- Joined
- Aug 7, 2009
- Messages
- 251
Couldn't resist the terrible wordplay for the title. 
I had a nice hike 2 days ago that let me try out a few skills as well.
This was the first view that greeted me when I arrived. There were a few people fishing in the small lake.
Once on the trail, the scenery changed pretty quickly and I had lots of boulders to climb around on (this first one was taken from atop a boulder).
That is one tough tree.
Further along the trail, it got flatter and less rocky, but it's still a nice area.
A lovely view from a fire break (Didn't you know that the earth is slightly tilted? Or maybe it's just how I was holding the camera.)
But more important than the view was the population of mullein, which I tried a hand drill for the first time with. I split this thick stalk open by light batonning with my leatherman without the lock engaged.
No go. I did get smoke and some light charring though. And blisters. :grumpy:
I had a staring contest with this doe for quite a while. The camera didn't want to play nice either.
Aha! What's this- a whole lot of red cedar.
Time for some bark collecting. I like to whittle a wooden chisel out of a piece of dry, hard wood. It works better than my knife, in my opinion.
After small collections from several different trees, I had this to work with:
I then proceeded to make an "Apache match" with it. I didn't light it until I got home, but this was wrapped too tightly.
I rewrapped it more loosely and lit it with a coal. I'm doing something wrong, or perhaps the bark was a little too damp. It only stayed lit for about 20 minutes.
Me on a rock. (Thank you camera self-timer)
I'll leave you with one last picture. A plain, boring old rock. Of course, I take no responsibility for what you may think it looks like.
All in all, a fun day. I brought some of the mullein home, so I can try hand drill again once the blisters are completely gone. Thanks for looking, and have mercy on my photobucket.
I had a nice hike 2 days ago that let me try out a few skills as well.This was the first view that greeted me when I arrived. There were a few people fishing in the small lake.
Once on the trail, the scenery changed pretty quickly and I had lots of boulders to climb around on (this first one was taken from atop a boulder).
That is one tough tree.
Further along the trail, it got flatter and less rocky, but it's still a nice area.
A lovely view from a fire break (Didn't you know that the earth is slightly tilted? Or maybe it's just how I was holding the camera.)
But more important than the view was the population of mullein, which I tried a hand drill for the first time with. I split this thick stalk open by light batonning with my leatherman without the lock engaged.
No go. I did get smoke and some light charring though. And blisters. :grumpy:
I had a staring contest with this doe for quite a while. The camera didn't want to play nice either.
Aha! What's this- a whole lot of red cedar.
Time for some bark collecting. I like to whittle a wooden chisel out of a piece of dry, hard wood. It works better than my knife, in my opinion.
After small collections from several different trees, I had this to work with:
I then proceeded to make an "Apache match" with it. I didn't light it until I got home, but this was wrapped too tightly.
I rewrapped it more loosely and lit it with a coal. I'm doing something wrong, or perhaps the bark was a little too damp. It only stayed lit for about 20 minutes.
Me on a rock. (Thank you camera self-timer)
I'll leave you with one last picture. A plain, boring old rock. Of course, I take no responsibility for what you may think it looks like.
All in all, a fun day. I brought some of the mullein home, so I can try hand drill again once the blisters are completely gone. Thanks for looking, and have mercy on my photobucket.
