i had planned on doing some big time survival testing on this years two week canoe solo but the stormy weather and the work involved in canoe tripping alone left me less time than i expected.i brought a extra shelter pack like the one in my PFD with the idea of trying a set up at a random place along the shore but got caught up in just traveling between storms that i never got to it.i also planned that on the last day with a "easy" paddle up river to the landing that i would open the food side of the PFD's ditch kit and try making a meal with the tiny Gaz stove and Gaz cart that fits in the PFD pocket.no go there either as those of you who read my post about being grubby and hungry in my car at the end of the day would have seen.
so what i did get around to was minor but instructive.fire making in the wet.i would think that if i did have a survival situation out on the lakes it would involve swimming ashore with nothing but my PFD or even worse just the gear in my pockets,which is very unlikely.
so with making a fire the first priority i tried out a Army gel pack as thats whats in the ditch kit of course.



the test was to wait for a bit of a break in the rain as i did not want to get too wet and find a place around the camp area's shore that would fill in for my "swim ashore landing"
then sitting in one place,more or less,gather up what wood i could find and use the gel to get a fire going without preparing the wood in anyway,no splitting just rubbing off any heavy moss and such.as you can see i got a good one going by carefully laying out the twigs and working up to something that would dry and burn larger bits.at this point i would extent the search for more and more firewood.with all the pine in the north woods and the amount of it down from wind or just old age that would not be too hard.
next was a Birch bark bonfire!



i carry a belt knife and a Bic or some sort of fire lighter all the time so if i went ashore without the wearing the ditch kit i could still get a fire going fast if i was lucky enough to be anywhere near a stand of Birch trees,which is not hard up there.in the photo is a heap i cut from down rotten trunks.i also just kicked one around to separate the bark from the rotten insides.the bark in the photo is just a start,i would remove any wet punk from the inside and shred up a handful to start the pile.from past experience doing this at camp sites to get a fire going to warm up or make dinner i know i can get a blaze going and toss on some good size branches and the burning bark will dry them out and result in a good long lasting fire i can keep adding wood to.
next post will be some of those lurking nasty's that i might might have to deal with and survive.

Thanks Caoedogs! I look forward to the next part of your update.

Am I reading correctly that you brought a copy of your emerg supplies to test? Seems wise to not use your emerg survival stuff in a test, especially under those conditions. It would be a cruel twist of fate to actually need them and not have them because you just tested them.

Yup..a copy of the shelter kit but the food side with the cut down Swiss canteen and the stove would be right out of the PFD and replaced before the next trip.the up river trip has no real hazards .



except for well used portages around the rapids,where at one i met some Scouts from the Order Of The Arrow clearing dead fall and such,the river just winds thru the forest.