Woodcraft/Primitive Skills Survey

“A few of the things I’d like to learn and work on this winter are fire starting, solar cooking, shelter building, and plant identification. It’s hard to find info online that is free but Smileygirl gave me a link I’ve enjoyed a great deal.

http://server2.ezboard.com/bhoodlums”

“I also found this gem. You can learn how to start a fire with ice or even a pop can and a chocolate bar. WTF?

http://wmuma.com/tracker/index.html”

“Nigal,
Building a shelter for one night is wastefull. You have to clear a half-acre of woods to get the materials for construction not to mention the time involved. For a true minimalist camp, you would need to spend several days in the same location to warrent the energy expended and depredation of the site.

Oh yea, and I prefer a machette over a hatchet any day.

30 years ago that was the way we camped. We built sheters and big fires and tables and chairs and fished for days at the same site.
I'm mighty partial to my siltarp now. It weighs less than my machette and causes much less damage.
I don't see any advantage to going back to the destructive ways of ore.”

“We have to look deeper and learn more BS. Your post is a very common reaction and that is ok but we have to understand a few things.

“You have to clear a half-acre of woods to get the materials for construction not to mention the time involved. For a true minimalist camp, you would need to spend several days in the same location to warrent the energy expended and depredation of the site.”

Not true. By learning multiple ways to create shelter we can apply the most reasonable and the least impacting to the situation at hand. Most people when they hear the words “primitive shelter” they automatically think of a huge lean to made from trees you have to cut down that is lashed together with 100’ of rope. The best shelter is a debris hut that uses no live trees but downed wood and debris found on the ground. It doesn’t take much time to do, it doesn’t effect the environment because when you leave the area you return the debris to the forest floor scattered. Even when live trees or limbs are used there is a responsible way to do so. You don’t strip one whole tree of it’s limbs, you take a few from many. You don’t chop down three trees from one area. You take three from three different areas. But again, this is not even necessary as I stated above. As for time, I think you are applying backpacking to the situation as in hike all day, make a shelter, leave in the morning, hike all day, make a shelter…that’s not what I’m talking about.

“30 years ago that was the way we camped. We built sheters and big fires and tables and chairs and fished for days at the same site.”

This is not what I advocate at all. Your primitive experiences are yours and dose not mean I do the same thing as you did. Sounds like you used to practice anything but LNT. There is never a need for a huge fire, even when it is needed for staying warm. All that is needed for cooking is a tiny fire and for warmth a modest fire is enough if it is proper done.

“I'm mighty partial to my siltarp now. It weighs less than my machette and causes much less damage.”

True, but one doesn’t even need a machete or a hatchet much less cause damage.

“I don't see any advantage to going back to the destructive ways of ore."

Absolutely. I suggest you don’t. With proper learning of the proper techniques one can partake in primitive woods experience with just as little impact as one who uses modern gear and techniques. It’s simply a matter of taking the time to learn them. That in a nutshell is what this thread is all about. It’s about gaining knowledge so we don’t fall into destructive practices.”

“All very interesting but I am most interested in the plants, I'm always eating wild stuff in the mountians and woods around here :)”

“Great reply Nigel!
I can see where you are going now.
Interesting direction. I'd like to try for a couple of nights in moderate weather to start.

Also, there was no LNT in the "days of ore" I mentioned above. And, I cooked on a minimal campfire until I purchased my first Coleman 400 when I was 28 year old. It is an art. I guess I'm spoiled to the finer things of life now.”

“were the "days of ore" around the same time as the gold rush?”

“just after the days of potash I believe.”

“sb and sw, I use to own a gold mine (truth).

Technically, it is a reference to the gold rush days or now used to described past times that seem to have been better.”

“Nigal, I don't remember you calling me names, and I'm not going to go back and re-read the thread to find out, lol.

This is a great thread. I agree that good woodcraft does not conflict with LNT. One of the key messages I got out of Scouts, even in the day of lashed lean-to construction, was to leave the site as you found it -- dispersal of materials used for shelters, fires, etc.

I guess my youthful imagination latched onto the concept of "covering your tracks" as both an environmental and security aspect of backcountry travel. The challenge of keeping a posse or Indian scout from finding your track was drilled into me by all those 50s and 60s Westerns and frontier adventure stories.”

“Dang pekka, you must be about 50 years old.”

“52 in February. Hi-yo Silver, away!”

“49 last June Kemosabe”

“After reading a Euell Gibbons book, I set out on one trip to see if I could forage up my food. I never did catch the crawfish I wanted to get, and ended up boiling plantain and decided it was edible perhaps, but not very appetizing. Luckily, I had foreseen this eventuality and packed freeze-dried yummies. That was the beginning and end to my foraging experiences.”

“I did that for a night at summer camp this year for the survival merit badge, it was great! Until we found out how good our hastily built shelters were when it started pouring at 5:30, which made for a cold wet 1/2 mile hike back to camp in boxers and a t-shirt (clothes were all muddy, inside and out :). Couldn't say it was really low-impact though, as there were about 20 of us in a fairly small area. but I love making shelters and survival stuff and think it's just so much more interesting and fun to build a shelter and set up a cooking fire instead of pitching a tent and setting up a stove, and i would like to try it for a whole weekend or so, just gotta talk everyone else into it! Btw this is a fun site on the subject, even if its not that practical, (the stone cabin! lol) http://www.inquiry.net/”