Just Doing Some Cookin'

  This month has started off with a couple of good bushcraft adventures. I am going to change it up a bit and share last Sunday's adventure first and save last Saturday's adventure for the next post.
   The reason for this is that I sort of pushed myself to get the video done for Sunday's adventure first, so that my friend Sticker would have his part of the video to post up for his latest BushclassUSA lesson.
   We got together on Sunday, so that he could complete his "Student Practice for Cooking Bannock with Fire." The weather was near perfect for a good hike out to the new campsite. Sticker and his wife, member "CallmeKris", myself and my girlfriend, decided to get together with the idea that we were going to do some cooking. Making it a "hot" lunch for change of pace. My girlfriend brought some chicken fillets marinated in lemon oil and some seasonings and she also brought some potatoes which I diced and boiled. I brought a vegetable to heat up and the pack grill, which is a gift from my friend and fellow member "Little Jon."
   Sticker and CallmeKris fried up some pork chops and baked some potatoes and in the end, we all had a pretty good meal. Then it was on to the lesson and cooking the bannock.
   So here is the video of that afternoons adventure. I hope you enjoy it.

   In my next blog post, I hope to share what a great adventure I had with my eight year bush buddy, Christian, on this past Saturday. He has come a long ways in developing his bushcraft skills and this time around showed me how he can get a fire going, using natural tinders and under some not so ideal conditions. 
   Until next time. Happy Exploring.

On the Subject of Firecraft

   So yesterday, I woke up, looked at the digital weather station hanging on the wall next to my bed, and the outdoor thermometer said "16° F" and I just knew I wanted to got to the woodlands. It would be brisk, and I would have to bring the right gear, but it would be a perfect day to work on Firecraft. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am a member of BushcraftUSA and I am working on the Bushclass requirements for the online classes found on their forum website. One of the requirements is "Student Practice for Feather Sticks and Shavings" which requires you to post a picture of your practice, which is a hat or cap full of shavings. But first, I need to get out to the wilderness. I decided to do some more "One Stick Fire" practice, as this is a good skill to keep well practiced for those rainy days or snow days. More after the jump.

A Simple Debris Shelter

   The day started out looking like rain, but you know when you just have to get out there and get in some dirt time, a threat of rain is not going to stop you. I had it in my mind to throw up a debris shelter because number one, it seemed like a good idea and number two, it's just plain fun. I found a good location in my favorite area and set about gathering up the dead tree poles I would need to construct the lean-to. I took advantage of a natural rock outcropping on the side of a small hill slopping from there to a steep decline to the valley floor below. So it is located on a flat area just over the ridge line, but before the fall off. It looks larger from the front and looks like this from the back.