It seems we’ve done it again. As Sam reports on the delivery of his NRA kit, I’m planning how to put the same kit through it’s paces. Again courtesy of American Bushman and JRE Industries, I’ve received the same package. Also in the package was a shiny new Bark River PSK that American Bushman has already looked at. I admit to having a bit of a play already but can’t wait to really try it out. I’ve decided to do a bit of extreme testing. More about that later.

Following on from my awards ceremony two posts back, which was more kit orientated, I now turn my attention to what I’ve learned in the last year and what I could have done better. (You can tell I used to be a trainer). I’ve really been quite generalist about my approach to bushcraft letting many things soak in. I wanted to achieve two main objectives though. One was to make fire by friction and the other was to learn about trees in the UK, their properties and their main uses. I didn’t achieve either. A wisp of smoke on a couple of occasions has made me more determined to pursue fire by friction with a vengeance later.

Even though tree ID wasn’t fully achieved, I was pleased that my knowledge of wildflower ID hadn’t suffered too much over the years and I was able to identify many plants and mapped it across to their uses.

I hadn’t camped out since my army days, and I was pleased that I didn’t suffer flashbacks of ankle deep mud, shouts of “gas, gas, gas” and fingers frozen to bits of metal! Seriously, I took to a new way of sleeping out (hammock and tarp) like a duck to water. I even ventured into ground-dwelling during the later part of the summer. I wished I’d experimented with ‘man-made’ shelters a bit more, but I think I might be able to do more of this through the winter. It’s a case of having to really. That hammock’s pretty cold even now.

Crafts have never really been my strong point. I was pretty pleased with myself for making a couple of spoons. I actually can’t stop making them now and I really need some inspiration to carve something different. I want to do some leather work next and venture into making some primitive tools.

Putting aside bushcraft skills, my main joy this last year has been to be reacquainted with the woods and all its inhabitants. The delight of seeing and indeed living with even the smallest of animals and birds. The elation of picking up a track and providing myself with an educated guess of what made the track and what the subject was doing at the time. Even indulging in the simple pleasure of eating a tin of beans which have been heated up on an open fire that you’ve created yourself felt good.

My first year’s journey into the world of bushcraft has been literally awesome. I’ve realised that there are so many different aspects to it that it can be mind-spinning. So many things to learn and not a great deal of time to learn it all in. But the most important thing for me is to enjoy every minute, even if it does mean dropping everything and falling asleep in your hammock.