Playing with fire!!

Yesterday I went out for, what I THOUGHT, was going to be a short 2 mile hike, 1 in, 1 out, to play around with a couple stoves. I recently picked up a Svea123R off Ebay for $35. The person selling it said that it was an incomplete set, as it didn't come with the cleaning needle. If you aren't familiar with this type of stove, there were 2 models: the original 123, which was sold with a cleaning needle tool, and the 123R, which replaced it sometime in the 70s, I believe, and had the integral needle. The easiest way to identify the two models is that the older one has a control key that looks like a standard key, and the newer model has a control key with cutouts of the bolts that hold the stove together, so that it doubles as a maintenance tool. Also, on the older model stove, the control stem angles down at 45 degrees, and the newer one comes straight out.
Looking at it online, I assumed this person didn't know the difference, as, even a USED 123R goes for about $50. So, anyway, I took a chance, thinking that, even if the needle WAS broken, I could by the part, and still save money.
Well, come to find out, it was, in fact, the newer model and, sure as hell, the needle worked! So, I picked up a fantastic stove, for a fantastic price!
Anyway, so, I decided yesterday that I wanted to go try it out. I hiked into my local woods about a mile. A place I have been many, many times before. A nice place by a local pond, with a fantastic lunch view. I took a couple pics of my stoves in action, and will attach them below. I still prefer my solo wood gasifier stove, as, in New England, I am never without fuel. The Svea will accompany me on winter trips though, for sure.
So, as to the hike. I STARTED to go back the way I came. Then, I came across a trail I'd never been on before. So, I figured, what the hell, lets see where this goes. Then, another trail. I'm not quite sure how big the town forest is, square acreage wise, but I know that there are 27 miles of trails in the forest that wind back & forth, connecting one with another. Needless to say, by the time I figured out exactly where I was, I figured I was about the farthest away I possibly could be from my jeep, about 2 miles straight line. 3 miles by trail. I had about 2 hours of daylight left, and figured I'd be cutting it close. So, I set to it. And, obviously, made it. I also wanted to give my (fairly) new moccasins a good trial in the woods. Not a 7 mile trial, but, initially, a 2 mile, give or take. Well, after 7 miles, I can attest that the moccasins held up just fine. My feet, on the other hand, are still in tenderfoot mode. They were SORE-largely because they simply aren't used to that long of a walk, without any sort of unnatural support. My guess is, over time, my feet will adjust. It will just take some time. Anyway, I managed to take a couple of pictures while I was out-stove shots, gear, and a couple of interesting trees and burls on my wanderings.
 First shot is the Svea123R. The pot is a Solo Stove pot, which has nice markings on the side-stamped-showing ounces:

 

Next up is my usual Solo stove, doing its thing:

 

Next up, obligatory pipe and coffee shot (this is a Dr Grabow pipe-I call it my Wanderer pipe):

 

An interesting burl I saw on my walk (notice the termite dust):

 

A cluster of mushrooms I haven't identified (I know nothing about mushrooms):

 

 

FINALLY the road home!

 

An evening on the Nissitissit

Just a quick post. Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go out for a little fly fishing at a local river that I frequent. Its one of the local hot spots for native brookies, and, when they stock upriver, other species as well. I got there about 5, as the evening sun was setting. First thing I noticed was that the river was VERY silty. This is vastly different from the last time I was here, a couple months ago. Not sure where this is depositing from, but the normally rocky bottom had a fair amount of sediment. Second, there is a bridge that is fished heavily, as the water is (normally) deep & fast there, and there is shelter, all ideal for trout. However, there is now a debris dam directly under the bridge. I was unable to discern whether this was naturally occurring (from drift farther upstream), or if it was beaver activity in the area. Beavers are prevalent along this corridor, but, I didn't spot a lodge anywhere nearby. This could be the cause of the sediment buildup on the upstream part though. State law prohibits tearing these down, if it is a dam. This river is fairly well used though, and the Squanatissit chapter of Trout Unlimited undoubtedly knows of it, and, hopefully, are looking into ways of removing it, if its a beaver dam. If its simply debris, a weekend out removing it will restore the normal flow.
Anyway, I seized on the opportunity to fish the downside of the dam, as I figured there'd be a couple of brookies hanging out. And, I was right! I was using my Cabelas 8.5' 5 weight rod, and a #14 caddis. I managed to catch 2 brookies, both of about 6" or so, and managed to get a pic of 1:

As usual, I let the little guy go. I watched the sun set over the river, and called it a day. Even though I was only out for an hour, it was certainly worth it. A fitting close to the end of my weekend (which rotates weekly).

A day out on the canoe

I recently spent a couple hours out on the water with my Old town 119. My intent is to become a decent canoe paddler. Most casual canoers, at least in my area, know little about paddle selection, water reading-or, sadly, even paddling, beyond putting the blade in the water the correct way.
I am planning a couple of solo trips next year, so I really want to get some techniques (and gear) ironed out. Specifically, I was practicing my J stroke-which is the stroke you really want to use when solo canoeing, as its less tiresome, and you don't switch sides-meaning less water in the canoe. I also worked a little on sweeps, draws, and TRIED sculling-but, the current seat in my canoe doesn't really allow for me to kneel. But, I am putting a new seat into it this week, so that problem should be resolved shortly.
Anyway, I took a few pics from the outing. Nothing to really report, other than, with the right paddle, paddling a canoe solo is a dream, and requires very little effort!

First up, this is how I had to portage. The canoe is too small for a yoke, and the seat sits too far back and too low to rest on my shoulders, so I used this idea (not my original-borrowed from a canoe site) to portage it. The canoe is light enough to carry on a shoulder short distances, but not for anything significant.

Here she is, all packed and ready to go!

A beautiful day on the lake:

One of the several islands on the lake:

Nice reflection of the clouds:

Another nice shot from the canoe:

Beaver dam:

Water lily-sometimes, I come out here, and there are a LOT in bloom-to the point it looks like a snow field:

A blue heron-oddly, not afraid of me in the least. As he heard me coming, he came crashing out of the woods-then proceeded to have a lunch of frogs: