Finding fire in the Desert - Ray Mears


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Peacelovingirl

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Okay so I accidentally mistaked sotol for a different type of yucca... I have seen it a couple times but didn't take much notice to it since I prefer the ever so hard to find Mojave yucca.... I decided to gather the sotol stalk on my last trip because the stalk seemed stronger the the other yucca and I figured it would make a good hiking stick..... When I posted my trip here Mr.Black was ever so kind as to point out that the stalk was not a type of yucca but sotol... so in my research of the uses of sotol I came across this video

Finding fire in the Desert - Ray Mears Extreme Survival - BBC - YouTube

I am so sad that I already stained my stalk or it would be a fire board right now... next time I go out I am gathering more sotol stalks for sure.
 
petrifiedwood said:
I've got a few mullein stalks drying in the shop I mean to try one day. Don't think sotol grows in my area, dry though it may be...
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the funny thing is I cant find a web site that shows sotol in California but when I saw the pictures that is exactly what it looks like..... I wish I could get some mullein around here.... I hear its great stuff
 
I know how you feel. I saw some back in 2006 at a state park west of Austin. I thought oh wow look at the size of those yucca stalks. Then I was showing the pictures to my mother-n-law and she told me what they really were. Back in the day she said the were used a lot of times as closely spaced roof rafters in Mexico.

So the next time I'm west of Austin I will be on the look out.
 
Thanks for sharng this!
:)
I use mullein all the time for fire making, as it is plentiful around here. I also use it medicinally by making tea or smoking the leaves to help clear congestion when I get a chest cold. Never tried the Sotol before though, since my desert experiences are limited. :( But the stalk sure looks somewhat similar to mullein. I did have some basic desert survival training (S.E.R.E. course info.) during my USMC tour years ago , but not much. As I am unlikely to ever get to a desert in the rest of this lifetime, I may not ever need the "desert specific"info. But I enjoy learning more about outdoor skills & knowledge that I don't have, even if I may never use them.
Thanks again for sharing!
:)
 
the thing is the woods sound a little scary to me.... I think it would be a lot easier to get lost with all those trees... and don't get me started on roughing it in the snow.... I am familiar with the desert... so that is my comfort zone... some of you guys make it look so easy and fun out there..... exspecially with all that wood and water you guys have every where.... but I know better.... when in the woods I am going to have someone with me.
 
mullien gets huge here (6 foot plus), we should do a trade with some sotol one day if your inclined
 
Howie said:
mullien gets huge here (6 foot plus), we should do a trade with some sotol one day if your inclined
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sounds good to me..... how much would it cost to mail a few stalks.... I would think the dimensions would make it kinda expensive to mail even if the stalks don't weigh much
 
They make mailing tubes for things like blueprints, fishing rods,etc..Something like that might work for you folks. Don't know how long the tubes can get,but you might find something 2-1/2 ft. or so. You should be able to find one long enough to hold what ya need to make hand/bow drill set
anyway.
:)
 
Pm sent, we'll work out what ya want when your ready, next trip out is presidents day weekend, if can get all my homework caught up, will get ya a bunch tp dry and use
 
Though we don't have sotol in my neck of the woods, I have used it many times to start friction fires. The material makes for a great fireboard and spindle, and produces a coal with minimal effort. Almost "easy" when compared to many other types of materials to work with. I also like mule fat or seep willow down in that part of the country for friction fires.
 
Thanks for the video; it's a cool one. Just an FYI, get your rt. elbow down when using your rifle; it will get shot off...:) .

Regards,

ezra
 
That's funny, I hear that a lot! That was a training video. I lost most of the footage. There is actually one of me doing it right but I couldn't find it. I can't believe how many people point that out though. Lol.
 
Thanks to all for the video and links. Great info here. We have both sotol and mullein around here, but the sotol is better for fire starting since it's stronger. The mullein tends to come apart pretty easily.
 
Sotol is in the agave family (and yes, you can make a tequila-like drink from the root ball). I have a large sotol plant in my front yard that puts out several 10-12 foot stalks every summer.
 
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