Photos A Walk in Nature

[JJ_Colt45]

So many great knives and beautiful settings! I'm enjoying seeing them all, and hopefully can add a few pictures sometime soon.

Thanks for sharing them!

 

[CelloDan]

I'll digress very slightly from the thread's main theme but not by far as we'll have nature and knives too

You see, I LOVE mountains and a few pics here on this thread brought back wonderful memories from the time we lived in Tennessee and my passion for flying hang gliders. Yeap, feeling nostalgic now lol

It was a wonderful way to connect with nature, to feel the thermals, fly side by side with hawks on a couple of occasions too and see the world from such unique perspective.

I initially learned to fly on the flat lands of Texas being towed up by a special system. Then we moved to Chattanooga TN and I became enamored with Lookout Mountain and surrounding area, no just for flying but hiking too or just being able to drive to the top and sit there looking down on the valley.

If the weather and conditions were good I was guaranteed to be on the mountain.

When we moved away from the mountains my heart almost literally broke. I think I actually grieved the loss for a long time.

Moments before my first mountain/ cliff launch from Lookout Mt.

A couple years later with my second ( high performance) wing

Just the other day in my backyard ... still fits ( I asked my wife if her wedding dress still fitted her but that did not go too well ... for me )

So anyways , we used to fly with a hook knife ( the yellow one in the pic below ) just in case you landed on trees or whatever and needed to cut yourself loose, ( also used in a emergency to cut the towing rope if being towed up behind an ultralight or by a winch system)

Looking at it now I think that while it may be ok to cut cords and small straps NO WAY it would be able to cut trough very thick straps.

So I thought that if I was flying today I would also carry my bark river little creek ( in its sheath of course lol ) on the front pocket of my harness secured with a lanyard to complement the hook knife. That little thing would have no problem with thick straps and even little branches probably.

Upon moving back to Canada, I would drive to Quebec to fly.

Mont St Pierre, Quebec

The one and only video I have launching from Lookout Mt with vistas of the valley below.
It must have been winter or very early spring because the trees are bare and I am bundled up.
A short flight as I was not able to gain altitude.

A friend lent me his camcorder, ... those things were much bigger back then so we put a little sandbag on the opposite wing to counteract the weight.
( I should not have launched that day as conditions were far from ideal )

 

[bigfish64]

I'll digress very slightly from the thread's main theme but not by far as we'll have nature and knives too

You see, I LOVE mountains and a few pics here on this thread brought back wonderful memories from the time we lived in Tennessee and my passion for flying hang gliders. Yeap, feeling nostalgic now lol

It was a wonderful way to connect with nature, to feel the thermals, fly side by side with hawks on a couple of occasions too and see the world from such unique perspective.

I initially learned to fly on the flat lands of Texas being towed up by a special system. Then we moved to Chattanooga TN and I became enamored with Lookout Mountain and surrounding area, no just for flying but hiking too or just being able to drive to the top and sit there looking down on the valley.

If the weather and conditions were good I was guaranteed to be on the mountain.

When we moved away from the mountains my heart almost literally broke. I think I actually grieved the loss for a long time.

Moments before my first mountain/ cliff launch from Lookout Mt.

A couple years later with my second ( high performance) wing

Just the other day in my backyard ... still fits ( I asked my wife if her wedding dress still fitted her but that did not go too well ... for me )

So anyways , we used to fly with a hook knife ( the yellow one in the pic below ) just in case you landed on trees or whatever and needed to cut yourself loose, ( also used in a emergency to cut the towing rope if being towed up behind an ultralight or by a winch system)

Looking at it now I think that while it may be ok to cut cords and small straps NO WAY it would be able to cut trough very thick straps.

So I thought that if I was flying today I would also carry my bark river little creek ( in its sheath of course lol ) on the front pocket of my harness secured with a lanyard to complement the hook knife. That little thing would have no problem with thick straps and even little branches probably.

Upon moving back to Canada, I would drive to Quebec to fly.

Mont St Pierre, Quebec

The one and only video I have launching from Lookout Mt with vistas of the valley below.
It must have been winter or very early spring because the trees are bare and I am bundled up.
A short flight as I was not able to gain altitude.

A friend lent me his camcorder, ... those things were much bigger back then so we put a little sandbag on the opposite wing to counteract the weight.
( I should not have launched that day as conditions were far from ideal )

That is so impressive! We tried hang gliders at Kitty Hawk NC and I couldn’t hardly stay in the air for more than a few hundred feet!

 

[dantzk8]

I'll digress very slightly from the thread's main theme but not by far as we'll have nature and knives too

You see, I LOVE mountains and a few pics here on this thread brought back wonderful memories from the time we lived in Tennessee and my passion for flying hang gliders. Yeap, feeling nostalgic now lol

It was a wonderful way to connect with nature, to feel the thermals, fly side by side with hawks on a couple of occasions too and see the world from such unique perspective.

I initially learned to fly on the flat lands of Texas being towed up by a special system. Then we moved to Chattanooga TN and I became enamored with Lookout Mountain and surrounding area, no just for flying but hiking too or just being able to drive to the top and sit there looking down on the valley.

If the weather and conditions were good I was guaranteed to be on the mountain.

When we moved away from the mountains my heart almost literally broke. I think I actually grieved the loss for a long time.

Moments before my first mountain/ cliff launch from Lookout Mt.

A couple years later with my second ( high performance) wing

Just the other day in my backyard ... still fits ( I asked my wife if her wedding dress still fitted her but that did not go too well ... for me )

So anyways , we used to fly with a hook knife ( the yellow one in the pic below ) just in case you landed on trees or whatever and needed to cut yourself loose, ( also used in a emergency to cut the towing rope if being towed up behind an ultralight or by a winch system)

Looking at it now I think that while it may be ok to cut cords and small straps NO WAY it would be able to cut trough very thick straps.

So I thought that if I was flying today I would also carry my bark river little creek ( in its sheath of course lol ) on the front pocket of my harness secured with a lanyard to complement the hook knife. That little thing would have no problem with thick straps and even little branches probably.

Upon moving back to Canada, I would drive to Quebec to fly.

Mont St Pierre, Quebec

The one and only video I have launching from Lookout Mt with vistas of the valley below.
It must have been winter or very early spring because the trees are bare and I am bundled up.
A short flight as I was not able to gain altitude.

A friend lent me his camcorder, ... those things were much bigger back then so we put a little sandbag on the opposite wing to counteract the weight.
( I should not have launched that day as conditions were far from ideal )

Dan,

I'm impressed, really. It's been a time i wanted to practice paragliding but didn't get the opportunity. Probably a good thing, i suffered from serious falls from my bike, so at such altitudes, what could have happened to me?
You certainly have seen what few people have seen, congrats.

Dan.

 

[Jack Black]

I'll digress very slightly from the thread's main theme but not by far as we'll have nature and knives too

You see, I LOVE mountains and a few pics here on this thread brought back wonderful memories from the time we lived in Tennessee and my passion for flying hang gliders. Yeap, feeling nostalgic now lol

It was a wonderful way to connect with nature, to feel the thermals, fly side by side with hawks on a couple of occasions too and see the world from such unique perspective.

I initially learned to fly on the flat lands of Texas being towed up by a special system. Then we moved to Chattanooga TN and I became enamored with Lookout Mountain and surrounding area, no just for flying but hiking too or just being able to drive to the top and sit there looking down on the valley.

If the weather and conditions were good I was guaranteed to be on the mountain.

When we moved away from the mountains my heart almost literally broke. I think I actually grieved the loss for a long time.

Moments before my first mountain/ cliff launch from Lookout Mt.

A couple years later with my second ( high performance) wing

Just the other day in my backyard ... still fits ( I asked my wife if her wedding dress still fitted her but that did not go too well ... for me )

So anyways , we used to fly with a hook knife ( the yellow one in the pic below ) just in case you landed on trees or whatever and needed to cut yourself loose, ( also used in a emergency to cut the towing rope if being towed up behind an ultralight or by a winch system)

Looking at it now I think that while it may be ok to cut cords and small straps NO WAY it would be able to cut trough very thick straps.

So I thought that if I was flying today I would also carry my bark river little creek ( in its sheath of course lol ) on the front pocket of my harness secured with a lanyard to complement the hook knife. That little thing would have no problem with thick straps and even little branches probably.

Upon moving back to Canada, I would drive to Quebec to fly.

Mont St Pierre, Quebec

The one and only video I have launching from Lookout Mt with vistas of the valley below.
It must have been winter or very early spring because the trees are bare and I am bundled up.
A short flight as I was not able to gain altitude.

A friend lent me his camcorder, ... those things were much bigger back then so we put a little sandbag on the opposite wing to counteract the weight.
( I should not have launched that day as conditions were far from ideal )

Very cool Dan

 

[Just Tom.]

I'll digress very slightly from the thread's main theme but not by far as we'll have nature and knives too

Dan, you never cease to amaze me with your many talents.

 

[Jack Black]

 

[JohnDF]

I asked my wife if her wedding dress still fitted her but that did not go too well ... for me

A brave man in more ways than one...

We tried hang gliders at Kitty Hawk NC

Location... Location... Location...

 

[bigfish64]

Location... Location... Location...

 

[CelloDan]

That is so impressive! We tried hang gliders at Kitty Hawk NC and I couldn’t hardly stay in the air for more than a few hundred feet!

So cool , I always wanted to visit Kitty Hawk.

Dan,

I'm impressed, really. It's been a time i wanted to practice paragliding but didn't get the opportunity. Probably a good thing, i suffered from serious falls from my bike, so at such altitudes, what could have happened to me?
You certainly have seen what few people have seen, congrats.

Dan.

Gracias Dan , paragliding is very cool as well and certainly more portable.

Very cool Dan

Thank you Jack

Dan, you never cease to amaze me with your many talents.

(insert blush emoji)
Gracias mi amigo

A brave man in more ways than one...

Thank you for the kind words folks and sharing in a bit of my younger self adventures.
It does this middle age man good

Now back to our regularly scheduled program lol

Red cliffs in Prince Edward Island.

 

[Just Tom.]

So cool , I always wanted to visit Kitty Hawk.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program lol

I’m going to use the mention of Kitty Hawk to go off on a short tangent and tell a humorous (to me anyway) story:

When I was a kid we used to vacation every year on the Outer Banks. Sometimes on the way home we would stop and visit Kitty Hawk. One year, when I was maybe 12 or 13, the Park Service was offering free snorkeling lessons there, on the bay side, so my parents let us try it. The water was only a few feet deep, but I paddled around seeing whatever few plants and stuff I could, until a jellyfish got in my shorts and stung my - er - tender bits. It was so painful that I ran out of the water and as I did so I planted my foot hard on a cactus. I must have been a pitiful sight…

And NOW back to our regularly scheduled programming:

 

[CelloDan]

I’m going to use the mention of Kitty Hawk to go off on a short tangent and tell a humorous (to me anyway) story:

When I was a kid we used to vacation every year on the Outer Banks. Sometimes on the way home we would stop and visit Kitty Hawk. One year, when I was maybe 12 or 13, the Park Service was offering free snorkeling lessons there, on the bay side, so my parents let us try It. The water was only a few feet deep, but I paddled around seeing whatever few plants and stuff I could, until a jellyfish got in my shorts and stung my - er - tender bits. It was so painful that ran out of the water and as I did so I planted my foot hard on a cactus. I must have been a pitiful sight…

And NOW back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Wow Tom,... or OUCH rather ... quite the double misfortune you had ... but you are right ... it is sorta funny too
Thanks for the chuckle

 

[Knives&Lint]

 

[Headwinds]

Thank you for the kind words folks and sharing in a bit of my younger self adventures.
It does this middle age man good

Really enjoyed your acount of your hang-gliding experiences. It reminded me of my all-time favorite classified ad, which appeared in a local newspaper about thirty years ago:

FOR SALE - Powered hang glider. Almost used once.

 

[bigfish64]

Great knife and super cool pictures!

 

[euroken]

Went on a family hike to Poo Poo Point through Chirico trails at the Tiger mountain!!! Was a bit wet but manageable. Sweated like crazy on the way up, froze to shivers on the way down lol.

This place is normally crazy packed with paragliders but no gliding today...

 

[RayseM]

The JAGGED COAST of Maine

 

[mitch4ging]

Dr. Doolittle, you just keep outdoing yourself! Awsome shots, Dan!

That little thing would have no problem with thick straps and even little branches probably.

That's awsome, Dan! But then again, weren't you Airborne with high quality military equipment?

I am happy to have reengaged with walking and spending more time outdoors. When our girls were very young life was sort of a blur, working shift work at the hospital, trying to sleep somehow in between the changes from night to day shifts etc. so our outings and walks were the exception rather than the norm.
For the past two years we have been going outdoors consistently several times a week and it has proven to be the best tonic
Carrying a pocket knife and taking pics has certainly help motivate me as well

That is great that you guys are doing it now!
We miss those days, but we all try to get together camping still and take hikes together. Here was last week with our youngest son and girlfriend visit from Seattle.

https://imgur.com/XlanE2X

The actual sunset, no filters:

View attachment 1568758
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Brantford Cut. Co. Jack

Beautiful photo!

You've put on many miles, Jack! And many knives!

Very nice setting!

 

[mitch4ging]

Went on a family hike to Poo Poo Point through Chirico trails at the Tiger mountain!!! Was a bit wet but manageable. Sweated like crazy on the way up, froze to shivers on the way down lol.

This place is normally crazy packed with paragliders but no gliding today...

I can see the reason why folks would want to get a birds eye view!

The JAGGED COAST of Maine



...and the carry of the day ~

View attachment 1569564

Very cool, Ray! Never been up in your neck of the woods, another place on the list!

 

[Jack Black]