FIRE IN THE HOLE! 2013

[Docwatmo 2]

Those sound a lot like excuses Muddy.    LOL

[Muddy Pete 0]

7:30 AM. I AM full of coffee. Sam Spam is riding shotgun. Slayer is on the CD player. 10,000 fists from Disturbed actually broke my home stereo. It was epic. My brother claims it tripped the Suck-protector. That only happens with Crue. Sometimes WASP which the CD player in the truck spat back out.

 

Friday near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

 

 

I was early so I went exploring and found a little hiking trail down the road from Pohick Bay State Park.

 

 

 

The entire ride down the weather forecast was for a winter advisory with snow and ice. It’s in the low 30’s and chilly.

 

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

The original plan had been to use tents like the previous years, but for a lenghty list of reasons the decision was made to upgrade to cabins. I was expecting run down little cabins with a wood stove.

 

 

 

 

Knife porn. The rest is in the truck.

 

 

One of the fellows brought his portable grinder. He put a good edge on the kukri.

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

Kells Bells cookin’ beef stew. I supervised.

 

 

 

Because of the howling wind, snow and the possible threat by abominable snow hippies we had dinner indoors.

 

 

[Docwatmo 2]

Looks nice, I could live in one of those little cabins.  :woot: :woot:

 

 

Thanks for the pics, Your off the hook.  :hugegrin: :hugegrin:

[KentuckyWoodsman 1]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Looks like a pretty good way to spend a weekend. We stayed in a cabin very similar  to that on the Maryland side of DC when my daughters HS  band had to go to march in DC a few weeks ago. We had to bring our own heather, but it was plenty comfortable. I would like to have a cabin like that on top of some mountain or near a lake or river somewhere.

[oldfatguy 0]

Knife porn. The rest is in the truck.

 

 

 

I thought you were cutting back to a dozen for this trip? ???

 

Looks like a great time, Muddy. Thanks for the pics.

[razor sharp 0]

looks like a great time muddy...did you leave any steak knives at home by any chance 

[Muddy Pete 0]

I thought you were cutting back to a dozen for this trip? ???

 

Looks like a great time, Muddy. Thanks for the pics.

 

Not everything on the table is mine.

[Swede 4]

I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!  I cut my foot clean to the bone on a broken beer bottle in Pohick Creek Virgina back in 1962. We went swimming some where on that creek I have no idea where now. :scared:  scared011.gif  I had to walk back out and my shoe was full of blood.

[Muddy Pete 0]

Saturday morning. Light drizzle and chilly, not the weather that was forecasted.

 

 

Breakfast.

 

 

Cheddar biscuits. I propped the Dutch oven up on red bricks for air flow. Looks to be still too low.

 

 

Farm eggs and German sausage.

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

The main topic of FIRE IN THE HOLE! Was basic fire starting skills. Smithy gave a good hour or so class on the basics.

 

 

Here he’s working with cedar bark and pitch (pine resin) rolled together to make a coal extender. 

 

 

 

Several manufactured fire starters. I didn’t think it was possible to light an Esbit tablet with a ferro rod.

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

Getting a spark with flint and a carbon steel Mora.

 

 

Egyptian fire bow?

 

 

Char cloth. We learned that the tin has to be as airtight as possible. In the books that I have read, the instructions said to punch a hole in the lid of the tin. However, this information was based on older snuff tins which are far more airtight then a modern Altoids tin.     

 

 

Smithy’s kids each made their first spark based fire today.

 

 

I showed them how to split a twig and turn that cotton ball into a little twig match.

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

http://imageshack.us/a/img13/6714/p2230071q.jpg' alt='p2230071q.jpg'>

 

 

Sam Spam loves that 5 layer crack bar!

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

Frank doing flint knapping.

 

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

 

 

 

[razor sharp 0]

great pictures muddy, good information too!  ive used esbit tabs (trioxane fuel bars, before they switched to trioxane they were made with heximine) for years with ferro rods. i crush them up and put them in a waterproof match case. that way you dont need the whole tab to start a fire. takes a spark well even with the cheap firesteels. 

[survivorgirl 1]

great pictures muddy

[Muddy Pete 0]

Breakfast on Sunday morning. The sun finally came out and then the wind picked up.

 

 

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

Smithy invited Kells Bells and I back to his house where he gave us a tour of his work shop.

 

http://www.tidewaterforge.com/

 

 

 

 

Some of Smithy’s work.

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

 

 

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

I forgot what this is called.

 

 

 

Lunch at Moby Dicks House of Kabob before heading home.

 

 

[Muddy Pete 0]

 

Kelly is thinking: If I find Sam Spam in my food I will kill him and Pete.

 

 

I’ve never had Iranian shish-kabob.

 

 

 

[Swede 4]

I wonder what a get together would be like in nice weather?  :unsure:  Were going to have to try that I guess. Lots of great friends Muddy and some good food and fun.  :thumbup: