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- Jan 10, 2010
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I've enjoyed Lorien's photo stories with his knives and adventures so I thought I'd post my own. I took my family to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to explore the Sylvania Wilderness by canoe. It's only a couple hours from my house but it's like entering a new world. Sylvania is a special wilderness area that protects a system of kettle lakes and old growth forest. The lakes are close to each other and easily portaged with a nice light weight canoe. My kids are young so we decided to keep it easy and paddle out to only one campsite with one portage. We paddled the entire length of Crooked Lake and portaged over to Loon lake where we set up camp and then spent a couple of days exploring the hoary 'Old Forest' around us. I kept getting visions of Middle Earth while we were there with the giant old trees and mossy, green landscape littered with bogs, mushrooms and my hobbit children finding mischief. I took along some recently completed implements such a Viking style axe and a big camp knife with black oak scales (forged from 5160).. as well as my 'Little Goblin'.. a composite pattern welded utility blade I made for myself (cracked in quench). I wanted to do more 'action' photos with my work.. but as the camp photographer AND blade user.. I didn't get all that much. Oh well. It was an amazing trip.
Loading up our 18' kevlar canoe with gear on Crooked Lake:
Looking for the portage to Loon lake in a vast wild rice bed:
Camp on Loon. They weren't kidding about 'Loon Lake'.. I was practically kept up all night by their eerie calls.
An ad hoc meal with Bisquick and cheese on the pie irons. I highly recommend this.
The 'Crooked Lake Cutter' (inspired by J. Knight's Sooke Mountain), the 'Little Goblin' and a Viking axe. I could have left everything and just used the 'Crooked Lake' for everything.
My son with a little axe I made for him. Every year I sharpen the bevels a little more. Eventually I will harden it.
The best seat in the house:
In the 'Old Forest':
Hobbit Feet:
A peat bog:
Some 'shamrocks' and other pretty things:
Dead Man's Fingers:
Foraging raspberries on Deer Island Lake:
Getting swallowed up by 'Old Man Willow' (actually a gigantic red pine):
Getting back to 'topic'.. another look at the 'Crooked Lake' making wood:
Preparing to portage back to Crooked:
Portaging:
Done:
Thanks for looking!
Loading up our 18' kevlar canoe with gear on Crooked Lake:
Looking for the portage to Loon lake in a vast wild rice bed:
Camp on Loon. They weren't kidding about 'Loon Lake'.. I was practically kept up all night by their eerie calls.
An ad hoc meal with Bisquick and cheese on the pie irons. I highly recommend this.
The 'Crooked Lake Cutter' (inspired by J. Knight's Sooke Mountain), the 'Little Goblin' and a Viking axe. I could have left everything and just used the 'Crooked Lake' for everything.
My son with a little axe I made for him. Every year I sharpen the bevels a little more. Eventually I will harden it.
The best seat in the house:
In the 'Old Forest':
Hobbit Feet:
A peat bog:
Some 'shamrocks' and other pretty things:
Dead Man's Fingers:
Foraging raspberries on Deer Island Lake:
Getting swallowed up by 'Old Man Willow' (actually a gigantic red pine):
Getting back to 'topic'.. another look at the 'Crooked Lake' making wood:
Preparing to portage back to Crooked:
Portaging:
Done:
Thanks for looking!
