On
horseback I very rarely carry an ax, whether a small hatchet, polled belt ax or
chopping ax. To me, cutting firewood is a perfectly useless endeavor that only serves
to tire you out and risk a bad cut after a long day, been there, got that
t-shirt. Since I flat camp when on horseback I have no use to cut leanto stakes
or anything else that I can’t do with my large belt knife. Firewood can be
gathered, stockpiled and either burned in half or fed into the fire by the ends
Native American style.
I
watch people gather wood at most every event and then spend time chopping it into
neat little 20-inch lengths, why? There are so many other tasks that need to be
done in camp, like resting, smoking a pipe, watching a fine piece of meat cook
or passing around a bottle of liquid jollification and telling lies. If I carry
anything on horseback it is a polled ax for pounding in picket stakes for the
horses. However, a plethora of items abound in mother nature to pound in a
picket stake and I have never been left wanting an implement in the wild.
So,
once again, it is usually left behind. During our Ashley’s Return trip, we
packed one ax for all of us and quite frankly I cannot recall that we ever used
it. Perhaps Papa Jack or Amish would remind me if we did. We did carry in the
panniers, a small mallet for picket stakes. It was passed around as we put out
the nine critters each evening. Useful, but not necessary as Wyoming is well
endowed with many large rocks. When trekking on foot, which I try to avoid at all
possible costs, a small belt ax might suffice depending on the length of the
trip. Other considerations revolve around being in a group where we will be
constructing a large shelter requiring cutting poles or stakes, trapping beaver,
and even butchering a deer in camp.
Again,
things I can do with my heavy duty, hand forged belt knife pictured along with
my English polled belt ax and small ax. These are my only three choices and quite
frankly the knife usually wins out! Even pounding in drowning stakes when
trapping beaver can be done with a locally sourced rock. Some folks, when doing
Revolutionary War events or treks need to carry a belt ax for proper portrayal,
as I have done in the past. But in the end, for me lighter is better and less
is more. Next time you are out in the woods take your ax of choice, but instead
of using it, place it aside and challenge yourself to make do with just your
knife and your creativity. Give the ax a rest and see how it goes. In the end,
I bet you will find that it is one more thing you can eliminate from your load.
One less thing to keep sharp and to pack in your kit or hang off your belt.
Happy trekking this spring!