survival, foraging, etc

Quote: odiousgambit

...It is possible he brought that in from somewhere else to be handy...

Yes, the branch looks like it's been sawn off at both ends (see around 2:50.) He should have said that here is how you can survive in the wilderness by bringing with you just a knife and a short pine log.


I have seen many young white pines (the pine with 5-needle bunches) as a kid in central New York State, and I seem to remember the branches' looking like his.


Here is a web page about the white pine: http://vitalsignsme.org/observation/species-pinus-strobus-was-found-llmj-2-2011-09-16

One of pictures on the page shows the smooth greenish bark of the white pine.

I've always thought I could start a campfire with a road flare, but haven't actually tried it.

Quote: ChesterDog

I have seen many young white pines (the pine with 5-needle bunches) as a kid in central New York State, and I seem to remember the branches' looking like his.

Well, I'll be. Shows you what you don't pay attention to when you're not looking for it. I have to say I would still surely expect the trunk or any branches that aren't very young to have non-smooth brown bark. In fact that is a mighty big looking specimen he had there to be all green looking with smooth bark, must have grown fast. I'm going to have to be looking for this.

I can picture this guy being an Eagle scout type who has done this demonstration over and over again and really has it down. But I haven't looked much at his other stuff.

there is a part II to the survival video ... should tick off Face really good LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwSrpxMJ3LU

Quote: ChesterDog

I have seen many young white pines (the pine with 5-needle bunches) as a kid in central New York State, and I seem to remember the branches' looking like his.

Absolutely staggered, and to be quite honest, somewhat horrified that these are in my woods and I've not ever seen noticed one. I start searching today; if I find one there must be penance.

Quote: petroglyph

I've always thought I could start a campfire with a road flare, but haven't actually tried it.

Magnesium burns at over (I'm saying "over", here) THREE THOUSAND DEGREES CELSIUS.

If your tinder consists of wet chain link fence and nothing more, a road flare will get it started XD

Quote: odiousgambit

I hereby challenge you [ch #1] to walk into the woods somewhere and make a fire the primitive way from materials at hand, any true primitive method you like, nothing prepared in the way of equipment except knives and hatchets/axes. You may prepare ahead of time your tinder* only. If you succeed by the second attempt, different day that is, then I will post a blog post admitting that I am an exposed know-nothing while Face is the g.o.a.t. of survival skill. On the other hand , you have to do the same if you fail. **

challenge #2, if you still can say that after your success OR failure, I will definitely see to it somehow you get a six pack of beer value up to $12 while on the other hand if you have changed your mind, you just have to honestly admit it.

*the definition of tinder is to be that which will catch fire from sparks or a small coal such as is produced by the various primitive fire making methods. Kindling and bigger you will have to gather up on the spot [definition, that which is used to build a fire but will not catch fire without already there being a fire or a bed of coals].

** must be a no BS proposition bet, for example you can't pick a section of woods that has flint and steel laying around, or any other trickery . And on the honor system of course, including that you swear you have never done this before.

Let the games begin. Here's my addendum / argument...

#1. Scratch the tinder allowance. I would view that, if the tables were turned, as a very unfair advantage. Unless you're the type to pack some in your carry-on a la Gary Paulsen's "Hatchet", it's not what one would have.
#2. Why would I call you the GOAT due to my failure? Have you done this before and are keeping secrets? ;)
#3a. No B.S. is easy, so long as we can define B.S. I won't use any accelerants, my Bic is off limits, can't "accidentally" drop my cig in the pile. Won't short my phone battery or vape pen, nothing like that. As far as allowances go it appears I can have at least one steel bladed instrument, but what of my personal effects? With the obvious lighter / batteries disallowed, am I allowed to use what I typically carry on my person always? How about clothing and apparel?
3b. I will not research further or refresh my memory on fire starting techniques from this point until conclusion.
3c. Making fire out of stuff in the woods is the obvious point, but does the attempt, the actual physical work, have to be done in the woods? It's been >85* with 70% humidity for like a month, and I'm not trying die proving I know how to live lol

I'll get to your vid tomorrow, already behind schedule here ><

With all those headlines from California about fires, i'd stay where its air conditioned and just watch the tv instead.

How about urinating on a kite string, tying one end around your tinder bundle, and toss the other end over a power line?

Anybody remember a cave man movie where on cave dweller sees another cave age guy walking along carrying a smoldering coal, and laughs his ass off because he knows the secret of flint?

Quote: Face

Let the games begin. Here's my addendum / argument...

#1. Scratch the tinder allowance.

OK, wow.

Quote:

#2. Why would I call you the GOAT due to my failure?

well, actually, I was wondering what you meant by a challenge. I am trying to turn it into a bet ... perhaps against your wishes, maybe you just want to challenge yourself, which is OK.

Quote:

#3a. No B.S. is easy

agree, I'll accept your word on the matter and trust we are on the same page.

Quote:

How about clothing and apparel?

normal clothing you normally wear, ok to use in my book, subject to the no BS rule.

Quote:

3b. I will not research further or refresh my memory on fire starting techniques from this point until conclusion.

wow... again

Quote:

3c. Making fire out of stuff in the woods is the obvious point, but does the attempt, the actual physical work, have to be done in the woods?

seems to me you could do all the prep work anywhere you want as long as it is stuff like that found in the woods. The actual 'showtime' moment, including creating the little coal, should at least be outdoors if not in the woods. Less shelter from wind and such outdoors, and seems to me this part can't really be indoors anyway?

The closest I've come to this is starting a fire from scratch as far as the tinder and kindling. I would use though a little gizmo that gets you a shower of sparks. You will not be able replicate the gizmo unless I am very much mistaken. PS, I found getting the right tinder a challenge... however, tinder for sparks may be harder to get right than tinder for a little coal.

The six pack of beer will be yours if you meet the conditions, that is, still really feeling it was easy.

Recent thinking on my foraging

*I've zeroed in on a spot and hit the jackpot on huckleberries, that'll be a blog post if I ever get around to it

*I've checked out the situation with white pines and making a bowl out of the bark. I didn't try to make a bowl, though

*really impressed with the browsing videos on you-tube. You need to be discerning, though. One guy mis-identifies an herb, and declares it edible when that is dubious. He even notes that when he made a tea out of the leaves, he soon had to run to the bathroom. Dude! Don't you know that 90%+ of the herbs and greens that are declared inedible are tagged that way due to that purging effect? wasn't that a clue? One guy mis-identifies a mushroom, fortunately saying it is a poison mushroom at least - which it is. He identifies something in the Agaric group [Amanita genus] as a Destroying Angel. Man, if you don't know the difference between those two you have no business making a video. He also says he only eats a small bit of other finds, those he thinks are OK, and sees if he gets sick, then eats the rest, allowing part of an hour to see. That is a mistake, as I am pretty sure the ones that will kill you all can be eaten without any nausea developing that day. Two, three days later you are deathly ill and soon dead most of the time. With the Destroying Angel the person is killed practically every time eating just one, they say.

*other mushroom developments next post.

I looked at some white pines today. Here are two pics I took. As I suspected, what normally comes into view at eye level is bark just like you remember pine bark looking like! ... as in the first image. Higher up in those shorter trees where you can tell, the trunk is smoother. I could only detect green in outer younger parts of branches, see second image. At first I thought another problem would be getting a stretch of bark without any branches sticking out - that would make a bowl impossible to fashion without a hole. Finally I did see some trees that had stretches without branches that would be long enough. If the green color is important, I think you'd be spending a lot of time trying to find that and also have it on a nice big other-branch-free section of branch or trunk.