Just a Saturday night in the woods and why not! Pack loaded with too much stuff for a night hike.
15 lbs isn't all that much but it did slow me down a bit later on.
OMG the scary bear infested woods. No bears tonight but have seen them here last month.
Yellow birch is the napalm of the woods.
Tulip Poplar.
It's bark is useful.
These are all over the woods.
So is moss.
Firecraft practice.
A cheesy Sycamore fire boards and spindle I carved (if this can even be called carving) on site. Really spent so little time on this. There are lots of Sycamore trees in the lower areas near the river.
Chaga from a few weeks ago in the Berkshires, Cedar bark from the other day, Yellow birch and Tulip poplar bark from tonight.
Firesteel natural tinder practice.
Up first the Tulip poplar bark.
It felt a bit damp but took a spark after some trying. I was a little disappointed. Speaking of damp there was thunder on the mountain during the skills practice.
Then the Yellow Birch bark.
Amazing as always.
The main event.
I always liked the Bushcrafter BHK/ltwrightknives design which is based on the Kephart IMHO. Drills nicely though any knife for the most part can.
Burn in with a poorly done V-notch. Being really lazy here.
And lazy effort gets lazy results. Attempt number 1 ends in a false ember. Often if it doesn't work by try number 3 it isn't going to.
I did take precautions to put the odds in my favor should I get a coal. Coal extenders are a bit like insurance policies against the unexpected.
Attempt number 2 is a WIN! That said it was a weak ember that at first barely clung to life requiring intensive care aka fanned my hand.
It finally took.
But then fell apart inside the tinder bundle despite waiting the normal amount of time. Fortunately the chaga coal extender did catch a glow from the friction fire ember and it wouldn't be denied. From the second of the flashover. Even after the tinder bundle burned to ashes the chaga coal remained. I had to dump water on it before leaving.
Foursevens Quark X AA2 tosses out a bunch of cool white light. I never night hike/run with only one light. Notice the orange lanyard. The woods can eat gear.
Scampering down ledges and rocks alone in the dark is a good time, sorta.
At the dirt road. Have about 2 miles to GO! There is a combo of dirt roads, stream crossings, trail and abandoned tracks for the jog. I think the entire outing was around 3 miles. Nothing extraordinary.
Ok I am back at the truck. This wasn't the fastest two miles in history but that extra pack weight, dark and rough ground all slowed me down.
Tools of the trade.
Fenix HP12 and 4/7 flashlight. Lights are IMHO the most critical gear item for night activities especially when in a hurry or working with a knife. Try making a friction fire set with a sharp knife in the dark blind. Not going to end well nor will scampering over ledges.
Robert Jones handcrafted leather sheath. Made to fit a JW trade knife works wonderfully with the Bushcrafter HC. A good quality sheath at a fair price.
So far I am liking the new knife.
Soon after it rained a bit. Nothing overly entertaining but it's my Saturday night.
15 lbs isn't all that much but it did slow me down a bit later on.
OMG the scary bear infested woods. No bears tonight but have seen them here last month.
Yellow birch is the napalm of the woods.
Tulip Poplar.
It's bark is useful.
These are all over the woods.
So is moss.
Firecraft practice.
A cheesy Sycamore fire boards and spindle I carved (if this can even be called carving) on site. Really spent so little time on this. There are lots of Sycamore trees in the lower areas near the river.
Chaga from a few weeks ago in the Berkshires, Cedar bark from the other day, Yellow birch and Tulip poplar bark from tonight.
Firesteel natural tinder practice.
Up first the Tulip poplar bark.
It felt a bit damp but took a spark after some trying. I was a little disappointed. Speaking of damp there was thunder on the mountain during the skills practice.
Then the Yellow Birch bark.
Amazing as always.
The main event.
I always liked the Bushcrafter BHK/ltwrightknives design which is based on the Kephart IMHO. Drills nicely though any knife for the most part can.
Burn in with a poorly done V-notch. Being really lazy here.
And lazy effort gets lazy results. Attempt number 1 ends in a false ember. Often if it doesn't work by try number 3 it isn't going to.
I did take precautions to put the odds in my favor should I get a coal. Coal extenders are a bit like insurance policies against the unexpected.
Attempt number 2 is a WIN! That said it was a weak ember that at first barely clung to life requiring intensive care aka fanned my hand.
It finally took.
But then fell apart inside the tinder bundle despite waiting the normal amount of time. Fortunately the chaga coal extender did catch a glow from the friction fire ember and it wouldn't be denied. From the second of the flashover. Even after the tinder bundle burned to ashes the chaga coal remained. I had to dump water on it before leaving.
Foursevens Quark X AA2 tosses out a bunch of cool white light. I never night hike/run with only one light. Notice the orange lanyard. The woods can eat gear.
Scampering down ledges and rocks alone in the dark is a good time, sorta.
At the dirt road. Have about 2 miles to GO! There is a combo of dirt roads, stream crossings, trail and abandoned tracks for the jog. I think the entire outing was around 3 miles. Nothing extraordinary.
Ok I am back at the truck. This wasn't the fastest two miles in history but that extra pack weight, dark and rough ground all slowed me down.
Tools of the trade.
Fenix HP12 and 4/7 flashlight. Lights are IMHO the most critical gear item for night activities especially when in a hurry or working with a knife. Try making a friction fire set with a sharp knife in the dark blind. Not going to end well nor will scampering over ledges.
Robert Jones handcrafted leather sheath. Made to fit a JW trade knife works wonderfully with the Bushcrafter HC. A good quality sheath at a fair price.
So far I am liking the new knife.
Soon after it rained a bit. Nothing overly entertaining but it's my Saturday night.
