Comfort/confidence level in the woods

[grfox92]

The only way to get more comfortable and confident is reps. You just have to go and do it over and over and over. Learn from your mistakes and keep going.

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[mtnbiker208]

All streams lead to a bridge or a road at some point. Don't be scurred.

True, but i just floated 90 miles from the lake to a village, and the first road was the village. Granted this was in alaska.

 

[mattflipper]

What things did you need to learn to become confident while in the woods.

For me, the move from flat land safe as can be central Nebraska, to being smack dab in one of the highest brown bear populations in Alaska was a trip. Not only were there big brown bears, but the terrain was dense, steep and potentially deadly. Add the miserably wet weather that was sure to produce hypothermia and I was way outside my comfort zone at first. But boy was it Awesome!

In the early days I was nervous getting more than 100yds from a road or trail. After learning to navigate that particular terrain and getting proficient with a firearm I could take woods naps in bear country no problem. Bit of military service and a lot better at land nav, firearms use, first aid, and just generally facing danger, now I feel pretty dang confident in most situations I find myself in while enjoying the outdoors.

What have you found to be the biggest skill or mindset shift that has allowed you to be in the woods without that innate fear of the unknown.

Managing everything that i have control of with absolute certainty to the smallest detail and then doing everything possible to minimize the negatives of what I can’t control.

 

[Marble]

I struggled with this for awhile. At times I'll sit down and literally force myself to eat... I know in my brain that I need the calories, but I'll be damned if my stomach doesn't think otherwise.


I've said it before - a positive mental attitude is one of the most important pieces of gear you can pack with you, and it weighs nothing.

Along the same lines of nutrition/appetite - another thing that can be jarring is hitting the wall/"bonking". Have you ever gotten so depleted that your entire mindset changed? Maybe you hiked into a place, spent tons of energy getting there(without replacing it) only to get there and immediately feel the need to turn around? It's like all of a sudden the world goes from great to grey. I've had it happen a few times, and it's nice to be able to recognize it coming so you can mitigate it. It's one of the reasons I force myself to eat... and on harder hikes/stretches I'll make it a point to take a 15 minute break every hour and snack/hydrate.


This made the largest difference in my success rate. Being out hunting at last light. A great majority of my kills have been in the last hour of light, and some(last season) the last few minutes of legal shooting light. It's kinda funny to watch the traffic in the woods greatly decrease in the last few hours of the day. Its like 2 hours prior to sunset everyones like "okay time to head home"... man I just got here and I'm about to kill a deer where you just were lol

I'm the same. I keep a mental log of when I eat and then plan my next meal time.

For fluid, I'll vary between a water bladder and bottles. I like that I can see how much fluid I've consumed when I use the water bottles.

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