An Afternoon Walk With Lizzie

This is a short video I created for a contest on the BushcraftUSA forum. Lizzie and I went for a walk down Michigan Ave. to Canatara Park and then up to the beach in front of the water treatment plant in Point Edward.  From there we walked under the Bluewater Bridge and then back home for a total distance of about nine kilometres.  It was overcast that day which gave the video a somewhat somber tone. 

Well we had an unsuccessful hunt this year up in the Bruce.  The deer were all over the place last year but decided not to show themselves this time around.  Here is a short little video of my stand this year.

There is about a twenty to thirty minute walk into the stand from the cabin so the trick is to dress lightly and pack your insulating layers in for the morning so as not to overheat.  I like to attach my Kifaru Scout pack to the tree behind me and sit in the stand which I put up before the hunt.

For sitting in the stand in temperatures around the freezing mark I like to wear insulated boots with thick 90% wool socks, Keen insulated winter boots, MEC Mercury Tights, M1951 100% wool field pants, a running tech shirt for wicking moisture, a Boy Scout 85% Wool Jackshirt, a down vest, an insulated blaze orange hunting jacket I picked up at Meijer, an insulated hand warmer my brother in law gave me along with some air activated heat packs, some 100% wool glove liners and finally a Thinsulate toque.

For walking around from the stand I pack the insulated jacket, down vest, handwarmer and toque for a light jacket and a baseball cap.

If not in the stand I switch out the Scout pack for a Kifaru Tailgunner with just the shoulder sling as my possibles bag.  The rifle is a Browning A-Bolt II Composite Stalker with Boss in 30-06.

Skookum Bush Tool Type Knife Build

I've placed an order for a Skookum Bush Tool knife and was informed by the maker Rod Garcia  that the wait time is over two years. So I thought I would go ahead and try to make my own for the time being.  I have documented the process on the BushcraftUSA website on this thread.

This is how the knife sits right now awaiting the handle scales to be formed and attached.

Hand Drill with Local Materials

A friend of mine on the online forum BushcraftUSA sent me a handdrill set made from a plant called sotol.  The set worked marvellously well so it was a good starting point but sotol is not found in Southern Ontario.  So, a bushcraft goal of mine was to be able to produce a coal using the handdrill method of friction fire but with local materials. 

Yesterday I collected a number of different weed stalks and some willow to use to accomplish this goal.  Many of the thinner stalks did not work but I was finally successfull using a mullein stalk and a willow hearth board.

Here is a video showing how it all went down.  Of course I removed all the failed attempts so as to make it more interesting, I hope you enjoy it.

Bike for Bibles 2012

This past August I had the privelege to ride with some great folks on this years Bike for Bibles ride, The Canal and Capital Tour.  I have some footage to put together a little video but for now here's a picture taken at Champlain Point in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec with my Long Haul Trucker.

Hand Drill Fire

The hand drill friction fire technique is, in a way, the holy grail of friction fire methods.  I have tried several local materials including mullein, teasel and cedar without success.  After posting about my attempts on the BushcraftUSA forums a member there (RoadLessTraveled) sent me a set made from sotol, a plant that is abundant in the South Western United States.  Here is a video of my first successful hand drill fire using the set he sent.

Transit of Venus 2012

The Transit of Venus is one of the rarest predictable astronomical events that comes around twice within eight years but not again for another 105 years.  The next one will take place in 2117.  On the evening of June 5th I took the telescope down to the water treatment plant in Point Edward and was fortunate to have clear skies even though it was predicted to be cloudy.


Watching the Transit of Venus near the mouth of the St. Clair river.

A solar filter was fitted over the front of the telescope which blocked out the majority of light enabling safe viewing.  The filter can be seen in the above picture.  The telescope is a Celestron Sky Seeker refractor fitted with a computer that controls a motor driving the mount enabling it to track the object you are viewing.  

A photo of the Sun taken during the Transit of Venus on the 5th of June 2012.

The above photo was taken with my DSLR held up to the eyepiece.  I had to play with the apeture settings in order to capture the sunspots and the planet Venus as it traveled across the face of the Sun.

For some time I have wanted to make a video that may help people who are struggling to be successful with the bow drill fire.  One of the biggest reasons for failure is the improper selection of materials for the hearth board and spindle and for the tinder bundle.  Before you venture out into the woods I suggest that you first practice at home using cedar from the hardware store and jute twine for your tinder bundle.  In the video I go over some of my favorite bearing blocks or sockets and why some are better than others.  I like using a teaspoon for a bearing block because it is multifunctional and you probably have one in your kit already.

"Bearing blocks" from left to right in order of preference: teflon, teaspoon, Kabar Hobo, rock, deer antler and finally hardwood.

Here is a close up of the process where you can see the dust filling the notch as the spindle is turned.

Rondeau Provincial Park Bicycle Ride

During a recent trip to Rondeau Provincial Park I had a chance to take the Brompton on a short ride on some of the trails.  The peninsula at one time was known as Pointe au Pins du to the large number of pines that could once be found there.  After extensive logging in the nineteenth century few pine trees remain today and the majority can be found on the lake side of the park.  I had a goal to find a Basswood tree which seems to be scarce up in Sarnia and low and behold there was one right at our campsite. 

Chaga

On a recent canoe trip I was able to harvest some chaga or tinder fungus which grows on birch trees.  The Wikpedia page has a pretty good description of the stuff.

Chaga right after it was harvested.

It makes an excellent tinder that once ignited using a ferro rod or magnifying glass is nearly impossible to extinguish, hence it's nickname "tinder fungus". This piece smoldered for at least fifteen minutes and released a pleasant aroma similar to incense burning.

Burning Chaga

 It also has a history in Russia of being used to make tea which I have yet to try.

Silver Peak Panorama

When we reached the summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park I took a series of pictures and then stitched them together to produce this panorama. Right click on the image and select open in new window.

Panorama at the Summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Had an opportunity to take my Current Designs Vision 15 kayak out for a spin this past Wednesday on Lake Huron.  I recently purchased a spray-skirt, paddle float and bilge pump after learning how to use them on a course given by the Lambton Outdoors Club back in the spring.  I would love to go on a trip using the kayak in future.

Kayaking on Lake Huron

Beaching the Kayak

Breakfast on the Trail

This is my favorite breakfast while in the bush.  Pancake made with "just add water" pancake mix, with just enough water added to make a thick batter.  Fried in butter and served with homemade black currant jam with a Starbucks Via coffee on the side.

Breakfast in Killarney Provincial Park

Killarney Canoe Trip

I wanted to take my son up to Killarney Provincial Park this summer so I made my booking back in early May. My wife and I have been up to Killarney several times when we were first married but I haven't been back for fifteen years. When I made the booking I was told I could have up to nine people per site, so I thought It would be a good opportunity to invite my two brothers and some of my nieces and nephews to come along.

We arrived at the park via the Bell Lake Access Road and obtained our permits from the Killarney Kanoes outfitter located at the put in point. When you make your reservation at the park you book a spot on a lake, in our case we had one night on Bell Lake, two on David Lake and one on Balsam Lake. The sites on the lake are chosen on a first come first served basis. Our plan was to stay on site number 74 on the western end of Bell Lake and fortunately for us there was no one there. In fact the park wasn't busy at all and we found throughout our visit that we could chose any site we wanted.

The tents were pitched for the night and we proceeded to settle down to steaks and sausage on the grate that was left there for us.  Each site is equipped with a "treasure box" latrine tucked away several yards from the camping area.  We hung our food bags away from camp in an appropriate tree to deter the bears or any other unwelcome animals from tampering with them.

Supper our First Night

The next morning we awoke to a calm lake and a spectacular view of Silver Peak which we would be climbing the next day.

Site 74 on Bell Lake Looking West Towards Silver Peak

Site 74 on Bell Lake looking East

We were all sitting around the fire having our breakfast when my son shouts "there's a bear swimming across the lake, I'm not even kidding you!"  I looked up to see the bear's head just out of the water swimming to the shore to our right.  I was too slow with the camera but my niece caught the picture below as the bear exited the lake.

We packed our things and headed off towards David Lake.  We would need to make a 745 metre portage to a beaver dammed lake and then another 200 metre portage into David Lake.  The wind was strong and made paddling difficult but we made it to our first choice for our campsite, site number 106.  It had a great view of the LaCloche Mountain Range but there was a steep climb to the tenting site and the ground was uneven.  We settled on site number 100, one of two sites on a large island in the middle of the lake.

Canoeing on the Lake Between the Portages from Bell to David Lake

I brought along a hammock I had recently purchased to try out on this trip - a Grand Trunk Ultralight.  The night before I was cold so at my brother's suggestion I placed my Thermarest mattress inside the hammock which coupled with a touque made for a cozy nights sleep, the best I've had in some time in the bush.

Relaxing in the Hammock

My brother challenged me to make the night's fire using the bow and drill so I obliged using an excellent piece of cedar I found that was in just the right state of decay. There were also some silver birch trees that supplied excellent tinder along with some punkwood from the decayed cedar. I also found some chaga that was growing on one of the white birch trees.

The next morning we waited out the rain before we set out on our hike up to the summit of Silver Peak. The trail is accessed from the south end of David Lake between sites 104 and 105 which is actually a portage to Boundary Lake. On the way to the summit we came upon a black bear feeding on the blueberries which were in abundance on the slopes.

 

Black Bear Feeding on the Blueberries

The hike to the summit was fairly strenuous and rocky but we took several breaks before making it to the top.  At the top you can see Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Island as well as the stacks in Sudbury.  The four stone foundations are still there as a reminder of the fire watch tower that once stood there back in the fifties.

On the Summit of Silver Peak in Killarney Provincial Park

We made it back to our site after a total of around five hours and enjoyed another meal around the campfire. Tonight's challenge was to boil water in a plastic water bottle, something my brother had seen on Survivorman.

There are some very large white pine trees around site 100 which I understand were logged extensively in the early days of the area.  Most nights the loons would call each other from lake to lake and would continue off and on early into the morning.  Here's an example.

The next morning were awoke to another calm lake and a beautiful sunrise.

Morning on Site 115 on Balsam Lake

We broke camp and proceeded to chase a Loon across the lake on our way to the next portage to Balsam Lake.  It is easy to lose your bearings while on the water but the GPS coupled with the park map led us to the portage entrance.

Loon on Balsam Lake

We chose to stay at site 115 which was close to the portage we would need to take the next day to Three Mile Lake on our way out.  The boys tried there luck at fishing and were able to catch rock bass with just about every cast and my brother caught a nice sized pike.

There are indeed many Balsam Fir trees on Balsam Lake so I decided to try another bowdrill fire using a partially decayed specimen.  I tried several times unsuccessfully with one section but was successful on the first try with another section.

The Treasure Chest on site 115

We set of on our final morning over what was once a lift over that once employed a trolley that you could steer your canoe onto and push it over into the next lake.  I remember using it back in the nineties on our last visit but it was apparently removed after some clowns decided to ride it while sitting in the canoe which injured themselves and the trolley.

We continued on against a moderate wind  to our put in point and drove into the town of Killarney which was once a favorite stopping point for the voyageurs years ago.  We made a stop at the Herbert Fisheries fish and chip bus for a plate of fish and chips before heading home.

Fish and Chip Bus in Killarney Ontario

Fire Starting with Evergreen Sap

Someone asked about using other tree saps to start a fire so I thought I would give it a go with the sap from an evergreen tree in the back yard.  I'm not sure what species of tree it is but it has sap oozing from the bark from nails driven into it from my son.  The sap or resin had the consistency of paste rather than a liquid.  I could not get the resin to ignite using my ferro rod alone.  In fact, it would not ignite using my lighter either.  Once I placed some dried twigs in the resin the resin finally lit.  Once it did light it sustained a fire for nearly five minutes wich would be more than enough time to produce a good fire

Fire by Balsam Fir Sap, Dried Needles and a Ferro Rod

Today's fire was started using Balsam Fir sap, dried needles and a ferro rod.  The young needles of the Balsam Fir also make an excellent tea.

Solar Fire by Punk-wood and Dried Leaves

Here's a video I made a couple of days ago recreating how I started the evening fire using a lens, some punk-wood and some dried leaves.

Traverse City Pics

Spent last weekend up in Traverse City Michigan while we attend Trish's marathon and I thought I'd post some of my favorite pictures of our stay on Long Lake.

Ride in the Mini

Here's a video my kids shot from the back seat of my 1984 Austin Mini when on a ride to and from their Grandma and Grandpa's house.

River Thames Flint

I received some flint recently from a friend in Texas and have been using it to make fire using the flint and steel method.  I've got a pretty good idea what flint looks like.  The inner core of the rock has a dark appearance and the outer layer is lighter in colour.

The rock prior to flaking off a piece.

In our front yard we have a rock garden containing rocks we've brought back from our family vacation trips.  One of them was picked up from the Thames riverbed in London England at low tide. I happened to notice that rock the other day and wondered if it could be flint.  I decided to flake off a piece and find out if it could produce a spark with my steel.

A piece flaked off.

I flaked a large piece off using one of the other rocks from the garden and then broke it down into a couple of smaller pieces.  In the process I noticed blood streaming from my thumb - I had cut it without knowing it.  Well these flakes sure are sharp which is a good sign.

Smaller pieces flaked off.  Notice the translucent piece on the left.

The moment of truth came as I took one of the smaller pieces and struck it with my steel.  Jackpot, it produced a shower of sparks.  I will be adding some of these pieces to my kit mainly for sentimental value to remember our vacation but also because they produced a nice sharp edge.  The rock seems to have a translucent property making it look like glass.

The rock returned to the garden.

I still have a large piece of rock for the garden safe and sound for when I need another piece of flint.

Just picked up this 36" length of O1 precision ground tool steel from the Metal Supermarket in London which is right next door to Lee Valley Tools. Got it for $46 plus taxes which I thought was pretty decent. Hoping to make a knife or two similar to the Pathfinder knife that Dave Canterbury uses and one similar to the Busse SAR 5 which are very similar in design.

Happy Mothers Day Mom

Taped this this past Mother's day. This is my Mom, who was a missionary for years in Southern Africa, reciting John 3:16 in the Sotho language. I'll get my Dad on Father's day doing it in Zulu but he needs a bit of practice.

Friction Fire Using the Bow-Drill and Natural Materials

After having success with the bow-drill using cedar for the hearth-board and spindle and jute twine for the tinder bundle I wanted to give it a go with some materials I could collect in the "wild".  The willow that I found seemed to be soft enough as my thumbnail could easily depress into it except for the heart wood which was more dense.  The first hearth-board I created could not produce enough dust to fill the notch and therefore could not ignite into a coal.  The same result was obtained on my second hearth-board but on my third one, the smaller diameter piece, I could tell right away that it was going to work by the amount of dust that was created.  An ember was produced on my first attempt. 

The problem then became keeping the coal long enough to ignite the tinder bundle.  The dried grasses did not seem to catch a flame as easily as the jute twine.  On two attempts the coal either disintegrated and fell through the fibres of the birds-nest or just burnt out because it was too small.  Persistence paid off though as I was successful on the third attempt as shown at the end of the video below.

There seem to be so many factors that must be just right to create a friction fire with the bow-drill.  The most important factor seems to be the correct piece of wood to make your hearth-board from.  On future attempts I'm going to try to make the primary tinder in the birds nest as fine as I can in order to catch a flame.  I'll also try to see if I can find some cedar.

Firestarting Using Horseshoe Fungus and a Magnifying Lens

Horseshoe fungus, a type of Bracket Fungus, is something I've seen in the forest and never realized it's potential as a firestarting material.  Once you remove the inside orange material, either by sawing or by scraping with your knife, you can ignite it with a ferro rod, or in the case of the video below, using a magnifying lens.  These lenses were scavenged from old projectors which were discarded as trash. 

Friction Fire Using the Bowdrill

Friction fire is a skill that is a great asset to anyone who spends time in the outdoors and will help you to understand the principles involved in conventional fire starting.  The standard for friction fire making is the bowdrill method and should be the first one to master since many of the principles will be identical to other methods.  In the bowdrill method a spindle is turned into a depression in the hearthboard with the aid of a bow.  A coal is produced by heat generated from the friction of the spindle and hearthboard.  This coal is then transferred to a tinder bundle where it is blown into a larger, hotter coal which will in turn ignite the tinder.

There are several variables to consider to achieve success with this technique.  I am by no means an expert but from my research and limited experience I have found the following:

The type of wood to use for your drill and hearth.  Ideally you need to use a softwood like cedar, balsam fir or willow and should avoid hardwoods like oak and maple.  The wood should collected from a dead standing tree that has the bark removed from age.  You should make the spindle and hearthboard from the same piece of wood.  The spindle should be eight to ten inches long and carved to have a point at the end that will go into the bearing block and rounded at the hearthboard end.  The bow should be the length of your arm and not too heavy so as to produce fatigue when used.  I prefer a straight bow because I find it easier to maintain a straight back and forth motion.  A depression should be carved into the hearthboard to accept your spindle with a half an inch distance from the edge of the hearthboard to the edge of your spindle.  Push your spindle into the depression you just carved to get it started before going ahead and burning it in with your bow.  Once you have it burned in you must carve a V notch taking out no more than an eighth of the circle and going no deeper than a quarter of the way to the middle of the depression.  Part one of the videos below will illustrate this better than I can describe it.

The material you use for your bearing block.  The bearing block should be made from a material that will not eat up the spindle from friction.  You can use hardwood, bone or antler, stone or man made materials that you may have on hand.  Some knife manufacturers make a depression in one of the handle scales to use for a bearing block.

Tinder bundle material and condition.  The tinder bundle or "birds nest" should be comprised of several layers of tinder with the most highly combustible layer first.  The most combustible layer is where you are going to transfer your coal.  For the first layer you could use cedar bark, fine birch bark, cattail fluff or dried grasses.  Whatever material you choose should be ground up in your hands to produce fine fibres which will increase the surface area of the material.  The next layer can be comprised of unprocessed material used in the first layer.  The outer layer can be comprised of dried plant material like plant tops which are easily broken or bent in the hand - no larger than a couple millimetres in diameter.  This last layer will hold the fire long enough for your kindling to catch.  If you were to use just dried grasses the flames would not last very long.

Weather conditions.  It is much easier to use this method if it is a dry hot sunny day.  Humidity is the enemy of this method.  There is not much you can do to control this which is why it is important to practice in all kinds of weather.

Technique.  It's probably best to watch one of the video's below to get an idea of the proper stance you should take.  It's best to rest your wrist, on the side that you are holding the bearing block, against your shin to stabilize yourself and prevent the spindle from moving from side to side.  When you first start to work the bow there is no need to hurry or exert allot of pressure downward on the bearing block.  You want to generate a good amount of dust in your notch first  Once a sufficient amount of dust is collected the speed of the bow is increased along with an increase in downward pressure on the bearing block.  This will generate the heat needed to produce a coal from the collected dust.

Some may scoff at my choice of materials in these videos as they are not from natural sources.  I chose to use a cedar plank for my hearth and spindle, paracord and a hockey stick for my bow, jute and sisal rope as well as dead grasses and plants for the tinder bundle and initially a rock and then a piece of Teflon for the bearing block.  I feel that it is best to initially use the best materials you have available in order to master the technique so that you can put all the odds in your favour in order to be successful before graduating to foraging for more natural sources.

Here is a three part video series describing how I used the materials above to gain success at the bowdrill.  I feel confident that with these materials I can produce a fire in under five minutes with the set already made.  Now on to more natural materials...

Long Haul Trucker Update

I thought I would update my previous post on my Surly Long Haul Trucker since I've added a few components along the way to make the ride safer and more convenient. 

This stand was made from plans I found on the internet.  It makes the bicycle easier to work on and load up for a ride.

This bicycle is mainly used for commuting to work and around town so I usually use a single panier bag that holds just about everything I need.  The bag is made by Ortlieb and is waterproof in case I get caught in a downpour.

Here's a view of the "cockpit" which consists of a Garmin 60csx GPS that I use as a speedometer and a route recorder.  It also has the usual GPS capabilities like finding places of interest nearby or turn by turn directions.  I also have a Lezyne Superdrive LED light that puts out 450 lumens on high, 300 lumens on medium, 150 lumens on low and a blinking mode.  It has a rechargable battery that recharges via a USB port.  

The bell is a Portland Design Works "King of Ding".  Watch the video to see it in action.

The fenders are SKS Longboards which are designed to extend almost to the ground so as to catch the majority of the water that would otherwise be thrown up on the rider and the bicycle components.

The pump is a Topeak Turbomorph which I like because it is like a mini floor pump with a fold down footrest and a foldaway pressure gauge.  The waterbottle is a Camelback Podium bottle with a jet valve.  The stainless bottle to the front is a Thermos Vacuum Insulated Commuter Bottle which keeps your coffee or tea hot for hours, I love this bottle and take it everywhere.

The seat is a Brooks Flyer leather saddle that is made in England and even though it uses technology that has been around since the 1920's, it is the industry standard for touring bicycles.  It is the most comfortable seat I've tried yet.  The lock is a cable lock made in Canada by Damco.  The saddle bag was made by yours truly and contains all my tools.

The rear light made by Surfas is super bright and really gets your attention, especially in flash mode. The Ontario MTO website has a great section on safe bicycle riding and somewhere in there I saw a reference to the Highway Trafic Act that requires you to have reflective tape on your front and rear spokes.  Sarnia Bicycle Shop on Front Street sells if for a buck a foot.

I did have a Topeak handlebar bag on the front but found it to interfere with the view of the front tire on the road.  I have an idea how to install it a different way using a second stem mount but that's still in the works.

Some More Homemade Pouches for My Kifaru Packs

I've made a few pouches for my packs and talked about them in a previous post.  Since then I've made a few more.  Here's a carrier for my Thermos flask that goes with me pretty much everywhere.  It's made from nylon webbing and Cordura nylon with a Molle attaching system on the back. 

Presently I have this mounted on my Kifaru Scout pack that I use as my everyday pack for going to work.  The flask is in it's carrier on the right. 

A loop of bungee cord keeps the flask firmly in place.

I've also sewn a mesh pocket to the underside of the top lid on the Scout.

These three internal pouches were made to mount to the Molle webbing inside my Kifaru Marauder pack.  Kifaru makes these pockets and calls them Lock'n Load pockets.  These really help to organize all my gear so I know where it is so I don't need to search for it.  The mesh fronts allow me to see what's stored inside without having to open the pouch.

Here you can see the attachment system that consists of nylon webbing with three bar sliders that catch on the Molle webbing.

The larger pack mounted to the inside of the back of the pack.

And finally here's a little pouch mounted onto the belt of the pack.