the rumble in the jungle!

Status
Not open for further replies.
JV3

JV3

Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Messages
4,256
well, it's not quite george foreman and muhammad ali but i decided to go for another snow hike in jungle habitat with two heavy hitters, the bk-2 and my new gransfors bruks axe. i didn't take that many pics this time since i already covered most of it on my previous hikes there: a machete got lost and now having fun in the snow, a little mountain biking and hiking...so, straight to the good stuff!

this time i came prepared with new snow shoes and actually got deep inside for once. i was hesitant at buying snow shoes at first thinking i'll only go on a handful of winter hikes and then winter is done but i realized what good is having all those knives, bug out kits, etc. if i can't even walk 5 blocks away from home due to all the snow :o

022_001.jpg



what a peaceful view, you say? all that snow is actually hiding one of the gnarliest mountain bike trails in the state. this is only one of the few trails where i refuse to ride it without a full face helmet and pads on.

022_002.jpg



now onto the pile of wood. i only wanted enough wood to boil 2 cups of water for my lunch but well...the axe and the bk-2 got carried away!

022_003.jpg



here's where the magic...err, chopping happened. i need to work on my woods identification skills. all i know is this wood had the perfect hardness yet big chunks of wood were flying all over the place per swing. it produced some awesome looking feather sticks too with my not-exactly-shaving-sharp bk-2 (it's been kinda neglected for a bit in favor of more "bushcrafty" knives as of late) but i guess she didn't mind the vacation one bit. i've gotten used to ironwood all over here that i didn't realize i didn't even curse once while chopping all that wood until now :D

022_004.jpg



tick...tock...tick...tock...

022_005.jpg



alright, i was getting really hungry and got impatient so i set the pot directly on the fire to speed up the melting. lesson learned - even with all that snow around, i'd still rather carry enough water in my pack as if it was summer. melting snow might look good on paper but it takes a tremendous amount of firewood/work to melt it that if i'm already dehydrated i'd be that much closer to the edge of critical before i get my first sip.

022_006.jpg



...carrying 3 liters of water alone already puts my pack off of the ultralight territory so what the heck, might as well carry 5...or 8 knives too :p
 
awesome pics, love the billy set up over the fire, very cool. What size is the axe?
 
Nice wood pile...pic#3
So what are your thoughts on the axe?
 
stewey1 said:
awesome pics, love the billy set up over the fire, very cool. What size is the axe?
Click to expand...

thanks. it's a scandinavian forest (25" handle).


OREGON FAL'ER said:
Looks like a small forest axe.
Click to expand...

thought about that but then i figured with the bk-2 around, the small forest doesn't stand a chance :D


tek77 said:
Nice wood pile...pic#3
So what are your thoughts on the axe?
Click to expand...

thanks. it's my first ever axe actually. it worked way better than i expected at sectioning that log - extremely fast but very easy to control. one thing i did notice that it almost never happens with my choppers (becker bk-9, esee junglas & lite machete) is that the wood chips were flying all over the place including towards my face. i'm used to having the chips flying either to the left or right of the impact only. i don't know if that's an axe thing or most likely i'm a newbie/technique thing since the impact point weren't always where i was aiming at but either way, safety glasses is a must for me on the next outing.
 
ratamahatta said:
great pics man!!!!!
Click to expand...

thanks, man!


sicily02 said:
Awesome pics. I bet that was fun.

Bryan
Click to expand...

i'll be honest, it would've been more fun if there was a lot less snow! i can't go as far as usual since it's very tiring walking on the stuff.


GRIM 62 said:
That's a great pairing,not much you could'nt accomplish with those two!
Click to expand...

i'm going hiking with a few forum guys this sunday...there will be an axe vs. machete vs. chopper informal testing...and lots of first aid kit will be brought along just in case :D
 
Great pics, thanks for sharing.

When it comes to melting snow, I like to put a little in the pot at a time. Throw in a handful, let it melt, throw in another handful, let it melt, etc. Takes a while but I have found it to be faster than just trying to melt a full pot of snow.
 
Nice. I gotta get me some snow shoes. Winter's almost over down here in TN, so I'll wait 'til next year. Maybe a Christmas present.
 
Nice pics. We've gotten more snow than usual here this winter. I wanted to see snow again, didn't know it was going to become a regular thing...
 
Nice summary. I concur with the melting snow, especially for day use. Its not that bad to do when camping overnight, because in winter it gets dark fast and melting snow/boiling water does provide you with something to do while sitting by the fire for 6-8 hrs before heading to bed.

Also a bigger pot really helps on the snow melting activities. Last time I went out with snow melting in mind, I took my 14 cm zebra pot that holds just under 2L (64 oz) volume and it makes a big difference, if not too convenient for packing. When I was out with Rick, he used a hankerchief to filter the snowmelt prior to adding it to his nalgene. I thought it was a great idea and I would of adopted it if mine wasn't all full of snot....
 
Oh, I meant to add this a little while ago. If you get the pot too hot while melting snow, the little bit that melts will evaporate before it accumulates. Best to poor a little water in the pot first, or if you don't have any to poor in, heat it low and slow. Get it too accumulate first, then bring it to a boil to sanitize. And yeah, the little bit at a time method works best for melting (Snakedoc).
 
Snakedoc said:
Great pics, thanks for sharing.

When it comes to melting snow, I like to put a little in the pot at a time. Throw in a handful, let it melt, throw in another handful, let it melt, etc. Takes a while but I have found it to be faster than just trying to melt a full pot of snow.
Click to expand...

thanks. i'll try it again this sunday.


CM_Rick said:
Nice. I gotta get me some snow shoes. Winter's almost over down here in TN, so I'll wait 'til next year. Maybe a Christmas present.
Click to expand...

now's the best time to buy one actually since it's now on sale. most stores only discount the stock on hand though so you might have to be lucky to find exactly what you want on sale.


mistwalker said:
Nice pics. We've gotten more snow than usual here this winter. I wanted to see snow again, didn't know it was going to become a regular thing...
Click to expand...

thanks, man. we're hitting 40s all next week actually and march is right around the corner. overall, not bad since most of the time i've had the trail all by myself.


kgd said:
Nice summary. I concur with the melting snow, especially for day use. Its not that bad to do when camping overnight, because in winter it gets dark fast and melting snow/boiling water does provide you with something to do while sitting by the fire for 6-8 hrs before heading to bed.

Also a bigger pot really helps on the snow melting activities. Last time I went out with snow melting in mind, I took my 14 cm zebra pot that holds just under 2L (64 oz) volume and it makes a big difference, if not too convenient for packing. When I was out with Rick, he used a hankerchief to filter the snowmelt prior to adding it to his nalgene. I thought it was a great idea and I would of adopted it if mine wasn't all full of snot....
Click to expand...

good tip on the pot size. as for the hankerchief, that's why i carry at least two - the black one is for snot and the orange one for water filtering and stuff. i've eaten bugs before and actually enjoy eating some of them (it's a delicacy in the philippines where i grew up) but for some reason the sight of snot makes me puke. go figure!


CM_Rick said:
Oh, I meant to add this a little while ago. If you get the pot too hot while melting snow, the little bit that melts will evaporate before it accumulates. Best to poor a little water in the pot first, or if you don't have any to poor in, heat it low and slow. Get it too accumulate first, then bring it to a boil to sanitize. And yeah, the little bit at a time method works best for melting (Snakedoc).
Click to expand...

thanks for the tip. i'll probably bring a hobo stove next time too to conserve fire wood.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top