Last Saturday, Dec. 1st, I had the chance to get out with my eight year bush buddy, Christian. We've been getting out in the bush together for nearly two years and to look back and see just how far he has come with his knowledge of bushcraft is amazing. We decided on this particular day, that it might be fun to see if he could take on the challenge of building a twig fire and lighting it using his fire steel and natural tinders. He would try this completely by himself, without any coaching from me. I must say, it was a little frustrating, trying to not interfere, trying not to do the "dad thing", but in the end I was so very proud of him and his success. With that in mind, as you watch the video, you too might feel a little frustration as well. If you have ever struggled with making fire with your fire steel and natural tinders, you will understand what he is going thru. On this day, even the tinder (inner cottonwood bark) was not ideal and was just a little moist as he prepared it. But he persisted, and I held my peace and he prevailed. So bear with him, as I did, and I hope you will enjoy the video.
We had such a good time, and I would encourage any of you my friends to get out and include any kids you have in your life, in your bushcraft adventures. Happy Exploring.
I had the very great privilege of meeting for the first time,
BushcraftUSA member "Sticker" and his significant other on Saturday,
Oct. 27th for a regularly scheduled meet up of bushcrafters. "Sticker"
aka Terry, has only been a member for a little over a week now and they
both decided that it might be fun to meet up and start working on the
BushclassUSA Basic lessons. We met as usual at 9AM in the Group Camping
Parking lot of the Minneopa State Park, here in southcentral Minnesota.
After waiting for about a half hour to see if any other members would
arrive, we headed out on our hike.
I decided to help them work towards their first lesson "Student Practice
for a Twig Fire" by going over the basics of gathering natural tinders,
discussing the use of ferro rods, using man-made tinders and the
mechanics of building the twig fire. Once we arrived on site near the
river, they set to work gathering their materials.
Here now is the video of our day trip, and all the fun we had meeting up
for the first time and becoming friends for the experience.
Along the way, we talked about friction fire methods and then the
discussion turned to other ways of making fire. I took the opportunity
to demonstrate a bow drill fire using some basswood for a spindle and
some cottonwood for a hearth board. I could see that Terry was watching
the whole process pretty carefully, so I gave him the proven set to take
home and try on his own if he liked. We also looked at starting fire
with flint and steel and now I am sure we will be building some tinder
kits soon. It was a lot of fun.
After some hot chocolate, we headed back to the vehicles and called it a
day. I have to say, it was a fun way to make new friends. We definitely
have some new members to BushcraftUSA and have set them on the path of
enlightenment.
Terry has since shared with me in a PM that they are now working on getting
together a couple of kits using the Finnish Gas Mask bags and that they
have ordered some new ferro rods. Way to go, you two!
I hope you enjoyed the video. Until next time, Happy Exploring.
It is always a pleasure to get out for a day trip and to explore with my bush buddy Christian. He always reminds of what it is like to be a kid. That makes for some really good bushcraft adventure. We really get in some good dirt time. He enjoys learning the things I can teach him and he teaches me things about being curious and observing and about getting dirty and wet and close to the things that really make it fascinating. He never gives me any excuses why he does not want to go. He always wants to be outdoors and on an expedition. He has told me flat out, he will never refuse an invitation to go "for a hike". I like that. He is faithful to his word. He is always good to go. He is my son and I love him.
He challenges me to keep honing my skills, no matter what the subject might be some days. As he is learning more about bushcraft, he is challenging me in other ways. One example came up on this latest trip.
We had sort of reached the end of our trail, following a stream bed and decided to stop, fire up my trangia alcohol stove and boil some water to make a couple cups of hot chocolate. As I was getting that going, he found a lost "Bic" lighter and wanted to see if he could use that resource to start a fire. I was sitting under a tree along the shore and asked him what kind it was. He said basswood and he was right. We then discovered a part of the tree was a deadfall, so he harvested some of the inner bark for tinder and challenged me to make a bow drill fire with some of what was left. I accepted the challenge. It was fun.
Here is a video of our adventure that morning. It is a little long, but I think entertaining and especially if you like spending time with your kids. I hope you enjoy it.
I am sorry that I did not get his success in getting a twig fire going with the tinder he had made up, but he did succeed in getting a fire going with the found lighter, all on his own. Just before the trip began, he was able to run a 7 point compass course that lead him to a water source and I thought he did quite well in that for a first timer.
He is fast becoming a good bushkid and I look forward to many more trips and learning a few more things from him. Take the opportunity to get out with a kid and enjoy what "real" dirt time is all about.
Thanks for watching and Happy Exploring.
One great hope of all good parents is that they can find an activity that they can share with their kids. They want to find something that is both a great adventure and an educational opportunity. They want that activity to spark their kids imagination, push them to succeed, and encourage them to keep going and trying new things. And if that shared experience helps them to grow together as friends, helps them to respect one another and to joy in each others accomplishments, than they will truly have found something worth sustaining and guarding for all its worth.
A friend of mine was searching for some activity like this, to share with his three daughters. They had heard about bushcraft and they all talked about somehow finding a way to learn more about it. That's when he turned to me. He said he wanted to start learning bushcraft, along with one of his daughters. He said they were both novices and really needed to start at the beginning. I suggested they start by doing the lessons offered in the BushclassUSA section of the BushcraftUSA.com forum site. I offered to help them with the lessons, by accompanying them any Saturday morning they wanted to get out. I figured I was headed out to the bush anyway, so it would be good to have some company.
Well, we have shared 3 good Saturday mornings and they have both completed their first lesson, by building a "Twig Fire" and Little Jon has even finished a second lesson, "Lighting 5 Man Made Tinders with a Firesteel."
But the best part really, is how his daughter has taken to learning the Bushclass lessons. She really wants to learn. He told me, she can hardly wait to get out in the wilderness and get started on another lesson. She is pushing him to keep going. I like that.
If you have been following my blog, you have probably watched the video of our outing of April 7th. But I would like to share yet another video of Little Jon's daughter working on her first lesson and completing it in fine style. She proves that bushcraft is not just boys, it is after all, for everyone.
I hope this will encourage all of you and especially any young women who are interested, to take up the wonderful adventure that is bushcraft. It is part of all of us, still at the core of our being, just waiting to be discovered. Just go out in wilderness. Go and build a fire and do it in a primitive way and feel a part of history. Than you will find more of yourself and it doesn't matter whether you are a boy or a girl. You are a bushcrafter. Until next time, Happy Exploring.
Today was a great day. Every day I get a chance to get out in the wilderness and practice bushcraft is a great day. Today I had a chance to take three friends into the bush and share some of my experience with bushcraft. They are all new members of BushcraftUSA and are working on completing their lessons for BushclassUSA. We had a great time, even though it was raining and drizzling, and we still managed to get fires started and cook breakfast. I was able to share several examples of the bushclass lessons and assist them in understanding what they needed to do to complete their lessons. Little Jon was able to complete his lesson for "Student Practice for 5 Man Made Tinders" and his daughter worked on completing her lesson for "Student Practice for Twig Fire."
I shared with them various cordage items that were results of bushclass lessons, such as the ridge line for a tarp shelter, twisted 2 strand cordage, and several knots in the line kit. So without rambling on to much more, here is the video of our adventure.
As my tag line at the top of blog states, this is a place to "...Share Adventures In Bushcraft With Friends" Well today it became a larger adventure and a reality for a great group of friends. I am sure you will be reading much more about our adventures as they continue to follow me on my adventures and work on completing their lessons. Until the next time, Happy Exploring.
You may have noticed as of late, that the last few posts here have been on the subject of Firecraft. From the use of natural tinders, to the making of charred cloth, building a twig bundle fire, and also on using flint and steel, all are important subjects to touch on when it comes to polishing your firecraft skill set.
This last week end, I had the chance to set a fellow BushcraftUSA member, Little Jon and his daughter on the path to understanding bushcraft. Little Jon decided it was time to start on his BushclassUSA lessons and he chose the "Student Practice for Making a Twig Fire." He did a fantastic job on this and I helped to cover the lesson for him by taking some video so that he will have something to post up for the lesson on the BushcraftUSA forum website. I am very proud of him as one of my students and his daughter is very eager to get started on her bushclass lessons as well. Here is the video of his first lesson, building a twig fire.
So having gotten out in the bush on Saturday with some friends (even my bush buddy was along to help teach and he did a good job of that too) I was very eager to get yet another lesson done for myself for BushclassUSA. I chose to continue with the whole Firecraft theme of the last few outings and decided on knocking out the elective "Student Practice for Improvising A Flint and Steel."
I really enjoy using flint and steel and natural tinders, and this day was just too beautiful to ignore. So here is the video I submitted for the class.
I do hope you enjoyed the adventure in firecraft and I am sure there will be many more to come. If improvising a flint and steel looks like something you might like to try, get yourself an old file or a carbon steel knife or even a ready made steel striker and practice getting some sparks. It is a lot of fun. Until next time, Happy Exploring.
It was about a week ago, when I was able to get out with my bush buddy for an adventure in firecraft. My mission was to begin to find natural tinders for my next Intermediate BushclassUSA lesson. His mission was to gather the right tinders he would need to build a twig fire from scratch and all by himself. We had a great time and I am so proud of his efforts and how far his bushcraft skills have developed.
So here is the video of our adventure and his amazing show of skills. Good going buddy...
I hope you liked the video and I am sure we will have many more adventures, as he is growing into a fine bushcrafter. I am hoping he will become one of the youngest to graduate BushclassUSA. Until next time, Happy Exploring.
Recently I needed to complete another lesson for BushclassUSA on the BushcraftUSA forum website. This particular lesson involved the gathering and lighting five man-made tinders. Part of the lesson was to have fun, I decided to approach the process as if the tinders had to be found in the wild, even though they are really "man-made". So here is the resultant video I made and I hope you enjoy it.
