Artist's Conk Stove

I found an Artist's Conk (Ganoderma applanatum) fungus in the woods and decided to try using it for a stove.

I Hacked away the top with a lump of flint to get a flat surface ( the underneath was flat but decided that would give better stability on the ground, i didn't want my pot spilling water).
To save time i used some potassium permanganate and glycerol to get a hot coal going.




















I filled my pot with tap water and then left it, after about 8 minutes i added a makeshift lid.




































After an hour I still didn't have any boiling water, the water was very close to boiling point, plenty of steam and small bubbles, this was the state it reached after half an hour but failed to go any further. After one hour the conk had pretty much consumed itself.



















So my stove was a failure, it failed to bring water to a rolling boil but it would of been fine to heat food so it's back off to the woods to try again, my stove was completely energy inefficient so I need to try a different method.

Carn Meini

Site Name: Carn Meini Alternate Name: Carn Menyn
Country: Wales County: Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) Type: Ancient Mine or Quarry
Nearest Town: Newport Nearest Village: Mynachlog-Ddu
Map Ref: SN145325 Landranger Map Number: 145
Latitude: 51.959955N Longitude: 4.701252W

Ordovician

Rocks of the Ordovician period were formed between 500 and 440 million years ago. Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from this period are found in Pembrokeshire. It was a period of volcanic activity, when land emerged from the sea by the up thrusting landscape features, Carn Llidi and Penbiri are remnant s of volcanic activity.

Ordovican rocks occur across most of north Pembrokeshire, especially around the Preseli Hills, where outcrops of igneous rocks push up through the Ordovician sedimentary strata. Metamorphic rocks such as shale and slate also occur. Fossil graptolites, a marine animal, are found in both sedimentary and metamorphic rocks in the area.

Poor acid soils are associated with Ordovician rocks. An environment of windswept moors, rushes, heathers and few trees is a typical landscape. Buzzards, in search of rabbits, wheel above land suitable only for hill grazing.

Carn Meini, a dolerite outcrop on the Preseli Hills, is the source of the bluestone at Stonehenge. How the stones reached there, by man or geological forces, is still under debate. The dolerite was used for making axes in the Neolithic period. The local shale splits into slabs or ‘rab’ useful for building walls or roofing. Slate quarrying was once an important local industry, its products were used to roof the House of Commons.

Bedd Arthur

Site Name: Bedd Arthur Alternate Name: Arthur's Grave, Beddarthur
Country: Wales County: Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Cardigan Nearest Village: Crymych
Map Ref: SN131324 Landranger Map Number: 145
Latitude: 51.958588N Longitude: 4.721549W

Stone Circle in Pembrokeshire. This so-called stone circle lies overlooking the Bluestones outcrop of Carn Meini. It is actually oval or horse-shoe shaped leading to speculation that it may have been this site which influenced the original horseshoe of Bluestones at Stonehenge.

Translated as 'The Grave of Arthur', it comprises thirteen small standing stones along with two or three more now fallen. Some believe it may be a henge - as it lies adjacent to the ancient trackway which runs to Carn Meini (and then on to the hillfort of Foel Drygarn) this would make sense. Access is via this ancient trackway (now a public footpath) with a reasonably gentle walk over from Carn Meini.

The prehistoric site of Bedd Arthur, (Arthur’s Grave) lies on a hillside, across the valley from the infamous Carn Menyn. Some call it an oval stone circle, some see it more as two parallel stone lines, closed at one end. It has even been suggested that its horseshoe shape was the inspiration for the innermost circle at Stonehenge. The bluestones used for the inner circles were from Carn Menyn just across the valley, and skeletons of men found at Stonehenge have been traced to this area, who knows. One thing is for sure, whatever its significance and purpose to our ancestors, Bedd Arthur is an exceptionally enigmatic and tranquil site today.

But not much use for shelter.

Nick Drake
MILK AND HONEY
Gold and silver
Is the autumn
Soft and tender
Are the skys
Yes and knows
All the answers
Written in
My true love's eyes

Autumn's leaving
Winter is coming
I think that I'll
Be moving along
I've got to leave her
And find another
I've got to sing
My heart's true song

Round and round
The burning circle
All the seasons
One, two and three
Autumn leaves
And then the winter
Spring is born
And world is free

Gold and silver
Bounds my heart on
All too soon
They fade and die
And then I'd know
There'd be no others
Milk and honey
Where they lie

Learning About Spring

I know very well what you're up to , spring,.
You can't hide flowering pussywillows
behind grey rosebush waterfalls,
and nothing you do to the earth can mask
the spreading greenness, the flood of grass.
You can't convince me that maples
are turning red with cold from the snow.
From years of playing this game, I know.
And I can see the flowering hills
and I can smell the daffodils.

Coke can fire starter

I have been meaning to try this for some time and at long last spring brings some fine weather so i dug out my can that i polished during the winter and some char cloth and within seconds the char cloth was throwing a heated party, i then tried some kitchen and toilet paper but without success (will try again early summer).
I did cheat though, i didn't use the chocolate wrapper as it was scratching the tin (probably rubbing too hard), i used brasso wadding which brings the can to a mirror finish within 3 minutes (i then found out that brasso wadding is well worth having in your survival tin as it lights instantly with one strike from fire steel), i also tried fine wire wool and silver polish which did the job nicely. This method of starting a fire should be written in all survival books, a simple aluminum can could be a life saver with this bit of knowledge.

TRACKING: A Blueprint for Learning How - Jack Kearney (No ISBN)
Collins








Ray Mears
Essential Bushcraft
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Bushcraft Survival
The Survival Handbook
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Bushcraft: An Inspirational Guide to Surviving the Wilderness
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Mors Kochanski
Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival
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