As long as there are young men with the light of adventure in their eyes or a touch of wildness in their souls, rapids will be run.
— Sigurd F. Olson (Naturalist author of The Singing Wilderness)
Picture Credit: http://www.johnrwallace.com/2010/07/08/letting-go/
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: books, earth, enviroment, faith, life, nature, personal, photography, photos
Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken!”
-Isaiah 40:3-5 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Christian, faith, God, Jesus, life, nature, photography, photos, travel
Banish Blisters
Should you pop? We settled this hot-button topic in April 2001. Yes, except for burn blisters. Here’s how Clean the blister, and puncture it with a sterilized pin. Cut a slit at the base, and massage out the fluid; leave the skin flap in place. Dab on antibiotic cream. Cut a donut-shaped piece of moleskin, place it over the blister, and cover it with another moleskin piece; secure with tape. Prevent Wear boots that fit (toes should wiggle and heels shouldn’t slip), keep feet dry with wicking socks (synthetic or wool), and rub Sportslick or Bodyglide on problem areas. If a hot spot develops, tape it ASAP.
-Backpacker Magazine
1. For the spindle and fireboard, find some dry, soft, and non-resinous (no sap) wood—like yucca, cottonwood, poplar, cedar, cypress, or elm—which are easier to create friction with. The spindle stick should be about 16 inches long, ¾-inch thick, and fairly straight. Sharpen the bottom end like a pencil tip, and whittle away any jagged or rough spots on the shaft so you can easily run your hands along it.
2. The fireboard should be about six inches by one inch wide, and ¾-inch thick. Carve this rectangular piece so it lies flat on the ground. Cut a V-shaped notch, half as deep as the board, into the edge. Next, carve out a pencil-eraser-size depression at the base of the V, where you will place the spindle tip.
3. Position a leaf, piece of thin bark, or your knife blade (anything as thick as an index card) under the board to catch the coal that will fall out of the board’s notch.
4. For the tinder bundle, gather dry and pithy materials (cattails, mullein, grass, bark, moss), and shape them into a bird’s nest. Place it within arm’s reach.
5. Get in a stable kneeling or sitting position, with one foot on the edge of the fireboard to steady it. Put the tip of the spindle in the board’s depression, and place your hands at the top. Using significant downward pressure, roll your hands back and forth, up and down the spindle. Go slowly at first to deepen the board’s notch. Then go faster (a lot faster), bearing down on the spindle with your body weight as you roll it in your hands. Hot dust will be generated first, then smoke, and as the spindle glows red from the friction, a tiny ember will appear in the notch. If the ember doesn’t automatically fall into your catching device, gingerly tap the board.
6. Transfer the ember to the center of the tinder, blow gently until you have flames, then erect small sticks around it, tepee-style.
Survival Secret
Always carry a reliable firestarter. Nester favors a magnesium spark rod and Vaseline-coated cotton balls, which burn even in rain. Rub one teaspoon of Vaseline into a cotton ball; pack a few loosely in a film canister. Also good: butane lighters.
-Backpacker Magazine
Posted in Weekly Survival Skill | Tags: books, enviroment, hiking, life, nature, personal, photography, survival
The Wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned how to ask.
— Nancy Newhall (Conservationist writer and photography critic)
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: books, earth, enviroment, local, mountains, nature, personal, photography, photos
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
-Romans 15:5-6 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Christianity, earth, faith, God, Jesus, life, mountains, nature, photography
The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best He ever planted.
— John Muir (American naturalist and co-founder of the Sierra Club)
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: books, conservation, earth, enviroment, God, nature, photography, photos, travel
Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
-Matthew 21:21-22 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Christianity, faith, God, Jesus, life, mountains, nature, photography, utah
On the path that leads to Nowhere I have sometimes found my Soul.
— Corinne Roosevelt Robinson (Younger sister of President Theodore Roosevelt)
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: books, earth, enviroment, life, local, nature, personal, photography, spirituality
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
-Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Christianity, faith, God, Jesus, life, nature, photography, photos, travel
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