One of the best ways that individuals and families in the Modern World can be prepared for potential future challenges is to incorporate a wide range of knowledge and skills for self-reliant living into our normal hobby and/or recreational activities.
Among several interesting and enjoyable approaches for doing this is to spend a little time becoming acquainted with the writings of of America's old-time campers, wilderness scouts, and mountaineers.
Many of these folks had valuable wisdom to pass along. On the other hand, of course, we must be careful to screen some of their material through "modern filters" to avoid picking up significantly outdated information.
For example, when setting up your camp, the first thing *NOT* to do is, "... chop down three saplings ...." Likewise, chapters on First Aid must be read with caution. Today's medically approved and most effective way to treat snake-bite is *NOT* "... cut and suck ...." And we certainly do *NOT* respond to frostbite by, "... rubbing the affected body part with snow ...."
With regard to mountaineering, current state-of-the-art guidance concerning equipment and climbing techniques obviously must take precedence over the old-time practices in order to assure safety and avoid the possibility of adverse consequences.
With caveats of the above sort in mind, one of the benefits of Google's ambitious effort to scan all published human knowledge onto the 'Net is that they have already managed to include the full text of several great old-time camping, woodcraft, and mountaineering classics -- probably just about all that are no longer under copyright.
The web addresses of many of these works have been gathered below. Hopefully, you will find some of them to be of interest. There are obviously far too many to digest at one sitting, so try starting with the ones that are most appealing from your own standpoint. (One way to begin is by reviewing their respective Tables of Contents.)
If you find that any of the links below are not working properly, please notify the Facilitator, so they can be updated or corrected.
If you want to compare "old time" knowledge with more modern sources of information available on-line, try visiting the Old Scouts' web page, at:
Would you like to comment or compare notes about any of this material with other site visitors ?? If so, you are welcome to post your thoughts and reactions to the Old Scouts' E-Mail Group.
Happy reading !!
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