Let me preface this by telling you that I’ve always been a motorcycle kind of guy. When I was growing up in western NC, my dad was a Honda mechanic, and motorcycles were a way of life for my family. I got started out at age 5 or 6 on a little Honda QA 50 mini bike. Me, my sister, and my brother grew up with motorcycles and we all had one. Hondas, Suzukis, Yamahas, etc. In my later years in the Marine Corps I went to Okinawa Japan for the first time in 1987. I became enamored

I have an old antique camping cookstove that runs on alcohol. I’ve had it for years, and I recently started carrying it around in the trunk of my URAL motorcycle. It’s not very heavy, but it is just a bit large for backpacking. But it’s perfect for tooling around the woods on my motorcycle. The really neat thing is being able to adjust the flame higher or lower without a simmer ring like on most modern alcohol stoves. I misspoke in the video by saying it’s self pressurizing w

I recently picked up a new to me titanium wok. Why ? Because I happen to like stir fry meals, and I like having them when I’m out in the backwoods with my dog. I gave the wok a test run at home first, then packed it on my haversack and off we went. This thing’s pretty awesome and it incredibly lightweight. It weighs maybe a pound or so and I ample enough size for two people. As light as it is, I might just have to replace my sheet iron pans with it. I’m going to get in some

There’s a few different ways to set up a tarp to camp under. This is my particular configuration. It’s a bit different than what most people do, but I explain why I do it this way. This canvas tarp was made by Bushcraft Spain, and is sold by Self Reliance Outfitters. Filmed with an Insta 360X5 camera, there’s a little distortion around the edges. But the information is still clear enough to understand.

I mentioned yesterday that I was making Jewelweed salve and my neighbor got stung. Today he was cleaning out the nest and has a few more stings. He said they itched like crazy. So I scrounged around and yard at the edge of the woods in a weedy looking area. I found a variety of beneficial things growing out there. Lamb’s Qurters, Golenrod, Foxtail Millet, Sunflowers…even some tall Mullein. But what I found today that was really helpful was some musk mallow. Musk Mallow is a

This is an old outdoorsman’s trick. I usually make my jewel weed salve in August each year. Jewelweed can be found pretty much in most areas with moist soil in partial shade. I make a year’s supply at a time. Jewelweed grows in bushes about 3 feet or more high and ironically it can be found growing close to poison ivy bushes. The little orange flowers bloom in late July through August and into early September sometimes. If you touch the flowers, they often pop and shoot the

I recently took my service dog Ryland, on a short camping trip with me to the backwoods. Other campers have been here before and we found a spot with a really old picnic table and a large fire pit. Here, I was able to test out my new portable hand made bucksaw, and later to bake a small pepperoni pizza in my Bemco oven. The pup enjoyed laying around the fire pit in the dirt, because thats what dog do. I used my Marine Corps issue Diamond Brand tent instead of my camping tarp

A simple bucksaw made for camping.

Spending an afternoon in the woods with my dog.

Here’s a little something that I had to learn about being in Maine these last 20+ years. Rugosa Roses. These plants are generally not found in North Carolina where I grew up, but they sure are all over coastal Maine. Believe it or not, these roses are considered an invasive species. They came to North America from Japan about 1845 or so. The Rugosa rose grows in dense bushes about 4 - 6 feet tall and are very dense. They were first used to control soil erosion along the sandy

A strange natural phenomenon occurs in summer when it’s hot out in the backwoods. Trees like oak and popular trees release a gas naturally called isoprene. This gas combines with humidity in the air and oxidizes. This forms a natural barrier to heat and sunlight to produce a type of ozone at the ground level to protect the plants from excessive sunlight that might interfere with photosynthesis. Maine is mostly comprised of coniferous trees and is generally cooler, so we don’t

Summer is here, along with warmer nights. One of the things to learn about woods lore is that you can actually tell the temperature in the backwoods by paying attention to the insects and a couple of amphibians that live out there. The first to pay attention to is the cicada. These insects live underground as a lymph, but emerge to become adults about every 13 to 17 years. These insects “sing” at daytime temperatures starting at 72 - 75*F. They drop off at 95*F and above.

A small light weight handmade aluminum cook stove.

I hammered out a tiny wok for making stir fry out in the backwoods while camping.

It’s been a pretty long winter here in Maine so far. It’s late February and the weather guesser is saying that we’re in for another snowstorm by this weekend. Now the big deal here in Maine are “Bean Boots” made and sold by LL Bean. They’re nice… with leather uppers and rubberized lower parts of the boot. They’re great for the cold slushy muck of northern winter. But they are kind of pricey. And part of the problem with rubberized boots is that they trap moisture against your

I decided to experiment some more with my long term storage foods that I keep on hand for camping and for emergencies. I live in a fairly remote part of Maine, (by choice) and sometimes in winter the power gets knocked out when snow tips the trees over onto power lines. Not to mention that I often haul my camping gear out into the backwoods for up to a week or more at a time during warmer months. So today I broke out some of my baggies of freeze dried stuff. Freeze dried bee

I’m pretty much an experimenter as far as food can go. Hey — I have a dog, so if it doesn’t turn out OK, I got an automatic “garbage disposal” of sorts. All except for ingredients that dogs can’t eat without getting sick. Today’s kitchen experiment was using just a few ingredients to make this dish. I have a box of ditalini pasta, and some freeze dried components, so let’s experiment ! I started off with about 2/3 cup of freeze dried beef crumbles. I add a cup of ditalin

Long term storage bread solutions.

This is a tasty lasagna made with a pasta substitute. It’s especially good for those of us who are raging diabetics, and need to find a way of keeping our blood sugar levels lower.

A lightweight easy to pack stew that adds good calories to your meals out in the backwoods.