how do you use your bushcraft?

[barbourdurham]

Just a thought, because I was going to rant. but i won't. because thats pointless. everyone has opinions and opinions are like........ so anyways, i got to thinking

'with all this bushcraft knowledge floating around, how often and how much of it do we honestly use? and for what purpose?'

I personally dont go in for the organised bushy weekends. Its just not my thing. but i can see why people are attracted to it. I use bushcraft skills regularly, on walks in the woods with the kids, or long walks on my own. generally, i can light a small brew fire, or forage for a snack if im peckish. if im out over night then i employ various shelter building techniques which use a tarp with or without hammock. i can light fire by friction, but i always carry a ferro rod and knife if im out. but i will practise the skill if i feel like it, mostly for my own amusement. the kids love it to....

but i guess my point is: i use bushcraft skills to make my life outdoors enjoyable and easier. going light but not ultralight, knowing what i can eat, how to keep myself warm, reading the weather, making a simple pot hanger if required.

can we have a discussion without it turning into an arguement.........?

 

[mick91]

Similar uses to yourself really, use it regularly to keep myself entertained and enjoy challenging myself. I've always been of the view I would rather know how to do it and not need to than need to do it and not know how. I could use campsites with electricity, showers and a shop if I wanted to, but I don't enjoy it. There's an appeal to me about keeping things basic and sitting my a crackling fire to actually appreciate the world around me. I find it quite calming

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

 

[British Red]

Bushcraft is a pretty meaningless catch all term so its hard to answer. I regularly hunt, trap, fell trees shoot food grow food, forage, build with wood, I cook over wood and heat with wood most days. I don't wear a leather hat doing it though so is it Bushcraft?

 

[Imagedude]

Like 99.9% of British bushcrafters I don't use my (limited) bushcraft skills but I do like practicing them. What I mean by this is that I don't have any access to wilderness where I can go and rely on bushcraft skills but I will attend events like The Moot and the WG where I can practice the skills.
The closest I come to using the skills is firelighting in arctic conditions which helps to supplement to propane/meths/petrol that I carry. I have a bit of tracking and tree recognition skill which makes a trip more enjoyable but again, they are not skills I have to rely on.

 

[John Fenna]

I use my Bushcraft skills in several ways
1. To entertain myself - TV is pretty poor these days!
2. To relax on my days off - getting into the woods and ignoring the outside world and relying on personal skills keeps me sane (ish)...
3. Saving me money - by processing my own firewood from my own trees, making things I would otherwise buy, foraging some food items (and makings for wine ) etc etc
4. Helping me earn a living - by running Bushcraft courses for those with even fewer skills than I do and by selling items such as wooden spoons at craft fairs.

My Bushcraft is a major part of my life!

 

[Palaeocory]

Bushcraft to me is 'experiential' - I research Palaeolithic technology, a time where people would have been living lives rich in what we term bushcraft. So learning about different outdoor/wilderness/primitive skills allows me to experience, and generate research questions for future experiments. It's so different to actually build a fire, keep it going, make something to hold water, collect food, appreciate the time it takes to do things, collect materials, access and pass on knowledge... instead of just 'imagining' how it would have been done (which makes things seem too simple and divorces them from their context!). So I see bushcraft as very useful!

Plus, I agree with John... TV is pretty rubbish these days

 

[Polecatsteve]

Much the same. When I get out for a long walk I'll find an area way off trail, usually follow deer trails and try to follow there tracks in the soil. Practice fire making, simple woodwork and rope work. I almost always tie a
Tarp up or my 58pat poncho to sit under for shade or incase a
Shower comes. Essentially I just love being outdoors. Wild food identification is my next big interest. In particular plants and so on.

 

[backpacker]

Bushcraft started off as a hobby when I was young as I enjoy the outdoor life, as I grew older I found it was becoming part of my life and started practicing my skills that I had learnt over the years, when I was in my early twenties I joined the Territorial Army (now known as Army Reserve) Bushcraft came in handy and mixed with the Survival Skills that I learnt with the TA these are skills that I use on a regular basis and try to get out most weekends and practice and teach family and friends.

 

[woodsorrel]

My uses:

1. To enrich my outdoor experience. To bring me closer to nature.
2. I lead hikes, backpack trips, sea kayak trips, snow trips, and rafting trips for inner city children as a volunteer at a nonprofit.
3. I lead hikes and workshops as a volunteer for state parks and a national wildlife refuge
4. I use the "crafty" side of bushcraft as a creative outlet.
5. I use wild edible and medicinal plants to make yummy meals
6. The study and practice of bushcraft to keeps my mind and body active

Of these (2) is the most rewarding and (1) is the most relaxing.

- Woodsorrel

 

[Robson Valley]

My local mountain valleys can generate some really wicked wind storms.
So many blow-downs across the only road in the valley. They won't be twigs = 8-24" trees.

I have to be prepared, every day, for every drive off the highway, to spend the night.
Sept.01 grouse season opens until Nov.15. I expect to be out 10-20 days.
Up high, nights can be frosty and I refuse to tolerate that, unprepared.
It's OK, I load my vehicle with food and shelter and it sits in the back until the
hunting season is over.

I guess I shouldn't call it bushcraft. Endurance camping might be more like it.
Google McBride, BC. Find the Holmes River valley, east of town.
Select satellite view. The road crosses the river at about 15km (Greggo's place.)
He took down the sign which said " Hemmohroid Hotel," some tourists thought it was a B&B.
Fly up the road another 10km. Gotta admit, it's breath-taking.

 

[Tiley]

I use my limited skills to inform what I teach, to enhance the pleasure of walks through greater, but by no means encyclopaedic knowledge of the trees, plants and tracks around me and to make presents for friends. There is also the practice and experience of those core 'hard skills' - fire lighting, shelter building, foraging and so on, which entertain me and, I hope, prove useful in situations both wild and domestic. Above all, I think I probably use my bushcraft skills to become a better bushcrafter, with all the trials, tribulations, delights and successes that that brings.

 

[Ruud]

Taking people with me on backpacking trips I feel it is my duty to have the skills needed to get everyone back in one piece. As I'm planning a 10 day cannoo-trip, I booked a cannoo-course to learn vital skills in regards of getting people out of the water in emergencies and so on. I just feel the need to learn as much bushcraft/survival related stuff in case T**** some day. I feel I'm slowly drifting further away from the knifecollecting, canvasbags, leather pouches and so on and that I'm getting back to basic skills which are highly practical. (if these sentences make any sense... native language is Dutch)

 

[Seasick Stan]

As a keen cyclist I would cycle 300 miles a week and fo hiking regularly. But for the past two years I have been constantly suffering from piriformis syndrome which causes severe pain after walking only 30 metres. Setting up my hammock and tarp in a wood and relaxing enjoying the surroundings is a great substitute for the other two activities I love. Hopefully, one day my pain in the butt with go away and I can combine all three activities.

 

[Samon]

Bushcraft is a pretty meaningless catch all term so its hard to answer. I regularly hunt, trap, fell trees shoot food grow food, forage, build with wood, I cook over wood and heat with wood most days. I don't wear a leather hat doing it though so is it Bushcraft?

Depends on how much the knife you're using that day costs.. Cheap folding knife, nah. Over priced custom? Oh yeah, that is full blown bushcraft skillz brah.

 

[Toddy]

It enriches my life.
I love the way that the seasons change, that what's there, available, potentially useful, changes. It's a creative outlet, I use what I make, from basketry to dyestuff to dinner.
I like knowing how, I delight in seeing other people's work, and I don't care if you wear a leather hat or not….mine's made of rushes they grow down the laighlands……it's the endless possibilities of it all that keeps it constantly fresh, day in day out, season in and around.

Why tie it down to "One True Bushcraft" ? it's a broad kirk and we're all welcome

M

 

[Alan 13~7]

(if these sentences make any sense... native language is Dutch)

Mr Ruud, I have to complement you on your written English it makes perfect sense.... I would love to go on such a trip but feel as a non swimmer, I would soon require to be using your "Vital skills" getting ME out of the water in an emergency.

 

[cranmere]

Because it pleases me. If you look at any hobby dispassionately you come up with the same answers.

 

[santaman2000]

Hard to add much to what's already been said. Like BR I hunt and fish regularly and have done so since long before there was even a word for buschcraft. I've canoed and tubed down the river and cut firewood for the same length of time and have helped a cousin run his trapline. I've been a camper as long as I can remember. Some of those things were and are for the sheer fun of them (although the fish and game meat is an added bonus. they aren't the main reason)

 

[crwydryny]

I often use mine in work (woodland conservation), partly to maintain the woodland, partly for setting up the work camp (we often use traditional firelighting methods such as flint and steel and friction firelighting to get out camp fire lit) often we will collect edible plants to make forrage tea or to add to a stew of things we've brought with us especially when we're hosting events (green gym, outdoor events with local mental health groups, teaching kids bushcraft skills during the hollidays ect)

other than this I generally use my skills while just walking in the woods (especially around this time of the year when wimberries (aka bilberries), blackberries, rasberries and other tasty things are out)

 

[Ruud]

Mr Ruud, I have to complement you on your written English it makes perfect sense.... I would love to go on such a trip but feel as a non swimmer, I would soon require to be using your "Vital skills" getting ME out of the water in an emergency.

Thanks Alan, too kind, too kind...