Over the past few months I’ve seen numerous blogs offering tips and tricks on bushcraft and survival. But tips and tricks will never take the place of practiced fundamentals; learning the correct technique, then doing it until it is second nature. The seemingly inexhaustible human desire for shortcuts keeps the search alive, but don’t be tempted by the tips and tricks, or anything else that promises results without putting in your time and doing the work.

In an effort to jump right onto this bandwagon, though, here’s my tip for today; There are no useful shortcuts. Or at least after looking around for several decades, I haven’t found any. Take time or make time to learn it and do it right.

And my trick for today; play with it and have fun. It’s challenging to remember what we try to learn, but it’s hard to forget what we have fun playing with.