Hi everyone! what a day! she LOVED the trip! and she she was really surprised by the kit i gave her, and really thankful after the hike for the contents.
we started out with a trip to the health food store/market for food supplies and fruit, juice, swiss dark chocolate etc. from there we drove to the trail head (Lynn Headwaters - Norvan Falls)
I started out by showing her how to open and close the M.U.L.E. folder safely. She had some trepiditions, as the last knife (SAK) she owned closed on her and almost severed her finger. I showed her each step (opening, gripping, cutting and closing) and had her try each movement. Then i had her open the knife, grip it, and then close it safely several times. After the first few walk throughs, she was really comfortable with doing it herself. I discussed carry of a blade, time and place to carry and some of the legal and public perceptions of knife users, and how to carry herself as a responsible ethical knife user.
we started the hike by signing in at the booth and then walked for about 2KM where we took a break stream side. I pulled out the fire kit and showed each item and what i was for. I then showed her how to use her knife to make a fuzzstick and shavings. her eyes lit up at how thin the shavings were, and she exclaimed that that was the sharpest knife she had ever used. next i showed her how to make a nest of the fire starting materials, on a sheet of bark. We started with a candle and lighter, then matches and PJ cotton balls, then progressed to waxed/PJ'ed cotton balls and using a fire steel. You should seen the look on her face as i sparked the steel and set the pile on fire. I let her try it for herself several times, she got quite proficent with the fire steel. I also showed her how to collect pitch onto a cotton ball from the little pitch warts on pine trees. Again, you should have see the wonderment and happiness in her face as she got a fire going from a spark and lit up those pitch soaked cotton balls.
After that i pulled out my fixed blade (WARTHOG) and showed her how to split wood safely with a knife. I dont like batoning on my knives, but damn that WARTHOG is freaking tough.
We packed up and headed out onto the trail again. I mentioned about the need to keep well hydrated, and explained the urine color check as a guide. Pointed out several trees and shrubs that i can ID, and let her taste her first huckleberry! (she's a city girl, never tasted a huckleberry before)
Next rest stop i pulled out the reflective mylar sheet and a tea candle and showed her how to utilize it as a heated shelter. She could'nt believe how hot it got inside the heatsheet with the little candle going. Had her sit on her pack (explained about heat loss to ground) with the heat sheet around her and over her head, candle at her feet. She lit the candle with a tiny bit of wax/PJ cottonball and a fire steel!
Next up was a simple A frame shelter, using two willow saplings and a cut willow sapling lashed to each vertical sapling. We draped the heat sheet over it and secured it with pebbles. She crawled in and sat there for a bit, eating a snack.
We hiked for several more KM's, reached the falls and had lunch. She had to hit the head (she's a sailor) for #2 but she already knew how to dig a cat-hole in the duff/soil ! I told her it was a good idea to take her whistle with her everywhere, but she was'nt that far off and i was nearby in any case. I told her about the little trick of using a tiny dab of PJ on her sphincter before an outing, to prevent fecal matter from sticking and to provide relief from chafing while hiking. Did'nt blink an eye.
Anyways, we humped back to the trailhead and drove home, tired, muscles sore etc, but she was so happy and thankful to have experienced what she did. She wants to go out more, so i told her that we could go driving up a logging road, off the city and parks boundaries and spend the day practising bushcraft skills. I asked if she would be into building a debris hut and sleeping in it and she was very keen.
Next step is to immerse her in knive collecting muhahahahahha
great day, sorry, no pics, neither of us had a camera.
i hope she has a camera, cuz i dont! 
