It’s 2013. After death, divorce and other shitty stuff forced a long absence from blogging, let’s get this show back on the road
Humour makes camp life smoother – Photo Tim Smith, Jack Mountain Bushcraft
I’m really happy that more and more people are getting into bushcraft, wilderness living skills, traditional skills, whatever you’d like to call it. A natural life with connection to the earth sustains us just as it sustained our hunter gatherer ancestors. I’m relieved that more and more people are coming to realise this.
It’s bushcraft but not as we know it
However, I think a big piece of the jigsaw is missing. It’s great to learn new stuff, to make fire, to build shelters, carve wood and what have you. What’s missing is taking these skills out of the backyard and into the backcountry where they were born and deserve to be practised.
I hope through sharing my knowledge, experiences, reflections and thoughts I can inspire you to learn some new skills, think some different thoughts and above all, get out and about and take your knowledge on the trail and apply it to adventure.
So, what qualifies me to tell you about all of this?
What you read here is me. My opinion, my experience. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t claim to be an expert but I’ve been around. I’ve made stuff with my hands, lived alone in the forest, lived with others in the forest, smelt the heady scent of adventure and learned to find it within nature’s bounds.
Teaching others sharpens your skills
After discovering this thing we call bushcraft I set out to learn all I could. I attended courses (too many courses), took myself away into the woods, observed, practised, wrote, studied, travelled, taught and above all loved it.
Then, for the past few years I’ve been on a rollercoaster. Almost all the shit that could have happened in my personal life did happen.
Through this difficult period nature has been a constant companion but hard skills and hard travelling haven’t. Sometimes I didn’t have room in my head to think, let alone learn things. This, dear reader, turns out to be a blessing in disguise. What could be better than to take you on my journey to rediscover things even I’d forgotten I knew?
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The only way is up
My experiences in these crappy years led me to do alot of thinking, deconstructing and reconsidering. It’s changing the way I live, the way I do things, what I own, what I do, who I care about. It’s uncovered some uncomfortable truths about how I live my life and it’s disconnection from what I really believe in.
It’s also made me realise that my love for doing stuff in the outdoors – and striving to do it really fucking well – really is as important as it always seemed.
And the door’s not shut yet
A while ago I found myself (less than half) jokingly describing this site as ‘The internet’s best written but least read bushcraft blog’. It’s kind of true. Like a poor sickly child, undernourished and kicked out to survive on it’s own, it’s suffered from a lack of love and attention. So here I am, back to revive it with a nourishing broth of words and thoughts.
I seriously thought about giving up with Skills For Wild Lives – turning off the lights, shutting the door and and doing something else. But I can’t. Something stopped me and that in itself gives me a reason to carry on.
So let’s get to work…
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Am I Gonna Get Scammed?
My main aim isn’t to sell anything. I aim to pass on a ton of in depth, reliable, tried and tested information – please note I didn’t say I won’t sell anything – a man’s gotta make a living. It’s just not top of my list of priorities in life.
Trust is everything. If you sign up for the email thing and you get spammed, I’ll be as upset as you about it.
The approachable face of bushcraft?
Get In Touch
I’m always interested in your thoughts and sugestions.
Also if you have any random professional opportunities involving writing, expeditioning, teaching then get in touch! If you’d like to contact me about this email me or hook up on LinkedIn:
