Thread: Minimum pack contents

Originally Posted by Ranger 888

We used to run a series of 3 weekend courses, spread out over several months: Basic Bushcraft, which involved the "classroom" content, e.g. first aid, food and cooking, pack contents, tents and bivvies, firelighting, navigation, etc, but with plenty of outdoor teaching around the residential camp we used (the best place to teach outdoor skills is outdoors); Intermediate Bushcraft, which was a 2 night 2 day expedition and involved camping out, putting all the first course learnings into practice; then a survival course, also 2 nights 2 days, teaching how to cope if you had not put the other stuff into practice properly. That course started with a night tramp off track into a hut (which did not exist(!), we would simulate a disagreement between instructors on how to reach the hut in thick bush, which resulted in the lead instructor departing in a tantrum, with the remaining group needing to set up bivvies for the night with the polythene sheet they were issued with. This resulted in members feeling disoriented, frustrated and uneasy. The idea was to lower their morale on the first night (just how you would feel when you have had an injury accident or are lost) and then build it up, along with their confidence, over the next 2 days by teaching them that you CAN build a rainproof bivvy, and that you will not die by not eating for 2 days. Each member was given a sealed ration pack the first night, but could not use it without the permission of the instructors. They learned that if you have a hot brew when you feel hungry, it will satisfy your food cravings (we didn't move around much, so energy levels were maintained, and teaching was done at the same spot. They were encouraged to spend a lot of time alone in their bivvies, because loneliness is an issue in a survival situation. Those courses produced well trained, confident trampers and hunters, able to cope with anything the outdoors could throw at them.

Bob Badland - is he still with us - remember him fondly - he got me thru as a Firearm's instructor so many years ago - when I was at Kaitaia he got me to go around a lot of the local Maraes and do safety talks - lot of fun- had many shady types sidle up after the talk hey I have this at home and yup something in the firearm line they were not supposed to have