Hey Peter! This is a good reminder that just because something is "Primitive" doesn't mean it is "Stupid" and/or "Ill Made"! On the contrary! They are well thought out to do their desired tasks, and since their lives/survival depended on this items... they made them with the best materials that were available... with considerable skill, patience, experience, & knowledge! Three feet of snow up there in your neck of the woods already?!!!! WOOF! Kind of makes you wonder what January & February will look like! Stay Warm and I'll see you down the trail!

There is simply a 'wonderful-way' of doing all manner of needs. It's not simply 'the way' of a thing...but it makes U ponder the 'clear minded' who saw a need and filled it. I reason that minds 'back then' were clear of all the 'muddle' we fill ours with now-a-days. If only we could push a 'delete button' and rid ourselves of the superfluous. A case in point; my brother-in-law told the story of a neighbor who raised cattle for years. The neighbor boasted he could list every cow by the name he had given them. My brother-in-law later stated ; "What 'useless' information!" I quite agree. Why do we value the valueless in life? LOL! Thanks 4 sharing your time/talents with us Peter...U never fail to educate/inspire. Thanks also to dear Catherine's steady/artful hand. Dear Lord! A battle on snowshoes! Only in Canada eh? As for wily Captain Roberts and his antics in battle...Could this be where the line began? "He gave them the 'slip'! LOL! Health and God Bless!

Love the stories and the beautiful land on which you tell them .. oh the beauty of nature .. Onward and Upward is the watchword.

That technique of fastening will come in handy! Particularly since I am interested in participating in Primitive Biathalon events. Thanks Peter! I always thought that it was interesting that when Rogers proposed that Michilimackinaw become a new treaty/meeting place/trade center for the tribes of the Great Lakes region... under his command, that Sir William withdrew his favor and patronage... leading to Roger's fall from grace. The Major was proposing to do the same thing that Johnson himself had done to the fur merchants of Albany many years ago.

Good Sunday morning Peter. Thanks for the upload and have a blessed day. Thanks

Hi from Syracuse NY USA brother thank you for sharing brother

That is a beautiful sky.

teh wee bit o' history is critical to the channel

Using them properly for what they were made for keeps them in good shape. Did similar; but, made straps uneven so they could be tied on the side. For me, I welcomed store bought harness ( made in Canada) because the straps wouldn’t maintain lateral control of shoes. I was constantly re-cinching. Straight ahead travel not so bad. But I never wound the heel straps multiple times around the toe loops. Will have to try that. For me the store harness was imperfect also, most import to success was me. The more experience I invested I dealt with the imperfection. Side hills not fun. You could be Capt. Rogers. I also like how you weren’t flustered about your flint musket lying in the snow. You cleaned it off, inspected the pan and movement of parts, smiled and went on. That’s how it is in the North in the winter. No big deal… except bitter cold and over dressing and sweating. We all like the wee bit of history you pass on

Thank you for the very interesting story, I did enjoy it. Wasn’t that a beautiful sunrise/set.

Love the history. Keep it coming.

The music is always so soothing and relaxing 😌

I've got an idea Peter, that you shall start second channel where you only will sit and talk about the history with all these details and fun facts. I would totally watch it.

Great Video as always!!

Great information! Thank you

Herzliche Grüße aus Österreich! Greetings from Austria! 👍 Danke fürs Hochladen! 👍 Thanks for uploading! 👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you! 👍 Sehr gut und schön, danke

Peter - good video - additional info - before lamp wick , a strip of tanned hide was used. The problem with tanned hide strips was every time they get wet, they stretch a little more, so they require more adjustment than lamp wick. After an initial hard stretching, lamp wick becomes more stable than leather. Also with frequent wetting and drying traditional smoke tanned leather bindings turn white and become stiff and hard so they must be replaced to prevent laming of the feet. You have an excellent pair of light-framed, no-way-ay shkimay (winter netted) snowshoes of the wa-say-doo style. Fine winter netting as opposed to heavier see-gwun shimay (spring netting) does not significantly improve snowshoe floatation, rather it reduces weight so you can snowshoe much further with less effort. However, winter netting is intended for powder snow. Down where you live, you have to be careful, because you have a lot of granular spring snow. You can snowshoe all day without damage to the netting provided the spring snow remains frozen. However, if temperatures go above freezing and the snow becomes wet, the water will saturate your babiche netting, so it becomes soft and prone to abrasion on loose granular snow. The fine babiche netting can easily be cut and destroyed. As a preventative measure in questionable conditions, leather sleeves were wrapped around the mid-sections of the outer frame to prevent the lower, outside edges of the frame lashings from being cut. A leather foot flap was also added to protect the nikibisson (master chord) and the netting under the foot (osid shkimay) from abrasion. During maple syrup tapping at the end of the snowshoe season, it is common practice to wear snowshoes with heavier, tougher see-gwun shkimay and also remove the adibis (toe netting) by cutting out the shino-dagan-ayabee (side line). If done properly, the adibis can be re-strung the next winter without having to re-weave it. Removing the adibis towards the end of the season makes an enormous improvement. Heavy snow no longer falls in on the toes making the snowshoes difficult to lift. In that damp "packy" snow in the video, you should use a neem-sti-gwadan (journey stick) to tap your snowshoe frames ahead of the front crossbar to throw off the clinging snow and to knock off the ice balls that form on the netting under the moccasin.

Very interesting, Hats off to the artisan that built your Snow Shoes that have lasted so long.

Even tying up your shoes is an art! Love the yarns. Great follow up to the Johnson story. This Rogers sure is one tough bloke. I'm really enjoying my research & reading following your introduction to some more history of the America's. All new to me & loving it.

What a wonderful week of Woodland Escape. Great surprise to get the one on Friday after a midweek video. Then an even greater surprise to get one today on Sunday too. Thanks a lot.

That's useful winter trekking info, Peter. Far different from my old military snowshoes!

Roger's 28 rules for ranging are still used today. They are simple and make sense, like not sleep past dawn because that is when the French and Indians attack. Thanks for the lesson, I am looking forward to the next.

I still haven't bought a pair of snowshoes although i tell myself every year that i'm going to. Thanks for the history lesson as always!

As always appreciate your efforts and dedication. The information you gave on the snow shoes is very useful to me and is much appreciated. Although it was 70deg. F here yesterday and probably will be next year before I would have the need for shoes. I too enjoy the winter season the best but I am also looking forward to planting my garden. Thanks again and keep your powder dry!

Fabulous information, always appreciate the history, thank you

Thanks for this tutorial. I also really enjoy all the historical aspects you share as well.

Another enjoyable episode! 👍

Another great story from you, Peter. Looks like you will have to get some more lamp tape!

I sort of remember that Ranger story.

Love the history. Thanks for the education.

Spectacular brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us on your adventure through time

I use 3/8" sisal rope, goes on shoe same as you, only one wrap on each side and bring ends together in back of your heels, by tying a 2 strand turks head made outa 550 paracord to give adjustability, super tough, and have`nt given out in forever.

Your videos are inspiring and educational. My wife and I enjoy the history.

Like 👍

Great video and story. Got a pair of shoes from my uncle from the Pas. He got them when he was 19, he's 80 this year. The leather bindings were shot so I checked all over in Swift Current SK. No luck on finding lamp wick, so I improvised and used waxed skate laces. They work, but not very thick. Keep your powder dry.

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Robert Rogers had a big role in the series Turn.

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Thanks Peter, I use a similar hitch, but instead of tying behind I wrap around the ankle and tie in front, can't take off and put on as easy as you do, but for me it''s easier to get on and off at my age.

Thank You for your historical posts. I've seen several now and I enjoy your content and your style. I'm glad to hear this brief story of Robert Rogers, considered to be the "Father of the Rangers". He was a Man among Men who got some raw deals in his lifetime and died in poverty. There is a book I've read, "War on the Run", which tell his story. I recommend the book to anyone interested in this period of North American History, it is worth the reading...

I found a gorgeous pair of minimally used ( immaculate) snow shoes in an antique store for 150$US. They are made of gut or sinew I would guess. I would love to have them but I live in Virginia and we had no measurable snow here last year. If I buy the shoes maybe I can talk myself into a Yukon Moose hunt! Frank

Peter I first saw that style of binding in a movie Death Hunt which is about the mad trapper and takes place in Canada. Charles Bronson had something similar and I always wondered how it worked. Thanks I have quite a few wooden shoes and now to buy some lamp wick. Great video as always.

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Peter, thank you for another interesting video & history lesson. So, now I have questions about how you protect your snowshoes and your musket from the elements. Thanks again.

Nice video! Are you familiar with the Allan Eckert books? Thanks for sharing your insights on the time period.

Again Great video. How wide is the lamp wick you are using. Looking it up it comes in different sizes.

i love your videos! so, is the movie northwest passage with spencer tracy as robert rogers in any way accurate, or just hollywood? thanks!

I had been eying your snow shoes in your videos. I have the regular tor bought one and love using them. But would love a pair like those. How long does the weaving material last?

You've officially replaced survivor man, les Stroud, as my favorite Canadian!

would travelers passing through peoples land ask permission to camp out? would they offer to do work in exchange? liked learning about specific characters of history. Perhaps you could break up a big "we bit of history" into three big chunks with cooking and hunting and bush crafting in between. keep'um comin

how to make wool breeches ?

5:39 oops!

Can you talk a bit about your wool blankets and clothing? Today, wool products are not all created equal. Even 100% items can be very thin. What are you looking for in wool that will get you through a Canadian winter night?

Any time you want to talk history, I'll listen. I learned to tie on snow shoes with a similar type of set up. The difference being that there was a heavy leather strap woven through the webbing first, with the foot tied in to the leather strap instead of the snowshoe webbing. The idea was that if you went through the ice when trapping, it was easier to get your foot out of the snowshoe. I knew it as a squaw hitch which is nowhere near being politically correct. I'm not sure your method would really be any slower to lose the shoes if you went through the ice.

Rangers lead the way……