- Joined
- Nov 27, 2004
- Messages
- 3,124
Hi All,
I hope that you were able to take a bit of time off this holiday season, and that some of this time was spent in the woods!
After attending a family gathering, I stole away for a few days of woods-wandering up near Blue Mountain, which was most enjoyable. The fluctuating temperature made for some interesting snowshoeing conditions - from soft packing snow (the kind that sticks to your snowshoes!) to fresh powder and brittle crust, then more powder. My sharp item of choice for these outings was a thoroughly-modded Cold Steel Trail Hawk, which is pretty close to an ideal off-trail snowshoeing tool. It can be carried in-hand or tucked into a pack cross-strap. The long handle makes it useful for knocking snow off of pine and spruce branches, and the sharp (convexed) cutting edge is superb for trail clearing, particularly when it comes to dead branches and fallen limbs. Plus, there's just something neat and quintessentially Canadian about wandering through the woods with snowshoes, a tuque, a tomahawk, and a warm wool sweater.
A few pics. Enjoy!
Some shots of the woods:
A great spot to build a natural shelter. I'm going to return to spend a night out in late January!
Some fresh snow, twinkling in the sun. Man, I love the woods in winter.
My trail 'hawk, with a re-finished and file-worked head and a hand-made handle. It looks nice above the mantle, but it's definitely functional!
Close-up:
Problem: A fallen tree blocking the path. Solution: chop chop chop.
Thanks for looking, and all the best,
- Mike
I hope that you were able to take a bit of time off this holiday season, and that some of this time was spent in the woods!
After attending a family gathering, I stole away for a few days of woods-wandering up near Blue Mountain, which was most enjoyable. The fluctuating temperature made for some interesting snowshoeing conditions - from soft packing snow (the kind that sticks to your snowshoes!) to fresh powder and brittle crust, then more powder. My sharp item of choice for these outings was a thoroughly-modded Cold Steel Trail Hawk, which is pretty close to an ideal off-trail snowshoeing tool. It can be carried in-hand or tucked into a pack cross-strap. The long handle makes it useful for knocking snow off of pine and spruce branches, and the sharp (convexed) cutting edge is superb for trail clearing, particularly when it comes to dead branches and fallen limbs. Plus, there's just something neat and quintessentially Canadian about wandering through the woods with snowshoes, a tuque, a tomahawk, and a warm wool sweater.
A few pics. Enjoy!
Some shots of the woods:
A great spot to build a natural shelter. I'm going to return to spend a night out in late January!
Some fresh snow, twinkling in the sun. Man, I love the woods in winter.
My trail 'hawk, with a re-finished and file-worked head and a hand-made handle. It looks nice above the mantle, but it's definitely functional!
Close-up:
Problem: A fallen tree blocking the path. Solution: chop chop chop.
Thanks for looking, and all the best,
- Mike
i haven't seen that much snow in years...
