning the Route

We were in very familiar territory for me because I had worked as a wilderness ranger for the Forest Service in this area while I was going to school in Ely. As a matter of fact the last campsite I stayed in when I was working on the Forest Service trail crew my first summer as a ranger was the last site my wife and I stayed on during this trip.

Portage Break

The paddle to the campsite was easy, just a couple miles on a glassy surface. Setting up camp was MUCH less eventful seeing as how no bear visited us this time. With camp set up we paddled the short distance (maybe 50 yards) to the Basswood River portage which is close to a mile long. With nothing more than our water bottles, lunch, and day-packs the portage was a breeze.

Portaging...Like a Boss!!!

I did rest the canoe against a short pine snag at a point that turned out to be about 70 rods from the end of the portage. Good canoe rests, where you can simply step out from under the canoe are often hard to find. Visitors use to lash poles in-between trees at regular intervals on longer portages but the Forest Service takes them down because some feel it diminishes their wilderness experience. I've been on portage with and without canoe rests and I love them. They do not do a bit of harm to my wilderness experience, but I'll save that bully pulpit for a later post i think.
I am not the only one to portage on the trip. My wife, who weighs only slightly less than our canoe, took more than her fair share of turns participating in this glorious torture.
At the end of the mile long portage we sat on the rocks listen to the river flow and gurgle by, took in the beauty of our surroundings, talked and laughed while enjoying our lunch of summer sausage, cheese, crackers, and trail mix. Then it was time to get back on the water and make our way down the rest of the Basswood River to our ultimate goal of Crooked Lake and the Picture Rock located there.

Lower Basswood Falls

The rest of the paddle down the Basswood River was largely uneventful other than my wife's first chance to step on Canadian soil at Wheelbarrow Falls. She said it felt a lot like American soil but just a little different, eh.
When we reached the end of the Basswood River at Lower Basswood Falls we took a moment to take advantage of the timer on our camera and snapped a quick picture for posterity. Then it was time to hoof it over that last portage on the river and into Crooked Lake.
We were approaching the terminus of the farthest I had ever been in this part of the Boundary Water so that every new experience that we had was a shared one. Around each corner, and in each new bay our eyes took in new sites for the first time together. I love that feeling.

Pictured Rock on Crooked Lake

What we got to see next was the overarching goal of the entire trip, the Picture Rocks on Crooked Lake. We have a painting over our fireplace by Francis Lee Jaques that depict the rock with a group of Voyagers paddling by. It was gift from my parents and it ties our urban lifestyle nicely in with our wilderness life philosophy, and serves as a constant reminder of that fact for me.

Canadian Border Marker

We snapped a few pictures of the various hieroglyphs on the rocks. I have included a picture of one of my favorites which looks like a pelican and a large watercraft, which I think looks suspiciously like a viking long ship, but I am biased. Do I think that vikings painted on these rock? Absolutely not. Is there a chance that the ancients that did the paintings had seen a long ship on some distant trading sojourn to the coast and recorded their memory for countless generations to see? Possibly(hopefully).

Looking-up the Lower Basswood Falls

Before we made our trip back to our campsite on Basswood Lake my wife took a few pictures of me paddling solo past the Picture Rock to compare to the painting in our living room, then I paddled back over to pick her up next to the border marker I left her by. While we we taking in our last look we heard a strange rushing noise that sounded a bit like a jet engine just over our heads. It was loud enough and close enough that I physically ducked. It turned out to be three Bald Eagles fighting over a fish, and the strange noise was the wind rushing through their wing tips as they would dive bomb each other. One of the coolest experiences I have ever had in the woods.

Heading for home

We loaded back up and retraced our steps up the Basswood River to our campsite. We spent a uneventful evening in camp running over the experiences we had shared, and talked about ours hopes for future trips together.

The following morning we packed up our gear and made the long paddle back to the Fall Lake Campground and our vehicle, stopping at an island on Pipestone Bay for lunch where I took a moment to get a shot of our faithful canoe loaded on the water.

The Last Portage

Four days, 3 nights, 30 miles, and 12 portages later and we were, well a picture is worth a thousand words so here are two-thousand for me to send this post out on...

I Love You Shelley!

30 Miles There & Back: A Boundary Waters Adventure

2011-09-27T22:12:00.001-05:00

A glass-calm bay in the Boundary Waters

We moved away from Ely, MN eight years ago when we transferred to the University of Idaho (U of I) after graduation from Vermilion Community College (VCC)and we had not returned since. But not for a lack of desire. Finally after all these long years it worked out that I had enough vacation days, money set aside, and children old enough to leave with their grandparents for a week that we were able to return.

So on August 20th, 2011 after I worked my job's booth at an area farmers market I raced off to my parents where my lovely wife (and the best paddling partner I have ever had the pleasure of sharing 16 feet of Royalex with) was dropping off our two lovely daughters. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised that my wife had actually come to a complete stop before unloading the kids. We parted from the children with some sadness and reservations which my wife exhibited in the somewhat strange reaction of doing a combination of cartwheels mixed with wild sprinting and shouts that might otherwise be construed as joy.

And thus began our 8-hour drive from Iowa to Ely, MN. The drive up foreshadowed much of how the entire trip (and following weeks) would go: almost non-existent arguing, lots of laughing and conversation. We arrived in Ely a touch later than we hoped and found the Fall Lake Campground to be completely filled up and, as luck would have it, so were ALL the hotels in Ely. We ended up staying in a little cabin at the Silver Rapids Lodge for the night; the only place available within an hours drive.

Silver Rapids Lodge Cabin

The cabin was nice but the bed was a touch short for my 6'4" frame, but it was nice to have a shower in the morning. We had time before we had to check out so we ate a breakfast of bacon and eggs on the porch then went down to the lake (Garden Lake) to drink coffee and watch for loons. Didn't see any.

Vermilion Community College

Once we had finished our coffee we packed the van back up and drove into Ely where we were going to visit old haunts, pick up souveniers, and basically kill time until 1:00 PM when the campsites at Fall Lake would start to open back up again.

It was amazing how many people that we ran into that we knew and remebered us after eight long years.

In the above photo you can see me standing outside of VCC where I obtained my A.S. in Wilderness Management.

View from Fall Lake Campsite

After lunch we drove back out to Fall Lake and found a BEAUTIFUL campsite with good access to the water for forays in the canoe, we also saw and heard our first Common loon of the trip. No matter how many times I see and hear them it never gets old.

While we camped at the Fall Lake Campground we had several friends that we went to school with at VCC, and later on , the U of I, stop by for a visit. We cooked up venison steaks on the fire and I made bannock in a reflector oven, but I'll save that for a future blog post.

Paddling across Newton Lake

The following morning we loaded our car camping gear back in our van and our wilderness gear into the canoe and took off paddling on our glorious 4-day trip into the Boundary Waters.

We paddled across Fall Lake to our first portage of 90 rods ( a rod is 16.5', or roughly the length of a canoe) and double portaged our gear into Newton Lake.

Lunch spot below Pipestone Falls, Pipestone Bay, Basswood Lake

After the relatively short paddle down the length of Newton Lake we arrived at the Newton-Pipestone Portage of 80 rods where we double portaged agin then had a nice lunch on the rocks where we could listen to the Pipestone Falls behind us.

Normally the Newton-Pipestone Portage is as busy as an interstate, but this day it was very quiet, which I liked.

Once we had finished our hasty lunch below the falls we started our long paddle up Pipestone Bay of Basswood Lake, then into Jackfish Bay where we turned to the east, passed through the narrows and into Basswood Lake proper.

Here we debated whether we should continue paddling up the west shore of Basswood nearer to the Basswood River (and busier campsites) or opt to camp at the first nice site we came to. We opted for the latter.

Campsite #55 Basswood Lake

We chose a campsite that connected what would have been a large island to the mainland except for a narrow stip of land no more than 30 yards wide. It had two beautiful sandy beach landings on either side of the isthmus and I thought it would have a good breeze to keep the bugs down. Did I ever hit the nail on the head, but more on that will come later.

Campsite #55 Basswood Lake

My lovely wife started water to boil to purify it, and got supper on the fire while I started on the tent. Once she had everything going she came over to lend me a hand. As I got things more under control she turned to check on supper when she said in an amazingly calm voice "Oh look honey, there's a Black bear" and she was right.

The not too terribly large bear (I guessed it to be around 200 lbs) was bee-lining for our food pack so I bee-lined it for the bear. I ran straight at the bear, my heart pounding in my ears and I was mildly disconcerted that the bear wasn't leaving yet. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if I arrived at the food pack and the bear didn't leave but I thought I could take it. I mean Davy Crockett killed one when he was only three. How hard can it be really? But here I jest. The bear ran like it's ass was on fire once I was in 6' of it an thankfully didn't make off with a morsel of food.

Needless to say I felt like a real badass during supper having defended my wife in the wilderness from a wild animal that eats mostly berries and insect larve(I'm hoping someone over at The Art of Manliness will read this and want an article).

Campsite #55 Basswood Lake

I'd like to say the rest of our stay at Site #55 was uneventful but it wasn't. Remember how I mentioned I picked the site due to the good breeze it would get to keep the bugs away? Well it did a bang up job. Point of fact there were NO bugs our first night, or the entire next day as the breezes picked up to 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 60...

Luckily our tent withstood the wind and no trees fell on us or our gear. Late the second day in camp the winds died to nothing and the following morning we began the next leg of our trip which I am going to save for another post. Until then here is a route map of the trip we took. Stay tuned...!

Upper Basswood Falls, Basswood River

Look at me... I'm sailing!!!

2011-07-15T14:44:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I went to a movie featuring Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany called "Master and Commander: The far Side of the World" and instantly wanted to sail on a tall ship. A good friend of mine we'll call "Morgan" informed me that the film was based upon a series of books know, collectively, as the Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian which only furthered my desire to sail on a tall ship. But alas it is my lot to live in land-locked Iowa where tall ships are exceedingly, nay exasperatingly rare. So what is a bushcrafter to do when he has sailing blood coursing through his Scandinavian veins? Why he needs to improvise a sailboat!

So I did, during a summer camp at work.

The kids, other naturalists, and I took a couple of canoes down to a lake found near our Nature Center and then set about to find sticks to use in lashing the canoes into a pontoon and for the mast for our sail. The sail in this case was my ever present surplus poncho.

We lashed the two canoes together with assorted ropes and 550 p-chord and three, wrist diameter sticks each about 3'-3.5' long.

The sail was supported by a frame made by lashing together four wrist-diameter hackberries (Celtis occidentalis L. ) that were being shaded out by some old cottonwoods. In this picture you can see me and two other naturalists lashing the starboard (right-hand) mainmast to the thwart located abaft (behind) the bow seat.

Once we had securely lashed the cross-braces to the canoes thwarts and attached backstays to the mainmasts, and the sail lashed to the spars it was time time to see if she was sea worthy.

Here you can see two other naturalists lowering the sail after we'd paddled into the wind and swung the pontoon around. The top spar (not in photo) is square-lashed to the two up right masts. The bottom spar is lashed to the sail only and is longer than the distance between the two masts. The overlap of the lower spar pushes into the mast when the wind fills the sail and pushes the whole thing forward.

Look at me.... I'm sailing!!!

We didn't get going to fast, slightly slower than an easy paddling speed largley because of the way the wind acted on the lake that day. With a larger body of water where the winds are steadier, and less erratic we could have gone much faster than if we had paddled. I look forward to trying it again soon.

Anyone else ever improvised a sailboat? I'd love to hear about it!

My Guide to Field Guides and Journals

2011-01-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

I did this post a while back on a now defunct blog. I was pretty happy with it so I’d thought I resurrect it here. The post is about my choices in field guides for identifying flora and fauna while out in the field. In it I explore print media, free on-line sources, and also show some of the ways that I use to help me ID plants and animals that are new to me.

Print Media

There are a wealth of books out there that cover plant and wildlife identification in very broad terms covering entire continents such as the Sibley Guide to Birds to highly specialized books that focus on one family, or species like Stokes Field Guide to Warblers. Selection of a good field guide depends entirely on what you...(wait for it!).... want to identify in the field! If you are interested in birds alone, pick out a book that covers birds in your region (i.e., Western U.S., or Eastern U.S., etc...). A little later I will give my recommendations for the series of books that I use. At this point I would like to give a disclaimer; this is an opinion piece. These are the books that I prefer to use. I strongly dislike some books that people better at identification swear by (I am thinking of the Audubon and Peterson guides send hate mail here(include link for email address, do research and find what works for you. I suggest going to your local library and to check out book layouts. If they don’t have the ones you are looking for try getting them through a inter-library loan.

OK, so now to the subject.

Birds

For birds I have a couple of recommendations. For a true field guide I carry the Kaufman Guide to Birds of North America. I like the Kaufman Guide because of the artwork. Rather than artists renditions, they are digital photographs, which I find a little more useful in the field. There are other books in the Kaufman Guides series now covering insects and mammals and that are of the same high quality as the bird guide. I’ve looked at them but have not purchased them yet.

You’ll notice above I mention Kaufman being a “true field guide”. By that I mean it’s reasonably sized to be comfortably carried in the field either in a day-pack, shoulder bag, or if you’re built like me, a cargo pocket. For my “desk guide” I use the The Sibley Guide to Birds. The Sibley guides are excellent and go above and beyond simple bird ID by including text on bird behaviors that you may observe. The wealth of information included in the Sibley books make them a touch prohibitive for use in the field, but they make a great reference to cross check your findings once you are home.

Plants

For plants the books I prefer are a bit specialized and focus on the tallgrass prairies because of my location. I don’t use an ID book for trees because I was taught those by my Grandpa and Dad growing up. The prairie book I use is the Falcon guide Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers. It is broken up by the colors of the flowers rather than my families which makes it nice for beginners.

When it comes to wild edibles I have to go with Sam Thayer’s Foragers Harvest. I have been lucky enough to meet Mr. Thayer on a couple of occasions through work and the man knows his stuff backwards and forwards. Mr. Thayer’s books are focused on the Upper Midwest, but a lot of the plants he covers can be found throughout North America. The layout of the book, the text, and the art work are the best and most concise I’ve ever seen in a book on wild edibles.

Budget Buys

I, like many others in the survival/bushcraft world, tend to be a touch on the frugal side. So I thought I might take a moment here to endorse some books you can get on a budget. For a great source of field guides that can easily fit in your back pocket I recommend the small Golden Guide. There is a Golden Guide for just about every thing you could come across on a hike, day or night such as; insects, birds, trees, flowers, stars, weather, geology, weather, and the list goes on.

One of my favorite desk references, and one of the most important books in my life, is the Reader’s Digest North American Wildlife. I can remember a copy of this sitting on a shelf in my Grandma’s living room. I always loved to sit on the floor in front of the kerosene heater on winter evenings after a night of coon hunting and just pouring over the pages. I think I can safely credit this book with a good portion of my interest in the natural world.

By searching around you can get these guides at very reasonable rates. If you are a patient lot and as thrifty as I am I recommend setting up an account over at PaperBackSwap.com. When you set up your account you will get two credits to order books for free; after that you have to mail books out to receive credits (one credit per book). All you have to do is pay the media mail postage. You can pay your postage in advance on the site and then print your mailing label with postage right at home. It isn’t as always as convenient as ordering from an on-line book seller, or going to a local bookstore, but it is low cost and sort of adventurous. When you set up the wish lists of books you are looking for you receive an e-mail notifying you if one of them has been posted then you just request it and it will be mailed out to you. You never know when that book you’ve been trying to find will suddenly be within your grasp.

On-line Resources

If you are R-E-A-L-L-Y cheap and aren’t looking to shell out money there are a wealth of websites out there that are very useful for plant and animal ID. This is all the better you you are tech savvy and have an internet capable phone. Below you will find a list of my preferred websites and a terse description of what you can find there.

Animal Diversity Web is a excellent source put together from reaserch done by students at the University of Michigan. Lots of in-depth information no all aspects of the ecological niche’s that animals hold.

eNature is a loss scholarly website geared more towards the layperson interested in animals in there area. At eNature you can search plants and animals that can appear in your zipcode.

All About Birds is one of my favorite websites, largely because I love to identify birds. All About Birds is run by the prestigious Cornell Lab of Ornithology so you can count on the validity of the information you will glean from there site.

American Mushrooms is a site maintained by mycologist an author, David Fischer. The site has ton of rich photography an text on every fungi imaginable. Mr. Fischer has also been very good about IDing photos of fungi that I have sent him via e-mail, which is listed on the site.

Kansas Wildflowers is a great place to ID a lot of grasses, flowers and trees, even if you are not from Kansas. Most of the plants listed on the site occur in my native state of Iowa, and there for can be found across a wide expanse of the Midwest. The site is affiliated with Kansas State University.

Insect Identification is a site I just stumbled across in writing this post. I had been using a different site for a few years, but i always found it a bit cumbersome to navigate. In the brief while that I have been looking over Insect Identification it seems that a lot of the problems with my old standby have been worked out. I am happy about this...

The Importance of Field Notes

When I go hiking I don’t like to carry a ton of ID books with me because of the added weight. If I carry any ID books at all it will usually be my bird book, or maybe my wild edibles book if I’m on a foraging expedition for new food stuffs. Instead of carrying a book to ID each new thing I may come across I have taken to carrying a couple of small notebooks that I use for sketching and note taking. I have found that this technique has greatly improved my powers of observation when traversing the wilds.

I carry a small Moleskin notebook and pen in my shirt pocket where ever I go. All day, every day. Lot’s of important people have done so, just look here. Then in my satchel (It’s a satchel, not a purse. Indiana Jones carries a satchel.) I carry and unlined hardcover notebook that I picked up at a local art supply store. It has a small elastic strap you hold it shut, and a loop on the side where I keep my pencil.

In addition to my satchel notebook I carry an inexpensive set of water colors. I started out with a set marketed towards children and I had really good luck with it, like this Belted kingfisher. I purchased my first set of water colors at the lowest possible price for fear I would royally suck at it. I have since purchased a nicer, yet still modestly priced set of water colors from a company called Reeves. This kit was appealing to be because of the nice mix of colors it has and it had white, which I have found to be useful for blending and muting colors, etc.

To demonstrate some of the different ways I use field sketches and notes I have included a few of the things I have done over the last few years. Each sketch was selected to highlight different mediums and different attributes to look for when sketching.

Sketch 1:Pencil Sketch of Bird

I was leading a hike in western Iowa for a group of grade schoolers focusing on Lewis & Clark and the journals they kept when an unidentified bird lit into the top of a nearby tree. TEACHABLE MOMENT!!! I deftly reached into my ever present satchel and grabbed my trusty notebook an whipped up this sketch. I made notes as to field marks that i knew would probably appear in my bird book back home. I promised the kids I would e-mail their teacher when i knew what it was and we continued on our hike. Upon returning home I was able to easily identify the bird I saw as a Harris Sparrow.

Harris Sparrow

Sketch 2: Pen Sketch of Hawk Tail

One day while my assistant and I were scouting some areas for potential prescribed fires she spotted an unidentified hawk circling above us. As I stared at the distant hawk through my binoculars (don’t scrimp on your optics, cut cost elsewhere) I looked for an distinguishing markings like the shape and length of the wings and tail, and markings on the birds chest. What stood out most of all was the hawks tail. So I sketched it in my Moleskin notebook/planner and sketched it. I also jotted a note next to the picture that the hawk in question was a “Buteo”. Buteo’s are soaring hawks that have relatively long wings, and short tails that specialize in hunting over open ground. The “opposite” of a buteo is an accipiter, which generally have short wings and long tails and specialize in hunting in forest environments.

I bring this up because while the hawk in question had the body type of a buteo, and was soaring high above a grassland the tail was marked with distinctive bands, a trait common among accipiters. Needless to say I was intrigued. When I was able to look the bird up I learned it was a buteo that has adapted to forest hunting. Hence the crossover markings on a buteo body of the Broad Winged Hawk.

Broad Winged Hawk Tail Detail

Sketches 3-4: Pencil and Watercolor Plants

Here, side by side, you can see how adding water colors to a sketch can really make a difference when IDing a plant. Both drawings were done with a No. 2 pencil with notes pointing to where certain colors appear on the plant. The drawing on the left is a Prairie Larkspur and the one on the right is Toothed Evening Primrose.

Left:Prairie Larkspur Right:Toothed Evening Primrose

Sketch 5: Pencil and Watercolor Bird

Finally I have included an example of a practice painting I did in my kitchen. I sat down with my bird book and my paints and chose to do a Black-Throated Blue Warbler. As with any skill it is important to practice to keep yourself sharp. It’s not always easy to go birdwatching (i.e. the birds are out when the 11 month old is napping, etc.), so I cross train. When I can’t make it out I spend time looking over field guides memorizing characteristics and range maps.

Black-Throated Blue Warbler

Conclusion

I hope that this post will be helpful to beginners and experts by showing just some of the resources out there. I believe that survival is all about observation, and awareness of your surroundings, and that it is arguably the most important skill to have. Get guide books you are comfortable with, get a note book and a pencil, start taking notes, and sketching. Paint a picture of a flower. You will notice intricacies you never before noticed and I believe it will open your eyes and your heart to a world around you that you may have missed. I hope that you will share your ideas about field guides that I have missed and that it will open a dialog about perception and awareness as it pertains to bushcraft and survival.

The Other Side of Lost...

2010-12-31T16:21:00.000-06:00

Situation Report-Tuesday, Dec. 28th 2010 4:45 PM
Temperature: 22 Deg. F
Substrate:snow/light powder, approximately 2'
Physical description: Female, average build, 5'4", blonde, wearing light blue jacket

Became separated from group of 6 cross country skiers while visiting 300+ acre woodland reserve in urban area...

A while back I was looking for inspiration for a blog topic, so I asked some friends what they'd like to see. Brian suggested I write about what I do in a normal day in my job. I got to thinking about how in my job as a naturalist there are no normal days. Which brings to to this post about my Tuesday.

Most of my day was pretty mundane, some program planning, some research, answering phone calls about injured Kestrels, renting out snowshoes, roof raking the nature center in preparation of some freezing rain in the forecast, helped a young couple get over their fear of snakes, the usual 9-to-5 type stuff.

I was wrapping everything up, and stowing away some of the last snowshoes returned at the end of the day when I looked up to see a coworker talking to two other women on the trail that leads to the parking lot. Sound travels fairly well when it is cold, and the ground is covered with snow so I picked up bits and pieces of the conversation even at close to 100 yards distance. Something about "She's wearing a blue jacket... on skis... was right in front of me... separated somehow..."

My co-worker came a ways back down the hill and related to me that a family had been out skiing on our trails when one of their daughters became separated from the group and the family, with help of some other hikers were out looking for her. While my coworker came to tell me this the women she was speaking to turned and went back up the hill towards the parking lot. I hoped in my truck and headed up the access road that leads from the nature center to the main parking lot and there I saw the two women I had seen before and another woman in a light blue jacket on cross-country skis.

Since I was officially done for the day, and the woman in the blue coat was found, I thought about just continuing on home, but I didn't. I stopped my truck and walked down and asked "Everybody found now" to which a very worried looking woman replied "No, my daughter is still lost". Turns out the women in the blue coat was the lost womans sister. The mother explained that the family, six in all, had been out skiing. Being of different skiing abilities the group had become spread out on the trail. The woman who was lost had been somewhere in the middle of the group and it was assumed that she had taken a wrong turn that led her away from the rest of the group.

After a few questions and some clarifications of directions I had a fairly good mental picture of where the group had bee skiing, and a plausible mental scenario as to where the missing women might be. I followed a set of protocol I have developed through personal experience an some training, grabed snowshoes, and took off to where I thought I might find the missing woman. Which brings me to my inspiration for this post...

Coordinating Initial Search & Rescue (S&R Triage)
Am I an expert at S&R? By no means, no. I have however done a few, and I learned a lot about what needs to be done initially to get things rolling and hopefully find the person(s) fast because time can be of the essence.

Remain calm and appear confident:
When you find yourself in a situation where you are assisting someone else in searching for a missing person you must at least appear clam and confident. Whomever you are assisting will likely be on the verge of panic (even if they don't show it). Your relaxed demeanor will help to calm the people you are assisting.

Establish lines of communication:
It is important to exchange cell numbers (and to find out if the person you are looking for has a phone). You'd be surprised how many people don't even think to call the persons phone. Maybe they don't realize they are lost yet and are just having an enjoyable time outdoors. Don't bother getting everyone numbers, exchange yours with one or two member of the party. Now you can relay communications with developments as you go along.

While you are exchanging numbers find out what the missing persons name and what they are wearing (ask in the present tense i.e. "What are they wearing?" not "What were they wearing?"). Find out there approximate height, weight, and footwear. Why foot wear? If there is a good substrate, and you have tracking skills you can get a pretty good idea of what tracks to look for which can help with your search.

Establish last point of contact:
Find out where the person was last seen if they were part of a group. You may be able to find their specific tracks and follow them. DON'T WALK ON THEIR TRACKS!!! Walk to the side so if you lose the trail you can go back and pick it up. If they were not part of a group find out if there was a trail they used a lot, or a circuit they liked to follow. People are creatures of habit.

Start looking:
Spread out, watch for signs, call out the persons name (then stop and listen). Before you call out give three loud whistles to attract attention. If the person is just lost and not hurt they should answer back, if they are unable to answer you need to keep your eyes out for parts of a person, not a whole person. I'm not saying that they are so hurt that the forest will be littered with their parts, I'm saying odds are some of their body will be obstructed from view by trees, shrubs, tops, etc...

With luck you will find someone that simply took a wrong turn, or lost track of time. They may be in need of first aid of some sort so it is important that you are prepared and know what you are doing. If you spend much time outdoors it's a good idea to get some formal training in CPR and First AID. Also keep in mind others when putting together your kit, it may not be you that needs it in a survival situation, but rather someone less skilled or prepared than yourself.

What do you do if you find someone and indeed the worst has happened? To be honest, I don't know. Most of the limited training I have received when I was with the U.S.F.S. didn't cover it. We would just radio in our coordinates and wait a plane with a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) to arrive and take over. In a situation where I was on my own (not part of an agency) I would call 911 before I even thought about contacting the friends or family that asked for my assistance.

Back to the woman I was looking for. While I was out on the trail my phone rang and it was the womans mother. The other members of her family returned, unable to find her and she asked if she should contact the police. I told her that the more people we could get looking, the better. It was getting colder and we were losing light fast. If our skier was injured and or unconscious this could get dire fast. I suggested that the more people we could get in the woods the better. She decided she would wait a touch longer before contacting them. She hung up and I continued scanning the floodplain timber and calling the womans name. A few more minutes passed and my phone rang again. The missing woman had just called, she was in a neighborhood to the south of the preserve and she had found a woman that was giving her a ride and letting her call her family with her phone. Happy ending, yeah.

Most of the S&R's I've been involved in. scratch that, ALL the S&R's I have been involved in came about because people were not prepared, well informed or stupid (yes I said stupid). Needless to say sometimes people get lost, or hurt on accident just no one I have ever had the pleasure of looking for. So here are a few simple guidelines for staying found so I can go home to my family at a decent hour, and you don't return to yours "bagged and tagged".

1) Whenever possible travel in a group.
2) If you travel alone let someone know where you will be going, and when you will be back. I'm talking specifics, not generalities. Highlighted trail maps, etc...
3) Learn to read a map.
4) Learn to use a compass.
5) Hope for the best; plan for the worst (make a simple light wait survival kit, learn to use it AND CARRY IT!)
6) When in a group the slowest member of the party always leads. ALWAYS!
7) If you have a cell phone, carry it, and turn it on.
8) If you have a GPS mark waypoints, especially where your car is parked. (Be sure you have extra batteries)
9) Learn CPR/Fist Aid
10) Again, make a simple light weight survival kit. Practice with it and carry it. If it's too big you'll leave it behind. The best survival kit you have is between your ears. Be sure to use it. Pay attention to your surroundings. Don't just head to the woods to see how fast you can do the trails, that's what running tracks are for, my opinion I know, but still slow down, enjoy the woods, and pay attention. If you are paying attention you won't get lost because you'll know where you are.

Any of my readers have experiences with S&R or (heaven forbid) getting lost they'd like to share? I myself have never been lost, I have however been powerfully confused fro a couple of months (name the movie).

Guest Post from Wood Trekker: A Cheap Alternative to the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe

2010-11-22T15:18:00.003-06:00

Today's guest post is from Ross over at Wood Trekker blog. Ross' blog is currently in my top five favorite blogs to read and I was very excited when I asked him if he would be interested in a guest post and he came back with this. This post is very timely because I hope to be doing a post about my own personal axe (which is not a Gransfors Bruks). Enjoy!

We are all familiar with the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe. It is arguably one of the most popular bushcraft tools, and is the axe of choice for many. One of the reasons why it has become so popular is that it is very compact and easy to carry. It has a head weight of 1.5lb and a handle length of about 20 inches. The big down side of the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe is the price tag. It costs well over $100.00. For many it is worth the price, but not everyone can afford it.

That is why I decided to try to find a lower cost alternative, which would provide a reasonable level of performance. After a lot of searching, I’ve reached the conclusion that there is no production axe other than the Wetterling ones, now also owned by Gransfurs Bruks which come close to the same specifications.

Recently I looked at the Collins Hunter’s Axe, but the quality was too low, and I found the 18 inch handle to be too short. For me, a small axe must have a handle of at least 20 inches. Snow and Nealley makes an axe with an 18 inch handle as well, but since I’ve found that length handle to be too short, I will not be testing it. Besides, the Snow and Nealley is not cheap at all.

Since I was not able to find a low cost production alternative to the Small Forest Axe, I decided to look at old axe heads and see if a particular type can be refurbished. Unfortunately, most old axes are of the full axe type variety, with a head of over 3.5lb. There certainly aren’t enough 1.5lb heads out there for people to start refurbishing them.

I did however luck out during one of my hatchet tests. I tested the Northern Tool 24oz Camp Axe as a hatchet, but noticed that the head was 1.5lb. That was too heavy for a hatchet, but the quality of the head seemed good. That is why I decided to try to do some work to one of them and see if I can easily make a Small Forest Axe substitute from it. I know that not everyone has access to a workshop, expensive tools or specialized skills, so I wanted to get it done with just basic tools.

After some work, the finished product was this:

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Head by Northern Tool + Equipment, Handle by Gransfors Bruks
Axe Head Weights: 1.5 lb
Axe Length: 20 inches
Axe Head Material: Unknown carbon steel
Handle Material: American hickory
Cost: $23.00

Here is how I made it:

I took a Northern Tool 24oz Camp Axe. It cost me $10.00. I used a drill and a chisel to remove the head from the handle. It was very well glued so it took me some time to remove. I then used some sandpaper to remove all of the paint from the head.

One of the things that I noted during my review of the Northern Tool 24oz Camp Axe is that I thought the convex of the cutting edge itself was a bit too thick for my liking. The cheeks of the axe were the right thickness and the head overall had the right proportions, but the last 3/16 of an inch before the cutting edge was a bit thick. I’m sure that for many that thickness would be fine because it makes the edge more durable, but for the high performance axe that I wanted, it was too thick.

I remedied the situation by filing it down a bit. I used a 200 grit 8 inch file to do the job. It took me about 15 minutes of work. I would strongly recommend getting a file if you will be doing any work with cheap axes. It makes the sharpening process much faster, and you can pick one up for about $3.00. I then used a set of sharpening stones to get it sharp enough to cut paper. The thickness with which I ended up was very similar to that of the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet, and was noticeably thinner than the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe (right).

Now that the head was ready, it was time to find a handle. I looked high and low for a good 20 inch handle, but could not find one. I eventually decided to just buy a Gransfors Brucks Small Forest Axe handle. They are very hard to find in the US. I found only one store (Country Knives) that carried them, and they were selling them for about $45.00, way too much for the intended goal. In the end, I ended up buying it from a UK site for $13.00.

I bought my handle here. They seem to however be quickly running out of stock. Some other sites where you can find a Gransfors Bruks handle are here, here, and here. Keep in mind that the price will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate. When you are shipping it from over seas make sure to use airmail rather than UPS. If you use UPS, it will cost you over $30.00. It is a waste of money. You may be able to find 20 inch handles by other manufacturers which I am sure will work fine. One good source can be found here.

Now came the time consuming part. I spend about two hours sanding and filing the handle so it would fit well in the axe head. I didn’t use any epoxy on the head itself, but I did use some to secure the wedge into the handle.

When the epoxy was dry, I took the axe into the woods for some testing. My hope was that I had made an axe that would not fall too far behind the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe.

The result was shocking. The axe I made noticeably outperformed the Small Forest Axe. So much so, that I decided to go back to a location where I had done some testing with the Small Forest Axe on a piece of 3.5 inch hickory. The last time I tested it, it took me 60 seconds to chop through it with the Small Forest axe. It took me 45 seconds to go through it with the new axe.

I believe the added performance comes from the thinner grind of the new axe. It is still convexed, but comes very close to the grind of a competition axe. Of course, my worry was that because the edge was thinner, after being used in hard wood, it would dull very quickly. When I came home, I tested it on a piece of paper, and it had no problem cutting through it. That was after going through an 8 inch piece of oak.

The new axe is a bit more likely to stick to the wood than the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe because it has more of a wedge shape, but I did a lot of chopping with it, and it was not a noticeable problem.

The balance of the axe is as good or better than the Gransors Bruks Small Forest Axe.

Other than the drill and chisel I used to remove the head from the old handle, these are all the tools I used to put together this axe: Gorilla glue epoxy, sandpaper, a 200 grit unidirectional grind 8 inch file, a hammer, and a set of sharpening stones.

I made a cheap sheath for it from some canvas material I had around.

The total cost was $23.00 and took me probably about five hours of work time to put together. This is not something that I do all the time, so my skill level is not high, nor did I use any special tools and equipment. The result is a $23.00 axe that can outperform the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe. Try it for yourself and see.

Common Useful Plant Profiles: Common Yarrow

2010-11-18T14:06:00.002-06:00

Common Yarrow ( Achillea millefolium L.)

The artwork for today's post is a pencil and watercolor original by JohnnyBurn.

Today's plat profile is Common Yarrow ( Achillea millefolium L.). Yarrow is another common plant found in yards and in the field. Yarrow is in the Aster family although the shape of the leaves and their scent I find reminiscent of carrots.

The two most useful functions of Yarrow that I am familiar with is the use of the leaves as a coagulant, and the use of the flowers and leaves in teas as a diuretic. For staunching the flow of blood from a bad cut in the field, say from your surprisingly sharp hatchet going into your left knee (it happens when you get lazy) yarrow can be very useful. Simply crush up the leaves and place them beneath your bandage and over the cut. If you can't get somewhere to get stitches quickly this could be VERY handy.

For you hunters out there that want to reduce your scent while out trying to put food on the table make a tea from the yarrow plant and drink it while eating organic foods to flush impurities out of your system thereby making your sweat a little less potent. But be sure to be careful and don't allow yourself to become dehydrated. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!

Be sure you have safely and confidently identified any plant that you are going to use as an edible or medicinal! Yarrow can be confused with some herbaceous hemlocks.

Now that that has been said grab your favorite guide book and head for the door!

Common Useful Plants Profiles: Common Plantain

2010-11-12T16:08:00.002-06:00

Common plantain (Plantago major)

The artwork for today's post is a pencil and watercolor original by JohnnyBurn.

This will hopefully be the first in a series on wild edible and medicinal plants that are commonly found in your yard. It is important in bushcraft to keep your skills sharp, after all skills are what it's all about. We can't always make it to the "real" wilderness as much as we would like so it's a good idea to practice when and where you can. Back yards, city parks, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera are great places to get out in the evening after work with your family and do a little exploring, and that is what this series will hopefully encourage you to do.

The first plant in the series is Common plantain (Plantago major). It grows in disturbed areas and is a super easy edible/medicinal to identify. It is also a non-native and invasive plant so you you shouldn't feel bad about eating every one you see. Plantain is best eaten when the leaves are small in the spring. They are edible all year, but they are more palatable early on. As the growing season progresses the leaves of plantain become bitter and the conspicuous "veins" on the plants leaves become pretty stringy. I would liken the taste of plantain to spinach.

For it's medicinal value plantain works wonders on cuts and scrapes when antibiotic ointments are not available. I have had great luck preventing some pretty nasty cuts from getting infected by applying chewed up plantain leaves to them. One cut in particular required 7 stitches. I was smart enough to remove the plantain leaves BEFORE I got to the E.R. though. I'm sure some questions would have been raised.

On a separate occasion I received two equal sized scratches from a thorn on a Prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) and decided to do a little experiment. I applied a chewed up plantain leaf to one scratch and held it in place with a bandanna, the other scratch I simply covered with a bandanna. The scratch that I applied the plantain to did not become infected, heeled days sooner, and left no scar. If you've ever gotten into Prickly ash you can attest to the fact that the scratches ALWAYS get infected (not gangrene mind you, but pink and warm to the touch). I know it's not the most scientific experiment, but it's good enough for me.

So, to make a short story long. Get a good ID book head out the door and find Common plantain before it's covered with snow. Let me know how your explorations go, and if you turn up any thing you had missed before!

Deer Camp 2010

2010-11-10T17:21:00.000-06:00

THis is a video of the deer I took this year during Iowa's early muzzleloader season in October. The shot was made at about 25 yards with a .50 caliber flintlock Blue Ridge rifle firing a round ball pushed by 90 grains of Fffg black powder. The shot was a complete pass through, from one end of the buck to the other. Until this deer I had only gotten one other buck, and that was 20 years ago. The spot I was standing when I took this buck was less than 20 yards from where I took the first one. This spot is one of the best producing spots on the family farm. So much so that has earned the moniker "The Pooching Rock" because standing here almost makes it too easy.

Blog Re-post: Kit fever,healing from it,to honour the gone days of the Finnish woodsmen.

2010-10-15T00:35:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of letting other great bloggers do my work for me I have gotten permission from Perkele to repost something from his blog that I read a while back and found to transcend international barriers. I have been following Perkele's blog for awhile now, and I hope you will consider doing the same.

Again today i got to thinking about this never ending kit hoarding,and my struggle with it :)

Every time i see these old men,who have been relly living from the woods,from fauna and flora,by fishing,hunting and gathering,just to live,not for fun...i am ashamed of my self somehow. These gents,in most cases,havent ever been into "kit" stuff,like i have grown with em. Usually here,you see an old hunter,with worn,but clean simple wool & cotton clothing,pair of rubber- or leatherboots,an old pack with loads of stories in it. In their packs that sometimes look more like empty,youll most likely find an old beat-up coffee pot,a frying pan of some type,sometimes even a cast iron model. The following items are usually an old wood handled axe,maybe some saw,or just a saw blade,a pouch containing some salt,sugar,tobacco and maybe some hard butter piece,alomg with piece of bread and a slice of pork meat. Hell be carrying a simple handmade puukko or just a plain cheap mora,and in some cases an compass in some pocket. And besides the kit,these old school heroes carry the most important things like will,strength,endurance and knowledge,that replace the need ( ? ) for heavy load of mostly non-vital gear.

This is something ive always,and now again, cant look bad at all.No sir,i can only admire and envy these old chaps,theyre never complaining,never whing about anything,except for their old ladies:). Juts a day ago i sat next to the fire,with this old man,who came there with his old dog,asked if he could sit there for a coffee and we got to talk about all sorts of things. I was fascinated about his stories,and his spirit,and i just couldnt stop feeling bit silly,wearing all my gear,and fancy outfit,although mine aint even close to modern or hi-tech by any means. He just sat there,talked slowly and stared at the fire,and his dog slept against his knee,till he had his cup empty and he said that he had to go his home,and he has to walk there cause his driving license was taken away due to poor eyes...though he still was hunting with success,legally.He packed up his few items,a pot and his cup,and off he went.

And i cant stop thinking about the "good" old days that he told me about.

I have recently started to get ridd off my gear,i have given,traded,sold something etc,and after that i feel like sick,and i realise its all because we men like to possess stuff just for the sake of it. But after day or two i feel quite happy about the fact that my shelves,boxes and packs are bit less heavy and less filled,and i realise that i.e. i have carried my trustworthy Sabre pack all this summer and fall,and i havent taken a lot out of it,nor havent i added much into it,except for occasional portion of food,filling water bottles,and a pouch filled with dry socks and such. The "kit" itself has been the same all the way and i trust it,it fills my needs more than well,for day hikes and even for two night-long trips as well.

But i am stripping it more in next few days,maybe ill be writing about it too.
Its a kit thing,yes,and for that i am truly sorry,but hey,atleast its about getting to bare bones,getting rid of unnecessary weight & worry :)

Like it says on my favourite sticker... "No School Like Old School"

Again I'd like to thank Perkele for letting me repost his work here. I am working on some of my own posts at the moment so you will hear from me soon, but until then i think I'll continue promoting other bloggers.

Guest Post by Oz; Bushcraft Inc

2010-09-27T23:53:00.001-05:00

I'd like to welcome my good friend I've never actually met, Oz Muskratt, of Canadian Bushcraft fame to Midwest Bushcraft. Since my muse has apparently taken temporary leave of absence I have asked Oz to do a post for me, and here it is....

Now, I don't want to make this sound anti-Bushcraft Schools, because

well, that would be counter-productive to a person like me, being a

Bushcraft Instructor and all! And I am not against store-bought items,

or else I wouldn't be typing on a laptop, nor would I be the owner of

so many items that range from Bivy Bags to big fancy knives.

However, I have noticed a steady increase in people in this business

increasing the prices of basic tools, because they have a Bushcrafty

theme to them. For instance, the Bushcraft-model Mora knives for the

most part are much pricier at a lot of stores (both in person and

online), than the regular models of Moras. Why? Yes the handles are

formed differently, but does that mean the knife must triple in price?

Personally and professionally I promote Mora knives because they are

able to be bought by anyone. I know a young lad just last week who

bought a Mora knife as his very first bushcraft knife. As well, Bahco

Laplander saws are (in most stores here in Canada) $50.00 or more. Yet

the Bahco Sandvik (really no difference at all except for handle

colour) is usually $30.00, and sometimes less!

Don't get me started on name brands. Oh fine, you started me. Ray

Mears' books, clothing, cookware are all very high-end and pricey.

Bear Gryllis isn't any different, and really no one in this business

that puts their name on a product is any different (Tom Brown Jr, Ron

Hood, myself, etc). This is a business now for many people, and the

best way to make the business run is to sell something. Whether that

be an extremely expensive course, or an extremely expensive knife is

no different. It is no longer just bushcraft, it is Bushcraft Inc.

Growing up, when I didn't have something, I wanted it badly. I would

save money up for the biggest, most pricey item for the woods I could

find, and than expect it to do everything for me, for so-and-so uses

one. Only by my mid-teens did I realize that it wasn't who endorses

the item, or how expensive the item is, but who uses it. I made my own

buckskin and wool clothes, made my own billy cans, and though I had a

nifty blacksmithed strike-a-light kit, I began to carry a hacksaw

blade with a chunk of quartz instead.

The point of bushcraft at one time was wilderness self reliance, but

now it has gained popularity and grown. As things grow, they become

more corporate. Ask Grunge Rock or anything else that claims to be

anti-establishment, and then suddenly becomes the big thing. People

will continue to sell knives and certain pieces of gear for

extraordinary prices, and courses will continue to be offered at

unheard of rates.

But do we have to give into it? Though I do like a really nice knife

or posh anorak, I have overtime returned to my mindset of

“do-it-yourself” for a great deal of gear. Do I expect to make

everything myself? No, but I remember that the further I pull away

from a corporate mindset, the more I gain an independent heart.

Bushcraft Inc. is not going away, but it doesn't have to rule us or

our decisions. Yes, I still have high-end gear. But now I partner it

with handmade kits, with grassroots knowledge.

Be smart about the marketing you see regarding certain outdoors gear.

Sometimes it's true, and sometimes it's not. Read in between the lines

and make sure your money goes to something that is worth it. Make

Bushcraft Inc. work for you.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks again to Oz for covering for me. I look forward to the discussion this post will generate. I for one am in agreement with Oz. Many of the products endorsed by bushcraft "celebrities" are way to expensive, and go against everything that I believe is important in bushcraft. I would like to insert a disclaimer here though... I really like Ray Mears...

Mr. Harn's Paradox (and my response)

2010-08-25T14:24:00.001-05:00

I just read a thought provoking post over at The Countryside Round blog of Casey Harn (who some of you may remember from Wandering Owl Outside fame). Mr Harn's post raises an interesting question that I've rehashed a thousand times in different ways while getting my degrees in Conservation Social Science and Wilderness Management. What is the best way to protect a resource? Close it off from the public, or open it up and educate the public?

As an environmental educator and blogger I feel some of the same struggles when doing my job, or writing for this blog. As a naturalist I am supposed to tell children to stay on the trails, don't pick flowers, and leave the acorns, rock, leaves on the ground but I just can't do it. Which does more harm to the resource? Protecting it from the children? Or fostering a curiosity about the resource by telling them to get off the trails, pick the flowers, take home the rocks, acorns and leaves.

I lean toward the former being more harmful in the long run because of how I was raised. I am passionate about the outdoors because I was allowed (or rather encouraged) to fully explore the fields, streams, and woodlands and to immerse myself in nature.

Am I doing the wrong thing? I know what I think. I want to hear from you... (and be sure to let Mr. Harn know your thoughts at The Countryside Round too!)

Weather Predictions through Nature Observation

2010-08-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

I don't believe I am the first person to have said it, but I often start off the hikes I lead by saying "The forest has a story to tell, if you are just willing to listen". The story that the forest tells is very adeptly written and has a mind boggling cast of characters and countless subplots. Today we are going to delve into one of those subplots, the weather.

I have been using nature to help me predict the weather ever since I was a boy bailing hay as a hired hand during the summer months. More often than not the only way I would get a day off was if it rained. Since I hated watching the news I needed another way to learn the likelihood of impending changes in the weather. My Grandma Emma always used to say "If you see a Cardinal it will rain within a day". I thought it sounded dubious, but i watched for cardinals regardless. The amazing thing is that she appeared to be right! Every time I saw a male cardinal it would usually rain within 24 hours.

Over the years as I have observed nature more acutely with the help of a barometer I have adapted my late Grandmothers folk weather prediction. Whenever you hear a male Northern cardinal sing there will be a change in the weather;usually rain. I know you are skeptical, everyone is when i tell them. All I ask is that you observe it for yourself and get back to me.

Now I don't simply rely on the Northern cardinal for weather predictions when I'm in the field, I also look to the trees. The two trees I rely most heavily on are the Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and the genus Oak (Quercus spp.). As there is a change in the weather, or more specifically, a change in barometric pressure the leaves of the Silver maples and oaks will turn over showing their lighter colored undersides. The reason for this is that the petioles (the stem that attaches the leaf to the tree) is thinner on one side than on the other. This causes the petiole to stretch, or shrink at different rates with changes in barometric pressure which in turn "flips" the leaf to show it's underside.

It takes only a slight change in barometric pressure for the Silver maple to turn it leaves which I use as an early warning system. Used in conjunction with the singing of the cardinal I can give myself advance warning of impending shifts in the weather. Now if I look to up a little later and see that the oak leaves have turned over I K-N-O-W that I am in for a serious change and I should start to look for shelter.

Now I'd like to put this all in the context of a scenario:
I am out hiking on relatively calm, pleasantly warm summer day. As I move down the trail I here a male cardinal start to sing his "What cheer! What cheer! What cheer!" song so I look for a Silver maple and notice the silvery green undersides of the leaves, I also note the the prevailing breeze is from the south. An hour later I come upon an Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) on an upland and I can see that it's leaves are turned over too, and that the breeze has picked up and shifted to the north. I decide to shorten my hike and head for the car. As I am driving home the anvil shaped thunderheads are looming on the horizon bringing with them rain, wind, and lightning.

So to wrap it up. Does the singing of the male cardinal guarantee rain in 24 hours? No, but I'd say that it works close to 90% of the time for me (yes, that high). Does the turning over of Silver maple a,d oak leaves always mean rain? No, it does however mean a change in the weather (i.e. It's hot and humid today, it will be cool and dryer tomorrow. It's not raining now, it will be later. It's been raining for two days, it will stop soon, etc...)

Of course there are other predictors of weather like if there is dew on the grass in the morning it won't rain that day, and I hope to visit these with you more in the future. Until then get outside!

Bushcraft Definitions

2010-07-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

Recently I have been thinking about the definitions of what bushcraft means to me. And so has Tim Smith over at Jack Mtn. Bushcraft. I also have been meaning to blog about it in order to open a dialog among those that follow my musings and rants. As I thought about what bushcraft means to me, how I could sum up my passions and beliefs, I was trying to distill my thoughts into poetic prose that would be quoted for generations. I struggled and struggled with the wording, and the cadence and I grew frustrated with my own clumsy attempts. Then I was sitting down with my oldest watching one of her favorite movies, The Jungle Book when it hit me. I don't need to come up with a poetic definition of bushcraft because Phil Harris, Bruce Reitherman already did it for me...

Bare Necessities (aka; The Bushcrafters Anthem)

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature's recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

The bees are buzzin' in the tree

To make some honey just for me

When you look under the rocks and plants

And take a glance at the fancy ants

Then maybe try a few

The bare necessities of life will come to you

They'll come to you!

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

That's why a bear can rest at ease

With just the bare necessities of life

Now when you pick a pawpaw

Or a prickly pear

And you prick a raw paw

Next time beware

Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw

When you pick a pear

Try to use the claw

But you don't need to use the claw

When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw

Have I given you a clue ?

The bare necessities of life will come to you

They'll come to you!

So just try and relax, yeah cool it

Fall apart in my backyard

'Cause let me tell you something little britches

If you act like that bee acts, uh uh

You're working too hard

And don't spend your time lookin' around

For something you want that can't be found

When you find out you can live without it

And go along not thinkin' about it

I'll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you!

We could all learn a lot from Baloo...

A free lunch?

2010-04-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to pack a lunch this morning so I decided to forage my noon meal form the timber surrounding my office. Lunch was a salad that consisted of Basswood (Tilia americana), Dandelion (Taraxacum), Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), and Meadow garlic (Allium canadense) greens topped of with Trout lily (Erythronium albidum) flowers.

I didn't have any dressing to go on the salad, but I think that's better in this case. Each green had a different subtle flavor and any dressing would have overpowered them. Of all the greens on my salad my two favorite are the Basswood and the Meadow garlic. The Basswood has a light, almost sweet, "green" taste to it, and the Meadow garlic tastes like, well, garlic.

If I were to add anything to a salad like this I think it would be simply oil and vinegar. I wonder how maple sap vinegar tastes...

I was inspired to try my salad in large part to a new post by fellow Iowa blogger Wandering Owl over at his blog. Be sure to head over and give it a thorough reading. He's A LOT better at posting regularly than I am.

Have you done any foraging lately? I'd love to hear about it.

A New Medium

2010-02-27T18:35:00.000-06:00

Today I tried something new, painting with watercolors. I have done some sketching off and on for a few years now. Nothing major, mostly plants and birds that I could not identify in the field. I find that doing a rough sketch when I first see a new species helps me to be more observant by making me look for particular field markings that makes identification later easier. This is particularly true when dealing with birds. Another advantage to sketching is that instead of carrying multiple books to identify birds, or flowers, or insects, or amphibians, or trees, or, well you get the idea; you carry just a simple sketchbook, and a pencil.

Until today I did all my sketches with nothing more than a No. 2 pencil. You may be surprised to learn this, but No. 2 pencils are not good at making vibrant color (unless you consider shades of gray vibrant). So if a bird, or flower had any color besides gray (and a stagering number of them do) I would have to jot little notes in the margins of my sketch that noted where the colors were, and their hue.

I was inspired to try water colors recently while making beer for my work (yes my job is that awesome...). A friend of mine that we'll call "John" was assisting in the beer making process and we were discussing a potential future program on nature journaling. I asked for John's assitance with the journaling program because of some sketches he did for me in the past showed he is far and away more talented than I (hope you were sitting down for that one). While waiting for the grains to boil (there is A LOT of waiting in beer making, just FYI) John showed me some simple coloring techniques with watercolors. I decided then and there I was going to get myself a watercolor set and try my hand at coloring a sketch.

So today I did it. The family and I went to Hobby Lobby and I looked at their selection of watercolors. You can spend quite a bit of money on watercolors it turns out. I opted to spend very little money since I didn't know if I would be any good at using watercolors. I purchased 2 packages of Crayola washable watercolors at $2.99 (one for me, and one for my oldest). When I got home I grabbed our well-worn copy of Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America and picked out a bird to try sketching.

I hope you can see that I choose to sketch and color a female Belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon). How'd I do?

Making Mukluks

2010-02-15T16:29:00.000-06:00

I was perusing the blogs I follow on Google Reader this morning as I sipped my tea and I came across a great post on Skills for Wild Lives. In the post Nick talks about making a pair of mukluks. What's so great about mukluks besides being a fun word to say because it sounds dirty but actually isn't? Well in extreme cold, dry conditions they are warm, lightweight, and flexible footwear.

Lately I have had the strong desire to do some winter camping but it's difficult to get away for an overnight. So I have been settleing for reading blog posts like Nick's, Backyard Bushman's, and the guy's over at Winter Campers. Not quite the same (O.K., it's not the same at all) as getting out there and doing it, but it helps to kindle my desire, and keeps my mind from settling into some form of urban atrophy.

What do you do when you can't get out and practice your passions?

Urban Bushcrafters?

2010-01-30T10:26:00.004-06:00

Fairly recently the demographics of the world made a sad shift. Whereas in the past a majority of the world's populations lived and worked on farms or in rural communities, now a majority of people live in major cities. People are also growing increasingly disconnected from the natural world both in major cities and rural areas, not having any real concept of where their food, clothing and building materials come from, let alone what resource they are made of. I think that bushcrafting can help to alleviate some of the disconnect from the natural world.

Well, since a lot of people live in urban areas and those that live in rural area often live on small acreages how are they supposed to get out and practice bushcraft skills? The beauty of bushcraft is that you don't need boundless acres of untrammeled wilderness to hone your skills or to gather materials practicing. Above all else a bushcrafter is resourceful and the limits set by living in an non-wilderness setting should only heighten your skills because of the disadvantages you must overcome.

So where can you safely practice bushcraft without fear of breaking the law? It depends on what aspect of bushcraft you are planning to practice at any given time. When my oldest was still just a baby my wife was working nights so I got to spend a lot of time with her close to home. When she would go to bed it was often still light outside so I would grab the baby monitor, my puukko, my hoof knife, and some green Basswood (Tilia americana) and head out to the picnic table in the backyard and BINGO! I was bushcrafting. Later in the year as the sun set earlier I would head into the basement to my little shop area tucked away under the stairs (which I affectionately deemed "Bushcraft Corner") and work on projects like my beeswax stove. The point I'm trying to make is you can practice bushcraft where you are. You don't need "wilderness", after all wilderness is just as much a state of mind as it is a blank spot on a map.

So you say you don't have a lot of resources in your yard to gather for projects like green woodworking, or making a DIY bucksaw? Thats not a problem so long as you have occasional access to some public areas. At this point you need to do a little home work. The most lenient places to practice bushcraft are National and State Forests. Both generally allow you to camp where ever you like so long as you move you camp every 14 days. Often times you can have fire outside of designated rings too, but be smart, check the local regulations before you try it, also be sure to keep your fires small and do you damnedest to hide your fire scars. In most public areas that allow campfires you can collect wood that is dead AND down . I stress that the wood should be laying down because dead standing trees are really, REALLY important habitat called snags. While you are collecting fire wood set aside a couple of pieces of wood to try your hand at carving.

That being said, carving dried or cured wood is not nearly as easy as carving green wood and therein lies a quandary. If you don't own a stand of timber, or if you don't have a friend or family member that does how are you supposed to get green wood to work? The best suggestion I can give you to educate yourself. Find out what woody plants in your area are invasive and suitable for carving. Learn how to identify the plant and then hightail it to the nearest land management office. Ask them if they have any of the offending plant in the areas they manage, and if so ask if you can volunteer to cut some of them out. In the Upper Midwest Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) is an invasive that grows in abundance and carves up b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l-l-y. While you're asking about volunteering and massacring buckthorn, find out if they need any trails cleared, or saplings cut back from the trail edge- another great source for materials.

Also be sure to let the land manager know that you plan on taking small amounts of wood home to do projects like carve spoons, etc. and reassure them they will not be sold. It also wouldn't hurt to whip up a spoon or two for the land manager and their staff, as a show of good faith.

I hope that this post encourages someone to get out and try some of my suggestions especially if you live in a town or city. If you don't neither will your children or grandchildren and THAT is a chilling prospect.

Your Wild Child: Guest Post

2010-01-18T14:10:00.001-06:00

A while back I read a posting on one of my favorite blogs called "Your Wild Child" about cutting your own Christmas trees in Montana. I spent a formative part of my early childhood in Montana and the post brought back fond memories. I posted a comment thanking Melynda for the post. She visited my blog and read my post about taking my nieces and nephew on a night hike and making torches and asked me if I would do a guest blog posting. Well I have done that now and if you'd like to go and read in you can do so by clicking here. I am confident that any of my readers that have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, Godchildren, or neighbor kids that they like to spend time with you will find great ideas an inspiration on Melynda's blog. Thanks for the opportunity Melynda!

My Christmas Haul

2010-01-16T22:03:00.000-06:00

Since we are nigh on a month after Christmas I thought I should blog on the bushcrafty items I received this year. Pictured above are (from top center moving clockwise) 100' of parachute cord, a noseeum mesh bag for my new Grand Trunk Skeeter Beater Pro hammock, Mora 510 sheath and knife, Etowah 10'x10' tarp and it's stuff sack. All the items are from Ben's Backwoods (of course) via my Mom and Dad (love you both!). When we were opening presents at my folks house I had received a small shirt-sized box. I was expecting a shirt, or wool socks but when I opened the package there were four pieces of paper. On each piece of paper was a picture of the items above with a note that said that they hadn't gotten here in time. I was really excited because this was pretty much everything I asked for this year (except world peace and a Pontiac Crossfire in silver, maybe next year...). After everyone had opened their presents I went to the kitchen for some water. As I was standing there drinking I noticed through the bottom of my glass there was a fuzzy box on the table. I lowered my glass and realized the box wasn't fuzzy at all, but rather it was the optical allusion created by the refraction of light from the combination of the thick cut glass and the water. I decided to investigate the box even if it wasn't actually fuzzy. Low and behold it was from Ben's Backwoods! Then I remembered while we were eating "the noon meal" (half the family calls it lunch, the other half dinner) there had been a knock at the door and my Dad had said it was the mail carrier. Here my present had been there the whole time.

I haven't had a chance to test out the tarp or the hammock just yet, but as soon as I do I'll write up a review. I can attest to the high quality of the 510 though. It was razor sharp out of the box and I am just tickled with it. Like my old Mora #2, it is easy to sharpen and holds an edge. The handle is safer in my opinion because when I grab it without looking I can tell by feel which side of the blade is sharp, with the oval #2 handle I always had to look. The sheath for the 510 is made to wear on a belt, or to be snapped over a button on a pair of bibs (which is how I am wearing it this very moment). Another difference between my 510 and my #2 is that the 510 has a carbon steel blade.

It is more ridgged that the #2 and threw GREAT sparks when the back of the blade is struck on a piece of chert. I have started a couple of fires that way and it really boosted my fire lighting abilites in the field. The first fire I lit I with it was at my mother-in-laws up in Allamakee County. I went to a dry run that sits just to the east of her house and broke a pice of chert out of a overhanging bank. I took it inside and lit a fire in her fireplace using a small piece of charcloth I had in my pocket, some shreded Northern white cedar bark (Thuja occidentalis) cambium and a small chunk of charred wood from a previous fire. All items that I could find (except the char cloth) on a walk through an average public area here in Iowa.

Just as an aside, I have been asked to do some guest post on another blog recently and the first one should be up on Monday. When it is up I will link post a link here for anyone that interested.

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-24T16:51:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that you are able to be with those that are special to you and that you are able to reflect on how wealthy you REALLY are if you have a roof over your head and the ability to eat multiple meals a day.

Case Sheath Ferro Rod Modification

2009-12-07T09:53:00.000-06:00

A while back I broke the saw blade on my Leatherman Blast and then the factory belt-case for it broke so I stopped carrying it and started carrying my Swiss Army Knife Camper (SAK). I Use the saw a lot but I really missed having a pliers on hand. Then the other day while working on the "Honey-Do" list I came across my 12 year old Leatherman Super Tool in an old brown after market belt sheath and I decided to start carrying that again. As I strapped it on I got to thinking "Boy I carry A LOT of knives..." (adding the Super Tool put me up to 4. And so I decided to put the SAK in the drawer. This raised the question of "What should I do with my ferro rod?". It felt strange having it float around in my pocket all alone. Then I noticed how my belt case for the super tool was a touch on the big side and had lots of extra leather. So I grabbed my ever present Mora #2 and cut 2 slits into the side of the case and voila'! A ferro loop! Total cost to me? Nothing. That I can afford.

The Joys of Childern and Fire...

2009-12-05T23:55:00.006-06:00

During Thanksgiving the family and I traveled north to Minnesota to visit with my wife's sister and her family. The first night we were there my sister-in-law suggested that we all go for a night hike and call owls. We got the kids bundled up which is no easy task (they have six kids, we have two) and headed off into the timber.

After we had walked a little ways we stopped to listen and I did a couple of Barred Owl (Strix varia ) calls to no avail. We walked further up the hill to a large open meadow and stoped to call again. This time we tried the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus), and the Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio) in addition to the Barred (none of which should be confused with a Wandering Owl) but again we raised no response.

The older kids and I stopped near a junction of two mowed trails on our way up the hill to wait for the other adults with the toddlers and infants in tow. The kids began asking me why I carried a knife with me every where I go, and what other "odd" items I had with me. I told them all the things I use my knife for from the mundane, opening envelopes, to the exciting, butchering game. While I explained just how useful a fixed blade knife can be on a daily basis I reached into my front pocket and pulled out my ferro rod and grabbed some bull thistle down from a nearby stalk. This action promoted a whole new slew of questions as to why I need thistle seeds and what the ferro rod does. Actions speak louder than words so I just showed them.

I struck the ferro rod with the saw blade on my Swiss Army "Camper" and the bull thistle down burst into flames temporarily lighting up our little corner of the meadow. My nephew, age 7, was little concerned that I was going to start a grass fire but I eventually persuaded him that everything was ok (I thought for a minute I would have to show him my S-130/190 Wildland Firefighter Card).

As we were making our way back to the house the the last hint of light disappeared in the western sky and it was increasingly difficult to make out the trail in the timber so I grabbed my rope candle (a 6-ply jute rope coated with wax) from my pocket and lit it with my ferro rod and some char cloth. I was again instantly barraged with questions as to why I need that. I though the moment at hand made it obvious but I indulged their inquisitive nature and explained how my rope candle was a sort of pocket torch. As we finally made it back to the house they decided that they also were in dire need of torches. I told them I'd see what we could come up with the following day.

The following morning I awoke excited by the challenge of manufacturing torches from what the kids and I could find in the countryside. After we'd had breakfast and the kids had done their chores we headed off to a low ridge north of the house that had a small plantation of Eastern White pines (Pinus strobus). Once we arrived at the plantation I pulled a coiled up bow saw blade from the billy can in my satchel and cut a Sugar maple sapling (Acer saccharum) whipped up a bow saw and we headed in.

We were at the plantation to gather pitch from the pine trees to act as fuel in the kid's torches. I showed the kids what to look for as far as tree damage, pitch and how to remove it. I made a basket out of my handkerchief which we lined with dried pine needle to keep the pitch from sticking to the cloth, handed it to my niece and sent them off hunting.

In the meantime I took off looking for a dead standing pine tree to fell in order to search for "fatwood", or pitch saturated wood at the base of the dead tree's stump. The limbs of the pines had never been trimmed so there were dead limbs interlocked all over the place which made movement for me difficult. I decided to cut some branches out of my way with the saw and when I did I realized that the bases of the dead branches were F-U-L-L of pitch, I mean loaded! I set about cutting dead branches and placing the pitch filled section in my pockets.

After about 45 minutes of collecting my pockets were full of fatwood, and the kids' basket had a healthy supply of pitch in it. We headed back to the house and we made a detour past the cow pasture to grab some Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) that I noticed on the way out. The kids gathered up the mullein and we beat it back to the house where I built a small fire while the kids went and scrounged up a soup can to melt their pitch in.

While the pitch melted, the kids and I had lunch around the campfire and drank tea that I boiled in my billy can. Once the pitch was melted I took the heads of the mullein and rolled them around inside the can until they were well coated then I allowed them to cool. I repeated this process a few times until they were well saturated, all the while I was explaining to the kids the ins and outs of safe handling of the torches and how they were ONLY to be lit under adult supervision.

Besides making the torches I was able to teach my oldest niece how to make cordage using baling twine from the barn. I showed her once and within a few hours she had made herself a 4-ply, 10' lead rope to use on her horse's halter. Later that day when we were hiking in the woods she grabbed some inner bark from an Ironwood tree that had been damaged by a log skidder and made a few feet of 2-ply cordage. I was (and am) a proud uncle.

I took the fatwood I collected home and made a few fatwood matches that I learned about from an article over at Woodsmonkey.com. The "matches" I made are pictured here on the left. You light them by hitting the cotton wool wrapped around the "match" with sparks from your ferro rod. The picture on the right is two of the "matches" burning (Note: the cotton wool has burned away and just the fat wood is burning now).

I also recently made a match-safe from a 12 gauge a shotshell that I have filled with waterproof matches. I got the idea for the match-safe from Ray Mears' Essential Bushcraft.

To make it you simply heat the brass of a discharged shotshell over a candle just enough that it will slip off and then slide it over the open end of another discharged shotshell.

I went a step further in that I used a hacksaw to cut grooves into the removable end of the match-safe to provide a friction plate for lighting my matches.

I waterproofed the matches myself by dipping strike anywhere matches in a clear lacquer after I read an article about the process in the latest issue of Backwoodsman Magazine and over at Brian's Blog.

Rope Candle and Bushcraft Manifesto update

2009-11-25T09:47:00.003-06:00

This past weekend I was out stargazing and owl calling with my two year old, Monkey, while visiting my mother-in-law in extreme northeast Iowa. While we were out Monkey asked "Daddy can we walk in the woods and look for creatures?". How could I say no? I didn't have a flashlight to help us to spot the tripping hazards but luckily I had a small candle in my pocket. I lit the candle with a cotton ball and my ferro rod and off we went. The candle wasn't giving off much light, and I was having trouble keeping it lit when I remembered a short hank of rope that was in my coat pocket. I pulled it out, poured some melted wax on it and lit it with the candle. Presto! A mini torch! It put out a surprising amount of light and stayed lit easily. When I got back home I twisted up a hank of jute cordage into a 6" section of 6 ply rope and coated it with wax. I carry it in a tin with some char cloth that I use to light it. Not gonna leave home with out now. After all you never know when your little one will want to hunt for creatures in the dark...

Also as a side note I finished my Bushcraft Manifesto (or at least an early draft) and I have it available as a pdf if anyone is interested. Just shoot me an e-mail at norseman55731 @ gmail.com and I'll send you a copy to peruse and critique. I have added some sketches to the Bindcraft section that a gentleman sent me after attending a program I did where I taught my style of cordage making. I think he did great job and it make the text easier to understand.

Bushcraft Manifesto-Firecraft

2009-11-17T12:30:00.002-06:00

Almost done! One more section and the rough draft will be complete, which is good because I'm presenting it tomorrow on Thursday.

The Knowledge: Firecraft

Fire has a countless uses. Some are obvious; heating, cooking, signaling. There are also some not so obvious uses. Some of the less obvious are water purification, utensil and container making, tree cutting, insect repellent, scent cover-up, habitat improvement and the list goes on. The ability to light a fire in any kind of weather is absolutely invaluable for prevention of hypothermia and fire making is one of the first skills one should perfect. Start out with simple, sure fire methods (i.e.; ferro rod and petroleum jelly soaked cotton ball) and then move on to more advanced methods (i.e.; fire-by-friction). It is also a good idea to practice lighting a fire with one match (and only one). It is very easily done, it just takes time and preparation to get it done. To get a fire started you will need:

Tinder: Very dry, lightweight materials that are flammable such as dried grasses, dried inner tree bark (cordage materials often make good tinder), wood shavings/sawdust, birch bark, jute twine, cotton balls, bull-thistle down, etc...)
Kindling: Very dry thin wood either split from larger pieces or broken down limbs. The smallest kindling should be about pencil thick and graduated up to thumb thickness.
Feather sticks: Very dry thumb to wrist thick wood that has been shaved to create thin ribbons of wood that remain attached to the main body of wood.
Small wood: Dry wood up to wrist thickness. As a general rule the small wood for you fire shouldn't be bigger in diameter than you can break without using a saw or an axe.
Large wood: Dry wood forearm thickness and up. Large wood is used to sustain a fire for longer periods of time, and to build up a good bed of coals for roasting or baking.

As was stated above when getting a fire going use dry wood. Dry wood burns faster, hotter and smokes less then damp wood. That being said there are times when throwing damp wood on the fire isn't a bad idea. If your camp is particularly buggy damp wood can create smoke and repel insects. Damp wood is also useful to keep a fire going through the night. Once you have established a good be of coal a couple of damp (not wet mind you) logs can be laid on the fire to burn very slowly through the night. With luck you all you will have to do to start a fire in the morning is rake up the coals and throw on some dry wood.

The Fire Trinity

Before we get into the discussion of fire lighting methods it is important to understand that a fire is almost a living thing in a figurative sense, not spiritual (for me anyhow). Fire, like other living things, needs food and air. If you don't feed a fire enough it starves, deny it oxygen, it suffocates. On the other hand if a fire is fed too much it grows out of control; likewise too much oxygen causes a fire to over exert itself and it will burn brightly, but quickly vanish.

The three things a fire needs are fuel, oxygen, and heat. Limit one of the three and a fire will suffer.

Ferro rod, Cotton and Petroleum Jelly

I half jokingly tell people "If you can't light a fire in the woods with this method under any conditions you probably shouldn't be in the woods". But seriously, if you can't light a fire in the woods with this method under any conditions you probably shouldn't be in the woods... seriously. A ferro rod (ferro is short for ferrocerium) is a man made "flint" made of various metals (iron,cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, magnesium) and when struck with a piece of high carbon steel it sends a shower of hot sparks. Small ferro rods are found in cigarette lighters but you can purchase larger ones fairly inexpensively that are good for hundreds of strikes.

Some ferro rods come attached to a block of magnesium that can be scraped into your tinder to aid in fire lighting, others are simply a 3" rod roughly the diameter of a pencil often referred to as a "scout" or "army" model. I personally prefer the scout/army model mainly because the rod is thicker and less prone to breakage and because in my experience the magnesium is overkill. That being said I own both styles. I carry the scout/army with me on a daily basis, and the magnesium block stays in my billy can kit for day hikes and camping trips. When it comes to knives and fire lighting equipment always error on the side of redundancy.

A ferro rod can light an amazing variety of natural tinders with a little bit for prep time, but for emergencies I always carry a small tin of cotton balls coated with petroleum jelly. To light a fire simply fluff up a cotton ball to expose the dry center and then strike the ferro rod to it. They usually light with the first strike, if not make sure you have enough dry cotton exposed and hit it again. Once the cotton starts to burn the petroleum jelly will keep the flame going (even in a strong wind) for several minutes. That being said you should be sure to have ALL your fire building materials together before you try to start your fire.

One Match Fire

The trick to a one match fire is very dry wood(notice a trend here?) and feather sticks. They way you lay your fire before you you light it is crucial in a one match fire. I prefer to start out by laying my tinder bundle down and building a open faced "tee-pee" of thin kindling around it. I will also lay aside my feather sticks and small wood before I try lighting my fire. Once I have everything set up I light my match and touch it to the tinder bundle. As the tinder bundle starts to light the kindling tee-pee I slowly add more pieces of kindling and my feather sticks, but not too much, remember to let the air flow. Once I feel that your kindling tee-pee is burning strong I beging to build a small wood "cabin" around my tee-pee. I start by laying for pieces of wood in a square around the base of my tee-pee and then four more pieces on top of that following the contours of the tee-pee; in the end your cabin should sort of like a pyramid with a flat top. I build the cabin around the tee-pee until the cabin is slightly taller than the tee-pee. I have found that this laying a fire in this manor gives you a really goo bed of coals and creates it's own airflow. By stacking the wood up and following the contours of the tee-pee you create a chimney that draws air and heat upwards so all I have to worry about is adding fuel.

Fire-by-friction

Fire by friction may not be easy, but it is NOT impossible. One of the greatest feeling I've had since becoming an outdoor educator is seeing the face of someone that has lit there first successful fire using a bow-drill with materials that they collected themselves. The trick to successfully lighting a friction fire is practice, practice, practice. You need to practice in order to get get your form just right. Proper form is almost more important that proper material. If you have the marginal form and excellent materials you won't get a fire going, however if you have excellent form and marginal materials you will.

Bow-drill parts:

Bearing block-The bearing block is what you hold in your hand to apply downward pressure on the spindle to increase friction. The bearing block can be made of the same wood as the rest of your set or a harder wood. Hard woods tend to polish up more and generate less friction which is a good quality in a bearing block.
Spindle- The spindle of your set should be made of a soft wood that is very dry. Slightly damp wood can work, but you'll work a lot harder. It is a good idea to square off your spindle instead of having a round spindle. A square spindle will rotate better than a round one because your cordage is more likely to slip on a round spindle instead of turning it. The top of your spindle should be more pointed than the the bottom to further reduce the friction between your spindle and your bearing block.
Hearth board- The hearth board, like the spindle, needs to be made of dry wood. To test if a the wood you have selected for your bow-drill set is suitable give it the thumbnail test. Press you thumbnail into the wood and if you easily leave a dent you have the right materials.
Bow- I prefer to use a bow that isn't bow shaped. I like to use a straight bow because I have less trouble loading the spindle into the bearing block and hearth board. When I've use springy curved bows I've spent a lot of time launching the spindle off into the woods. For my bow string I like to use a long synthetic boot lace. Natural materials work but they are prone to fraying and breaking.
Ember board- The ember board is simply a thin piece of wood (a dry leaf will work fine) that catches the dust from your spindle and hearth board that will be heated until it becomes a coal in your hearth boards notch.

If you keep the arm holding your bearing block locked in tight to the leg thats steadying your hearth board and you apply the right amount of pressure while keeping the spindle vertical you should get a fire.

Once you have selected and prepped your materials for your bow-drill set using the thumb nail test take your hearth board and make a small indentation about 1/2 a spindle in from the edge of your hearth board using your knife point or a piece of flint, etc. Repeat the process by putting an indentation in the very center of your bearing block.

Now load your spindle into your bow and place the appropriate ends of your spindle into the notches of your bearing block (more pointed) and hearth board (less pointed). Place leg on your hearth board close to the indetation you've made. Now apply downward pressure while locking your bearing block arm into your leg. Begin to move your bow back and forth slowly while applying downward pressure. To much pressure will keep your spindle from spinning, not enough and you won't generate enough friction.

An important note: pay attention to your shoe laces and pant leg on your hearth board leg so that they don't get wrapped in your bow string.

Once you have successfully bored out the indentation you put into your hearth board so that your spindle locks into its (1/4" or so) set your bearing block, bow, and spindle aside and pick up your hearth board. Using your knife, or flint cut a v shaped notch into your hearth board so that the narrow end of the "V" is about 1/3 of the way into your bored indentation. The "V" is where your powdered wood will gather and be heated by friction until it forms an ember.

Now repeat the whole process of loading your bow drill and getting your form right and start to slowly work your bow back an forth. As you progress you will add speed an pressure until you start to see smoke rise up from your notch. it is important NOT to stop drilling the moment you see smoke. Keep going for a while after you see smoke in order to be sure you have a good strong ember developed. When you feel confident of your ember slowly and carefully extract the spindle from your hearth board. If the smoke continues to rise up from your notch CONGRATULATIONS! If not, get back to it. If you do have a strong ember take a small stick and gently place the tip of it over your amber and roll your hearth board away from the ember. Now grab your tinder bundle and gently place your ember into the center of it an then gently begin to blow in the ember.

Most people force too much air onto the ember too quickly and either blow it out or burn it up before they can catch the tinder on fire. As you tinder begins to smoke you can blow a little harder, and the more smoke you get the harder you can blow. When the tinder bundle finally does burst into flames lay it down and begin to add your dry kindling to it. It's as simple as that, heck even a cave man could do it...

For more information on fire-by-friction visit these sites:

http://www.natureskills.com/bow_drill_fire_making.html

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/index.html

http://www.primitiveways.com/fire_damp_materials.html

http://www.primitiveways.com/e-fire.html

http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-bowfire.html

http://www.primitiveways.com/Fire%20Making%20Materials.html

Bushcraft Manifesto: Bindcraft

2009-11-13T14:54:00.003-06:00

This i think has to be the hardest section the my mini-manual to write. Trying to describe in words the process of making cordage is frustratingly difficult. I had a friend that I recently taught how make cordage proof read it and he said it seemed fairly clear. I hope to get some good photos of the process and add them soon. Any advice or clarification that you think might help would be greatly appreciated.

The Knowledge: Bindcraft

Arguably the most important skill to have in the wild is the ability to improvise cordage or rope.

Cordage can be used to:

Make fire with a bow drill.
Lash a more sturdy shelter together.
Weave a mat, or thatching to make a better insulated shelter or sleeping pad.
Make a fishing line or snare to procure food (a.k.a. protein & fat).
Improvising equipment (i.e.; pack frames, bucksaws, baskets)

As a rule of thumb the easier a material is to collect for cordage the weaker, or more brittle it is.

The skills required to make strong, serviceable in and of them selves are simple until you try to convey them to someone else. All the people I have taught to make cordage seem to have what I call an "ah-ha!" moment after struggling to understand the hand movements. The technique I prefer to use reqires the use of both hands and generates strong cordage relatively quickly.

You start by taking the cordage material and folding it into a "J" shape and holding the curve (bottom) of the "J" in your weak hand. You should have two (2) tag ends, one (1) long and one (1) short. I like to start with the short tag end away from me, and the long tag end close to me. Take the the tag end that is away from you and take it between the index finger and thumb of your strong hand. Your palm should be facing the ground. Take your thumb and roll the cordage material up your index finger then rotate your strong hand so that your palm is now facing upwards. As you rotate your palm upward use the middle finger and index finger of your strong hand to grab the tag end that is closest to you. Now rotate your strong hand back to it's original position (palm down). This action crosses the two (2) tag ends. Now while holding the cordage in your strong hand slide your weak hand down the cordage just far enough to grip the place where the two (2) tag ends cross. Now repeat the whole process.

The reason that you have one tag end shorter than the other is splicing. When collecting cordage materials you usually end up with short sections that need to be spliced together in order to end up with usable lengths of cordage. Splicing as very simple; when you get about 1.5"-2" from the end of a tag is lay a new piece of material along side of it and continue twisting. It is important to have some distance between your splices away from each other because they are weak spots. Holding the cordage in the "J" shape automatically leaves on tag shorter than the other eliminating weak splices being too close together.

Cordage Materials List:

Basswood (Tilia americana)-The inner bark Collection/Processing: moderate Strength: moderate
Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana)- The inner bark and rootlets. Collection/Processing: moderate Strenght: moderate
Ironwood/Eastern hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)- The inner bark Collection/Processing: difficult Strength: strong
Wild grape (Vitis riparia)- Pencil sized vines with shaggy bark Collection/Processing: easy Strength: weak
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica)- The thin skin on the outside of the stalk Collection/Processing: moderate Strength: very strong
Willow (Salix spp.)- Sapplings and thin branches can be used as wythes. The inner bark. Collection/Processing: easy Strength: relatively strong

This is by no means an exhaustive list of plant for cordage materials. I chose these 5 plants because of their abundance and resilience to harvesting. Basswood trees are very popular among whitetail bucks for rubing there antlers on during the fall rut. This action strips of the bark and exposes the inner barks, and usually shreds it into manageable pieces for you. Eastern red cedar is considered an invasive by land managers that are trying to restore prairies and are often looking for people to help clear them out. Ironwoods are often looked upon as less desirable in mature timber stands of oak and managers again are usually open to the idea of someone helping them to thin them. Wild grape grow abundantly in fence rows, along forest edges, in uplands, on floodplains, just about everywhere. It is pretty easy to find a downed tree top with grapevine growing in it that you can collect with out worrying about destroying the plant. Besides make decent cordage grapevine can be woven into serviceable baskets without a lot of trouble. Finally willows are extremly useful for cordage due to the suppleness of their small limbs which allows you to use them for tying an lashing. Also the inner bark make good cordage either prepared as described above, or simply by stripping the bark and using it as is.

For more information on cordage materials as well as different styles of making cordage visit these sites:

http://www.nativetech.org/cordage/

http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage.html

http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/cordage/index.html

http://www.rewild.info/fieldguide/index.php?title=Cordage_Materials

For a good source on knots and other related topics visit:

http://www.ropeworks.biz/

Deer Camp 2009 and Canning Venison

2009-10-27T14:24:00.012-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Deer Camp 2009.

Deer Crew 2009

The Longrifles

Mom, Monkey & I

Or serious deer hunter look...

First doe of the year.

I now have 8 venison tenderloins, 4 hind quarters, and enough trim meat to fill twelve quart jars (all told about 100 lbs.) And that's under half of what my old man took to start canning at his house. Plus there is 35 lbs. of hamburger and 25 lbs. of summer sausage. I love my life...

To can the deer meat (using a quart jar) is a really simple process. The first step is to trim the meat; get as much fat and gristle off as you possibly can. Next you cube the meat into nice bite size chunks (1.5" to 2"). After the meat is trimmed and cubed you put as much as you can into your canning jars. Once you have your jars full you add one teaspoon (don't bother being precise, just scoop and throw) of salt and then a .50 cent sized piece of beef tallow on top.

Put the lids and rings on at this point and screw them on as tight as you can. It is a good idea to run your finger gently over the lip of each jar before you fill it to make sure there are no blemishes, and again once you've filled the jar to make sure its clean. Now place your jars into a large stock pot and fill with water up to the lip of the jars. Bring the water to a hard rolling boil for 3.5 hours. Remove the jars and let them stand on towel until the lids seal. If you aren't in a hurry you can boil them for the 3.5 hours before you go to bed, then shut them of and allow them to stand in the water over night. That's how we did it growing up since my folks worked and I had school. It take a few days, but it gets the job done.

Once you've canned the venison and you are S-U-R-E the lids have sealed you can put the jars on the shelf until you are ready to use them. Canned venison in shelf stable for years so long as the seal isn't broken and the lids don't rust. It is also a very versatile way to prepare quick meals. Since the meat has been boiled in the jar it is pre-cooked and can be eaten as is, or you can use it in dishes like strogenoff, stews, any Mexican dish that uses shredded beef, bbq sandwiches, etc... I like to fry up garbanzo beans with olive oil and chipolte seasoning and then add in some canned venison. If you try it out and come up with some different recipes please share them with me.

Iowa 2009 Muzzleloader Hunt

2009-10-26T12:50:00.003-05:00

Here is a video the first of my two deer from this years early muzzle loader season. About a 30 yard shot with a .50 caliber flintlock. I shot another doe in the exact same spot a week after this one. More Deer Camp 2009 pictures to come soon...

How to make a charcoal forge out of mud

2009-10-23T09:59:00.002-05:00

This young gentleman from GB has some great videos. This one was particularly ingenious I thought.

My latest DIY project...

2009-10-10T12:40:00.004-05:00

Last night (Friday, October 9th) at approximately 8:25 PM Central Time my wife and I delivered our new daughter, Lucy Belle, in the comfort of our own home 40 minutes BEFORE the midwives had a chance to arrive. It was the single greatest experience of my life. Both mother and baby are doing great, and at the moment they are napping.

Bannock!

2009-09-21T10:21:00.003-05:00

I went on a backpacking trip this weekend and made bannock for the first time. I got the recipie I used from Mors Kochanski's Bushcraft book. I picked this recipe out all the various ones I found in books and from on-line resources because it was the simplest I could find. The recepie is as follows:

Bannock (for 2 people)

1 cup flour

1 moderately heaping teaspoon of baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

That's it...

All you NEED to add to the mix is water. This can be done right in the bag you carry it in by putting a dimple in the center of the mix with a couple of fingers and then slowly add water until you get the consistency you are looking for.

The bannock is very versatile and can be prepared in a variety of different ways. For supper on my backpacking trip I made it into a pliable dough that can be baked by wrapping around a green stick (maple worked well) that has been striped of bark. I also mixed in some Cabela's All Purpose Seasoning before i wrapped it onto the stick. It complemented my red beans and rice very well.

The following morning for breakfast I improvised a dutch oven using two frying pan/lids from my mess kit inverted on each other. Rather than try to explain how I did that here I'll do a post w/pictures a little later. Besides the water I also added one egg and some cashews and raisins to the dough. I also made the dough a lot runnier. Once i had it all mixed together I poured the mix into the greased frying pan oven and baked it for about 20 minutes. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Can't wait to make it again soon.

Let me know if you try it, and how you tweak your recipes. I'm gonna make some soon with chocolate chips, craisins, and almonds. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Bushcraft Manifesto-Bladecraft

2009-08-25T14:54:00.004-05:00

This is a continuation of my mini-bushcraft manual to hand out during classes. As you can tell the information is really basic. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. At the end of the manual I am going to include a bibliography with suggested books, websites and blogs. I would like to thank the retailers I mention in the article for there support and advice. Please take a moment to visit there sites and support their businesses.

The Knowledge: Bladecraft

The Knife

The “perfect” knife for general outdoor use is a fixed blade belt knife with a 4” blade made of high carbon steel that has a Scandinavian grind (flat bevel). Large, stainless steel, hollow ground blades should be avoided; the reasons will be discussed shortly.

When choosing a knife it is important to understand the advantages of a “small” knife and the draw backs of a “large” knife. By “small” I mean a knife with a blade that is 5” or less in length, “large” knives in my opinion have blades 8” and over. With a small knife it is possible to do fine detail carving on projects like a netting needle as well as fell a 6” diameter tree (with a little knowledge). Many people like large knives so they don’t have to carry a knife and an axe, but the relatively lightweight of a large knife makes it a poor substitute for an axe, and the large blade makes fine carving difficult.

A high carbon steel blade has a few distinct advantages over stainless steel. The pros & cons of both steels are:

Stainless: It is difficult to sharpen because of its hardness.

Carbon: It is easy to sharpen while holding an edge.

Stainless: It is brittle and prone to breaking (especially in cold temperatures).

Carbon: Is relatively soft and is more likely to bend than it is to break. (this is important when batoning).

Stainless: Does not work well for throwing sparks to start fires.

Carbon: Works well with ferrocerium rods as well as a traditional flint/chert stone.

The grind, or bevel, of your knives is as important as the type of steel chosen. The two most common blade grinds are the Scandinavian grind, or flat bevel and hollow grind (pictured below).

1) Hollow Grind 2) Scandinavian Grind

(Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grind)

The advantages of a Scandinavian grind over hollow are ease in sharpening, lifespan of the blades edge, and overall blade strength.

When sharpening a blade with a Scandinavian grind the entire surface of the knife’s face is kept on the stone (you can sharpen one with your eyes closed). A hollow ground blade has to be held at a specific observed angle while sharpening (it is difficult to do by feel). Also because the face of the blade runs from the cutting edge to the spine a Scandinavian ground blade can be sharpened until the blade is gone. Because of the constant gradient of the face of a Scandinavian the overall blade strength is greater when compared to the “scooped out” face of the hollow ground.

Their are a wide array of knives that meet the qualifications that I have laid out here and happily many of them are C-H-E-A-P! The quintisential bushcraft knives are Frosts Moras. Frosts Moras come in several makes and models which run from as high as $20.00 a knife, to as low as $10.00 and are available from a variety of sellers online. Four of the best in the States are:

Ben's Backwoods

Bushcraft Northwest

Northwest Woodsmen

Wilderness Outfitters Archery

The Saw

By carrying a fixed blade knife and a small folding saw, or a bow saw blade the versatility of the knife is greatly increased. With a saw you can cut larger diameter wood into desired lengths and then using your knife and a baton (stick) you can split the cut piece for firewood, kindling or carving. The type of saw you choose is based on both personal preference and the task you wish to use the saw for.

Different tooth designs on blades are made for cutting different type of wood (green wood versus dead wood). For dead wood a peg tooth design is preferred and for green weed wood it is best to have a raker tooth design.

Peg-tooth Raker-tooth

(Retrieved form http://www.appropedia.org/images/3/38/P027B.GIF)

(Retrieved from www.midwestbushcraft.blogspot.com)

A buck saw blade can safely carried by coiling it up in the bottom of a billy can. When a saw is needed it can be removed and a simple buck saw frame can be fashioned from materials found in the woods. The saw pictured above is made with a raker-tooth blade, jute twine, and a grey dogwood frame.

The options I look for in a folding saw are:

Teeth cut on push AND pull.
Easy one handed open and close.
Blade locks open.

The advantage of teeth that cut on the push and pull more efficiently utilize your energy. I like my folding saw to have the option of one hand opening and closing for instances where I need to steady what I'm cutting. One instance where it has come in handy for me was cutting a tree top that was across a branch of a river I was paddling. I was able to hold the branch while steadying the canoe with one hand while opening the saw and cutting the branch with the other. The final option that a saw has to have (I guess it really isn't an "option" per say then is it?) is a locking blade. For safety sake it is important that the blade can be locked in place to keep it from folding on your hands while you are using. The saw I use doesn't actually fold, rather the blade slides in and out of the handle. This is a little stronger design than a folding blade in my opinion and it is easy to open and lock using only one hand.

Bushcraft Manifesto

2009-08-19T10:54:00.007-05:00

Hello all. Hope you are enjoying this unseasonally cool summer as much as I am. My summer was extremely busy and it just now starting to wind down. I am looking forward to fall, hunting season, and most importantly our new baby! In the meantime I have been asked to give a presentation on bushcraft to naturalists from across the state and I decided to put together a little outline.

Well the outline has turned into more of a mini-manual for beginners and I thought I'd share it on here, section-by-section, as I complete them. I am hoping for some constructive critisim from fellow practitoners so feel free to share your opinions (be gentle though, I'm sensitive...)

The Foundations

The foundations upon which bushcraft stands are knowledge and the knife. The skills that are used in bushcraft are nothing new; many predate recorded history. Of the two foundations, knowledge is the most important. With knowledge a person can fashion a cutting tool from stone (chert, flint, basalt, etc…) or a blade can be fashioned from discarded steel or iron in the woods, all it takes is a little knowledge of lithics and metallurgy. By combining together a base knowledge with the skillful use of a knife it is very possible for you to not only survive in the wilds, but to thrive. That is the major difference between survival and bushcraft for me. I think of survival as fighting nature to live and bushcraft as working cooperativley with nature for mutual benefit.

The knowledge needed to get a start in bushcraft I have broken down into 4 basic skill sets of:

Bladecraft- the use and care of blades (knives, saws, axes, etc…).
Bindcraft- the use and care of bindings (cordage, ropes, wythes, etc…).
Firecraft- the use and care of fire and fire lighting techniques (fire-by-friction, flint and steel, ferrocerium rods, etc…).
Fieldcraft- the combined use of the above skills and ecology to utilize the landscape to thrive while leaving it better than you found it (shelter building, green woodworking, observation/journaling, etc...).

Because bushcraft goes against some of the seven principles of leave-no-trace (LNT) camping it is crucial to have a strong working knowledge of ecology to ethically practice bushcraft. For example, if you want to build a shelter and need to cut down shrubs or saplings what can you ethically cut? By knowing what trees and shrubs sucker strongly (shoot up new growth from downed trees) you can harvest them while doing no long term harm. Better yet learn what trees or shrubs are non-native and invasive to the area. Removing them will help the native vegetation and help to restore ever shrinking habitats.

Also it is important to be aware of rules and regulations while using public land, and to respect private property. In most cases on public land it is against regulations to cut or remove living plants, so you have to work with dead and down materials. However, as a land manger myself I would be more than happy to let someone collect invasive plants like buckthorn for wood carving or honeysuckle for shelter building so long as they could prove to me their ability to ID the plants. Not every land manager will be so accommodating, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. More on this will be discussed in the Fieldcraft section.

Using the Slingshot to Hunt Big Game

2009-07-27T10:27:00.001-05:00

I am going to have to try this...

A General Update...

2009-06-19T09:56:00.002-05:00

Life has been pretty busy for me lately and I have let some of my passions slip. But now I am getting back into a somewhat normal rhythm again.

I recently collected son Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) on the family farm during a recent fencing expedition. Soon I hope to turn int into bowls, kuksas, and spoons. I My carving was being held up because I pitched my old baton when we moved from western IA and I just cut a new one from a Mulberry (Morus rubra) growing outside my bathroom window (I also have a spoon the works from said tree).

I have been doing quite a bit of canoeing lately in my new job. I love that. i don't seem to get out hiking as much as I used to though. I guess when you go from living IN a state park to living in town it makes hiking harder. Who knew?

You'll notice I haven't been posting pictures...we lost out camera. It's in the house somewhere, just no idea where. The adventures you enjoy with a 22 month old...

Until later...

No, I'm not dead, just busy...

2009-04-22T11:54:00.003-05:00

I have been going through some MAJOR changes in my life and I have neglected my blog. I am hoping to get back into posting new things monthly. The reason I have been busy is that I have taken a new job in Northeast Iowa and had to move my family halfway across the State. In other news I am going to be a father...again... Sometime in either September, or mid-October. The wife and I are both praying for September (October interferes with early muzzleloading season). So until later take care and be patient with me!!!

My Satchel and my kit

2008-11-22T20:39:00.004-06:00

Here is the satchel I have carried everyday for 7 or 8 years now. It is tin cloth, but not Filson. I picked it up from Piragis Northwoods in Ely, MN when I was a Wilderness Ranger there.

In it I carry:
small belt pouch w/ 6 nails, German army folding knife, magnesium fire starter, p-chord, small note pad & pencil

RX bottle with cotton batton covered in bag balm

Sewing awl

Silva Ranger compass (do you know what the mirror is for?)

Metal water bottle

Large enamel mug w/detachable wire bail

Tea in a flip top glass jar

Large stainless steel screen tea infuse

Bar of mexican chocolate

Carved wooden spoon (black locust)

Small sharpening steel

Mini-mag w/replacement LED head

Scharade vise-grip

2 dogwood fids

Crooked knife (aka hoof knife)

Small ruler

Blank journal w/pencil, mech. eraser, 360 degree protractor

New Testament (you never know how bad it will get!)

A week from now what I carry will probably change, but not by much. Let me know if you have any suggestions, or if you would like to know more about why I carry certain things.

Three Flintlocks

2008-11-10T20:23:00.008-06:00

Here are some photos of two of my muzzleloaders, and one of my fathers.

The first is my "plain jane" .50 cal Cabela's Blue Ridge rifle. We picked it out of the Cabela's Bargain Cave in Kearney, NE back when I was 16 or 17 for $150 bucks. My Dad does an amazing job of haggling. I have been loading it with 65 grains of FFg and a .490 Hornady sprue-less round ball with .010 patches. After this past deer season I have decided to up my charge to 90 grains of FFg, and my Dad has put a new silver front sight on it to improve the sight picture in low light conditions.

The second is my .62 cal smooth rifle. I won it as a kit in a shoot about the same time we picked up the Blue Ridge. I had the gun custom built from the kit by a very talented gentleman from Indiana. It is called a "smooth rifle" instead of a fowler because it has rifle mounted furniture and a front and rear sight. I load it with 65 grains of FFg and a .610 round ball that I cast myself with a .010 patch. The smooth rifle is very versatile as it throws a round call as well as it casts shot.

The final smokepole is my Dad's Dixie Gun Works Tennessee Mtn. Rifle that was customized by a friend of the family over 20 years ago I suppose. The amazing thing about the carving on the stock is that he did it all with a jack knife (I'm not kidding). Dad loads it with 90 grains of FFg his deluxe .490 round balls from a specially fabricated popcorn bottle, and .010 patches. Dad also tends to use a felt wad between the powder and patched ball to limit any scorching of the patch.

2008-11-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

I lead a class today for a local community college and I had a couple of folks request that I post the links to a few sight I recommended for picking up inexpensive quality gear.

For army surplus I go with Sportsman’s Guide.

For knives I like to go through Smokey Mountain Knife Works.

Finally for kit I don’t make myself I go through Ben’s Backwoods.

If anyone that was at the course today (or anyone else for that matter) has any questions or request for my blog PLEASE leave a comment and let me know. Also if you attended and have requests for future course topics let me know.

Deer Camp 2008

2008-10-27T21:49:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of picture from deer camp. The first shows most of this years hunters. My Grandpa is seated in front, he is still hunting at age 97! I hope I can hunt for that long. The other is a pic of one of the deer I got. She was a pretty good sized doe, she had close to three inches of fat on her back!

My Dad is pointing to where I hit her, which was exactly where I aimed. We were pretty impressed because it was a 130 yard shot (he measured it three times!).

I used a .50 caliber flintlock rifle with a patched round ball and 90 of FFFG black powder.

I got another deer (a button buck) a couple of days before at about 35 yards. We processed both of the deer ourselves. I would have to say that my favorite part of deer hunting is the butchering process. There is something exceedingly satisfying about providing food for your family literally from field, to table and doing all yourself (with a little help from your Mom and Dad of course!). Thanks Mom and Dad!

I didn’t use my smoothrifle as much as I would have liked because it was shooting 18” low ad 50 yards after we got it back from the gunsmith. I just didn’t have the time to try to sight it in so I used my old Cabela’s Blue Ridge Rifle.

Besides the great deer hunting with my family (there were four generations at deer camp) I got to do some of the best wildlife watching I’ve done in my life while waiting for the deer to come by. I saw…
1 Woodcock two different times (My Dad saw three)
1 Brown creeper
2 Red fox
2 Coyotes
5 Pileated woodpeckers
15 Gold-crown kinglets
and 1 Sharp shinned hawk that flew within 6” of my right elbow.

Why can’t deer season be 365 days long?

Heading for Deer Camp!

2008-10-10T11:50:00.002-05:00

In about two hour my family and I will be heading to Iowa's East Coast (the Mississippi River) for early muzzleloader deer season. We will be hunting Whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and we have the potential of getting 3 deer this year (we have three tags). We plan on doing the butchering ourselves, but we will have a local meat locker make up some ring bologna and maybe some jerky for us. Here is a picture from last year’s successful hunt.

I carry a .62 caliber flintlock smooth-rifle that was custom made for me by a gentleman from Indiana. I won it in a shoot when I was about 16 or 17 years old. I like using a smoothbore flintlock because of the versatility and added challenge. Since it is not rifled I am limited to around 100 yard shots, but once I have my deer I am able to load it with shot and hunt small game.