Hot Cocoa Above the Brook with a Silky Ono Axe & a Firebox Stove

It is early winter and the cold water of the brook rushes madly down the waterway, bobbing ice clinging to the leave and stick debris tangled amongst the moss-covered rocks.

We string up a tarp on a stony knoll above the brook, the favoured SOL tarp tied into place and the Firebox Freestyle set out upon a flat rock retrieved for the purpose. Soon wood preparation begins in earnest, efforts focussed on a block of wood sawn from the butt of a dead-fallen tree. Using the Silky Ono axe, the wood is split into multiple pieces of kindling and tinder. From amongst these, a few feathers-sticks are carved employing merely the axe.

As afternoon sun fades (daylight hours are short at this time of year), the ferro rode makes an appearance and with a little persistence in striking against the spine of the axe, a flame flickers to life.

Titanium mugs are pulled from our packs along with the fixings for hot cocoa. Milk is poured into the french-press and hung to warm over the fire. A chocolatey mixture is stirred together into a thick paste, combining cocoa powder, white sugar and milk. When the milk is steaming, it is frothed and pour slowly into the titanium mugs. Topped with froth, mini marshmallows are dropped on top and finally a shake of seasonal red and green spinkles. Cheers!

The daylight long faded from the sky, a full moon rises in the east to the soothing sound of the ever-rushing brook and the crackling of the fire.

#outdoorcouple
#bushcraft
#ASMR
#Ono
#Silky
#Canadianwilderness
#Firebox
#nature
#fire
#winter
#Snowpeak