Ravenlore

One of my favorite bushcraft sites is the oft-overlooked Ravenlore. The site is very simple, containing information on a number of projects that cover the basics of the craft, such as cooking and cutting. Interspersed throughout the site are stunning photographs that appear as if windows into Arda.

In addition to the site’s excellent and diverse set of information, what appeals to me so much is the manner in which it is presented and organized. It creates a feeling of myth, framing bushcraft as a story that we move through while on the trail. This is important, but undervalued. Joseph Campbell used to say that we were a people without myth. I disagree. I believe that we have an over-abundance of myth. Individuals must pick their own mythology to live within. Bushcraft, when taken as more as just wilderness survival skills, can be part of this.

Your life is a story. Pick up a pen and write it.

(Wayland is also a free-lance viking, pirate, and photographer.)