Winter is almost over and it's time to start doing some workshops. The next Advanced Friction Fire workshop will be March 24, 2018, a Saturday, at the Scheier Natural area in Fluvanna from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. You can go to the 'workshops' tab for more details. Primitive Skills 101 will be scheduled soon.
I want to talk about 'seeing'. Have you ever noticed that as soon as you get interested in something you start seeing it everywhere. Buy a motorcycle, you start seeing bikes around every turn. It is the same way with nature. If you get interested in something it just seemingly starts appearing everywhere. My passion is friction fire. Once I was at Shenandoah River State Park and found a dead snag off of a Cottonwood tree. I tried using it for the fire board in friction fire, it worked amazing!! It is now one of my top 3 native ( out of 16 so far ) woods for the fire board. Now I see Cottonwoods in Fluvanna, there are several on I64 W heading up Afton Mountain, I81 exit 225 has several on the left of the exit ramp. I would have never taken the time to study/get to know the Cottonwood if it wasn't for fire making The best spindle ?? Yucca flower stalks by far, once you start using them you will see yucca plants everywhere. BTW, remember Fire, Soap, Food and Rope when thinking of yuccas. The flower stalk is the #1 spindle, the roots will make a natural soap, the white flowers are edible and the leaves make one of the best natural cordage materials. While hiking, I constantly find the remnants of squirrels nests, the shredded cedar bark, since cedar bark is the best tinder. My goal is to get kids ( and their parents ) involved with nature, that is the only way that they will develop the desire to understand and protect it. If you can hook them on friction fire, and what kids of any age don't like fire, then you have taken a huge step in getting them outside. When you start seeing all these 'just plants' as useful, whether food-fire-shelter-cordage, then you will be more likely to protect them and the habitats that they live in. Your drives/hikes will never be the same !! Thank you for reading and like us on Facebook.
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Everyone talks about BOB bags, EDC kits,etc. I want to discuss a 'car' bag that will cover the needs of the soccer mom, average Joe who is on the road. Winter is coming on and that ups the ante even more in having one of these in your vehicle. Look at the natural disasters of the past 6 months that have hit our country, think back to the winter of 2009 when central Virginia residents were stranded on the road for days without help/supplies. You never know when or where you may be stranded away from home. How do you get back ? How do you survive for days ? That's where I think a car bag will come in handy.
To start with, lets look at the 4 requirements needed to stay alive. 1) shelter/warmth 2) potable water 3) fire 4) food. Fortunately a 'car' bag doesn't have to be as compact/light/efficient as a BOB bag. We can afford to carry more supplies/tools than you could easily carry on your back. However, a backpack to consolidate supplies to head out on foot is highly recommended. When reading this blog just remember that this is only my opinion of what to carry, there are many options/ideas when it comes to making these bags. 1) to cover shelter/warmth, I would carry a good sized tarp ( with plenty of cordage ) and a quality sleeping bag. Between your vehicle, a tarp and the sleeping bag you should be able to stay warm and dry. 2) for water I would have several bottles of water, ( maybe some coffee ), a metal container that you could boil water over a fire and carry a Sawyer mini-straw. The Sawyer mini-straw is very light weight water filter that is easy to carry in a small fanny pack. 3) for fire, I carry 2 lighters, 2 packs of matches in double zip locked bags, a 9V battery with some 0000 steel wool and several types of tinder/paper. 4) to supply your caloric needs I take cereal, protein bars, GORP, jerky. These are good food choices that do not need refrigeration or cooking. Everyone has favorites of course but be sure it will stay good in the car without care. Remember the average person needs 2,000 calories daily to maintain weight. Adding to the 4 basics above: I would pack extra clothes if you get wet, a poncho or rain gear, hiking shoes and a good outdoor hat, bandana and gloves. Some type of protection, small pistol/pepper spray or whatever you feel comfortable carrying. Take extra meds, glasses, Aleve, vitamins, bug spray and sun block to cover your health needs. A sturdy camp knife/hatchet for firewood or cutting a small tree out of the road. A quality multi tool, there are tons of good, used Leatherman tools on Ebay. A small first aid kit. Several flash lights and extra batteries. A hiking staff if you have to walk it out. Phone chargers/cords. This looks like a lot of stuff but it will easily fit into the old suitcase you no longer use or a duffel bag/back pack. Be sure to always, winter or summer, keep your gas tank at least half full. Lastly, if you loose all this stuff, you can take my Primitive Survival Skills 101 workshop and still be good to go. Thanks for reading and I would love to hear feedback from you about your bags. The June Primitive Skills 101 workshop went very well. The weather was perfect and everyone was successful with making/starting fire with the bow drill. I've never had a class before with 100% success rate.....
Speaking of friction fire, the yuccas are losing their flowers now. This is the best time to harvest the flower stalk, the yucca flower stalk is the best spindle material that I have tried. Look for very straight ones, it should be true and round and roll like a dowell. Any wobble in the spindle will result in a much harder attempt at fire making. Once harvested, it will take a month or more to dry for use. I found out that the Cucumber tree ( native to the Alleghany Highlands ) makes a very good fireboard. To date that makes 16 native trees to that I have been successful with in friction fire.... The next Primitive Skills 101 workshop will be October 21, 2017 at the Scheier Natural area in Fluvanna County. Also, I can always bring my workshop to you with a minimum of 6 attendees......This month I attended the SOLO Wilderness First Aid class taught by Matt Rosefsky, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone who plays in the outdoors to take this workshop.....Enclosed are pics of the last debris shelter. BTW, I will be trying this one out this winter. It still needs a little more debris to make it functional down to 10 degrees but it is basically finished except the door. Don't forget to like us on Facebook! Thanks, Steve. I had a very good 101 workshop on March 25, most everyone made fire and we all learned new skills. Ron Counts of the Daily Progress was in attendance and wrote a really good article about the class.
April 8th was an Advanced Friction Fire workshop and then on the 25th I held my annual spring 101 demo for the Rivanna Conservation Alliance. I was not planning on scheduling another 101 until fall but there has been good interest in a summer workshop so I have another scheduled for June 3 at the Scheier Natural area. If you know of anyone who may be interested please let them know. Like us on Facebook and spread the word. Thanks ! Next month I will get back to shelter building with pics of the new one going up at Scheier. The wild edibles are really going now so get your books out and go foraging. One more thing, the 6th annual Southeast Virginia Knap-in and Ancestral Skills gathering will be May 19 through 21. It looks interesting and I hope to go. www.dailyprogress.com/cvillevarsity/pullinger-puts-in-dirt-time/article_88508cd0-2156-11e7-95de-f302d3fcf7c8.html My last 101 workshop is scheduled for March 25, 9:00 to 4:00 pm and the last Advanced Friction fire workshop will be April 8, 2017. Pass on the word if you know of anyone who may be interested.
I want to share a website that is certainly complementary to what I teach and it is the perfect companion workshop to my Primitive Skills 101. You would be covered in most any outdoor emergencies with these two. www.solowfa.com Like us on Facebook and thanks !! www.facebook.com/primitivesurvivalskills/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel It is the end of January and a good time to talk about shelters. Remember the priorities of staying alive, shelter is first. Hypothermia can happen in less than 3 hours in the right ( or wrong ) conditions. The properly built debris shelter can be made with no tools and with all natural materials. With 3' of debris it will keep you alive down to 10 degrees. I have slept in them down to 10 and I stayed pretty warm.
Shelter location is very important. It needs to face east; the morning sun warms the entrance and 95% of our weather systems come from the west so you don't want the wind and snow blowing in the door. The edge of the woods and field is best - there's not enough sun in the deep woods and there is a chance of limbs and trees falling on the shelter. If it is too far out in a field, the sun and wind could be too intense and it is harder to find enough materials ( in a short time ) to complete the shelter. Building on a ridge or knoll is best for drainage, creek bottoms are damp and cold ( ever ride a motorcycle and feel the temperature drop in every creek bottom ? ) and you risk the chance of flooding. Never build too close to your drinking source for obvious reasons. This will cover the location requirements. Next month we will start construction. |
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