If you are planning to survive in the outdoors with a minimal set of tools, nothing is more important than a knife. But it’s a mistake to think there’s one knife that could meet all of your needs. When it comes to surviving in the wilderness, a knife is one…

Outdoor Survival and bushcraft are something I enjoy teaching and practicing. Specifically, I like combining modern backpacking technology (I love wool blankets but they’re heavy and bulky to pack so I’ll backpack with a down quilt instead) with outdoor skills (I prefer to attach gear to my backpack with soft…

I was 8 years old when the first strong tornado hit my hometown of Waco, Texas. On Bosque Ave, there is a section where there are 3 churches next to each other. One of the churches had its entire chapel ripped off but left the pews. I share this story…

I love reading Ed Latimore. He’s a former boxer, recovering addict, and an entertaining Twitter follow. In his latest email newsletter, he talked about how we no longer have rites of passage. My favorite paragraph was this: “The best rites of passage are those that force you confront your fear…

Cattails are easy to identify when they are mature. Nothing else has those familiar cigar-like tops. And humanity has depended upon cattails for survival since the dawn of humankind. Thus if you are ever faced with a long-term survival situation, if you can find cattails, you can relax because cattails…

Until You Take This Challenge Because I teach outdoor skills, I have Google tell me anytime a story appears about a lost hiker. I collect these stories because I use them to teach people to always bring the 10 essentials with them, even on a short hike. I remember this…

You can’t join an outdoor survival or bushcraft group without someone asking what would you do in an SHTF (Stuff Has Hit The Fan, except you don’t say Stuff)situation. This usually involves people talking about running into the woods to a secret location with their Bug-Out-Bag and enough firepower to…

I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie. When I think of homesteading, I always think of that show. Are you considering homesteading? There are a lot of misconceptions about it, so before you make any decisions, let’s clear some things up. …

Last weekend I went on an overnight backpacking trip at Cross Timbers trail on Lake Texoma. It’s a rugger trail that is perfect practice for any mountain backpacking. And as is my style, I cowboy camped aka slept outside under the stars without a tent. But I did have my…