Each year 3000 students spend two weeks to three months in the backcountry on National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) courses. Thats a lot of backcountry cooking! The folks at NOLS have developed a simple, varied and inexpensive diet that is based on staple foods that can be found at any grocery store. There’s also a wealth of information on planning, packing and preparing meals for extended trips or just a weekend....
Christopher Molloy has published an excellent online edition of ten out-of-print Bushcraft Books by Richard Harry Graves: The 10 Bushcraft Books’ are the seminal texts on bushcraft and this on-line edition (based on the first edition of the book set) has been released to share this unique source of knowledge. Originally written as wartime information for conducting rescue missions, the notes were later revised and prepared for a School of Bushcraft which was conducted for nearly 20 years....
Many of us have only seen a tree chopped down with an axe in the movies, or on TV and fail to recognize the danger or finesse involved in felling even a small tree: A tree can be hacked down in a haphazard, laborious fashion or it can be dropped easily and quickly exactly where you want it to go. Fayette R. Plumb Inc. engaged ‘America’s Champion Chopper’ Peter McLaren to write an axe manual for their product- the redoubtable Plumb Axe....
Kathleen Meyer realized that there was no completely frank discussion of how to sh*t in the woods (and how not to). She put pen to paper and came up with this pithy, humorous yet informative tome. Well worth reading as pulling it off properly does require some lost skills. It was unlikely that I would find my one of my favorite outdoor stories in this book, but I did: For the better part of a nippy fall morning,...
The druidical science of axemanship is glossed over in scouting literature. Wielding an axe expertly is more than meets the eye. Can you properly ‘hang’ an axe? Are you able to detect hidden flaws when choosing a new axe handle? Bernie Weisgerger is a historic preservation specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. He oversees the restoration of remote historic buildings using traditional technologies and materials. Bernie was the building consultant for the PBS series Frontier House....
I actually made a canoe paddle, and plan on making some more. My new paddle served me admirably on many miles of paddling over the past seven years. Making Canoe Paddles is as complete a treatment of the subject as one could hope to find. Making a paddle is a challenge but the authors explain every step with well-illustrated clarity. The tools, woods, adhesives and techniques are all explained thoroughly and several pleasant hours of work result in a tool that you’ll be proud to own and use....
Anyone planning a canoe trip of a few days or a few weeks will benefit from studying Jacobson’s careful treatment of the subject: he offers solid, tested techniques and then points out the many ways things could go wrong. He uses stories from his considerable experience to illustrate how important it is to plan carefully, not to compound mistakes and thereby opens up the possibilities of canoeing in some incredibly wonderful places....
‘ We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it we go to smooth it. We have it rough enough at home…’ ‘ The temptation is to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp kit has been too strong and we have gone to the blessed woods handicapped with a load fit for a pack mule. That is not how to do it. Go light, and the lighter the better so that you have the simplest material for health comfort and enjoyment....