Knowledge for the outdoors

Knowledge For The Outdoors (A Survival Skills Manual) By Gary Kraus E-book version Copyright 2011 Gary Kraus Smashword Edition This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. The information in this book has been extrapolated from extensive personal experience and a variety of resources, not the least of which are books listed in the bibliography. Some of the information and ideas that have been incorporated into this work, though not in their original form, are referenced at the end of the appropriate chapters. Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 – Arrow Construction Chapter 2 – Awareness Chapter 3 – Backpacking Chapter 4 – Bow Making Chapter 5 – Caching Chapter 6 – Camouflage Chapter 7 – Camp Craft Chapter 8 – Containers Chapter 9 – Cordage Chapter 10 – Direction Finding Chapter 11 – Feminine Hygiene Chapter 12 – Fire Chapter 13 – Fishing Chapter 14 – Flintknapping Chapter 15 – Food Gathering, Preparation, and Preservation Chapter 16 – Knots and Lashing Chapter 17 – Map and Compass Chapter 18 – Projectiles Chapter 19 – Psychology of Survival Chapter 20 – Shelter Chapter 21 – Signaling Chapter 22 – Snowshoes Chapter 23 – Tanning Hides Chapter 24 – Tools Chapter 25 – Tracking Chapter 26 – Trapping Chapter 27 – Water Chapter 28 – Water Craft Chapter 29 – Weather Forecasting Chapter 30 Wilderness Safe Bibliography and Recommended Reading Preface Each year, an increasing number of people are discovering the beauty, excitement, and relaxation of the outdoors. There are numerous reasons for this movement. Some describe their experience as getting back to nature, while others are sports enthusiasts pursuing activities ranging from hiking to snowboarding. But whatever their reasons might be, people are spending more time in a variety of wilderness settings. As is the case with many children, my first experience in the outdoors was through family camping trips. When I was older and discovered hiking and backpacking, my interest began to expand to the area of extended outdoor living. My quest for knowledge about how to live in the outdoors was far ranging. Since there were few outdoor schools at the time (none that I knew of), I began an extensive search of library and bookstore shelves. I read the Lewis and Clark journals, Thoreau’s Walden, accounts about aboriginal life, and all of the contemporary works on outdoor living and survival I could find. I spent weeks and months at a time in the woods experimenting and applying the information I had discovered. As my own library and experience grew, it became apparent that there was a valuable core of information that could be compiled on a variety of outdoor skills. This book evolved as an attempt to present this information in a practical field handbook. It is hoped that these pages will increase your enjoyment of the outdoors. Acknowledgments Before the notion of writing a book had ever occurred to me, I remember reading about how writers struggle with creative inspiration, time, energy, and living expenses. So when I decided to write a book on outdoor skills I knew what the perils of authorship could be, and assured myself that these pitfalls would certainly not effect me. However, over the three years it has taken to complete this book, I have experienced all of the above pitfalls and some others that I never knew existed. These few words are an attempt to thank all of those who in varying ways contributed to the completion of this book. They are the friends and family, too numerous to list, who were always there to offer help with the nonstop editing, art work, encouragement, and support that is so essential to a project such as this. Those who read and enjoy this book owe you their thanks, as do I. Introduction Very few people in today’s world have the knowledge or ability to satisfy all of their needs in a wilderness environment. However, we can still appreciate and learn from our aboriginal ancestors. Horace Kephart, in his book, Camping and Woodcraft, made the following observations in the early 1900’s. There are natural signs in the forest, and on the plain, that we are ignorant of today, but that were well known to those of our ancestors who lived in nature. Such people, dependent from childhood upon close observation of their environment, but observation urged by entirely different motives from those of our naturalist, and directed toward different ends, would inevitably acquire a woodland lore different from ours, but quite as thorough in its own way. That they should develop keen perceptive faculties is no more remarkable than that a carpenter should hit a nail instead of the thumb that steadies it. That they should notice and study signs that no modern hunter or scientist would bother their head about is a matter of course. Unquestionably we have lost many arts of woodcraft that were daily practiced by our ancestors of the stone age, just as we have lost their acquaintance with the habits of animals now extinct. Probably no one of the future will ever equal Jim Bridger as a trailer, and it is but natural to suppose that Bridger himself had superiors among the Native Americans from whom he learned his craft. It is a superficial judgment to rate as an old wives’ tale every story of exploits in the past that we cannot at present duplicate. However, we need not go to novelists to find out how such things were done. There is much pleasure to be gained in seeking to recover some of the lost arts of a primitive age, and some wisdom as well. Although it may be difficult to attain the same level of outdoor expertise known to woodsmen of centuries past, it is not such a difficult thing to significantly expand your outdoor skills through observation, study, and experience. Chapter 1 - Arrow Construction Collection ♦A limb, bush, or shoot can be a possible candidate for an arrow shaft. Choose shoots that grow straight up. Shoots that are leaning over may appear straight, but the growth of their grain is affected by gravity. Seek crowded stands of shoots in the shade as crowded shoots must reach high for sunlight. ♦Shaft length should be matched to the bow and the archer. A finished arrow is generally about 30" long. However, some fishing arrows are several feet long and extend into the water before being shot. Cut a potential shaft 4 – 6" longer than desired to allow room to work the ends. ♦Shaft diameter with the bark on should be approximately the size of your little finger, but diameter ultimately depends on the density of the wood. ... - tailieumienphi.vn