Movie - "The Mosquito Coast"

The Mosquito Coast (ISBN 0-14-006089-8) is a 1982 novel by Paul Theroux and a 1986 film based on the book. Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Andre Gregory, and River Phoenix star in the film directed by Peter Weir. It was shot in Georgia (Cartersville and Rome), Baltimore, and Belize.

The Mosquito Coast is an adventure story of a family that leaves the United States and tries to find a happier and simpler life in the jungles of Central America. The father, Allie Fox, is an individualist who is disgusted by modern American culture and wants to live a more "genuine" life. However, their jungle paradise quickly turns into a dystopia as their stubborn father's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and aggressive.

I can inderstand perfectly how the Main character feels(or felt).

The story is told by his fourteen year old son Charlie, who observes his father with a mixture of love, horror, and astonishment. He describes the voyage, the trip into the interior, and his father’s invention of a giant ice-making machine (dubbed "Fat Boy").

The Movie was woth the watch but, Id like to find the Book.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

Book - "Into a Desert Place"

I just finished reading the book "Into a desert place" by Graham Mackintosh. It is a story of his 3000 mile/500 day hike around the Baja Peninusula in mexico.

Lots of great info on fishing, distilling sea water, eating rattle snakes and cactus fruits etc.

you might enjoy it.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

here is a short synopsis;

Englishman Graham Mackintosh seems an unlikely candidate to walk the 3,000-mile coast of Baja, California--after all, he calls himself "the most unadventurous person in the world." Yet Mackintosh spent 500 days in that loneliest of deserts, carrying his world on his back, dining on rattlesnake and cactus, drinking distilled seawater, and living with fear as a constant companion. So, just what was this "most unadventurous" man doing in a place like Baja? In Into A Desert Place, Mackintosh blames books for his transformation from armchair traveler to hardened adventurer. A taste for adventure travel literature soon developed into an addiction; when the library shelves had surrendered the last of their treasures, he went into a kind of withdrawal: "It got so bad that I even thought of doing something adventurous and crazy myself.... " Walking around Baja was not Mackintosh's first choice--he considered getting married--but a trip to visit friends in Los Angeles led him to the little Mexican village of Ensenada, which had been prominently featured in one of those adventure travel tales he'd read in England.

Like Tolkein's Bilbo Baggins, running down the road toward adventure without a hat or coat, Mackintosh set off to Baja without a tent or sleeping bag, hitchhiking his way around the peninsula until his money ran out. By that time, he'd fallen deeply in love with the harsh environment and was determined to come back and explore it more thoroughly. Into a Desert Place is his account of what he saw and learned on that second trip, and how he survived.

Donations for the Aeta

Folks, I just thought Id throw this out there. I know there are many concerned and generous people around the world who read this blog on a regular basis.

My friend "Jungel Wil" of Jungle wild Adventures (JWA) has been keeping me abreast of the goings on at the Pastolon Aeta Negrito village.

Financially speaking , it has not been good for the folks there ever since the U.S. Navy pulled out. A good majority of the Aeta villagers were employed by the Navy as Jungle survival Instructors, security guards, etc.

The Aeta are very clever and resourceful people who can easily adapt to the times but , Like all people they like good things to eat, decent clothing to wear, a roof over their heads, and some type of security for their children.

The economy being what it is now, there are fewer people visiting the pamalaklakin jungle trail near subic and consequently less guiding jobs for the Aeta.

Id like to raise a little money for the Aeta Guides that "Jungle Wil" and I work with to purchase staple foods like Rice(ill buy from local farmers), coffee, sugar, tinned meats etc. which the Aeta favor.

Also They are in need of Shoes and clothing suitable for a jungle/tropical environment. My last time in the village, Wil and I gave away all of our extra clothing and equipment to the guides.

Any military style or camouflaged clothing in small to medium sizes, to include shorts, socks, small jungle boots or hiking shoes, boonie hats, ball caps etc. would be eagerly accepted and greatly appreciated.

Recently a friend donated $200.00 USD and Wil was able to purchase, Chinese military surplus clothing, used back packs, reading glasses(for the old guys), head lamps,flip flops, head lamps, batteries, plastic tarps, scrap metal(for jungle knives), Rice, coffee, tinned foods etc.

The money went a long way in the current Peso/dollar exchange.

Anyway, the Aeta need some help and I'm just putting this information out there in the hopes they folks will help through their generosity.

If interested you can Donate by using the Paypal button in the right hand side bar on this blog. The Button is found at the very bottom of the column.

"Jungle Wil" is currently in in the PI and will be heading to Manila/Subic Bay soon, he can handle all purchases and over see distrabution of the Items.

I will be returning to the PI in June to put the finishing touches on the Jungle Survival book we have been putting togeather.

I just want to say Thank you in advance on behalf of my Aeta friends,to any of you folks who choose to donate.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

Shackletons Whisky

I have always been a big fan of Sir Ernest, ever since I read the book The Endurance" by Alfred Lansing. I pretty sure Sir Ernest and his inner circle of friends were pompous and assholish to the majority of the crew. But, his ability to command 27 men for 2 years under some very hazardous conditions is exemplary.Brave men with great physical courage are always hard to handle but, Sir Ernest brought all of his men back to safety.

Recently some cases of whisky and brandy were found in the ice below one of the huts used in Shackleton expeditions.I would sure love to taste some of it or even better , wait for a cold Montana or Alaska night, build a big fire in the wood burning stove, and fill some glasses. Then kick back and yarn away the hours with fellow adventurers.

That would be a great way to spend a winter evening.

Feel free to check out the article below on "Shacks" whisky - you might find it interesting.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!


WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) - Five crates of whisky and brandy belonging to polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after being buried for more than 100 years under the Antarctic ice, explorers said Friday.

The spirits were excavated from beneath Shackleton's Antarctic hut which was built in 1908.

"To our amazement we found five crates, three labelled as containing whisky and two labelled as containing brandy," said Al Fastier of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, who previously believed there were only two crates.


"The unexpected find of the brandy crates, one labelled Chas Mackinlay & Co and the other labelled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale are a real bonus."


Some of the crates have cracked and ice has formed inside which will make the job of extracting the contents delicate.


However, Fastier said the trust was confident the crates contained intact alcohol, given that liquid could be heard when the crates were moved.


The smell of whisky in the surrounding ice also indicated full bottles of spirits were inside, albeit that one or more might have broken.


Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, whose company supplied the Mackinlay's whisky for Shackleton, described the find as "a gift from the heavens" for whisky lovers.


"If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, the original blend may be able to be replicated," he said.


"Given the original recipe no longer exists this may open a door into history."


Fastier said the Trust would determine in the coming weeks how best to handle the "delicate conservation task".


Shackleton's expedition ran short of supplies on their long trek to the South Pole from Cape Royds in 1907-1909 and they eventually fell about 100 miles (160 kilometres) short of their goal.


No lives were lost, vindicating Shackleton's decision to turn back from the pole, first reached in 1911 by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.


Shackleton's expedition sailed from Cape Royds hurriedly in 1909 as winter ice began forming in the sea, forcing them to leave some equipment and supplies -- including the whisky -- behind.


The excavation of the whisky follows the discovery last month of two blocks of butter in an Antarctic hut used by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott on his doomed 1910-12 expedition.


The butter had been stored in stables attached to the expedition hut at Cape Evans in Antarctica.

Outdoor cooking

My good friends Sticks65 and BOD over at BCUSA.com forums have inspired me to post some pics and illustrations of different cooking styles found in the outdoors.

The first picture is of a fire box /stick set up used by Sticks on a recent camp out in the UK. You will see the same set up in one of the illustrations.

The other 2 color photos are of Cooking in bamboo. I cannot recall but I pretty sure it is Borneo, taken by my friend BOD. The rice, shrimp and greens look pretty tasty and bring back fond memories of meals in the jungle with my Aeta friends.

I hope you enjoy the pics and find them useful, maybe you can even go out and try a few techniques for your selves.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

New Survival Forum - Camp Red

My Good Friend Pinoyapache(Trailhawk from BCUSA.com), and His Mearly my opinion blog

http://pinoyapache.blogspot.com,

has started a new Survival Forum and it will cover/discuss Bushcrafting and wilderness survival skills around the world.

I invite any reader here to go to the link and check out the forum, look around and say hello. Ill be on there myself quite often.

http://www.istorya.net/forums/hobbies-and-crafts/271454-bushcraft-and-survival-thread.html

And in addition please feel free to drop by Jings Facebook group Camp Red and have a look.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1561486618&ref=profile#!/group.php?gid=372933127517&ref=mf

And, if you get the time,take a look at the cool home made shotgun in his video. vid;

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheTrailhawk

Pinoyapache has a lot to offer and share, do your self a favor and check it out.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

Goretex Pants Modification

Yesterday, I was out walking around this shit hole town I'm in and stumbled on to a Garage sale in progress.

there was the typical old baby clothing, cook wear and ladies stuff. But, as luck would have it I spied a pair of Old school U.S. Army Issue Goretex pants.

These pants are in Like new condition and appeared to be never worn, I asked the Gal "How much?" and she replied "2 bucks!". So, digging into my pocket I fished out 2green backs and forked them over to her.

This was a good score because I am in need of a pair of wind pants for my next trip Up the trail. The only thing about this type of clothing is that, the Goretex tends to be noisy in the cold and, it has no interior or exterior pockets.

Digging into my bag of misc back pack parts I found two Black pockets from the old school Army issue "Wooley bear" fleece jackets, these were part of the Armies former ECWS Extreme cold weather system. The pockets I used are identical to the ones on the vest I'm wearing in the above photo.

I hauled the pants and pockets over to the local tailor shop and asked the lady to sew the pockets on to the pants legs. That, cost me $10.00 . So my total Investment for these Like New wind pants was 12 bucks total - not bad.

I'm sure they will give me plenty of service in the future and, they were a shit load less money then buying Tad gear, Blackhawk, or 511.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

Alpine my good friend

Today I recieved some very sad news - My good K9 friend Alpine had to be put down after the discovery of cancer.

He was a rascal, scamp and scalleywag, who possessed good intelligence,and the heart of a lion. Alpine was a good and unconditional friend, who was a faithful companion on many trips into the Montana mountains.

We shared many Campfires,Hamburgers,Jerked meat and chocolate doughnuts. I will miss him greatly and I will always cherish the memories of him in the woods with me and his owners.

Tonight I will burn a bon fire to light the way for him to the "Happy hunting grounds".

Tomahawk - Signing out!

Tomahawks sewing kit

I was just putting away some of my plunder that i will keep for the long haul, and decided to post a pic of my personal sewing kit.

There is only one time in my entire Adventuring history that I did not carry my sewing kit. While on a hitch hiking trip to Canada from Arizona I made the decision to carry no more gear than I could fit into a Camelback H.A.W.G. pack. So to save weight the sewing kit was left behind; as bad luck would have it my pants were torn on a guard rail and one of my pack straps needed to be repaired.

Alas; no sewing kit! that trip taught me a lesson - always carry a repair kit.

My sewing kit consists of a large needle attached to the back on my GRK sheath, a blanket pin, a large safety pin, 3 saddle makers needles, and 2 small sewing needles.

In addition; there is about 30 yards of waxed artificial sinew, wound around a piece of an old "C-rat" box(that will tell you how long I have carried this kit) which i use as a sheath for my all metal scissors - given to me by my mother , way back when.

For an awl I use one of the scissor blades.

you can forget your american express card, but the sewing kit? Dont leave home without it!

Tomahawk - Scouts out!

Parachute cord or "550"

Lately I have gotten a few emails asking me about parachute cord.As luck would have it I actually know quite a lot about the stuff.

I am a graduate of the U.S. Army Parachute Riggers course,and served as a Rigger for 3 years.

I have used "550" cord as it is commonly called many times but do not carry any with me as I travel around the USA. The reason being,is that I find so much discarded nylon bailing twine laying around that I'm in the habit of using that.

When I'm traveling to Asia or south America, I do carry about 50 feet of the cord as part of my survival gear.

Many of My friends over at BCUSA.com are into the making of bracelets and belts to wear into the field. these items can be unwound and will provide you with a pretty good supply of cord in an emergency situation.

550 cord has as many uses as your imagination can conjure up. One application of parachute cord I can remember reading about lately, is the story of a USAF Para rescue unit that had to ditch in the ocean during a storm , at night. The crewmen tied them selves together with 550 to prevent being separated in the dark. Good idea.

Below you will find a little info about the different types of 550 cord and it uses.

I hope you find it informative .

Tomahawk

"I will be sure always"

Parachute cord (also paracord or 550 cord) is a lightweight nylon kernmantle rope originally used in the suspension lines of US parachutes during World War II. Once in the field, paratroopers found this cord useful for many other tasks. It is now used as a general purpose utility cord by both military personnel and civilians. This versatile cord was even used by astronauts during STS-82, the second Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

The braided sheath has a high number of interwoven strands for its size, giving it a relatively smooth texture. The all nylon construction makes paracord fairly elastic; depending on the application this can be either an asset or a liability.

Despite the historic association of paracord with Airborne units, virtually all US units have access to the cord. It is used in almost any situation where light cordage is needed. Typical uses include attaching equipment to harnesses, as dummy cords to avoid losing small or important items, tying rucksacks to vehicle racks, securing camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, and so forth. When threaded with beads, paracord may be used as a pace counter to estimate ground covered by foot. The yarns of the core (commonly referred to as "the guts") can also be removed when finer string is needed, for instance as sewing thread to repair gear or fishing line in a survival situation. The nylon sheath is often used alone, the yarn in the core removed, when a thinner or less elastic cord is needed. Ends of the cord are almost always melted and crimped to prevent fraying.

In addition to purely utility functions, paracord can be used to fashion knotted or braided bracelets, lanyards, belts, and other decorative items. 550 Cord is used by many US military members as a bracelet signifying deployment to the Central Command Area of Responsibility, typically countries in the Middle East. It is also worn in remembrance of POW/MIA service members during National conflict. It is fashioned by using three equal lengths of cord and weaving them together to make a bracelet that is then secured with a looped end and a button from the Desert Camouflage Uniform. The bracelet is commonly seen among those serving in the Middle East.

TYPES:
US Military issue paracord is specified by MIL-C-5040H in six types: I, IA, II, IIA, III, IV.Types IA and IIA are composed solely of a sheath without a core. Type III, a type commonly found in use, is nominally rated with a minimum breaking strength of 550 pounds, thus the GI Name of "550 cord".

The US military specification for paracord outlines a number of parameters to which the final product must conform. Although it contains specific denier figures for the sheath strands and inner yarns, there are no overall diameter requirements for the cord itself. Below is a table of selected elements from the specification.

TYPE AND MINIMUM BREAKING STRENGTH:
I 95 lb (43 kg)
IA 100 lb (45 kg)
II 400 lb (181 kg)
IIA 225 lb (102 kg)
III 550 lb (249 kg)
IV 750 lb (340 kg)

The same properties which soldiers appreciate in paracord are also useful in civilian applications. After World War II parachute cord became available to civilians, first as military surplus and then as a common retail product. While some commercially available paracord is made to specification, even when labeled as such a given product may not correspond exactly to a specific military type and can be of differing construction, quality, color, or strength. Particularly poor quality examples may have significantly fewer strands in the sheath or core, cores constructed of bulk fiber rather than individual yarns, or include materials other than nylon.

Paracord has also been used by many since the 1970s for whipmaking. The durability & versatility of this material has proved beneficial for performing whip crackers & enthusiasts. Since nylon doesn't rot or mildew, it has become known as an all-weather material for whipmaking. Nylon whips have grown in popularity over the last few decades, more so in the last several years.

Huachuca Mountains and some Illegals

my good buddy "Macaroni jack" and I headed out into the Huachuca mountains for a scout. We just wanted to see what was moving around in our back yard.

Not surprisingly we encountered Illegal aliens and numerous "Lay up sites" in the desert foot hills before we got to the mountains proper.

On the hike in we encountered a lady named Gloria Suarez just standing on the trail looking around. We asked her if she was OK and then she told us that she had stopped to relieve her self and the others had left her.

Nice folks.We were surprised when Gloria asked us which part of Texas she was in. We informed her that she was in Arizona and that is a long way from Texas. Gloria said her husband was in Texas and that he paid $3,000.00 for her to be guided there.

Any way, we pointed her toward the main road after stopping by a lay up site to find some un opened water bottles, a back pack and any canned food we could locate.

Old Mac and I headed up the trail.

We saw some more heavy illegal alien sign in the form of trash and clothing carelessly thrown along the trail. These Illegals have no respect for the land or the USA.

We saw some Border patrol BORSTAR EMT agents in the field and I was surprised to learn that these guys were there primarily to provide medical assistance to the Illegals.

So, what that means is that our taxes are going to pay for an American law enforcement agency,which is set up solely to provide assistance to people who are breaking American immigration laws.

Sounds about right.

anyhoo, here are a few pics.

Tomahawk - Scouts out!