I wonder what other little caches or quests a person could hide... I don't think most chaches could have much significance beyond "designated McGuffin". A map might be a good option, except that they're not particularly durable. The most likely caches rangers might be expected to plant wo...

This is one of the coolest things I've ever heard...I'd love to do more of it. Seeding treasure caches in the wilderness sounds like a great way to add an objective to a trip. I've done orienteering "treasure" hunts in the past; sort of like geocaching, but with multiple steps instead of j...

Solder's quite an expensive source of pewter. I found some on ebay that's quite a bit more reasonable per weight (and lead free!)

I like the method of making the mold.

...Damn, dude.
Just...wow.
Your kit is incredible.

I'd honestly go a step further and say that I was a big fan of the first book, liked the second book okay and was trudging through the third a bit. Toooo much politics for my liking. There's a certain set of books I'd describe as "Premise driven", where the actual characters and even the p...

That sounds really interesting! I'll have to experiment with using dried mushrooms to make quick broths - dried lentils are one of my go-to trail foods, and I usually cook them with some chicken pocket soup or bacon, but one of the more dedicated members of my local group is vegan, so I've been loo...

I've been getting store-bought. Harmony House brand, specifically, but I wouldn't be surprised if buying them from the grocery and dehydrating them came out cheaper.

It's not Tolkien-proper theorizing, but I've always liked thinking about how the origins of different Tolkien-esque races would come about in a more "hard fantasy" setting. I've always thought that, given humans' propensity for assigning monstrous characteristics to our own absurdly close ...

I really like the mushroom powder as thickener idea. Sounds tasty!

I'm always experimenting with new foods for the trail, and on a recent trip I brought along an ingredient I've been wanting to try for a while: dried mushrooms. It went better than I had hoped. First, the (somewhat) bad: dried mushrooms don't reconstitute perfectly. They never seem to puff back up t...

I just wanted to throw out a suggestion for a book/series that I think many people on this board would enjoy: Dies the Fire, by S.M. Sterling, and also its sequel, The Protector's War. As a quick synopsis, one evening, all modern technology inexplicably ceases to function. Electricity no longer flow...

A very interesting series. I had a hard time finishing it, as it was pretty depressing at parts, but that's not to knock the quality at all. I LOVE the "hard fantasy" aspect, and was very intrigued by the Kandra as a race, too. All around I give it a thumbs up.

On the flip side I'm a terrible camp cook. I'd be a good candidate for camp cook. I've cooked everything from spitted squirrel to broccoli quiche on the trail, and have a good feel for improvising meals in general. I'd also be well suited to scouting and navigating, with my extensive cartographic t...

Peter Remling wrote:He'd have to over harden the blade which is pretty impossible to do with no experience or proper equipment.

I have a friend with an electric tempering oven...I wonder if he'd be able to over-harden it.

Oh I LOVE the nod to book Aragorn! Good luck with the park rangers - that is a clever idea! I assume you're cutting the scabbard down to? Or no? Out of curiosity, are you getting in touch with the park ahead of time, or just going? Twenty years ago I think they'd have been delighted to get in on th...