This is Skillset #8 on my list of essential skills for survival, part of a continuing series the beginning of which can be found here.
What Is Bushcraft and Why Do I Need to Learn It?
Bushcraft is not an individual skill, but more of a group of related skills. They are those that are essential for survival in the wilderness, especially if you plan on evacuating out to some remote and isolated location, something I wholeheartedly endorse. The knowledge of how to use natural resources from your surrounding environment can save your life when SHTF. And it can also help you succeed later on after the worst of the chaos has died down. While most of my writing tends to pay attention primarily to urban skills, it’s important to take the time to learn wilderness skills as well. These kinds of skills are often referred to as pioneer-type ones, as they were necessary for survival before we all had electricity, gas engines, and indoor plumbing. And once civilization ends, we will lack those things again.
We need to harness a balanced variety of skills if we ever expect to make it out there without all of civilizations’ benefits. We must saturate ourselves with the knowledge that it will take to keep our asses alive, no matter what the circumstances. Because there won’t be any more Google to help you out. Come to not live in fear of the unknown, but to embrace the adventure of knowing you have what it takes to survive anything.
In this article, we discuss the basics of what you need to know about bushcraft, from basic tools to vital skills like foraging, building shelter, making fire, acquiring food, and more. Adventuring in the wilderness comes with plenty of inherent risks that are quite different from those found in or on the outskirts of urban areas. Whenever you find yourself in the backcountry, you should be prepared and know basic wilderness survival skills. You’ll also find useful links all throughout the article, mostly for more detail about individual skills, so that you can begin learning what you will need to survive out there in the bush.
To help with this, I’ve put together some of the top survival skills that every wastelander should know.
1: Firestarting
This is definitely one that every wastelander must know. Having a fire for cooking or warmth can save your life. And there are a ton of other reasons you may need to start a fire some time, from signaling to distraction and more. Although there are a lot of fire-starting tools available, knowing the basics of starting a fire without them is a critical skill to have. Check out this link to learn the basics.
While primitive fire-starting is hardly the best option, it may at some point become your only option, and it is an easy skill to practice at home in your own backyard, so I highly advise you to do so. That being said, the rule for a wastelander would be to always have several backups to your main fire source, such as a lighter, and also have some specialized tinder resources in your kit. Magnesium fire starters, waterproof storm matches, and things of this nature are must-have items.
2: Tracking
Tracking, really? You bet. And we are not just talking about animals here. There are a great many reasons you may need to track humans or their vehicles, and also conceal your own tracks from others. Tracking was once a highly sought-after skill, but modern times have caused it to decline. Primitive techniques continue to hold their value once the SHTF, however. We have convinced ourselves that civilization has no need for such things but, for people hoping to survive the sudden lack of civilization, not having such knowledge is just setting ourselves up for failure. There are some good resources out there for learning the basics of tracking, and having at least of little knowledge of the fundamentals will go a long way toward helping you develop the skill independently over time.
3: Hunting
Hunting usually combines with tracking much of the time and could be instrumental to your survival when on the move through the wilderness. As a general rule, it is best not to consume any of your preserved food if there is an alternative, and hunting up a meal is certainly that. Hunting is actually a large collection of semi-independent skills that overlap into many areas of survival, from weapons and camouflage to moving silently across terrain. One of the best comprehensive resources I have found is right here, and gives a good run down beginning to end of everything you need to know to get started.
4: Fishing
If you are going to be by a body of water, which I highly recommend by the way, then fishing skills will be invaluable in helping you to secure a food source. And this, like some of the other skills on this list, can be a fun thing to practice. For some of the basics, check this out, and to get to some of the more primitive survival methods, this is a good place to start.
5: Foraging
So many food-related skills… Yes, because without food, you die. Towards the end, wars will be fought over food resources, and food riots will be some of the first urban chaos of collapse. When it comes to finding food, you can never know too much. So, learning how to forage for food in the wilderness can come in quite handy, especially since it is something that you can do on your way when traveling. Since we are talking about collapse rather than a trip to some remote wilderness, chances are you will still be able to come across quite a few edible things planted by people and now left to go wild. Things you will easily recognize, such as fruit trees and the like.
For all the wild stuff, there are some good resources available, and I found this website here to be loaded with practical advice.
6: Navigation
In this day and age, we rely way too much on GPS and mapping tools like Google Maps. Global Positioning Systems didn’t exist until the 70s, and they were not in common use until much later. For the most part, people used maps to get around. Meaning they actually had them and knew how to read them. Many also knew how to use a basic compass and find their way using the sun’s position in the sky.
Today, we see people get lost in their own towns without the GPS in their phones or cars. But, if the grid gets wiped out, or you find yourself without access to these modern tools, then what? You’ll be back to square one. And you certainly don’t want to end up lost when that happens.
Learning how to use a map and compass is a basic life skill. Make sure you take a small compass with you wherever you go when out of your known location and, more importantly, make sure you know how to use it. Having physical maps of your area and a compass as part of your primary bugout bag is a must.
Okay, what if you lose your compass? That is where learning and then sharpening your natural navigation skills comes into play. General direction finding just by looking at the sun, or by making a sun compass using shadow sticks. Or, in the dark of night, learn how to find Polaris, the north star, to get your bearings. And don’t just limit your celestial navigation skills to the North Star; you can also use the position of other constellations like Orion or the Summer Triangle to find your way.
Here is a link to a PDF that I highly suggest you download and study, it contains everything you need to know to get you started with basic land navigation.
7: Shelter Building
In a collapse situation where travel outside of urban areas is involved, pack space and weight are usually at a premium. Shelter gear such as a tent, or even a large tarp, can take up valuable capacity, and one that is often unnecessary. Whenever traveling into the wilderness building a shelter from naturally available materials, or even rubbish, is an option. Knowing how can make things much easier and is a fundamental skill for the outdoors.
A shelter must meet several requirements. First, it should be a barrier between you and the environment around you. Second, it must help insulate you from the weather. And third, it should offer you a little security. Building a survival shelter is a pretty simple process, but it does take some time, so if you go that route for your travel plans, make sure to break early for camp.
There are two primary things to keep in mind when choosing a location for a shelter. The first is weather concerns. It is very important to evaluate the area of your camp based on the possible weather in the region. Try to pick a spot that is naturally protected from the wind, and be sure that it is not going to flood with water if a storm hits. Secondly, the choice of location is where that security comes in. Make sure your spot is as concealed as possible while still maintaining a view of your surroundings, and also don’t trap yourself in a cave or box canyon with no avenue to escape in the event of…well, in the event of the need to escape.
There are plenty of resources available for learning to build shelters, and here is one of them.
8: Cooking
Food again? Of course! This is kind of an easy and fun one to learn, and in short, it mostly comes down to knowing how to cook without actually having a kitchen and the usual tools. There are also things you need to learn, such as the preparation of wild game and also fish, and how to build some basic cooking accessories.
The other thing I include here is finding and purifying water to drink. Along with fire, this is one of the most critical things to learn, in as many ways and forms as you can. Remember, if you end up alone and lost, with only your wits to rely on for survival, make sure those wits are stocked with the right information. The single most important thing you need to live in the wild is water.
9: First Aid/Medicine
Having a good knowledge of basic first aid skills could save someone’s life or even your own. Simple skills like CPR, setting a splint, and stopping bleeding in dire situations, are vitally important survival skills. Here is a good rundown of the basics. Building a good survival medical kit is also important.
With the current availability of modern medicine and healthcare, getting a cut, infection, or broken bone is no longer the death sentence faced by people in the not-so-distant past. With the right medical attention, quickly obtained, you can get patched up and on your way in no time.
But what are you going do if these medical systems fail, are destroyed, or are jammed with other survivors? What if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere and there is no one left to call for help? How will you make sure you or a family member doesn’t die unnecessarily?
The best way to insulate yourself from this type of tragedy is to make sure you learn some basic survival first aid. Expand upon that later by also learning some more advanced medical skills similar to military field medicine, (full PDF manual download), and also become familiar with drugs from naturally occurring sources such as plants.
Bushcraft and Survival Resources
Now that you have read my little primer on wilderness survival, let’s look to some professionals. I have put together a few selected books that should really be in every bookbank for those preparing for any kind of societal collapse. What is a “bookbank” you ask? Well, more on that here. For now, here are some important books for wilderness survival that everyone should have. Each of these links takes you to a free PDF download copy.
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