SRI Contest 1 Entry

Here is my entry into Self Reliance Illustrated's 1st Contest. I make fire using natural material using fire steel, boil water then make charcloth in the same container. Then at a different location I fire and use rocks to strike a spark into the charcloth that I made using the first fire. Everything out there was soaked, check out the pic of my gloves at the end of the video.

Improvised Fire Steel Strikers

This is just a short video to show that you don't necessarily need flint or steel to strike a fire steel. For those of you that don't know what a fire steel is... Everyone seems to have a different name for them; Some call them fire steel, metal match or ferro rod.

Instructions ( from the manufacturers web site) of my Swedish Army model FireSteel^®

1. Take a small quantity of cotton balls, TinderDust, dryer lint or any other flammable material. Build them up into a pile.


2. a) Grip the FireSteel with one hand
b) Take hold of the striker with the other hand
c) Position the striker against the FireSteel


3. Forcing the striker "slowly down" with the thumb of hand holding the FireSteel

Need to organize? Sock it!

Just a few common man ideas for gear storage and organization in your packs. I have been doing this for quite a while and getting some mild ribbing from friends about swiping Julie's socks. It works great, so what the hell... Just keep quiet and don't anyone tell Julie what I am doing with her orphan socks. The socks like it! They get to go outdoors and I take them on adventures. :-)

Search for a Steam donkey

Some footage I took while searching for an old steam donkey in the mountains near the Linn Lane county border. If you don't know what a steam donkey is check out this link.

My buddy Doug was with me on this trip and will probably be with me on many future adventures. Doug went with me to the Pathfinder Gathering where we did some looking around at native American sites & site seeing. I did not realize that Doug liked to explore.

I have information from two different "old fellers", that there is all or part of a steam donkey in this specific area. One fella that has since past away, told me about two huge wheels being up here. He said He had no idea how they ever got them up there. The other fella said that there is remnants of the steam donkey and cords of split wood stacked between trees still up there. Other information from both these old fellers has checked out, so I have no reason to doubt them. I have always made it a point of stopping and talking to anyone in the area of something I am looking for. Sort of pick their brain and take some notes. Older folks have some of the best life stories and are a treasure in themselves.

We did not find the steam donkey this trip, just some great scenery, some black bear scat & had some fun. Planning a second trip in the area the weekend of Sept 18th-19th.

Central Oregon Trip Part 1 (Newberry Volcano)

My buddy Doug asked me if I wanted to hang out at his place in Bend for the Labor day since his wife would be out of town. This made me a little nervous that he was gonna try sumthin' LOL. So it was going to be adventure by day... Casa Doug by night. It sounded good to me especially if you toss in a prime rib sandwich from Bronco Billy's in Sisters Oregon!

The first day we headed to the Newberry volcano & Paulina peak. It was pretty cold and windy up there at 8,000 feet, but a great view. Then we went down to the trail through the obsidian flow. Later we walked around one of the lakes looking for some hot springs. Then to Paulina falls. It was increadable, but take a look for yourself! BTW Those Hard Mountain Wear quick dry shirts, like the one I wearing, are great!

Boil Tests Part 1

I won first place in Canteenshop.com's water boiling contest. Thanks Rob!

Boil Tests Part 2

Pathfinder Express Lifts Off

Doug and I take to the skies in a about 12 hours, winging our way to the Canterbury promised land. As usual I am sure that I will find a few things to pick up and bring home some small parts of Ohio. I got the word from Dave that there will some form of rabbit stick contest. Doug and I spent some time in my back yard with some impromptu rabbit stick practice. More misses than hits, but it was more practice than we had to start with. Look out Ohio, here come two Oregon boys!

Fire using an agate & steel

Just a video to show that you don't necessarily need Flint and steel to make fire. Here I use an agate and part of an old file to ignite my charred material. My actual total time from start to flame was around three and a half minutes. The video is edited down since it's not the most exciting thing to watch a guy bang a rock on a piece of steel. You can do it too, you just need some charred material and a little practice.

Certified Pathfinder Phase 1

As some of you know I have been going though the Pathfinder School's phase one wilderness self reliance course. I got the word today!

Quote:
Dave Canterbury (Pathfinder) Our latest Phase one graduate, "Oregon Mike" Davis congrats Brother!



I started March 31, 2010 and got the word today. I learned many many things. Especially from parts of the course that I did not think I would learn anything. I would highly recommend this course to anyone that is interested in the outdoors. You will learn about plants, animals and many other things in your area. You are going to have to do some work though, but it is well worth it. Now it's on to phase 2!

June high water exploration part 1

This one days adventure exploring a recently flooded area. It may not be the most fast paced video and it does have some camera issues as it was mostly filmed by myself sitting on my kayak while trying to keep my camera dry, not drop the camera, keep the kayak straight, and not say something stupid.. all at the same time. I do not script my videos, so there may be a few flub ups and such. So take a look, I will try and do a video of the same area after the water has gone down in a week or so.

June high water exploration part 2

This one days adventure exploring a recently flooded area. It may not be the most fast paced video and it does have some camera issues as it was mostly filmed by myself sitting on my kayak while trying to keep my camera dry, not drop the camera, keep the kayak straight, and not say something stupid.. all at the same time. I do not script my videos, so there may be a few flub ups and such. So take a look, I will try and do a video of the same area after the water has gone down in a week or so.

Dual Survival premiering Friday, June 11, at 10pm ET/PT.

Well, the day is here! Dave on the big tube...



I am very proud to see a regular hard working guy have some success. Dave has worked very hard for this and the whole time keeping himself grounded in the roots of the common man. Now I know TV shows love conflict and will play up the differences between Dave and Cody, but that's just promotional stuff and editing. Dave says that they have become fast friends. So let's all sit back and enjoy this Friday's show. Finally a "survival" show with two guys that really know what they are doing out there. No disrespect to Les for his show, I am currently enjoying his book.

Here are some clips from Dual Survival:

Underwater camp

Underwater camp, originally uploaded by Oregon Mike.

Just a clip of a video I will be putting together on you tube. Sneak peek unedited. Full video to follow about mid week.

The Pathfinder Express

Finally got the plane tickets squared away to get my buddy Doug and I to Dave's Pathfinder gathering & camp out. We will fly in on July 30th and fly out on August 4th. As usual I am sure that I will find a few things to pick up and bring home. I wonder if the airlines will buy the story that a hand made self bow is really grandma's walking stick? Well, Ohio is about to be invaded by two Oregon boys!

It's finally here! Dave's TV show DUAL SURVIVAL on the Discovery Channel

DUAL SURVIVAL : Programs : Discovery Channel : Discovery Press Web

SURVIVAL EXPERTS WITH VASTLY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS PUT THEIR SKILLS TO THE TEST IN DISCOVERY’S ALL-NEW ‘DUAL SURVIVAL’
Experts, One Military-Trained and One Naturalist, Show What It Takes to Make It Out Alive
(Silver Spring, Md.) – Experts agree there are some very basic – and universal – rules for surviving in the wild. Find shelter, find water, find food, find help. Beyond that, there’s not much they agree on. Meet military-trained Dave Canterbury and naturalist Cody Lundin – trained survival experts featured in Discovery Channel’s all-new 10-part series DUAL SURVIVAL, premiering Friday, June 11 at 10PM ET/PT. Together, Canterbury and Lundin take on some of the planet’s most unforgiving terrain to demonstrate – in their own way – how the right skills and some creative thinking can keep you alive.
Dave Canterbury joined the U.S. Army at age 17, eventually becoming a Special Reaction Team (SRT) instructor and sniper. He trained soldiers in the U.S., Central America and Korea in unarmed combat and close-quarter techniques. After leaving the Army, Canterbury worked on a reptile farm and as a commercial fisherman and diver in the Florida saltwater marshes. He put his background, skills and training to work for the next phase of his career – learning and now teaching wilderness survival.
Cody Lundin, who was trained in survival by Native Americans, teaches minimalist self-reliant skills to students from his home deep in the Arizona desert. He spent two years living in a brush shelter in the woods where he slept on pine needles and cooked over an open fire. Today, Lundin lives off the grid in a self-designed solar earth home in the wilderness of northern Arizona where he catches rain, composts waste and pays nothing for heating and cooling. And he has been going barefoot for more than 20 years, part of his indigenous survival strategy.

Together, with their drastically different backgrounds, the duo is dropped into a scenario that could happen to anyone: marooned boaters, lost hikers, stranded mountain climbers. Equipped with minimal gear that would have been carried in the real-life situations, Canterbury and Lundin must draw upon their arsenal of skills to devise extraordinary ways to use what they can find in their surroundings, as well as ordinary objects, and demonstrate what it takes to stay alive. How will they use a 35mm camera, condoms and a pack of cigarettes in the Laos jungle? Or a car battery, electrical wiring, tires and seat cushions from a broken-down car in Peru?

Baby owls

P4260320, originally uploaded by Oregon Mike.

Amazing encounter with two baby owls. When I first found them, they startled me because they were right at my eye level on a branch. Four big eyes staring at me. I tried to take a pic of them but I was so close my movement of getting the camera off my belt spooked them. Good thing they only flew about 10 feet away.

View all the pics and video on this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonmike/sets/72157623972437158/

Looks like they are Saw-whet owls. On the owl website it says:

" Hunting & Food: These Owls hunt mainly at dusk and dawn and most often use the "sit and wait" tactic to drop down onto prey on the ground from low hunting perches."

This is exactly what they must have been doing when I first saw them as they were right at my eye level. Heading back to that area today, maybe I will see them again. Kind of doubt it though.

Just a few add ons to Dave's common mans meal kit.

Just a few add ons to Dave's common mans meal kit. For some reason I like to figure out how to do things on the cheap. It was all Dave's idea to start with.

This is my solution for a handle for the Guyot Designs bottle

This is this is my solution for a handle for the Guyot Designs bottle, this is just one option of many. I made this in the field using items from my fishing kit and some snare wire.

8x10 tarp shelter

8x10 tarp shelter, originally uploaded by Oregon Mike.

Just a simple fast shelter that can be carried in almost any pack. 8x10 tarp, tent pegs and a hiking pole.

Alsea River Hike

Alsea River Hike, originally uploaded by Oregon Mike.

This is a video I took on a solo hike I did Sunday 01-31-10. The area is closed, but myself and later a few other were out there. It was great to have the place to myself for the first few hours. I am new to this video stuff and it will get better. I will still be doing my regular blog posts in addition to the video. This time I will let the video stand on it's own.

Taunting Chris Cooper

Taunting Chris Cooper, originally uploaded by Oregon Mike.

Just a funny short video of me taunting Chis Cooper with my lunch on a hike. The steak was marinated before being frozen in a zip lock bag. . After hiking for a few hours it is perfectly thawed and ready to be slow roasted by the fire. Did this video mainly just to play with windows movie maker.

-- Oregon Mike