So What Happened to August?

   Hello my friends and it is good to be back. The month of August was not without it's bushcrafting adventures. Quite to the contrary, I did in fact have a lot of adventures, but was very focused on enjoying the time with my best friend and bushcraft mentor... my Dad.
   For the entire month of August, every weekend and even for the first full week, I got to spend a ton of time with my father. He is still quick with a story, full of woodsman-like wisdom and still a boy scout at 81 years of age. It was absolutely the greatest to spend all that time with him. I really did want to write something up for the blog, but every moment just seemed so precious. So here I am finally to tell the tale.

Dad and I Visiting the Garrison, MN Walleye

   He told me stories of working his trap line as a kid going for mink and weasel and rabbit and about getting geared up to go fishing with his dad in the wee hours of the morning as his dad was getting off the night shift and about how he and his buddies use to just go out camping and spending time out in the woods, just for the fun of it. They were bushcrafting long before it would be called bushcraft. We recalled together a great number of boy scout camporees we had done together, and spoke of various canoe trips and hiking adventures.
   I even shared with him a number of videos of my most recent adventures in bushcraft. He was very eager to get back to Cheyenne and share them with his old boy scout buddies. They meet a few times a month to share and talk about scouting and he was sure that they would like to see what it was that I was doing. (blush)
   Now I really will have to work at making even better videos because I will have an even wider audience then I would imagine.
  Before he left to return home to his place in Wyoming, we worked to put together a good improvised "Flint and Steel" kit for him in an Altoids tin. We also put together a bow drill set, consisting of a basswood hearth board and spindle, paracord and a specially made bearing block handhold with built in bearing scrounged from a set of roller blades we got for $1.50 at a thrift store. I can only imagine what that might have looked like on the x-ray monitor at the airport when he checked in for the flight, with that in his carry-on.
   While we were spending time together, he tried getting an ember with the bow drill set. He came very close to succeeding. He had lots of smoke and lots of dust, but because he was still working on the mechanics of it all, just ran out of energy towards the end and could not get the final push of speed towards the end. But he is going to continue to practice and I know he will get it. He practiced several times and was getting down the body mechanics quite well the last time he practiced. Not bad for an 81 year old.
   He was also able to, on three occasions, to get a spark onto some charred cloth and then fold it into a tinder bundle of jute twine and bring it to flame. Awesome. He even made some charred cloth in his altoids tin from some denim cloth I provided him.
   We also worked on natural cordage and carvings and even a wooden spoon. We took a few short hikes and did some exploring and it was just good to feel the presence of my dad and to be a kid again.
    The best part was to be able to tell him how much I appreciated him teaching me all the bushcraft skills and things that he knew, as I was growing up. That I had become the woodsman that I am today because of him. That he had a legacy in me and that I was going to pass it on, and keep it alive by teaching my kids. I know he is proud of me.
   I am pretty proud of him. For one incredible month, I got to be a kid, a student, a mentor and most of all, a son. I had time with my dad. We had time to get aquainted again. We had time to do together, the things we both loved doing. We had time for bushcraft. I love you Dad!
   Happy Exploring my friends...
 

Summertime Treat: Sumac-Ade! Pink Tea!

   Had some good dirt time on Sunday, despite a little rain, and so decided to treat myself to one of my favorite summer time drinks by harvesting some Sumac berries. They are just now getting to full ripeness around here and I just could not resist gathering some for a good, tart "lemonade" or rather "Sumac-Ade" kind of drink. This beverage, once finished, contains a lot of vitamin C and electrolytes and is a good energy boost when you need it.
   So here is a short video of the process I used and I hope that if you are in an area that has sumac and it has ripe berries, you will give this a try. It only takes a couple cups and an all purpose bandana to work as a filter.

 Dirt time is always more fun when food and drink is involved. Happy Exploring!

Fun With The Summer Sun

   I always enjoy playing with different methods of starting fire and today I decided to experiment a little with the magnifying glass I have in my kit.
   First I found a piece of "false tinder fungus" or "horse's hoof fungus". Ideally it should be as dry as possible. I have found and used some in the past that was too moist and it would take a spark, but would not grow a coal. But today what I found was good and dry.
   Next I created a coal with a focused beam of sunlight with the magnifying glass. Next, after the coal had grown, I used some eastern red cedar bark as tinder and used it by pressing it gently against the growing coal. With a little coaxing from short breaths, it eventually caught a flame. Success! and a lot of fun.
   So here is the video of the process and I hope you enjoy it.

   A good reason for playing with false tinder fungus is to learn just how it will react and what are the ideal conditions for using it and for transporting a coal. It was not necessary to cut out the coal to put it in the tinder. This kept the fungus intact and this would allow easy transport and use later if needed.
   Be sure to give it a try. Until next time, Happy Exploring.
  

Bushcraft Is Not Just For Boys Part II

   Recently, I was once again able to meet up with some friends who are interested in learning bushcraft. We are now regularly meeting Fridays at 4pm and on Saturday mornings at 9am, for 2 to 3 hours, in a local state park to study and practice bushcraft skills.
   On this particular friday afternoon, fellow BushcraftUSA member "Emorgs" and her boyfriend joined me and my eight year old bush buddy, Christian, to practice firecraft skills. I started out by introducing them to friction fire methods and they had a chance to attempt getting a coal with a bowdrill and spindle. Then I demonstrated how flint and steel works with char cloth and finally I had Christian demonstrate the lighting of five man made tinders. He is very proficient at it for an eight year old, and gave a very good demonstration that Emorgs would then try to duplicate for her BushclassUSA lesson "Student Practice for Five Man Made Tinders". Here is the video I captured for her lesson. I hope you enjoy it.

   As I started out with the title to this blog entry as "Bushcraft Is Not Just For Boys Part II" because it was Emorgs and her bushclass lesson "Student Practice for A Twig Fire" that was featured in Part I. Young women are interested in bushcraft, and she is very committed to learning all she can and graduating Basic BushclassUSA.
   I hope even more young people will discover the fun of getting in some dirt time and learning bushcraft skills. The good news is, now her boyfriend is interested. I hope they keep coming to the friday meetups. The adventure will continue. Til next time, Happy Exploring.

For Friction Fire Tuesday...

   Well, as it was Friction Fire Tuesday at BushcraftUSA, I decided to join in the fun and try my hand at it. More specifically, I wanted to try a wood combination that has been giving me trouble for quite awhile. So today it was Norway Maple on Norway Maple.

   To preface this, I would like to go back to the Hardwoodsman Meet 2012 that I had the privilege to attend back in April. Before the meet, I looked upon friction fire methods as something to know and to try occasionally, and I did have successes over the years, but it was nothing that I would "practice" on a regular basis. It was just "back pocket" kind of knowledge and more like an occasional party trick to pull out on a camping trip with friends.

   But at the HWM, I learned that it was something to be practiced, and studied and favored as one of the best and most advanced of skills you could learn as a bushcrafter. My eyes were open. I was hooked.

   On Thursday night, just before the Meet started on Friday, two guys came by my tent as I attempted to try a hand drill fire with a piece of mullein I had harvested and a piece of box elder for a hearth board.

   One of the guys, if I remember correctly was "Scooter" who I later would learn, would be the winner of the skills competitions for the Meet. The other guy was Ross or aka "Redmech", who I would later learn, was a friction fire wizard in his own right and had been studying friction fire methods almost exclusively since the last Hardwoodsman Meet in 2011. These two brothers, stopped long enough to help me get some finger loops fashioned and attached to my hand drill spindle. In the end, they helped me to succeed in getting an ember. Whoo Hoo!!

   I later discovered Ross had a great collection of wood types for spindles and hearth boards, all organized in what I think was a couple of large cases that made moving it all around, easy to setup, and to practice a great number of combinations. He showed me that organization was key to building a good practice  set. So from this, I started to label all my wood types. I am still looking for a case like his. I think it was something for storing a compound bow perhaps? Maybe a large gun or rifle case? I am not sure. Long, flat, wide. Something.

    Anyway, back to Friction Fire Tuesday. I just had to have some fun and got this video in the process.

   Before I wrap this up I would just like to say, "Where has the month of July gone?" Here it is, July 13th or rather Friday the 13th, my lucky day! and this is my first posting for the blog this month.  I have been really busy with lots of bushcraft adventures, I just need to stop long enough to just share it all with you, my friends.
Hopefully I can get some more video taken about some upcoming adventures. I will be meeting with some bushcraft friends soon to help them with bushclass lessons and I know that will be fun. Also, there will be more fun with friction fire. Until then, Happy Exploring and remember to get out and get dirty.

Failed Bowdrill Friction Fire

   Okay, so sometimes things just do not go as planned. Practice anything long enough and you will discover how many times you fail. You can not get good at anything without practice.
   Many years ago, a preacher friend of mine would tell this simple story. He had a friend who could sit down at the piano and play just about anything you put in front of him music-wise. He could play all the tunes and all the classics. He could even improvise for jazz, the blues, rock and any different venue. Then my preacher friend would say, "How do you suppose he had the freedom to play just anything he wanted?" It always came back to the same answer, lots and lots of practice and the learning of all the fundamentals. Personal discipline focused on the goal of learning everything he could about playing piano had given him the freedom to do what he wanted to do.
   Now flash forward in time to me, struggling today to get a bowdrill fire going. I know all the fundamentals, I practice friction fire methods all the time. As of late, I have been practicing almost everyday. I am almost addicted to making fire by friction. It is so primitive and yet feels so right. Yet, I know that I cannot get better at it without testing myself over and over again with different kinds of wood in different situations. I need to challenge myself with friction fire all the time to find the freedom to make it work more consistently. I am trying to build a collection of experiences both successful and failures, to teach me what works and when.
   Every friction fire attempt is different. Some days, the combination of woods fails utterly and then a couple of days later, you will get success almost immediately with the same combination.
   So earlier this month I attempted to challenge myself with making a bowdrill friction fire constructed from one single piece of dead standing willow I found along the trail. The only thing I allowed myself was one knife, one rope and my bearing block. The rest had to come from that one piece of willow. I fashioned my spindle, my hearth board and my bow and set to work, trying for an ember.
   So here is the attempt.

   I don't think I failed completely, because out of this I learned that my choice of cordage makes a big difference under certain conditions. The failure raised more questions for me, that I will have to explore yet in another outing, trying to do the same thing, the "One Stick Challenge."
   So until the next time, I will keep practicing and hope that this will encourage you to not give up on any friction fire challenge you set for yourself. It is truly a big part of the bushcraft adventure and well worth mastering. Until then, Happy Exploring.

On Having A Minnesota Bushcraft Anniversary

   First of all, I would like to thank all my family and friends who stop in to visit my Minnesota Bushcraft blog. This past year has been full of adventures, and in looking back, I can see that I have grown thru the practice of bushcraft as well as many of my friends.
   This site has grown and moved thru many changes as well. Looking back to the beginning, I can see where I struggled to find my audience, where I faltered at using my format and that I was just plain timid about putting anything of good content into my posts.
   But that has all changed and the new challenge of adding video and pictures and including my friends in some of the adventures has made this a much better place.
   As of this moment, Minnesota Bushcraft has received 4,062 visits over the past year. That I would never have imagined. Though I can only see 16 subscribers, I know there are many of my friends at BushcraftUSA that stop in to read my meanderings and to see the latest goings on from my place here in southern Minnesota.
   Since joining BushcraftUSA (also about a year ago), I have completed the Basic BushclassUSA Certification thru the online BushclassUSA courses and have had the privilege to lead some of my friends into the BushclassUSA classes and they too have completed a few lessons, which has given much fodder for sharing their adventures here at Minnesota Bushcraft.
   This past year's Minnesota Bushcraft highlights include the coverage of the BushcraftUSA sponsored 2012 Hardwoodsman's Meet Up in April held in the great state of Missouri. The completion of my BushclassUSA course with an overnight on the fifth outing, in 20° F weather in a debris shelter. The many lessons and outings for BushclassUSA, which helped to fill many of my postings. And of course, the chances to share what some of my friends are now doing with bushcraft which even includes my post about "Bushcraft is Not Just for Boys."
   A special thanks has to go out to my bush buddy and constant wilderness companion Christian, for all of his energy and excitement and enthusiasm. He never refuses to go out in the wild with me and would give up TV and all the video games and sometimes even his other friends, just to get out and explore the wilderness and to learn all that he can. I hope someday he is a bushcraft master and can teach me a thing or two. For a kid of just eight years of age, he sure has learned a lot about bushcraft in the last year.
   Lastly, I would like to thank my Dad, for giving me the chance to learn from him all those many years ago. First as a scout and then secondly as a leader and mostly as his son just learning bushcraft, even when we didn't know to call it that back then.
   This next year I know will be filled with even more adventures, and I am hoping you will continue to share in them with me. Please feel free to comment, and to let me know what you are doing with bushcraft, especially if you are living in Minnesota. We have it wild here and Minnesota is a great place to practice bushcraft. It has in it's very heart and in it's history the very soul of bushcraft.
   Until next time, Happy Exploring.