Gritton's Bushcraft Basics A Guide to Forest Adventures and Surviving in the Wild

"The man, who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any
weather, is the most independent fellow on earth."
-HORACE KEPHART, 1904

Have you ever sat under a fire in pure bliss and solitude, staring at the stars and reminiscing about life? Yet, this feeling runs through me when I do this. I consider it...some connection. We can all make a connection to the wilder side of our humanity.

Agreed, we humans can control the climate inside our homes. We can have almost everything delivered to our doorstep. Only recently have we removed from the struggles of life on our planet. But, when we gather around a woodfire, maybe sleep in a hut or embark on an adventure to new wild places, we can reconnect with that bit of humanity we'd lost.

Bushcraft refers to the ability of humans to reconnect with nature. It is a collection of skills and beliefs that makes nature and the wild world more appealing. Do you want to know the truth? Many people cannot venture into the woods at night. Yes! Many are terrified of the woods at night. Many people cannot even venture into the woods during the day.

According to Ray Mears, an authority on modern bushcraft, "Bushcraft is what you carry in your mind and muscles."

And I agree with his philosophy. Bushcraft is less about gear and more about your survival and thriving skills despite what you have on hand.

A person who embraces bushcraft can be likened to a self-contained apartment: it is designed to contain everything one person may own. But maybe the term self-contained apartment isn't appropriate, so I'll say a self-contained unit. As a self-contained unit, you must carry everything you need on your back; everything you need to sustain for the duration of your trip should be carried on your person.

For the rest of this book, we will look at what you need to survive in the Wild.