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Mr. McCandless graduated from high school just a few miles down the road from here. In some circles he is regarded as at least a fool, though he is probably though of more highly by others who probably crave more adventure in their own lives. Apparently, seeking adventure in non-traditional ways...

I'm going to hold out until I can buy things made from electrum. Or maybe meteorium.

My father was an active gardener his whole life, once even planting a big field of strawberries. He was very dismissive of any idea that gardening was a lot of work. It isn't and it need not be done in any haste. However, I don't think there is such a thing as absentee gardening. We had...

I think your feet will become enlarged (wider, especially) and more calloused if you do not wear shoes, no matter what the climate is. It isn't acclimation at all. It's merely the side effect of going barefoot. That will also happen in a way if you do a lot of heavy work without wearing...

I bought a chèche! I haven't got it yet but it's supposed to be on the doorstep when I get home. A chèche is a kind of scarf about two feet wide and eight feet long. They were popular in the French Army from the 1920s through the 1960s, maybe later, in the same way those Arabic headscarves were...

If living in a house of logs with no running water, no gas or telephone and with a wood-burning stove as well as a coal-burning stove, implies true bushcraft, then I quality. I do not qualify to give advice on feminine matters or very many masculine matters either, my experiences necessarily...

I hesitate to say what "most people" do here or elsewhere. We ate out some when I was little, in the 1950s, though only at a couple of different places. One was a drive-in with "curb service," a form of food service that has disappeared over here. The other was a family-style restaurant that...

I was just reading over this interesting thread again to pick up things I missed the last time around. Anything about food is always interesting, even if the food itself isn't particularly appealing. Americans, for example, don't seem to eat kidneys or blood pudding. But some eat ketchup on...

My trips were typically just overnight. When I was little, a camping trip could be from just a couple of nights to all week long and they were family affairs. The camp itself was not the center of attention, it was the river we camped beside. Even now, the camp is still not the main attraction...

In theory, we go places and do things after careful and detailed planning. In practice, I have found that plans often change due to things like road closures and late starts and apparently, Mother Nature operates with no knowledge of my plans. The thing is, one's requirements for different trips...

The one thing that contributes more to my cold-weather comfort is my army issue long johns. I was issued with them in 1965. For snowy weather, which we have now and then, my best boots are an old pair of British army issue high-leg boots worn with issue arctic socks. I tend to save them for just...

That's actually a pretty tough question. I can think of things I could do without if I had to and oddly enough, the one thing I use the least is a knife. I realize it's not politically correct to admit that but the other things in my outfit are there as much for convenience and time saving as...

I like the results of your efforts to create a temporary shelter here in this thread. That has been one of my projects that really hasn't gone anywhere (meaning I'm not there yet). I wanted something like this for two reasons. One reason is because one of my favorite places up in the hills...

As Fjallraven had on the cover of their catalog a few years ago, "cold at last." I especially like your comments in post #13. My object of being outside is a little different but it's good to be honest with yourself about why you do the things you do. I use a lot of army surplus stuff, too, and...

A book I would recommend on this sort of subject is "North." I couldn't find it on Amazon but it's a coffee table-sized picture book, mostly. The author, who is French, made a dozen or so treks across cold and frozen places in Canada, the US, Russia and other places in Northern Europe. He does...

I had never heard of Tea Tree Oil but my Korean co-worker has. She makes it sound like it's good for all ailments man or beast. Skin and hair.

You know, I've had my eye on some army surplus skillets for a while but they've probably been de-milled.

This is probably the only forum in existence where a man might mention a rolling pin and get away with it. Well, anyway, I just received my two Italian mess tins from The Sportsman's Guide. Why they insist on selling sets of more than one of something you only need one of, I'll never know. So...

I couldn't see the video for some reason. I wish I could get up with the sun. It's just about first light now and I'm already at work. It will be dark when I get home, too. But in another week the days get longer.

I don't have any suggestions but as a side issue, one reads in old books about avoiding rubber-soled shoes and boots and how they were bad for your feet. Obviously, no one seems to worry about that now. Was there any truth to those claims? I think leather soles for boots pretty well disappeared...