After graduating college, I went to work doing web programming. My life was very much about computers and electronics. I spent my free time playing computer/video games. I went so far as to hack my xbox so that I could have nearly unlimited free games on it. I always enjoyed nature but never really got to know it.
After my brother introduced me to the book The Tracker and got me to the Tracker School I began to change. In the last four years my free time has become devoted to learning skills of survival and self-sufficiency. I still play the occasional video game but try not to let it take over my life. This was all done to the detriment of my career in computers.
I grew less and less interested in what I was doing at work and found myself daydreaming of being outdoors instead of at my desk. On occasion I spent my lunch break sitting in a small patch of trees and bushes listening to the birds. It was my private oasis.
The day was approaching where my lack of passion and dedication for my career in programming was going to cost me my job. I finally got serious about looking for a new job/career. My main requirement was an outdoor job. I could no longer be in an office at least for awhile. A friend suggested the Student Conservation Association.
I checked out the website and applied for some internships. Last Thursday I interviewed for a position. The interview went well and I was offered the position at the end of the interview. The next day I accepted. August 31st will be the last day at my current job.
So starting October 1st I will start my new job. It will last for 8 months ending May 17th. At that time I don't know what I'll do. I think a lot will depend on my 8 month experience.
The job
I will be working in a group with 4 others in the Mojave Desert area. We will be backpacking/camping in the wilderness and working on conservation projects. Our three main tasks will be trail maintenance (rerouting, erosion, drainage), resource monitoring (assessing water sources, vegetation) and restoration of areas damaged by vehicles and similar problems.
We'll be on 9-10 day trips with 4-5 days off. My hope is to learn as much as possible about the desert which I've never really experienced. It should help that I'll be there for 3 seasons and experience 4 distinct ecosystems. I also hope to practice and learn new survival skills while there. I can do this after work and on my days off but it seems probable that I can even do it while working considering what our tasks will be.
My plan is to continue updating this blog during my days off. I imagine I'll have lots to say after 9 straight days in the wilderness.
I think my house is going up for sale this weekend which will mean soon I will have my free time back for working on skills. There are many things I'd like to do before moving out.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
New friends
I'm still too busy working on my house to work on many skills, but I wanted to give shouts out to two friends who I've added links to on my site. First, under my "Links" section, I added a link to "Practical Primitive". This is an organization headed up by former Tracker School instructor Eddie Starnater. I most recently saw Eddie at the Baltimore Bowman event. He had a tent there teaching flintknapping and the bow drill and giving out free shirts. He offers mentoring sessions which is hard to find.
I also added a new link to my "Friends" section. Matt Bukowski, a former Tracker School caretaker/intern, started a blog. He lives with my brother in D.C. I last saw him at the Baltimore Bowman event as well.
Here's what little I've done since my last post. I went to a Gun and Knife show. I bought a new back pack there that is pretty dope. I plan to use it as my "Grab n' Go" bag in case TSHTF. I have it stocked with most of my gear presently. When I get it all stocked up maybe I'll do a post about it. I also bought a nice Spyderco folding knife for $60 since I didn't have a folding knife. Finally, I bought a magnesium match to play with. It took me less than a minute to get a fire with it the first time I tried it.
As I predicted, I ended up breaking the biface I pictured in the last post. The lesson I learned was, warm up on other rock before starting on a nice piece. Instead, I tried to take important shots right of the bat.
Finally, I started playing around a little with knife throwing. I only have one knife and I don't really have a good set up to practice with, but so far I can stick several in a row sometimes. It's probably not the most practical skill, but it is fun and cool.
I also added a new link to my "Friends" section. Matt Bukowski, a former Tracker School caretaker/intern, started a blog. He lives with my brother in D.C. I last saw him at the Baltimore Bowman event as well.
Here's what little I've done since my last post. I went to a Gun and Knife show. I bought a new back pack there that is pretty dope. I plan to use it as my "Grab n' Go" bag in case TSHTF. I have it stocked with most of my gear presently. When I get it all stocked up maybe I'll do a post about it. I also bought a nice Spyderco folding knife for $60 since I didn't have a folding knife. Finally, I bought a magnesium match to play with. It took me less than a minute to get a fire with it the first time I tried it.
As I predicted, I ended up breaking the biface I pictured in the last post. The lesson I learned was, warm up on other rock before starting on a nice piece. Instead, I tried to take important shots right of the bat.
Finally, I started playing around a little with knife throwing. I only have one knife and I don't really have a good set up to practice with, but so far I can stick several in a row sometimes. It's probably not the most practical skill, but it is fun and cool.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
My Second Baltimore Bowman Event
Last weekend I attended the Baltimore Bowman Traditional Classic for the second year in a row. Like last year I rented a car and drove from Indy to Washington D.C. and then to Baltimore. I hung out with my brother and some other friends. The focus of the weekend was shooting 3d targets. I didn't take pictures of shooting because it was basically the same as last year.
Learning wild edible and medicinal plants was an added bonus of my trip. My brother taught me many. All of them were ones that could be eaten raw. To me there is something cool about being able to feed yourself on plants as you're casually walking through the woods. I think it's the instant gratification. It's food that's free and the energy exerted is just that of grabbing a leaf. There is also a scout aspect to it. You can travel long distances without stopping. You don't need a fire that could give away your location.
I took pictures of some of the plants I tried out last weekend. Each name is linked to a external reference for more information.
Wood Sorrel - This has a lemony taste. According to the reference, it is more a medicinal plant than an edible. I guess you wouldn't want to eat too much of this at one time.
Black Locust - According to the reference all parts of the tree are very poisonous except the flowers. Luckily the flowers were the only part I ate. They are very good. They have a slight sweet taste to them. I ate many handfuls of these throughout the weekend.
Cleavers - I ate the whole stalk. The link says that the seeds of this plant often end up in cereal grains because they are hard to filter out so you may have already eaten this plant and not known it. It also says that the plant can be used to treat skin diseases.
Garlic Mustard - This is an invasive species. It has an effect on the soil that makes it harder for native species to grow. I ate the leaves of this plant. It tastes like it is named. The first picture is the plant in it's first year. The second picture is it's second year.
Tinder Fungus - While gathering black locust flowers, I noticed a fungus growing on the tree. This fungus can be used as tinder for making fire by friction. After reading the linked article I found out that this isn't "true" tinder fungus. When I lit it, it did burn for awhile before going out so I think it's good stuff.
Finally, I made my first quality biface on the trip. The stone is dacite which is a little bit harder than obsidian on the lithic scale. I mostly used small stones to take this from a big chunk of rock down to this form. I wanted to get a picture of this before I try to take this down to a nice point in case I make a bad mistake.
Learning wild edible and medicinal plants was an added bonus of my trip. My brother taught me many. All of them were ones that could be eaten raw. To me there is something cool about being able to feed yourself on plants as you're casually walking through the woods. I think it's the instant gratification. It's food that's free and the energy exerted is just that of grabbing a leaf. There is also a scout aspect to it. You can travel long distances without stopping. You don't need a fire that could give away your location.
I took pictures of some of the plants I tried out last weekend. Each name is linked to a external reference for more information.
Wood Sorrel - This has a lemony taste. According to the reference, it is more a medicinal plant than an edible. I guess you wouldn't want to eat too much of this at one time.
Black Locust - According to the reference all parts of the tree are very poisonous except the flowers. Luckily the flowers were the only part I ate. They are very good. They have a slight sweet taste to them. I ate many handfuls of these throughout the weekend.
Cleavers - I ate the whole stalk. The link says that the seeds of this plant often end up in cereal grains because they are hard to filter out so you may have already eaten this plant and not known it. It also says that the plant can be used to treat skin diseases.
Garlic Mustard - This is an invasive species. It has an effect on the soil that makes it harder for native species to grow. I ate the leaves of this plant. It tastes like it is named. The first picture is the plant in it's first year. The second picture is it's second year.
Tinder Fungus - While gathering black locust flowers, I noticed a fungus growing on the tree. This fungus can be used as tinder for making fire by friction. After reading the linked article I found out that this isn't "true" tinder fungus. When I lit it, it did burn for awhile before going out so I think it's good stuff.
Finally, I made my first quality biface on the trip. The stone is dacite which is a little bit harder than obsidian on the lithic scale. I mostly used small stones to take this from a big chunk of rock down to this form. I wanted to get a picture of this before I try to take this down to a nice point in case I make a bad mistake.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Weekend skills
I think being able to travel on foot quickly and for long distances is an important survival skill to have. It is more important than being strong so I have stopped lifting weights and started running. I am also in a basketball league so I'm trying to get in shape for that. So far I can barely make 2 miles without stopping.
I ran at the park Sunday and afterwards sneaked into my sit spot. It was a little after noon, and I was sweaty so I figured there wouldn't be much activity. Noon is one of the less active times of day as animals are often avoiding the mid day heat. Animals also pick up on human scent so extra sweat wasn't doing me any good.
Yet after 10-15 minutes a muskrat came swimming by and never looked in my direction. He was literally 8 yards in front of me. I had never really seen anything besides birds and squirrels there so it was a very pleasant surprise. Right after the muskrat swam by I looked upstream from where he came and saw a family of mallards. Soon after that a pair of American goldfinches, birds I'd never seen there, flew in and played in the tree to my left for awhile. As soon as they left I looked up to see two mallards flying overhead. They crossed the stream and then made a tight descending circle and landed in the stream to my left.
It all happened in a 10 minute time span. It was pretty unexpected and pleasant as if a reward for getting myself in shape.
---
I've been meaning to experience eating wild plants. While at the park I tried some young spruce needles as I was running. I think they are edible however I haven't seen them in any wild edible book I've read. They tasted pretty good and the texture was enjoyable. I also grabbed some chives that grow with the grass. There's something cool about being able to just grab plants and eat them as your walking by.
When I got home it was time to mow the lawn. Our lawn as most has dandelions. These are unacceptable weeds to most people. Since I'm trying to sell my house, I figured it would be a good idea to remove them. To kill two birds with one stone, I decided to remove them and eat them.
Below is a dandelion. Notice the size and length of the root.
I referenced "Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants" to find out which parts were edible. The leaves and flower heads can be eaten raw so I tried that.
I've eaten the leaves in the past and I think the key is to make sure they are young leaves. Anything old or big enough to have fuzz is too woody. I also tried to boiling the leaves for five minutes. This did get rid of some of the bitterness but the texture isn't as nice as when they're raw.
Finally, I dried the roots in the sun and then baked them in the oven for 3-4 hours. The now brittle roots will be ground up to make tea. I haven't tried this yet but look forward to it.
For another look at eating from the yard, check out Rix's blog here.
I ran at the park Sunday and afterwards sneaked into my sit spot. It was a little after noon, and I was sweaty so I figured there wouldn't be much activity. Noon is one of the less active times of day as animals are often avoiding the mid day heat. Animals also pick up on human scent so extra sweat wasn't doing me any good.
Yet after 10-15 minutes a muskrat came swimming by and never looked in my direction. He was literally 8 yards in front of me. I had never really seen anything besides birds and squirrels there so it was a very pleasant surprise. Right after the muskrat swam by I looked upstream from where he came and saw a family of mallards. Soon after that a pair of American goldfinches, birds I'd never seen there, flew in and played in the tree to my left for awhile. As soon as they left I looked up to see two mallards flying overhead. They crossed the stream and then made a tight descending circle and landed in the stream to my left.
It all happened in a 10 minute time span. It was pretty unexpected and pleasant as if a reward for getting myself in shape.
---
I've been meaning to experience eating wild plants. While at the park I tried some young spruce needles as I was running. I think they are edible however I haven't seen them in any wild edible book I've read. They tasted pretty good and the texture was enjoyable. I also grabbed some chives that grow with the grass. There's something cool about being able to just grab plants and eat them as your walking by.
When I got home it was time to mow the lawn. Our lawn as most has dandelions. These are unacceptable weeds to most people. Since I'm trying to sell my house, I figured it would be a good idea to remove them. To kill two birds with one stone, I decided to remove them and eat them.
Below is a dandelion. Notice the size and length of the root.
I referenced "Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants" to find out which parts were edible. The leaves and flower heads can be eaten raw so I tried that.
I've eaten the leaves in the past and I think the key is to make sure they are young leaves. Anything old or big enough to have fuzz is too woody. I also tried to boiling the leaves for five minutes. This did get rid of some of the bitterness but the texture isn't as nice as when they're raw.
Finally, I dried the roots in the sun and then baked them in the oven for 3-4 hours. The now brittle roots will be ground up to make tea. I haven't tried this yet but look forward to it.
For another look at eating from the yard, check out Rix's blog here.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Easter Flintknapping
Over Easter weekend my brother and I worked on a chunk of obsidian he brought. Also with him were many antler billets he made. We took turns spalling. It was my first time using antler so it was a learning experience. I wasn't used to striking so hard. As we are both still beginners we didn't really end up with a meaningful piece although we knocked of many nice spalls.
In the picture below I (left) am holding the best spall I knocked off. After we finished with the big rock, we both worked on smaller pieces.
I continued the work on my piece last night. I was pretty happy with the overall shape of the piece. I had a good center line and the piece was pretty symmetrical. There was however a stack of mass I wanted to remove. There were step fractures protecting the stack from three sides so I had one angle to attack from.
I was worried that if I didn't push hard enough, I would make another step fracture and then I'd be totally screwed so I pushed really hard. It turns out that I pushed too hard and flaked all the way across the point and up towards the tip.
In the picture below, the flake was pushed from the bottom left to the middle right. The path of the flake is the glossy area. Also notice how the stone is convex on the upper right. This was concave before I took the flake.
What I learned:
In the picture below I (left) am holding the best spall I knocked off. After we finished with the big rock, we both worked on smaller pieces.
I continued the work on my piece last night. I was pretty happy with the overall shape of the piece. I had a good center line and the piece was pretty symmetrical. There was however a stack of mass I wanted to remove. There were step fractures protecting the stack from three sides so I had one angle to attack from.
I was worried that if I didn't push hard enough, I would make another step fracture and then I'd be totally screwed so I pushed really hard. It turns out that I pushed too hard and flaked all the way across the point and up towards the tip.
In the picture below, the flake was pushed from the bottom left to the middle right. The path of the flake is the glossy area. Also notice how the stone is convex on the upper right. This was concave before I took the flake.
What I learned:
- First experience with antler and stone billets and an ishi stick
- Be more aggressive with thinning during percussion flaking. Strike harder than I'm used to.
- Got the feel for how much pressure is need to take the flake I want with out leaving a stack (too little pressure) or overshooting (too much pressure).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
