Originally posted - Apr 5, 2016
Those of us who have spent a great deal of time in the outdoors, who are older and wiser now, we are in the present and of the past. Our children however they are for the future, they are the hope of times to come. As parents and mentors I think we have an obligation to pay our wisdom forward, not only to make their outdoor adventures safer, but to also take a personal interest in preparing them to meet many of the various challenges of the that future.
Just as we aid our children in setting their courses and finding their directions through life, so is it a good idea to teach those same lessons in the wilderness. I found with my daughters that starting early with land navigation, and making it a game, worked really well. Children tend to like games and challenges. Over time I would set up little courses with small prizes at way points. The courses were simple at first of course, but they gradually increased in difficulty over time, and the prizes got better. To me, there are few things in life more fun than laughing with my children while they learn a skill that will serve them long after my time on this earth is finished.
It has been my experience that lessons that are given with words, but lacking physical examples to provide the context, usually produce less than optimal results. A good series of photos can be a great teaching tool, but seldom as good as a three-dimensional physical object. Just as we point out the worrisome situations to our children when we are in town, it can be a good idea to exploit opportunities that come along when we are out away from things. The snake my daughter is studying in this photograph is a copperhead. When it was struck by a passing car, I took the opportunity to turn it into learning experience. I maintained control of the head and showed her the fangs and the venom, and let her touch and examine the snakes body from different angles. Then I placed the snake in various spots on the ground to let her see how their natural camouflage helped them blend into their environment. Now admittedly that lesson has been one of our more extreme examples, and I am in no way saying that you should play with venomous snakes, or let your children play with them. Especially live ones, or if you are inexperienced with them. The venom is still deadly long after the snake is dead. They are just plentiful here, I have had a bit of experience with them, and since we spend a lot of time in the woods I thought it was a good lesson to teach her. Yet if you pay attention, you will find that life presents many opportunities to teach, and indeed even to learn new things ourselves, if you just take the time to take advantage of them.
I think it is very important to balance the teaching of the world's dangers, by also the teaching them of life's wonders. As a general rule, we humans have a tendency to fear that which we do not know or understand. Fear, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. There are many things in the world that should be feared, or at the very least respected. However needless fear is at best debilitating and at worst a catalyst for an unnecessary injury. Neither of which are conducive to safe and enjoyable adventure in the outdoors. The greatest tool I have found for tempering fear is knowledge and understanding.
We all know the old adage, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach that man to fish and you feed him for a life time”. This little pearl of wisdom is not limited to eating and fishing, as the same philosophy applies to many things in life. If you give your child a knife, then you have given that child one tool. However if you take the time to teach that child how to use the knife to make other things, then you have provided them with a great many tools over the years to come.
The same goes for the skill of crafting fire. If you start a fire for a child, then you warm them for a moment. Yet if you teach them the mechanics of fire-craft, you have warmed them for a life time, and in times when you may be far away. And the up side doesn't stop there, it gets even better. You also get the added benefit of increasing your child's self confidence and self esteem. This is a major plus in a society which left to its own devices has the opposite impact over time, and teaches more dependence than independence. Nothing in life brings me more joy or more pride than seeing the smile and excitement in that moment of triumph when one of my children raises their self one rung higher on the food chain.
We all have experiences, though diverse and different they may be, and knowledge gained from lessons in our past that someone took the time to teach us. Don't we owe it to our children, and those teachers from our yesterdays, to take the time to pay it forward?
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Hunting is much more than pressing the trigger; it is an entire process you should enjoy year round. From preseason scouting to year round consumption of harvested wild-game meat, hunting can become more of your lifestyle than hobby. Some people think hunting is just as simple as pressing the trigger but to the true hunter, the experience extends long after you leave the field. You hear a lot of people say “I want to know where my food comes from” but so many of the same are quick to hand off their kill to a butcher. No disrespect to the great butchers out there but there are some hacks (no pun intended) in your industry with less respect for the game brought in to be processed. The only way to follow your game from field to table is to take it from field to table by yourself. In this month’s blog, I want to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned for butchering wild game. I believe in processing my own animals and staying hands on as much as possible through the process.
Brian Griffin
Author
Brian Griffin is an author, photographer, wilderness and survival skills teacher, knife enthusiast, outdoor gear researcher and product development consultant. He has a decades-long history of using and developing outdoor related tools and gear.