Black is the sky, but the land is white–
(O the wind, the snow and the storm!)–
Father, where is our boy to-night?
Pray to God he is safe and warm.”
“Mother, mother, why should you fear?
Safe is he, and the Arctic moon
Over his cabin shines so clear–
Rest and sleep, ’twill be morning soon.”
Learning to control fire was perhaps man’s greatest achievement. It allowed him to live in places formerly uninhabitable, to cook his food, change his landscape, and make weapons. The ability to create fire whenever and wherever it was needed was essential to the advancement of technology, and it could be argued that the invention of matches marked the birth of modern society.
Ok some of you may already do this or may know of it but some of you may not know how to make greenland wax, or if you prefer, waterproofing wax. To buy waterproofing wax its around 7 quid for a small block which is quite a lot. its easy to make so save money this way! The paraffin was £1 for 400g and the beeswax £1 for 50g and this is enough to make a lot of greenland style wax – i have a massive block now and am probably not ever going to use it all!
A little while ago an acquaintance of mine told me about a fishing technique using an otter. This is not the furry thing that is apt to get itself cuddled by Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers in sickly films: this is a method of poaching trout. An otter is a wooden board, weighted to float on its edge in the water. A line is attached to one side in such a position that, when the otter is towed through the water, it angles away from the shore and out into the lake/loch.
My family and I have recently returned from a fantastic trip to a Winter Wonderland of snow, ice and frozen lakes, better known as Jämtland in Sweden.
TRAVEL
We flew from Heathrow airport, London, UK and landed at Arlanda airport, Stockholm, Sweden. After spending a night in a very nice hotel not far from the airport. Early the next morning we caught ‘The Ice Train’ at the train station housed in the same buildings as the airport itself. The Ice Train took us through some breathtaking scenery as we travelled up through Sweden. It’s final destination was Ostersund but, we disembarked just before at a small station in Bräcke.
I decided to have a go at making some leather pouches. here’s some pictures…
First thing to do was cut out the leather. This is from an old welders apron.
You can use stills in various areas of the world. They draw moisture from the ground and from plant material. You need certain materials to build a still, and you need time to let it collect the water. It takes about 24 hours to get 0.5 to 1 liter of water.
Aboveground Still
To make the aboveground still, you need a sunny slope on which to place the still, a clear plastic bag, green leafy vegetation, and a small rock (Figure 6-6).
We all like a bit of comfort food when we are out and about, be it bannock, stew, fish, Pot Noodle……………
I like a bit of Corned Beef hash, so here is how I make it. it’s a nice simple recipe and it’s really easy to make. tastes fantastic too!
Thick fruit soups such as blåbärssoppa and rose-hips soup, are typical Swedish cuisine and can be served hot or cold, depending on the season. The Swedes use this delicious concoction for hydration and energy during Vasaloppet (the world’s biggest, longest and oldest ski marathon). What’s it taste like? Some say it is like a liquefied blueberry pie with a touch of cinnamon. I have to agree.
This is another classic trap in the survival manuals. Ojibwa (canadian) or Chippewa (USA) were native tribes living around the Big Lakes. It’s a very simple trap, you only need
1.-a pole,
2.-a survival knife or any other means to make a hole on it’s upper end and sharp point lower end to stick it in the ground.
3.-a short wand with some pointed end as thick as the hole you’ve made in the pole.
4.-a bit of cordage to make a snare and either a little rock or a sapling spring to pull the snare when the bird release the trigger system.
