Ringulf wrote:I was just wondering if there were a small "kit" that you could reccomend for some essentials that we might be able to assemble and make a small leather or canvas pouch or container to house and carry them on the trail. Just some half dozen or so, of the most useful subdtances, be they oils or tinctures or herbs for a tea or something like that that we could make as a standard starters kit for a Ranger.
Perhaps even a list of essential items by catagory that could be selected from. I have been making some leather and canvas pouches and I thought it would be very interesting to make a few basic sizes like a small and a medium belt pouch and possibly a larger bag that had specific places for each small vile or tin/bamboo tube or small herb pouch etc.
The size would designate how many of the particular types of items could be carried much like a rangers first aid kit. We could look at the list and say we have loops for "x" number of vials and "X" number of jars and so many spots for drawstring bags and fill them as reccomended.
Then when something was running low we could order or replace with extra stock.
If you put some thought into the things that would serve us best in the feild and the way they are packaged I would enjoy putting together something with you, if you do not have anything already made up in this way.
So, I've currently got a leather belt pouch that looks like this:
http://tinyurl.com/cdo4nws
It's actually not a part of a kit, but something I wear day in day out. In it I keep:
` some kind of fire starter (strike anywhere matches/flint & steel/lighter)
` paper birch bark (which is highly flammable even when wet). You could also use sapwood here.
` maybe a small piece of tinder mushroom, which can hold a coal or be used medicinally)
` a small container of all purpose salve (usually in an aluminum tin, simply out of the practicality of weight. Suitable for most minor injuries, or for a lip/cheek/face balm on cold windy days)
` dried osha root. Strongly antimicrobial (and strongly flavored) to chew against contagion (be it the black breath or influenza)
` dried calamus root. Also good against contagion, good against many digestive disorders, good to restore the voice, be it lost from some ailment or from too exuberant singing at the pub or from not speaking one's truth. Calamus root also was used by native peoples in north america similarly to the way south american native peoples used coca: as a stimulant to enhance endurance when on lengthy travels. Calamus was planted all along native trade routes for this reason. Though internet reports it to be carcinogenic or halluconigenic, its not either. My site has one of the best pages on its use online. Also, this is generally chewed. Its bitter. Right now I have a bottle of spagyric tincture in my pouch that was given to me by an alchemist (yep; they're still around). But I prefer dried root.
` athelas, of course. Hard to come by nowadays, but judging on tolkien's description of it, we know it to be a potent aromatic herb, both stimulating and relaxing, with marked antimicrobial and antiseptic properties. My friend Matthew Wood (he writes awesome herb books - try The Book of Herbal Wisdom) posits monarda fistulosa as a reasonable analogue; I agree it would meet many of the apparent qualities possessed by athelas, though unfortunately not evergeen.
` an infused trauma oil - could be a blend of arnica, st john's wort, yarrow, calendula, goldenrod... Something you'd put on bruises or aches after a fall, or sore muscles from an overexerting trek.
` tincture of propolis (awesome liquid bandage, though it's high alcohol content and hurts like hell going on a bad wound the first couple coats - I used it on a second degree scald once: YIKES! But it healed awesome. It's in an amber glass dropper bottle. I prefer corks, but again: practicality - spilled propolis tincture is a nightmare)
` various other tinctures (herbs extracted in vodka/brandy or wine)... what you'd want depends on an individuals needs, and where you're at. Because I once had a car sort of fall on me, I carry around a mullein root blend which is good for an out of sorts back - that's personal to my needs. If I had asthma, I'd carry around new england aster tincture. If I was in an area with lots of venomous beasts, I'd carry around echinacea tincture, which is an exceptional antivenom (that was it's original use; it was also used to bathe injuries in to prevent gangrene). So, what tinctures you'd have on you are determined by a blend of personal needs and where you're at.
` a container of a mixture of slippery elm bark and goldenseal root powders - better than salve if a wound is damp/purulent/ulcerous.
` some pipeweed (I make a mix of tobacco, raspberry leaf, red willow, bearberry and yerba santa, but have a few others as well, with an without tobacco.
` I might pick some fresh plantain leaves to carry around with me is I saw them and knew I was going somewhere they wouldn't be - they're very common where people are, much less where people aren't. Excellent for a number of uses, but especially for insect bites.
` some aromatic amber essence (to smell nice for my elven lady)
Of course, in different parts of the country, I'd have different plant preferences. If I lived in the southeast, I'd for sure carry around a bundle of yellowroot. In the northwest, oregon grape root tincture.
Authentic containers can be an issue; ceramic and glass is heavy, and corks (especially on bottles filled with oils) come off. For corked bottles, I'll try and get something with a lip on the neck and wrap a piece of leather over the top, then tie that one with some cordage (ok, or maybe a hair-tie). But I do carry my tinctures in dropper bottles, just based on the practical reality that its the best way to administer them. I do have some beautiful apothecary jars with self dispensing ground glass stoppers, but those just aren't practical on the trail, and pouring tincture inevitably creates waste. I have made salve in rosewood screwtop containers, but they're kind of small.