Becker/Fatwood/Ozarks

J

jonc123

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Went on a weekend backpacking trip along the Current River in Missouri on the ozark Trail. This is my second time locating fatwood.

My best advice for those looking for fatwood is to find a dead pine tree that is laying on the ground. Everytime I find a tree that has fatwood it will be well weathered. I have not had good luck in finding it in the stumps at all; most of the stumps are too far rotted. All of the fatwood above were just really short limbs that were rotting away. I cut a 6" piece or so as close to the trunk as I could get...one of the photos above depicts this. Most of these short pieces were also pretty much "pine knots". Kind of hard to explain and I really should have taken a pic of one before I cut it.

Notice the middle piece in the two lower photos....notice how the direction of the grain changes, kind of twisted.

Once I cut the piece off, I just used a knife to split the bark off around the edges. I again found that the BK16 could do everything the BK2 could do on this trip; I used it for various other uses and had no problem with the 16. I am sure in the long run the BK16 would not be as tough as the BK2, but because of the weight savings the BK16 is the clear winner for me. I do have scales and weigh everything that goes in my pack. For me the BK2 is just too heavy to carry on an overnight.

You'll notice I am wearing an orange hat. It is not hunting season, but we are starting to have a heavy feral hog population in Southeast Missouri. It is not uncommon to encounter hunters so I have started to wear the orange fulltime while in the woods. Places I have been hiking in for 20 years are being destroyed by the pigs. It gets worse every year.

Come visit the mountains in MO and AR you'all!!

Jon
 
Looks like a good time. The wife and I hiked Taum Sauk last month. Missouri is a beautiful state.
 
That's a fine chunk of fatwood right there. What is the tent? Big Agnes?
 
Henry Shires Tarptent; the model is the Cloudburst. It has been discontinued and the closest thing to it is the "Squall".

Edit: I think it is the Cloudburst2.
 
Next time you're heading out let me know. I live up in St. Louis but I'm always looking for someone to go out with. I'd love to be able to harvest my own fatwood.
 
That is a great outing! I wish I could just pick up and go like that.

I grew up in the South and we would use pine knots as a starter for all our fires. As I now live in Oregon, I miss just being able to find those without even looking for it. No Southern Pines (that I have seen) in the PNW. LOL
 
I've heard some bad stories about encounters with feral pigs. Do you carry any protection? (Other than those pig-stickers :p)
 
Harvesting the fatwood is easy!! Look back at the photo of the stub. Notice the rest of the tree is old, weathered and gray.

If you can find a grove of pine trees out in the woods, you shouldn't have a problem locating fatwood. I looked at a bunch of different tees on this trip; they all had fatwood. I thought it would be impossible to find the stuff; I bought some online. Never again.

Make sure before you harvest fatwood it is legal...dead wood laying on the ground is fair game in *most* of the public land in Missouri, but not all. Always know before you chop or saw or you just might get a ticket.

At this time I really don't carry a firearm for the feral pigs. I have seen them several times. This 45 year old can't climb a tree to quick...might have to take tree climbing lessons or something!! Guns and knives or any large object made of solid steel tends to weigh my pack down too much. So far they go their way, I go mine. The damage they are causing is widespread; I can't hardly hike any trail in MO or AR and not see signs. I could handle a lot more pack weight 10 years ago...time has marched on!
 
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Hey Jon.....Looks like fun........That is some FAT wood...... Pine knots are great........My grandfather used to fish the Current...Have never seen pics before .... Thanks........Good observation about orange full time in a lot of places.......

Ethan
 
Good looking fatwood. I'm farther west of you, and we don't have any pine trees.

I'm wanting to try some hog hunting something fierce. I may have to make the drive over there one of these days.
 
It was fun Ethan. I should have noted that in Missouri feral hogs can be hunted nearly without any restrictions. No License needed. A small bit of fine print applies to that. I think if you hunt pigs during deer season, you do need a license and a deer tag.

I was in a very brushy area along a creek about a month or so ago and encountered a guy on horseback with about 10 dogs hunting some pigs. He looked like he was straight out of a John Wayne movie from hat to boots. I couldn't figure out how he navigated all of the brush! I had heard his dogs all morning so I new someone was out there. We both kind of suprised eachother, we were so far out in the middle of the woods. Thats when I decided to start wearing at least something orange. My wife hikes with me, she doesn't like the orange hats, she wears a vest.

I don't like to wear the orange...I like to blend in. I also want to live a long time. We often go cross country and hike along creeks. Better safe than sorry.
 
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