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!