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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[Wolfshead]

I’m here in the Northeast and it is “a little bit” different than out west.
I don’t have the issues with altitude and such.
Depending on where I’m hunting my worst case is spending a night in the woods if I have to.
So some places I carry enough to be able to do that relatively comfortable. “Relatively” being a loose term.
I really like the dark, so that has never really been a problem for me.
Most places I go, I know if I go this direction or that I will eventually hit a road. So I have two compass’ with me and I have OnX on my phone.
Being a Boy Scout helped me a lot, as I was able to learn many things that allow me now to stay in the big woods, and enjoy it.
We had a good group of men that loved to be out in the wilderness and we did a lot of camping. We learned a lot then.

 

[BLJ]

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.

This. Good post.

 

[TaperPin]

This post had me reflecting on how narrowly we tend to think of backcountry personal growth, if it’s hunting skills, glassing, survival, cooking, tents or something else. I’ve had the pleasure of spending a good deal of time in firefighting, construction and hunting with boys watching them grow up into young men in short amounts of time and I remind myself the secondary skills stay with them all year.

A soft skill that doesn’t get enough appreciation in the backcountry are leadership skills, especially for young guys out with their buddies. Someone usually takes the lead, if they know what they’re doing or not, and being an active follower can guide the group to accomplish goals and keep them out of trouble just as much and be just as valuable. Increasing one’s sphere of influence is a worthwhile pursuit in all aspects of someone’s life, personal and professional.

It usually goes unsaid or we chalk it up to using common sense, but managing risk is useful in everything from trip planning, applying for licenses, pre trip conditioning, fishing, backpacking, travel, hunting and even the girls you date. I usually make a joke out it, but briefly pause at decision points to mention to kids to weigh the odds of the options if only for a second. Date a crazy girl and the odds are 100% you’re in for a roller coaster. lol

 

[Bighorse]

Ain’t nobody confident when facing those brown bears unexpectedly. I’d venture to say you punch deep enough into the center of your island and even the distances and topography will have you questioning your decision making. Confidence is tempered yielding a functional skill set. Mess up enough times and enough ways and your learn that confidence is tied to a refined and deployable skill set. Practice your craft as an outdoorsman, marksman, mariner and recognize failure fast.

 

[AZ8]

My older brother and cousins’ didn’t do me any favors when I was a kid.

In 1977, they took me to the local movie theatre to watch a new Bigfoot movie that was playing. I was 8 years old. There was one scene in the movie where the Bigfoot punches his hand through the cabin window as they were asleep. That scene scared the living snot out of me and the entire audience.

It affected me for a loooong time. Wasn’t until high school before I was comfortable in the woods after dark. Eventually got on with a fire crew with the USFS, and pretty much cured me from any residual fear! Lol

I look back now and laugh how silly that was, especially for a cheese 70’s flick!

Here is the scene that messed me up for years. Go to the 32:20 mark:

 

[North of 60]

1. Being teachable and learning from others experiences...Rokslide3 is a good example
2. Being as prepared as reasonably possible and pushing myself further than i thought i could...Thru-hiking the Colorado trail 500 miles from Denver to Durango at age 52 with two 19 yr olds
3. Thank goodness for PLBs of the various types and hope i never need to use it

 

[grfox92]

1. Being teachable and learning from others experiences...Rokslide3 is a good example...

This is one of the most important things as long as you are getting good info from a good source.

Quick story. I grew up a tree stand whitetail hunter in the suburbs of NYC. My father didn't hunt and I was completely self taught with the exception of advice from some guys who never killed anything big.

I put hours upon hours and thousands of miles on the ground trying to get good at killing big bucks. When I was in my early 20s I met and became good friends with who I would consider 2 of the best whitetail bowhunters on the planet today. They took me under their wing and taught me and I was finally able to start putting the pieces of everything I'd learned on my own and start applying them. All the sudden I was seeing big deer and shooting big deer.

Being able to be humble and listening to guys who have a track record of killing shit is invaluable. Its important however to get that advice from the right people. Finding the right people is done being able to see their trophy room.

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[Mormegil3]

I know a lot of people dislike the use of GPS or phones for navigation, but I personally have had more issues with physical maps (getting wet, getting lost or torn) than I have with my phone navigation system. I love GaiaGPS, and bring an external battery for extra battery life if needed on longer trips, it gives me a lot of confidence. Obviously developing innate navigation ability is also important, but having a safety net of a GPS app that can show you where you are and what direction you’re facing makes everything easier for me. And just getting more and more exposure outdoors also helps you realize that most of the things you are nervous about aren’t actually things you need to worry much about.

 

[highcountrymuley]

I'm from the school of hard maps and compass use and checking your watch. It drives me nuts that my gf doesn't know which direction is north... but she follows her phone maps and carries extra power pack. She did the CO trail last summer so she is surviving with her method!

One of the biggies for me was carrying a 9mm on my side holster. And 2 headlamps with fresh batteries every few months. And practicing staying a night 5 miles in with just a day pack. I was shed hunting and got way back and wanted to stay but needed to leave if I was to reach car around dark (the exit was a long narrow draw with lots of mountain lions around). I rolled out my small tarp and space blanket and ate a bar and rationed my water and slept like a baby for about 2 hours. Then the winds ripped up and I tossed and turned till daylight then got out! It was encouraging and let me know I can do it.

Staying past dark hunting is key and being comfortable hiking in the dark solo just becomes easier the more u do it. But I don't know how one becomes comfy in grizz country...

 

[Boarmaster]

I learned to do things at my own speed. This avoids trouble. Another thing is to think through the time in the woods before and know how you will handle things as they unfold. I stay flexible but I am always confident I have planned out most all challenges.