We got a fire going with a Swedish metal match and tinder, then T. decided to cook up some corn, bannock, and sausages for lunch...supplemented with the finest spruce needle tea I could brew!
A note on the tinder. This spring freshet, the river was in full flood, and carried all manner of debris onto the benches above the gravel bars. We found perfect nests of grass, bark and other dried unidentifiable materials pressed about 4 feet up willow & alder clusters. Perfect tinder! Lunch was delicious! The bannock was Karen Hood's recipe, with the addition of real bacon bits for extra protein. The corn turned out perfectly, with a good selection of flavours on each cob!
...I call this stuff CAJUN CORN. ...Yes, I tried out the corn charcoal to see how well it would take a spark. It does!
We rounded out the afternoon with cord making, whittling & chopping with various knives (to test their usability and have more fun...) and hiking around with J. (our son) to test gear loadouts and discuss optimal bivouac sites for the local geography. I also found many local survival food and use plants: Dandelion, Diamond willow, Alder, Birch, Aspen, Cottonwood, Spruce, Cattail, Wild Rose and Horsetail among them.
I've been really impressed with the construction strength, fit and layout of this British (Arktis 1601) battlevest. It holds all my personal survival kit and is easily supplemented with snivel kit in the Alice medium ruck I also carried. The axe is an Estwing camper's axe with the handle cut down to 18 inches, allowing it to be carried on the Alice ruck.
A great day...we wish you were here!
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