Erik and Adam talk about one of the best parts of camping in the BWCA; campfires. They share some of their rules for gathering and burning wood within the park. Are you a wood gnome or wood goblin? Subscribe: Patreon Spotify iTunes Stitcher Google Play Soundcloud Contact: The Answering Machine: (218) 481-0649 Facebook [email protected] Clearwater Canoe […]
The post Tumblehome: A Boundary Waters Podcast – 035: The Wood Gnome appeared first on Clearwater Outfitters.
Episode Transcript
[0:00:00 – 0:00:01] UNKNOWN: Okay.
[0:00:55 – 0:01:04] Erik: And welcome back to episode 35 of Tumble Home, a Boundary Waters podcast.
[0:01:05 – 0:01:06] Erik: Good evening.
[0:01:07 – 0:01:08] Erik: Good evening, Adam.
[0:01:08 – 0:01:10] Erik: And a good day to you, sir.
[0:01:12 – 0:01:12] Erik: How’s it going?
[0:01:15 – 0:01:15] Adam: Good.
[0:01:16 – 0:01:18] Adam: The pup somehow found a two by eight.
[0:01:19 – 0:01:20] Adam: It’s probably covered in ants.
[0:01:20 – 0:01:22] Erik: Yeah, it’s probably treated too.
[0:01:22 – 0:01:22] Erik: That’s good for her.
[0:01:22 – 0:01:23] Erik: Yeah, chew on that.
[0:01:25 – 0:01:26] Adam: Don’t chew on the internet.
[0:01:26 – 0:01:26] Adam: No.
[0:01:26 – 0:01:27] Adam: Whatever you do.
[0:01:27 – 0:01:30] Adam: She was over scoping around the internet before.
[0:01:31 – 0:01:32] Adam: Get away from my internet.
[0:01:41 – 0:01:42] Erik: Those are wolves.
[0:01:43 – 0:01:47] Adam: Yeah, she’s keeping the wolves at bay with her powerful chewing technique over here.
[0:01:48 – 0:01:51] Erik: Just on the perimeter, we are dealing with wolves.
[0:01:52 – 0:01:52] Erik: Yikes.
[0:01:53 – 0:01:54] Adam: Are Mike’s picking that up?
[0:02:04 – 0:02:08] Adam: All the more reason to have a roaring bonfire.
[0:02:09 – 0:02:11] Adam: Keep those beasts at bay.
[0:02:14 – 0:02:15] Erik: So we are sitting around a campfire.
[0:02:15 – 0:02:17] Erik: That is this week’s topic.
[0:02:17 – 0:02:27] Erik: But before we get to that, we are, as always, this week, we are bringing to you actual, you know, thought-out content.
[0:02:27 – 0:02:33] Erik: So I am happy to say that we are sponsored by Clearwater Historic Lodge and Canoe Outfitters.
[0:02:35 – 0:02:36] Erik: Thanks, guys.
[0:02:37 – 0:02:41] Adam: And also by Burning Brothers Brewing.
[0:02:43 – 0:02:50] Adam: This week’s special beer sponsor is Pyro American Pale Ale.
[0:02:51 – 0:02:52] Adam: Seems appropriate.
[0:02:52 – 0:02:53] Adam: Yes.
[0:02:56 – 0:02:59] Erik: Oh, we missed out on tandem stereo beer cracking.
[0:03:00 – 0:03:01] Adam: No stereo this week, brother.
[0:03:02 – 0:03:03] Erik: We’re losing our touch.
[0:03:07 – 0:03:08] Adam: Very quiet cheers.
[0:03:08 – 0:03:09] Erik: Very quiet cheers.
[0:03:12 – 0:03:17] Adam: These cans are dense, like you’re not able to make a… Well, it’s kind of like that plastic wrap on it.
[0:03:17 – 0:03:18] Adam: It does, yeah.
[0:03:19 – 0:03:20] Erik: Well, we are sitting around a fire.
[0:03:22 – 0:03:23] Erik: Can you hear the crackling?
[0:03:23 – 0:03:25] Erik: I’m sure you can hear the distant wolves.
[0:03:26 – 0:03:27] Erik: They’re at bay, currently.
[0:03:27 – 0:03:30] Erik: We’ll see if we can make it through this episode before being overrun.
[0:03:31 – 0:03:33] Erik: Has anybody else seen that Liam Neeson movie?
[0:03:33 – 0:03:34] Erik: Yeah.
[0:03:34 – 0:03:34] Adam: The Grey.
[0:03:35 – 0:03:37] Adam: Darkness is… Yeah, it’s currently grey.
[0:03:37 – 0:03:39] Adam: Darkness is slowly closing in.
[0:03:40 – 0:03:41] Adam: Luckily, we have a derpy…
[0:03:42 – 0:03:46] Adam: eight-month-old husky back here dragging a treated two-by-eight around.
[0:03:47 – 0:03:49] Adam: That’s what’s keeping them at bay, not the fire.
[0:03:49 – 0:03:50] Adam: The fire is pretty weak right now.
[0:03:51 – 0:03:55] Adam: We’re starting small with some Fleet Farm flyers.
[0:03:56 – 0:04:00] Adam: A smidge of birch bark and what is this?
[0:04:00 – 0:04:00] Adam: A bunch of cardboard.
[0:04:01 – 0:04:01] Adam: Some cardboard?
[0:04:02 – 0:04:02] Erik: Yep.
[0:04:02 – 0:04:02] Adam: Yeah.
[0:04:03 – 0:04:06] Adam: That’s the classic Deke fire starter there.
[0:04:06 – 0:04:07] Adam: We’re going to work our way up.
[0:04:07 – 0:04:09] Erik: Cases of beer cardboard.
[0:04:09 – 0:04:11] Erik: Nice painted glossy beer.
[0:04:12 – 0:04:14] Erik: Waxed cardboard.
[0:04:14 – 0:04:15] Erik: I mean, why even?
[0:04:15 – 0:04:16] Erik: I mean, birch bark.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:20] Erik: Who needs birch bark when you have glossy magazines?
[0:04:20 – 0:04:22] Erik: That stuff burns great.
[0:04:22 – 0:04:22] Adam: Mm-hmm.
[0:04:23 – 0:04:28] Erik: So, in all seriousness, we did throw it out a couple weeks ago.
[0:04:28 – 0:04:29] Erik: Last week, I believe.
[0:04:29 – 0:04:31] Erik: It feels like it was almost a couple weeks ago now.
[0:04:31 – 0:04:31] Erik: Yeah.
[0:04:31 – 0:04:32] Erik: The question.
[0:04:33 – 0:04:34] Erik: And I don’t know.
[0:04:34 – 0:04:40] Erik: I think we tried our best to kind of distill that into a focused question.
[0:04:40 – 0:04:44] Erik: You know, it’s a huge part of camping in the Boundary Waters.
[0:04:44 – 0:04:47] Erik: And that was, you know, what is your campfire philosophy?
[0:04:47 – 0:04:51] Erik: It might be the biggest part about camping in the Boundary Waters.
[0:04:51 – 0:04:53] Erik: Well, and that was kind of where I was going to start.
[0:04:54 – 0:04:54] Erik: So, yeah.
[0:04:54 – 0:04:55] Erik: It’s the biggest part.
[0:04:56 – 0:04:56] Erik: Right.
[0:04:56 – 0:04:58] Erik: Yeah.
[0:04:58 – 0:05:05] Erik: So if you’re just joining us, if this is your first episode, please go back at least to the boat show and then.
[0:05:05 – 0:05:05] Erik: Welcome.
[0:05:06 – 0:05:06] Erik: And then welcome.
[0:05:06 – 0:05:07] Erik: But also welcome.
[0:05:08 – 0:05:10] Adam: Also, thanks for joining us.
[0:05:10 – 0:05:10] Erik: Yes.
[0:05:11 – 0:05:20] Erik: And the question was essentially kind of open-ended, but more or less about campfires are, you know, do you have specific firewood that you target?
[0:05:20 – 0:05:21] Erik: Do you have a strategy?
[0:05:22 – 0:05:24] Erik: What are your just general thoughts on it?
[0:05:24 – 0:05:27] Erik: But that was really hard to get into a boiled down question.
[0:05:27 – 0:05:29] Erik: So we got a lot of responses.
[0:05:30 – 0:05:36] Erik: But we’re going to start by kind of a couple of things regarding campfires in the Bonjou waters in Quetico.
[0:05:37 – 0:05:42] Erik: Some of our thoughts on our go-to woods, firewood techniques and strategies.
[0:05:44 – 0:05:49] Erik: But just generally to start out, like, yeah, I mean, how important are campfires to you when you’re camping?
[0:05:49 – 0:05:51] Adam: Um, they’re essential.
[0:05:52 – 0:05:53] Adam: Essentially.
[0:05:53 – 0:05:56] Adam: That’s why I would say it’s probably the most important part about boundary waters camping.
[0:05:57 – 0:05:57] Erik: Hmm.
[0:05:57 – 0:06:07] Adam: You know, unless you’re out there in the middle of summer, then you can probably get away with, you know, just a little single burner stove and some dehydrated food and maybe a pack of pizza biters.
[0:06:08 – 0:06:09] Adam: Um, no problemo.
[0:06:09 – 0:06:11] Adam: You can fry an egg on a propane stove.
[0:06:11 – 0:06:11] Adam: Yeah.
[0:06:12 – 0:06:13] Adam: You can make coffee without a fire.
[0:06:14 – 0:06:19] Adam: Um, and you know, if it’s hot like that, you might not necessarily want a fire.
[0:06:20 – 0:06:29] Adam: Um, so maybe, you know, in the middle of July or August or it’s not essential, but for the rest of the season, it’s, it’s essential.
[0:06:30 – 0:06:30] Erik: Essential.
[0:06:30 – 0:06:38] Adam: And I would say like today, you know, and for many ways, uh, and for many reasons, today is a great day to do this episode.
[0:06:38 – 0:06:39] Adam: Yes.
[0:06:39 – 0:06:56] Adam: Um, I woke up at five 50 this morning and, uh, let the doggy out and it was literally, it was sleeting and the stairs going out the cabin, uh, front door were like iced over and the puppy almost dragged me down the steps.
[0:06:57 – 0:06:58] Adam: I wasn’t ready for it, but it was slick.
[0:07:00 – 0:07:03] Adam: You know, Natalie had to scrape her windshield off a couple weeks ago already.
[0:07:03 – 0:07:10] Adam: So, you know, winter’s coming, and we’ve had a few fires in the wood stove in the house already.
[0:07:11 – 0:07:13] Adam: So you’re starting to get in that mindset of it.
[0:07:13 – 0:07:18] Adam: But I think this morning was like the first morning where I truly was like, I’m cold.
[0:07:18 – 0:07:18] Erik: Yeah.
[0:07:18 – 0:07:23] Adam: I was kind of shivering, like trying to get dressed in the dark.
[0:07:23 – 0:07:24] Adam: Turn the light on.
[0:07:24 – 0:07:25] Adam: Where’s the light?
[0:07:25 – 0:07:26] Erik: Turn a light on.
[0:07:26 – 0:07:28] Erik: Yeah, I mean, I tend to agree with you mostly.
[0:07:28 – 0:07:30] Erik: I would say, for the most part, it’s essential.
[0:07:31 – 0:07:34] Erik: I think it definitely skews towards the shoulder seasons.
[0:07:35 – 0:07:43] Erik: And sometimes, I mean, I think it does kind of border on absurd sometimes, campfires in, like, July and August.
[0:07:43 – 0:07:47] Adam: Yeah, a lot of times you see people just having a raging bonfire in the middle of August.
[0:07:47 – 0:07:48] Erik: 75 degrees in Cuban.
[0:07:48 – 0:07:49] Adam: Not really necessary.
[0:07:49 – 0:07:50] Adam: Yeah.
[0:07:50 – 0:07:53] Adam: It’s just part of, like, we’ve got to have a fire because we’re here.
[0:07:53 – 0:07:54] Erik: Sun’s still up.
[0:07:54 – 0:07:54] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:07:55 – 0:08:00] Adam: On some level, I do agree with it, especially if you’re only going to get to the boundary waters once in a whole season.
[0:08:00 – 0:08:02] Adam: You’re going to want to have a fire.
[0:08:02 – 0:08:03] Adam: There’s not a fire ban on.
[0:08:03 – 0:08:04] Adam: Go ahead and have a fire.
[0:08:04 – 0:08:08] Adam: I’m not going to argue against it, but it is superfluous sometimes.
[0:08:09 – 0:08:09] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:09 – 0:08:12] Adam: I’ve been out where I’m making a big fire up in the morning.
[0:08:12 – 0:08:13] Adam: They get some…
[0:08:13 – 0:08:15] Adam: Breakfast going, and by the time you got breakfast done.
[0:08:15 – 0:08:16] Adam: You’re sweating.
[0:08:16 – 0:08:18] Adam: You’re like sweating and like, oh, God, I can’t even eat.
[0:08:18 – 0:08:19] Adam: I’m so hot.
[0:08:19 – 0:08:19] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:20 – 0:08:26] Adam: Well, we just burned up, you know, good six, seven beautiful logs of wood that didn’t really need to be burned.
[0:08:27 – 0:08:27] Adam: Yeah.
[0:08:27 – 0:08:29] Adam: Not that there’s a lack of fuel.
[0:08:29 – 0:08:30] Erik: Right.
[0:08:30 – 0:08:46] Erik: And there’s like a, you know, I don’t know if we’re articulate enough in general to be able to really say why, but like, and you know, it’s, it’s one of those things where you, if you really ask yourself like, why, why is it important to people?
[0:08:46 – 0:08:55] Erik: Like, what is it that it’s not necessarily, I don’t think it’s the ability to cook food on necessarily though.
[0:08:55 – 0:08:55] Erik: That is nice.
[0:08:56 – 0:08:57] Erik: There’s something about fire.
[0:08:58 – 0:08:59] Adam: That’s entrancing.
[0:08:59 – 0:09:16] Erik: Yeah, and at the end of the day, sitting around it when it’s dark and you’ve just finished up a long day in the water, I don’t know if I’m necessarily prepared or have the words that I could put to…
[0:09:16 – 0:09:19] Erik: I mean, I think there’s plenty of people out there that have…
[0:09:20 – 0:09:35] Erik: I’ve done a really good job at saying, you know, the mysterious nature and the almost, like, inherent want for, like, humans to gather around fire that I think is a part of it, too.
[0:09:35 – 0:09:36] Erik: Like, honestly…
[0:09:37 – 0:09:43] Erik: I’ve done trips where I just cooked on a stove for 10 days straight, then never started a fire.
[0:09:44 – 0:09:51] Erik: And it’s not as memorable, I don’t feel like, and I definitely felt like there was something missing.
[0:09:52 – 0:10:00] Adam: I feel like a good campfire has like the same effect on my mind as like the act of like dreaming.
[0:10:00 – 0:10:21] Adam: They say like dreaming is the act of your mind has all these memories and thoughts and, you know, data points from throughout the day and then you sleep and then your mind is like dreaming to erode all that data down and just the essentials of what you need to carry with you for the rest of your life.
[0:10:22 – 0:10:28] Adam: And in the same way, it’s like watching a fire is like dreaming while awake almost.
[0:10:28 – 0:10:32] Adam: Like it helps you to just sit there and distill your day.
[0:10:33 – 0:10:42] Adam: And then in a way that it just helps you like retain and like synthesize what have you done out here in this wilderness.
[0:10:42 – 0:10:42] Adam: Yeah.
[0:10:43 – 0:10:47] Erik: Yeah, no, as it relates to the wilderness in that regard, I would definitely agree.
[0:10:47 – 0:10:53] Erik: And not to get off on a dream tangent, but… No, I think we need to go on more dream tangents.
[0:10:53 – 0:10:53] Adam: More dream tangents?
[0:10:53 – 0:10:55] Adam: We don’t talk about our dreams enough.
[0:10:55 – 0:10:58] Adam: We should have a whole segment every week on what was your weirdest dream of the week?
[0:10:59 – 0:11:01] Erik: Yeah, it’s been a while since you’ve thrown down on the…
[0:11:04 – 0:11:05] Erik: Dream chat?
[0:11:05 – 0:11:05] Erik: Dream update.
[0:11:05 – 0:11:07] Erik: What have you been dreaming about?
[0:11:07 – 0:11:15] Erik: But just in general, I don’t prescribe that much to dream theory and what it means.
[0:11:15 – 0:11:27] Erik: But at the very least, I can say I know if I’m reading something that’s new to me or if I’m trying to learn something or if I’m spending a lot of time thinking about something specifically…
[0:11:28 – 0:11:33] Erik: Like, I feel like that’s when I dream the most, which I think is a good thing to pay attention to.
[0:11:33 – 0:11:39] Erik: Like, if you’re dreaming, I feel like you’re like, if you’re like, I just, I don’t know, I just never dream.
[0:11:39 – 0:11:44] Erik: Like, I don’t think you’re like pushing yourself to like open up your mind into other aspects.
[0:11:45 – 0:11:47] Erik: At least for me, that’s when I dream the most.
[0:11:47 – 0:11:55] Erik: Like I remember when I started running dogs for the first time and like mushing, like that, my dreams were really intense.
[0:11:56 – 0:12:10] Erik: Or if I’m picking up a book, that’s about a subject that I’ve really interested in and I’m learning a lot, then my dreams, they’re not necessarily directly related to that subject matter, but I feel like I just have more, more dreams in general.
[0:12:10 – 0:12:11] Erik: My brain is more active.
[0:12:12 – 0:12:14] Erik: So with, uh,
[0:12:14 – 0:12:16] Adam: So, yeah, like when you’re on a really good trip.
[0:12:16 – 0:12:16] Adam: Yeah.
[0:12:17 – 0:12:18] Adam: You’re out in the park.
[0:12:18 – 0:12:26] Adam: And then at the end of the day, like the fire is more enjoyable and like your mind is more active and enjoying that fire maybe.
[0:12:26 – 0:12:27] Adam: Yeah.
[0:12:27 – 0:12:27] Erik: It’s a big day.
[0:12:28 – 0:12:37] Erik: I mean, you’re out doing something that you’re probably doing for out of the number of days in a year, a single percentage of that year.
[0:12:37 – 0:12:38] Erik: It’s pretty special.
[0:12:38 – 0:12:39] Erik: Yeah, it’s pretty special.
[0:12:39 – 0:12:42] Erik: And to be around a campfire at the end of the year is very important to people.
[0:12:43 – 0:12:59] Erik: And I can tell you that as an outfitter for almost 13 years now, anytime that there’s a fire ban, people legitimately cancel trips.
[0:12:59 – 0:12:59] Adam: Yeah.
[0:12:59 – 0:13:02] Adam: People either cancel or they show up and they’re like, there’s a fire ban on.
[0:13:02 – 0:13:08] Adam: You can just like see the disappointment and like the change in body posture.
[0:13:09 – 0:13:10] Adam: Just like the…
[0:13:10 – 0:13:14] Erik: Yeah, it’s like, I mean, okay, so we get to go out and…
[0:13:14 – 0:13:19] Adam: It’s almost like people show up and you’re like, hey, sorry, just this week there’s no lakes.
[0:13:20 – 0:13:20] Adam: Yeah, right.
[0:13:21 – 0:13:21] Adam: Sorry.
[0:13:22 – 0:13:25] Erik: Yeah, sorry, all the fish are dead.
[0:13:25 – 0:13:26] Erik: All the fish are dead this week.
[0:13:27 – 0:13:27] Erik: You have to come back next week.
[0:13:27 – 0:13:28] Erik: Maybe they’ll be back.
[0:13:28 – 0:13:29] Erik: It’s a huge aspect.
[0:13:30 – 0:13:30] Adam: No, it is.
[0:13:31 – 0:13:32] Adam: You can still go out.
[0:13:33 – 0:13:34] Adam: Right, but it’s not the same.
[0:13:34 – 0:13:35] Erik: It’s not the same.
[0:13:35 – 0:13:36] Erik: And I don’t fault people for…
[0:13:37 – 0:13:40] Erik: I mean, I think canceling a trip, that’s kind of crazy, right?
[0:13:40 – 0:13:41] Adam: That’s a bit overboard.
[0:13:42 – 0:13:47] Erik: I mean, I can definitely, I can sympathize.
[0:13:47 – 0:13:49] Erik: I can empathize and I can sympathize.
[0:13:49 – 0:13:51] Adam: That’s one of the craziest things I’ve heard.
[0:13:52 – 0:13:52] Erik: No, I mean.
[0:13:52 – 0:13:53] Erik: It’s not even close.
[0:13:54 – 0:14:05] Erik: Yeah, so, I mean, I think we’ve talked enough about kind of the whys, why it’s an important part to a certain extent.
[0:14:06 – 0:14:20] Erik: I don’t know if we’ve necessarily put it down on paper or in words in a completely clear way, but obviously I’ve got experience and I’ve seen people, and it’s an important thing.
[0:14:20 – 0:14:20] Erik: So…
[0:14:22 – 0:14:30] Erik: With all that in mind, and before we kind of talk about some of the specifics in terms of like, you know, all right, so you’re out there, you’re ready to have a fire, but now what?
[0:14:31 – 0:14:46] Erik: Just before we get to that point, I kind of thought it would be fun to talk about in our travels, some of the differences between the two major parks that we talk about, Quetico and the Baudry Waters, and their two…
[0:14:47 – 0:14:52] Erik: you know, the rules and regulations that, uh, go into campfires.
[0:14:53 – 0:15:03] Erik: And so obviously the Bajo waters, they all come with fire grates, those campsites and in Cuetico, you can camp wherever you want and have a campfire wherever you want.
[0:15:03 – 0:15:03] Erik: And, uh,
[0:15:04 – 0:15:16] Erik: You know, I think for whatever reason, I prefer being able to be a little bit more liberal with where I have a campfire.
[0:15:16 – 0:15:22] Erik: But I definitely have noticed up in Quetico that those campsites, they’re quiet.
[0:15:23 – 0:15:26] Erik: campfire pit areas.
[0:15:27 – 0:15:28] Erik: They turn into these, like, volcanoes.
[0:15:29 – 0:15:29] Erik: Yeah, yeah.
[0:15:29 – 0:15:33] Erik: Of just, like, nobody ever cleans out the ashes and they just keep stacking up rocks.
[0:15:33 – 0:15:36] Erik: Yeah, instead of, yeah, doing anything, you just build up.
[0:15:37 – 0:15:51] Erik: Like, I can’t tell you, like, almost 75% of the campsites that I stop at in Quetico, I end up doing, which I enjoy, like, rebuilding and cleaning up and, like, setting up the fire area so that it kind of accommodates to the wind.
[0:15:51 – 0:15:51] Erik: Oh, yeah, I appreciate the
[0:15:52 – 0:16:20] Adam: ability to be creative yes in your setup whereas in the in the bw it yeah you’re here you go this is what you got yeah and there’s hopefully not too much micro litter and old aluminum foil in there and some of those kind of got to get a big stick and dig it out yeah and that’s about all you can do is try and clean it up a little bit dig it out maybe place a few rocks around the outside of it based on the wind but you’re basically got to work around that great
[0:16:21 – 0:16:27] Erik: Well, yeah, and, like, I don’t know if that’s the grate keeps the volcano phenomenon from occurring.
[0:16:27 – 0:16:27] Erik: It does.
[0:16:27 – 0:16:28] Adam: It keeps the volcano at bay.
[0:16:29 – 0:16:32] Erik: It keeps it at bay, but then also just sometimes you’re working with, like, a.
[0:16:32 – 0:16:33] Adam: But it’s its own volcano and its own, you know.
[0:16:34 – 0:16:41] Erik: Yeah, like a six-inch by six-inch little square of, like, area under the fire grate because it’s been so packed with ashes and rocks.
[0:16:41 – 0:16:45] Adam: I love over the years, like, noticing the differences in the fire grates.
[0:16:45 – 0:16:51] Adam: I think people notice, like, when we talk about it, like, oh, that was the old school, like, real wide one.
[0:16:51 – 0:17:01] Adam: I don’t know if people know what we’re talking about or not, but if you’ve been in the park enough, you know, like, there’s the old ones, which are, you could, like, you can stick logs in the top of it.
[0:17:02 – 0:17:02] Adam: Yeah.
[0:17:02 – 0:17:05] Adam: The grates are so far apart, and then the new school ones are kind of.
[0:17:05 – 0:17:06] Adam: The gauge of the grate.
[0:17:06 – 0:17:10] Adam: Yeah, real thin where you can literally put a pizza biter on there anywhere, and it’s not going to fall through.
[0:17:11 – 0:17:11] Erik: Yeah.
[0:17:11 – 0:17:12] Erik: They’ve taken that into account.
[0:17:12 – 0:17:13] Erik: All right, come on.
[0:17:13 – 0:17:16] Adam: People are out there grilling up egg rolls and pizza biters.
[0:17:16 – 0:17:18] Adam: We need to make the grates more narrow.
[0:17:19 – 0:17:20] Adam: Yeah, narrow grate.
[0:17:20 – 0:17:20] Adam: Yeah.
[0:17:20 – 0:17:35] Erik: The feeling of sitting around a essentially homemade fire hearth in Quetico, there’s a feeling to that that’s a little bit more wild that I think leaves a more lasting impression as well.
[0:17:36 – 0:17:44] Erik: You know, obviously you have to pack in the, if you want to cook on the fire, the little, you know, fire grate with the legs or whatever.
[0:17:44 – 0:17:46] Erik: Yeah, but those are, you know, heavier.
[0:17:46 – 0:17:47] Erik: They’re basically weightless.
[0:17:48 – 0:17:49] Adam: Or obtrusive in any way.
[0:17:49 – 0:17:55] Erik: And if you’re packing in like the square hard food packs, they like slide down right in front of those just perfectly.
[0:17:55 – 0:17:56] Adam: Yeah, they’re made for that.
[0:17:57 – 0:17:57] Erik: Yeah.
[0:17:57 – 0:18:04] Erik: So, I mean, I guess we’ve been out in Quetico enough times.
[0:18:04 – 0:18:06] Erik: Like I almost wondered, am I missing something?
[0:18:07 – 0:18:08] Erik: Why sometimes they’re like waist high.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:11] Erik: These like piles, these pillars and pyramids.
[0:18:11 – 0:18:13] Adam: Maybe we shouldn’t be knocking them down.
[0:18:13 – 0:18:41] Erik: old like i don’t know do people like not want to bend over to cook or and then yet we have hypothesized that it might be due to the majority of paddlers being in the summer and warmer months where they’re not you know like we we’re out there in october we want to be like that i’d like it to be kind of right down in the i can sit down and be intimate next to it i don’t want to just like stand and hover next to like a cooking fire necessarily yeah like cook a marshmallow on a stick
[0:18:42 – 0:18:42] Erik: Yeah.
[0:18:42 – 0:18:45] Erik: So it could be that too, but it’s…
[0:18:45 – 0:18:48] Adam: I could see him being like some sort of a spiritual thing.
[0:18:48 – 0:18:52] Adam: Like people don’t ever knock over the fire volcano.
[0:18:53 – 0:19:00] Adam: So you’ll anger the lava god that used to reside and still does reside beneath these igneous rocks.
[0:19:01 – 0:19:01] Erik: Yeah.
[0:19:02 – 0:19:04] Adam: So, I mean, I… That lava’s still down there.
[0:19:04 – 0:19:05] Adam: I go back and forth.
[0:19:05 – 0:19:07] Erik: I still prefer the aquatico style.
[0:19:07 – 0:19:08] Erik: I do, too.
[0:19:08 – 0:19:10] Adam: And, you know, I don’t see too many…
[0:19:10 – 0:19:17] Adam: When you find a nice, tall fire grade that’s, like, perfectly perched on a rock in the boundary waters, like, that’s pretty great, too.
[0:19:17 – 0:19:17] Erik: That’s nice.
[0:19:17 – 0:19:18] Erik: And I don’t necessarily…
[0:19:19 – 0:19:25] Erik: I don’t necessarily like the fires right on the ground, but I don’t need them up on, like, a precarious, like, perched…
[0:19:26 – 0:19:28] Erik: pyramid of old fires either.
[0:19:28 – 0:19:29] Adam: Somewhere in between.
[0:19:29 – 0:19:34] Adam: I just like that literally every campsite you pull into, one of the first things you look at is like, how’s the fire?
[0:19:34 – 0:19:35] Adam: How’s the fire?
[0:19:35 – 0:19:36] Adam: Great look.
[0:19:36 – 0:19:39] Adam: Oh boy, that’s a real wreck.
[0:19:39 – 0:19:40] Adam: We got a lot of work to do here.
[0:19:40 – 0:19:44] Adam: Or it’s like, wow, that looks amazing and there’s a bunch of firewood here, which is…
[0:19:45 – 0:19:48] Adam: Very nicely gnomed for us by the fire gnome.
[0:19:49 – 0:20:03] Erik: Which is kind of leading me into the next thing that I wanted to talk about, which is your opinion on the ethics of wood gnoming.
[0:20:03 – 0:20:04] Erik: I don’t know.
[0:20:04 – 0:20:07] Erik: You maybe just briefly say what wood gnoming is.
[0:20:07 – 0:20:09] Adam: Wood gnoming is when you’re…
[0:20:11 – 0:20:17] Adam: I think, I’m not sure what came first, like the wood gnome or then our idea of like being a wood gnome.
[0:20:18 – 0:20:19] Erik: I don’t remember either.
[0:20:19 – 0:20:28] Adam: Yeah, I think it was like we determined that there was a wood gnome out there who was secretly stacking wood at campsites while nobody was around.
[0:20:28 – 0:20:32] Adam: Yeah, you would show up to a campsite and there would be a little pile of wood.
[0:20:32 – 0:20:44] Adam: And then maybe a little dab of birch bark and like an old sappy pine cone or two sitting there covered up nicely so you know it would be dry.
[0:20:45 – 0:20:49] Adam: You’re like, wow, so this is the work of a very friendly and clever gnome.
[0:20:49 – 0:20:51] Adam: I appreciate your gift.
[0:20:51 – 0:20:52] Adam: Thank you.
[0:20:54 – 0:21:06] Adam: But then the flip side of that is that when you are in a campsite and are about to leave, hopefully you have some extra firewood and you can also then too be a wood gnome.
[0:21:07 – 0:21:07] Erik: Yes.
[0:21:09 – 0:21:11] Erik: So it sounds like you’re pro-noming.
[0:21:11 – 0:21:14] Adam: I’m absolutely pro-wood gnome.
[0:21:14 – 0:21:25] Adam: I’ve gotten to the point where it’s very hard for me to leave a campsite without at least practicing wood gnomery in a small capacity, no matter the weather or our means.
[0:21:25 – 0:21:27] Adam: You don’t feel like it’s a form of leaving a trace?
[0:21:28 – 0:21:28] Adam: Absolutely not.
[0:21:28 – 0:21:30] Adam: That’s ridiculous.
[0:21:31 – 0:21:32] Adam: It’s absolutely ridiculous.
[0:21:33 – 0:21:38] Adam: I’m sorry to anybody who feels that way, but I’m sorry to what happened to you in life to make you feel that way.
[0:21:39 – 0:21:45] Adam: But somebody leaving you nice firewood is not leaving a trace.
[0:21:45 – 0:21:49] Adam: That’s just somebody being a cool and friendly fellow paddler.
[0:21:50 – 0:21:54] Adam: And that is the entire ethos of wood gnoming.
[0:21:55 – 0:22:02] Adam: So if you are upset about nice firewood being left in a campsite, I’m sorry, but you need help.
[0:22:04 – 0:22:05] Erik: Take that.
[0:22:06 – 0:22:08] Erik: I mean, I definitely tend to agree.
[0:22:08 – 0:22:11] Erik: I mean, especially when that left behind stack of firewood.
[0:22:11 – 0:22:14] Adam: There are so many worse things to worry about in this world.
[0:22:14 – 0:22:15] Adam: Yeah.
[0:22:15 – 0:22:23] Erik: I mean, if it’s left next to a fire grate and probably a couple of feet across from a hand-hewn Boy Scout bench.
[0:22:24 – 0:22:29] Adam: Honestly, until recently, I’ve never even considered the fact that somebody could be upset about that.
[0:22:29 – 0:22:30] Adam: There’s people out there.
[0:22:30 – 0:22:31] Adam: I get it.
[0:22:31 – 0:22:32] Adam: I get why.
[0:22:32 – 0:22:34] Adam: I don’t want to see anything.
[0:22:34 – 0:22:38] Adam: But sorry, fact checker hotline, you’re going to see stuff out there.
[0:22:38 – 0:22:40] Adam: It’s usually going to be micro litter.
[0:22:40 – 0:22:45] Adam: So I’m sorry if you’re offended by some nice firewood piles being left.
[0:22:45 – 0:22:49] Erik: Yeah, I think it’s a rare, it’s a small percentage of people, I imagine.
[0:22:49 – 0:22:50] Erik: You know what I’m upset about?
[0:22:50 – 0:23:11] Erik: It isn’t a percentage of people for anything, but if you really want to go somewhere and have an experience where you’re being absolutely not affected by the remains or the leavings of fire grates or any other people having camped there, you’re probably going to have to go up to like Wabakimi or… Or buy your own hundred acres of land and don’t let anybody in there.
[0:23:11 – 0:23:12] Adam: You can do whatever you want.
[0:23:13 – 0:23:15] Erik: I mean, don’t leave a cord of wood behind.
[0:23:15 – 0:23:25] Adam: You know what I don’t like is when you come into a campsite and there’s like a bunch of like charred remains of stuff that clearly shouldn’t have even been tried to have been burned.
[0:23:25 – 0:23:26] Adam: That’s, I mean, that’s even…
[0:23:26 – 0:23:36] Adam: The old Boy Scout birch log thing where it’s like a 12-inch round, big hunk of wet birch that some group threw in the fire and charred up and then instead of getting rid of it, just…
[0:23:37 – 0:23:40] Adam: Kicked it over to the side of the fire grate and left that there.
[0:23:40 – 0:23:41] Adam: That’s leaving a trace.
[0:23:41 – 0:23:56] Erik: Yeah, is it like a rite of passage that as a Boy Scout or some unknowing first-timer Boundary Waters crew has to hack up and try to burn some like soggy, punky, 12-inch in diameter?
[0:23:56 – 0:23:58] Adam: No, I think it’s mostly they don’t get it.
[0:23:59 – 0:23:59] Adam: Every campsite.
[0:23:59 – 0:24:01] Adam: They don’t know how to make a nice fire.
[0:24:01 – 0:24:04] Adam: But that’s the problem I have with like, oh, yeah.
[0:24:05 – 0:24:07] Adam: You walk into any campsite, you’re going to see that.
[0:24:07 – 0:24:13] Adam: There’s one of them in every campsite, just a failed burn of a large, large piece of wet wood.
[0:24:13 – 0:24:13] Erik: Yes.
[0:24:13 – 0:24:20] Adam: And that’s just been kind of rolled or kicked over to the side of the campfire and it’s still there and will be there for decades.
[0:24:20 – 0:24:21] Adam: That’s not going anywhere.
[0:24:21 – 0:24:29] Erik: Yeah, I mean, we started with talking about how important, I think, the idea of a campfire and sitting around a campfire at the end of the day is.
[0:24:29 – 0:24:43] Erik: But there’s some dissonance, I feel like, between that image that people have and the tools and techniques that they bring out into the field with them to provide that experience is greatly…
[0:24:44 – 0:24:55] Adam: I was there, you know, I was there at a point when I first started coming up here, like I didn’t, I brought, I would bring like a rusty old hatchet and then expect to just make nice fires with that.
[0:24:56 – 0:24:58] Adam: We would have fires, but…
[0:24:59 – 0:25:02] Adam: Yeah, we definitely weren’t leaving beautiful split wood for people either.
[0:25:02 – 0:25:04] Adam: And that’s when I’m going back to the wood gnoming thing.
[0:25:05 – 0:25:11] Adam: I’m not saying like, yeah, just pull some old alder out of the lake and then leave it up there and call that wood gnoming.
[0:25:11 – 0:25:14] Adam: No, you’re not really helping people in that instance.
[0:25:15 – 0:25:17] Erik: A brush pile is not wood gnoming.
[0:25:17 – 0:25:19] Adam: Let’s make that clear.
[0:25:19 – 0:25:19] Adam: Right.
[0:25:19 – 0:25:22] Adam: People just coming into the park, they might grab a lot of that stuff.
[0:25:22 – 0:25:26] Adam: They just don’t know what good firewood is or how to process it.
[0:25:26 – 0:25:26] Adam: Yeah, maybe we can help them.
[0:25:26 – 0:25:28] Adam: And then it’s like, well, I’ll just leave it here.
[0:25:28 – 0:25:30] Adam: It’ll dry out and somebody else can use it.
[0:25:30 – 0:25:32] Adam: Like, sure, maybe.
[0:25:32 – 0:25:33] Erik: Yeah.
[0:25:33 – 0:25:34] Erik: I don’t think it’s anything like, eh.
[0:25:35 – 0:25:42] Adam: You know, it’s not littering in the same realm that, like, leaving pieces of, like, candy wrappers is litter.
[0:25:43 – 0:25:43] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:25:44 – 0:25:45] Erik: I feel like it’s up there, though.
[0:25:45 – 0:25:46] Erik: It’s a real fine line.
[0:25:46 – 0:25:46] Erik: It’s up there.
[0:25:46 – 0:25:47] Erik: Like, all right, fine.
[0:25:47 – 0:26:04] Erik: A corner of a granola bar wrapper that happens to just fall out, you know, of the back of your pocket or that’s tough to keep track of, that’s more of an accident than trying to burn a piece of wood that is very clearly not going to burn or, worst case…
[0:26:05 – 0:26:12] Erik: which I see this all the time, just cutting down green trees 20 yards into the woods that you think are going to burn as well.
[0:26:14 – 0:26:14] Erik: That’s…
[0:26:14 – 0:26:15] Erik: I mean…
[0:26:15 – 0:26:17] Erik: I don’t know if we need to go down that road too far.
[0:26:17 – 0:26:18] Erik: We’ve talked about that.
[0:26:18 – 0:26:24] Adam: I think we’ve said enough on this one where it’s just like, I really don’t think it’s like people trying to be jerks about it or anything.
[0:26:24 – 0:26:27] Adam: I really do think it’s just that there’s a lot of people out there.
[0:26:27 – 0:26:28] Adam: Bordering on ignorance.
[0:26:28 – 0:26:29] Adam: Really just don’t know how to make a good fire.
[0:26:30 – 0:26:30] Adam: Yeah.
[0:26:30 – 0:26:32] Adam: So maybe we focus the rest of this episode.
[0:26:32 – 0:26:33] Adam: On how to make a good fire.
[0:26:33 – 0:26:34] Adam: On how to make a good fire.
[0:26:34 – 0:26:43] Adam: And then we have a lot of comments from listeners or friends on the internet about what they like to, how do they like to make a good fire too.
[0:26:44 – 0:26:44] Adam: So.
[0:26:44 – 0:26:45] Erik: Yeah, I don’t know.
[0:26:45 – 0:26:54] Erik: Like if there was ever a meme that we could create from this podcast, the charred six foot long birch log.
[0:26:55 – 0:26:57] Erik: Like there’s a meme there because that’s everybody.
[0:26:57 – 0:26:59] Erik: Anybody that’s been to the Bon Jovi has seen that.
[0:27:00 – 0:27:07] Erik: And if it doesn’t strike you as absurd and dumbfounding, then, I mean, maybe you’re the ones trying to burn that kind of wood.
[0:27:07 – 0:27:08] Erik: Sorry.
[0:27:08 – 0:27:10] Erik: I hope that didn’t come across too abrasive.
[0:27:11 – 0:27:15] Erik: But I feel like it’s one of the dumbest things I see out there besides just the straight-up cutting down of green trees.
[0:27:15 – 0:27:18] Adam: I’ve already told people who hate stacked firewood that they need help.
[0:27:18 – 0:27:21] Adam: So I think— You’re 35 episodes in.
[0:27:22 – 0:27:23] Erik: Thank you for joining us.
[0:27:23 – 0:27:29] Adam: Yeah, we’re sitting around a fire with microphones yelling about firewood, but you need help.
[0:27:29 – 0:27:29] Erik: Yeah.
[0:27:31 – 0:27:32] Adam: What do you think, fire?
[0:27:32 – 0:27:33] Erik: What do you think, fire?
[0:27:33 – 0:27:34] Erik: How you doing down there, fire?
[0:27:35 – 0:27:36] Erik: What are we burning?
[0:27:36 – 0:27:36] Erik: Fire’s doing pretty good.
[0:27:36 – 0:27:39] Adam: Before we get on to… You gotta… You sparking.
[0:27:42 – 0:27:56] Erik: We’re going to go in-depth and talk about legitimate and realistic woods that should be targeted and the methods that you should go about harvesting those firewoods.
[0:27:56 – 0:28:05] Adam: Yeah, I feel like I’ve come a long ways, and I’ve learned a lot camping with you on great ways to get good firewood.
[0:28:06 – 0:28:07] Erik: I’m still learning.
[0:28:08 – 0:28:15] Adam: I still grab stuff sometimes where I’m like, wait, no, this isn’t good.
[0:28:15 – 0:28:16] Erik: I grabbed it.
[0:28:16 – 0:28:22] Erik: Before we just go down this path, let’s just say, all right, we understand people are trying to burn the big chunks of birch are probably still learning.
[0:28:23 – 0:28:28] Adam: I think that’s been pretty clear that we don’t think it’s just people just being silly or something.
[0:28:29 – 0:28:31] Adam: They just don’t, you know, they think, look at this.
[0:28:32 – 0:28:32] Adam: Yeah.
[0:28:32 – 0:28:34] Adam: You know, in a lot of those, I think it’s like, look at this.
[0:28:34 – 0:28:35] Adam: Somebody else is burning this.
[0:28:36 – 0:28:37] Adam: I bet we can get this going, Dad.
[0:28:38 – 0:28:38] Erik: Yeah.
[0:28:38 – 0:28:39] Adam: Let’s put this thing in there.
[0:28:39 – 0:28:48] Adam: And then I think it’s a lot of those you find those, like, huge char logs in a camp, and I think it was multiple parties doing damage to those things, and they’re still not burned.
[0:28:48 – 0:28:52] Erik: The kind of wood that you just rest on the fire grate on top of a currently burning fire.
[0:28:52 – 0:28:53] Adam: Yeah, yeah.
[0:28:53 – 0:28:54] Adam: Yeah.
[0:28:54 – 0:28:56] Adam: That’s not what the fire grate’s for, but, you know.
[0:28:56 – 0:28:57] Erik: Yeah.
[0:28:57 – 0:28:57] Adam: Moving on.
[0:28:58 – 0:28:58] Erik: Moving on.
[0:28:58 – 0:29:11] Erik: Before we get to a couple of rules that I think are good to know about campfires in the Boundary Waters, we are sitting around what I think might be one of the culprits or the reasons why…
[0:29:12 – 0:29:20] Erik: You find some of the kinds of wood that people try burning out there so frequently occurring.
[0:29:21 – 0:29:25] Erik: And that’s because we’re burning birch and maple right now.
[0:29:27 – 0:29:27] Erik: Dried.
[0:29:28 – 0:29:28] Erik: Seasoned.
[0:29:28 – 0:29:29] Erik: Real nice.
[0:29:29 – 0:29:30] Erik: Really nice wood.
[0:29:31 – 0:29:38] Erik: And that gets translated into, well, that’s the kind of wood I should probably look for when I’m out there.
[0:29:39 – 0:29:42] Erik: I mean, there’s a cord of birch for getting through the winter.
[0:29:43 – 0:29:43] Adam: Yeah.
[0:29:43 – 0:29:44] Erik: Go grab some birch.
[0:29:44 – 0:29:45] Erik: Nobody sells pine.
[0:29:46 – 0:29:50] Erik: Nobody sells cedar to keep your cabin or your house warm.
[0:29:50 – 0:29:50] Adam: It’s real sooty.
[0:29:51 – 0:29:51] Erik: Yeah.
[0:29:51 – 0:29:58] Erik: But I will say my number one rule in the Bon Jovi is birch is not a wood to target in any way, shape, or form.
[0:29:59 – 0:30:02] Adam: I only look for it just for if you can get some birch bark off of it.
[0:30:02 – 0:30:04] Erik: Yes, which we’ve talked about that before.
[0:30:04 – 0:30:06] Adam: It’s usually the last thing I’m looking for.
[0:30:06 – 0:30:07] Adam: Like, okay, we got all this wood.
[0:30:08 – 0:30:12] Adam: I think I saw a birch back there up the trail ways.
[0:30:12 – 0:30:14] Adam: I’m going to go look for some birch bark.
[0:30:14 – 0:30:18] Adam: Or even better yet, when you know you’re on your last portage of the day.
[0:30:18 – 0:30:20] Erik: Yeah, we talked about this before too.
[0:30:20 – 0:30:25] Adam: Yeah, like, I don’t know, it’s often overlooked is on the portages.
[0:30:25 – 0:30:25] Adam: Pick up some bark.
[0:30:25 – 0:30:31] Adam: You’ll see all sorts of birch bark, just the most beautiful scrolls of birch bark.
[0:30:31 – 0:30:32] Erik: Just laying right on the portage path.
[0:30:32 – 0:30:34] Adam: Bracelets of birch bark.
[0:30:35 – 0:30:43] Erik: Yeah, basically like, all right, I feel like I should make a decree on this thing, like write some kind of a commandment on this scrawl of birch bark.
[0:30:43 – 0:30:44] Erik: Right, right.
[0:30:44 – 0:30:45] Adam: That stuff’s all over.
[0:30:45 – 0:30:46] Adam: Here’s the commandment.
[0:30:46 – 0:30:49] Adam: This will get our fire started for the next three days.
[0:30:49 – 0:30:53] Erik: As soon as you get into a campsite, though, you’re just like, oh, the birch.
[0:30:53 – 0:30:59] Adam: Yeah, birch bark is hard to come by in a campsite, unless you find an old beat-up log like that, and then that stuff’s no good.
[0:30:59 – 0:31:02] Adam: It’s all been rained on too much.
[0:31:03 – 0:31:10] Erik: Well, I think the main problem with birch, I’m not a forest ecologist or anything, but in my wheelings and dealings…
[0:31:11 – 0:31:11] Adam: It’s a hardwood.
[0:31:11 – 0:31:18] Erik: …in the park is it is a very nice hardwood, and it does not dry naturally in the wild.
[0:31:18 – 0:31:18] Erik: Right.
[0:31:18 – 0:31:29] Erik: The way that birch trees break down when they die is very slowly from the top down, and the birch bark, which is an excellent fire starter…
[0:31:29 – 0:31:34] Erik: is the main reason that it’s an excellent fire starter is because of the oils in the birch bark.
[0:31:34 – 0:31:35] Erik: The oils.
[0:31:36 – 0:31:36] Erik: The oils.
[0:31:36 – 0:31:53] Erik: What happens is the branches, they break off, and then you’ve just got the top, this open chimney of a tree, and water gets in, and it just kind of goes down and fills in this oil spark tube.
[0:31:53 – 0:31:55] Erik: Oily sponge.
[0:31:56 – 0:31:57] Erik: So it doesn’t breathe.
[0:31:58 – 0:31:59] Erik: So it just basically rots.
[0:32:00 – 0:32:06] Erik: And even when they come down, that bark doesn’t let the actual wood breathe.
[0:32:07 – 0:32:23] Erik: So at one time, I have found burnable birch in the Boundary Waters, and it was on Seagull Lake three years after the Cavity Lake fire, which went through and basically burned off all the birch bark.
[0:32:23 – 0:32:23] Erik: Kiln dried.
[0:32:24 – 0:32:48] Erik: all the bark from the trees so it was just like these sticks uh-huh baking in the sun for three years and that was some of the most amazing wood i’ve ever burned in my life yeah that doesn’t exist very often anywhere yeah it’s pretty rare yeah so rule number one avoid birch unless it’s in the form of bark which should not be carved off of live trees right just find some
[0:32:49 – 0:33:03] Erik: but rather gathered find a scroll of bark from the endless teach you the truth number of scrawls under the trees on portages and throughout what’s uh rule number two on the scroll rule number two
[0:33:05 – 0:33:07] Erik: Is, this is off the cuff, but here we go.
[0:33:07 – 0:33:08] Erik: I know, you don’t have this written down.
[0:33:08 – 0:33:09] Erik: No.
[0:33:09 – 0:33:10] Erik: How many rules are there?
[0:33:10 – 0:33:13] Erik: Episode 35, if you haven’t figured it out, these episodes are not scripted.
[0:33:14 – 0:33:15] Erik: We don’t outline anything.
[0:33:15 – 0:33:22] Erik: But I would say rule number two is don’t gather campfire wood in camp or outside the back of the camp.
[0:33:22 – 0:33:24] Erik: Don’t even try in most cases.
[0:33:24 – 0:33:30] Erik: In most cases, unless you’re in the depths of like a very quiet route in Quetico.
[0:33:30 – 0:33:34] Adam: Yeah, if you’re way out, sure, you can probably do okay.
[0:33:34 – 0:33:34] Adam: Yeah.
[0:33:35 – 0:33:41] Adam: If it’s early in the season, sure, you’re probably going to be okay, maybe even if it’s late in the season.
[0:33:42 – 0:33:45] Adam: But, no, I mean, most campsites are very picked over.
[0:33:46 – 0:33:46] Adam: Yes.
[0:33:46 – 0:33:56] Adam: And it’s just a disappointment and walking around, and then you just end up settling and doing stuff like cutting down live trees or making a – yeah, like –
[0:33:57 – 0:34:20] Erik: just cutting branches off of a tree because it’s like i need some i just need something so you’re you know you’re scarring up the trees in the camp yeah your your enjoyment of having a campfire at the end of the night should not like this that should not preclude like that shouldn’t you shouldn’t be leaving a trace because of it
[0:34:21 – 0:34:27] Erik: And it’s almost impossible to do that out of any of the campsites and the barge waters that get used even somewhat regularly.
[0:34:28 – 0:34:31] Erik: There’s some that you’re like, wow, how has somebody not picked this tree?
[0:34:32 – 0:34:32] Erik: It’s just hanging.
[0:34:33 – 0:34:33] Erik: Right.
[0:34:33 – 0:34:34] Erik: But that’s pretty rare.
[0:34:34 – 0:34:40] Adam: You find it once in a while, but it’s like usually you’re not going to get anything great right in camp.
[0:34:40 – 0:34:44] Adam: And anything you are going to find is going to kind of scar up the campsite.
[0:34:44 – 0:34:44] Adam: Yeah.
[0:34:44 – 0:34:45] Erik: Yeah, that’s the other thing.
[0:34:45 – 0:34:46] Erik: Just put it on your mind.
[0:34:47 – 0:34:49] Erik: Yeah, and so, all right, rule number two.
[0:34:49 – 0:34:51] Erik: All of a sudden, we’ve got these rules.
[0:34:51 – 0:34:52] Erik: The rules.
[0:34:52 – 0:34:53] Erik: We’ve got one and two.
[0:34:54 – 0:34:57] Erik: Rules of the Wood Gnome Scrolls, volume one.
[0:34:57 – 0:35:02] Erik: You’re not gathering campfire wood in your sights or even directly adjacent to it.
[0:35:02 – 0:35:03] Erik: What do you do?
[0:35:03 – 0:35:03] Adam: Right.
[0:35:05 – 0:35:10] Adam: Go across the lake or down the lake.
[0:35:10 – 0:35:11] Adam: Down the lake.
[0:35:11 – 0:35:11] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:35:11 – 0:35:11] UNKNOWN: Yeah.
[0:35:13 – 0:35:13] Adam: Whatever.
[0:35:13 – 0:35:16] Adam: Go where the wind’s not going to jostle you too much.
[0:35:16 – 0:35:17] Adam: Get back in your boat.
[0:35:18 – 0:35:21] Adam: I think that’s the real unsaid thing here.
[0:35:22 – 0:35:27] Adam: I know it’s tough after a long day on the water, and you really just don’t want to get back in the boat, but…
[0:35:27 – 0:35:31] Erik: If you want to have a fire, it’s much easier and more efficient.
[0:35:31 – 0:35:36] Adam: It seems crazy, like, oh, I got to get back in the boat, go across over there.
[0:35:37 – 0:35:46] Adam: But compared to just trying to scrap and claw a pile of firewood together from near camp, it’s much easier and more efficient to just go across from camp.
[0:35:47 – 0:35:51] Adam: Pick the spot on the lake where it looks like nobody else would ever think to go.
[0:35:51 – 0:35:53] Adam: What about back in that corner?
[0:35:54 – 0:35:55] Adam: You know what I mean?
[0:35:55 – 0:35:58] Adam: Because most people are going to want to cluster near the camp.
[0:35:58 – 0:36:05] Adam: Maybe they’ll be like, all right, I’m going to get in my boat, but I’m only going to go 20 rods that-a-way, and then I’ll get out and pick over there.
[0:36:05 – 0:36:06] Adam: And sure, that’ll work.
[0:36:07 – 0:36:13] Adam: But if you just go, like I said, across the lake or two bays over,
[0:36:14 – 0:36:15] Adam: All right.
[0:36:15 – 0:36:17] Adam: Then you’re really going to be in the jackpot.
[0:36:17 – 0:36:22] Erik: I mean, I feel like 75% of people just walk right out the back of the camp.
[0:36:22 – 0:36:22] Erik: Yeah.
[0:36:23 – 0:36:31] Erik: And then another 20% of the people that are taking the time to get back in the canoe after they set up camp to go back out are still just going down the shoreline a little bit.
[0:36:31 – 0:36:32] Adam: Yeah, just a ways down.
[0:36:32 – 0:36:36] Erik: This is all just greatly just guessing.
[0:36:36 – 0:36:37] Erik: I’m just guessing.
[0:36:37 – 0:36:41] Adam: And then you see the old like just cutting trees down from the shoreline.
[0:36:41 – 0:36:42] Adam: Which I also, yeah.
[0:36:43 – 0:36:44] Adam: That’s maybe another rule.
[0:36:44 – 0:36:52] Erik: Let it be known and very clear by us saying that you should get back into your canoe and paddle out and look for firewood.
[0:36:52 – 0:36:56] Erik: That doesn’t mean cut down the hanging tree over the water.
[0:36:56 – 0:37:02] Erik: That means you paddle down or across and then get back out of the canoe and walk into the woods.
[0:37:02 – 0:37:07] Adam: I have a confession to make that I have done that back when I was a youth.
[0:37:10 – 0:37:11] Adam: Yeah, I mean, nobody’s…
[0:37:12 – 0:37:22] Adam: I’ve paddled across the lake and then just got my canoe under a nice overhanging cedar and literally just sawed the big piece of cedar off and dropped it right in the canoe.
[0:37:22 – 0:37:27] Adam: And then paddled away, whistling my merry way back to camp.
[0:37:28 – 0:37:33] Adam: And I’ve since discovered that’s not great.
[0:37:34 – 0:37:36] Erik: Yeah, and hopefully we can all learn.
[0:37:36 – 0:37:52] Erik: I’m not saying, I didn’t, my first trip into the banjo art is I portaged in a glass 1.75 of rum and that cracked and broke and actually leaked into a- Rum sin.
[0:37:52 – 0:37:54] Erik: A whole book of short stories by-
[0:37:57 – 0:38:22] Erik: hemingway which i thought was funny but anyway yeah like we’ve all come into situations where we’re kind of learning and like oh that’s why it’s a rule um to a certain extent so and yeah cutting down those trees hanging out over the water i can see that being a very easy mistake that somebody could make in one of their first few trips when they’re frustrated with the amount of wood available to them you know a lot of shorelines are very difficult to like
[0:38:24 – 0:38:31] Adam: Pull a canoe into and then get out of without, you know, putting your whole canoe in danger.
[0:38:32 – 0:38:34] Adam: I mean, a lot of the shores are kind of overgrown.
[0:38:35 – 0:38:36] Adam: So it’s like, this is easy.
[0:38:36 – 0:38:37] Adam: It’s right.
[0:38:38 – 0:38:38] Adam: It’s not right.
[0:38:39 – 0:38:47] Erik: I usually feel like I’m looking for a combination of, you kind of look off into the woods a little bit past that main shoreline.
[0:38:47 – 0:38:47] Erik: Yeah.
[0:38:47 – 0:38:50] Erik: And you can almost look at the tips of trees.
[0:38:50 – 0:38:56] Erik: You’re looking for like a dead standing pine tree or tree.
[0:38:57 – 0:39:01] Erik: best case scenario, cedar, and then a decent spot to land.
[0:39:01 – 0:39:03] Erik: Like that’s kind of what I’m looking for.
[0:39:03 – 0:39:06] Adam: Yeah, I’m almost not more looking at like in the woods.
[0:39:06 – 0:39:06] Adam: That’s advanced.
[0:39:07 – 0:39:08] Adam: That’s next level stuff right there.
[0:39:09 – 0:39:09] Adam: Yeah.
[0:39:09 – 0:39:16] Adam: I’m just looking for like somewhere that’s not near a campsite where it looks like it’s pretty easy to park a canoe and get out.
[0:39:17 – 0:39:17] Adam: Yeah.
[0:39:17 – 0:39:23] Adam: And, you know, and then you go from there because you just walk in the woods from there and you’re going to be just –
[0:39:25 – 0:39:27] Adam: tripping over good firewood at that point.
[0:39:27 – 0:39:38] Erik: Yeah, I would say even just if you can find a good place to land, and it’s not a place that people are going to be stopping at very often, 10 yards off into the woods, that’s what the woods do.
[0:39:38 – 0:39:40] Adam: The woods are going to be puking firewood.
[0:39:40 – 0:39:41] Erik: Just dead pine.
[0:39:42 – 0:39:44] Erik: Cedar’s a little bit tougher, but for sure dead pine.
[0:39:44 – 0:39:45] Erik: Dead pine everywhere.
[0:39:45 – 0:39:46] Erik: Oh, my God.
[0:39:46 – 0:39:49] Erik: Yeah, so do we have a…
[0:39:50 – 0:39:51] Erik: Where are we at in the rules?
[0:39:51 – 0:39:52] Erik: Are we at two, three?
[0:39:53 – 0:39:53] Adam: Two.
[0:39:53 – 0:39:57] Adam: I think that was three was don’t cut the stuff hanging over the water.
[0:39:57 – 0:39:58] Adam: That’s a good rule.
[0:39:58 – 0:39:59] Erik: Yeah, firewood rules.
[0:40:00 – 0:40:01] Erik: Don’t cut the stuff hanging out over the water.
[0:40:02 – 0:40:03] Adam: I mean, that’s sacred stuff.
[0:40:03 – 0:40:05] Adam: Yeah, that stuff is, I mean.
[0:40:05 – 0:40:10] Adam: You’re going to get haunted for life by that spirit of that tree if you do that kind of crap.
[0:40:10 – 0:40:11] Adam: Yeah, talk about it.
[0:40:11 – 0:40:13] Adam: Like I said, I’ve done that.
[0:40:13 – 0:40:13] Adam: Yeah.
[0:40:14 – 0:40:18] Adam: I feel like the tree knew I didn’t know what I was doing, so it didn’t haunt me, but.
[0:40:18 – 0:40:22] Adam: If you keep doing it and you know what’s wrong, then you will be haunted.
[0:40:22 – 0:40:27] Erik: Blunt end of a sawn-off cedar just hanging out over the lake.
[0:40:27 – 0:40:33] Adam: Well, it’s one of those days you’re trying to saw him over the… You’re going to end up capsizing yourself, and it’s not going to be fun.
[0:40:33 – 0:40:34] Adam: Yeah.
[0:40:34 – 0:40:35] Adam: So I think that’s three.
[0:40:36 – 0:40:36] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:40:36 – 0:40:37] Adam: I mean…
[0:40:37 – 0:40:39] Erik: I think we’re past the point of rules maybe now.
[0:40:40 – 0:40:44] Erik: It’s more kind of vagaries and what we like to go for.
[0:40:44 – 0:40:46] Adam: I think those are the big three rules.
[0:40:46 – 0:40:49] Erik: Yeah, which is burn no birch.
[0:40:49 – 0:40:49] Erik: No birch.
[0:40:49 – 0:40:50] Adam: No birch.
[0:40:50 – 0:40:51] Adam: No hardwoods in general.
[0:40:51 – 0:40:52] Adam: Or big stuff.
[0:40:52 – 0:40:53] Erik: Or big stuff, yeah.
[0:40:53 – 0:40:55] Adam: Just don’t even go over that.
[0:40:55 – 0:40:58] Erik: If you can’t saw through it in less than a minute.
[0:40:58 – 0:40:59] Erik: With a hand saw.
[0:40:59 – 0:41:01] Erik: With a hand saw, Sven saw, or otherwise.
[0:41:03 – 0:41:06] Erik: And if all you have is a… Oh, I’ve got rule number four.
[0:41:07 – 0:41:07] Erik: Okay.
[0:41:08 – 0:41:28] Erik: no hatchets right just access if you if you’re out there in the time of year where you’re going to need to be worrying about splitting stuff well then you’re going to have to take the step up and actually purchase and haul out a real tool because a hatchet in my opinion is a pointless tool
[0:41:29 – 0:41:30] Adam: Well, it’s also dangerous.
[0:41:30 – 0:41:32] Erik: Yes, it’s dangerous and it’s pointless.
[0:41:32 – 0:41:34] Erik: It’s a murder weapon.
[0:41:35 – 0:41:44] Erik: And the only way that you can use it is in a way that basically brings your legs into the primary point of missing that log.
[0:41:45 – 0:41:46] Adam: It’s an ankle murder weapon.
[0:41:46 – 0:41:48] Adam: It’s not really a splitting tool.
[0:41:48 – 0:41:48] Erik: Yeah.
[0:41:50 – 0:41:52] Adam: And it just leads to people throwing them at trees as a sport.
[0:41:52 – 0:41:53] Adam: Yeah, there’s that.
[0:41:53 – 0:41:56] Adam: So double whammy against the hatchets.
[0:41:56 – 0:41:56] Adam: That’s four.
[0:41:57 – 0:41:57] Erik: Yeah.
[0:41:57 – 0:42:02] Adam: Three was don’t cut over water, and two was get out of camp.
[0:42:02 – 0:42:03] Erik: Yeah, get out of camp.
[0:42:03 – 0:42:06] Adam: Okay, so that’s covering four solid rules.
[0:42:07 – 0:42:07] Erik: No hatchets.
[0:42:07 – 0:42:09] Erik: I don’t even send them out at Clearwater.
[0:42:09 – 0:42:11] Erik: I’m like, no, I don’t send out hatchets.
[0:42:11 – 0:42:16] Erik: Because multiple times a year, people that come in with hatchets, it’s just as dumb as whittling.
[0:42:16 – 0:42:16] Adam: Yeah.
[0:42:17 – 0:42:17] Adam: What are you whittling for?
[0:42:18 – 0:42:22] Erik: That almost inevitably ends in you hacking a chunk of your thumb off.
[0:42:23 – 0:42:24] Adam: Don’t whittle.
[0:42:24 – 0:42:26] Erik: Hatchets are just a, I mean.
[0:42:26 – 0:42:33] Adam: Just sit in your hammock and quietly contemplate how fortunate you are.
[0:42:34 – 0:42:35] Adam: Don’t whittle.
[0:42:35 – 0:42:37] Adam: Don’t play with hatchets.
[0:42:37 – 0:42:38] Adam: Don’t burn birch.
[0:42:39 – 0:42:40] Adam: Quit having fun.
[0:42:40 – 0:42:42] Adam: We’re just the firewood Nazis.
[0:42:42 – 0:42:43] Erik: That’s what this episode’s all about.
[0:42:44 – 0:42:46] Adam: We’re just dousing the fire, I think.
[0:42:46 – 0:42:47] Erik: I don’t know.
[0:42:47 – 0:42:50] Adam: I’m just saying over the course of the- We’re not Nazis.
[0:42:50 – 0:42:51] Adam: We’re just wet blankets.
[0:42:51 – 0:42:51] Erik: Yeah.
[0:42:52 – 0:42:54] Erik: Wood wet blankets.
[0:42:55 – 0:42:56] Erik: Old quilts.
[0:42:57 – 0:43:03] Erik: Over the years, I’ve seen hatchets into shins, whittling knives into thumbs.
[0:43:04 – 0:43:10] Erik: If you want to split wood, which I’m not opposed to, I prefer actually cutting down.
[0:43:10 – 0:43:17] Erik: If you’re going to take the time to cut down a tree, I like to cut down something that’s not much bigger than…
[0:43:20 – 0:43:22] Erik: six inches around diameter.
[0:43:23 – 0:43:28] Erik: But if I’m going to go to the effort of cutting through it, then it is nice to be able to split that.
[0:43:28 – 0:43:29] Adam: That is reasonable.
[0:43:29 – 0:43:36] Erik: And if you’re… See, the reason why hatchets are stupid is because you can hatch it with an axe.
[0:43:37 – 0:43:37] Erik: Right.
[0:43:37 – 0:43:40] Erik: And then if you’ve got something that’s, like, actually needing to be…
[0:43:42 – 0:44:04] Erik: substantially split an axe you can actually do that with whereas with a hatchet you inevitably just end up getting it lodged because it doesn’t have enough weight there’s not enough leverage and then you’re just sitting there with a hatchet stuck in a piece of wood why would you bring an aluminum frying pan when you can bring a cast iron frying pan why would you bring a hatchet when you can bring a splitting mall with a 36 inch handle
[0:44:05 – 0:44:10] Adam: It literally weighs barely more and is a much better tool for the job.
[0:44:11 – 0:44:13] Adam: You can make kindling with a splitting mall.
[0:44:13 – 0:44:14] Erik: Yeah, you just got to hold it up.
[0:44:14 – 0:44:15] Erik: You just got to choke up on the handle.
[0:44:16 – 0:44:17] Adam: Yeah, choke up.
[0:44:17 – 0:44:19] Adam: It’s as simple as that.
[0:44:19 – 0:44:27] Erik: And keep them sharp because the same principles that go along with dull knives, they go along with dull hatchets and axes.
[0:44:27 – 0:44:27] Adam: Absolutely.
[0:44:27 – 0:44:30] Erik: Most people cut themselves on dull knives, not sharp ones.
[0:44:31 – 0:44:31] Erik: So…
[0:44:31 – 0:44:38] Erik: I don’t know if I necessarily have a rule five, but I will say… Rule five is cedar is the best.
[0:44:39 – 0:44:43] Erik: You know, I don’t know if that’s necessarily a rule for me necessarily anymore.
[0:44:43 – 0:44:47] Erik: I prefer its smell.
[0:44:48 – 0:44:48] Erik: Yeah.
[0:44:48 – 0:44:49] Erik: And its…
[0:44:49 – 0:44:50] Erik: It does crackle a lot.
[0:44:50 – 0:44:53] Erik: Its want to burn, like it wants to burn.
[0:44:53 – 0:44:55] Erik: Cedar is just like…
[0:44:55 – 0:44:56] Adam: It’s made to burn.
[0:44:56 – 0:45:00] Erik: It’s packed with the same kinds of oils that makes birch bark burn.
[0:45:01 – 0:45:07] Adam: Plus, that’s why I feel like now when we’re on a trip and we get into a lake and it’s like, oh, there’s cedar everywhere.
[0:45:07 – 0:45:08] Erik: It’s very exciting.
[0:45:08 – 0:45:09] Erik: I love sawing it.
[0:45:09 – 0:45:10] Erik: I love splitting it.
[0:45:11 – 0:45:12] Erik: It smells amazing.
[0:45:12 – 0:45:16] Erik: And when it’s raw or when it’s burning, it smells amazing.
[0:45:17 – 0:45:23] Erik: But I think it does have a downside in the amount of cracking of crazy embers.
[0:45:23 – 0:45:23] Erik: Yeah.
[0:45:23 – 0:45:24] Adam: Yeah, that’s true.
[0:45:24 – 0:45:32] Erik: Those things pop like, you get like a huge, it’s like a piece the size of a chunk of popcorn flying off into your crotch or into your chair or off into some dry grass.
[0:45:32 – 0:45:34] Adam: You got to stand on your toes.
[0:45:34 – 0:45:37] Adam: You can’t just relax around a cedar fire, which is kind of a fun thing.
[0:45:37 – 0:45:38] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:45:38 – 0:45:38] Erik: Yeah.
[0:45:38 – 0:45:39] Adam: But, you know.
[0:45:39 – 0:45:40] Adam: I’ll take it.
[0:45:40 – 0:45:41] Adam: I still prefer that over most.
[0:45:42 – 0:45:48] Adam: I like the, one of my favorite memories is we’re in Quetico and we had this like,
[0:45:50 – 0:45:52] Adam: hollowed-out cedar spiral log.
[0:45:52 – 0:45:53] Erik: Oh, that chimney.
[0:45:53 – 0:45:54] Adam: It was a chimney, yeah.
[0:45:54 – 0:45:57] Adam: We called those chimneys.
[0:45:57 – 0:46:01] Adam: You get the fire going, and then you jam that sucker down in the middle of the fire upright.
[0:46:02 – 0:46:03] Adam: And just…
[0:46:05 – 0:46:06] Adam: Oh, it goes.
[0:46:06 – 0:46:06] Adam: Like a blowtorch.
[0:46:07 – 0:46:09] Adam: Yeah, no, it’s an incredible thing to see.
[0:46:09 – 0:46:09] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[0:46:10 – 0:46:16] Erik: Yeah, those are always fun because that cedar will eventually kind of rot out in the middle.
[0:46:18 – 0:46:19] Adam: Is that on Karen Lake?
[0:46:20 – 0:46:23] Erik: I remember for sure doing that on… Judy Lake?
[0:46:23 – 0:46:24] Erik: On…
[0:46:25 – 0:46:25] Erik: It was on… McCurry.
[0:46:27 – 0:46:27] Erik: McCurry?
[0:46:28 – 0:46:29] Adam: It was on McCurry.
[0:46:29 – 0:46:29] Adam: Yeah.
[0:46:29 – 0:46:30] Adam: McCree.
[0:46:30 – 0:46:31] Adam: McCree.
[0:46:31 – 0:46:31] Adam: McCree.
[0:46:32 – 0:46:33] Adam: Beautiful campsite between the two rivers.
[0:46:33 – 0:46:34] Adam: Yeah.
[0:46:35 – 0:46:36] Adam: Such a beautiful campsite.
[0:46:36 – 0:46:38] Adam: All right.
[0:46:38 – 0:46:42] Adam: Can we take a break on this episode right now?
[0:46:42 – 0:46:44] Adam: Yeah.
[0:46:44 – 0:46:44] Erik: I need a break.
[0:46:44 – 0:46:46] Erik: We’re deep into the rules.
[0:46:46 – 0:46:47] Erik: We’re 45 minutes in.
[0:46:47 – 0:46:48] Erik: We haven’t even gotten to your comments.
[0:46:48 – 0:46:50] Erik: There’s a bit of a sprinkle starting here.
[0:46:50 – 0:46:51] Adam: There is a bit of a sprinkle.
[0:46:51 – 0:46:55] Adam: We have to assess the weather here and see whether or not this campfire is going to continue.
[0:46:55 – 0:46:56] Erik: It’s not so much the campfire.
[0:46:56 – 0:46:59] Erik: It is the fact that my computer is just sitting in the grass.
[0:46:59 – 0:47:00] Adam: The recording equipment.
[0:47:00 – 0:47:01] Erik: All right.
[0:47:01 – 0:47:02] Adam: Pause.
[0:47:02 – 0:47:03] Erik: Pause.
[0:47:04 – 0:47:05] Adam: And we’re back.
[0:47:06 – 0:47:07] Adam: Oh, boy.
[0:47:07 – 0:47:11] Erik: We have deemed that the fire and… No rain delay.
[0:47:11 – 0:47:14] Erik: The computer will not be threatened.
[0:47:14 – 0:47:18] Adam: That was your… Just a gentle mist out here.
[0:47:18 – 0:47:21] Erik: Your run-of-the-mill garden variety.
[0:47:21 – 0:47:27] Erik: Is there another statement like that that can apply to the little tiny speck of rain we just had?
[0:47:28 – 0:47:29] Adam: Just a smattering.
[0:47:29 – 0:47:30] Erik: Just a smattering.
[0:47:30 – 0:47:31] Erik: Just your old…
[0:47:32 – 0:48:02] Erik: boring little no whatever so a couple more things before we get to your thoughts I have not Adam sounds like he may have been teased into some responses from folks but before we get to those I accidentally opened the comments the other day and I looked away I’m going fresh I said no I’m going in fresh I won’t look so just to finish up I think we’ve got four solid rules when it comes to the campfires and firewood gathering bring a saw
[0:48:03 – 0:48:11] Erik: Don’t necessarily have to bring a splitting device, but if it is, make sure, I think, that it is an axe.
[0:48:11 – 0:48:13] Adam: I think that’s a new rule then.
[0:48:14 – 0:48:15] Adam: We didn’t listen to bring a saw.
[0:48:15 – 0:48:16] Erik: Is that a rule?
[0:48:16 – 0:48:18] Adam: That’s five.
[0:48:18 – 0:48:19] Adam: All right.
[0:48:19 – 0:48:19] Adam: Rule five.
[0:48:19 – 0:48:21] Adam: That’s the fifth rule, and that’s actually a better.
[0:48:21 – 0:48:23] Adam: I don’t want to have just four rules.
[0:48:23 – 0:48:24] Adam: Five rules.
[0:48:24 – 0:48:24] Adam: Seems awkward.
[0:48:24 – 0:48:25] Adam: You got to have five.
[0:48:25 – 0:48:26] Erik: All right.
[0:48:26 – 0:48:29] Erik: This sounds like we’re bordering on like a BuzzFeed list here now.
[0:48:29 – 0:48:36] Erik: The five rules that you have to follow if you’re going to be campfiring it in the boundary waters.
[0:48:36 – 0:48:37] Erik: Rule five then is bring a saw.
[0:48:38 – 0:48:40] Adam: Five lit rules for lit fires.
[0:48:40 – 0:48:45] Erik: Five lit rules for fire emojis.
[0:48:46 – 0:48:47] Erik: So what is rule five?
[0:48:47 – 0:48:48] Erik: Bring a saw.
[0:48:48 – 0:48:49] Erik: Bring a saw.
[0:48:50 – 0:48:51] Erik: I don’t know if that’s necessarily a rule.
[0:48:53 – 0:48:53] Erik: All right.
[0:48:53 – 0:48:54] Erik: In the Boundary Waters, I think it is.
[0:48:54 – 0:48:54] Erik: Fine.
[0:48:55 – 0:49:09] Erik: If it’s a Boundary Waters podcast, it should be a rule because in the Quetico, you can get by with just burning stuff that’s a little bit awkwardly sized because you’ve got the freedom of an open fire pit.
[0:49:09 – 0:49:13] Erik: But in the Boundary Waters, you’ve got to get stuff to fit into that fire grate.
[0:49:13 – 0:49:14] Adam: Yeah, you’ve got to break it down.
[0:49:14 – 0:49:16] Erik: Yeah, you’ve got to break it down.
[0:49:16 – 0:49:18] Erik: And yes, rule five, you have to bring a saw.
[0:49:19 – 0:49:21] Adam: How about rule five is bring a saw and break it down.
[0:49:22 – 0:49:22] Adam: Yeah.
[0:49:22 – 0:49:23] Adam: Because you’ve got to break it down.
[0:49:24 – 0:49:25] Erik: Yeah, in more ways than one.
[0:49:26 – 0:49:28] Adam: Break it down.
[0:49:28 – 0:49:29] Erik: PCA party time.
[0:49:30 – 0:49:33] Erik: And, yeah, rule 5B is axe over hatchet.
[0:49:39 – 0:49:46] Erik: And, uh, so although with all those rules in mind, though, in practicality, you know, what are you looking for when you’re out there?
[0:49:46 – 0:49:49] Erik: I’m just going to tell you what I look for when I’m walking around.
[0:49:50 – 0:49:50] Erik: All right.
[0:49:50 – 0:49:51] Erik: So you’ve paddled across the lake.
[0:49:53 – 0:49:55] Erik: You’ve got your Svensa in hand.
[0:49:55 – 0:50:00] Erik: You’ve got an empty canoe ready to fill with wood for the night.
[0:50:02 – 0:50:04] Erik: but you’re just walking around in the woods.
[0:50:04 – 0:50:05] Erik: What am I looking for?
[0:50:06 – 0:50:08] Erik: Well, what does the U.S. Forest Service say?
[0:50:08 – 0:50:10] Erik: Dead and downed wood?
[0:50:11 – 0:50:14] Erik: And in theory, that is what you should be looking for.
[0:50:14 – 0:50:16] Erik: That’s what burns best generally.
[0:50:17 – 0:50:24] Adam: Yeah, like everything else is going up and down, and then you’re looking for a log that’s kind of laying sideways.
[0:50:24 – 0:50:24] Adam: Yes.
[0:50:24 – 0:50:25] Adam: But hopefully off the ground.
[0:50:25 – 0:50:26] Erik: Uh-huh.
[0:50:26 – 0:50:27] Erik: That is the key.
[0:50:28 – 0:50:32] Erik: Dead and downed, to me, implies that it’s like on the ground.
[0:50:32 – 0:50:34] Adam: Yeah, you don’t want to cover it in moss.
[0:50:34 – 0:50:37] Erik: Anything that’s on the ground, I’m just completely disregarding.
[0:50:37 – 0:50:40] Erik: Anything that’s standing straight up and down, unless it’s…
[0:50:41 – 0:50:42] Erik: Unless it’s real tasty.
[0:50:42 – 0:50:44] Erik: Unless it’s real tasty, I’m disregarding.
[0:50:44 – 0:50:46] Erik: I’m looking for that like 45 degree angle.
[0:50:46 – 0:50:48] Adam: 45 degree angles, yeah.
[0:50:48 – 0:50:50] Erik: I’m looking for, and those are easy to spot.
[0:50:50 – 0:50:54] Adam: I remember when I was little, my uncle could like see a deer in the woods.
[0:50:54 – 0:50:57] Adam: Like you’re driving full speed down the highway and he’d be like, deer.
[0:50:58 – 0:50:59] Adam: How do you see it?
[0:50:59 – 0:51:02] Adam: He’s like, I was just looking for the, this shape.
[0:51:03 – 0:51:04] Adam: My hand’s doing this.
[0:51:05 – 0:51:30] Adam: yeah yeah you know the shape of a deer going sideways like all the trees are going up and down you just see this like shape in the woods it’s not the right it’s not a tree yeah so and once you get used to looking you’re looking at that angle now my hand’s doing the 45 45 degree angle with the hand looking a little like a leaner taking it just take a couple of steps into the woods off that shoreline and start looking for angles what comes those leaners
[0:51:31 – 0:51:33] Erik: And you can get leaners that are birch.
[0:51:34 – 0:51:35] Erik: Scratch that.
[0:51:35 – 0:51:36] Erik: No.
[0:51:36 – 0:51:37] Erik: You can get leaners that are aspens.
[0:51:38 – 0:51:40] Erik: Scratch that.
[0:51:40 – 0:51:42] Erik: Rule one should just be no hardwoods.
[0:51:43 – 0:51:44] Erik: You’re looking to burn pine.
[0:51:44 – 0:51:45] Adam: Or burn red pine if you run into one.
[0:51:46 – 0:51:46] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:51:46 – 0:51:47] Adam: Red pine is technically a hardwood.
[0:51:48 – 0:51:48] Adam: Technically.
[0:51:49 – 0:51:50] Adam: But you don’t see a lot of red pine out there.
[0:51:50 – 0:51:51] Adam: That’s the thing.
[0:51:51 – 0:51:51] Erik: Yeah.
[0:51:52 – 0:51:57] Erik: And I still wouldn’t… Red pine, that’s really… What about jack pine?
[0:51:57 – 0:51:58] Erik: Is jack pine a hardwood?
[0:51:59 – 0:52:00] Erik: It’s really hard.
[0:52:00 – 0:52:01] Erik: I like jack pine.
[0:52:01 – 0:52:02] Erik: Jack pine’s good.
[0:52:02 – 0:52:07] Erik: You’re definitely not splitting any jack pine, so you’re going to want to look for like branches.
[0:52:07 – 0:52:08] Erik: Right.
[0:52:08 – 0:52:13] Erik: And then just burn like little, you know, chunks of it because jack pine is about the gnarliest wood out there.
[0:52:14 – 0:52:14] Erik: Truth.
[0:52:14 – 0:52:17] Erik: But it is the hottest burning firewood.
[0:52:17 – 0:52:18] Erik: Yeah.
[0:52:18 – 0:52:19] Erik: In the boreal forest.
[0:52:19 – 0:52:20] Erik: Yeah.
[0:52:20 – 0:52:21] Erik: So know that.
[0:52:21 – 0:52:22] Erik: So yeah, jack pine’s fine.
[0:52:22 – 0:52:23] Erik: Jack pine’s okay.
[0:52:23 – 0:52:27] Erik: But you’re not going to be like splitting it and having very much fun doing it.
[0:52:28 – 0:52:39] Erik: So yeah, I’m looking, I’m looking for like your, like that’s those like five to 10 year old spruce trees that are angled and the bark has like.
[0:52:40 – 0:52:43] Erik: Do you like a white spruce or a black spruce more?
[0:52:43 – 0:52:44] Erik: White for sure.
[0:52:44 – 0:52:48] Erik: Balsams are okay if they’re, if the branches are sporadic enough.
[0:52:48 – 0:52:50] Adam: Yeah, they can have a lot of branches though.
[0:52:50 – 0:52:53] Erik: Sometimes those black spruce, they get pretty gnarly too.
[0:52:53 – 0:52:55] Erik: And they’re like almost impossible to split if you cut a big one.
[0:52:55 – 0:52:56] Erik: Yeah.
[0:52:58 – 0:53:04] Erik: But, you know, anything that’s down off to the angle off the side that doesn’t have it’s like full bark on it.
[0:53:04 – 0:53:08] Erik: Those those pines that were you basically the bark is gone and it’s just that bare wood.
[0:53:09 – 0:53:09] Erik: Yeah.
[0:53:09 – 0:53:09] Erik: Yeah.
[0:53:09 – 0:53:12] Adam: It’s like the pre been there a while waiting for you.
[0:53:12 – 0:53:23] Adam: You ever think about that sometimes when you walk up to an old piece of pine, just kind of tilted up against another pine and the bark’s all gone and most of the most of the limbs are gone and.
[0:53:24 – 0:53:28] Adam: It’s like, how long has this piece of wood been waiting here for me?
[0:53:29 – 0:53:39] Erik: Yeah, and I sometimes feel like I am liberating or at least elevating that wood to a higher place.
[0:53:40 – 0:53:41] Adam: Right, like it could sit there.
[0:53:41 – 0:53:48] Adam: I feel like I’m relieving it from its… You could leave that piece of wood there to sit and rot eventually for maybe two more decades.
[0:53:48 – 0:53:52] Adam: It would be down to nothing but just turn to dirt again.
[0:53:53 – 0:54:04] Erik: Yeah, I feel like sometimes the act of taking those trees and burning it, there’s almost like a sigh of like, you know, it’s like, do you want to live forever?
[0:54:07 – 0:54:07] Erik: Probably not.
[0:54:08 – 0:54:11] Adam: Infinity scares me quite a bit, actually.
[0:54:11 – 0:54:25] Erik: Yeah, and I feel like sometimes those trees hanging in the branches in places that maybe one person goes every couple decades, those trees, they’re just trapped in a slow, painful decay.
[0:54:26 – 0:54:29] Adam: Really anthropomorphizing trees right now.
[0:54:29 – 0:54:37] Adam: It’s mutually beneficial because we get to free them from hanging in another tree for another decade and we also get some nice warmth out of it.
[0:54:37 – 0:54:38] Adam: Yeah.
[0:54:38 – 0:54:42] Adam: And a mesmerizing fire to entrance ourselves with.
[0:54:43 – 0:54:48] Erik: Yes, I feel like I become more at peace, and so does the tree.
[0:54:50 – 0:54:54] Adam: I believe it, and that isn’t a rule, but I firmly believe that.
[0:54:55 – 0:54:58] Erik: Yeah, and there is an argument out there.
[0:55:01 – 0:55:14] Erik: that taking those dead and downed trees like that is taking away from habitat and potential for birds and bugs and stuff.
[0:55:15 – 0:55:17] Erik: And I get that to a certain point.
[0:55:18 – 0:55:20] Erik: but I think there’s enough trees in the woods.
[0:55:20 – 0:55:35] Erik: And I think most of the trees that those woodpeckers and bugs and other animals that they use for their habitat, they’re going to be like fully matured pines that have like cavities and huge branches.
[0:55:35 – 0:55:41] Erik: And, um, I mean, I’m taking like wrist sized dead pines.
[0:55:41 – 0:55:43] Erik: Like there’s no woodpeckers hacking into that.
[0:55:43 – 0:55:44] Erik: There’s no bugs living in that.
[0:55:44 – 0:55:45] Adam: That’s fine.
[0:55:45 – 0:55:45] Adam: Yeah.
[0:55:46 – 0:55:47] Adam: So, um,
[0:55:47 – 0:55:53] Erik: Yeah, looking for 45-degree angled barkless pine ore.
[0:55:54 – 0:56:02] Erik: This is the holy grail, I think, is 45-degree angle, just in general, dead cedar.
[0:56:02 – 0:56:02] Erik: Yeah, yeah.
[0:56:03 – 0:56:05] Erik: Because that stuff never really loses its bark.
[0:56:06 – 0:56:16] Erik: But that oil that’s in it causes it to have an extremely long shelf life after it dies.
[0:56:16 – 0:56:17] Erik: It’s crazy how old.
[0:56:17 – 0:56:19] Adam: Stuff only gets better with age.
[0:56:19 – 0:56:19] Erik: Only gets better.
[0:56:19 – 0:56:22] Erik: You can saw into some, sometimes there’s moss on it.
[0:56:22 – 0:56:27] Erik: Like that’s one time where you would look at a tree that might be on the ground and be like, well, it’s cedar.
[0:56:27 – 0:56:28] Erik: I should probably have a look.
[0:56:29 – 0:56:31] Erik: And a lot of times you’ll find that it’s just fine.
[0:56:31 – 0:56:40] Adam: I find that you have some sort of unnatural radar when it comes to finding good firewood on trips.
[0:56:40 – 0:56:41] Adam: Like, do you hear it?
[0:56:41 – 0:56:42] Adam: No.
[0:56:42 – 0:56:46] Adam: Like, is there a schism that you’re, like, following through the woods?
[0:56:48 – 0:56:48] Erik: No.
[0:56:48 – 0:56:52] Adam: Like, one of those, like, you got the little sticks, and they, oh, they crossed.
[0:56:52 – 0:56:53] Adam: They got to go this way.
[0:56:53 – 0:56:55] Adam: Oh, those little water sticks?
[0:56:55 – 0:56:55] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:56:55 – 0:56:57] Adam: We can both be out in the same woods.
[0:56:57 – 0:57:02] Adam: And I’ll come back with like one sad piece of wood and a couple of nice twigs.
[0:57:02 – 0:57:06] Adam: And you’ll come back with like three full dead pine trees.
[0:57:07 – 0:57:08] Adam: Every time.
[0:57:08 – 0:57:11] Adam: It’s not even close.
[0:57:11 – 0:57:12] Adam: You just find the wood.
[0:57:12 – 0:57:12] Adam: I don’t know.
[0:57:13 – 0:57:18] Adam: I mean, I know this is a, we’re not like, there’s not a secret or anything to it.
[0:57:19 – 0:57:19] Adam: No, there’s not.
[0:57:19 – 0:57:21] Adam: You just told everybody your secret.
[0:57:21 – 0:57:23] Erik: Those are all the secrets.
[0:57:23 – 0:57:28] Erik: I think it’s just a matter of being willing to work for it and not settling.
[0:57:29 – 0:57:37] Adam: You do seem to have an unnatural and uncanny ability to locate beautiful pieces of firewood.
[0:57:37 – 0:57:53] Erik: yeah but no and so that’s just a talent maybe i mean the practice makes perfect you know how you get to you know uh carnegie hall yeah practice um but yeah it’s also not like i don’t want to settle like carnegie hall of firewood
[0:57:53 – 0:57:55] Erik: The Carnegie Hall of Firewood.
[0:57:55 – 0:57:57] Adam: Is it Agnes Lake?
[0:57:57 – 0:58:03] Erik: No, the Carnegie Hall of Firewood is Coma Lake because there’s literally no firewood on that lake.
[0:58:03 – 0:58:05] Erik: That’s the most frustrating to me.
[0:58:06 – 0:58:08] Erik: Remember that point on Coma?
[0:58:09 – 0:58:10] Erik: We had to paddle.
[0:58:10 – 0:58:12] Erik: We paddled like four times.
[0:58:12 – 0:58:15] Erik: We went into different places and there was just no firewood.
[0:58:15 – 0:58:16] Erik: I couldn’t believe it.
[0:58:17 – 0:58:17] Erik: Mind-boggling.
[0:58:18 – 0:58:19] Adam: A lot of bream in there, though.
[0:58:19 – 0:58:20] Erik: Lots of bream.
[0:58:20 – 0:58:23] Erik: Yeah, we couldn’t, we can’t, you can’t burn the bream.
[0:58:23 – 0:58:26] Erik: Yeah, so.
[0:58:26 – 0:58:33] Adam: All right, well, I think we’ve, I think we’ve laid our thesis out there pretty nicely.
[0:58:34 – 0:58:40] Adam: Do we want to add a log to the fire and get into the digital Facebook?
[0:58:40 – 0:58:41] Adam: Are we going Facebook first?
[0:58:41 – 0:58:54] Erik: Well, I think we should definitely go Facebook first, but we also should add a log to this very quiet fire, this perfectly seasoned birch, which I love.
[0:58:55 – 0:59:00] Erik: It just so happens that it doesn’t season itself in the wild.
[0:59:00 – 0:59:01] Erik: It takes some work.
[0:59:01 – 0:59:02] UNKNOWN: We’ll catch you on the flip side.
[0:59:04 – 0:59:07] Adam: Okay, so we’ve got this big old plank of wood here.
[0:59:07 – 0:59:10] Adam: We’re going to whip it on here and see how it does.
[0:59:14 – 0:59:15] Adam: Boy, that was a pretty good throw.
[0:59:17 – 0:59:17] Erik: Eh, not bad.
[0:59:18 – 0:59:19] Adam: It’ll work.
[0:59:19 – 0:59:22] Erik: Maybe some readjustment later, but I think we’re good for now.
[0:59:22 – 0:59:24] Erik: Okay.
[0:59:24 – 0:59:25] Erik: Let’s take a look.
[0:59:25 – 0:59:26] Erik: What do we got?
[0:59:26 – 0:59:27] Erik: Hold on.
[0:59:27 – 0:59:28] Adam: Do I need to readjust my chair?
[0:59:33 – 0:59:34] Erik: So we’re on two.
[0:59:36 – 0:59:36] Erik: Digital.
[0:59:37 – 0:59:38] Erik: Facebook.
[0:59:39 – 0:59:45] Erik: Yeah, we’re in a position now where we’re going to have to be getting a little bit closer for reading.
[0:59:45 – 0:59:46] Adam: I am.
[0:59:47 – 0:59:49] Erik: Cleaning, that looks very comfortable.
[0:59:49 – 0:59:50] Adam: Yeah, super comfy.
[0:59:52 – 0:59:53] Erik: All right, we’re an hour in.
[0:59:54 – 0:59:56] Erik: Let’s hear what you guys have to say.
[0:59:57 – 1:00:01] Erik: So we were wondering on Facebook, we’re talking campfire and firewood philosophy.
[1:00:01 – 1:00:04] Erik: Do you have a favorite wood to burn and way of gathering it?
[1:00:04 – 1:00:07] Adam: I think that’s the first time we’ve used the word philosophy.
[1:00:07 – 1:00:10] Adam: I think you used the word firewood strategy a few times.
[1:00:10 – 1:00:11] Erik: Strategies, techniques.
[1:00:11 – 1:00:12] Erik: Techniques.
[1:00:12 – 1:00:13] Erik: It is a philosophy.
[1:00:14 – 1:00:15] Adam: Firewood strategies.
[1:00:16 – 1:00:17] Erik: Five rules.
[1:00:18 – 1:00:19] Erik: Follow them, people.
[1:00:21 – 1:00:22] Adam: You’re going to have fun.
[1:00:23 – 1:00:25] Erik: And have fun while you’re doing it.
[1:00:25 – 1:00:28] Erik: You’re going to have fun if you follow these rules.
[1:00:29 – 1:00:30] Erik: Here we go.
[1:00:30 – 1:00:30] Erik: Starting with Nathan.
[1:00:32 – 1:00:34] Erik: Cedar for sure.
[1:00:35 – 1:00:41] Erik: I collect it by picking up wrist-sized or smaller sticks off the ground per the video.
[1:00:42 – 1:00:43] Erik: And then there’s a winky emoji.
[1:00:45 – 1:00:46] Adam: What’s that mean?
[1:00:46 – 1:00:47] Adam: Is he being sarcastic?
[1:00:47 – 1:00:51] Erik: He said, surely you jest, Nathan.
[1:00:51 – 1:00:52] Erik: I don’t know what that means.
[1:00:53 – 1:00:54] Erik: I’m assuming you mean that you’re…
[1:00:55 – 1:00:56] Erik: He is following the rules.
[1:00:56 – 1:00:57] Erik: Yeah, you’re following the rules.
[1:00:58 – 1:00:58] Erik: Wink, I’m not?
[1:00:58 – 1:00:59] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:00:59 – 1:01:00] Erik: But cedar for sure.
[1:01:00 – 1:01:00] Erik: Yeah.
[1:01:01 – 1:01:01] Erik: Love cedar.
[1:01:02 – 1:01:06] Erik: And it’s want to burn.
[1:01:07 – 1:01:11] Erik: And yeah, wrist size, I mean, really makes the most sense.
[1:01:11 – 1:01:15] Erik: It’s hard to find anything smaller, like really smaller than wrist size in terms of cedar.
[1:01:15 – 1:01:19] Adam: But yeah, just the tips of the branches.
[1:01:19 – 1:01:19] Erik: Yeah.
[1:01:22 – 1:01:22] Adam: Jason.
[1:01:24 – 1:01:27] Adam: I have never stayed in a site for more than two nights.
[1:01:27 – 1:01:30] Adam: I used to bring a hatchet to Splitwood, and I rarely used it.
[1:01:31 – 1:01:35] Adam: Now I just use my trusty Sven saw and gather what I can find.
[1:01:36 – 1:01:44] Adam: I’ll admit, a fire made with beautiful split logs is nice, but not worth the, uh, hold on.
[1:01:46 – 1:01:49] Adam: Not worth the extra weight and risk for me.
[1:01:49 – 1:01:49] Erik: Risk, for sure.
[1:01:50 – 1:01:55] Adam: I love to cook on the fire, and we keep it going for heat and entertainment throughout the evening.
[1:01:56 – 1:01:59] Adam: We always seem to find enough without the need to split.
[1:01:59 – 1:02:00] Erik: Yeah.
[1:02:00 – 1:02:01] Adam: Yeah, I mean… Definitely could.
[1:02:02 – 1:02:03] Erik: I mean, for the most part, I think you could.
[1:02:03 – 1:02:06] Erik: You just have to target a little bit of a smaller tree.
[1:02:06 – 1:02:09] Erik: The one thing about targeting something…
[1:02:10 – 1:02:12] Erik: I thought we talked about targeting like it’s something like…
[1:02:14 – 1:02:17] Erik: Like Al Lindner-like fishing special that we’re on.
[1:02:17 – 1:02:23] Adam: The thing about targeting firewood is… You want to be in 20 to 40 feet of woods with a twisty tail, right?
[1:02:23 – 1:02:24] Adam: Mobility.
[1:02:24 – 1:02:26] Adam: Mobility is key.
[1:02:27 – 1:02:28] Erik: I mean, anything that’s like…
[1:02:28 – 1:02:33] Erik: There’s very few options out there where… Fry that wood in a stick of butter.
[1:02:33 – 1:02:36] Erik: Let’s flip it over to Babe’s wife here.
[1:02:36 – 1:02:37] Adam: She’s going to tell you how… Babe’s kitchen.
[1:02:37 – 1:02:41] Erik: To start this fish fry with a pound of cream cheese.
[1:02:43 – 1:02:46] Adam: Well, I’m so glad this went this direction.
[1:02:46 – 1:02:51] Adam: I hope somebody else out there has seen the Babe Linder’s cooking segments.
[1:02:52 – 1:02:54] Erik: Well, it’s Al Linder and Babe Winkleman.
[1:02:54 – 1:02:58] Erik: And Babe’s wife is the one that would always end the show with like… Well, her name was Al.
[1:02:58 – 1:02:59] Adam: What?
[1:02:59 – 1:03:00] Adam: It all comes full circle.
[1:03:00 – 1:03:00] Erik: Oh, my God.
[1:03:01 – 1:03:02] Erik: I don’t remember that.
[1:03:02 – 1:03:03] Erik: Her name was Al?
[1:03:06 – 1:03:07] Adam: All the butter.
[1:03:07 – 1:03:08] Adam: That’s her name.
[1:03:08 – 1:03:08] Adam: Yes.
[1:03:09 – 1:03:10] Erik: Al the butter.
[1:03:10 – 1:03:12] Erik: First, start with a stick of butter.
[1:03:12 – 1:03:14] Adam: Nothing against butter.
[1:03:14 – 1:03:14] Adam: We’re pro-butter.
[1:03:15 – 1:03:18] Adam: Don’t ever even think about accusing us of being anti-butter.
[1:03:18 – 1:03:19] Adam: Don’t accuse us of being anti-butter.
[1:03:19 – 1:03:20] Adam: I love butter.
[1:03:20 – 1:03:27] Erik: But yeah, in terms of Jason’s comment about the not splitting, yeah, if you can get by without splitting, you definitely don’t have to.
[1:03:27 – 1:03:35] Erik: But the kind of trees that I typically harvest, if I didn’t split, I would only end up taking half of it.
[1:03:35 – 1:03:38] Erik: Where it’s like, well, I’m going to take it from the bottom and then split half of it.
[1:03:40 – 1:03:50] Adam: You’ll find that sometimes where people have wood gnomed a log that they couldn’t process, but it’s a good log if you have a splitting axe or a mall.
[1:03:50 – 1:03:52] Erik: That’s another good reason to bring the splitting axe.
[1:03:52 – 1:03:54] Adam: Sometimes you get the stuff that people couldn’t handle.
[1:03:55 – 1:03:57] Adam: Ooh, this is a deep cut rule.
[1:03:58 – 1:03:59] Adam: Yes, deep cut.
[1:03:59 – 1:04:02] Adam: Bring the mall because you get some good leavings.
[1:04:04 – 1:04:08] Erik: Alan, I typically try to go along the shore and up a bit to find wood.
[1:04:09 – 1:04:12] Erik: Never had an issue finding plenty of nice dry stuff.
[1:04:13 – 1:04:16] Adam: Sounds like we’re not really… Yeah, no, we’re in the middle of the woods.
[1:04:16 – 1:04:17] Adam: We’re preaching to the choir here.
[1:04:17 – 1:04:19] Adam: I’m not sure we needed an hour.
[1:04:19 – 1:04:21] Adam: Josh, tools.
[1:04:22 – 1:04:27] Adam: The silky gomboy saw and a decent fixed blade knife for battening.
[1:04:28 – 1:04:31] Adam: Hatches and axes are unnecessary unless it’s winter…
[1:04:32 – 1:04:40] Adam: Method, paddle along the shore, away from any sights, find a place to beach the canoe, walk in a ways, and load up.
[1:04:41 – 1:04:41] Adam: Never a problem.
[1:04:42 – 1:04:50] Adam: Well, we should have read that comment, and then we could have saved ourselves the whole episode because you just summed up our entire episode under a paragraph there.
[1:04:50 – 1:04:51] Adam: Nicely done, Josh.
[1:04:51 – 1:04:52] Erik: Thumbs up.
[1:04:52 – 1:04:53] Erik: Thank you, Josh.
[1:04:53 – 1:04:55] Erik: Next week will be five rules of podcasting.
[1:04:55 – 1:04:57] Erik: Rule number one, be concise.
[1:04:59 – 1:05:00] Adam: What’s the fun in that?
[1:05:00 – 1:05:01] Adam: We have a fire here.
[1:05:01 – 1:05:02] Adam: Right.
[1:05:02 – 1:05:03] Erik: We’re outside sitting next to a fire.
[1:05:03 – 1:05:04] Erik: We’re going to ramble.
[1:05:06 – 1:05:30] Erik: mark we always use a svensa and hatchet to process our wood we typically will head out in the canoe to a random shoreline nearby there’s always plenty of dry wood around cedar is preferred but dead and dry is the most important we use the hatchet to remove the branches and then the saw to cut logs so they fit in the canoe we will then bring the logs back to camp cut and split into wrist-sized pieces
[1:05:31 – 1:05:34] Erik: We then put the logs into a big blue bag from Ikea.
[1:05:34 – 1:05:36] Erik: Yeah, you know the one made from tarp material.
[1:05:37 – 1:05:39] Erik: And cover with another.
[1:05:40 – 1:05:43] Erik: This will keep the wood dry and ready to burn even in heavy rain.
[1:05:44 – 1:05:48] Adam: I never considered that like a mobile woodshed.
[1:05:48 – 1:05:49] Adam: I like it.
[1:05:50 – 1:05:50] Erik: Yeah.
[1:05:51 – 1:05:53] Adam: I don’t know if anybody can hear that back there.
[1:05:54 – 1:06:12] Adam: yeah what is the uh what do you got arrow doing back there arrow is processing that two by eight she’s got it down to all kindling at this point good girl yeah firewood philosophy get a husky and have them mulch wood for you for you all right where are we at paul paul paul
[1:06:13 – 1:06:18] Adam: Best way to gather it, paddle around to unoccupied sites, and take what was left there.
[1:06:19 – 1:06:23] Adam: They also called it the anti-wood gnome.
[1:06:24 – 1:06:25] Adam: What’s anti-gnoming?
[1:06:26 – 1:06:26] Adam: I don’t know.
[1:06:27 – 1:06:28] Erik: Goblin-ing?
[1:06:29 – 1:06:29] UNKNOWN: Yes.
[1:06:29 – 1:06:31] Adam: Wood goblining?
[1:06:31 – 1:06:31] Erik: Wood hogging?
[1:06:31 – 1:06:32] Erik: Yeah, that’s wood.
[1:06:32 – 1:06:34] Erik: But we call it wood hogging when we, like, cop a bunch of it.
[1:06:34 – 1:06:36] Erik: No, wood hogging’s a good thing.
[1:06:36 – 1:06:38] Erik: You’re wood hogging, and you eventually would know.
[1:06:38 – 1:06:39] Adam: That’s you being the hog.
[1:06:40 – 1:06:44] Adam: Yeah, taking wood from another campsite, I believe, is called wood gobliner.
[1:06:44 – 1:06:45] Adam: Goblinry?
[1:06:46 – 1:06:47] Adam: Wood goblinry?
[1:06:47 – 1:06:47] Erik: Goblinning?
[1:06:48 – 1:06:49] Adam: Goblin-ing.
[1:06:49 – 1:06:51] Adam: It’s kind of tricky to say.
[1:06:51 – 1:06:52] Adam: We’ll have to come up with a better phrase.
[1:06:53 – 1:06:54] Erik: What are those…
[1:06:54 – 1:07:00] Adam: I will also admit I cannot make fun of Paul too much.
[1:07:00 – 1:07:02] Adam: I have done this as well.
[1:07:03 – 1:07:03] Adam: I’m not above it.
[1:07:04 – 1:07:05] Adam: I’m not proud of it.
[1:07:06 – 1:07:06] Adam: There was a recent…
[1:07:06 – 1:07:08] Adam: I have been a goblin myself.
[1:07:08 – 1:07:09] Adam: A wood eater?
[1:07:09 – 1:07:10] Adam: Sometimes you’re a gnome.
[1:07:10 – 1:07:11] Adam: I like wood eater.
[1:07:11 – 1:07:12] Adam: And sometimes you’re a goblin.
[1:07:12 – 1:07:18] Erik: All right, if we’re going to keep it in the realm of mythical creatures, yeah, then probably goblin.
[1:07:19 – 1:07:19] Erik: Wood goblin?
[1:07:20 – 1:07:21] Erik: Because you’re gobbling it.
[1:07:26 – 1:07:32] Erik: Yeah, I mean, there was a recent question going around asking that specific question.
[1:07:32 – 1:07:39] Erik: Where do you fall in the ethics of stopping at camps that you know you’re not going to actually be staying at and gathering wood?
[1:07:40 – 1:07:46] Adam: Well, it depends if you’ve wood-numbed it so good that you can see it from shore.
[1:07:46 – 1:07:46] Adam: Yeah.
[1:07:47 – 1:07:56] Adam: Then, you know, you’re going to really blame somebody for like paddling by a site and be like, Oh, we were always set up over there and we’re out fishing.
[1:07:56 – 1:07:58] Adam: And then I just seen a bunch of firewood over here.
[1:07:58 – 1:08:00] Adam: Like you’re not going to stop and grab it.
[1:08:00 – 1:08:00] Adam: Come on.
[1:08:01 – 1:08:02] Erik: What about just the way of the world, man?
[1:08:05 – 1:08:07] Adam: I’m not even against it, honestly.
[1:08:07 – 1:08:10] Adam: A wood gnome is for somebody who’s staying in that site.
[1:08:11 – 1:08:17] Adam: When I am wood gnoming, I’m always picturing somebody pulling into port at the end of the day.
[1:08:17 – 1:08:19] Erik: Right, so picture this, though.
[1:08:20 – 1:08:31] Erik: If you’re picturing yourself wood gnoming, how does it make you feel to picture somebody paddling in at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, jumping out, and then just paddling to the next site and doing the same thing?
[1:08:31 – 1:08:32] Erik: Who’s this?
[1:08:32 – 1:08:34] Erik: Oh, man.
[1:08:35 – 1:08:37] Erik: There’s some crazy dog action happening right now.
[1:08:40 – 1:08:42] Erik: The trials and tribulations of recording in the field.
[1:08:44 – 1:08:47] Adam: So we’ve- Yeah, we’re going with goblining, I think.
[1:08:47 – 1:08:48] Erik: We’re going with goblining.
[1:08:48 – 1:08:50] Erik: We’ve chased away the wolves.
[1:08:50 – 1:08:53] Adam: The wolf came right into our camp here.
[1:08:53 – 1:08:53] Erik: Brazen.
[1:08:54 – 1:08:55] Adam: Brazen.
[1:08:56 – 1:08:56] Adam: So, all right.
[1:08:56 – 1:08:57] Adam: She’s pretty friendly, though.
[1:08:58 – 1:09:01] Erik: She did- I think I was getting- She brought us a log of cedars, so I think we’re good.
[1:09:01 – 1:09:11] Erik: We’re asking how you feel about going to the trouble of splitting and cutting wood and then just having a wood goblin appear the next day and making off with it to go to another campsite.
[1:09:11 – 1:09:11] Erik: You’re fine with that?
[1:09:12 – 1:09:12] Adam: It’s none of my business.
[1:09:13 – 1:09:13] Erik: Okay.
[1:09:13 – 1:09:14] Erik: That’s fair enough.
[1:09:14 – 1:09:19] Adam: How do you feel… As a wood gnome, it doesn’t matter who receives the wood gnoming.
[1:09:20 – 1:09:22] Adam: It’s the act of…
[1:09:23 – 1:09:24] Adam: It’s the act of wood gnoming.
[1:09:24 – 1:09:26] Adam: It’s not who’s the recipient.
[1:09:26 – 1:09:27] Erik: That’s important.
[1:09:27 – 1:09:27] Erik: You’re just…
[1:09:29 – 1:09:31] Erik: Magnanimous, no matter what.
[1:09:31 – 1:09:36] Adam: I assume if somebody pulls into a campsite to grab the wood that they are going to burn it.
[1:09:36 – 1:09:44] Adam: That would be really the only burn would be like if you came into a campsite and grabbed some firewood and then just threw it in the lake or something.
[1:09:44 – 1:09:46] Adam: Well, yeah, that’s not going to happen.
[1:09:46 – 1:09:47] Adam: That would be a real goblin move.
[1:09:48 – 1:09:48] Adam: I think so.
[1:09:49 – 1:09:52] Adam: You’re being super goblin-y right now.
[1:09:52 – 1:09:54] Erik: So you’re pro-goblin as long as it gets burned.
[1:09:55 – 1:09:56] Erik: Yeah.
[1:09:56 – 1:09:58] Erik: I think I’ll throw another opinion.
[1:09:58 – 1:10:09] Adam: I don’t know about the act of like, all right, I got my campsite, and I’m out on Cherokee, and now I’m going to paddle around all day looking at all the other campsites and trying to goblin as much wood as I can.
[1:10:09 – 1:10:11] Adam: If that happened anywhere, it would be on Cherokee.
[1:10:11 – 1:10:11] Adam: It would be, yeah.
[1:10:11 – 1:10:13] Adam: Obviously, we all know this to be true.
[1:10:13 – 1:10:14] Adam: It is known.
[1:10:14 – 1:10:15] Adam: Yeah.
[1:10:16 – 1:10:22] Adam: Now that I’m not sure I can get behind, like the deliberate like act of like, okay, we’re all set up now.
[1:10:22 – 1:10:23] Adam: What do you want to do next?
[1:10:24 – 1:10:25] Adam: You want to, you know, go look for wood?
[1:10:25 – 1:10:25] Adam: No.
[1:10:25 – 1:10:29] Adam: How about we just paddle around and look at all the other campsites and try and pillage?
[1:10:30 – 1:10:31] Adam: That’s pillaging.
[1:10:31 – 1:10:33] Adam: That’s real dirty gobbling.
[1:10:33 – 1:10:34] Erik: Well, I feel like that’s when it happens.
[1:10:34 – 1:10:36] Adam: But if you’re all like, yeah, but if you’re just…
[1:10:37 – 1:10:40] Adam: I’m not stopping at a campsite if I have gear fully loaded.
[1:10:40 – 1:10:42] Adam: No, but if you’re out just, I don’t know.
[1:10:42 – 1:10:46] Adam: It’s happened where you’re like, oh, we’re out fishing and there’s like two campsites in this bay.
[1:10:47 – 1:10:50] Adam: And so we’re out fishing and like, well, we might as well stop here for a pee break.
[1:10:50 – 1:10:52] Adam: And then, oh yeah, there’s a couple logs.
[1:10:52 – 1:10:53] Adam: We’re going to grab them.
[1:10:53 – 1:10:54] Adam: We’re not going to leave them here.
[1:10:54 – 1:10:55] Adam: Sure.
[1:10:55 – 1:10:57] Adam: Okay, so that’s not total goblinery, but…
[1:10:58 – 1:11:01] Erik: We do the campsite reviews that we do.
[1:11:01 – 1:11:06] Erik: I never make off with wood from campsites when I’m paddling around and stopping.
[1:11:06 – 1:11:07] Erik: And I’ll stop at every campsite.
[1:11:07 – 1:11:07] Erik: That’s true.
[1:11:08 – 1:11:13] Erik: And I don’t think it’s necessarily an ethical thing for me.
[1:11:13 – 1:11:16] Erik: It’s just I don’t want to haul firewood.
[1:11:16 – 1:11:17] Erik: I know I can go back out and get more.
[1:11:17 – 1:11:18] Erik: Right.
[1:11:18 – 1:11:23] Erik: But in terms of somebody setting up camp and going back out and just pillaging from other sites…
[1:11:23 – 1:11:29] Erik: Like, I think I tend to lean more towards feeling like that’s kind of a shady maneuver.
[1:11:29 – 1:11:30] Adam: Well, yeah, it is.
[1:11:30 – 1:11:33] Adam: I think it’s totally shady, but I don’t know.
[1:11:33 – 1:11:34] Adam: It depends maybe on how much…
[1:11:43 – 1:11:44] Adam: You need help.
[1:11:44 – 1:11:48] Adam: Well, I don’t think it’s like you need help if you’re goblining campsites.
[1:11:48 – 1:11:49] Erik: I don’t think so.
[1:11:49 – 1:11:49] Erik: It’s not that big of a deal.
[1:11:49 – 1:11:51] Adam: It’s not that bad of a thing, but it’s not the end of the world.
[1:11:52 – 1:11:55] Erik: As long as you balance it out, if you’re balancing it out with enough gnoming.
[1:11:55 – 1:11:58] Adam: Yeah, you get that for that night, but then the next morning.
[1:11:59 – 1:11:59] Erik: You have to pay it forward.
[1:12:00 – 1:12:01] Adam: Pay it forward.
[1:12:01 – 1:12:01] Adam: Exactly.
[1:12:01 – 1:12:02] Adam: Now we’re getting somewhere, I think.
[1:12:03 – 1:12:03] Adam: Yeah.
[1:12:03 – 1:12:11] Adam: Like you leave a little wood and then the next day for the next guy that comes around who’s, you know, wood starved.
[1:12:13 – 1:12:13] Erik: Oh, man.
[1:12:13 – 1:12:15] Erik: We have so many fun terms this week.
[1:12:15 – 1:12:17] Erik: This is going to be tough to choose.
[1:12:17 – 1:12:19] Adam: Firewood brings it forward, you know.
[1:12:19 – 1:12:19] Adam: Yeah.
[1:12:20 – 1:12:26] Adam: The fire burns the bark away and gets to the real, you know, core of the thing.
[1:12:27 – 1:12:28] Erik: The core of the thing.
[1:12:28 – 1:12:28] Erik: Yes.
[1:12:29 – 1:12:30] Erik: That’s the name of this week’s episode.
[1:12:30 – 1:12:32] Adam: What do we got next?
[1:12:32 – 1:12:32] Erik: Jeff.
[1:12:32 – 1:12:33] Adam: Jeff.
[1:12:33 – 1:12:38] Erik: I take along an axe and a silky katana boy.
[1:12:38 – 1:12:38] Erik: Wow.
[1:12:39 – 1:12:41] Erik: That sounds like an amazing saw, I’m assuming.
[1:12:42 – 1:12:44] Erik: 500 millimeter with a good pair of leather gloves.
[1:12:44 – 1:12:45] Erik: What?
[1:12:45 – 1:12:46] Erik: A 500 millimeter?
[1:12:46 – 1:12:47] Erik: What?
[1:12:47 – 1:12:48] Erik: Silky katana boy.
[1:12:49 – 1:12:50] Erik: Silky katana boy.
[1:12:50 – 1:12:52] Adam: All one word.
[1:12:53 – 1:12:57] Erik: Yeah, he usually hates sawing wood, but it’s a pleasure using the Katana Boy.
[1:12:57 – 1:12:59] Erik: It cuts like a hot knife through butter.
[1:13:00 – 1:13:08] Erik: Because of the long grip, you can cut using one or two hands and in a variety of positions to suit the situation.
[1:13:08 – 1:13:09] Erik: That sounds hot.
[1:13:09 – 1:13:10] Erik: Plus, it just looks cool.
[1:13:11 – 1:13:15] Erik: Let’s see if I can quickly do a copy.
[1:13:15 – 1:13:17] Adam: Can we Google the Silky Katana Boy?
[1:13:17 – 1:13:18] Adam: Mm-hmm.
[1:13:18 – 1:13:20] Adam: Is it B-O-I Boyy?
[1:13:22 – 1:13:23] Adam: Or is it B-O-Y-E?
[1:13:23 – 1:13:28] Erik: I think it’s B-O-Y in the typical English spelling, not the meme spelling.
[1:13:30 – 1:13:32] Erik: I’m just going to have to spell it here.
[1:13:33 – 1:13:56] Adam: looks like it’s gonna rain a bunch yeah just somehow got into the radar page here at the studio outdoor studio k for silky katana boy there it is silky katana boy side review whoa baby it looks like a weapon big bear tools doing some uh
[1:13:57 – 1:13:59] Erik: There’s a 12-second clip.
[1:14:01 – 1:14:02] Erik: Jeez.
[1:14:02 – 1:14:05] Erik: He’s taking down that lamp hard.
[1:14:06 – 1:14:07] Adam: Oh, dear.
[1:14:08 – 1:14:08] Erik: Oh, my.
[1:14:09 – 1:14:09] Erik: It is literally, wow.
[1:14:10 – 1:14:11] Erik: It looks like a sword.
[1:14:11 – 1:14:12] Adam: It is a katana.
[1:14:13 – 1:14:14] Adam: But toothed.
[1:14:14 – 1:14:16] Erik: A toothed sword.
[1:14:18 – 1:14:18] Erik: Wow.
[1:14:18 – 1:14:19] Adam: What was the name?
[1:14:19 – 1:14:21] Erik: They do look really cool.
[1:14:21 – 1:14:22] Erik: I’ll give you that.
[1:14:23 – 1:14:25] Adam: Does it fold into the handle somehow?
[1:14:25 – 1:14:26] Adam: It must.
[1:14:26 – 1:14:28] Erik: I would be shocked if it didn’t.
[1:14:29 – 1:14:33] Erik: We could watch this 26-minute video reviewing it.
[1:14:33 – 1:14:33] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:14:33 – 1:14:35] Adam: I don’t know if we need to do that.
[1:14:35 – 1:14:36] Adam: No, we don’t need to do that.
[1:14:36 – 1:14:37] Adam: Gosh, we should, though.
[1:14:38 – 1:14:43] Erik: We’ll do it after the show, and if we have any crazy findings, we’ll come back at you.
[1:14:44 – 1:14:44] Erik: Wow.
[1:14:45 – 1:14:45] Erik: Learn something new.
[1:14:46 – 1:14:47] Erik: Silky katana boy.
[1:14:47 – 1:14:55] Adam: If you ever need to collect firewood or kill a man you used to love named Bill, you’re going to want one of these silky katana boys.
[1:14:56 – 1:14:58] Adam: Get yourself a yellow leather jumpsuit.
[1:14:59 – 1:15:01] Adam: Go out in the boundary waters.
[1:15:01 – 1:15:04] Adam: Have you ever seen anybody in a yellow leather jumpsuit in the boundary waters?
[1:15:05 – 1:15:07] Erik: And that’s this week’s question of the week.
[1:15:09 – 1:15:10] Erik: No, it’s not.
[1:15:10 – 1:15:11] Erik: I like the comment.
[1:15:11 – 1:15:12] Erik: We’re moving on.
[1:15:12 – 1:15:12] Erik: Thank you, Jeff.
[1:15:13 – 1:15:13] Erik: All right.
[1:15:13 – 1:15:15] Erik: Katana Boy, silky and smooth.
[1:15:15 – 1:15:20] Adam: Silky Katana Boy Reddit coming up.
[1:15:20 – 1:15:21] Adam: The fire’s looking good.
[1:15:21 – 1:15:25] Adam: I don’t even think we need to kick this log in anymore.
[1:15:26 – 1:15:27] Adam: It’s going to go just fine.
[1:15:28 – 1:15:35] Adam: We have just enough Pyro Boy ale to get us to digital Reddit.
[1:15:44 – 1:15:52] Erik: We’ve got some aspects of firewood and campfires that we haven’t gotten to, which I think will lead to another interesting conversation.
[1:15:52 – 1:15:53] Adam: Oh boy, I can’t wait to hear it.
[1:15:54 – 1:15:54] Adam: What do we got?
[1:15:56 – 1:15:59] Erik: Do042, I think you do, friend of the show.
[1:16:00 – 1:16:01] Erik: I love beaver wood.
[1:16:02 – 1:16:06] Erik: Typically, it’s wet even if it’s far on shore, so you have to dry it out.
[1:16:06 – 1:16:08] Erik: It’s usually just the right size, too.
[1:16:09 – 1:16:09] Erik: That’s true.
[1:16:09 – 1:16:11] Erik: I don’t know what that necessarily means, though, if it’s wet.
[1:16:11 – 1:16:12] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:16:12 – 1:16:18] Adam: I’m just saying it’s like the beavers don’t usually try and take down huge Boy Scout logs.
[1:16:19 – 1:16:23] Adam: It’s usually, like, you know, regular-sized logs.
[1:16:23 – 1:16:33] Erik: Yeah, no, and those beaver chews, you can, especially if you know you’re getting to, like, close to camp, grab one or two.
[1:16:33 – 1:16:35] Adam: Don’t, like, hoard a whole pile.
[1:16:35 – 1:16:36] Adam: That’s a gift from the gods.
[1:16:37 – 1:16:45] Erik: Yeah, that stuff is, I mean, if there’s any time to burn birch, it’s going to be a beaver chew that’s been baking in the sun and the shoreline for 25 years.
[1:16:45 – 1:16:45] Erik: Blessed day.
[1:16:48 – 1:16:50] Adam: What is the puppy yelling about?
[1:16:50 – 1:16:52] Erik: He’s talking to his wolf friends.
[1:16:52 – 1:16:53] Erik: Oh.
[1:16:54 – 1:16:57] Erik: And Dew finishes up with, and A-B-D is a mantra.
[1:16:58 – 1:16:59] Erik: Always be drying.
[1:17:00 – 1:17:01] Erik: It’s a lifestyle.
[1:17:02 – 1:17:08] Erik: Anytime I have a fire, there is a Lincoln log-like pile on the grate drying for the next fire.
[1:17:08 – 1:17:09] Erik: Huh.
[1:17:09 – 1:17:10] Erik: Hmm.
[1:17:11 – 1:17:14] Adam: Well, I mean, if you’re collecting the right stuff, it really shouldn’t be necessary.
[1:17:14 – 1:17:16] Adam: But, yeah, if you’ve got rain going.
[1:17:16 – 1:17:17] Adam: Sometimes.
[1:17:17 – 1:17:20] Adam: Or if you’ve got some questionable stuff.
[1:17:20 – 1:17:23] Erik: Sometimes you’ll be out there, you’re like, this looks like amazing wood, and you start cutting into it.
[1:17:23 – 1:17:26] Adam: Yeah, it’s not amazing, but now I’ve dragged it all the way over here.
[1:17:26 – 1:17:27] Adam: We can make it work.
[1:17:27 – 1:17:29] Adam: And you get it into the campfire, and it starts hissing.
[1:17:29 – 1:17:30] Adam: You’re like, oh, shit.
[1:17:30 – 1:17:30] Erik: Yeah, ABD.
[1:17:31 – 1:17:31] Adam: All right.
[1:17:32 – 1:17:32] Erik: What was that?
[1:17:34 – 1:17:37] Erik: That was minute 117, the first loon bleep.
[1:17:37 – 1:17:40] Erik: I think that was our longest sustained period of time.
[1:17:40 – 1:17:44] Adam: Well, we didn’t have one last week either in the subdued library episode.
[1:17:45 – 1:17:50] Erik: The episode before that was like we had to make up for it by going close to two hours without.
[1:17:50 – 1:17:55] Adam: Yeah, we had the loon laser logger two episodes back, so we had to go for it.
[1:17:56 – 1:18:03] Erik: Just on the Lincoln Log style on the fire grate for ABD Lifestyles.
[1:18:03 – 1:18:04] Erik: Yeah, yeah.
[1:18:04 – 1:18:08] Erik: Got me thinking, you know, about like the setting up of a campfire.
[1:18:08 – 1:18:09] Erik: Yes.
[1:18:09 – 1:18:10] Erik: And there’s like teepee versus…
[1:18:12 – 1:18:14] Erik: Lincoln Log cabin style.
[1:18:14 – 1:18:14] Erik: Yeah.
[1:18:14 – 1:18:20] Erik: And I don’t think that there’s any way to do it in a fire grate besides the Lincoln Log cabin style.
[1:18:21 – 1:18:22] Erik: TPs are for idiots.
[1:18:23 – 1:18:23] Erik: Yeah, basically.
[1:18:23 – 1:18:24] Adam: Bleep that.
[1:18:24 – 1:18:25] Erik: Come at us.
[1:18:25 – 1:18:26] Erik: Come at us if you can argue.
[1:18:26 – 1:18:28] Erik: Yeah.
[1:18:28 – 1:18:33] Erik: Log cabin style campfire setups are the preferred way.
[1:18:34 – 1:18:34] Erik: It’s the only way.
[1:18:35 – 1:18:36] Erik: Convince me I’m wrong.
[1:18:36 – 1:18:37] Erik: When I first moved up here.
[1:18:37 – 1:18:38] Erik: There’s a meme for you.
[1:18:38 – 1:18:38] Adam: Yeah.
[1:18:40 – 1:18:41] Erik: Come at me.
[1:18:41 – 1:18:41] Erik: Come at me.
[1:18:42 – 1:18:43] Erik: Chad.
[1:18:44 – 1:18:44] Erik: Of course.
[1:18:44 – 1:18:46] Erik: It will be a Chad if somebody does come at us.
[1:18:47 – 1:18:48] Adam: You got to have a TB.
[1:18:48 – 1:18:49] Erik: TB is the only way.
[1:18:50 – 1:18:57] Adam: No, when I moved up here, I was instilled with this belief that if you can get a fire going on one match, you’re a god.
[1:18:59 – 1:19:02] Adam: And that was back when I was a teenager, and I still believe it.
[1:19:03 – 1:19:05] Adam: And you’re not doing it with a teepee.
[1:19:06 – 1:19:13] Adam: Get yourself a Lincoln log, get nice dry stuff, split it thin, and let it ride, baby.
[1:19:14 – 1:19:15] Adam: All you need is one match.
[1:19:15 – 1:19:16] Adam: And it’s the greatest feeling.
[1:19:16 – 1:19:17] Adam: It really is.
[1:19:17 – 1:19:17] Adam: It is.
[1:19:17 – 1:19:18] Adam: It is.
[1:19:18 – 1:19:18] Adam: All right.
[1:19:19 – 1:19:21] Adam: We’ve got a long one here from Yoken.
[1:19:22 – 1:19:23] Erik: Yoking.
[1:19:23 – 1:19:26] Adam: I generally don’t try too hard to find firewood.
[1:19:27 – 1:19:37] Adam: Some campsites’ nearby areas are so picked over that it’s obvious I’m going to go on for a hike for it, or I might as well paddle to a nearby area or island.
[1:19:38 – 1:19:41] Adam: Had to do that on Ensign for a northeastern campsite.
[1:19:41 – 1:19:42] Adam: Not surprised.
[1:19:42 – 1:19:45] Adam: Hard wood is nice because it’s dense and burns for a long time.
[1:19:46 – 1:19:49] Adam: It also makes for excellent coals for cooking and smears.
[1:19:50 – 1:19:54] Adam: Stuff like pine and birch aren’t so great for that, but I’ll take whatever I can get.
[1:19:54 – 1:20:03] Adam: I will sometimes limb the logs before dragging and carrying them back to the site depending on how thick the area is to avoid catching other plants, trees, and rocks.
[1:20:04 – 1:20:09] Adam: But sometimes it’s helpful to keep the limbs as you can use them for kindling.
[1:20:10 – 1:20:10] Erik: True.
[1:20:11 – 1:20:16] Adam: Yeah, like when you find a really nice piece, you know, you can take the limbs off.
[1:20:17 – 1:20:18] Adam: That’s a nice thing.
[1:20:18 – 1:20:21] Adam: You get all the aspects like small, big, and large.
[1:20:22 – 1:20:25] Erik: Yeah, it’s like, you know, using the whole animal.
[1:20:25 – 1:20:26] Erik: Use the whole tree.
[1:20:26 – 1:20:28] Adam: Right, yeah, exactly.
[1:20:29 – 1:20:31] Adam: Going back to Yokeg.
[1:20:32 – 1:20:33] Adam: Quiet.
[1:20:33 – 1:20:34] Adam: Six days ago.
[1:20:34 – 1:20:35] Adam: Two points.
[1:20:36 – 1:20:37] Adam: Paragraph two.
[1:20:39 – 1:20:43] Adam: As for building the fire, if there are a good amount of dry twigs nearby, I’ll grab those.
[1:20:43 – 1:20:46] Adam: Otherwise, I’ll just baton a few split logs.
[1:20:47 – 1:20:51] Adam: The benefit of doing that is you get at the driest wood in the center.
[1:20:51 – 1:20:58] Adam: So if your wood bark is a little wet from a recent rain, you can still get a nice little fire going to help the other stuff catch.
[1:20:59 – 1:21:02] Adam: Whereas twigs would probably be unusable in that case.
[1:21:03 – 1:21:17] Adam: In conclusion, I won’t do campfires if it’s very windy and it’s not only dangerous, but a nuisance with smoke, depending on the wooden dryness, and sometimes hard to get going or keep going, again, depending on wood dryness.
[1:21:18 – 1:21:21] Adam: I like having a fire, but not at the expense of safety or convenience.
[1:21:22 – 1:21:28] Adam: If it’s going to be a pain to keep it going, then I probably won’t bother.
[1:21:29 – 1:21:31] Erik: Yeah, we didn’t really mention that.
[1:21:32 – 1:21:33] Adam: I mean…
[1:21:34 – 1:21:34] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:21:34 – 1:21:40] Erik: This year has been a crazy year with reports of people seeing campfires that haven’t been put out well enough.
[1:21:41 – 1:21:41] Adam: Yeah.
[1:21:41 – 1:21:45] Erik: There’s unoccupied empty campsites with smoldering logs and campfires.
[1:21:45 – 1:21:46] Adam: It’s insane.
[1:21:46 – 1:21:48] Adam: I’m laughing, but I’m really crying.
[1:21:48 – 1:21:52] Adam: If you’re not used to… Is that a secret?
[1:21:52 – 1:21:54] Adam: I think you just appeared into my soul.
[1:21:54 – 1:21:56] Adam: I’m laughing, but I’m really crying.
[1:21:56 – 1:22:03] Erik: Yeah, if you’re not used to how long it takes to put out a campfire, you’re probably going to paddle away under the assumption that it’s out.
[1:22:03 – 1:22:08] Erik: Like, it takes five times the amount of water than you think, especially if you’re burning big logs.
[1:22:08 – 1:22:17] Adam: Sorry, just because your little city boy peed out a little drip of ween doesn’t mean the fire is out.
[1:22:19 – 1:22:20] Adam: It’s so obscene.
[1:22:20 – 1:22:22] Erik: There is no way that just peeing on a campfire is enough.
[1:22:23 – 1:22:23] Erik: It’s not enough.
[1:22:23 – 1:22:31] Erik: You need multiple buckets of lake water and or Nalgene, whatever it takes, stir it up.
[1:22:31 – 1:22:34] Erik: I mean, that’s one thing that the U.S. Forest Service video gets right.
[1:22:35 – 1:22:36] Erik: It should be cold to the touch.
[1:22:36 – 1:22:38] Erik: Cold to the touch.
[1:22:39 – 1:22:41] Erik: And yeah, if it’s super windy.
[1:22:41 – 1:22:42] Erik: Love your finger.
[1:22:43 – 1:22:46] Erik: Like that’s one thing just in general that we haven’t really touched on.
[1:22:46 – 1:22:51] Erik: It’s, yeah, it’s way more important to not burn down a whole forest.
[1:22:51 – 1:22:52] Erik: Right, right.
[1:22:52 – 1:22:52] Erik: More so than it is.
[1:22:52 – 1:22:54] Adam: Just because there’s not a fire ban on.
[1:22:54 – 1:22:55] Adam: Yeah.
[1:22:55 – 1:23:00] Adam: Like if you get out there and you’re illegally allowed to have a fire, but it’s blowing 35 miles an hour.
[1:23:03 – 1:23:04] Erik: Don’t have a fire.
[1:23:04 – 1:23:10] Erik: And it’s not unheard of for the U.S. Forest Service to wait way too long to issue a fire ban.
[1:23:10 – 1:23:12] Erik: So use your common sense on that one.
[1:23:13 – 1:23:14] Adam: Police yourself.
[1:23:14 – 1:23:15] Erik: Police yourself.
[1:23:16 – 1:23:16] Erik: And listen to your outfitter.
[1:23:16 – 1:23:26] Erik: They usually have the best local up-to-date knowledge on how dry the woods actually are because it’s highly subjective and it’s highly localized.
[1:23:27 – 1:23:31] Erik: Sometimes the rain will fall 10 miles to the north or the south.
[1:23:31 – 1:23:32] Erik: Yeah.
[1:23:32 – 1:23:33] Adam: I’ve heard you say that before.
[1:23:33 – 1:23:37] Adam: It’s like, man, I was pouring down here and be like, we didn’t even get a drop.
[1:23:37 – 1:23:37] Erik: Yeah.
[1:23:37 – 1:23:42] Erik: I feel like this summer it’s been more of the opposite where you’re like, it rained like crazy.
[1:23:42 – 1:23:44] Erik: And I was like, it hasn’t rained at Clearwater in like three weeks.
[1:23:44 – 1:23:44] Erik: Yeah.
[1:23:45 – 1:23:46] Erik: You’re just in that pocket.
[1:23:46 – 1:23:46] Erik: Yeah.
[1:23:49 – 1:24:11] Erik: dry boy i don’t even know what arrow is chewing anymore it literally sounds like she’s just she’s definitely chewing up the internet i can hear her chewing the fibers i mean is this this would be for me as the podcast listener like kind of annoying but at this point we’re outside and it is part of the noises of nature it’s cool
[1:24:12 – 1:24:13] Erik: It is what it is.
[1:24:13 – 1:24:13] Erik: Brewfish.
[1:24:14 – 1:24:18] Erik: We do a lot of our cooking with the campfire when we go up, so firewood is key.
[1:24:18 – 1:24:19] Erik: Good firewood, that is.
[1:24:20 – 1:24:23] Erik: We are pretty efficient, and I kind of oddly enjoy splitting firewood.
[1:24:23 – 1:24:26] Erik: Yes, good firewood is really enjoyable to split.
[1:24:27 – 1:24:27] Adam: And saw.
[1:24:28 – 1:24:32] Erik: We use this fence saw to make logs, which cuts really efficient and packs down nicely.
[1:24:33 – 1:24:33] Erik: That it does.
[1:24:34 – 1:24:36] Erik: The key is to be able to split the logs.
[1:24:36 – 1:24:40] Erik: This is where the Estwing Fireside Friend comes in key.
[1:24:40 – 1:24:41] Erik: What’s a Fireside Friend?
[1:24:41 – 1:24:45] Erik: It is a bit heavy, packing in at four pounds, but it packs a punch.
[1:24:46 – 1:24:51] Erik: It acts more like a splitting maul than a hatchet, so your blade doesn’t get stuck in the logs.
[1:24:51 – 1:24:51] Erik: There you go.
[1:24:51 – 1:24:52] Erik: That’s what we’re talking about.
[1:24:53 – 1:24:55] Erik: And it’s wide enough to split the wet wood apart.
[1:24:56 – 1:25:01] Erik: You can easily split up nice kindling with the small logs and take care of 10-inch diameter logs no problem.
[1:25:01 – 1:25:12] Erik: Plus, you feel like a badass lumberjack when you have a cord of wood piled up on the ground and also bring closed-toed shoes and work gloves for safety in the backwoods.
[1:25:12 – 1:25:12] Erik: Yeah.
[1:25:12 – 1:25:14] Adam: Yeah, I like having the gloves.
[1:25:14 – 1:25:15] Adam: Gloves are all right.
[1:25:15 – 1:25:21] Adam: We bring those mostly for the— Yeah, mostly for the— You want to have a nice pair of gloves for when you get the fire going.
[1:25:21 – 1:25:24] Adam: You can kind of just jostle the fire around, no problemo.
[1:25:24 – 1:25:27] Adam: But you can also wear those for when you’re processing.
[1:25:29 – 1:25:41] Adam: Okay, so I was worried the amount of chewing noises we’re hearing from back in the darkness that she had actually somehow gotten the conduit that contains the internet.
[1:25:41 – 1:25:42] Erik: Not the internet.
[1:25:42 – 1:25:43] Adam: Not the damn internet, dog.
[1:25:45 – 1:25:45] Adam: Backstory.
[1:25:47 – 1:25:49] Adam: Arrow comes from Doris and Ozzy.
[1:25:50 – 1:25:52] Adam: And Eric has Doris now.
[1:25:53 – 1:25:58] Adam: Both of them are guilty as charged of eating the internet in a past life.
[1:25:59 – 1:26:02] Adam: So she’s got it in her genes to eat internet.
[1:26:02 – 1:26:03] Erik: They’re neo-Luddites.
[1:26:04 – 1:26:11] Adam: Seriously, they have some sort of insane radar in which they can find and destroy fiber optic cable.
[1:26:11 – 1:26:13] Adam: It’s ridiculous.
[1:26:13 – 1:26:14] Erik: Yes, it is ridiculous.
[1:26:14 – 1:26:15] Adam: But it wasn’t.
[1:26:15 – 1:26:17] Adam: It was just like an old planter somehow.
[1:26:18 – 1:26:21] Adam: I don’t know where it came from that she had discovered and was chewing up.
[1:26:22 – 1:26:26] Adam: We’ve removed the distraction, and now she’s back to chewing on her 2×8.
[1:26:27 – 1:26:28] Adam: Thank God.
[1:26:28 – 1:26:30] Adam: Let’s get back to the story here.
[1:26:31 – 1:26:33] Adam: Okay, we’re at total boogie.
[1:26:33 – 1:26:34] Adam: Leroy.
[1:26:34 – 1:26:35] Adam: Oh, I’m sorry.
[1:26:35 – 1:26:36] Adam: Leroy, two and eight.
[1:26:37 – 1:26:37] Adam: Two points.
[1:26:38 – 1:26:41] Adam: I target the sun-bleached beaver-chew flotsam.
[1:26:42 – 1:26:46] Adam: Bays on the east side of the lakes are usually gold mines.
[1:26:47 – 1:26:53] Adam: And like to send out an empty canoe right after settling into camp to wood gather on shorelines without campsites.
[1:26:54 – 1:26:57] Adam: I love the smell of burning cedar and jack pines in the morning.
[1:26:58 – 1:26:58] Adam: My God.
[1:26:59 – 1:27:00] Adam: You should come camping with us, Leroy.
[1:27:00 – 1:27:02] Erik: Leroy, send us a private message.
[1:27:03 – 1:27:07] Erik: We love those sun bleached beaver chew flotsams.
[1:27:08 – 1:27:08] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[1:27:09 – 1:27:15] Erik: As long as you’re not just absolutely decimating the shoreline, picking a couple here and there.
[1:27:16 – 1:27:21] Erik: We like to call them helmets.
[1:27:21 – 1:27:24] Adam: Yeah, like the thin ones.
[1:27:24 – 1:27:26] Adam: What about like, yeah, driftwoods.
[1:27:26 – 1:27:27] Erik: Yes, the thin driftwoods.
[1:27:29 – 1:27:30] Erik: Those are always fun.
[1:27:30 – 1:27:31] Adam: They are sacred.
[1:27:31 – 1:27:37] Erik: Or the narwhals, the drift cedars that happen to get up on shore and dry.
[1:27:37 – 1:27:42] Erik: Usually that’s a good late season thing to do because in the spring usually there’s water and soaked.
[1:27:43 – 1:27:44] Adam: Absolutely.
[1:27:44 – 1:27:51] Erik: This next response from Total Boogie is brought to you by Coghlan’s brand picnic plates.
[1:27:52 – 1:27:55] Erik: Have you tired of your…
[1:27:56 – 1:27:57] Erik: Camp food trough?
[1:27:58 – 1:27:59] Erik: Is it clogged with food?
[1:28:00 – 1:28:02] Erik: Try Coghlan’s brand picnic plate.
[1:28:02 – 1:28:04] Erik: It’s bigger, better, improved.
[1:28:04 – 1:28:05] Adam: It’s deep.
[1:28:06 – 1:28:08] Adam: Your food and drinking needs.
[1:28:09 – 1:28:10] Adam: Oh, I don’t know.
[1:28:10 – 1:28:12] Adam: I sure like my trough, but…
[1:28:12 – 1:28:13] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:28:13 – 1:28:15] Adam: This picnic plate sounds really enticing.
[1:28:15 – 1:28:22] Adam: Coglins, they’re capitalist fat cats, always looking to get on the biggest, best, new thing.
[1:28:22 – 1:28:24] Erik: And apparently it’s the picnic plate.
[1:28:24 – 1:28:24] Erik: Wow.
[1:28:25 – 1:28:25] Erik: Total boogie.
[1:28:26 – 1:28:32] Erik: I don’t have a specific or sophisticated method, but I’ll shamelessly plug Coglins fire sticks.
[1:28:34 – 1:28:38] Erik: Keep a pack on hand to start a fire if I can’t get it to cooperate with me.
[1:28:38 – 1:28:43] Adam: You guys burn up one of the egg containers.
[1:28:43 – 1:28:44] Adam: They are made of petroleum.
[1:28:46 – 1:28:48] Erik: We’re not advocating for burning plastic.
[1:28:48 – 1:28:49] Adam: That’s the one thing they’re good for.
[1:28:50 – 1:28:51] Adam: Burn that plastic.
[1:28:51 – 1:28:53] Adam: Put those fluorocarbons right in the ground.
[1:28:55 – 1:28:56] Adam: That’s a joke, people.
[1:28:57 – 1:28:57] Adam: Come on.
[1:28:57 – 1:28:58] Adam: Come on.
[1:28:58 – 1:28:59] Adam: Have a little sense of humor.
[1:29:00 – 1:29:01] Adam: What do I look like, a monster?
[1:29:02 – 1:29:03] Adam: You can’t see me.
[1:29:03 – 1:29:04] Adam: I am a monster.
[1:29:04 – 1:29:07] Erik: If you could only see him, he is literally a goblin.
[1:29:08 – 1:29:12] Adam: But really, we have fluorocarbon goblin over here.
[1:29:15 – 1:29:19] Erik: Thank you, Coglins, for your fire sticks, your food trough, and your picnic plate.
[1:29:19 – 1:29:21] Adam: Can’t wait to try the new picnic plate.
[1:29:21 – 1:29:24] Adam: It sounds like a really exciting innovation.
[1:29:24 – 1:29:26] Erik: I mean, what will they think of next?
[1:29:26 – 1:29:26] Erik: Who knows?
[1:29:27 – 1:29:29] Erik: Some kind of a camp catheter?
[1:29:30 – 1:29:34] Erik: Tired of getting up in the middle of the night out of your warm, cozy hammock?
[1:29:36 – 1:29:37] Adam: Not a camp catheter.
[1:29:37 – 1:29:39] Adam: It’s just like a camp bedpan.
[1:29:39 – 1:29:40] Adam: Inflatable bedpan.
[1:29:41 – 1:29:42] Erik: Hammock, buddy.
[1:29:42 – 1:29:44] Erik: Except for it leaks.
[1:29:45 – 1:29:50] Adam: Yeah, if Coghlan sold an inflatable bedpan, you’d totally try and pee in it in the middle of the night in your tent.
[1:29:50 – 1:29:52] Adam: It would just leak everywhere.
[1:29:52 – 1:29:53] Adam: That would be hilarious if it was.
[1:29:53 – 1:29:54] Adam: And it would probably start on fire.
[1:29:55 – 1:29:56] Adam: It’s also a fire starter.
[1:29:57 – 1:29:57] Erik: Yes.
[1:29:58 – 1:29:59] Adam: Activated by urine.
[1:29:59 – 1:30:02] Erik: It’s hilarious to think of it being inflatable.
[1:30:02 – 1:30:04] Erik: So you cut down on weight.
[1:30:05 – 1:30:09] Erik: Tired of hauling in your heavy aluminum bedpans.
[1:30:09 – 1:30:11] Adam: Heavy cast iron bedpans.
[1:30:11 – 1:30:13] Adam: I need a Coglins.
[1:30:13 – 1:30:15] Erik: Sweet, sweet Coglins.
[1:30:16 – 1:30:17] Erik: It’s inflatable.
[1:30:18 – 1:30:19] Erik: And from China.
[1:30:19 – 1:30:20] Erik: So you know it’s good.
[1:30:20 – 1:30:25] Erik: That’s the kind of plastic that you’re going to want to nestle up right into your crotch region.
[1:30:26 – 1:30:27] Erik: Brought to you by Coglins.
[1:30:27 – 1:30:29] Adam: In your $200 sleeping bag.
[1:30:30 – 1:30:33] Erik: Inflatable bedpans, picnic plates, and camp troughs.
[1:30:34 – 1:30:35] Erik: Thank you, Coglins.
[1:30:36 – 1:30:40] Erik: Next up, northbound underscore paddler.
[1:30:41 – 1:30:41] Erik: Are you reading?
[1:30:41 – 1:30:42] Erik: Yeah, yeah, I’m back.
[1:30:43 – 1:30:44] Erik: We’re on to structure here.
[1:30:44 – 1:30:45] Erik: One point.
[1:30:46 – 1:30:46] Adam: Structure.
[1:30:46 – 1:30:54] Adam: I usually build my fire with a large chunk of wood for brace, and then I lean up my kindling onto it to form a lean-to.
[1:30:54 – 1:30:57] Adam: I then place my tinder underneath the leaning kindling.
[1:30:58 – 1:31:01] Adam: Best way I’ve found for under those pesky fire grates.
[1:31:02 – 1:31:02] Adam: Just kidding.
[1:31:03 – 1:31:08] Adam: Definitely keep the park in better shape so yahoos can’t have six-foot-tall fires.
[1:31:10 – 1:31:16] Adam: Anything that is dead standing usually gets sawed down if it’s less than 4 inches in diameter.
[1:31:16 – 1:31:21] Adam: Otherwise, a whole lot of dead underbranches, primarily spruce and pine.
[1:31:23 – 1:31:25] Adam: Tinder is a whole lot of birch bark.
[1:31:25 – 1:31:29] Adam: And sometimes Vaseline cotton ball, if I’m lazy.
[1:31:30 – 1:31:30] Adam: Tools.
[1:31:31 – 1:31:31] Adam: Hands.
[1:31:32 – 1:31:33] Adam: Belt knife.
[1:31:33 – 1:31:34] Adam: And saw.
[1:31:34 – 1:31:35] Adam: No X’s for me.
[1:31:36 – 1:31:39] Adam: Love using them, just not where I can’t get to medical help fast.
[1:31:40 – 1:31:40] Adam: Amen.
[1:31:41 – 1:31:42] Adam: Ignition source.
[1:31:43 – 1:31:43] Adam: Bic.
[1:31:45 – 1:31:45] Adam: Edit.
[1:31:45 – 1:31:51] Adam: Can’t deny or omit that I went on a trip a few years ago where we all lit our fires with a propane torch.
[1:31:51 – 1:31:52] Adam: Yeah.
[1:31:53 – 1:31:56] Adam: Shameful because we only brought the propane for the torch.
[1:31:56 – 1:31:57] Adam: We didn’t bring a lantern or a stove.
[1:31:58 – 1:31:58] Adam: Ha ha.
[1:31:59 – 1:32:01] Adam: I never start fires when I’m solo.
[1:32:01 – 1:32:03] Adam: Too much work with others every night.
[1:32:04 – 1:32:07] Adam: Don’t like using fires as the only source of cooking heat.
[1:32:07 – 1:32:10] Adam: Too many variables standing in the way of getting that food in my belly.
[1:32:11 – 1:32:11] Erik: Mm-hmm.
[1:32:11 – 1:32:15] Erik: Well, it’s always nice to have the stove for sure for the water.
[1:32:15 – 1:32:19] Erik: You know, it’s so slow to boil up water in the morning on a fire.
[1:32:19 – 1:32:21] Erik: Unless you get a raging fire going.
[1:32:21 – 1:32:26] Adam: Even if I’m planning on cooking with the fire in the morning, like I got to get the coffee first.
[1:32:27 – 1:32:30] Adam: Then I can just manage the fire after that.
[1:32:31 – 1:32:39] Adam: Like, seriously, I don’t understand how people can just start the day and not have a little coffee first, especially if it’s cold out like it is.
[1:32:39 – 1:32:41] Adam: It’s going to be cold again tomorrow morning.
[1:32:41 – 1:32:42] Adam: You can just feel it.
[1:32:42 – 1:32:49] Adam: It’s hard enough to get out of the tent when it’s that cold, and then you’re like, I’ve got to get a fire going and keep it going.
[1:32:49 – 1:32:49] Adam: No.
[1:32:50 – 1:32:52] Adam: That’s what your single burner propane stove is for.
[1:32:53 – 1:33:01] Adam: Another advantage of being a smart fire person is knowing when the fire isn’t adequate for what you need.
[1:33:01 – 1:33:01] Adam: Yep.
[1:33:01 – 1:33:03] Adam: And that’s for morning coffee.
[1:33:03 – 1:33:04] Adam: Sure, you can do it.
[1:33:05 – 1:33:07] Adam: But just bring those little burner stoves.
[1:33:08 – 1:33:09] Adam: They weigh nothing.
[1:33:09 – 1:33:10] Adam: They take up no room.
[1:33:10 – 1:33:10] Erik: Nothing.
[1:33:11 – 1:33:11] Erik: Yeah.
[1:33:11 – 1:33:12] Erik: And it’s quicker.
[1:33:12 – 1:33:14] Erik: You don’t end up with a crazy blackened pot.
[1:33:15 – 1:33:15] Erik: Right.
[1:33:15 – 1:33:15] Erik: Yeah.
[1:33:16 – 1:33:17] Erik: Appalicious.
[1:33:17 – 1:33:18] Erik: Last comment.
[1:33:19 – 1:33:22] Erik: I gather firewood from my local neighborhood beaver lodge.
[1:33:22 – 1:33:24] Adam: I don’t know how I feel about that.
[1:33:25 – 1:33:28] Erik: They’re not the biggest logs, but it’s pretty much ready to go when it gets to camp.
[1:33:30 – 1:33:31] Erik: How do you feel about that?
[1:33:32 – 1:33:39] Adam: I was out walking the pup the other day, and these beavers are back yonder here, and they had taken down a nice maple.
[1:33:39 – 1:33:41] Erik: And I was like, oh, what happened here?
[1:33:41 – 1:33:42] Erik: This maple’s down.
[1:33:42 – 1:33:45] Adam: And it was like, oh, yeah, it’s the beavers.
[1:33:45 – 1:33:48] Erik: But like taking them off of their lodge?
[1:33:48 – 1:33:50] Adam: Oh, I don’t know if that’s what they mean by that.
[1:33:51 – 1:33:52] Adam: You know, plucking them off their lodge?
[1:33:52 – 1:33:57] Erik: What else do they mean by saying I gather firewood from my local neighborhood beaver lodge?
[1:33:57 – 1:34:05] Adam: Well, like what I’m talking about, where there’s a beaver lodge out back, but then they’re dropping trees all over the place, but they’re not actually pulling them into their lodge right away.
[1:34:06 – 1:34:11] Adam: It could just be Raffoose, or it could be he or she is plucking them right off the beaver.
[1:34:11 – 1:34:13] Erik: I’m not saying it’s necessarily good or bad.
[1:34:13 – 1:34:14] Erik: I just think it sounds kind of weird.
[1:34:14 – 1:34:15] Adam: Well, I don’t know.
[1:34:15 – 1:34:21] Adam: I’m not crazy about beavers, but I’m also not going to rip their house down like a big bad wolf or something.
[1:34:21 – 1:34:23] Erik: They’re a keystone species, though.
[1:34:23 – 1:34:23] Adam: They are.
[1:34:25 – 1:34:27] Erik: I don’t know.
[1:34:27 – 1:34:30] Erik: I mean, I’m not for dismantling beaver logs.
[1:34:30 – 1:34:34] Adam: Yeah, I think I understand where you’re coming from.
[1:34:34 – 1:34:34] Erik: Yeah.
[1:34:34 – 1:34:35] Erik: All right, fine.
[1:34:35 – 1:34:36] Erik: Take one or two off.
[1:34:36 – 1:34:39] Adam: But, you know, when there’s beavers around, you’re going to find, like, cut beaver stuff around.
[1:34:40 – 1:34:42] Adam: I think that’s what they’re talking about more.
[1:34:42 – 1:34:46] Erik: That stuff’s usually, like, really fresh, though, because they’re going to do stuff with that right away.
[1:34:47 – 1:34:51] Erik: If you see a tree that’s been downed by a beaver, it’s probably going to be pretty much green.
[1:34:52 – 1:34:54] Adam: Right, like this maple I just found.
[1:34:54 – 1:34:56] Adam: It’s like, well, it’s no good.
[1:34:56 – 1:35:00] Adam: So I just kind of propped it up at a 45-degree angle against another tree.
[1:35:00 – 1:35:01] Adam: And in three years you can burn it.
[1:35:01 – 1:35:03] Adam: And in a couple years I’ll come back and grab that.
[1:35:04 – 1:35:04] Erik: Nice.
[1:35:04 – 1:35:07] Erik: Thank you, beavers, saving me some gas on the chainsaw.
[1:35:07 – 1:35:08] Erik: That’s right.
[1:35:11 – 1:35:12] Erik: Well, that’s everybody.
[1:35:12 – 1:35:12] Erik: That’s it.
[1:35:13 – 1:35:14] Erik: Wow, we’re all in.
[1:35:14 – 1:35:15] Erik: We’re all in.
[1:35:15 – 1:35:15] Erik: We got it.
[1:35:16 – 1:35:27] Erik: Was there anything that you took away from the responses that you were either surprised by or that you learned?
[1:35:28 – 1:35:30] Adam: No, I don’t think so.
[1:35:31 – 1:35:35] Adam: I tried to open my mind to a lot of possibilities before this episode.
[1:35:37 – 1:35:41] Adam: But I think we’re all on the same page for the most part.
[1:35:42 – 1:35:47] Erik: I would say that that’s my biggest takeaway is it’s like, okay, well, maybe.
[1:35:47 – 1:35:58] Adam: I think the best thing we can do is that when people are going out that you know they’re going on their… Like, isn’t it always fun when somebody wants to go in the Boundary Waters and you take them on their first trip?
[1:35:59 – 1:36:05] Adam: Yeah, I would say… Or, like, somebody you know that’s going on a trip and you’re just like, I’m not going with them, but they’re going on a trip.
[1:36:06 – 1:36:11] Adam: Like, more than anything, like, that you can tell them is…
[1:36:12 – 1:36:29] Adam: just bring a saw here’s a few quick pointers on how to get the best firewood and that can go a really long way in making your trip enjoyable and then not also like butchering campsites or trying to do foolish things like burning like a 12 inch diameter wet birch log
[1:36:29 – 1:36:31] Erik: Yeah, I think, like, I would say, I would agree.
[1:36:31 – 1:36:35] Erik: I don’t think there was anything necessarily, and not to say that, like, I’ve got it all figured out.
[1:36:36 – 1:36:38] Adam: We do come across that way a lot, no doubt.
[1:36:38 – 1:36:47] Erik: But I do appreciate the, if anything, some of the comments that we heard, I think, reminded me of talking points that I wanted to bring up.
[1:36:47 – 1:36:52] Erik: You know, like how you build a fire and, you know, there was a couple of interesting, like, the katana boy was interesting.
[1:36:53 – 1:36:54] Erik: Yeah, yeah.
[1:36:54 – 1:36:55] Erik: I’ve never seen that before.
[1:36:55 – 1:36:57] Adam: I don’t know if I found anything, like, gear-wise.
[1:36:57 – 1:36:59] Adam: I mean, I would say this, though.
[1:36:59 – 1:37:00] Adam: It didn’t get brought up.
[1:37:01 – 1:37:07] Adam: The Baco saw, it doesn’t fold down, and it’s just so much better than a Sven saw.
[1:37:08 – 1:37:09] Adam: They’re amazing.
[1:37:09 – 1:37:10] Adam: Yeah, that’s the only downside.
[1:37:11 – 1:37:16] Adam: They’re pretty affordable and pretty lightweight, and you can kind of just pack them on the top of a Duluth pack.
[1:37:16 – 1:37:17] Adam: So I use that.
[1:37:18 – 1:37:45] Adam: um but i don’t always bring that one either it depends on the trip like it seriously depends on like how far are we going how big the packs are going to be do i need that yeah if i feel like it’s a fall trip where i’m going to be burning up a lot of wood then yeah i bring the bako and i bring that splitting wall i bring that big 36 inch splitting wall it’s heavy it’s ridiculous but uh it’s worth it you know
[1:37:46 – 1:37:49] Erik: No, I think that we love the comments.
[1:37:49 – 1:37:51] Erik: We love talking and hearing from people.
[1:37:51 – 1:37:58] Erik: But if I took away anything from this, it sounds like most of the people that listen and are responding have it pretty well figured out.
[1:37:58 – 1:37:59] Adam: I think so, yeah.
[1:37:59 – 1:38:00] Adam: I’m not surprised by that.
[1:38:01 – 1:38:03] Erik: Which would lead me to believe, which is kind of what you were saying before.
[1:38:03 – 1:38:04] Erik: It’s more outreach.
[1:38:04 – 1:38:08] Erik: If you’re out there with people, yeah, pass on that information.
[1:38:08 – 1:38:17] Erik: It’s way more nuanced and gray than the Boundary Waters Leave No Trace Bear video ever implies.
[1:38:17 – 1:38:17] Erik: Right, right.
[1:38:18 – 1:38:24] Erik: I feel like there could be much more information in that video on some of the vagaries and specifics to having a campfire out there.
[1:38:25 – 1:38:33] Erik: And unless the new video that they’re making improves on that, I think it’s up to people who are taking out people who have never been out before.
[1:38:33 – 1:38:33] Erik: Right.
[1:38:33 – 1:38:42] Erik: So if you’re not actually going out with them and you’re just like, hey, I’m going up on this trip, you know, and I’ve never done it before, maybe that’s an opportunity you can say, hey, what are you doing for campfires?
[1:38:42 – 1:38:45] Erik: Because you don’t just get to cut down wood.
[1:38:46 – 1:38:47] Adam: And a lot of people do, I think.
[1:38:49 – 1:38:54] Adam: But if you’re not there to, like, physically show somebody that, you know, just a couple words like that can go a long way.
[1:38:54 – 1:39:00] Adam: I mean, I just look back now, you know, on some of my early trips, just the shake of my head at what we were doing.
[1:39:00 – 1:39:02] Adam: I don’t even know what we were doing.
[1:39:02 – 1:39:03] Adam: I don’t know what you call that.
[1:39:04 – 1:39:25] Adam: like that method of just trying to pluck wood with your your hands yeah just like almost just like you see like that failed attempt at somebody who had a hatchet trying to take down a tree that’s like 50 years old and you’re like what is this like wow that was a very that’s borderline just like boredom psychopathic you know it’s ambitious psychopathic yeah
[1:39:26 – 1:39:47] Erik: And, you know, I don’t know if we necessarily say this enough on the show, but it also does, you know, bring to mind that if you get the opportunity to take out people who have never been out before, like, I feel like that is an opportunity, like, that you should take advantage of because it’s just for me as an outfitter and part of my job.
[1:39:47 – 1:39:48] Erik: Yeah.
[1:39:49 – 1:39:56] Erik: I know firsthand how daunting putting that first trip together on your own.
[1:39:56 – 1:40:00] Erik: Like a whole group of first-timers, that’s insanely daunting for people.
[1:40:00 – 1:40:00] Erik: It’s big time.
[1:40:01 – 1:40:16] Erik: So if you’ve got the opportunity to get more people involved in your group, I think the more the merrier because the more people that know about the joys and the quality of the experience that you can have in the bourgeoisie, the better.
[1:40:17 – 1:40:17] Adam: Absolutely.
[1:40:17 – 1:40:18] Erik: More people fighting for it.
[1:40:19 – 1:40:34] Adam: you know, I know we’ve groused a little and like kind of poked fun at some techniques, but I think it goes back to like sitting around a fire is like one of the greatest and most enjoyable things you can experience in this world, in this life.
[1:40:34 – 1:40:35] Adam: I think so.
[1:40:35 – 1:40:37] Adam: Um, so, you know, go for it.
[1:40:38 – 1:40:41] Adam: And I think that’s what this episode should really be about.
[1:40:41 – 1:40:46] Adam: It’s just the enjoyment of sitting around a nice fire on a cool fall night.
[1:40:47 – 1:40:48] Adam: And, uh,
[1:40:48 – 1:40:49] Adam: It really is great.
[1:40:49 – 1:40:51] Adam: I mean, nothing beats it.
[1:40:51 – 1:40:52] Adam: It’s meditative.
[1:40:52 – 1:40:54] Adam: It lets you like think and reflect on things.
[1:40:54 – 1:41:06] Adam: It lets you distill and break down the day you’ve just been through and just let the mind be quiet and let that like internal subconscious do its like reptilian thing, right?
[1:41:08 – 1:41:09] Adam: Break it all down.
[1:41:09 – 1:41:09] Erik: Yeah.
[1:41:09 – 1:41:10] Erik: And there’s not enough.
[1:41:10 – 1:41:15] Erik: I don’t think there’s enough people that are getting to enjoy that.
[1:41:15 – 1:41:20] Erik: And even more so, I don’t think there’s enough people that even realize that that’s an option.
[1:41:21 – 1:41:33] Erik: There is an option that you can go out and take those moments for yourself with others, whether it’s the camaraderie or whether it’s the silent contemplation.
[1:41:34 – 1:41:37] Erik: Tell your friends about the boundary waters and bring them up here.
[1:41:39 – 1:41:48] Adam: Well, I think that says it very nicely, and we shall at this point extinguish this fire and call it an evening.
[1:41:48 – 1:41:55] Adam: So for Tumble Home, a Boundary Waters podcast, thank you for being here, Wood Gnome.
[1:41:56 – 1:41:58] Adam: And I am the Wood Goblin.
[1:41:58 – 1:41:58] Adam: Yes.
[1:41:59 – 1:42:03] Adam: And it’s been a pleasure talking firewood with you all tonight.
[1:42:03 – 1:42:05] Adam: We appreciate you tuning in.
[1:42:05 – 1:42:14] Adam: For yet another episode of what I am… Every week, I’m just like, I can’t believe this experiment keeps going.
[1:42:15 – 1:42:17] Adam: The first season has been really a lot of fun.
[1:42:17 – 1:42:19] Adam: Yes, it has been.
[1:42:19 – 1:42:21] Adam: For goblins and gnomes alike, so… Yep.
[1:42:23 – 1:42:31] Adam: Until next week, may your firewood all be at a 45-degree angle and nice and bark-free and dry.
[1:42:32 – 1:42:34] Adam: And happy paddling.
[1:42:34 – 1:42:35] Adam: Good evening.
[1:42:57 – 1:42:58] UNKNOWN: Thank you.
