I have been pretty lazy about sharing my day hikes lately. They have all been more of the same.... hike down into the bottoms, do a splitwood fire, hike the creeks... etc etc. Today was more interesting since I had snow on the ground and planned a hot lunch so I wanted to take pics to share here.
As I mentioned I wanted to have a hot lunch in the woods today. It was a gimme that I would use my Heavy Cover Titanium Canteen kit. I discovered this Wind & Willow instant soup at a little niche shop here in town. They are a local company in Mount Vernon, Missouri. I have not had a single flavor of these that I do not like. Decided on grilled cheese and tomato soup today.
Is there anything not to love about the snowy woods?
By the time I got down to the creek the temps have climbed and the snow was starting to melt.
Once I got set up I got a fire going in the Emberlit. This little stove is awesome. It is tiny yet you can build enough of a fire in it to warm by. Of course it is great for cooking on.
I put the soup on. The stove gets the water in the TI canteen cup boiling in a hurry.
Yum....
And a nice pipe for desert.
Once my meal was over I decided to play with my toys. Sharps for the day; CRKT Woods Chogan, Turley Green River and my new Turley Arghandab River.
My biggest complaint with most hawks is they don't have enough mass. I know lots of guys are awesome with the trail hawk but it doesn't work well for me. This Chogan has the mass I need. Great chopper.
I came across this small waterfall and had to take some pictures. As a kid I always loved frozen waterfalls.
It was Saturday morning and as I crawled out of bed I could feel a difference in the air. Winter is finally here. The thermometer indicated the air temp was sitting in the low twenties. I went about my morning routine. While sitting at the kitchen table sipping a hot cup of coffee I realized I couldn’t pass up the chance to enjoy this first morning of cool weather. I was sure I would have the forest to myself this morning. Folks in my neck of the woods don’t really get out to enjoy it when the temperature drops like this.
I glanced at the clock, 7:30am; my nephew’s first birthday party was at noon… just enough time for a quick tramp in the creek bottoms.
I keep my day kit ready to go for just such an occasion so all that was need was to change clothes and grab a coat. Normally when the temps dip down below freezing I would layer up with a Henley thermal base layer. This morning I had some new kit I wanted to try though, a pair of Austrian cold weather bibs. These looked like a fantastic deal when a member of BCUSA pointed them out. So to see how they would do I just pulled the bibs on over a pair of blue denim jeans. A t-shirt, Henley top and duck canvas work coat and I was out the door.
Once I reached the local public forest my prediction was confirmed. I park the Jeep by itself in the corner of a parking lot near the trailhead I would start the morning on. I quickly spotted a game trail so began following that.
I love the forest in the winter. All was quiet and peaceful… until the sky darkened and a roar swept over the trees. It would seem the birds have noticed the drastic temperature change as well. A thick flock flew overhead for what seemed like minutes.
I proceeded to follow the game trail enjoying the walk. The trail opened out into a field.
It was at this time I heard the distinct sound of a slug gun firing in the near distance reminding me that it was November 15, also known as the first day of deer season. The park boundaries are not distinctly marked and while I knew I was still in the public lands I was nearing the invisible border. Being that I was currently dressed in earth tones with no hunters orange with me I decided it was a good spot to turn back away from the edges of the public lands and get back to the safer territory deeper within the park.
I found myself back in the creek bottoms that I spend so much of my time in. It is amazing what a few weeks can do. Fall really opened up the bottoms. What was once thick with foliage is now open and you can really see all around.
I find that I am drawn to water. I love the creeks and small rivers that snake through the Missouri hardwoods. I got closer to the creek I came upon drainage, the still water has begun to freeze over. It will take a little longer for the streams themselves to ice. To my eyes this is a beautiful sight.
For the last 7 months I have been carrying a Hill People Gear Kitbag as my primary pack for day hikes. This was the first opportunity I have had to test this pack while wearing full cold weather gear. It carried excellently. This is absolutely my favorite way to carry my core gear.
When sitting and taking in the winter woods a hot cup of tea is a great companion. Since my time this morning was limited, the obvious solution was to fire up a Trioxane fuel tab and heat the water in my canteen cup.
Trioxane is a fantastic fuel source for quick brews. Clean burning and easy to light. It is a purple block and when struck with a spark quickly takes to flame. The flame is nearly invisible in the daylight and a pale blue in the dark. The only indication that it is on fire is that the surface darkens and appears wet.
With a brew on I had a little time and set about prepping a split wood fire. Being that I was in the creek bottoms the most prevalent dead standing around me was sycamore. This is not my favorite wood for a split wood fire but I have become proficient with it due to its abundance.
The little saw in the Swiss Army Farmer is a fantastic tool and handled cutting through the sycamore with ease. I set to battoning the sycamore with my Turley Green River knife.
The grain structure of sycamore doesn’t lend itself to splitting well. It tends to blow out in smallish chunks.
For this reason I like my woods knife to have a metal pommel so that I can drive the knife in midway and split down my prep.
Prep split down, time for some shavings. This little scrap of leather makes a great surface for shavings.
By this point there was a fair amount of steam coming from the around the lid of my Heavy Cover canteen cup. So I sat and enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey. With time running short it was time to take my fire prep down by the water’s edge and light it up. As is so often the case I didn’t really need a fire this morning but I did the prep work so I was going to see the fruits of my labor. This is really the bare minimum prep for a decent sustainable fire. I have a lot of experience with this wood so I was confident in the prep I had, though if I really needed a fire I would have done at least three times as much prep.
In no time I had a nice fire ablaze. I warmed my hands briefly by this fire before extinguishing in the creek.
This had been a great morning. The Austrian bibs performed fantastically. The HPG Kit Bag worked as well with my cold weather clothing as it does with my warmer lighter clothing. My time was up and I needed to begin heading back towards the parking lot. There was birthday party for a one year old I had to attend. Thanks for looking!
My wife and I have been really enjoying Tenkara style fishing lately. If you have not been paying attention to the fishing world for the last couple years Tenkara is the Japanese fly fishing method that is gaining more and more popularity here in the USA. At heart Tenkara is a minimalist fly fishing style. A telescoping tenkara rod, a line and some flies... that's about it. Being that Tenkara method is a minimalist dream it makes sense that it pairs so well with hiking and bushcraft.
There are a couple USA based tenkara outfits, most notably TenkaraUSA and Tenkara Rod Co. There are a couple UK places and of course the Japanese vendors. Our family has two Rods; A TenkaraUSA Iwana and a Tenkara Rod Co. Teton. These are very similar rods and either one will be fantastic for a beginner. In fact if you are on the fence, you can't go wrong buying the Teton kit. This rod is fantastic and has a swivel tip that really helps keep from getting tangled. A feature not common in entry level rods. My wife loves hers.
As for beginners if you have never touched a fly rod but always wanted to give it a go this is the style for you. I took quickly to the casting method for this simple fly fishing style as did my wife. I am talking great, accurate casts within 15 minutes of hitting the stream the first time out. None of this "It will take a full season to get a decent presentation" that I was told when I talked to the guy tying flys at the fly fishing department at Bass Pro.
So anyway this morning my wife I and woke up to a beautiful day and decided a hike at a local creek bottom trail was the perfect way to start the day. It was also the perfect chance to test out my latest piece of gear. So after a cup of coffee the three of us (No way my son was going to miss out) headed for the trail head.
We got to the wood line and the sight was beautiful. I love the colors of fall.
As we got out of the Jeep I strapped on my gear including the new piece of kit. A Trail Lite Ebira rod quiver. Special thanks to thomdarrah for getting me set up with this. I had been tucking the rod down in my Chest pack and shoving the line spool and fly box into the front pocket when I thought the opportunity for some fishing might arise. This worked but I wanted a better solution. The Ebira turned out to be the ticket.
As we headed down the trail I knew that the Ebira was going to be my new creek bottoms hiking companion. Once I put it on I couldn't feel it. It didn't stick out and catch on brush. It just carried my Tenkara gear until I needed it.
The Ebira is the perfect size. As the quote on the TrailLite website says "The Ebira rod quiver holds your rod and the gear you need on the stream. If it won't fit in the Ebira, you don't need it." That is the truth! Here is the Ebira with my gear laid out. In the quiver I had a TenkaraUSA Iwana rod. In the detachable pocket I had a line spool with my level line and spare tippet. It also fits my flybox and the retractable spool with my clippers. My forceps are a little large so I just clipped those onto the outside of the Ebira but I plan to get a smaller set that will fit in the clip on pocket. You don't have to take the Ebira off to get the rod or other gear out either which is great.
Setting up the tenkara rod is quick and easy. I quickly got to fishing. We have had a lot of heavy rain and for the last week or two this stream has been a torrent and too muddy and fast to really fish. I was optimistic that today might be a good day for it though.
You can see that the Ebira is very unobtrusive while fishing.
Even when perched out on a log where you wouldn't want any cumbersome gear.
It was a great morning down in the creek bottoms. The water was very murky and the only way to get a fish on was to drop the fly right in front of their face. Like the saying goes a bad day fishing is better than a good day in the office....
Chest packs have become a hot topic of discussion in the bushcraft community. Most notably the Hill People Gear Kitbag. I have carried this Kitbag on trips to the woods and/or fishing at least once a week for the last 6 months. In that time my gear loadout has evolved to a point that for day trips to the woods the Kitbag has replaced the need for larger packs. I do keep it pretty full, however it has remained comfortable and unobtrusive. I usually wear a USGI pistol belt with a couple canteens to hold water and if I want to bring an axe or other large chopper I find I can hang it from the belt and not really notice it.
Here is my review and current loadout that meets all of my needs. This is the HPG Original Kitbag. Weight: 1.00 lb Length: 2.00 in Width: 11.50 in Height: 7.50 in Dimensional Volume: 172.50 in3
I shot a video when in the woods this past weekend and it didn't turn out very good so I re-shot it in my shop so you can hear me better. I was hesitant to do a video at all, I am not good at talking to a camera but sometimes a video is better than pictures.
The original kitbag has 3 zipper pockets. I will go through the contents of each and how my gear selection has evolved to fit all my needs in this one bag. The only modification I have made to the bag (not much of a mod really) was the addition of a handle. The bag doesn’t have a good way of just picking it up. You can grab it by the straps but that just felt awkward to me. I made a simple handle by braiding the outer sheath of some paracord and attaching it to the GrimLoks. This makes a convenient carry handle.
I keep the front compartment pretty empty because I often will put my wallet and car keys in there when I head out. All I have in there at the moment is an emergency whistle, a lighter, a NiteIze clip light a pencil and one of Mr. Blacks Tacboards (made from a piece of venetian blind).
The middle pocket is where all the good stuff is. Here is a picture of the pack just as it opens and then with the gear spread out, followed by a list of the kit components. Kit Components Shelter: I used to carry a Bushcraft Outfitters Multi-Cam G2 MEST as my primary shelter option. That tarp is really too bulky to go in this kit so I had to find an alternative. I was going to get a UL MEST but they were not in stock. J-Loden pointed me towards the Go-Lite Poncho Tarp. It doubles as rain gear and shelter. This is another great piece of kit that I plan to review soon. In addition to the poncho tarp I also have two mylar emergency blankets. Water: Lifestraw filter, an aqua-pouch and some purification tablets. Cordage: A hank of bank line and a couple large hanks of Nano-cord. Fire: Large ferro-rod, Trioxine fuel tablet and a tin of petroleum jelly/cotton balls. Misc: Small first-aid kit, Small field repair kit, DC-4 sharpener, Lucky 1-2 map case, rite in rain journal, Silky Saw and a heavily oiled scrap of leather for fire prep and other misc purposes.
The pocket closest to my body is where my sidearm rides. I carry a Glock 26 in a MIC Holster connected to the internal loop. I also keep a spare magazine in this pocket.
All in all this has been a great piece of kit. It has become one of my favorite bushcraft purchases.
Cool weather is finally here. It is crazy wet out this weekend but that
wasn't going to stop me from getting into the woods. I pulled on my rubber slop boots and headed
for the woods. While I was out there I
shot some pics and a couple videos (The first of them is down at the bottom of
this post) .
Normally I find myself in creek or river bottoms. I am just drawn to areas with water I
guess. When I parked at the trail-head I
had in mind for the day I noticed barricades saying the trail was closed for
maintenance. “Please stay on established
trails for your safety.” What the
heck? Normally I would have just said
fine, the trail is closed and walked straight into the woods being careful to
stay away from the maintenance sites but I recently had an encounter with a
ranger at this location that made me think that doing so would invite unwanted
trouble.
Instead of getting frustrated which was my initial gut response
I chose to look at the silver lining of the situation and accept that this is
my chance to explore new territory. I
drove off to another trail-head that I have never hiked from before.
This area was different indeed. Not more than a few miles from my normal
stomping grounds yet way up on hills and nowhere near a running stream. The trees were a good deal different. Gone were the big Sycamore trees the dot the
river bottoms, replaced by conifers.
It turns out that having the rubber boots payed off even
though I was high up on the hills. With
all the rain this past week there was standing water everywhere. In short it was downright sloppy.
All of the water this year has made it an excellent year for
fungi. Here is a large horse hoof
fungus.
A couple years ago at the Missouri Hardwoods meet I won an
Opinel #12 folding saw from Bushcraft Outfitters. I have used it a lot, it was my primary saw
until I acquired a Silky Pocket boy a few months ago. I really liked the saw, it is a handy pocketable size and it cut
well. While it worked great it lacked
the feel I really wanted. This week I
put a little work to it in the shop. I smoothed
out the edges, stained and applied a couple coats of boiled linseed oil. This is more like it.
I took a little time in the video below to talk a bit about
this saw and show it alongside the Silky Pocket Boy with medium which in my
experience is the saw that is the closest to it in quality cutting ability.
Of course no outing would be complete without practicing a
splitwood fire. My Turley Green River
was the tool for the job.
I have had a habit of using either my hat or a bandanna to
catch my shavings when doing fire prep.
Of course the direct result of course is that many of my hats and most
of my bandannas have been cut up. I have
decided that it was time to try something new.
I took a scrap of leather I used a Sharpie marker to draw a 4x4 grid on
it thinking it might come in handy at some point. I then proceeded to treat the leather heavily
with mink oil. This worked great on the
day’s splitwood fire prep.
Here is the video I shot. Thanks for viewing!
Sunday, September 7, 2014
My Introduction
So I as a way of introduction my name is James Lerch. For what it is worth worth I consider myself a Christian first and foremost, a woodsman secondly. Bushcraft is a major part of my woodsman's skill set. Being able to work with God's nature and not feel foreign in it is important to me.
I have had the privilege of being mentored by what I consider to be the top woodsmen on the continent of North America. I have attended meetings and been taught by the likes of Terry Barney, Israel Turley, Joe Robinet and many more that I can't hope to cover here.
I have been kicking around the idea of setting up a blog site... I have been reluctant though. While I have enjoyed posting my woods outings and thoughts on the best Bushcraft forum on the internet, BushCraftUSA.com there are some restrictions that they have to place on the forum. Those restrictions make sense for the forum and are really what makes that place so dang great. I will continue to post there as I feel it is a great community that I am proud to be part of. Having a blog site of my own allows me to branch out even more though.
For the most part this blog is my public journal of my journey through the woods and life. I plan to evolve this blog as time allows and as my skills continue to progress.
