Learning From Failure, But Enjoying Sucess.

I have been writing about the things I tried that did not work for me, and I learned from those experiences and adapted.  I also enjoy my successes, especially when I pull of something difficult.  It is important to challenge yourself to develop your skills.

It was a great day, Sean and I were out bushcrafting, and his mom was along taking pictures.  It had been raining for a week this last December and the highs were in the 40s and 45s.  It was misty and drizzly that day.  We decided to go out and practice putting up tarp shelters and fire making.  Sean and I put up a tarp too keep his mom dry, I gashed my finger really bad snapping off twig sized branches from a tree close to the trunk.  Colleen put on good field dressing after I put on a band aid (I was bleeding through it).  She kept me from bleeding on my first aid supplies.  She handled it like a champ.  I leaned never to snap off branches like that again, it is a job like a cutting tool or bludgeon of some kind.

We then moved on to fire making, and everything was soaked.  This is the day I showed Sean the virtues of birch bark as a tinder.  Sean learned to baton wood that day, to make kindling out of some of the dry centers of wet branches.  I showed him that preparation is the key to starting a fire in wet weather.  I put down a floor of sticks to keep the fire off the damp ground.  Then I made a bundle of shredded birch bark and put in the center a bird's nest of jute twine.  I scraped the ferrocerium rod and the spark roared to life as a giant flame as you can see in the picture to the right.  Birch bark is wonderful stuff.  I used my billy pot ($6.99 Walmart grease pot) to make everyone tea and cocoa.  It was a great day.

My Brew Kit

Here is one of the best kept worst kept secrets in bushcrafting making a
brew/billy pot out of the Walmart greast pot.  I painted my black with Rustoleum High Heat Paint to keep some of the resins in burning soft woods off it, and hide the temper and discoloration that the fire would impart on the metal hidden.  On the left is a picture of the Brew Kit I sometimes carry as additional gear.  I made the loop (bail) for the pot by drilling a hole and adding some picture hanging wire.  A piece of metal coat hanger could be used.  This was my first use of the billy pot I made that same day.  It was a good day every thing was a challenge, but everything we tried worked.  Until next time keep your knives sharp and your powder dry.