In this Adventure Ryan video, I spend the day hiking a river valley and getting in some practice with the bow drill.
Alaska is finally starting to thaw out a little (this was filmed in early May), and while there is still snow in the higher elevations, places like this river valley are beginning to feel more summer-like. As for the bow drill work, friction fire of any form is much more challenging here than it was in the desert of Arizona. I’ve built fires by friction here in the past, but since that time, I’ve gotten used to the ease with which they embers can be formed in the desert. Not only is the material drier in the desert, but the time I spent there allowed me to gain experience with which types of wood worked best. There’s going to be plenty of trial and error that goes on here to lock in the skill for these northern climates, but that’s part of the journey, and I look forward to it.
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Website: https://adventureryan.com/
Wild Stillness (my most recent book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087L31GXW