Portland is our new Favorite Place!

Welcome to everyone.

As we move on from the previous juncture in the road that has brought us here, There are major developments occurring in the itinerary and future direction of the Expedition. After departing from Winter count and the Arizona sun, Phoxx has headed north for the time being to settle into the creative process of getting his bearings and meeting with the team that will be the core of the expedition. With this we've found new opportunities for growth and the changes that have happened already have been as promising as the original horizon we set out on. Internet meet and greets are fun and exciting!

The need for Phoxx to head north to Portland, Oregon was to meet with the crew that that will be venturing out with Phoxx for a time to capture the footage that will provide us with the incredible opportunity to create a feature length documentary about the expedition project! Indeed, Phoxx will be working closely with Photographer Sean O'Connor of Free-solo Photography to capture the journey on film. We've also met with the many others that have taken on their roles within the community and development of the expedition and documentary. Please remember that any role you have played and any association that you have with the project or those involved makes you a part of the team. Each of you thus far have helped significantly in helping us gain exposure and your interest in the project is in itself an amazing support to everyone involved.

For now, Phoxx has been busy learning exactly what it will take to make all this happen and after meeting with Sean in his office outside of Portland, we've been able to finalize many of the logistics that previously had been much more “up in the air”. We are still in the process of seeking out sponsors and supporters that can help us meet the financial needs of the Full Circle Kayak Expedition. We invite you to get involved however you can and join us in this opportunity. We look Forward It!

Back from Winter count

Greetings to all of our friends, supporters and peers!

As we mark the passing of the Winter count gathering, Phoxx is headed onward after a successful and enriching experience. For many, the trip each year each year is found to be exceedingly profound. It's a chance to recalibrate and touch base with what some consider to be a way of living. Winter count  is certainly a place that provides extensive opportunities for participants to feed their interest in the skills they seek out.

  Phoxx was successful in his endeavors to share his philosophy and build community surrounding the project. Phoxx set out with specific goals of finding persons that would be willing to “sponsor” him through mentoring him in the skills that he will utilizing on the voyage. This was accomplished in conjunction with adding invaluable contributors to the team of people that help create the Full Circle Kayak Expedition. Phoxx has established his list of instructors and looks forward to making the journey to immerse himself in the skills that each of them practice. The purpose of this, whilst also being practical, is to cultivate the story  and evolution of the journey, to reinforce the message of the movement and that of the project and to prepare Phoxx for the expedition. Below is a list of the skills that Phoxx will be studying.

Brain/Bark-Tanning

Felting

Bone and Stone-working

Wild Edibles

So with the passing of the gathering we are on to new endeavors. Phoxx is indelibly closer to the success of the project and with that momentum, we are developing at full steam. We're proud to have you on-board and hope you'll follow us and share your support.

Bright Raven

designedtoexpire@hotmail.co.il

And we're off.

This morning, bright and early,  Phoxx strapped on his packs and headed south on interstate 89 toward Arizona. He'll be hitch-hiking his way to Winter Count and hopes that he will arrive before the 12th. For those of you attending this year, keep your eye out for him.   Phoxx attended Rabbitstick for the first time in 2009 and will be a first time member of the Winter Count camp and would love to meet anyone interested in the project. So, to all of our friends at Backtracks and the Society of Primitive Technology, we hope this year is profound for everyone making the long anticipated journey to the desert to see good times and familiar smiles. Safe travels!

Bright Raven
designedtoexpire@hotmail.co.il

More about the trip to Wintercount.

An integral reason for the long awaited trek to Winter count is for Phoxx to have the opportunity to construct his gear for the expedition, meet new people and share the project with the those that are a part of the primitive living skills community. It's his hope that he will meet people at Winter count that will later be willing to take him in for a few days and teach him the skills he'll be using as well as new methods, preferences and individual variation that inherently occurs from one teacher to another. Even as Phoxx is experienced with many of the skills, having a "well rounded" knowledge of  a certain skill with a grasp of a  variety of different methods or options can broaden a persons ability to practice that skill in whatever environment, with whatever materials may be available at the time. An example would be, the ability to flintknapp with what one has on hand whether that be antler or another stone.

For Phoxx, building community around the project is an essential part of the message. Phoxx will select his mentors specifically to expose himself to new philosophies and perspectives regarding primitive technology. As the tides are constantly in flux, so Phoxx seeks to create an emergent quality in his progress toward his goal.

Gear for the day to day...

Along with "modern" gear that was announced in the our previous update, Phoxx has completed his selection process and chosen the early technology that he will be taking with him. These tools and supplies date from the early paleolithic era and will be his primary equipment. The gear that was announced in the modern list will be reserved as a back-up in emergency situations. Keep in mind, such items will not be used as a quick fix if things get uncomfortable and his coziness be compromised but rather, to keep Phoxx safe should he exhaust every other option and be left facing life threatening conditions.

An example of an emergency scenario would be...
Phoxx is unable to find stone for making the tools
that he would need to make fire equipment. The temperature steadily drops to such that would likely result
in a hypothermic condition. Phoxx would then resort to using the steel knife to make a fire and prevent his core temperature from decreasing to a potentially fatal level.

So here it is.

3 clay bowls for cooking and other various tasks.
1 large stone blade (4 inches approx)
1 small stone blade (2 inches)
1 stone chopper for heavier tasks
5-7 different styles of bone hooks for fishing
1 bone awl
1 pair of braintan pants
1 sleeveless braintan shirt
1 long sleeve braintan shirt
1 braintan pouch or backpack for carrying gear
100+ ft of cordage woven from plant fiber for fishing, shelter making and any other time Phoxx needs to tie his world together.

Every piece of gear listed here will of course, be made by Phoxx, specifically for his voyage.

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Off to Wintercount!

  Wintercount is an annual primitive living skills conference that takes place over one week. The gathering occurs outside of Phoenix, AZ and people arrive from all over the globe for the opportunity  to take in a vast amount of information regarding the skills that are of interest to them, as well as teach some themselves.
 Winter Count is organized by the Backtracks organization and hosts an expansive group of instructors that have acquired the knowledge they impart over many decades in some cases. Indeed, some of these folks have been the persons "behind the scenes" that instruct the television "experts" in the very skills they showcase for dramatic effect. Classes at Winter Count encompass almost any aspect of wilderness living skills that one could hope for as well as skills that utilize technology that is a bit more recent. A student can work on flintknapping , braintanning deer hides and move on to weave a basket all in the same day. Mind you, it is a week long event that provides camping and two volunteer prepared meals per day. This is all included in the tuition cost. There are even vegan and vegetarian options in regards to dining.

Phoxx is attending Winter Count to learn to construct the gear that he will be taking with him on the expedition. This will also provide him an opportunity to gather materials and to deepen his knowledge of the skills by which he will be living whilst,  acquiring new facets as well. Phoxx also hopes that his attending the event will help him gain more diverse exposure and interest in the expedition. Indeed he hopes to get as many chances to pick brains and take in information that will help him become stronger.

Phoxx hopes you will come out and take part in the event. He will be there to represent the expedition and will be there for anyone that has a desire to get involved.

As always you can support the expedition by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

The few modern conveniences...

As we're moving foward into the logistical phases of the expedition,
Phoxx has compiled his list of gear selected as contingency provisions in response to any nautical challenges.
An example in this case would be potential capsizing, cold water immersion or otherwise separation from his craft should it roll  and require that he bail from the "cockpit". Other scenarios would be a severe lack of essential resources such as, stone for crafting tools.
He has chosen certain pieces of updated technology for this
reason while maintaining his "bare minimum" philosophy.
Below you will  find an updated list of "modern conveniences" that will be included in the initial outfitting of the rig.

1 PFD (life Jacket)
1 Wet suit
1 set of Map/Compass/navigational equipment.
1 Simple Knife and 1 hatchet to be used if stone for knapping is not available.
A few pieces of "tackle" to get him started
11' of  paracord.

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