- Joined
- Nov 25, 2006
- Messages
- 7,036
There are many folks here from various walks of life, with varied interests and motivation levels. For myself, I would say that I am moderately interested\ motivated to learn particular outdoor skills, in the sense that I focus on the basic and practical. I have had an inner longing\desire\interest in the outdoors since being a child. My father was exactly the same way. We always had a lab for duck hunting and I remember helping him build an ice plane\boat type deal with a V.W. engine and airplane prop in back. It ended up being used on a frozen lake as it was finished in winter. The engine eventually blew on it. My father got a moose with a bow back in the 60's and one of my earliest memories is one of his moose hanging from a tree. There are so may stories\memories. I have shot nothing larger than white tail and mulies, smoked fish, picked every type of edible mushroom\plant that I knew was safe. I pressed cider and made maple syrup from tree sap etc. Today I have even more outdoor interests such as motorcycles and metal detecting, if anything, these interests have expanded. I am sure that we all have many similar traits or experiences. These days I am slowly getting up to speed with practical aspects of outdoor survival. I thought that axe use was swing, chop, have a fire. Now I realize that I knew very little about axe, knife use as outdoor tools, and that there is much to learn. I also have greater respect for the safe use of cutting tools, particularly as I now desire to use them with more frequency. I am taking this all in stride though as I do have various interests to compete for my outdoor time. And ''Bush Craft'' or outdoor skills are just part of a bigger picture. I find myself taking this stuff in smaller steps when the interest spikes. I do respect those with higher skill sets and try to leave my ego at the door. This can be a humbling experience for someone that has spent years outdoors. But what the hey, it's fun and interesting to gain more outdoor skills\knowledge. I feel that my primary motivation to learn higher levels of outdoor skills is simple survival. I was very close to being lost in the Boreal forest a few years ago and it was a lousy experience. I stumbled out near dusk, exhausted, clothes ripped up, drinking bog water. About the only thing that got me out about a half mile of were I went in, was a pin on ball compass. That experience was a reality slap for me.... I will add however that I had a tin of sardines in a jacket pocket, a lighter and a folding knife. Even back then I took precautions.
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