Applying Axe Skills In Winter
In previous articles, I have covered some core axe skills, along with safety considerations, which will serve you well year-round. When we look at winter specifically, however, there are some added considerations…
PK Podcast 027: Colin Skeath On What It Takes To Canoe Around Britain
On 30th April 2017 Colin Skeath and his nephew Davis Gould-Duff set off from Loch Sunart on the West Coast of Scotland in an open canoe, aiming to circumnavigate Britain. 86 days later they completed this epic undertaking. Colin joins me to discuss the adventure, where the idea came from, the mindset required of them and what they learned from the experience…
#AskPaulKirtley 61: Birch Polypore Strops, Favourite Wild Edibles, Axe Repairs
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about using birch polypore as a strop, the importance of reading the weather, which trees and plants to learn, what my favourite wild edibles are and running repairs on axes…
Winter Hill Walking – Essential Skills And Equipment
Conditions in winter can vary enormously. Much of this is down to weather. Snow is more likely to fall and persist on higher ground, so the terrain in which you choose to walk in winter will potentially provide a greater degree of difference underfoot than in the summer months. Here’s what to wear, carry and know when heading out in the hills in winter…
Wild Wanderings 10 – Dormant Detail
Short days and frigid weather mean many of the plants and trees we are surrounded by in the warmer months of the year are dormant. The landscape is populated by bare trees and skeletal plant remains. There is, however, still much detail in this dormancy. We can continue to work on our tree and plant identification skills through these winter days…
PK Podcast 026: Kevin Callan On The Joys Of Winter Camping
Kevin Callan is well known as a paddler and author of many canoe-route guidebooks for his native province of Ontario, Canada. He’s also known as the Happy Camper, and he certainly has always been happy when I’ve camped or chatted with him. Kevin has been a guest on my podcast before and today I’m delighted to welcome him back again to talk about another shared passion of ours – winter camping….
French River Eighteen Mile Island Loop
The Eighteen Mile Island Loop on the French River takes advantage of the complex nature of the French River waterways, combined with the ability to traverse this type of river both downstream and upstream, creating the opportunity for a varied, circular 70km (44 mile) route, taking in some fine, fast moving white water and pleasant conifer-lined flat water, through archetypal canoe country, along a Canadian Heritage River of unique historic importance. We took four days to make a canoe-camping journey from Wolseley Bay down to Dry Pine Bay and back again. Here I share photos, video, a written account of the trip and campfire notes.
PK Podcast 025: Andy Chadderton Q&A – Deer Stalking, Ethics, Land Management, Rewilding, Advice To Beginners & More
Professional deer stalker and firearms instructor Andy Chadderton returns to The Paul Kirtley Podcast. The conversation Andy and I have in this podcast is based on questions submitted by listeners. In the wide-ranging discussion, we talk deer stalking, land management, rewilding, hunting ethics, firearms law, riflescopes, advice to beginners and more…
Limbing And Sectioning Trees With An Axe
After you have felled a tree, living or dead, regardless of what the end use is, there are typically two main processing jobs you will need to complete. First, you will need to remove the tree’s limbs, that is, its branches. This is known as limbing or snedding. Second, you will need to cut the tree into sections, a task described as sectioning. Limbing and sectioning trees with an axe involve a range of axe techniques traditionally used by the woodsman, the frontiersman and for woodcraft and camping. They are very useful to have in your repertoire and in this article I look into the requisite axe techniques – and safety – in some detail…
Wild Wanderings 9 – Gottröra, Sweden
Gottröra, Sweden, was the venue of the 2017 Bushcraftfestivalen. I was there with a couple of my team from Frontier Bushcraft to run fire workshops at the event. We had to source the materials we needed for our workshops from the surrounding woods and while we were there, I spotted a number of other interesting plants and fungi too, which I cover in more detail in this article…