New sections added to website

I just recently added a new section to the website called "Further Up The Trail."

This section will be expanded to include new content that - while not advanced - is not necessarily content a new pilgrim to the hobby will want to get involved in right away.

The new sections will be:

Per Sylvas Blog - a link to this blog

Trekking - general content about trekking and pack-ins. It will grow to include images from pack-ins and suggestions for what to bring and what not to bring (hint, hint).

Primitive Hunting - currently includes sections on blackpowder hunting and trapping, but will eventually be expanded to include archery, atlatl, and other more primitive types of hunting.

As always I welcome your comments, suggestions, and pictures. The content is now online here.

Also be on the lookout for a new Trade Blanket and Marketplace section to be online soon.

- Many Rifles

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Ranger Hat

Part of the fun of moving is seeing how the dogs react to the new environment. Because of the new baby our stuff is more or less in controlled chaos and things that would normally be up from paws and teeth are too close to the ground. The buckskinning room is still in progress . . .

Anyway, I came home the other day to find that one of our dogs, Cheyenne, had gotten her paws on my nice tricorn hat. She managed to chew most of it up, but upon giving it a second glance, it seemed like a good candidate for a modified ranger "jockey cap."

The work in progress.

Cheyenne - orchestrator of the ranger jockey hat project.

The final product. It needs a plume or some other cool decoration.

Cheyenne will not wear the new hat.

To quote from Zaboly's excellent Osprey book on the American Colonial Ranger:

Noted one British officer, "Leather caps are much more convenient, & less troublesome than Hats, in our Excursions thro' the Woods, and by Water." Another remarked that it was "better adapted to the Hood of the cloake than a Hatt."

I really did like the tricorn, but I guess this was a sign that I needed to modify the hat for my ranger kit.

All's well that ends well. :)

- Many Rifles