Camping Skills

Illustration by Hap Wilson. Originally appeared in The Keewaydin Way by Brian Back Lake Temagami and environs is one of the great good places to go canoeing. According to the Ottertooth website: The three-walled heritage fireplace has been a Temagami tradition for over a hundred years and many blackened campsite fireplaces have been in use for decades. Daily baking, particularly for bannock, remains an essential part of heritage Temagami. Many of the camps have two bakes at dinner, one for dessert that night, and a second for lunch the next day....

The clearly illustrated directions author Gerald Finley ‘s book ‘Rope Works Plus’ explains tying and using knots, splices and lashings, making rope (with plans for a geared rope making machine) This sample page gives you a pretty good idea of the style and layout of the book. A very practical guide. Rope Works Plus on Amazon

This may sound pessimistic – but it is an unfortunate reality. Sometime, somewhere this month (and every month thereafter) a Troop of Scouts will start off on a hike that will end in some sort of tragedy. The major tragedies we see on the news – a lost scout or group of scouts, a serious injury, a death – all probably preventable. The smaller, yet often more poignant, tragedies don’t get publicized....

The most common cliché about scouting is a toss-up between helping old ladies across the street and rubbing two sticks together to make a fire. Making fire with a bow drill is an obtainable skill for those who are willing to devote themselves to a little study, finding the proper materials and patient practice. Here’s great advice and direction on making a bow drill fire featured on the Wildwood Survival website....

Just to be extra clear about this freezer bag cooking has nothing in common with the well known ‘omelet in a bag’ technique where you crack an egg into a plastic bag, add some veggies and cheese (or whatever) and then put the bag in boiling water. (If you haven’t tried the omelet in a bag you haven’t missed anything – it doesn’t work all that well and a boiled omelet has a very different taste and texture....

EXCERPT from Fire by Friction Do you think that you can build a fire using a fire by friction set made by yourself? If you answered YES to the this question, you are already 50% done with the building of your fire by friction. It is a fun challenge to any scout and the following tips should make it easier. Before you start, decide which end of the spindle will be the top....

I have been saying for years that all that needs to be done for purifying water by boiling is to raise it to the boiling point and have received many skeptical looks in return. Here is a reasoned examination that explains exactly why this is true; The fact is, with a water temperature of 165 degrees F (74 C) it takes just half an hour for all disease causing organisms to be inactivated....

What, precisely, does partly cloudy mean? Forecasters use these descriptions of sky condition based upon tenths of the sky covered by opaque (not transparent) clouds. Sky Condition Cloud Coverage Cloudy 8/8 Opaque Clouds Mostly Cloudy, or Considerable Cloudiness 6/8 to 7/8 Partly Cloudy, or Partly Sunny 3/8 to 5/8 Mostly Clear, or Mostly Sunny 1/8 to 2/8 Clear, or Sunny 0/8 Opaque Clouds

Here’s a clear, easy to follow description of rope making using the spinning method in the form of a PDF file made by Troop 228. Surprisingly high-quality rope in a variety of sizes can be quickly and easily made with these simple tools and materials. These tools are not difficult to make nor are the materials expensive or hard to find. Building this style of rope maker and completing one six-foot piece of rope, with whippings, will satisfy Requirement Five of the Pioneering Merit Badge....

The tent you are looking at are standard German scout tents. Each scout carries a panel and when they reach the destination for camp they put the pieces together. These tents are called ‘khote’ and are based on the shape and function of the Saami tipi-like reindeer skin tent. The Saami (sometimes called Laplanders) are the indigenous people of Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia....

Blogger Steve Karoly is a camp cook in California who shares some great group recipes on ‘Round the Chuckbox‘. Here are a couple that caught my eye: Corned Beef Hash Prepare this camp version of corned beef hash in an uncovered 12-inch Dutch oven over a gas camp stove. Place a pre-heated lid on the Dutch oven to quickly cook the eggs just before serving. 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice...

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....

Those interested in advanced knotting and rope work do no better than these essential knot books; The Ashley Book of Knots Ashley’s is the standard work on knots, bar none. Any serious knot tyer will have a well worn copy in their library. Clifford W. Ashley describes the history, uses and construction of more than 3,900 different knots–presented through 7,000 carefully hand-drawn illustrations.This invaluable volume is big hardcover book with a quality binding and is well worth the price....

Whether an athletic competition, ritual practice, or casual the tug-of-war tradition is many centuries old. The United States Tug of War Association web page features an interesting history of the sport, an official event in early Olympic Games. We are fortunate to own a 30 foot length of nylon rope that was once used on a tug boat that is three or four inches in diameter. Using anything weaker would increase the danger of the rope breaking....

Every year in the port of Naha, Okinawa Japan, the world’s largest rope is constructed of rice straw for the annual great tug-of-war, or O-tsunahiki. Over 600 feet long and six feet in diameter the rope is central to the main event of a 400 year old tradition at Naha, the world’s largest Tsunahiki festival. The Asian tradition of tsunahiki, or tug of war, dates back more than 2,000 years and is a feature of many festivals....

Campfire Cafe is a television show about campfire cooking. Lots of information on their website including recipes, tips and podcasts. If you really want to do it right, you need to learn about different firewoods, cooking gear, cast iron pots, and accessories that will make the job easier and the cooking experience successful. There are weather conditions that will have a direct impact on cooking time, like wind. You’ll need to learn how to maintain your equipment, as well as the fire itself....

Philmont Scout Ranch is a BSA High Adventure Base offering an extensive program of treks for Scouts. Here is how to rig a 12×12 tarp (a method I have heard called the Philmont dining fly tarp) to stand up to strong winds and rain. This rig will keep about eight people (who get along fairly well) out of the rain. The side guy-line is about 30 feet long and is threaded through the grommets on the tarp and staked down with three stakes....

A tarp creates an dry island of refuge if it is properly rigged; if not it becomes a flapping, dripping, water-catching pain. Here’s an idea from Cliff Jacobsen’s book Camping’s Top Secrets on rigging two tarps to create a chimney to keep a fire going in the rain. Here’s a view showing how the tarps overlap for a foot or two by tying them together at the grommets. The back edge of the top is rigged up to the tree to create the opening that forms a chimney....

A nice setup for cooking at a long term camp the Chippewa Kitchen in this drawing is lashed out of eight foot poles about 1 1/2″ in diameter. Naturally you can scale the kitchen to available materials or conditions as you see fit. Note the pot drying rack and worktop. No sooner had I posted this halfway around the world Peter at Ropes and Poles posted this small camp table.

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....