In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about boots, EDC kit, preparing your equipment for outings, getting started with animal tracking, bushcraft during the hunting season, alternative bow-drill positions and ways of managing without refrigeration while camping.
In the Northern Forest, an axe is your most important cutting tool. There is a general trend amongst outdoors people to carry quite small axes. These small axes are very wieldy, yet you can apply to them to large jobs such as felling trees as well as quite fine jobs such as carving useful implements and splitting quite fine firewood. However, in the Northern Forest, it’s my view, that a larger axe than this has specific advantages…
Cliff Jacobson is one of the wise men of the outdoors. He is one of North America’s best respected and most published outdoors writers. He is the author of over a dozen top-selling books on canoeing, expeditioning, camping and outdoors skills. His excellent book Expedition Canoeing is a vital addition to any wilderness paddler’s…
In this video I look at felling dead, standing timber for firewood in winter. The felling technique involves the use of both the axe and the saw to create a very controlled cut and fall. Further, axe and saw techniques for sectioning the trunk are demonstrated and discussed. Whether you are hot-tenting or bivouacking…
Each winter I like to get away to the snow. I enjoy winter mountain walking in Scotland. Ski touring in Norway is also a favourite. But the northern forest in winter has a special allure which is hard to escape. I’ve experienced this environment many times and I’ve certainly written about my love of…
A lean-to is a classic shelter of the northern forests. It is an open-fronted shelter that depends upon fire to keep the occupant warm. This type of shelter has the advantage of a relatively simple construction method requiring few tools. As long as you have access to plenty of firewood, a lean-to will keep…
Having written articles on cold injuries and cold weather clothing, I’ve had a lot of people ask about clothing on a tighter budget than I allow myself as a professional instructor. I happened to have a conversation about this with a student of mine, Barry Smith; he offered to jot down his thoughts as he had budgeted in this way more recently than I had…
The amount of firewood required in the northern forest in winter demands the use of an axe. Unlike staying in a cabin, however, when staying in a heated tent you are unlikely to have the use of a chopping block. So, you need to have a repertoire of axe techniques that include being able to safely split logs on snow as well as easily produce…
Footwear, Handwear and Headwear Clothing for winter in the northern wilderness must cope with a wide range of temperatures, from around freezing to -50oC (-58oF) or lower. While your body core must be kept warm to prevent hypothermia, your extremities are more likely to suffer cold injuries and your feet, hands and head need…
Fomes fomentarius is a bracket fungus, more commonly known as Hoof Fungus or Horse’s Hoof Fungus. It is also known as the Tinder Bracket. This fungus can be prepared into first-rate tinder. Whichever process you are using to produce tinder from Fomes fomentarius, it is the trama…