After the fall.... of snow that is...

So as you no doubt know from Mungo, we had a nice little snow storm that turned Sunday's beautiful day of working on the woodshed in a tee-shirt into... "Winter has come again!". Truth be told it made me a little sad. I was really starting to get into the swing of spring there for a couple of days. It did not help that I had to put the blade on the front of the ATV and plow the bloody driveway again... Did not find much enjoyment in it this time.

Anyways.

This last storm actually got me to thinking. Clothing. I am sure you have heard enough times in the past that you should always take enough clothing with you on a trip. But the last week has really got me re-thinking my setup for clothing.

Mors asks a question as to your choice of clothing. "Will the clothes you wear keep you warm for four days without a fire?"

You might answer yes to this. Had I been wearing a fleece over my tee-shirt on Sunday and went for a wander in the bush, my answer would have been a definite NO! Perhaps living here surrounded by nature tends to make me less concerned.

You are probably thinking to yourself: "Yeah but if I go for a hike in June I don't need to wear 4 layers of clothing!" No. Maybe not. But I have been out on a camping trip in the middle of June and the temperature dropped to below 0 Celsius for 3 days and it snowed. Seriously. Weather around here can change quickly and if you are a day or three from the car on a week long trip you could be in for trouble.

One of my earlier post lists off Mors five layer system. Nessmuk considers the following list to be sufficient for most trips into the bush: (most of the listed clothing is considered made of fine woolen cassimere)

• Medium thickness wool coat
• vest
• sturdy but comfortable pants
• 2 thick woolen shirts
• 2 fine but substantial pair of drawers
• 2 pair of socks
• hat and boots.

Whether you try either of these systems or your very own is up to individual needs. No one can tell you how to dress or what will work for you. Not a friend, spouse, or clothing manufacturer. Only through trial and error will you know for sure. When you think you have it, ask yourself this. Will putting every article of clothing on that you are carrying allow you to stay warm if the temperature drops by 20 degrees (celsius) overnite? Will you be warm for 4 days without a fire or sleeping bag?

Will post my Autumn/Spring clothing in a future post.

Thanks for being here...

Decado.

Still alive.... just busy... Maybe a little too busy...

Not to worry. I am still here. Posts have been a bit thin lately. Sorry. (We all say that, don't we?)

Did the Survival practice last weekend with a friend. Spent 24 hours in the bush working on my clothing system and building a "Super Shelter" based on Mors Kochanski's designs and teachings. It went well all things considered. Got some things accomplished that I wanted to try and learned a few other things, which is what the weekend was all about!

Got some good pictures and finished my log of the night's experiences. Will be posting that this weekend when I have a minute.

Here is one thing I really wanted to mention now (since the boss isn't looking over my shoulder at the moment):

This may be common knowledge to most of you and I have heard this before but getting a little more hands-on experience in the matter has really clarified it for me. Mors Kochanski made mention a few times during the Bushcraft and Wilderness Survival course I took at Jack Mountain Bushcraft School in New Hampshire. He said that one of the things you try to reserve when in a survival situation is.... well... Effort! (or your energy as the case may be). What he meant was think about what you are doing, like building a shelter, and try to use the least amount of effort to achieve the objective. An example of this is: if you are placing logs across each other to make the base of your shelter, one option is to chop a groove out of one log to make it fit nicely on top of the other. The other is to use a small amount of cordage to tie the two logs together using a "Jam" knot. Using the cordage took a lot less time and energy to make the logs stay together.

Ok sorry for the long explanation but here it is in a nut-shell: There is a direct relationship between "Effort" and "Equipment". Forgetting about the need to carry everything for a moment, the more stuff you have with you, the less effort required to do a job. I know this sounds pretty obvious, but think it through based on your own experiences in the bush. We all know you can learn the skills and practice making cordage, but if you end up out in the wilderness and the resources just aren't there or the time of the year makes it difficult, then what do you do? Isn't just easier to bring a spool of cord with you? Why build a debris hut and spend a couple of hours gathering enough materials to make your shelter water proof when all you need to do is bring a tarp or tent fly?

Ok... Ok.... you can stop shaking your head in sadness thinking that I have turned to the dark-side and will be throwing a 60 pound pack on my back the next time I am out! Sheeeesh! Been there, done that! I guess what I am trying to say is.....well.... actually what I am trying to say is just what I said!

I have done a lot of reading on the web about peoples "Bushcraft Kit". There are many similarities. Fire, Shelter, Cooking, sleeping. Last weekends camp was meant to go off into the woods without a sleeping bag, or blankets etc. and get the one thing that is most important when you are trying to live in the bush. Sleep, and sleep comfortably. Hrrmmm... Maybe my point is this: You know Mors' saying, "The more you know, the less you carry". I guess my addendum to that is:

"The more you know, the less you carry, the more effort is required!"

I have seen some amazing stuff being done by other bloggers and bushcrafters, but I never really realized how much effort it truly takes to get out there with nothing but your clothes, a knife, and a fire-steel. Our fore-fathers did it..... but can you? Can you make everything from the resources around you and still get a good nights sleep? Only you can answer that. (great! now I am preaching... sorry)

I know I could survive. Could I live? Well.... we'll see.

Decado

***Public Notice *****

Please be advised that the preceding comments were merely the observations and opinions of the writer, and were in no way meant to sound: pompous, arrogant, demeaning, or should otherwise be taken as a "Mr. Know-it-all" attitude. The writer simply wanted to share. Go on.... be nice..... give the guy a hug and some honest feedback! He would like that. No. Really! He wants you to express yourself! Share with him! Thank you.

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(P.S. - Ok no more attempts at posting on a friday afternoon after a week from hell at work! I promise..... Decado.)

New Arrivals... books that is....

Just wanted to put up a quick post the share my excitement! I ordered the Mors Kochanski's Pocket Size Booklets from Karamat.com. They got here today, lickety-split! (thats fast in canadian...)

This will definetly give me a few things to read over before this weekend's "Practice Session".

Will let you know how it goes!

Oh... and got another fire going with my knife and piece of quartz. Man is this stuff fun or what?!?

Pictures say a thousand words...

Here are some of the pictures from our Bushcraft & Wilderness Survival Course with Mors Kochanski at Jack Mountain Bushcraft in New Hampshire.

Me and the Mors!

I think I will let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

Thanks for reading (or looking, in this case...)

Decado.