It's summer time and lots of folks are hitting the trails again for the long summer day hikes and back packing trips in to the deeper bush to get away from it all. I have been really impressed with the number of couples and groups I have met on the trails here recently, for whom hiking and camping are new experiences. Back in the early spring I was given the opportunity to teach a couple from South Florida how to start a fire under very wet conditions, here in the southern end of the East Appalachian Temperate Rain Forest where I live. A few weeks ago, on a very hot day in June, a group of young girls made their way back to the parking area of a Cumberland trail access point with two complaining of leg cramps and muscle spasms. They had meant to go for a short walk, but then ended up hiking for hours. The only thing they had taken with them was a new found enthusiasm for the outdoors. Luckily I keep plenty of water in my truck, and I had a few bottles of gatorade in a cooler. Last week I had to explain to a group of young men from Nevada that the ledge they were walking towards was not a ledge at all, but just leaf covered dead-fall spanning a gap between two stone outcrops, and that the absence of vegetation in that spot was the first clue. In their defense, the light was low, and they were wanting to get near the edge to see the sunset over the Tennessee River Valley. Luckily for them it is an area I know very well. It is in this spirit of looking out for those who have discovered a new found love in the outdoors, that I thought I would post a few bits of knowledge that could come in handy somewhere along the trail.
Depending on where and with whom you have it, a conversation on the subject of batonning can be quite controversial. It can quickly lead to some heated debates, with both sides passionately presenting supporting arguments. The usual arguments against it are: “knives are made for cutting, axes are made for splitting”, “a knife is not a froe”, “knives are not made for striking in this way”. It is true enough of course, knives are indeed not froes, most knives are far more versatile. Truthfully, only splitting axes are made for splitting, much like felling axes are made for felling. As for what a knife is made for, well that is determined by the designer and the maker. Knives can easily be purposed-designed for all sorts of uses, and they should be chosen based on realistic expectations.
