We had another nice overnight hike to the Gone Feral field site just out of Ward, CO. The temperature dipped below freezing and winds gusted to 40 mph at night. We are working up to full winter conditions when we will need a fire in our shelter. We experimented this weekend with a fire in the wikiup.
~Go, Do, Share, Enable
Colorado Parks & Wildlife held their first annual ‘Outdoor Adventure Expo’ at Cherry Creek State Park this weekend. They personally invited the Gone Feral School of Primitive and Traditional Skills and founder, Doug Hill, to be there along with approximately 20 other much larger organizations. This was a great testament to the Gone Feral school! The weekend was all about showcasing what outdoor recreation opportunities Colorado has to offer. Doug asked Scott to come along to participate and help educate and share with people what the Gone Feral school is all about. Doug & Scott set-up in a campsite. They did lots of fire-making demo’s using a bow drill, and even cooked over the fire using a primitive cooking structure just like the one used at the Gone Feral field site. They showcased hand-made bows, natural cordage and baskets weaved out of willow bark. They also had some hide tanning pieces on display. Scott had a great time and was excited to be able share his experience and skills with lots of people, including many young adults and kids!
~Go, Do, Share, Enable
This overnight hike had several objectives. The first priority was to take down a dead standing tree next to the wikiup which had become increasingly unstable. Last year it seemed solid, not moving in the wind like the other trees. This year, you could make it move easily by pushing on it. A frightening number of healthy trees had snapped off in the winter high winds. Action was needed once the risk was recognized. We hope to utilize the tree in the future by splitting it and making some furniture for our day camp / cooking area. We were able to improvise a flat space using an already downed tree in the cooking area to get us by short term. Additionally we did a short day hike on a trail that we had not previously explored.
~Go, Do, Share, Enable
Margie wanted to spend some time in the wikiup so we hiked in 2 miles to the Gone Feral Field Site where we enjoyed two nights in the Indian Peaks near Ward, Co…so much fun! We slept in our wikiup, scouted around, and cooked each night over the fire! Rain was in the forecast, but never came until we were on the road home. Check out our FB post here.
~Go, Do, Share, Enable
Prepped and Frosty 