A Cold And Wet And Rainy Day... What Fun.

   This last Saturday, I was determined to get out no matter what. The prediction was for rain and I didn't care. The prediction was for it to be cold, around 35° F, and I didn't care. It goes without saying, things were going to be wet with all the previous day's snow and ice. But I was determined to go, even if it meant going alone. But as luck would have it, I have found a hardy soul in my friend and fellow bushcrafter Sticker. He managed to catch up with me heading down the trail in the rain as I was taking video for what I thought would prove to be an interesting story of me going it solo in the rain.
   As we got further down the trail, the rain slowed to a slow drip and then a spattering and we decided to work on some skills together. He would work on putting up a tarp shelter, so that he could complete his "Student Practice for a Tarp Shelter" lesson for Bushclass and I would work on making a split-wood fire with shavings and feather sticks for tinder, just because that seemed like a logical choice considering the wood we had available. Everything was wet.
   I managed to get the wood split, and found it to be still a little moist but not too bad and figured I could get it lit with some good tinder prep. I tried two different types of wood for shavings, some from the ash wood that I had harvested and split and some shavings from a much lighter wood, probably some basswood on the verge of going punky. It was very light weight and made good shavings and was pretty dry compared to the ash shavings.
   I had mixed the shavings together and when it came time to try to light it, the ash shavings were just not taking a spark as well as I had hoped. The basswood shavings however, seemed to take a spark and burn pretty good and were the trick in the end, in getting the fire going. In hindsight, I should have not mixed the shavings together, so that I could have switched it up right away and not spent so much time experimenting to find the "sweet spot" of the driest and lightest.
   It was a great adventure and a lot of fun and I would not have missed my time in the wood with my pal Sticker for anything. I was glad he showed up and was willing to give it a go, even in the rain.
   So here is the video of our adventure and I hope you enjoy it.

   It was fun in the cold and the wet and the rain. Sometimes you just have to get out, no matter what. Until next time, Happy Exploring.