Survival, Tracking, Navigation
Survival, Tracking, Navigation
Note: This is a three part series applying the simple basics of compass use to enhancing your skills in the woods and to guide us away from what I am calling “Bushcraft Butthurt”. Part 1 addresses this on the individual level. Part 2 addresses this on a group/school level, and part 3 addresses this on a much higher level.
The word butthurt doesn’t make it to Webster’s Dictionary, but it certainly is part of the Urban Dictionary. If you are new to this term, butthurt means an excessive or unjustifiable feeling of personal offense or resentment. I am writing this three part series to address some issues that are common in the survival/bushcraft community that I feel are bringing it down and to offer some ideas on how to overcome them for the betterment of us as individuals, the community at large, and possibly even on a much larger scale.
For my purposes here I will use my favorite baseplate compass, the Suunto MC-2, as an example (see photo and watch video below). On any baseplaste compass, you have three arrows that are vitally important for use in proper and safe land navigation.
Suunto baseplaste compass
red and resembles the outline of the Washington monument. If you hold your compass level and move around with it, this arrow will point North.
Here is how I want to apply these arrows, albeit metaphorically, to guide us as individuals away from having Bushcraft Butthurt.
In summary for this Part 1 of 3, I will say this. YOU DO YOU! Yes look at others you admire and see their skill set as a goal, but dont try to be like them…you be like you. If you do this you can avoid the pitfalls of Bushcraft Butthurt that come from one person saying one teacher’s way is the only way. Bushcraft in my estimation is about developing creativity and ingenuity on the individual basis. I discuss this a bit further in this video.
Craig Caudill is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Nature Reliance School. He specializes in teaching outdoor related topics to include, survival, tracking, nature awareness and gun safety for private and public groups, and government agencies. Craig’s first book is Extreme Wilderness Survival from Page Street Publishing, distributed by Macmillan Publishing. Craig’s second book, Ultimate Wilderness Gear, is coming in July 2018 and can be pre-ordered now!
Craig is a also frequent contributor to TV outlets, blog sites, magazines and is a popular online outdoor educator on his YouTube channel. Pick up the books, subscribe to him on youtube, or join Craig and the other NRS Instructors in a class so they can help you be more safe and aware in the outdoors.
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