I now have a very reliable method for getting fire.  I got a Swedish Firesteel for Christmas and, combined with a little dryer lint, it will get your campfire going in no time.

Dryer lint is my tinder of choice.  It just takes a little to do the job, it catches a spark easily, and you can cram a mound of it into an old film canister.  Best of all, there’s a never ending supply of it coming out of the laundry room.

The missing piece was a trusty ignition source.  I try to approach my gear selection from a survival and emergency state of mind.  What’s going to be weather proof, not run out on the trail, and work quickly when time is a factor?  The Swedish Firesteel meets all of those requirements.

There really isn’t a learning curve, just spend a few minutes running the striker over the Firesteel and you’ll get the picture.  You can use any metal object as a striker too.  I find my knife produces a larger and slower burning spark than the included striker.

I first saw the Swedish Firesteel in use on a Ray Mears video.  Ray always gets his tinder lit on the first strike…as much as I may pretend I am no Ray Mears.

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This post is purely for my own enjoyment.  I found some old pictures from February of my Golden Retriever Sally’s first camping trip.  It was her first time in the water too, and she took to it instantly.

I’m not going to turn OutdoorBlogging into a “dog blog”, but don’t be surprised if you see a few more pictures of my friend Sally popping up here and there.

If you can stomach more cutesy dog pictures I put a few more in this photo gallery.

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The Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail is the newest trail in the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge.  This trail looks so shiny and new I bet they’re still playing with the bubble wrap it came in.  The trail is immaculate; with very few incursions from neighboring plant life onto its well mulched pathway.

The Watson Memorial Trail does double duty as both a scenic and educational trail.  There are 30 or so markers spread over the trail which identify a variety of local trees and plants.  I learned a few new types of oak tree along the way.

The trail is about 3/4 of a mile and the majority of that is continuous; so there is always something new to see. Read the rest of this entry »

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There are now 2 great ways to get updates on new posts from OutdoorBlogging.  You can always add our FeedBurner powered RSS feed to your feed reader by clicking the “Subscribe to our feed” button in the menu bar.

Now you can get OutdoorBlogging updates via email as well.  Just enter your email address in the “Subscribe via email” form in the sidebar and an email will alert you whenever a new, fresh from the oven, post pops up on OutdoorBlogging.

Take control of your OutdoorBlogging experience and subscribe via email right now.

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Any time I think about Dick Proenneke I associate him with the voice of the narrator from Alone in the Wilderness.  The folksy and plain stated narration blended with the beautiful images of Alaska and the skillful self-sufficiency of Dick Proenneke make Alone in the Wilderness worthy of repeated viewing.  I’ll watch it every couple of weeks or whenever my stress level starts to rise.  The film resets my brain chemistry to neutral every time.

Well that voice isn’t Dick’s.  The narration is done by Bob Swerer.  Bob produced Alone in the Wilderness along with Alaska Silence and Solitude, which documents a trip Bob made to visit Dick Proenneke at his cabin in 1997.

You’ll hear both Dick and Bob’s voices in this clip from Alaska Silence and Solitude.

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I hiked the Beaver Dam Trail in the Noxubee refuge today and I really enjoyed it.  The refuge web site says the trail is a little over 2 miles long.  I’d call it 2.5 miles.  This is a down and back trail, but the return trip didn’t disappoint.

The Beaver Dam Trail follows the flow of Oktoc Creek as it winds through a beautiful hardwood forest.  Along with the ever present waterfowl I saw quite a few forest dwellers too.  I saw two white tail deer as they drank from the creek.  Their coats were in full red summer coloration.  My presence was detected quickly and they didn’t stay long. Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve used the NextGen Gallery plugin for WordPress to create a photo gallery for the site.  You can check out photos of my trips by clicking the “Photos” button in the top menu bar.

NextGen Gallery allows you to upload your photos in sets, so it’s easy to index and browse your pictures.

If a particular post interests you be sure to look for a corresponding photo gallery.

I plan to add a gallery for each trip out, so there should always be something new to see.

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This is a great demonstration video of using the bow drill to start a fire.  This clip was produced by the Maine Primitive Skills School.  I’m really impressed by these guys and their dedication to preserving and passing on the primitive skills we are in danger of losing forever.

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There are some great bird’s eye view aerial photos of the Noxubee Refuge on Microsoft Virtual Earth.

The bird’s eye view doesn’t cover the entire refuge, but the area that is covered can be zoomed in incredibly close.

This is a great tool for scouting areas to explore.  You can even pushpin a location and download it directly to your GPS.  Very handy stuff.

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I took a short hike down the Trail of the Big Trees in the Noxubee Refuge the other day.  The refuge web site claims the trail is 4 miles; 2 miles out 2 miles back.  It seemed alot shorter.  Although, to be honest, I’m not sure I made it to the end.

There is supposed to be a sign at the end of the trail commemorating a fallen national champion Shumard oak tree, I never found the sign.  The trail just kind of gives out at the bank of the Noxubee river.

While the length of the trail is a little disappointing the scenery made it well worth the while.

The trail is bordered on one side by the Noxubee River and on the other by an impressive stand of old growth hardwood trees.  I’m told some of the oaks along the trail are over a hundred years old.  In heavily forested Mississippi it is truly rare to see oaks survive that long. Read the rest of this entry »

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