For brick and mortar breed filth and crime, With a pulse of evil that throbs and beats; And men are withered before their prime By the curse paved in with the lanes and streets. And lungs are poisoned and shoulders bowed, In the smothering reek of mill and mine; And death stalks in on the struggling crowd— But he shuns the shadow of oak and pine. NESSMUK. George Washington Sears. Woodcraft and Camping.
In winter when the snows close the high country and the rains soak the low-lands, reading can connect one with the outdoors. A good book provides tales for the campfire and builds knowledge. It should inspire exploration of new techniques, or familiar techniques practiced in new locations.
I recently had the opportunity to read Dave Canterbury’s Bushcraft 101. Dave bills his book as covering the most valuable 20% of Bushcraft skills. To accomplish this, his book is strictly descriptive and not instructional. However, I found some gems. I think his concept of the five C’s (cutting tools, cover elements, combustion devices, containers, and cordage) a very useful mnemonic. I’m still considering his four elements of camp selection (wood, water, wind, widow-makers); are they inclusive, are they important? No doubt wood and water are helpful, and perhaps wind can include local drainage (we get wet here).
Dave’s book got me to thinking about which books have been the most helpful to me. He is quite correct in that there is no one source from which everything can be found. If I had to recommend a place to start it would be Mors Kochanski’s book Bushcraft, or Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Wilderness Survival. Both of these books will not only inform you on what you need to know, like Dave Canterbury’s, but unlike Dave’s book they will also provide instructions to get you further down the path. Mors’ book has a broader treatment of bushcraft, while Tom’s is geared mainly to survival arts. Tom has another Field Guide to Living with the Earth covering more bushcraft topics. Tom’s books are full of stories, and that’s a wonderful way of teaching; which brings to mind Larry Olsen and the books I based my early efforts upon.
When I started on my journey of wood craft skills discovery I was inspired and guided by two books: How to stay alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier and Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen. My old copies of both of these books are long gone; worn out by thumbing and trail life. Larry’s book is also full of stories.
I thrilled to his description of joining the Badger Clan. At age twelve he had converted an old pair of boots into ‘genuine Paiute’ moccasins, cut a leg from an old pair of pants for a haversack, and trekked into the desert of southern Idaho. When his moccasin stitching failed and his spirits were low he met a badger digging a den. He watched the badger struggle to remove a round stone that kept falling back into the hole just when he was at the rim of the excavation. His description of the silence falling over him and his fear turning to wonder and awe are inspiring. I’ve never had the experience of watching a badger dig a den, but he made me want it; and in the experience of seeking it to experience my own wonders.
I read his stories by firelight in the oak covered hills north of Mt Hamilton trying to draw parallels between his experiences in the high desert where he lived and the savannah where I roamed. I wasn’t quite the Idaho desert but there were enough similarities that the book could guide my learning. I built and used Paiute deadfalls to catch woodrats, twist cordage for lizard nooses, and to leach the tannin from the always plentiful acorns. Later as a park ranger, Larry’s book inspired me to propose the construction of a Costanoan village where I worked.
Sadly, I can’t claim that Larry’s book ever saved my life as it did the lads trapped in snow; it simply wore out from use. I carried the book with my bird guide in my pant leg haversack until the spine gave out and pages were torn free and lost. However over the years I’ve replaced it and read his stories now and again.
I should also mention a couple of classics from the early 20th century: Woodcraft and Camping by Bernard S. Mason, and Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger. Both of these books are packed with tips and projects. However be advised that you will want to check the veracity of the recommendations out in the field, which is why they are not a good replacement for a modern text.
As an example, I get a kick out of Jaeger’s depiction of an intrepid Bushcrafter scooping water out of (or perhaps spewing into) a cut-off barrel cactus. I guess I just haven’t found the right species of barrel cactus.
In contrast, I followed Jaeger’s instructions for pack saddle construction and rigging and I use Mason’s moccasin instructions as the basis for my reproductions of 19th century Metis footwear. Mason also has in-depth descriptions of axe handling and rawhide working very much worth reading and putting into practice.
There is a third classic, oriented more to camping, hunting, and fishing than to bushcraft, Woodcraft and Camping by George W. Sears (Nessmuk)–here is a Project Gutenberg link. It’s worth reading, but as with the other classics the information is dated. Back in the 1920’s it may have been alright to cut a dozen trees for a one night camp, but it certainly isn’t today. Here Nessmuk suggests:
Perhaps it may not be out of place to say that the camp, made as above, calls for fifteen bits of timber, posts, rods, etc., a few shingle nails, and some six-penny wrought nails, with a paper of six-ounce tacks. Nails and tacks will weigh about five ounces, and are always useful. In tacking the cloth, turn the raw edge in until you have four thicknesses, as a single thickness is apt to tear.
He does mention that the nails and cloth should be carefully removed and retained for the next camp.
At any rate, while the hours of daylight are so slim curl up to a fire in your hearth and marvel at the stories of bushcrafters from far away. Then by spring, you will be ready with a whole new repertoire of budding skills to practice.