The Bent Stick Trap

     The art of trapping goes back far into antiquity. For some cultures it was a main staple for food. The earliest writings describing animal trapping is from the Dao De Jing. It was written in the 4th century BC.
     For those of you who have taken my Basic Bushcraft Course I introduce the art of primitive trapping. We show you both the figure four trap and what we have called the "modified figure four" trap.

Yoga and Bushcraft

Yoga and bushcraft are two very different hobbies. At first they appear to be completely different. The average person going to a yoga retreat will be dressed nicely, have clean hands, had a shower that morning, slept in a warm comfortable bed the night before, and have a look of calm serenity.
   On the other hand you see the average bushcraft enthusiast. He has been sleeping outside all weekend, his hands are somewhat clean but has scratches and they look rugged, he dipped in the mountain creek for a bath that morning, slept in a warm and comfortable bed that he made from debris and moss, and also has a look of calm serenity.

The Five Minute Fire

     Can you build a small fire within five minutes? How about if you fell into a winter stream and are now facing hypothermia? Suddenly, those five minutes feel like a lifetime. How do you build a life saving fire quickly?

Finding Food in Winter

   As we embrace the long winter nights, finding wild food becomes tricky at best. Most of the plants have retreated deep underground and are patiently waiting for the warmer longer days.

   This is the time to get out into the woods and challenge yourself to find wild food now while it is difficult. Anyone can eat well in the woods in August while berries run amok. Go out now and enjoy some wild edibles.

Hydration and the Kelly Kettle

   A few days before Christmas saw some very rough weather here in South Kerry, Ireland. The temperatures were far below the zero mark and I was beginning to get flashbacks of living in Alaska. There was ice everywhere. Even the bog felt solid.
   The minus temperatures froze our water pipes as well. We were without water. No problem, we would just grab a bucket of creek water and boil it for our breakfast and tea. But when we tried to turn on the cooker no gas came out. The propane cylinder was frozen as well. The easy fix is to pour hot water over the canister to loosen up the gas. Well, we needed the gas to heat the water to pour over the cylinder.