Survival Skills Study Guide - The Trail of the Grizzly

Having received some positive reviews from my earlier 'ible, Survival’s Law of 3 I was asked to give a little more info on what skills to develop. It seemed people appreciated the idea of having skills over stuff. Again, that Altoid tin is great, but what do you DO with it. Or what do you do without it.

Well, it took me a bit to think of how advanced should I go. I actually teach a scout program so I know there is as much depth as you may care to have. Well, that got me thinking. Many of you may not have been scouts, or weren't in as outdoors focused program as I teach. So for everyone's benefit, let me lay out some of the skills that I try to focus my outpost on so they can be the woodsmen they want to be. Remember, your mind can be a terrible thing to waste.

This will also be my entry into the Survival Challenge Contest, so your votes would be appreciated.

Step 1 Seven Skills

The scouting program I work with is called Royal Rangers, and in it they have a training path for young men interested in becoming woodsmen, called the Trail of the Grizzly. The Trail of the Grizzly focus on Seven Skills. The seven main skills that our forefathers lived and died by over a century ago: Rope Craft, Lashing, Tool Craft, Fire Craft, Cooking, Navigation and First Aid. 
Now what I'm posting is not the merit badge requirements, but those same seven areas of are a sure foundation to start your survival training on.  This isn't going to be a boring instruction of how to tie knots, but rather this 'ible is intended for to be a checklist for you who really want to have a skill base for survival.  Print this 'ible. Bring it with you on your next campout and actually practice it.  Don't make a 4th Altoid tin kit, practice developing the skills to compliment your gear and use it on an expert level. 

So do you have what it takes to be a Frontiersmen?  Well . . . do you?

Comments

[CrLz]

Great write-up!

Step 9 - Practice is definitely the most important, yet often missed. Glad you posted it.

[absurdism]

Stainless steel has better edge retention than high carbon but it cannot hold an edge as sharp high carbon. Carbon steel is softer but you can hone it to a ridiculous level of sharpness. In a wilderness survival or self reliance situation it's a toss up between the two. You were correct about stainless steel ability to resist corrosion. Stainless doesn't rust and is tougher but will never be as sharp as high carbon. High carbon steel blades are not as tough but they do have the advantage in terms of sharpness. The disadvantage of carbon steel is that you need to treat the blade to avoid it oxidizing. If you ask me, a knife that doesn't rust and keeps its edge longer would keep you alive longer, as opposed to a soft bladed knife that rusts if you don't have a preferable environment to store it in and the materials to treat it right. You could be soaking wet for days in the wild and if your blade gets wet for days it will definitely get rusty. There are alloys now that incorporate the best qualities of each but you should expect to pay a lot for them.

[absurdism]

High Carbon = Sharper, more flexible, susceptible to corrosion/high maintenance.
Stainless = Resistant to corrosion, tougher edge, not as sharp, low maintenance.