Tag: Bushcraft (Page 1 of 5)

Two Ponies & The Burren…

September 19, 2022 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

**The Burren of west Ireland is one of my favourite places to wild-camp. It's a wonderfully wild, evocative landscape - full of contradictions (Photo: Sean Fagan, west Ireland).**

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.
J.K. Rowling

Recently I've been thinking about what makes an adventure.

I can only answer for myself and my answer comes in two, connected parts.

Firstly, adventure should be something that challenges you. The second, related part - is exposing yourself to the unexpected.

Whether you’re walking, paddling or cycling through wild places - along with camping in such places - you expose yourself to the unpredictable. In effect, you're breaking away from your everyday life and becoming part of something vast and unpredictable - nature.

And out there, in nature - unforeseen events are always unfolding.

What gets me sometimes is - a lot of the unexpected is funny, if not downright comical.

Adventure doesn't have to include the grandiose, the grand spreading vistas, the conquering of many miles of challenging terrain.

Adventure is also about moments, often unexpected moments - that fill us with something good.

My First Parang

May 7, 2019 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Limbing a hazel branch with a parang, Ireland. Limbing is simply the process of removing side branches from a main branch and is mostly done with either an axe or parang/machete. It can be done with a knife but requires more effort (Photo: Sean Fagan).

About 6 months ago I bought my first parang.

Parangs, like machetes, are one of the main cutting tools for rainforests.

The axe may be considered the king of sharp-edged tools for bushcrafters in the coniferous woods of the north - while the saw and knife comes into its own in temperate woodlands…but the greater reality is that all three of these tools can be used effectively in both types of woodlands.

Not only can they be used on their own to great effect - but when used together they are a powerful, versatile trio.

So many bushcraft projects can be fashioned with these three tools – from a spoon to a log cabin. They are amazing, enabling tools when used effectively and safely.

But when it comes to the densely-vegetated, tropical rainforests a more specialised tool is often required…

My First Desert…

November 26, 2018 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Cooking in the shade. It's hard to describe the unique atmosphere of a desert. What struck me most was a vast sense of emptiness. The writer Robyn Davidson summed it up well - "I love the desert and its incomparable sense of space" (Photo: Sean Fagan).

A Desert Adventure

One of my outdoor goals this year was to explore a desert. I've camped in arid areas of the Mediterranean before but I've never camped in a true desert.

So off I flew to Morrocco. Then hopped onto a bus for a five-hour trip over the magnificent Atlas Mountains.

I then made a very basic camp on the eastern side of the atlas mountains, near the desert town of Quarzazate.

The Art of Improvisation, yet again!

August 7, 2017 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Like an old, broken (but lovable!) record player - I'm going to repeat an oft-spoken mantra of mine: Improvisation is an important part of bushcraft and survival.

By its very nature, bushcraft is often about venturing into wild places with minimal kit.

And placing our bodies and minds at the tender (and not-so-tender) vagaries of wild places requires a flexible, mental attitude - along with a willingness to adapt and improvise.

Why? because nature is often unpredictable and challenging.

Sleeping on a discarded duvet blanket - and why not? (Photo: Sean Fagan, Southwest Ireland).

An Example...

Above, is a contentious photo for many bushcraft purists and campers...

It's a photo from last May when I camped in southwest Ireland and slept on a discarded, duvet blanket.

Learning from Failure…

June 7, 2017 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Below, is a brief clip from a great film (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest)

In this scene, Jack Nicholson attempts to win a bet by lifting a water fountain.

It's a great clip, have a look...

*Please excuse the coarse language.

When Jack fails to lift the water fountain he exclaims to his fellow patients..."at least I tried God damn it, at least I did that".

The above quote perfectly encapsulates an age-old truth - when we attempt something difficult, something that challenges us - we are going to occasionally fail.

Toxic vs Edible Wild Plants

April 20, 2017 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

The delicate prettiness of wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). Wood sorrel is one of those wild edibles that should be eaten in moderation as its contains oxalic acid - a potentially harmful chemical if eaten in excess (Photo: Sean Fagan, County Wicklow, Ireland).

A Grey Area of Wild Food Foraging...

It would seem that as a species we generally shun ambivalence.

Of course I generalise.

As regards bushcraft, a grey area I've often come across is the area of edible and non-edible wild plants.

Either a wild plant is deadly poisonous or a hearty edible. That’s it. Kaput! Let there be no clouding of the clear waters of truth.

But the greater reality is that there is much ambivalence in the area of wild plant foraging.

The natural world is very much layered in complexity (albeit an interconnected, self-regulating complexity).

Wild plants, especially the ones we are most familiar with - the flowering plants (the angiosperms), have been surviving and thriving on our planet since primeval times – from about 125 million years ago.

Throughout that vast span of time, flowering plants have evolved a whole slew of defences against the diverse hordes of plant-eating mammals, invertebrates and reptiles etc.

One such defence is chemical defence – whereby many plant species contain certain chemicals that make them either harmful or unpleasant to consume.

But that’s not even the whole story as to why wild plants are either edible or toxic for humans. Some plants are both toxic and edible, while some plants are edible throughout certain times of the year.

Learn more about my general thoughts on why wild plant foraging must be treated with a flexible and cautious mind-set, and why ambiguity should be embraced rather than shunned when it comes to the tricky world of edible plants.

Making a Mini Fire-Trench

January 12, 2017 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

A small trench under a camp-fire can really give you a fire-lighting edge, especially when it's cold & damp (Photo: Sean Fagan)..

Why making a Fire-Trench will give you a Fire-Lighting Edge...

Often I make a small trench under my campfire so as to raise the campfire above damp, cold ground and to improve oxygen flow.

It can really make a difference with fire-lighting success.

Learn how to make a simple fire-trench, when to use them and other more common variations of fire trenches.

Woodlands & Modern Life

November 27, 2016 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

A wonderful pine and cork oak woodland, south Portugal (Photo: Sean Fagan).

What is it about woodlands that draws so many of us into their leafy lairs?

And why do the woods give so many people a sense of peace and inspiration?

The short answer is, I don't know.

But I can offer my own musings about the allure of woodlands...

And why the simplicity and peace of the woods seems to make a lot of modern life appear, quite frankly, somewhat fatuous.

Swimming & Bathing Outdoors

July 26, 2016 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Opps, forgot to take off my shades when posing for this photo (Photo: Sean Fagan).

Swimming & Bathing Outdoors

Hygiene & Morale

I've been jumping into, splashing about and swimming in rivers, lakes and the sea for years.

I consider outdoor swimming and bathing to be a very important part of my outdoor living regime.

Learn why I still swim outdoors.

Learn also how to bathe outdoors, the more common hazards of outdoor swimming and why being able to swim is a viable survival skill.

Children & The Outdoors

July 20, 2016 / pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com

By Sean Fagan

Let the adventure begin - on a boat to Ireland's Eye. From left - my brother, my nephew and my brother's partner (Photo: Sean Fagan).

Some thoughts on an outdoor trip with my 7 year old nephew

10 tips on making the outdoors more enjoyable for children

When practical, I’m a big fan of bringing children into wild areas.

Of course, when it comes to bringing children outdoors - safety and common sense is a top priority.

Nevertheless, children are generally far more resilient and capable of tackling outdoor challenges than is often perceived.

Recently, my brother, his partner and myself – brought my 7 year old nephew on a boat trip to Ireland’s eye (a small, uninhabited island off the coast of county Dublin, Ireland).

As soon as the boat was docked – we set off exploring the island despite strong sunshine and very warm temperatures.

Learn more about our island adventure...

and 10 tips on making the outdoors more enjoyable for children.