got a bit sloppy

[bushcraftbob]

Went out in my local snowy woods last weekend, to practise some wet weather firelighting and generally chill for a bit. A few things happened which made me realise that my bushcraft skills got a bit 'sloppy'.

First thing I did was putting my leather bag down somewhere on the ground containing flint and steel etc, and it took me half an hour to find it! (Been doing this a lot lately!) if that had been a proper wilderness situatuion, that could of cost me my life!

Just goes to show how little mistakes like misplacing your fire kit can have massive consequences.

The next mistake i made was putting my folding saw in the chest pocket of my jacket, without buttoning/zipping up the pocket, and it must have fell out while i was crawling around in the undergrowth looking for dry wood - another 20 minutes of re-tracing my steps until i found it (luckily my tracks in the snow lead me back to it). Again - losing a saw in the bush could make your life a bit tricky...

And my final act of sloppiness was forgetting my bottle of water so could not have a brew! For some reason I did not fancy boiling snow - does anyone know if this is 100% safe in the UK? Can snow contain air-born chemicals etc? I know it would be safe boiling up snow in alaska etc, but what about on the outskirts of a town in the uk??? Prob a daft question!

Anyway - all in all out of practise a bit, guess ill have to go back out this wkd and sharpen up a bit, just hope the snow is still around

cheers y'all

 

[andythecelt]

I've done it plenty of times without any ill effects. Strictly speaking snow, like rain, is pure water so shouldn't need boiling but of course as soon as it contacts the ground there's potential for contamination particularly under trees. I melt it, bang it through a millbank to get rid of any bits that have become mixed up in the snow from trees and so on, then boil it.

 

[hammock monkey]

Its so easy for these kinds of things to happen, well done finding them again!

I sometimes like to go out without things to see how I fare if i did lose something important, its kind of the point to me, make do one way or another and take any stress out of a bad situation by practising it before hand (to some extent). Bit wierd being without a cutting tool though!

I've found that doing without a fire in the summer is often absolutely fine.

As far as snow goes, I put some in the hot drink i purchased on my 5 mile stroll home from work so's I could drink it without having to carry it another mile first. I personally go for the theory that you should get a good few germs when you're strong so you can fight em off when youre weak... Write that on my gravestone!

 

[Shewie]

I was forever putting down my laplander and wandering off without it, I ended up getting a sheath made by Topknot so that put a stop to it. They're a bit much to carry all the time but if I'm off progging for firewood I'll swap it with my knife for ten minutes.
Being a smoker my firelighting kit isn't too far away, usually in a pocket along with my baccy and a lighter or two.
I know what you mean about putting stuff in chest pockets and then leaning over, I smashed a brand new ipod doing just that.

 

[Grayfox]

Aye lad,
Age is a terrible thing!!

 

[Hugo]

Aye lad,
Age is a terrible thing!!

You B right there.
I'll not tell E what I have lost lately, it would take ages.

 

[Grayfox]

sorry...what did you say? I just drifted off there for a second.

 

[Bushwhacker]

A bit of fluorescent tape on your items of kit will make finding them a lot easier should you drop them, especially at night when a quick shine of the torch will pick up on it.

 

[bushcraftbob]

yeah good idea - most of my stuff sacks are dpm - a bugger to find if you drop them on the floor!

 

[Bushwhacker]

You can get some tasteful looking silver/grey reflective tape.