The Huachuca potato

The Huachuca Potato ( S.fendleri )

Eureka , I’ve found it! ( maybe), for 2 years now I have been searching for the Elusive “Huachuca Potato” . It is a wild mountain relative, of the more common potatoes we all use. This Particular type of 'tater ( Solanum fendleri ) is  a native of the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico.

I first heard about this Potato during a chance meeting with a Botanist while I was out hiking one day. We talked about all of the unique species that are found only in the Chiricahua and Huachuca mountains. Supposedly this species has been crossed with domestic types in hopes of making common potatoes resistant to the Columbia root-knot nematode. Wild potatoes growing high above the desert in southeastern Arizona may hold the genetic key to stopping this pest.

This Botanist mentioned the “Huachuca potato” as one of the oldest known cultivated crops in these mountain ranges. That is a pretty cool bit of local history.  I began researching this plant and discovered the types of habitat and elevations where it could possibly be found.

The other day while exploring a wash – one of the only true washes I have ever found in the Huachucas, (washes have a stone floor – arroyos have a sandy floor – google it. ). At an elevation of around 7000 feet, I found a sandy area in the bend of the wash. The area had been well rooted through by Javalina, and I was curious what they had been eating.  Taking my walking stick, I raked around in the sandy soil and unearthed what looked like a small red potato!

Needless to say I was a bit excited, I looked around some more but failed to locate any other tubers.

I dug a small hole in the soil and filled it with water from my Nalgene bottle then replanted the little red 'tater.

Im going back to the location in mid may ( if im in the area ) and see if it ( or other plants ) had sprouted. Can’t wait!

Tomahawk

Backwoods slingshot

Backwoods slingshot

One day at my camp in the Huachucas, I was riding out a hail storm under my tarp, and getting a little bored.  I decided to make a slingshot. I had with me some wide rubber banding material , given to me by my good friend Shawn Sprague in Maine.

It is a bit too wide to use as is, so I took my dura shears and cut a strip off the edge , about 18 inches long. Instead of cutting it and adding a cup made of leather (from a glove) or canvas (made from a torn up bag) , I simply torn a strip of duct tape from my Nalgene bottle and added a small piece to each side of the band where the cup should be.

This tape gives me an idea of where to load the ammo without actually looking at the slingshot. That way, I can run and shoot at the same time.

Many of the stones in this part of the mountains where I operate are edgy and it is difficult to find decent round or elliptical stones for ammo. Looking around I found a few stones that I made work. However, while “draining the main vein” I noticed some nicely shaped balls of pine pitch at the base of a ponderosa pine tree. There balls of pitch were roundish to elliptical and weighed about the same as the stones I was finding – perfect!  This ammo put me in mind of the sling ammo used in the days of old – like David used to slay Goliath.

I was curious as to how fast this slingshot was shooting so, keeping in mind my 120 paces to 100 meters pace count, I stepped off 15 paces(= 37.5 feet or so), I took one of the semi large elliptical chunks of pitch , loaded it, drew back and let fly. – Wack! From release to impact with the Juniper tree, it was a count of 1 second. So I'm assuming it flies at 300 feet per second, or about 200 miles per hour(??). I'm totally guessing.

It was a lot of fun to make and play around with, I especially like the non-lethal pine pitch ammo, it was also low impact, but effective to ward off pesky squirrels.

See you on the trail,

Tomahawk

Personal knives

When Im out and about in the woods mountains or deserts of the world I usually carry only 4 knives, sometimes only 2. Usually always a Green river blade and a Swiss Army pocket knife or “SAK” in the bushcraft  hipster parlance.

The knives I use are multi functional and have served me well. I find it unnecessary to load myself down with too many knives. If need be I can make one from glass, stone, bone or metal. My personal Knife collection is pretty small, maybe 20 or so but they are all the same type. I go for function and not Flash, Opting for what Works instead of what looks good. Id never pay big bucks for a Blade, too me that is silly and a waste of your money. I do appreciate the Beauty of the custom made Knives though.

The blades I usually carry are ;

1.Green River Butcher knife .

2. Any type of Swiss Army Knife with a Saw and 2 cutting Blades.

3. Old timer Whittling Knife, for making spoons or whatever I may need.

4. Case "Hobo" with detachable Spoon and Fork.

I have 3 of these knives  in my pocket right now!

Occasionally in 3^rd world countries, I have to buy a jungle knife or machete depending on where I am in the world, Or Ill buy a Blade as a gift for a friend. And, once in a while I carry a multi tool.

I never carry a sharpening stone or steel in the field. I witnesses numerous Filipino and Thai Jungle guides sharpening Knives with just a River stone, I paid attention to them and can now sharpen my own blades fairly well with the "Jungle river stone method".

Personal guns for the woods

I’m not a big Fan of Guns. Even though I was an Armorer in the Army and as a Military contractor in the Middle east and Africa. I like them more for their aesthetic appeal rather than their use.

My personal gun collection is only 4 guns, I use to have many more but never used them , and I have always found going to the range to shoot a little boring and not worth the effort. Going to the range also conjures up nightmare memories of being in the Army and and awake at 3 AM, wearing Kevlar, web gear, gas mask and other B.S. then either freezing my ass off or baking in the blazing sun all day - no thank you.

Anyway, as I said I only have 4, a .22/,22 mag “rough rider” pistol. A marlin "Papoose" take down rifle, a 20/.22 Savage break action shot gun, and a Chinese pellet rifle. I had a 50 cal Black Powder "White mountain" hunter but sold it recently.

The guns I have would provide for me If I ever need to count on them for Survival hunting/ foraging purposes. A .22 rifle and a brick of 500 bullets is really all you need for long term survival. If I had to haul ass after some great disaster, I would grab my papoose and the rough rider. I have killed a Caribou and deer with the papoose, and the .22 magnum on the RR pistol is an awesome round. While working as a big game hunting guide in Montana back in the day, many of the old timers referred to the .22 mag as the best “Poaching” round there is.

With My 20 gauge (62 cal), Simply by changing ammo type or shot weight, I can kill any big game found in North America . The ammo can be reloaded with smokeless or Black powder providing I have the caps. Or, I can reload it with some backwoods savvy taught to me by various native people in SE Asia.

The Chines air rifle I use to keep varmints out of my garden, and if need be for hunting small game.

I’m a little amused at "survival types" who hoard guns and ammo just in case they need them to fight a corrupt governments soldiers etc. You will not win a fight against Hardened troops in the event of martial law. It is stupid to think you would.

Anyhoo, you don’t need 50 guns and thousands of rounds of ammo to survive an economic collapse , kill the zombie hoards, or fight government troops. Just get a couple of practical guns that are easy to fix, simple to use, and come in common calibers, keep in mind that the 12 gauge ,30.06, and .22 are the most common rounds in the USA.

I was attempting to fire my Marlin Papoose.22 rifle the other day only to realize that the firing pin was broken!

After consulting the internet for Papoose plans and schematics, assembly/disassembly instructions my friend I called the local gun repair shop and located a Papoose firing pin for 8 dollars. I drove down to the gun shop, bought the firing pin, hit a couple of pawn shops on the way back, then bought some coffee and cinnamon rolls and I was in business.

In less than 5 minutes I installed the new firing pin, reassemble the papoose, and test fired it.
Im always amazed at the information you can find on the internet.

Christmas 2009

HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS - CHRISTMAS eve 2009;

I had planned on spending a lazy day cooking and watching movies then turn in early, But my adventurous spirit got the better of me and I grabbed my mountain bike & survival gear (camel

back HAWG) and Lit out for the Huachuca Mountains abt 10 miles away.

It is a tough ride and uphill all the way from my apartment, I managed to make it into the foothills in about 1 1/2 hours. I was battling wind and rain, and I could see that there was a lot of snow coming down in the higher peaks so I made the decision to set up camp in Brown canyon.

It took me a few minutes to set up my cheap walmart tent, then rig my plastic tarp over it for additional protection.I grabbed my gear and threw it into the tent, then it was just a matter of riding out the

weather.

The gear I had on my bike consisted of tent, plastic sheeting, army goretex bivvy bag, slumberjack summer bag, crazy creek chair, my cook set, 4 knives my trusty old Green river knife named "old

butch", my Case hobo, a Swiss army knife with a saw, and my old timer whittling knife.

Type 1 and type 5 nylon(parachute cord's). 1 gallon of water, camera, a light wind suit, extra socks, gloves, beanie cap, ball cap and other misc gear. my food consisted of 3 cans of sardines, instant coffee, sky flake crackers, animal crackers, thai style instant tea, and some candies.

Darkness fell quickly so I crawled into my sleeping bag and settled in for the night. I laid in my sleeping bag listening to the rain hitting my tent and singing Christmas carols to myself.

During the night I could hear several Javalina moving around in the dark and heard the hoot of some owls, I noticed in the morning that a pack rat had stolen the lid to my travel mug.

It turned out to be a rainy, cold and windy night, I stayed in my bag until 1st light then got up to a cloudy Christmas morning.

The time was only about 7 am and since it was not raining I wanted to make some coffee before heading down the mountain. I kindled a small fire from oak and juniper wood using my bic lighter.

sitting in my crazy creek chair I filled my old army canteen cup with water and sat it on the coals to

boil. It was somewhat refreshing to be out in the cold air. I sat there watching wilderness TV(the fire) while the water boiled and munched a few animal crackers for breakfast.

I had done a lot of thinking during the night about Christmases in the past, I came to my own conclusion that it is all and illusion, and created by merchants to sell products. The necessity people feel to buy and celebrate a false holiday never ceases to amaze me.

I would much rather be sitting alone near a small fire in the beautiful mountains then to be in a house full of people I don't really like or get along with, celebrating a false holiday - just my opinion.

By and by the water boiled and I made myself a full canteen cup or Folgers brand(my personal favorite) instant coffee, ate some animal crackers. While dining in regal splendor there in the mountain I decided to stay over another night, I still had a little food and plenty of coffee. The only problem was water but I knew where to get that up the trail.

I packed my gear, then locked my bike and hid it in the woods, cached my tent in another area then headed up the trail. My intention was to go to a spring I knew of and top off my water bottles, do a quick scout around then return to my camp area before dark. As I hiked along I began to see a lot of illegal alien signs, i.e. cast off clothing, candy wrappers, sardine cans etc.

Since I was low on food I made a quick scout around to see if I could locate a "Lay up site" and recover some canned food from the back packs the illegals throw away.

As luck would have it I located a small lay up site and was able to recover 2 cans of re fried beans, and 2 cans of tuna con vertudes (vegetables), a good score!

I stuffed the cans into my pack then continued my hike up to the spring. Upon arrival at the spring i did as planned, topped off all of my water bottles then hid all but 1 of them.

I emptied out my pack and hid the contents of it along with the water bottles. Taking only food, water, and my bivvy sack I headed up the trail to Carr Peak. There was a bit of snow on the ground but the

trail was clear.

Along the way I saw a flock of turkeys (10 i think), they were difficult to count due to their moving

around. I also spotted several Sonoran Coues deer, and saw plenty of javalina and Bear sign.

Since I had left Camp at about 8am I intended to hike 4 to 5 hours up the trail then turn around and head back to camp so that I would have plenty of light to do so.

It was great to be on the trail and seeing all of the different wild life, the temperature was slightly cool

with a biting breeze, I loved it!

I made it all the way to the top of Carr peak 9000 plus feet, but was a little off of my allotted time

schedule.

I decided to run back down the mountain to where I had stashed my water and pack contents. Stripping down to my hoody, shoes and pants, I stuffed my wind suit and other clothes in my pack then began my

jogging decent.

It was a fairly easy jog down the mountain, I got to the gear stash, recovered my gear and water, then walked the remainder of the trail back to camp as a cool down.

My feet were a little sore By the time I got to camp, I left my bike hidden in the woods but recovered my tent , after pitching it and the rain tarp I again kindled a fire to boil water for coffee.

I remembered the cans of food I had recovered and made the choice to eat tuna and crackers for dinner, washed down with stout black coffee - It was a culinary delite! I finished off the meal with some hard candies for desert.

Thinking about it I realized that I was eating an international meal - Mexican style tuna, Filipino crackers, American coffee and Korean candies. Almost like dining in a 5 star restaurant!

Needles to say I was a little tired that night so I took a swig or two from my whisky flask then crawled in to my sleeping bag, I do not remember anything from that night because I slept very soundly.

Early the next morning I got up, mixed instant coffee in my nalgene bottle , drank it cold, packed my gear and headed for home.

It was a good two nights in the woods and great way to spend a "holiday" weekend, I enjoyed it very

much.