Wet weather firemaking with my JK Hiker !

pitdog · Mar 12, 2011

Being a big fan of weird looking blades my JK Hiker doesn't get as much use as it should.
In reality I could quite easily get by with this as my only knife, it's the perfect size and shape for a great all-rounder woods knife.

Anyway I decided to take it out in the rain today and practice a little wet weather firestarting.

By pitdog2010 at 2011-03-12

The Skunk Cabbage is sprouting, a sure sign that we are coming into Spring, the bears love this stuff !

By pitdog2010 at 2011-03-12

Snicker followed me into the Skunk cabbage patch and ended up looking like she was wearing socks !!!!

By pitdog2010 at 2011-03-12

This looked a good spot to practice making fire....

By pitdog2010 at 2011-03-12

Took me quite a few strikes to get fire, I was a little worried that Snicker would knock the camera off the tree root it was precariously balanced on !

[youtube]aAaeeO8vods[/youtube]

Brian Sargent · Mar 12, 2011

Nice as always. I've said it before ... beautiful country!

tek77 · Mar 12, 2011

Beautiful country indeed.
Is fat wood that easy to find around there?

Bushman5 · Mar 12, 2011

YES! BC is basically 10 million+ acres of forest, with extensive logging since the 1800's. Lots of douglas fir and pine stumps......

TheGame · Mar 13, 2011

It does look like Snicker was having a great time in the mud, there. :thumbup:

kgd · Mar 13, 2011

Quoted for truth

pitdog said:
Being a big fan of weird looking blades

I like the looks of that JK. Nice and simple and all business! Good video Pit. I take it that you were striking fatwood? In that scenario and if you wanted to build the fire up, what would your approach be to collecting fuel wood? Just curious because it all looks so lush and wet in your pics and vid.

Tentmaker · Mar 13, 2011

Now that's a woodsman's knife.
Awesome dog, too.

pitdog · Mar 13, 2011

kgd said:
Quoted for truth

I like the looks of that JK. Nice and simple and all business! Good video Pit. I take it that you were striking fatwood? In that scenario and if you wanted to build the fire up, what would your approach be to collecting fuel wood? Just curious because it all looks so lush and wet in your pics and vid.

Hey buddy,

Yeah it was fatwood that took the initial flame, I then introduced it to a big ball of pitch on another branch. Once the pitch is on fire any other small twigs will catch even when wet due to the extreme heat it burns at !

omniviking · Mar 13, 2011

Nice video Pitdog :thumbup:

grunt soldier · Mar 13, 2011

i have never seen that skunk cabbage before. is it edible? and as always great pics pit

GoNadz · Mar 14, 2011

pitdog said:

My new desktop image! Wish it looked like that over here. Thanks for sharing. Great pics, as always, bud. :thumbup:

-Nadz

pitdog · Mar 14, 2011

GoNadz said:
My new desktop image! Wish it looked like that over here. Thanks for sharing. Great pics, as always, bud. :thumbup:

-Nadz

Thanks buddy !

pitdog · Mar 14, 2011

grunt soldier said:
i have never seen that skunk cabbage before. is it edible? and as always great pics pit

It's not really any good for human consumption. The first nations people used to dry out berry mixtures on the large Skunk Cabbage leaves and I believe I once read that the roots were used to treat toothache.

bladerique · Mar 14, 2011

Beautiful rainforest. Ever carry a heavy machete in there?

grunt soldier · Mar 15, 2011

pitdog said:
It's not really any good for human consumption. The first nations people used to dry out berry mixtures on the large Skunk Cabbage leaves and I believe I once read that the roots were used to treat toothache.

thanks. i just watched that video last of the river rats that william posted up and he said the skunk cabbage root was used for lots of medicinal purposes. i am gonna keep my eyes open for them when out in the woods in the coming weeks

pitdog · Mar 15, 2011

grunt soldier said:
thanks. i just watched that video last of the river rats that william posted up and he said the skunk cabbage root was used for lots of medicinal purposes. i am gonna keep my eyes open for them when out in the woods in the coming weeks

Just found this info:

Skunk cabbage was much used by the native North American Indians primarily for its expectorant and antispasmodic properties to treat bronchitis and asthmatic conditions, a use that is still employed in modern herbalism[254]. The plant should be used with some caution, however, and preferably under professional supervision.

Handling the fresh leaves can cause skin to blister whilst excessive doses of the root can bring on nausea and vomiting, headaches and dizziness[238, 254]. The root is antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant and slightly narcotic[4, 21, 46, 165, 222, 238].

The rootstock is harvested in late autumn or early spring and dried for later use[238]. It should not be stored for a long time because it loses its medicinal virtues[213]. The rootstock has been used internally in the treatment of respiratory and nervous disorders, including asthma, whooping cough, catarrh, bronchitis and hay fever[213, 238].

It is occasionally used to treat epilepsy, headaches, vertigo and rheumatic problems[254]. Externally, it has been used as a poultice to draw splinters and thorns, to heal wounds and to treat headaches[254]. The root hairs or rootlets have been applied to dental cavities to treat toothache[213]. A tea made from the root hairs has been used externally to stop bleeding[213]. An inhalation of the crushed leaves has been used in the treatment of headaches[238]. The leaf bases have been applied as a wet dressing to bruises[213].

This old pic I took shows how big the leaves get !

By pitdog2010 at 2011-03-15