Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash
And who doesn’t want that!
“Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.”
Angelina Jolie
The first night I slept under a hoochie I kept my knife close at hand. Out of sight from any unsuspecting ‘intruders’ but perfectly in reach if necessary. Of course, the only ‘intruders’ were the occasional ant or spider that clambered over my sleeping bag as I slept, blissfully unaware.
The next morning I felt invincible. Not because of the knife (I’m not a complete weirdo), but because I had slept Outside, in the Outdoors, without even a Tent. I had only ever been camping once or twice in my life before that. Yes, I decided. I am pretty damn badass. My confidence pretty much skyrocketed from there. Well, for a couple of hours, at least!
If you’re considering the outdoors lifestyle, or perhaps you’ve done heaps of camping but are looking to connect more with and feel more comfortable with nature, this article will outline how learning and practicing bushcraft will help you do that.
You will sleep on the ground, in the open, and it will be Fine!
That first night I was nervous not to have ‘four walls’ around me, even if those ‘walls’ were the flimsy sides of a too-small tent. Underneath my hoochie, I felt like I was essentially in the open, ‘exposed’ if you will. Hence the knife. But, I grit my teeth and thought
‘if you can’t do this now, in a controlled, safe environment, how would you fare if you were in a ‘real’ survival situation, with potentially even less than this?’
‘This’ being my thermals, hoochie, groundsheet, sleeping bag and mat. So, I did it. And it felt good. Ok, not good in that I had a perfect night’s sleep and was bouncing off the walls the next (very early) morning. But good in that I had set my mind to do something scary and out of my comfort zone, and when it did of course get uncomfortable I still did it. To quote the amazing Glennon Doyle I realised: “I can do hard things!” Confidence? Check! Resilience? Check! Check!
You will learn what to do in the event you get lost
Signing up for a bushcraft course was one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I was lost when I signed up and it helped me find my way back to myself. Soppy sh*t aside, you really do learn what to do when you get lost. And, surprise surprise — the most important element of getting yourself ‘unlost’ is to..admit to yourself that you are, indeed, astray, or ‘off-course’ if you will.
You will learn how to navigate using the sun, the stars, and the moon. Imagine being able to orient yourself, at any time, from anywhere in the world. It can be confusing at first, but once you’ve ‘got it’ it changes your whole perspective, and it’s amazing.
Knowing what to do if you find yourself in a sticky situation
And how to get you, and anyone with you, safely out of it. You’ll learn how and what to prioritise if you find yourself (and sometimes you are with others) lost, potentially injured, and losing daylight.
Knowledge is power, and boy does it feel powerful to know that you have the knowledge and skills to protect yourself and others when in a vulnerable situation outdoors. Knowledge is the bridge from ‘life-threatening situation’ to ‘inconvenient and uncomfortable’.
Skill is what gets you across that bridge. That being said, with the right bushcraft skills you can actually make yourself pretty comfortable out bush using just the environment around you. And that feels pretty damn good too!
Closing Thoughts
To conclude, bushcraft skills empower you by giving you the tools you need to survive. To feel comfortable and make smart decisions that will keep you safe (and happy) in the outdoors.
The mere practice builds resilience. You know you can handle whatever life throws your way when you can sleep on the ground in the open with the creepy-crawlies, navigate by the light of the moon, and know the key elements of survival you need to prioritise and actions to take to keep yourself and those around you safe.
Thanks for reading, ‘see’ you next time!
