Take the Winter Challenge…

By Sean Fagan

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5 Outdoor Challenges for Winter

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"...and I walked, ran, paddled and climbed, and in all directions I tasted freedom..."  ~ John Muir

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I’m adamant that winter is not the outdoor bugaboo that it's often perceived as.

In the temperate climes of my home country of Ireland, winter is a whopping 25% of the year. That pales in comparison to where my brother lives, in Ontario, Canada. Over there, winter can last 5-6 months of the year!

That's a long time to be spending most of your time indoors.

So, I've scratched my head and come up with some fun and challenging activities for this coming winter.

I've offered these challenges based on what I enjoy doing during winter, so I write from experience.

I've also purposely selected these activities based on how to develop bushcraft skills.

With that bold claim out of the way, I urge you to go outdoors and make this winter unforgettable...

...with these 5 outdoor challenges.

 

1: BUSHCRAFT ASTRONOMY

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The longer, star-sprinkled nights of winter are perfect for learning about the wondrous celestial dome above our heads.

Besides the obvious cool factor - navigating by the night skies is both accurate and effective.

Nocturnal path-finding is mostly based on a small number of stars, constellations  and the moon (and occasionally from the five visible planets, especially Venus and Jupiter).

That's it. It's fairly basic and doable.

In terms of bushcraft - broadening and sharpening your natural navigation skills perfectly compliments more conventional navigation skills such as map and compass navigation.

The merging of these two skills sets will make you a much sharper navigator.

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I've included two excellent links on how to navigate by the moon, stars and constellations at the end of this article.

The links don't offer a comprehensive guide on how to navigate by the cosmos but they do offer a solid foundation, for beginners and experienced alike.

I've enjoyed many a night navigating by the cosmos during winter and it's a sublime way of connecting to the heavens above.

It's my sincere hope that you will too..

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2: BIRD-WATCHING.

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During winter, great flocks of migratory geese, swan, wader and duck species seek our European shores, especially large muddy estuaries. A true wildlife spectacle.

For example, about 28,000 light-bellied Brent geese, Branta bernicla hrota, overwinter in Ireland alone (this is nothing in comparison to its closely related cousin – the dark-bellied Brent geese, Branta bernicla bernicla, with approximately 300,000 birds visiting Britain and France during winter).

Dispel any false notions that bird watching is the preserve of the nerdy. It’s not. It’s a great way of connecting with the great outdoors.

A lot of bushcraft comes down to awareness - and bird-watching is a great way of improving our outdoor awareness.

Bird-watching sharpens our senses and makes us more attuned to our surroundings.  Outdoor awareness might be considered a soft skill among some bushcrafters - but it's not. An acute awareness of our surroundings is the bedrock from which we can preemptively perceive many outdoor dangers and spot bushcraft resources in nature. It's important.

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3: OUTDOOR SWIMMING AND BATHING  .

 

Regularly plunging into cold water will develop your general all-round hardiness like few other activities. It’s also a great way to freshen up and boost morale when camping outdoors.

Being able to swim outdoors is a great skill. You never know when you need to be able to swim in an outdoor emergency.

There are two basic swimming techniques I recommend for the outdoors - the side stroke and breast stroke (relatively easy strokes to learn that are not too physically taxing and keep the head well above water). I also recommend learning how to comfortably tread water i.e. being able to comfortably stay afloat in a vertical position in deep water. This is a good skill to learn for conserving energy and assessing your situation in deep, relatively still bodies of water such as lakes.

*Be safe - know how to swim well and be aware of the insidious effects of hypothermia when swimming outdoors. It's always a good idea to learn how to do life saving in water. 

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4: OUTDOOR GYM .

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Indoor gyms (yawn) have there place but nothing beats creatively punishing yourself in the great outdoors. Tree climbing and lifting rocks are two very basic but super effective forms of outdoor exercise.

Of course, the principles of safe lifting technique, warming up, stretching etc. apply just as much to the outdoors just as much as they do to the gym.

It's probably an obvious statement but both tree climbing and rock lifting are potentially dangerous. For safety advice - check out links at end of article.

Other suggested outdoor exercises: hill sprinting, bow-drilling, chopping and splitting wood with an axe and hoisting around sizeable logs.

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I've also included an inspiring, brief video made by boxing trainer, Ross Enamait, featuring some of his impressive but very basic outdoor training during winter: Winter Conditioning

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5: HIKING.

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Never give up on this supreme and sublime form of exercise - great for both body and mind.

What better way to spend a day than among the lofty heights of a mountain?

Hiking in winter requires better and more specific outdoor kit (including better clothing). It also requires better planning due to the colder, wetter conditions and shorter daylight hours – but don’t let these challenges put you off from the wonderland of winter.

Okay, a day of rain in the mountains is about as much fun as accidentally walking into a wall  – but trust me, most days in the mountains during winter are rarely all-day washouts and contain a bit of outdoor magic…check out below, a few winter photos I took over the years from southwest Ireland (where it's really wet!).

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I know quite a few outdoorsy people that dread winter.

To be honest, when starting out in bushcraft, I had the same attitude.

Eventually I had enough and made a decision to stretch myself throughout winter.

Guess what?

I genuinely found winter to be a truly great time to be outdoors.

Okay - the rain, the cold and the shorter days are not exactly fun, but they are nothing in comparison to what can be gained during winter.

Enjoying winter mainly comes down to three things.

Firstly - it's about acclimatising, both mentally and physically, to the more challenging conditions of winter. This type of hardiness comes about naturally the more time an individual is outdoors in winter.

Secondly, it's very much about improving your winter skills and knowledge (such as using outdoor gear that is specific to winter). Being outdoors in winter will quickly teach you what works and what doesn't.

Thirdly, enjoying yourself (which is often or largely dependent on the two previous points).

In summary, the main thrust behind this article was to present challenging winter activities which enable an individual to get used to the more demanding conditions of winter - while improving skills and knowledge and also having fun.

It's also about stimulating our sense of curiosity and wonderment throughout what is often perceived as a very "un-fun" time of the year.

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This winter,  I challenge you to try some swimming, hiking, climbing, navigating by the stars and moon and getting to know our feathered friends.

It will go a long way in making winter a much more enjoyable season to be out and about.

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Finally, a small request...

Why not let me know how you get on during this coming winter and share your experiences with myself via email (pioneerbushcraft@gmail.com).

I'm planning on sharing experiences from readers in the near future (with their consent of course).

I would love to hear from you.

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Related articles on this website: 

• Bushcraft Astronomy: Orion (Finding your way around by one of our most beautiful constellations: Orion)
• Why I still Climb Trees
• Outdoor Awareness Skills

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Related material:

• Brent Geese of Ireland (article)
• Dog whelk
• The secret to treading water effortlessly 
• How to exercise with rocks  (includes safety advice)
• How to safely climb a tree  

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Night Navigation: (from Tristan Gooley's excellent natural navigation website)

• Navigating by the Moon
• Navigating by the Stars

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*Check us out on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook for more outdoor-related topics.

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More outdoor training inspiration by Ross Enamait...