Old traditional skills

How many old traditional skills do you know how to perform?
They almost touch on survivalist, but useful for campers to know too:

• Tracking
• Starting a fire with no lighter/matches
• Using stars for navigation

There are bound to be other skills I've forgotten about!

 

I would get lost, starve and die of hypothermia.

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I'll try to answer using a Likert scale and add without crossing into survival. I'd like to add map reading (both with and without a compass) / terrain association but those skills seem to be a lost art now that everyone has GPS and can load "offline" maps to their cell phone.
I'm sure Northern Dancer will add water craft or something as not everyone would know what to do if you capsized your kayak/canoe, as a example.

As skills are added I will edit my post, hopefully this will identify areas we lack skills/knowledge/experience in. Personally I want to get better at reading clouds for predicting the weather.

Likert Scale;

1. Very Poor
2. Poor
3. Moderate/Fair
4. Good
5. Very Good.

• Tracking. 3
• Starting a fire with no lighter/matches. 3
• Using sun/stars for navigation. 4
• Weather prediction. 2
• First Aid. 4
• Cordage & Knots. 4

20/30

 

I would not rate well! :

• Tracking 0
• Fire 3
• Navigation 2
• Weather 2
• First aid 2
• knots 1

10/30

 

I would do ok on knots. I don't know many, but I haven't a situation where they couldn't be used, and they were very effective. At least I know I could put myself out of my misery before I starved or froze to death.

I think I would do pretty good at map reading or orienteering, I think it's called.

Tracking 1

Fire 0 "maybe with a blow torch in drought conditions".

Navigation 3 "of course I have problems were it's flat"

Weather 2

First aid 0 "someone gonna die"

Knots 3 "when all else fails, a sudden stop on a short rope".




Work LeSS CAmp MoRe

 

OK, another skill from a post @killeroy154 made in another thread (the tree house thread):

• Encountering dangerous animals

I realised I would have no chance of surviving where there are dangerous animals as I don't know what you should or shouldn't do (except for the obvious things like don't try and pick up snakes, hug bears or look for honey in bee hives)

 

Ooh bear hugs are great! And everyone should cuddle up to a snake . You realy got to watch these things they are very deceptive

Work LeSS CAmp MoRe

 

I would freak out if I saw a snake like that cross my path!
Tell me, in that situation do I run from the snake or assume the fetal position on top of it?

That cat is gorgeous, looks like it could eat a few snakes

 

I don't know why I fear snakes so bad. They pretty much don't bother people. Maybe it's the old timers trying to scare us when we were young. This copperhead was crossing the path in front of my brother. They don't want to be stepped on, so they always try to avoid us. The cat is a real sour puss.

Work LeSS CAmp MoRe