The Woodsman's Pal

The Woodsman’s Pal is more than just the outdoorsman’s best friend; it is also perhaps the most versatile tool a man could even dream of owning. Instantly upgrade your “Man Factor” by getting a Woodsman’s Pal. Nothing gets the testosterone pumping quite like a man ready to unleash rampant destruction at a moments notice. Astonish friends, frighten the neighbors and impress the old lady with 16.5 inches of cold, hard, steel dangling haphazardly from your tool belt.

Be amazed as the Woodsman Pal chops effortlessly through 4 inches of rock solid hardwood! 

While this elegant tool is designed for the uncharted wilds, I wonder how it will fare in a test under the rigors of suburbia. Oh sure, any man could wander into the wilderness, equipped only with his Woodsman’s Pal and emerge weeks later clean shaven, well fed and dressed in animal skins but how well does the Woodsman’s Pal thrive in the battlefield of America’s backyards, patios, garages and kitchens? Would it not be the ultimate test of this stylish “man tool”, were it subjected to the trials and tribulations of the urban jungle?

To better explore this “challenge”, I have devised a series of tests designed to push the woodsman’s pal to its breaking point and determine if this is truly the right tool for the job. Man law eloquently states that there be no more divine trinity than bacon, beer and boobies . . . BUT since this is a PG rated show, we are going to eliminate boobies. Given my devout and undying respect for the man trinity, the Woodsman’s Pal will be subjected to two tests of its functionality, based on these, the most holy of holy.

Test one BACON: Ummm, nothing is quite more intoxicating than the smell of bacon cooked over the open flame. Unfortunately, you already demolished the old ladies frying pans and the gas grill looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since the birth of Jesus. Fear not, for your need for fried pork belly will not go unanswered for, on this day, you have your Woodsman’s Pal.


Challenge one PASSED! 



Test two BEER: Hanging out around the fire and find you have misplaced your bottle opener? Have no fear; the Woodsman’s Pal comes fully equipped with a bottle opener.

Challenge two PASSED! 

Slash more than prices this holiday season, slice, split and cut away to your hearts content and remember, whether your trimming St. Nicks beard, carving the holiday season Turduckin, hacking down O’Tannenbaum, flipping reindeer burgers, cutting wrapping paper or even popping the top off a bottle Christmas ale the best tool for the job will always be the Woodsman’s Pal!

Interview with Musket Creek

I was recently interviewed for a post featured on THE MUSKET. It is a great blog that has a ton of help and useful information on hunting, fishing and a huge variety of outdoor pursuits. Stop by and check them out!

Here is a few highlights from the interview. For a a full version of the interview w/ pictures please link to The Musket. 

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The Interview With Musket Creek:

The Maine Outdoorsman is a very cool hunting, fishing, and outdoors blog.  Our friend Steve has some really great stuff, so be sure to check out him out!  Click on one of the links in this article for a sample of his stuff.

MC: Describe your first experience with hunting.

Steve: My very first memory of hunting was with my Dad when I was about 5 years old. He was hunting and I was walking in back of him excitedly following his every footstep. Suddenly a partridge flushed and screamed down through the woods like a rocket. I remember Dad calmly raising his Ithaca featherlight 12 gauge pump, shooting once and watching the bird fall. His actions were amazing to my young mind and ‘wow’ was the only word I was able to utter as I ran down into the woods to find the downed bird. From that moment on I was hooked on hunting.

MC: What types of hunting do you prefer?

Steve: I go through cycles of HIGH interest. It used to be deer, then ducks, next turkeys. While I still like to hunt those species, currently I am hot on the predator (coyote, fox, bobcat) and bear hunting.

MC: Is there any type of hunting that you have always dreamed of trying?

Steve: My dream hunt would be chasing something across the plains of Africa BUT I could be almost as happy chasing antelope on the plains or caribou across the tundra. Anything that breaks from the ordinary and allows me to pursue a different species is a dream.

MC: Give us a breakdown of the gear you use.

Steve: Love Polyfleece; hate wool.  Love heavily insulated boots and mitts. Hate budget climbing stands. Love ATVs, Hate scent killer clothing and Love ice fishing. Hate Steel Shot. Love the 30-06 cartridge. So with those statements . . . Patagonia R3 Jackets, Lacrosse Boots, Black Diamond Gauntlet Mitts, Viper SD Climbing Stand, Yamaha Grizzly 550, Baking Soda and non-scent soap and deodorant, Clam 2000 and Jack Traps, Heavishot, 1985 Browning 30-06 Semi-Auto. and Marlin XL7 30-06 Bolt Action.

MC: Favorite place to fish?

Steve: My backyard pond. It’s a 10 minute walk and filled with HUGE large mouth bass!

MC: Coolest fishing story?

Please visit Musket Creek for the remainder of the interview. 

The Rabid Outdoorsman Contemplates 40

Sailing in Hawaii

I turn 40 in a few days and though the thought isn’t quite as frightening, as I had imagined when I was a 20 something, it is still a major life milestone that fills my mind with contemplation.  I suppose, I should be grateful I have managed to live this long, considering the recklessness of my youth and some of the close calls encountered through the years that I somehow miraculously managed to avoid. At times, death has been close by my side and I am reflective of the time a sudden bolder erratic shifted at the wrong moment, a violent car crash occurred and the time when I shook the hand of a healthy man, who died the next day while ice climbing on Mt. Washington. Those events serve as reminders of how fragile life can be and that we must endeavor to live each day to its fullest. Reflecting over the past 40 years,  I feel I have lived a life worth living and in the end, that is all a man can ask for.

The Rabid Outdoorsman Contemplates Exercise and Diet
In light of my new 40 status, I suppose I should start to look more seriously at my exercise routines, food intake and general health but then again isn’t that what old timers have to do? Isn’t this something that maybe I can hold off considering until I enter my twilight years, like 60 perhaps, when I turn REALLY old?

Top of Maine, Mt. Katahdin

I guess I should be “thankful”, I have this “Katahdin” thing coming up this winter where a group of us are planning to climb to the summit in full on mountaineering fashion (like I used to do in my youth). If this doesn’t motivate me to get back into a regular exercise routine, then little else is sure to work. Thoughts of dragging a 35 pound pack up a snow and ice covered mountain is not something to be enjoyed when you are out of breath and panting like a dog on a hot summer day. So, that means months of running stairs, visits to the gym and regular occurrences of pulled muscles, aching joints and general bodily discomfort . . . sigh . . . why can’t exercise be easy?!?!

Paris, France

Then there is this intake of food and cholesterol count BS that I really hate to even consider talking about. I like bacon, greasy eggs, corned beef hash, sour cream on baked potatoes, cheese, loaded pizza, fried stuff and thick full-bodied beer so give me a handful of pills for my high cholesterol and blood pressure and lets call it even. Ok, perhaps that was a little bit childish and a tad inconsiderate of my body, which has treated me so well over the years, despite my best efforts to destroy it. First there was the knee rebuilds, then the ACL replacement and finally the major back surgery but it would be unfair of me to blame these things on my body. These scars are the end products of a mind able to frequently push my body past its genetically average abilities. It has certainly been a life lived hard and to its fullest and I often wonder what my next major surgery will be . . . I hear hip replacements are becoming popular, among “Boomers”, perhaps I will add that to my list.

Uluru, Australia

I have never liked the word “diet” it is a word with little meaning to me. Anyone who “diets” is never ever going to see any real or lasting change in their waistline. If you really want to permanently lose weight, you must make a lifestyle change that includes either more exercise or putting a stop to swallowing so much stuff. If you can’t stop eating, it better be healthy stuff your cramming in your mouth and not junk. My intake of food is far from perfect but to my advantage, I rarely drink soda, eat fast food, snack in the evening or have any inclination toward consuming sweets. When you work to combine a modest food intake with an increasingly active life style you begin the process of finding your balance.

Summit Mt. Rainier

Personal balance should be the point where your bodies health and ability level matches the activities that you wish to achieve to lead a happy and fulfilling life. Want to climb mountains?  Need to carry a heavy pack? Plan to shoot a deer and drag it out of the woods this year? Do you enjoy paddling a canoe and doing a little fishing on the weekends? Plan to run a triathlon this Fall? All these activities require your body to be at differing levels of cardio and musculature conditioning. Most of us will never need to have bodies like professional athletes, movie stars or Olympians to be content pursuing our life passions. For me, I have always followed a rhythm of months of intense training leading up to a particular activity (My training for Aconcagua is a great example), followed by periods of moderate exercise intensity. The benefit of being an outdoorsman is that you are perpetually busy, there always seems to be deer stands to relocate, canoes to portage, mountains to climb, lakes to paddle, animals to be scouted, game cameras to check and wild lands to explore. I encourage everyone to find his or her balance, as your life and health will be better for it!

Mt. Hood

The Rabid Outdoorsman Continues to Contemplate
On July 19th I will be posting a list of original “Your forty if . . .” statements that was inspired by Jeff Foxworthy’s famous “You might be a Redneck” stand-up routine. I hope the post will provide you all with a good laugh.

I am looking forward to the next 40 years and have already set my sights on 90. At this monumental occasion, I have decided to take up my life long dream of binge drinking, eating only bacon and smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Young people are certain to look at me and say, “Wow, that guy is like 90, eats and drinks like that and smokes a pack of cigarettes a day! Maybe those things aren’t as bad for you as reported!”. That should teach those young whippersnappers with their fancy Playstation 10s, cranially implanted iPods and jet packs to respect their elders!

Outdoorsman Eat Garbage

Bacon, doughnuts, soda pop, corn beef hash, greasy eggs and an extensive list of other unhealthy foods are typically attached to any of our early morning hunting and fishing outings. Though loaded with carbohydrates, fats and possessing bizarre powers capable of expanding bellies and asses to titanic sizes, they are perhaps, because of these attributes, the most perfect snack food for an active outdoorsman.

Of these ass expanding favorites, on the top of my list firmly sits the Twinkie snack cake. Oh sure, there are other competitors who have vied for my attention over the years and on occasion I have deviated from the Twinkie and explored other snack cakes. Little Debbie Fudge Rounds, Hostess HoHos, Ding Dongs, Suzy Os, Zingers, Drake Yodels and Coffee Cakes have all, at one time or another suffered at the hands of my sweet tooth and overactive lower digestive system. Despite these delicacies ability to elicit almost instant diabetic shock, their saccharine laced goodness is to overpowering to resist.

Sitting in the duck blind that cold November morning, I have a vague remembrance of peering down at the strange, yellowish, oblong, spongy, cream-filled, pastry sticking to the palm of my hand and thinking, “I bet the shelf life for one of these things is close a millennium.” Years later, I would stumble upon the website twinkiesproject and some of my worst fears would be realized. Undeterred, by the experimentation on my friend “Twinkie the Kid”, my love affair with the noxious inorganic pastry continues.

Despite its strange appearance, a practically endless shelf life and the necessity of using five adjectives just to describe it, a Twinkie is something to be cherished when your body aches from the cold north wind, the ducks aren’t flying and you need some serious comfort food to get you through the morning. It is at these moments, that our minds focus our bodies energies into staying warm and nothing seems to fit this craving any better than that rich, high energy sugar filled snack food from Hostess.

An exploration of the ingredients label, on a package of Twinkies, is not for the faint of heart. Most of the ingredients would be difficult to pronounce, for even the most cunning linguist. Those words you would be able to wrap you tongue around would leave you breathless and dizzy just at the thought of their possible consumption. Though a chemical filled and preservative laden perversion, in moderation, they are delicious . . . just stay away from reading the ingredients list!