I want to thank everyone involved thus far with Great Lakes Bushcraft getting started. Over the weekend of April 21st & 22nd we held our first official weekend overnight course, Introduction to Bushcraft. We had 10 students and 4 instructors in attendance. There were experienced folks to first timers. Most had car camped, and so they brought in a lot of gear. But that is exactly what the course was all about. Learning what you really need in the woods to be comfortable.
I have to admit that I myself skimped on layers, and was a bit cold at night away from the fire. I tried to get away from carrying an under pad for the hammock, won’t do that again anytime soon.
We began the day early on Saturday morning at 9 am sharp. The wind was howling like a hawk, so we quickly moved towards the woods for some reprieve. Once in the woods we looked for widow makers while setting up our individual campsites, and tried to find level dry ground. An advantage with hanging, you only need two trees about 9-12’ apart. Having smaller children, providing shelter for them can be a task when hiking in. Especially when the youngest is 3 and has to carried part of the way.
I showed how to set up a hammock and tarp set up. I pitched the tarp close on one side and a roof on the other. My modified Baker Hammock Tarp. This allows me to use the hammock as a chair while cooking or other tasks in non-bear country. David had a simple lean-to with his bivy bag. Terry had a modified A-frame with mosquito netting. Shaun set up a modified open end pyramid with a single pole inside. Jamie set up his famous plow point he loves so much. We had a tarp for a wind break and reprieve for any rain that skirted around us Saturday and Sunday. A few knots were demonstrated for the best uses of a ridge line, tent pull outs and hanging a Hennessy Hammock.
Settled in we set up a sun compass when the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, which didn’t last too long. We did manage to get three good shadows in about an hour and a half. Tested against a compass, it was dead on! Then we demonstrated a proper fire lay, while everyone collected small tinder and kindling. Two hands worth of kindling to keep the fire going. Don’t use it all at once though. Save some in case you have trouble, and keep some for the morning fire for coffee. All of the students were able to get flame from a ferro rod and Mini Inferno.
We found some Chaga, discussed some uses for fire and tea. I made a small pot and shared it among us. A little too much sugar took away most of the nutty flavor, but we got enough to test. Shaun baked us some of his bread in his Swiss Stove set up, and it was good.
We collected firewood, made some furniture and talked around the fire. I laid out my 10 pc kit to show the essentials needed to take into the woods. Ken opened his soul by unpacking his bag in front of us all. We found a lot of redundancy in there. That can be from a habit of not emptying your bag before leaving out. I pack an empty bag before each trip. I keep small kits of gear in individual bags. Then I can switch them very easily. Learn the 10C’s of survivability, and you won’t ever forget the important stuff again.
Shaun slept next to the fire lay Saturday night. We built a reflector from some of the larger logs, but the stakes holding it were not far enough in the ground to support it. So early on it fell over. Shaun said that was fine since it was too warm anyway.
The next day we all woke up to a beautiful sunrise in the woods. The night got a bit cold, 34*F, but we all fared well enough. We were all packed up and on our way home by noon.
Be sure to meet us for the next campout May 5th -6th in Port Huron where we will begin the Bushcraft Basic’s Course. We will have stations set up for each student to master the skill taught throughout the day.
Jeff “LFB” Kindy
Instructor
Great Lakes Bushcraft
