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Photo by Kristi Dranginis

Survival Techniques: 5 Basic Survival Skills

Within all survival techniques, there are 5 Outdoor Basic Survival Skills that everyone who ventures into the Outdoors should understand and be fully aware of their potential need and use. This is a just brief outline, not a full explanation of all the requirements and items required in each category.  One of the most important [...]

Nature Activity: Animal Footprints

All animals leave footprints, or tracks, including humans. We may not see the animal. Most come around while we sleep. Lucky for us, they leave behind many different signs of their passing. This nature activity will teach you how to read a very important sign. Running Deer will teach it to you. When I was [...]

Bear Safety – Survive a Bear Attack

A commonly asked question about bear safety is “What do I do if I run into a bear and the bear attacks?” There is no easy answer. Like people, bears react differently to each situation. The best thing you can do is to make sure you have read all the suggestions for hiking and camping [...]

Lost in the Woods

Hi. Elias Kolsun here. I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about an experience that I had not too long ago. It was a beautiful day; crisp and sunny, warm enough to melt the snow covered ground.  I was at peace with myself and the world.  I was nestled in the feeling [...]

Photo by Emily Gibson

Rose Hip Recipe

As we journey through fall and into winter and the earth gets ready to cover herself in an ever growing blanket of snow, we often forget that there are still wonderful wild edibles to explore. One of my favorites is the rose hip, the crimson colored fruit of the rose. It stands out, illuminated against [...]

Photo by Kristi Dranginis

Make Rope from Plants – Cordage making

Cordage (rope and string) can be made from many different fibers including (Bast) Dogbane, Milkweed, Nettles, Hemp, Flax; (Leaves) Cattail, Yucca, Agave, Douglas Iris; (Bark) Willow, Maple, Basswood, Cedar; (Root) Leather Root, Beach Lupine; (Whole stem) Tule, straw, Juncus. Each material has specific requirements for extracting and preparing the fibers, but there are only two [...]

Photo by Linda Bittle

Survival Water Purification

From microwaving popcorn to roasting potatoes around a car’s hot exhaust pipe, humans have developed a variety of cooking methods by which we render food safer, more digestible, and more palatable.  Rock boiling is one of my favorite Stone Age (pardon the pun) methods.  Some alternatives for boiling food are energy intensive and more difficult [...]

Photo by Kristi Dranginis

Friction Fire Basics

You’re speeding down a river in a canoe. Your friend in the front yells something that you can’t hear over the rapids. Before you know what has happened, you flip out of your canoe and you wake up next to your friend with a roaring fire in front of you. Maybe you ask him all [...]

Photo by Kristi Dranginis

Bow-Drill Fire Making

Step-by-step instructions I. Body Positions and General Considerations for bow-drill fire-making and . Fuel, Heat, Oxygen, and Moisture: Duration, Pressure, and Speed. All are factors which will affect the success or failure of making fire with a bow and drill. Lock wrist against leg. Keep hand hold perpendicular to drill. Apply proper pressure. Keep bow [...]

On the Trail of Mustelids

Notes from a Tracker’s Journal… Like the excitement and energy of the arrival of spring, my last few weeks have been a month full of experiences with mustelids.  Also known as the weasel family (Mustelidae), they are represented by a variety of species in North America such as the long-tailed weasel, river otter, fisher, and [...]