Bushcrafting, my new old interest

     I have recently  rediscovered a passion for bushcrafting.  It is an activity which brings back fond memories from my childhood of carrying my Dad's old canvas rucksack on hunting trips with him or the fun I had as a boy scout.  Bushcrafting is essentially learning to coexist in the wilderness by using the skills and knowledge passed down to us by our ancestors, who used them out of necessity.  Bushcrafting is not about survival. It is about living in harmony with your natural surroundings.  Watching youtube videos and old TV programs featuring outdoor gurus like Ray Mears  

Picture from http://www.raymears.com/Ray_Mears/About_Ray_Mears.cfm

 rekindled the desire for what I was missing in backpacking and hiking activities.   Don't get me wrong, I love backpacking and hiking but I felt more like a visitor lacking any real connection to the environment through which I was travelling.  I also found that quite a few of my hiking or backpacking adventures often began to focus more on the distance or elevation gain numbers rather than experience of the trip itself.  This would lead to unwanted stress which was the antithesis of why I was getting out in the first place.

    Some of my fellow hikers might see bushcrafting  as being exploitive because it is an activity that relies on using the resources one finds rather than just depending on what one carries, however,  I see it differently.  Both interests share the "Leave no trace" ethic and in bushcrafting one must be respectful not to overuse what one finds in an area and to do one's best to replace what is used.  In hiking/backpacking, the gear we carry in our kit may be harvested and produced in a manner that is just as harmful if not more so than what is used in bushcrafting.

Anyone who knows me fairly well, knows that I am gear obsessed.  There is gear specific to bushcrafting but it tends to be more related to tools for creating what you might need.

 I love making my own gear and always have enjoyed do it yourself (DIY) projects with my other interests.  At home, my bushcrafting might include, fashioning leather lanyards or assembing a fire/tinder kit (making char cloth out of old cotton T shirts) and in the woods it might include carving wooden tent pegs, making a cook fire, or catching a fish.

  Even my style of clothing has changed.  I now use clothing made from natural fabrics, such as wool and cotton, rather than synthetics for my bushcrafting trips.

 Synthetics are more suited to backpacking where one is concerned about weight and volume.  In my experience, clothing made from natural fibers is more resistant to errant sparks from campfires and is more durable for activities where one is crafting with bladed tools.

     In future blog entries, I'd like to share some trips and techniques that I have experienced.

A Steveston Sunday

Just back from spending a nice day with my wife and daughter down at Steveston.  This is usually their mother daughter time but they graciously allowed me to tag along.  I wanted to see the Winter  Farmer's/Artisan market, which is held every second Sunday in the Gulf of Georgia Cannery.

Afterwards, we had a fish and chips lunch (It's mandatory if you are down in Steveston!), did a little shopping, and then hit the docks where we bought a couple pounds of shrimp off one of the fishing boats.  I also wanted to check out a wood sculpture on the boardwalk that I saw being carved on the OLN TV show , "Saw Dogs".

My Knife Collection

I recently started collecting knives.  I have always had a few for camping etc. but when you have more than you need or intend to use, it becomes a collection.  My collection evolved when my interest in bushcraft grew from my interest in hiking.

My favorite type of knife is a fixed blade bushcraft style with a scandi grind(an edge with just one bevel).  A bushcraft knife is usually no longer than eight inches total with the handle or the blade length being about the width of the palm of my hand.  One can't talk about knives without talking about the steel they are forged with.  I prefer a high carbon steel over stainless alloys because the edge retains it's sharpness longer.  Since carbon steels are generally harder than their stainless cousins, I find they generate more sparks when used with firesteels.  The downside to carbon steel is that it will rust faster if not protected (I used a thin coating of mineral oil on the blade).

I thought I'd display a few of my favorites.

This is my old standby , a Swiss Army Knife, Boy Scout Camper model.  This knife has been with me for years and has logged many hundreds of miles in my backpack .  I have lost count of the meals I have prepped and eaten with this knife or the repairs I have made with it.

This is a Canadian made damascus steel with buffalo horn fixed blade.  I think it's beautiful but a little heavy to be useful.

This is a heavy folder that I picked up on Maui because I really liked the scrimshaw art carved in the elk antler scales.  It is my edc (every day carry) knife.

No knife collection would be complete without a Mora knife from Sweden in it.  Mora's are very inexpensive(some would consider them disposable).  This is a Mora Companion.

Another favorite of mine is this hand forged Helle Eggen from Norway.  I love the birch handle.  The blade is a carbon laminate with stainless steel and with a scandi grind.  It is a very light but durable knife.

My ultimate favorite knife is this custom made companion spear point by Bill Akers of  Backwoods/bacustomknives.  The scales are made from stabilized box elder burl and the steel is forged with 1095 ALDOS. This may be the knife that ends my collecting because I doubt that I will ever find a nicer blade.

Recovering

I am just coming out the other side of being sick for about seven weeks.  It hasn't been one illness but several and the complications relating to them.  My liver was acting up until I got a change in my meds with my Wegener's.  I had severe chest pain which scared the Hell out of me but it's basically chest wall pain and it took a long time to heal up.  I am now watching my diet as a result anyways.  One of the major contributors to the cause of many of my illnesses flaring appears to be triggered by stress.  Stress makes me sick which in turn causes even more stress, a vicious circle.  I'm still working on trying to lower my stress levels but as a type A personality, it's hard!

Hard Times for Good People

In light of all the news coverage of all the "Occupy" protests. I'd like to tell a true story of a very good friend of mine.  We all know times are hard.  The economy has bottomed out in many places, governments overspend, and the rich get richer.  My friend is no different to many people because he has been a victim of this bad period.

My friend retired early and decided he'd invest in a business that he could pass on to his children as a legacy, should it have been a success.  His plan looked doable and even a good idea.  Unfortunately his timing and luck worked against him as the economy got worse and worse.  He tried hard to make a go of it for many years but to no avail, his business failed.  Many people would have been legitimately despondent and I'm sure he wasn't happy.  Yet despite this, he managed to pick himself up and find another job to make up for his losses.  I'm sure that it wasn't easy because there aren't that many jobs to be found these days.  It isn't high paying or glamorous but it's enough to get him back on track.  He could have given up, had a tantrum, and gone to join all those protests over social injustice but he didn't.  He could have turned his nose up at this menial employment but he put on his big boy pants and went to work.   Many would have felt that low wage kind of work is below their dignity but I see the opposite.  It takes a person with integrity and self respect to perform these jobs whether they have been used to better or not.  He has always had my deepest respect but I admire him even more now.  He is a good role model and I am honored to be his friend.

To spin this back to all the Occupy protests, I see people who are complaining and have never worked,  and people who are living off of their parent's silver spoon complaining.  I find that I have very little sympathy.  No one gave my friend anything, he had to go back out and work for what he wants or needs....as should we all.

Cross Border Excursion

Despite living only 20 minutes drive from the border with the USA, I find that I haven't been going across for visits as much as I used to.  Sometimes the hassle of border waits just doesn't justify any savings I might make in filling my gas tank.  Today my wife and I had the day off so we decided to take a little trip to Point Roberts.  Point Roberts is an isolated peninsula belonging to the United States but it is surrounded by Canada.  After a short drive we arrived at the border.

Of course after we performed our obligatory filling of the gas tank, we bought some food for a picnic and headed off to Lighthouse Marine Park.

The weather was milder than usual so we had an enjoyable lunch with a seaside view.  After lunch, we took a little walk along the beach.  The scenery was beautiful, the ocean breeze was refreshing, and we were amazed at how peaceful the area was.  I couldn't ask for a more relaxing outing.

My wife and I still have a few days off together so we plan on taking advantage of it with at least one more local adventure before it's back to the daily grind.

Under the Volcano

I have been interested in volcanoes for almost 40 years.  The interest was sparked from my father, who is a retired geological engineer.  I used to spend hours looking at all his old geology texts.  Almost all my childhood vacations involved road trips to one geological wonder or another, most of which were often volcanic in origin.  Dad also used to take me on his rock hounding trips.  I used to be rivited to the TV when there was National Geographic special featuring people like Maurice and Katia Krafft (world renowned married French volcanologists) adventuring up some active volcanoes.

I have seen everything from actively erupting volcanoes to long extinct skeletons of once great mountains and everything in between.  I could go on for pages of examples of what I have seen so instead, I thought I would share a few of my favorites.  I have picked several which are relatively unknown as well as a few volcano celebrities.  It is my plan to showcase more volcanoes in future blog entries.

Mount Savona

I grew up close to this extinct shield volcano in British Columbia's dry interior.  For those of you interested in the geology of this mountain, it is composed of brecciated basaltic lava flows  which erupted 30-50 million years ago.  This is a giant mountain which dominates the Thompson River valley.   I see it as a brooding sentinel, a comforting waymarker for my travels.  The local indigenous indian people used the caves in this mountain for their ceremonies and sometimes burials and consequently there has always been a legend about vistors to the mountain being cursed.

 I have hiked up to the caves several times out of curiosity and on rock hounding expeditions for volcanic opals.  I let you be the judge on whether I have been cursed or not.
 
Logger's Lake Cone

Approximately two hours drive from my home is Logger's Lake Cone, a 100,000 year old basaltic vent which is part of the Garibaldi volcanic belt.. This small cone has a crater filled with Logger's Lake.   This feature formed under a glacial ice sheet.  Despite it's proximity to Whistler BC, this destination is not well known.  I have enjoyed hiking the rim trail which encircles it.  I drove past this cone last month and could barely see it from the lookout.

Mount Baker

Mount Baker is a dormant composite volcano several hours drive southeast of my home.  I can see it out my windows.  Being an avid hiker, the Mount Baker area is my playground.  I have smelled the sulfurous emissions from Sherman crater and soaked in the backcountry hot spring at its base.  Mount Baker is one of the Cascade volcanoes with its last known activity being 100 years ago( probably a phreatic event).  In 1976 the mountain started getting more active with increased fumarolic activity in the crater.  It has not abated....nor has my love for this mountain.  Whether it is snowshoeing, skiing, climbing, or hiking, I intend to continue spending my time around this beautiful slumbering giant.

Kilauea

  It was a childhood dream of mine to actually experience a live eruption of a volcano, red lava and all.  In 2009 my dream came true when I went on a family vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii.  My wife purchased a helicopter trip for  my birthday so I could get to see the eruption close and personal.  It was arguably one of the best gifts I have ever received.  My only regret was that there was too much gas in Pu'u O'o vent to see the lava lake but I did get to see lava flowing through tubes from their open skylights and where it was pouring into the ocean.

Stay tuned for more volcanoes in future blog entries.