So, I’ve done it! [The Story so far] This is the first in a series of posts about building a backyard cedar strip canoe. Follow along as I research, cost, plan, schedule, and possibly fumble my way through an urban build of one of the most loved forms of backcountry transportation. Well, to clarify, I haven’t done a…
“Father Nature Outdoors” — Camping Blanket
Most successful bushcraft is about creative problem solving and sharing of knowledge, resources, and support. I owe a lot of my current level of experience to the generosity of others, and I’d like to encourage everybody to think about how important that is. I love the outdoors. I love the simplicity, and the isolation, and,…
Knife-making with Dean Piesner and Robb Martin
Knowing as much about my tools as I can has always been the way I’ve been wired. It’s the reason I took up an interest in blacksmithing in the first place — I took a one-day historical society course on how to make a traditional Native neck knife (the pocketknife of the fur trade era)….
Cody Lundin announces he’s “been fired by Discovery Channel”
Cody Lundin, “Dual Survival” television host and survival and primitive living instructor, announced on his Facebook feed yesterday (February 17, 2014) that he has been fired by Discovery Channel, citing differences over safety and health concerns. More details have yet to be revealed. As of this posting, the Discovery Channel website still sports Cody Lundin’s…
Interview: Mykel Hawke from “Lost Survivors”, “One Man Army” and “Man, Woman, Wild”
A Conversation in the Woods, with Mykel Hawke Mykel Hawke is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Officer with a list of documented accolades too long to go into here. He is also a major driving force — both on and off-camera — for television shows “Man, Woman, Wild” and “One Man Army” and has…
Winter Power Outage Tips
December, 2013 — although it usually means mild times in Toronto, a severe ice storm has left a good many residents without power, and by extension, heat. The temperature as I write this is -10° C (about 14° F), and will be dropping, not rising throughout the day. #icestorm2013 and #darkTO are the only things on…
Interview: Ryan Frayne from Windcatcher Gear
A Conversation in the Woods I recently caught up with Ryan Frayne, Co-Founder of Windcatcher gear, and inventor of their flagship product, the Windcatcher Air Pad. He was nice enough to answer some questions for your reading pleasure. AWitW: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Can you tell the readers…
Gear Review: Ribz Front Pack — Land
It was 28°C (83°F), and the humidity was up. My back had been a little bit off of true for the last year (sneeze-and-your-knees-might-give-out sort of pain), and while I had been looking forward to a nice wilderness hike, I dreaded the consequences should my health and fitness not meet my needs on the trail….