Some people think Altoids kits (tin can kits) are useless or inadequate. I won't argue with that because a PSK should be tailored according to your needs, skills and environment. I won't go into the jungle without a machete and a big pack but for just a casual hike on a high volume traffic trail in the suburb, I just carry a mini kit. As always my kit contains somethings to make fire because the greatest threat if you get lost where I usually hike is hypothermia. Remember the rule of 3's - 3 hours of exposure to elements, you die.
Altoids Tin (small) - PJ coated cotton balls, Firesteel
Leatherman Squirt PS4.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
I am officially a Trail Watch Volunteer of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
The following are excerpts from the Forest Preserve Blog:
"At its core, the Trail Watch program is a group of volunteers that patrol the preserves and act as extra eyes and ears for the Forest Preserves Police, reporting suspicious or illegal activity with a phone call. But it’s also so much more than that—for both volunteers and preserve visitors."
Members of the program are outfitted with a neon green t-shirt, whistle, Trail Watch ID and maps and encouraged to use the preserves as much as possible.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
Songs remind you of certain parts of your life. I remember times or events in the past when I hear a song associated with them. Just like songs, things also bring back memories. Let me tell you a short story.
Long, long time ago, during the Vietnam war era the Americans came to my hometown in the island of Mindoro to participate in a joint military exercise called "Exercise Tulungan". I was told then that my hometown San Jose was chosen for Exercise Tulungan because the outline of its beaches are similar to that of Vietnam.
But it was not just a military exercise really, it was also a RR for the Americans. And the entrepreneurs knew about it. Beer houses and soda fountains sprung up like mushroom and even the famed Luisa and Sons came for the green bucks.
The Americans thirsty for good times was on spending spree. Soon their money was exhausted and they began selling their C-Rations composed mostly of canned goods and cigarettes. Cigarettes were being sold by the boxes, Viceroy, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike, Winston, Salem, Camel, to name the most popular ones.
My childhood friend and I, have a flourishing shoe shine business too. We would go out at night with our shoe boxes and shine shoes for $1 (P3.50 = $1.00). We usually earn about $3 each which at that time is a lot of money. The Americans were very generous too and would give us chocolates as tip which we would share as we walk our way home. And these old lighters emblazoned with Salem and Winston always remind me of that time in my life when I earned my first dollar.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
I visited my favorite forest preserve on my way home and it looks like in a few days the snow will be gone. Spring is almost here and soon the trees will be green again.
Snow is slowly disappearing from the ground.
This is how this place looks like during one of my winter walk.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
This whittling thing is just a hobby, for fun but it has other benefits. First of all, it enabled me to improve my knife skills, doing stop cut, push cut, paring cut, etc. Secondly, it has improved my sharpening, honing and stropping skills because I have to maintain my blades razor sharp. I learned how to re-grind the blades of an ordinary pocket knife to make it suitable for whittling.
From top to bottom: Schrade 34OT, SAK Recruit, and a RR Whittler.
And most of all, it somehow enabled me to do the things I love the most when I was a kid - making my own "toys". It is not an expensive pursuit, all you need is a sharp knife and a piece of wood and you're good to go. Try it, it's a lot of fun and it will make your kids or grandkids happy. But don't cut yourself.
That's all folks! Thanks for reading.
