Greetings, I would like to introduce myself before starting any articles so you, the reader can get more familiar with me. I was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1984. I have lived in and around there for half of my life. At the age of thirteen, I moved to Beaufort County. I was part of an average family. Having two other siblings of my own blood, and three which were step-family. Both parents worked at a business they owned. I had three square meals, clothing on my back and a roof over my head. I was able to go out on the weekends and have fun with my friends. So I can say I was blessed, and did not go without. We were far from wealthy but we were happy. Shortly after high school I joined the Navy. Initially I worked as a Sonar Technician in Groton, Connecticut. This lasted for two years, after having a change of heart I decided to try something new. I was given orders to Great Lakes, for my training as a Hospital Corpsman. Doing another two years as a Corpsman, I had decided that I did not want to be a lifer(a term we gave to those staying a full twenty years of longer in the Navy) so I left for the civilian world.
It has been four years since I had left the service. I tried going to college, but was never fond of academics. I dropped out after my first semester. I decided it would be best finding an entry-level job doing something different. Maybe I would find a career that I enjoyed. While searching the job market I was invited to work with my parents. They sold, and worked on Electric and Gas utility vehicles(golf carts!) I enjoyed this for sometime, though working with family can cause a lot of stress. As business slowed down during that winter I decided to find something else. For the next two years I bounced around jobs, working as a CNC operator, PC Technician, and finally back to working with my parents. Again, as sure as the tide rises and falls business slowed back down. Leaving my parents business again during the winter season, I would once again enter the job market.
With extra time on my hands while I searched for employment, I would focus a little on what I enjoyed, and maybe grab a hobby or two! Living in eastern North Carolina I had access to the Pamlico River. There were many things to do, swimming, fishing, camping and canoeing to name just a few. I really enjoyed the canoeing. My family often went on trips to a special tributary, that few knew of. It was a quiet and relaxing trip that took about two hours of slow paddling from end to end. Nature flourished here, and seeing as few knew of it, was rarely disturbed. This tributary would eventually lead to a small beachhead on the Pamlico. A small sandy area that stretched half a mile. Sandy hills rose behind it to almost forty feet. We could fish and swim here. The water was waste deep and clean. The normal sunken stumps and massive roots that plagued the inner Pamlico river were not found here. So many great memories were taken from that place.
Eventually the canoeing drew me deeper, and deeper into nature. I started to pick up other hobbies like deer hunting and trapping. All these experiences, new and old began to change me. I grew a terrible thirst for more knowledge and experience. At one point I was camping every weekend. With my new found thirst I decided to turn to the internet. After a few days of watching YouTube videos I came upon a new term unknown to me, "Bushcraft." Wikipedia says Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. I had to find out more about this bushcraft. Instantly I was hooked. There were videos on everything, from minimalistic camping, water purification to primitive fire making and so much more. This opened a whole new layer that I was totally unaware of. These videos just weren't about being in nature, they were about surviving in nature, and in some cases thriving.
After watching a lot of videos, I began to notice how immensely helpful these skills and could be. Say your ATV broke down while driving in some remote area, or your fishing boat capsizes and your left afloat miles away from docks. Maybe you went off the ski trail and got lost while on a trip in the mountains. All these scenarios are events that you don't ever expect to happen, and almost never are prepared for. But these are just a handful of the things that could happen. There are things that could happen even in the busy city you call home. A freak flood, or earthquake could change your bustling metropolis into a wasteland in minutes. But with bushcraft skills you gave yourself one more tool(knowledge) that would help you live through all these bad events. I realized that my love for nature and being in the outdoors combined with this new knowledge I had would help in so many areas of my life. I thought while I learn and experience these new things I could write about them, and maybe help others and introduce them to something new.
As you can see, I haven't lived an extraordinary life or done anything far out. I haven't lived on the edge. I'm just an average guy, no different than you. So with this being said, thanks for reading my blog and I hope it helps you out somehow. Stay frosty.
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