What is bushcraft ?

[rik_uk3]

You've missed the basic concept of survival which is to to remain safe until rescue arrives or until the survival skills you have accumulated will get you 'out of dodge safely'.

BlueTrain's comment " It is as if some are hoping and praying for the breakdown of civilization." is all too often seen on some survivalist forums (I know, I've been on a few and still am on a couple) but don't confuse the views of a few who may well have fallen off their medication regime or perhaps live in some semi delusional state regarding their real abilities and the reality surrounding them combined with the hard crush of the real world.

 

[wingstoo]

No, I agree with you entirely. It's the word survivalist, though. It implies that one will learn these skills just to be able to survive and get out of nature. That's not what Bushcraft is, as we know it. It's about enjoying nature, of course. I'm not saying that someone would hate the skills that will throw him or her a lifeline, I'm essentially saying exactly what BlueTrain said earlier. " It is as if some are hoping and praying for the breakdown of civilization."

I saw this on an American site (They keep dropping letters in their words like the occasional vowel)

I am a survivalist and by nature a survivalist is an OPTIMIST. I do not
have one pessimistic bone in my body. If what I just said sounds odd to you
then you are not yet a survivalist and you do not understand the modern
survivalist at all. It has been very difficult to communicate to the public
and the mass communications media, the concept of an optimistic, hopeful
survivalist.
A fireman is a fireman, not because he believes everything will burn, but
because he believes much can be saved. Doctors don't believe in death, they
believe in life, and a survivalist is not a survivalist because he believes
everything must be destroyed and everyone must die, he believes that life and
freedom can be saved, if people of good will are prepared. A fireman does not
start fires, a doctor does not make disease and a survivalist does not make
disaster.
Crime, disease, war, revolution, fire, flood, periodic financial collapse
and famine are the results of nature and the nature of man and unfortunately
are not within the power of anyone on this earth to prevent.
We all know that the sun will set each day, leaving us in darkness and we
all know that warm summers give way to cold winters and that we can do nothing
to keep the sun from setting to the cold winds from coming, does this make us
pessimistic? I think not! So then why is the survivalist called a pessimist
when he makes ready to face events that are just as much part of history and
nature as the sunset and changing of the seasons.
Another misconception is that survivalists are predicting world disaster.
On the contrary, we seem to be the OPTIMISTIC MINORITY that is predicting
world survival. We are hard pressed to find any well recommended historians,
economists, political scientists, sociologists or military strategists that
can come up with a scenario that gives even a fifty-fifty chance of avoiding a
large scale catastrophe, yet we survivalist dare to be OPTIMISTIC about the
future. We survivalists do not need to predict the probability of disaster
anymore than we need to predict the sun setting.
Those who criticize survivalists, are like men who refuse to look at a
calendar, in the hope that through self-imposed ignorance they can keep from
aging another year.
"You survivalists will be disappointed if we don't have a world cataclysm",
here is another accusation that is pure B.S. and I could not think of a milder
phrase to describe it. We survivalists have loved ones we don't want to see
hurt or killed, we have homes we don't want to see destroyed, we are not fools
to think that just because we are survivalists a world cataclysm would be fun
for us or the we would not experience danger, loss, hunger, injury, cold or
even despair and death.
We have spent time and money to improve our chances for survival and
recovery from disaster, but we would have a great celebration if some day we
could be assured that we had wasted our time. No, we will not be disappointed
if there is no disaster to survive, anymore than the Red Cross is disappointed
when there are no floods and storms or the man who buys an insurance policy is
disappointed when his house fails to burn down.
It may be said that the survivalist would much prefer the pleasant (but
unlikely) surprise of being wrong to the (probable) deadly rude awakening that
the non survivalist will face if he is wrong.

So, you see the survivalist can not lose because his survival preparations
will be of value regardless of what the future has in store. In time of
crisis, those who have not prepared to turn to each other, will turn on each
other.
It is most regrettable indeed, that many people consider survivalists as a
threat and regard them with suspicion and even hostility. This attitude is
logically indefensible and is rooted in the non survivalists own sense of fear
and guilt. Subconsciously, the new survivalist may hate the survivalist for
reminding him of how fragile his lifestyle is. Now, let's get the facts
turned around right. Every person who has not made provisions for surviving
without food, water, fuel and other essential needs from the outside, is a
mortal danger to his neighbours.
What will a man do when he and his family are freezing, hungry, thirsty,
sick and starving? He may ask or beg his neighbors for help, but when they
have no extra fuel, food, water or medicine to give, will he just go back home
to die with his wife and kids? What do you think? We survivalists who stock
up on food and other supplies, now do a favor to society because what we now
buy is replaced on the shelves so there will be that much more available in an
emergency. We survivalists won't be looting and killing for food. We won't be
a burden on the medical facilities or a danger to the police. Since we will
be able to turn to each other, we will not need to turn on anyone and we may
be able to help at least some.
Survival preparation should be regarded as a social obligation, one that
every individual owes to his family and community and his nation. The
non survivalist is simply a poor and irresponsible citizen.
So the reality is, that survivalists are optimistic, self-reliant
individuals, who cannot help but see the imperative of preparing for the worst
possible events, while hoping sincerely, that they won't happen. Today's
survivalist is an asset to his community and to the world and should be proud
to be called SURVIVALIST.

I wonder how many flood victims or those who lost power in the storms might be a little more like a prepper/survivalist next year?

 

[BlueTrain]

Oh, dear! I always regret some of the things I say, though I rarely apologize. Let's put it this way:

Anyone can go into the kitchen and rustle up something to eat but you might hesitate to call yourself a cook if all you're doing is opening a can of beans (haricots, pulses, whatever). Mind you, I do a lot of cooking, always experimenting, sometimes failing, but generally managing fairly well, all things considered and all of that without a year's supply of provisions, plus gold, a rifle and a box of ammo. So it is with "camping out," which conveys more of what it's all about. There is fascination with technique, equipment and of course, the location. I've stated before somewhere or others that the ultimate delight is to walk down a trail I've never covered before. I have no ambition to walk the Applachian Trail (too much up and not enough down) but mostly that's all it amounts to. Along the way there are many interesting things to see and do and once in a while, even to meet interesting people. I must confess that all of those I've met along the trail and had a conversation with always knew a lot more about the flora and fauna and the rocks and the weather than I did. I have no special knowledge of the woods, or at least I don't consider that I do.

The places I mostly have been going the last twenty years do not permit the practice of many of the traditional camp and trail/bushcraft/woodcraft skills, crafts and activities, mainly in that open fires and cutting of vegetation is not allowed, although there are still some such places and I may have even visited one such place as much as others. But there's other reasons I don't play too much with fire. It was brought home to me in the Boy Scouts, of all places.

One of the best weeks of my life was attending a Boy Scout summer camp here in Virignia. But I went as an adult leader along with my son when he was still in grade school. That means it was over fifteen years ago. Oh, we had a fire every night. Even in some places where you can't otherwise have a fire, like most parks, there is often still an evening bonfire. It sort of ends up being the center of activity for the evening and since the woods can really cool off, it's also appreciated. So it was in the Boy Scout camp (which was Webelos). But there was no cooking at the campfire except for one evening meal, mainly because the week was packed with activities and there simply wasn't enough spare time for cooking every meal on the campfire. Camping with the family when I was little was another story, since it was 100% free time and all the meals were cooked on the open fire. But that was also at a time and place when cooking on a woodburning stove at home was not unusual, though I'd say it was now, 50 years later.

 

[mountainm]

Bushcraft? Basically topiary.

 

[BlueTrain]

This ain't over yet.

You might say, "But what if?" in connection with being out in the woods.

In my example of the kitchen and cooking, it is hoped that you would manage to fix yourself something without catching the house on fire, blowing something up, cutting yourself with a paring knife or falling down the stairs. So it is in the woods, where there is scarcely any more danger than there is at home, save perhaps for falling trees. The chief difference is that you have more conveniences at home, coupled with all the headaches from keeping all the technology working and not leaking. No, I think "camping out," including bushcraft, woodcraft, scoutcraft, Indian crafts and watercraft are all little more than escapism and a vacation. But what if fleets of bombers cross the channel, or Vesuvius erupts, or some dictator in some tiny foreign country learns the true meaning of "president for life," or the stock market falls, or your personal favorite stock in Almalgamated Aluminum & Tobacco announces bankruptcy, or an airplaine disappears or a hundred other things happen. In the woods none of that matters and unless you brought your radio along, you won't know about it anyway. All of that will be there waiting when you get back home. In the meantime, you're having a good time in spite of the insects and the mud. Are there insects in the U.K. or did St. George banish them all? You even know a couple of spots where you could spend hours just sitting and looking. I know of such places and the breeze on the high places keeps the gnats away while you're there.

I don't know what the survivalist is doing in the woods unless he escaped from the missing airplane and fell to earth in the middle of West Virginia, a bypassed area of the country inhabited by our contemporary ancestors, hopefully not landing in the middle of a clan feud. The local government actually has a mostly theoretical plan for evacuating the county but I suspect that the places to the west where people are supposed to go have been advised of those plans or not. But since normal rush hour every evening around here is touch and go, any evacuation is not going to go smoothly. The thing is, I can't recall any particular breakdown of civilization to pattern my own survival plans on. Natural disasters have always occurred with some frequency, if not regularity, and in places where the river sometimes runs over the banks, people ought to be used to it by now. Same with hurricanes, tornados, brush fires, plagues of frogs and invasions by Soviet paratroopers. Those are the things you have to prepare for. After 9/11, for instance, people actually went to New York to offer help.

Oh, I know St. George was Palestinian and probably didn't drive the insects out of Britain. It was really St. Swithin of the swamp.

 

[rik_uk3]

Sort of off topic but sort of still on topic, I've a little Coleman stove which was sent to me by a very nice American 'stovie' who stayed home when Katrina hit and looked after his house (flooded ground floor) while his family took shelter with other family members in safety a good many miles away. The stove has no real monetary value but for me has great value, he cooked on it for several weeks while he had no power at home; it provided all his food and coffee, boiled his water, it helped him 'survive'. Its one of the few stoves I'll not be selling or have sold.

 

[boatman]

You forgot EMP and a virus running wild Blue Train but your points are very well made. In my youth I never knew I was practicing Bushcraft and am not sure my minimal efforts really qualify now. I enjoy Post Apocalyptic fiction although newer books are a bit samey in their plots or too polemical against the GOVERNMENT but it is fun to place oneself in imagination within the scenarios.

 

[BlueTrain]

Did I mention that some things happen over and over, if not regularly and not always predictable? Well, it happened again.

We had a windstorm last night and the power was out for about four hours. It has been out as long as twenty four hours, which, believe me, is a serious inconvenience. The only thing in the house that works is the water (thankfully). So we have the drill down. Lanterns, candles and flashlights are all ready to go. The camp stove is there, too, and it's been used whenever necessary. Little one can do about it. We don't live where it could possibly flood, which is not to say we've never had a water problem, and it's usually too damp to worry about brush fires near the house but both of those are recurring problems in some places.

All the same, I expect some people start getting out their guns when the lights go out because they're certain there will be roving gangs of juvenile delinquents, feral dogs, professional second-story burglars and illegal immigrants invading their home. I imagine that in reality it happens to some people, though I can't imagine why some are so unlucky. As far as the feral dogs (and wolves and coyotes), I've never seen the first one in the woods in fifty years, though I have seen bears. But from what I've read, compared with packs of feral dogs, black bears are harmless.

 

[TomH]

Kit depends on how long I intend to stay out. Anything less than a night out is just a walk, if you take food its just a picnic so I dont think you 'need' anything more than common sense.

An over-night or more usually consists of
Karrimor SF Sabre (not a camo one, your not on manoeuvres)(and I can hang cool stuff on it like knives and an axe)
Drybag liner (but only if its gonna rain, most phones can provide this info)
DD Travel Hammock/Bivi
Snugpak Sleeper Extreme (but I'm rarely out when its cold enough to need it)
DD 3x3 Tarp
first aid kit (but only the very bare minimum, if you proper hurt yourself, ring someone)
Pathfinder Canteen cook system (expensive but lovely and shiny)
Opsrey Bottle and cup
Two mess tins (you can use one for some nice warm water to wash your bits is)
Plastic knife, fork and spoon
Brew kit (tea, coffee, sugar, powdered milk or whatever you can acquire from hotel rooms, work canteens and McDonalds)
Food (depending on taste, appetite, dietary requirements)
Tooth brush and paste
Toilet roll
Maglite (a big one you can pretend is a light sabre)
Cheap head torch from Lidl
my Phone (a lightweight alternative to books, Walkman, GPS, map and compass, and handy for signalling for help)
a map
fire starter (could be anything from a lighter to a straight piece of wood depending on what I wanna do)
a cool looking knife, never an Opinel (too Grandad-y) or a Mora (you'll look like your about to peal tatoes)
an axe (wrap electrical tape round the handle for extra coolness)

I think that's pretty much my basic pack for at least 24 hours out of the house, but I've gone Friday to Monday with little more than that.

For me, bushcraft is about spending time on my own in woods and pretending I'm in The Walking Dead or working my way across Middle Earth towards Mordor. Its about knowing that should the aliens land and decimate our infrastructure I can still feed, water and shelter my kids. I don't care how you whittle a spoon, but I do care how you start a fire with a battery and steel wool. Its about pretending to be self sufficient and surviving adversity like in the films. And looking cool doing it.


I'm being a bit tongue in cheek but we're all pretty much playing at it. To paraphrase someone else, 'What is bushcraft?' is like saying 'What is relaxing?', its different for everyone, its just a range of activities under a very wide, vague ad to be honest pretty **** heading, I mean, after al, we don't have a 'bush', we have the countryside don't we?

I will say though, and I'll probably get jumped on, as a relative newbie to, and outsider of the scene, I do find there to be a good helping of snobbery and almost arrogance that permeates though it all.

 

[Paddytray]

I've seen leather sofas in the woods at last year's moot lol. We take too much for the kitchen too much food a few tarps and our bed setups. I ram as much interesting odds and sods in my kit to teach and entertain the brats

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[dump of the stig]

Bushcraft for me is nothing more that not just thriving and surviving but doing it comfortably so I have time to absorb the environment im in, the precious times
I get out there. There seems to be this odd craze (especially on youtube) where thes guys call themselves bushcrafters but carry a 100lb of kit (all in olive drab obviously)
Sometime litrally the kitchen sink, no joke!
I have no fantasies about being a caveman, a soldier behind enemy lines, or a bear grylls (whatever that thing is)
Im just a dude that likes to travel very light, loose myself in nature and have an excuse to improvise and be inventive.
Sit round a hypnotic fire and carve a spoon or whatever for no other reason than I can.
I find it almost zen like, like a meditation, no thouhts of the usual bills to pay and hassles at work cross my mind when im out there.
It breaks the human condition down to the simplest of elements, warmth, shelter and food. any idiot can go into the wild and be
uncomfortable. Bush craft fits all the criteria.

 

[BlueTrain]

Yes! Anyone can be cold, wet and smelly but it isn't an achievement. But I have my fantasies. Of those that relate to this forum, I am interested in certain periods of the past, though not the distant past, and I like to imagine myself do some of the things they did. None of these people were out for the fun of it but either just making a living or trying to strike it rich. Mostly the time period is around the turn of the century (I mean 1900; that turn of the century). The world changed in 1914 but much of what went on before actually continued. Of course the world is always changing, sometimes overnight, sometimes in ways that we don't even notice. After all, we spend most of our time looking forward, not back.

I've been particularly interested in the Alaskan gold rush, cowboys and ranching, logging and prospecting and a few other odd characters. Of course, all of that still goes on, too. They all lived a sort of outdoor life, which could also be said of many who never "camp out." One of the things that makes people like that interesting is the number of "characters" there are, some of whom I've met (as old men), although I don't know whether or not they considered themselves "characters" or not. They were just being themselves and weren't trying to be anyone else. But think about it; anyone who used to deliver the mail on horseback is bound to have been an interesting character. Likewise, by the time I started school, there were still many still alive who had gone to Alaska during the gold rush of 1898. As a matter of fact, when my father started school sometime in the 1920s, there were people still alive who had traveled west to Oregon in covered wagons.

Such a dull life I lead.

 

[Winterhorse]

Bushcrafting is about being comfortable. That means taking as much as is needed to stay comfortable. Anyone can rough it.

Agreed.
My definition is to pack the least amount of "stuff" to be comfortable. One might begin bush crafting with everything including the kitchen sink. As time goes on and skills mature you need to carry less to achieve the same level of comfort and enjoyment. It IS about enjoying yourself.

 

[Blaidd]

I think... *sounds of members hurriedly remembering an important appointment*... Bushcraft is a set of skills that allow you live in the countryside. Some of these skills may be found in other disciplines. Survival skills are skills utilised when you're in an emergency situation. Its the situation that is 'survival' or 'bushcraft', not the skills.

 

[redneck]

Just the countryside? What about moors and coastline, mountaintops and ravines?

 

[decorum]

Just the countryside? What about moors and coastline, mountaintops and ravines?

I'm a bit confused here ... do you not consider 'moors and coastline, mountaintops and ravines' to be part of the countryside?

 

[Pete11]

What is Bushcraft ?

It's what you make it. Its yours at the time you are doing, no-one else's.

You may use same techniques, you may adapt them to suit your needs. The choice is dependant on the situation.

What works for you at the time might not work for another.

You work alongside Nature.

Pete

 

[Blaidd]

Just the countryside? What about moors and coastline, mountaintops and ravines?

I just thought it sounded a more accessible term than "non-urban environment'.

 

[skog]

Bushcraft for me is a journey. Now bare with me and sorry it sounds clichéd but wether its a journey through history reading about first nation peoples way of living or putting said skills into practice and keeping them alive, or a personal journey of putting the skills into practice and the perserverance of learning the knack and not throwing the towel in. Or a journey through nature and the woods/environment and seeing and observing how it all interacts. Or teaching your skills to others wether friend or kin and watching their journey of personal development. Either way li look at it, we are all on a journey everyday and everything we do. That is what bushcraft is for me.

 

[John Fenna]

My Bushcraft is about being happy and comfortable in the "non-urban environment", learning to be at peace with that which mankind has not overly warped to its will, learning my place in Creation, passing on the skills and understandings that I gather on my life adventure, caring for that which seems uncared about, appreciating the good that man can do and can achieve by the sweat of its brow and the love in its heart - and having a couple of drinks with my good friends in a nice place