Bushcraft vs Leave No Trace

I have seen some people questioning whether bushcraft can be in line with tenets of the 'leave no trace' philosophy. Short answer is yes. But that makes for a really crappy blog post so allow me to go into a bit more detail.

bush·craft

ˈbo͝oSHˌkraft/

noun

1. skill at living in the bush.

So there you have the definition of bushcraft according to Google. Simple and to the point. The term was most popular in the 1950s and is still commonly used in Great Britain and Australia to refer to the art of being able to live in the 'bush' or wilderness. In North America we refer to this skillset as wilderness survival skills or simply wilderness or outdoor skills.

Leave no trace

Refers to a set of outdoor ethics promoting conservation in the outdoors.

1. plan ahead and prepare,

2. travel and camp on durable surfaces,

3. dispose of waste properly,

4. leave what you find,

5. minimize campfire impacts,

6. respect wildlife,

7. be considerate of other visitors.

So the argument is that bushcraft promotes the use of natural materials to live in the wild. Building shelters, cutting down trees, generally taking the natural environment and converting it into something suitable for human life. Well not always. Bushcraft, under normal circumstances, can be practiced with a leave no trace set of ethics. In a survival situation then all bets are off, you do what you must to live including killing animals and cutting down trees. A good bushcrafter will not find him or herself in a survival situation barring injury or some other emergency. Leave no trace bushcraft becomes the skill of living in the wilderness while having the smallest impact possible. There are some very simple things you can do to minimize your environmental impact.

• Pack out everything you pack in. Nothing ticks me off more than finding a plastic water bottle 8 km into the back country. If I find who does this, I will feed them a plastic water bottle.

• Do not leave any food or peels or anything that can be eaten by wild animals. We need to keep them wild.

• If you plan on spending more than one night in an area, minimize your impact on the plants under your tent. Set up your tent on a hard surface if at all possible or at the very least move the tent before it kills the plants under it. (grass, flowers etc). Or you can use a hammock, taking care not to damage the trees you tie it to.

• Never cut live wood.

• Dig a hole and bury your fecal material at least 25cm deep. (if possible. some areas may be too rocky depending on the terrain)

• Keep your dog on a leash. Dogs can cause all kinds of stress on wild animals, not to mention your loose dog will come running back to you for protection with an angry momma grizzly hot on his tail. A very bad situation.

• Use trails. maintained trails, animal trails etc.

Some special attention needs to be given to fire. Fire is often considered necessary in the back woods. It provides heat, light and allows you to cook. Not to mention it gives a sense of security when you are out in animal territory. Keep your fire small. Practice safe fire techniques so you don't end up staring a wildfire. Obey fire bans. Use your brain too, even if there is no ban, tinder dry conditions around your camp can easily catch fire from a single spark. If you think its dry, don't light the fire. Never cut down trees for fire. Use dead wood you can easily pick up, don't burn more than you need to keep warm or cook. For more info on fires see my blog on that subject here.

In bear country you should not cook near where you sleep. Also don't hang your food near your camp. It should be hung about 15' in the air suspended between 2 trees if you can and you should be able to see it from 100 meters away at the minimum this way you won't startle a bear who might be trying to get at it.

Practice your bushcraft with the intent of keeping your impact as small as possible and you will have passed a wild place o to the next generation of bushcrafters.

See you out on the trails.

#outdoor #camping #Buschcraft #hiking