Unread postby elk yinzer » Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:24 am
I think woodsmanship is a vastly broad concept to the point of being almost impossible to define. Woodsmanship is a lifelong connection to the natural world, and within that there are countless disciplines, all requiring different skills, knowledge, confidence, patience, inquisitiveness, etc. Some of the things you can learn, some you just gain by experience and hard knocks. For some reason navigation and survival get brought up a lot in association with the word, and while certainly important, are but small aspects of the total package. Navigation is one where I rely a lot on technology to be more effective and efficient, and survival is basically a moot point as there are like a small handful of places in my state where you can get more than a mile from a road.
To a large degree I think woodsmanship in this context has come to be defined as some antithesis to the food plot hunting culture, and I'm not sure I wholly agree with that. To manipulate the land, to invest the time to do that successfully, that cultivation takes different skills than I care to learn certainly, but skills nonetheless. Maybe it's just more akin to farming and cultivation, than a mastery of the natural world. But I think they are at least connected.
As with any discipline in life, I would look at anyone who claims to be a great woodsman with a lot of skepticism. The great ones know they can never know it all. It seems to be that desire to constantly learn that drives woodsman.
I think inquisitiveness, curiosity really is a defining trait though. I am not an expert by any means but I kinda delve into the foraging world, and there are a couple dozen mushrooms, berries and plants that I selectively or opportunistically go after. It amazes me, even taking a walk through a very busy, semi-manicured city park, I'll find some highly sought after specimens just by keeping my eyes open and looking around. Like how many people just walk by in their haze, or tunnel vision, or just general ignorance? It's amazing what is out there if you just slow down and look around, and approach life with a little curiosity.