mstaines
20-06-2011, 11:58 AM
Went out on my first real bushcraft outing this weekend, just to try out some new skills, take a few videos and also learn some valuable lessons...
1. Bought myself a cheap (£1.99) 2m x 2m polythene tarp, along with 15m of 6mm paracord (£4.00), 10 small carabiners (£7.00) and handfull of pegs (20p each) and tried a simple tarp setup.
I had already made myself some prusik loops out of some strong shoe laces I had removed from an old pair of shoes and they worked really well... (Lesson Learned No.1 - when you drop a black prusik loop (shoelace) on the woodland floor it can be difficult to spot... Must make some more out of bright orange paracord)
Once the tarp was set up, I decided to get under it and do some firelighting (Lesson Learned No.2 - Must remember to take some sort of groundsheet to sit on (Survival bag maybe) as it was raining and the ground was WET !
2. Found an old "Permenant Match" in my shed that I had purchased back in the 80's, but never actually used due to it leaking. So decided to just use the firesteel aspect of the tool. And to my surprise it worked first time and really well, creating a sufficient spark to ignite my tinder (Cotton wool and birch bark). However after my first (successful) attempt thought I'd have another go, but hadnt any cotton wool left or birch bark (Lesson Learned No.3 - Must make sure I have sufficient firelighting tinder etc. on next outing)
All in all, I had a good few hours just pottering around the woods, on my first day as a bushcrafter... And it felt good !
But the main lesson I have learned is that getting out there and practicing your skills, learning new skills and trying out different kit etc. is valuable time spent...
Here's to my next outing...
1. Bought myself a cheap (£1.99) 2m x 2m polythene tarp, along with 15m of 6mm paracord (£4.00), 10 small carabiners (£7.00) and handfull of pegs (20p each) and tried a simple tarp setup.
I had already made myself some prusik loops out of some strong shoe laces I had removed from an old pair of shoes and they worked really well... (Lesson Learned No.1 - when you drop a black prusik loop (shoelace) on the woodland floor it can be difficult to spot... Must make some more out of bright orange paracord)
Once the tarp was set up, I decided to get under it and do some firelighting (Lesson Learned No.2 - Must remember to take some sort of groundsheet to sit on (Survival bag maybe) as it was raining and the ground was WET !
2. Found an old "Permenant Match" in my shed that I had purchased back in the 80's, but never actually used due to it leaking. So decided to just use the firesteel aspect of the tool. And to my surprise it worked first time and really well, creating a sufficient spark to ignite my tinder (Cotton wool and birch bark). However after my first (successful) attempt thought I'd have another go, but hadnt any cotton wool left or birch bark (Lesson Learned No.3 - Must make sure I have sufficient firelighting tinder etc. on next outing)
All in all, I had a good few hours just pottering around the woods, on my first day as a bushcrafter... And it felt good !
But the main lesson I have learned is that getting out there and practicing your skills, learning new skills and trying out different kit etc. is valuable time spent...
Here's to my next outing...