Courses at the Wilderness Gathering?

[C_Claycomb]

I was wondering if people could fill me in on what I missed out on by not attending any of the WG courses?

Okay, so it might seem strange to have gone and not signed up for any of the courses, but I planned to be there to lend a hand, meet people and just relax. I also felt that I had had a taster of some of the material already and shouldn't get in the way of people for whom it was fresh... :roll:

Er...anyway, what did everyone think of the courses they were on? What new stuff did you learn? How did the timing work out? What tracks were found on the tracking class? Other than those belonging to lots of happy campers ? Did anyone get their appetite whetted for something new?

Sorry I didn't get to put more faces to names!! Seeing the number of people posting I realise that I only met up with a fraction of the BCUK contingent that was there

 

[steve a]

Chris, first of all, nice to meet you again and thanks for bringing along a selection of your bows for people to try out and admire, you are far too modest regarding your skills and craftmanship.

Regarding the courses, I attended Anthonio's stalking workshop where he demonstrated various stalks, now it was our turn,off with boots and socks and a age between steps, I managed to stalk upon the biggest thorn in the woods, I had to bring it home with me as it is still in the sole of my foot!!!.
Some major digging around is required to remove it.
The techniques demonstrated certainly gave food for thought. Anthonio then went on to talk and instruct about wide angle vision and hearing, finally we made some basic traps, figure 4 etc.Anthonio's a really good instructor and a genuine person. I would be tempted to join one of his courses in the future.

The other class I really enjoyed was Dave watson's on natural fibres, I learnt an alternative method on cordage production and really enjoyed his talk.

The sharpening class I attended out of interest really but only one method of sharpening was demonstrated, no freehand sharpening, only on a piece of kit that was being sold by the instructor for £103 !!!, bit disappointed in this, not so much the demo, but also the blatant push for buying the kit.

I could not get on the tracking course's I would have liked to have done as numbers were limited.However I was able to talk to people away from the classes who gave me time to discuss some techniques and answer lot of questions I had.

Overall I thought the classes I attended were worthwhile even though I was familiar with some of the content, but I must say that each one I attended I came away with something new.