Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fire in the Rain- Part 2

Going on a canoe trip to Algonquin this weekend and the forecast is for rain.

This is the second time this summer a camping trip will be rained out.

At least I'm getting good practice fire building in wet weather...

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Fire steels and Knife edges

Everyone knows you're not supposed to use you knife edge to strike a spark from a ferro-rod except in the worse of emergencies. Well I ignore this rule the last time I was in the woods, not once but many many times.

I hearby swear to never do this again. I ruined my knife edge so badly that it has taken me forever to get it hair popping sharp again using ceramic rods.

Be kind to your knife, don't strike with the edge.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The 72 hour Emergency kit (e-kit)

I wasn't planning on making a post tonight, but we just had a pretty bad storm roll through here and it made me think of my E-Kit, and how important it is for everyone to have one in their homes. During the storm, a tornado touched down in an area not too far from where I live, where it uprooted trees, tore off roofs, and outed electricity.

Natural disasters of this caliber are fairly rare in the area I live in, aside from the odd winter storm that hits. Because of this, most people don't ever have an Emergency kit build, so have absolutely no idea what to do if a crisis hits. Without a way to address the rule of 3s
  • 3 minutes to address severe bleeding or asphyxiation
  • 3 hours to address exposure
  • 3 days to address clean drinking water
  • 3 weeks to address food
most people panic and chaos ensues.

Below are a few guidelines that should be followed regarding E-Kits.

1) Build your own kit.
You can buy prepared emergency kits at a lot of camping/outdoor stores. While I would rather hear someone buying a pre-made kit than not having one at all, I recommend building one instead. Without speaking about the quality, one of the most important things about a kit is that you know what is in it, and how to use the items! Be honest- if you buy a prepared kit, are you going to spend the time to become familiar with what is in it?
Build it yourself and you'll have an intimate knowledge of what is in it and you'll know how to use the items you've packed.

2) Know where you kit is located
What good is it that you've built a quality kit, if you've stuffed it in the back of a closet somewhere and don't remember how to get to it in a crisis. Remember that when it counts, you need to get to your kit quickly.

3) Build your kit with quality items
Your life might depend on the items you have packed. Don't cut corners, and periodically go through the kit to see what needs to be replaced or rotated out. As you learn more, you might find you can replace certain items without too much loss of comfort.

Basic E-Kit Contents (a good place to start):
  • Bic lighter (2) - Matches may look cool, but a lighter can start hundreds of fires
  • 8 hours candles (3) - warmth, light and morale boost
  • Sleeping bag or heavy wool blanket - choose wool and you can even use it while it's soaking wet
  • Space blanket - reflects heat and is a good signaling device
  • 100ft 550 paracord - cord has almost infinite uses, and 550 cord can be split to use the inner strands
  • Flashlight w/extra batteries - for light
  • 2L of water /person /day or water purification method - dehydration will kill you in 3 days or less
  • Gatorade powder, or similar electrolyte mix - replace bodily salts
  • Dried food - rice, beans, pasta, qinoa, couscous, flour, cornmeal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc...
  • Canned food - soups, stews, canned meats, canned fish, canned vegetables, beans
  • Cooking kit - pot + butane burner or backpacker stove
  • Ziplock bags - can be used to hold food, water, or in a pinch even seal a sucking chest wound
  • Sharp Knife - I shouldn't even need to explain this one
  • Multitool - pliers, saw, file, scissors, can opener, etc...
  • Box cutter or x-acto knife - for fine work
  • Hygene kit - tweezers, nail clippers, scissors, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper, hand sanitizer
  • Cotton bandanas - rags, head wraps, towels, water filter, etc...
  • Duct tape - Won't explain this either
  • Whistle - for signalling
  • Mirror - signalling, hygene, etc...
  • Sewing kit - for repairs to clothing or suturing (in a pinch)
  • Med kit - bandages, gauze, wraps, alcohol, iodine, tape, razor blades, aspirin, ibuprofin, tylenol
  • Misc items - cards, travel games, books, notepads + pencil

Of course this is a general list, and any alterations that need to be made to suit your level of skill or comfort can be done per individual basis, but I think this is a good place for anyone to start.

Want to learn a bit more? At least learn the basics that the Gov. of Canada recommends you have in an emergency:
http://getprepared.ca/index_e.asp

Monday, August 17, 2009

Yarrow Insect Repellent

This is yarrow,


I've searched all summer for this plant in local fields, ravines, hiking trails, and nature parks. Why? Because a tincture of yarrow applied externally is supposed to be a more effective mosquito repellent than 100% deet. The problem is...I've just started learning about plants, local or otherwise. So when I saw this:


I over zealously picked as much as I could fit into a bottle and immersed it in a 100-proof grain alcohol to make my tincture. Luckily during my research I was warned of many Yarrow look-a-likes, such as the extremely deadly poison hemlock, which made me very cautious. So cautious that after I got home with my alcohol soaked leaves in a bottle, that I did some more research. Turns out I had picked "Queen Anne's Lace" or Wild Carrot. Apparently an honest newbie mistake, but at least I had the good sense to confirm what I had was actually what I thought I had.

After coincidentally stumbling over a large patch of Yarrow this past weekend,
I finally have a full bottle of a brewing tincture that should be ready in time for my canoe trip at the end of the month.

A good lesson learned.

For those of you who have more botanical sense than I do, and are interested in trying a yarrow based insect repellent the method of making it is as simple as making a tea using the flowers or immersing the flowers and leaves in alcohol for 2 weeks to a month to make a tincture.

At this point it can simply be sprayed on, but I find that since it is water soluble i will wash off if you get wet. A solution to this is to take a cue from Dave Canterbury and evaporate the tincture in olive oil and then put the essential oil into your spray bottle.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

The Pathfinder Pocket Fishing Kit

Dave Canterbury has a video up about a pocket fishing kit he uses made from a drill bit tube with line wrapped around it and fishing tackle stored inside. It's a variation on hobo style can fishing, that's meant to be a little more permanent and a little more self contained.


In a more recent video, his friend shows him a version he made himself using and PVC pipe, an end cap and a plug. I decided this was the type I'd make, but a little more robust.

I was able to get all the components I needed to build the fishing kit over the weekend. Actual construction of it took less time than I thought it would. It was a matter of sawing the ABS pipe to size, cementing the end cap, and hammering in the plug. I also drilled a hole in the threaded end cap so I could thread a piece of 550 cord through to use as a wrist sling. The final product is shown below.


A complete list of what is included in the kit:

  • 1.25" ABS pipe container used for casting and holding tackle /w 550 cord sling
  • 5ft Orange electrical tape for marking drop lines
  • 8lbs test line wrapped around casing
  • 4 floaters, varying sizes
  • Variety of jigs and hooks
  • Weights/sinkers
  • Extra 8lbs test wrapped around 2 nails (used for drop lines)
  • Zip-ties (multitude of uses for these!)


Sadly I haven't yet had the change to go out and catch anything with it yet, since I didn't pick up an fishing license this year. I should get one soon, just to play with this.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Constructing the Pathfinder Pocket Fishing Kit

Tonight I started working on my Pathfinder Pocket Fishing kit. I found out about this compact system via Dave Canterbury of Wilderness Outfitters Archery, and it's basically a ramped up version of a 'hobo fishing' kit.

The system is dead simple, and consists of a 6" length of 1 1/4" ABS pipe with an end plug on one end and a threaded cap on the other. The tackle is kept inside the pipe and line is reeled around the outside of the pipe. I probably should have taken a picture of the components before I cemented them together, but hopefully I can get a few pictures up of the complete system in the near future.