James Raffan, scholar, outdoorsman and celebrated Canadian author joins me to discuss adventure, risk, failure, teaching, wilderness journeying, lifelong learning, personal development, human potential and journal keeping, along with characters such as Kirk Whipper, Bill Mason and Sir George Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company…
In this episode, I answer questions about the longevity of pathogenic organisms in water containers, magnifying glass specifications for fire lighting, the dangers of branches dropping in woodland, umbrellas for bushcraft and camping, resin content in bow-drill materials, and shorts (yes, shorts)….
In this episode of my Q&A show, I answer questions about surprisingly smoky firewood, clean clothes and hardened hands, water purification by evaporation, iodine for wounds and water, investing time in leatherworking skills, my philosophical starting point for bushcraft…
It’s often said that you can’t learn bushcraft skills overnight, that there is always more to learn, that many skills take years of practice to even approach mastery. So, how does the average person with a job and a combination of any or all of kids, mortgage, family commitments, weekly shopping, gardening, DIY, and who doesn’t live outdoors, make significant progress with these skills?
This episode of #AskPaulKirtley was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2017 Bushcraft Show in Derbyshire, U.K. There was a wide range of questions from the audience, none of which were known to me before the session. It was fun to do and we got through a lot in the hour we had together…
In this episode, I answer questions about changing boots on canoe trips, sharpening a knife with a secondary bevel, tidying up after harvesting dead, standing wood, knots for attaching guylines to tarps, billy can choices and handle clips, sickness and diarrhoea on a wilderness journey…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer more of your questions, this time tackling using a tarp with a canoe, earning from bushcraft content, sleeping bag liners and avoiding sweat, dealing with frowns, strides for walking, vegetarianism and veganism within bushcraft….
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley, I answer questions about long winter evenings in camp, fire safety, when is safe to leave a fire, throwing coals into streams, billy cans vs other stainless pots, poisonous lookalikes to dandelions…
In this episode of #AskPaulKirtley I answer questions about my preferred water filters, comms on solo canoe trips, how to make yourself useful on a trip when everyone else is more experienced, is hydrophobic down worth the premium and pignut recipes…
Even as an outsider, as a non-Canadian, this film resonates with me, as a canoeist, as someone who loves wild places and as someone who loves other people who love wild places. Narrator James Raffan’s opening statement is bold, broad and inclusive. It sets the tone for the film ahead, highlighting five stories of people, their relationship with paddling, with the land that gave birth to the canoe and with the country made possible by the canoe, these portraits made all the more vibrant by Goh Iromoto’s lush cinematography…