When I was much younger, I spent many a cold and miserable night in the bush. Usually due to building too large a fire, too early in the evening, and burning away the wood I'd gathered to the night. The whole "less is more" idea hadn't yet occurred to me; build a tighter shelter, build a smaller fire, set closer to it. I'm not sure what "bushcraft" means, but I think it might mean "bush" craft. Craft what I need from the bush; the more I craft form the bush, the less I need from the supply stores. If I carry absolutely everything I need in a pack on my back, the bush has nothing to offer but an opportunity to use my store purchased kit. Certainly there are laws now that forbid certain "bush" craft activities: some places forbid browse beds, some places , or seasons, forbid open fires, some places require a strict adherence to "leave no trace" ideology, and one must carry something in their kit to compensate barriers to "bush" craft. I like my gadgets as much as any one, but I dislike needing them or needing to carry them, so I choose the smallest and lightest gadgets I can find, and still, I usually end up not using them "out there". Someone, here on this forum, just a while back, mentioned imagining an "old aborigine leaning against a tree". If I think on "bush" craft, I too can imagine this old aborigine, or a friend to the other fellow's aborigine, leaning against his tree, armed with only a breach clout and a stick, carrying nothing, and having been on "walk about" these last few years.
(By the by, whomever first mentioned the Italian Rucksack; thanks a lot, now I've purchased yet another pack to leave for the Grand-Darlings to squabble over.)
