Ray Mears Was Brought In To Help Find Raoul Moat

TV survival expert Ray Mears was brought in to help find Raoul Moat when the fugitive killer went into hiding in the dense countryside.

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/07/22/ray-mears-was-brought-in-to-help-find-raoul-moat-115875-22431000/#ixzz0uPVO18RJ

Managing A Fire

Fire can be our most valuable resource, but given its capacity for destruction it can also be our greatest enemy, scarring landscapes and decimating forests.

The first question we ask ourselves is whether or not it is appropiate to light a fire. The campfire in particular is a matter of fierce debate. One view is that hike stoves should be carried into the wilderness and used instead, because they leave behind fewer traces of our presence. On the other side back-to-nature campers maintain that sitting by a campfire brings them closer to nature in a spiritual way that is impossible with hike stoves.

It all depends on where you are. It is certainly true that there are areas where use of a campfire is innappropiate: places where it may trigger a forest fire where fuel is not sufficiently plentiful, or where fires have never been lit before. In these regions a hike stove is the sensible option as it safeguards the environment we have set out to enjoy. But at the same time there are many other places where the falmes do not threaten the forest, where fuel is abundant and where, with proper management, a campfire need not leave any unwelcome after-effects.

I recommend aiming to travel throughthe landscape like a shadow, leaving as little trace of yourself and your activities as possible, and to use either a campfire or a stove as your location and circumstances dictate.

An excert from Essential Bushcraft by Ray Mears.

The Effects Of Food Deprivation

The first few days without food are a critical time for anyone trying to make the step from survivng to living in the wilderness. It is in this period that we exhaust the body's store of carbohydrate.

Because carbohydrates such as starches and sugars are composed of simple, easily digested molecules, they are an efficient food source that can be digested with little waste. Quickly and easily converted to energy, carbohydrates are vital in the supply of energy to the brain and nervouse system and are consequently utilised before the other food sources of fat and protein.

We store carbohydrate in the muscles, the liver and a small amount in the blood. For use this is converted into glucose then transported to wherever it is needed, particularly the brain and nervouse system , by the blood. The rate at which we exhaust our store of carbohydrate depends on how hard we are working, but can be as little as 3 or 4 hours when working hard in a cold environment. When our reserve of carbohydrate is exhausted our blood sugar level drops resulting in a reduced supply of energy to the brain. Because the brain is unable to store energy for ityself it demands a continuous supply; when there is a reduction in supply various symptoms are triggered: tiredness; headache; easy irritation; loss of concentration; reduced ability to make decisions; depression; increased susceptibility to cold; increased concern with oneself.

As time goes on, fast intensive work becomes difficult; even walking up a moderate slope seems impossible. Tasks which at other times would be straight forward, such as crossing water, now become hazzordous.

An excert from Essential Bushcraft by Ray Mears.

Trust Your Instincts: The Art Of Bushcraft

A craft in the bushes, Bushcraft is all about the ability and the skills to thrive and survive in the raw environment. It necessitates the achievement of such capabilities and knowledge to manipulate resources manually. It is having the taste of how our ancestors lived some thousand of years ago.

Bushcraft as a term is widely known in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The term was introduced in Australia by Les Hiddins, also know as the "Bush Tucker Man," who also spread its popularity in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mors Kochanski made it known to the northern part of the world. Ray Mears, with this survival television shows popularized it in the United Kingdom.

Skills in Bushcraft include:

Environmental Education

It is the knowledge of wildlife behaviors, like for example foraging, a branch in science that actually studies the behavior of animals.

It can also be the knowledge on the identification of wild plants, how to use them, and ability to perceive weather conditions.

Tracking

Tracking in the wild denotes following animal's track with the actual marks to be able to get hold of them. The skill will allow you to get to them close enough to kill them for food.

Hunting

Bushcraft hunting denotes the pursuit of animals for food. Fishing also falls under this category. One must also know how to obtain and purify water that is safe enough to drink.

Fire Craft

The ability to start a fire is a life-saving skill. Fire serves a lot of purposes, most especially in the wild. It gives comfort and warmth. It is very important not only to be able to cook food, but also to be able to preserve things. It can be used to sterilize bandages, to boil water for purification, provides protection from wild animals, and for rescue signals.

Shelter Building

It is the ability to use all possible resources to create a shelter from environmental forces, animals, and any danger in the wild.

Use of Bushcraft tools such as:

• Cutting tools, knives and axes
• Carving tools
• Bonfire cooking pot
• Bonfire tripod
  
• Bungees
• Paracord spools, etc.

Rope Twine-Making It is the ability to twine ropes to be used as pulleys, to redirect pulling force to the opposite direction. It is also used as a means to have a mechanical advantage. Different kinds of knots are invented with different purposes, namely:

• Pulling
• Fastening
• Hunting
• Attaching
• Fastening
• Lifting
• Carrying, etc.

One must also know how to join sticks or poles by lashing. To be able to do all of these things one must know how to look for raw materials that can be used to make a rope. Materials for rope making can be found just about anywhere, from palms, grasses, vines, barks, and even animal hair. Any material can be used as long as it is fibrous; it has enough length and have moderate strength and flexible.

Bushcraft will enable you to find inner harmony with the environment. It is not only a skill essential for survival, but also has become a skill to support other recreational activities, such as wild-life watching, hunting, nature photography, and the like.

About the Author

SpringFields army surplus store can cater for all your bush craft and camping equipment needs