Mushroom hunting and exploring in North Carolina

Over the past summer I was hanging out in North Carolina with my good friend Josh and his lovely lady Tiffany. We did a fair bit of exploring and mushroom hunting, collection Reiche, Chicken, Chaga, and several other types of edible 'shrooms to sell at the local restaurants in Asheville.We took in the Hippy "Firefly" gathering, drank some good moonshine and generally had a good time. I was able to get in some camping in the smokies, and scour all of the local area thrift stores for gear and cast iron cooking pots / pans. I love NC and hope to get back there and locate a decent place to set up a semi permanent camp.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

1st and last wood cutting trip for 2017

I went out over the last 2 days to help my friend "Homie Matt" cut fire wood to last him for the rest of the southern Arizona winter. We gathered,cut and stacked about a cord of juniper, oak, and pine. Our intention was to drop some dead standing trees but there was no need. We simply cleaned up the branches left behind by other wood harvesters.It was good to get out and help the environment and my good friend.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Just a thought

"Sometimes you need to just get out of the woods.
bang a whore, get drunk, get into a fight,eat good food, speak a different language, drive a long ways ,and piss off border guards on both sides of the fence."

~Tomahawk.

Tabatinga to Iquitos on a speed boat

Fairly recently I was in "Tres fronteras" south America where Brazil, Colombia and Peru come together on the Amazon river. I was a pretty interesting place. I stayed at the hotel Brazil ^^^^ met some good folks and ate some decent grub. After a few days, I headed up river to Iquitos, Peru by speed boat, which was a 12 hour ride. That was (to me) better than taking the slower river boat which took 5 days.

Iquitos was awesome. I love the feel of that town, and It reminded me a lot of the Philippines. Locating a room near the large outdoor market, I settled in and then went exploring. There were numerous small bodega type eateries , I bought some coffee and sweet rolls from a nice lady who ran a small cafe near my room.

I hung out in Iquitos for about a month then hopped on a plane for Cuzco, but that is another story.

see you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Arizona/Mexico border to Guatemala city

I got a wild hair recently and packed a bag of survival gear and lit a shuck for Guatemala. Living in southern Arizona it is a simple matter of crossing the "Line" and getting on a bus. After several days of riding on a bus and hitchhiking, I finally arrived at tapachula Mexico. From there I paid for a mini van ride to the border crossing. I went to the Usumacinta (Howler monkey) river and took a raft across to Guatemala. This is Illegal , but I wanted to do it just for the hell of it. I took the raft pack across and went through the immigration check point out of Mexico and into Guatemala.

I caught a bus to "guatemala" - the city of - then got a cheap hotel room for a few days to recoup before heading back to Arizona. It was a good trip, and fairly cheap. I might head out again soon

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

The Scarlet Plague by Jack London

Jack Londons only sifi story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sOJ6DcIsl4


" The boy wore a ragged garment of bear skin. He could not have been more than 12 years old. Tucked coquettishly over one ear was the freshly severed tail of a pig.in one hand he carried a medium sized bow and arrow, on his back was a quiver full of arrows, from a sheath hanging about his neck on a thong projected the battered handle of a hunting knife. he was as brown as a berry and walked softly with almost a cat like tread"

Some of you might like this.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Hammock History

 Hammock History

Hamaca - Spanish

Duyan - Cebuano - Philippines

Ang Roeung, អ្​ង្រឹង - Khmer - Cambodia

เปลญวน - Thailand

The Hammock is one of my favorite pieces of equipment for world travel. I always have a quality hammock and tarp in my bag when I hit the road. Having a hammock and tarp with me gives me a place to sleep, or build a base camp. Even when making short hitch hiking trips from the Jack Mountain field school to Presque Isle Maine, I had my hammock and tarp. 

They served me well on a few occasions where I was unable to get a ride. Once while on the road between Ashland, Maine and Presque Isle , I was unable to get a ride. It was raining, I was soaked, and it was getting dark. I decided to head to a copse of trees and set up my hammock.

I busted into the woods and located 2 likely looking trees took out my hatchet and cut off the dead branches up to the height I wanted to set my tarp. I hung the tarp , then the hammock . Next I threw the only dry clothes I had with me (Cut off carhartt  shorts , a hoody, and some smartwool socks) along with a large piece of parachute cloth I use as a "blanket". I also threw in my Nalgene bottle of water and some trail munchies.

Standing there in the waning light, soaked to the bone, it was cold and depressing. The thought of spending the next 12+ hours in a hammock under a tarp in the cold was not appealing. So, I stripped off my soaked clothes and hung them to drip "dry" by morning, then dried myself off as best as I could with a spare bandana. I was shivering as I pulled on the shorts, and hoody.

I crawled in , wrapped myself in the parachute cloth , ate my trail munchies and sipped water. It was going to be a long cold night. I tried to get my mind right by thinking about warm tropical climates, long flowing hair, and silk teddy’s bulging from their fleshy cargo.........I was so glad that I had my hammock and tarp with me, otherwise id be walking along the road all night in the dark and rain and cold.

Where did the Hammock Originate? I have seen hammocks all over the world. I had 2 set up at my house in Cambodia. And later on at my place in Mae Sai, Thailand. I have slept in a Hammock at the Aeta Village in the Philippines, and all over central and South America. I began to wonder how they were simultaneously in Asia, the south pacific and Latin America. Did the Spanish or Portuguese introduce them to Asia or were they introduced to Latin America and elsewhere...It is a good question.

 All Central and South American countries have an ancient history associated with hammocks. It is generally accepted that the origins of the hammock began approximately 1000 years ago in Central America by the Mayan Indians.  They designed a web-like hammock which is still in use today and considered to be the most ingenious and comfortable of all hammocks.

Some of the Early hammocks were made from the bark from the hamack tree, which is where the word “hammock” comes from. Hammocks are beds used to guard against animal and bug bites. Because the hammocks were suspended above the ground, inhabitants were protected from harmful creatures that carried diseases.

Because of the numerous trade routes used by the Indians of Latin America, the hammock naturally found its way to many other Indians. Hammocks were soon being made from indigenous fabrics and materials which resulted in a many types, which have evolved to the classic cloth/fabric hammock, typical of Brazil, and cord and rope hammocks similar to today's styles.

Nearly all sources mention Christopher Columbus in the discovery of the hammock. However, the hammock actually dates back more than 1,000 years ago to Central America, far before Columbus was alive. As mentioned above, the hammock was used as a form of protection against harmful creatures on the ground. Christopher Columbus was introduced to the hamaca (hammock) during his travels at the end of the 15th Century by the Taino Indians, a Haitian tribe, in which he brought a variety of hammocks to Europe where they gained appeal. During this time, European weavers began crafting hammocks out of cotton, canvas, and other cloths, as well as sending these materials to weave hammocks in the New World.

By the mid-16th century in many parts of the world, the hammock was used as an alternative to the traditional bed. The U.S. military even turned to hammocks for sleeping when away from home. Hammocks quickly gained widespread appeal by both the wealthy and the underprivileged, and by the end of the 19th century, the first mass producer of hammocks opened in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.

Today, we have expanded on the traditional hammock with improvements to design, materials, and comfort. Some hammocks are still used for insect protection with the addition of enclosed nets, and some are simply used as a luxurious relaxation portal. Hammocks today represent a luxury for many, but it can’t be taken for granted that the hammock is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in the history of mankind.

See you on the trail! 

Tomahawk -    

  

1947 the last Apache scouts

The last Apache Scouts

In 1922 the last U.S. Army Indian scouts were sent from Fort Bowie, AZ to Fort Huachuca, these Scouts lived in and worked all over the Huachuca Mountains in the same stomping grounds that I have camped and hiked in over the past few years. On Post , you can still visit the Scout camp along Huachuca creek where they had their wikiups set up for their respective families. It is a pretty spot with many large Native Sycamore and oak trees with beautiful views of the surrounding hills.

I have parked my car there many times to stretch out before a run up and down the Canyon trails, it is one of my favorite spots on base and I can understand why the Indian Scouts like it too.

I have seen and held in my hands a Sharps carbine rifle that belonged to Staff Sergeant Sinew J. Reilly who was the highest ranking Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) for the Scouts. This rifle was in the possession of a friend of mine for safe keeping, as I held it I could feel the history of it in my hands and I could imagine SSG Reilly with it across the front of his McClellan army saddle (Model 1903 tree), as he rode the Mountain trails. It was an interesting bit of American history to behold.

The red head band worn by the Apache Scouts came about because in the 1880s the Army was looking for distinctive color  for head bands to more easily identify friendly scouts from hostile Indians. The Army Chief of Scouts chose White, but the only color available in the sutlers store at the time was red, so each Army scout was issued 1 yard of red flannel for his head band. The U.S. Army Apache scouts wore their red head bands as a badge of honor and were proud of their skill and ability to sneak up on the enemy Indians while wearing this bright color.

Other than the odd  Apache running around, hostiles were not known to wear red head bands. Unlike the claims of certain “survival experts”, wild or bronco Apache scouts did not wear red head bands. That claim is simply not true.

A few years ago I was yarnin' with a retired Army Colonel from Fort Huachuca who actually knew the scouts when they were here in Arizona. I was told by the Colonel that the Scouts were sometimes hard to locate in the Mountains due to their disdain for radios, at times a rider had to be dispatched to track them down. The scouts were used for many different missions on base during the ww2 era and it was the last war time service seen by official Army Indian scouts.

The last Eight Apache scouts were promoted and then retired from service in 1947; some of them had served the army for 40 years or more.

I enjoy reading the colorful names like "Sgt. Chicken", "Chow Big" , or "Short Bread" , these names and stories about the old scouts reminds me of the Native peoples I have encountered around the world. All Native peoples seem to possess a wonderful sense of humor and come up with colorful descriptive names for things and each other.

It does not take much imagination to figure out why "Chow Big" was called that, I'm sure he could pack away the chow. Probably not unlike the Nepalese Ghurkas or Aeta Negritos I have worked with. I have seen these little guys eat in a single meal an amazing amount of rice and canned meats then top it off with local fruits and veggies etc. , way more food then I would consume in an entire day.

Being from Arizona and having lived in "Apacharia" for the past several years, specifically in the Huachuca mountains where these scouts lived and worked.  I can better appreciate them and their abilities more than most folks. I have walked the same trails and drank from the same streams and camped in the same side canyons as these old scouts .

There were many times when I was Camped alone in the Huachuca mountains on a cold clear winter night, sitting around my small Apache style star fire, I swear that I could hear them shouting to me;

   "Hadínyaa Ndeen~ we are still here, Aheeya!",

I sincerely hope the ghosts of these old scouts are still up there in the Huachucas' and they continue to move about like the wind.

See you on the trail,

Tomahawk