Photos A Walk in Nature

[Prester John]

Hey guys, I am sure many of your skills can be of great benefit in water navigation as well
You see, I rely on my iphone's gps + a navigation app on our little adventures and I am always concerned about battery life or depending too much on electronics.

I know that losing my bearings will most likely not impress the Admiral at all

Tom ? Mike? any tips ?

One of our favorite stomping grounds ... I mean waters

Nice Sailor's Knife, Dan. Been carrying mine too, lately, even though I'm not a sailor!

 

[mbkr]

Hey guys, I am sure many of your skills can be of great benefit in water navigation as well
You see, I rely on my iphone's gps + a navigation app on our little adventures and I am always concerned about battery life or depending too much on electronics.

I know that losing my bearings will most likely not impress the Admiral at all

Tom ? Mike? any tips ?

Sure

1. Moss tends to grow on the north side of the tree in the northern hemisphere, although this may be of limited usefulness on open water

2. Can't go wrong with the classics:


3. Get a portable power supply like those jump starters. I have one from Harbor Freight that will turn over a V8, so it should be able to keep a phone charged for a good while.

Or you could just go whichever way the wind blows

I'm getting out of date as I implied above. The engineers that replaced me are getting mapping data off the internet without doing any surveying, and its accurate enough to generate 2 foot contours. We weren't doing that when I retired 11 years ago

When I was younger I had a highly reliable sense of direction. I'd go cross country skiing in the woods with no map and no compass, and I always knew which direction the car was and how to find my way back. In later years, my colleagues wouldn't let me go out on a site walkabout by myself unless I had a compass

 

[Just Tom.]

Tom ? Mike? any tips ?

I think your GPS and phone app is just fine, Dan . I would definitely resort to the same if I found myself on open water. I had some experience decades ago with map reading, position finding, orienteering, etc., on land, for military applications, and I have a pretty good working knowledge of map projections and how they relate to an ellipsoidal Earth model, but nautical charts are, um, uncharted territory for me. I know next to nothing about celestial navigation either, beyond how to find Polaris maybe.

My sole experience with nautical navigation was a couple of months in Alaska the 1980s. I seem to remember LORAN still being a thing back then.

Maybe you could spend some of that long, dark Canadian winter studying traditional navigation methods…

 

[redsparrow]

Wandered around in some woods today that I haven't seen in years... everything changes.

fall here is a bit past prime

but it was a beautiful day

brought along a couple of excellent hiking companions, Fieldmaster/Izula ll

 

[DirtDawg]

Wandered around in some woods today that I haven't seen in years... everything changes.

fall here is a bit past prime

but it was a beautiful day

brought along a couple of excellent hiking companions, Fieldmaster/Izula ll

Just beautiful... right down to the Fieldmaster, which I suggest you put to work, so I can ride my bike (all in one go) on that trail. And yes, I've ridden trails with obstacles such as those. Pedal-Power all the way.

 

[DirtDawg]

Sorry, Dan - it was Sunday night I skipped due to winds. I left Monday morning and got home this afternoon.

Fall colors beginning to show:

I visited Fort Frederick, as I mentioned earlier I had planned:

I ate Camembert and Stilton to represent each of the warring parties:

I was worried that the racket from a pack of coyotes, which made itself known at nightfall, would disturb my sleep, but I slept like a log.

Early morning coffee:

Misty morning on the river:

Pallares assisted in breakfast preparation by sharpening the stick:

This thing can get more work done than you would think!:

(A beaver felled this tree and I had to pull it off the towpath to pass this morning)

Five or six wild turkeys crossed my path this morning, but they ran off too fast for me to get a shot.

Sorry, Dan - it was Sunday night I skipped due to winds. I left Monday morning and got home this afternoon.

Fall colors beginning to show:

I visited Fort Frederick, as I mentioned earlier I had planned:

I ate Camembert and Stilton to represent each of the warring parties:

I was worried that the racket from a pack of coyotes, which made itself known at nightfall, would disturb my sleep, but I slept like a log.

Early morning coffee:

Misty morning on the river:

Pallares assisted in breakfast preparation by sharpening the stick:

This thing can get more work done than you would think!:

(A beaver felled this tree and I had to pull it off the towpath to pass this morning)

Five or six wild turkeys crossed my path this morning, but they ran off too fast for me to get a shot.

My coffee just tasted better this morning Tom. Thanks for sharing your space with us.

And yes, there is a SwissBuck Trekker in that bag, as well as a Buck 303 Cadet in my left-front pocket.

 

[redsparrow]

Just beautiful... right down to the Fieldmaster, which I suggest you put to work, so I can ride my bike (all in one go) on that trail. And yes, I've ridden trails with obstacles such as those. Pedal-Power all the way.

Thanks Frank, it is a beautiful spot of about 700 acres. It is directly adjacent to a 34 mile long State maintained, non motorized trail, which is generally open end to end. That may be the better choice for a bicyclist. Although, if you are willing to help with trail maintenance the Fieldmaster can be made available to you.
Have a wonderful Thursday, see ya on the trails.

 

[CelloDan]

Nice Sailor's Knife, Dan. Been carrying mine too, lately, even though I'm not a sailor!

Thanks Vince, it's a great knife indeed, one of my favorites. The action is just perfect ... a true classic

Or you could just go whichever way the wind blows

LOL, this one had me laughing out loud ... literally
Best advice ever Mike

Maybe you could spend some of that long, dark Canadian winter studying traditional navigation methods…

Yes, I need to learn a bit more about navigation techniques "sans electronics".
I should buy a few nautical charts as well of the places we frequent most.
Last time I practiced land navigation was in the Argentine army ... a long loooong time ago

Wandered around in some woods today that I haven't seen in years... everything changes.

Thanks for sharing James !

And yes, there is a SwissBuck Trekker in that bag, as well as a Buck 303 Cadet in my left-front pocket.

You guys are tempting me to get my bike out of the shed ( not used at all this season ) and go for a ride before the makes it impossible. The little dusting we got a couple of days ago has melted away

Love the boat on the river/canal.
It looks like a small cruiser to take tourists on rides ?

Sort of reminds me of the Kawartha Voyageur. We bumped into it ( metaphorically speaking lol ) several times over the years. We even saw it in pictures taken by my parents 17 years ago when they were navigating the Rideau waterway.

And since you guys are toting your cellidor scales SAK's here is a recycled pic from my first solo trip back in 2021.
That first solo trip is a very special one. I was hesitant to go at first and even a bit apprehensive as I had never gone on a solo adventure before.
I travelled rather short distances but in my mind it felt like I was an explorer crossing and discovering the continent

I leave you guys with a couple of pics I took just out in the backyard this past couple days.

Morning dew drops held together the water surface tension

Boxelder bugs ... not my favorites if I may say so

 

[mbkr]

Morning dew drops held together the water surface tension

Boxelder bugs ... not my favorites if I may say so

Fantastic pics

 

[mbkr]

LOL, this one had me laughing out loud ... literally
Best advice ever Mike

 

[DirtDawg]

Thanks Vince, it's a great knife indeed, one of my favorites. The action is just perfect ... a true classic


LOL, this one had me laughing out loud ... literally
Best advice ever Mike

Yes, I need to learn a bit more about navigation techniques "sans electronics".
I should buy a few nautical charts as well of the places we frequent most.
Last time I practiced land navigation was in the Argentine army ... a long loooong time ago


Thanks for sharing James !


You guys are tempting me to get my bike out of the shed ( not used at all this season ) and go for a ride before the makes it impossible. The little dusting we got a couple of days ago has melted away

Love the boat on the river/canal.
It looks like a small cruiser to take tourists on rides ?

Sort of reminds me of the Kawartha Voyageur. We bumped into it ( metaphorically speaking lol ) several times over the years. We even saw it in pictures taken by my parents 17 years ago when they were navigating the Rideau waterway.

And since you guys are toting your cellidor scales SAK's here is a recycled pic from my first solo trip back in 2021.
That first solo trip is a very special one. I was hesitant to go at first and even a bit apprehensive as I had never gone on a solo adventure before.
I travelled rather short distances but in my mind it felt like I was an explorer crossing and discovering the continent

I leave you guys with a couple of pics I took just out in the backyard this past couple days.

Morning dew drops held together the water surface tension

Boxelder bugs ... not my favorites if I may say so

The riverboat shown in my photo is the Pride of Oregon (also previously known as the Rose of the Rock) heading upstream on the Rock River from Oregon, Illinois. At 102 feet long, with a capacity of 149 passengers, this riverboat is a replica of the Rosie O’Shea, formerly of Marco Island, Florida, and is used for dinner cruises.

 

[Just Tom.]

No big adventures today, just a couple hours walking through local parkland, and through a former municipal golf course they left go to seed:

I used the Fieldmaster to saw off another piece of that fallen beech I found a couple of weeks ago, long enough to make a walking stick out of this time. I already have 2 suitable sticks though, and I don’t even use a walking stick/hiking pole or whatever. I guess the little boy in me just can’t get enough cool sticks to play with…

 

[RLB0414]

No big adventures today, just a couple hours walking through local parkland, and through a former municipal golf course they left go to seed:

I used the Fieldmaster to saw off another piece of that fallen beech I found a couple of weeks ago, long enough to make a walking stick out of this time. I already have 2 suitable sticks though, and I don’t even use a walking stick/hiking pole or whatever. I guess the little boy in me just can’t get enough cool sticks to play with…

That is the best use of a golf course I have heard of in a while.

 

[CelloDan]

No big adventures today, just a couple hours walking through local parkland, and through a former municipal golf course they left go to seed:

That's the spirit of this thread mi amigo
Walking outdoors is one of the best therapies for mind and body.

I also enjoyed making a few walking sticks ... and just like you I rarely ever use them.
Our inner child

We had a wonderful day yesterday with our daughters at a nature park in Quebec.
My BF 2023 knife came along and it had a blast

https://imgur.com/yxHQ2Eo

More pics to follow once I sort them out a bit

 

[Just Tom.]

My BF 2023 knife came along and it had a blast

If I had known it doubled as a lure, I might have gone ahead and purchased one .

 

[DirtDawg]

No big adventures today, just a couple hours walking through local parkland, and through a former municipal golf course they left go to seed:

I used the Fieldmaster to saw off another piece of that fallen beech I found a couple of weeks ago, long enough to make a walking stick out of this time. I already have 2 suitable sticks though, and I don’t even use a walking stick/hiking pole or whatever. I guess the little boy in me just can’t get enough cool sticks to play with…

The only thing cooler than having (you don't really need to use it) a walking stick, or two, is to skin that stick out yourself with a pocketknife. I have two in the back seat of my Jeep right now - both skinned out and finished by me. P.S. That's the best use of a SAK ever.

 

[DirtDawg]

And, while were on the subject of sticks...
I recently sauntered through the woods with my latest creation. Of course, my 1988 Buck Redbone 303 Cadet came along.
This was a stick-test of sorts, and I found that I need to get a grippier tip on this outfit, without installing a sharp tip. I'm now considering a gob of Shoe-Goo applied to the end.

Have a grand day everyone. Keep your eyes open, your knife sharp, your stick sturdy, and your feet well planted.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

Fantastic!

 

[TimButterfield]

 

[RayseM]

We went to a new spot - for us - yesterday. Actually we hiked a bit in here when we first met 30+ years ago on one of our first dates. BUT since then have only hiked another end of this 766 acres - a gift to the town 1979. There is a long interconnected network of trails all along the local rivers watershed through at least 3 towns encompassing lots lots more acreage and a diversity of forests. What an amazing back yard. We just woke up to the opportunity to expand our hiking excursions simply by starting in at the other end - a several hour hike away.

This area was the historic CENTER of the town (now abandoned to the forests). The town center since been moved. As I understand it, because of an epidemic long ago. Need to study to know more. NOW - this extensive trail system is of old roads and "newly" developed hiking and mountains bike trails. Will be most excellent for X country skiing or snowshoeing. Very happy to have rediscovered this area.