I had ordered a 12 cm Zebra billy pot from Bens Backwoods and received it earlier this week, and wanted to give it a try. I had intentions of cooking a rice dish, black beans & rice with chorizo to be exact. Well this morning came around , looked in the pantry and... no rice, no beans and no chorizo
Then it will be oatmeal and coffee- no oatmeal, then coffee and crackers, crackers I have, let it be written- let it be said
I have this spot out in the woods where I try and practice "our" craft. I collect the tinder, kindling & fuel. Now you all must understand I am just getting the hang of this, so I will be using a lighter to start my fire. I am more about christening my billy then any thing else. Lighter is empty... hmm, I think to myself ...this is not beginning well.
I do have a "Light My Fire" fire starter, but have had no success, I find it too small for me, and can't generate the sparks I am looking for. Now push has come to shove. I think well... I will have to do it like the big boys do and scrap some bark into a powder and get my fire lit this way. I reach for my field knife (large Cascade from Blind Horse Knives), nope, left it at home !I start scraping some birch bark into a fine powder using my beloved Alox Soldier (SAK). I put this powder and small scrapings into some T.P. I carry for... well you all have been there
I start striking the sparking rod and low and behove... I have a small fire. I gingerly start feeding it with more tinder which consists of birch bark, torn into small strips. I now start with kindling & shortly I am adding fuel. I am on the verge of breaking into song, I have done it
I had already built a crane with forked sticks and a crossbar along with a notched hook stick a few weeks ago so, all I had to do is watch the fire and build a good bed of coals.
I poured in 16 ozs of water and set it on the hook stick and secure it to the crossbar with some bailing wire I had carried. In under ten minutes I had a rolling boil for my coffee. I had read and seen enough vids about the plastic clips melting off, and my experience was no different.
So a hot cup of coffee and some crackers for me and my dog Molly was our fare for the morning. Simply sublime !
I kept thinking in the back of my head, "what if I was doing this for real" "what if my wife Mary Anne was depending on me? " I did not let any of these hurdles upset me, and I just soldiered on to complete my task at hand.
After today I am now going to try and do something every Sunday at my spot. Building on my experience until I have become proficient in "our" craft no matter the circumstances.
I know one thing, I had better get organized, a list would do me well.
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you'll have cracked it for next time.
Something "so simple" brings so much joy, this is new for me and I was really stoked.