Earthcraft & Camping

Heading Outdoors

Of all the various activities that are part of the Earthcraft Way, of course, camping is the most typical. There are few Earthcraft groups that don't make at least a few trips each year to wild areas, in order to put Earthcraft into practice in its natural environment. Different groups will choose different kinds of camping experiences, depending on the age, physical condition and interests of their members, and on the areas in which they prefer to go camping. Many family-oriented circles concentrate on campgrounds that can be reached by car, while those who are up to more demanding adventure may choose to take off into the deep wilderness on long hikes. In earlier times, many Woodcraft groups bought property in the backwoods to use as sites for permanent camps, and this is still an option in those parts of the world where real estate is not too overpriced.

There are some important differences between the way camping is usually done nowadays and the Earthcraft approach to camping, though. These deserve at least a little discussion here, as they cast a good deal of light onto Earthcraft as a whole, and may also provide some helpful pointers to the beginning Earthcrafter.

The most important of these differences is a matter of sheer expense. To judge by the imagery that comes out of sporting-goods stores and glossy outdoors magazines these days, anyone who wants to hit the trail should first plan on spending hundreds of dollars on expensive outdoor gear. From polypropylene underwear to high-tech nylon parka, today's camper seems to dress entirely in layers of high-priced plastic; complicated backpacks made of aircraft aluminum and ballistic nylon, precision-engineered hiking boots, a flurry of specialized camping gear, and freeze-dried meals in foil packets complete the kit. All this, at least in theory, to leave behind the artificial life of modern society and get back to nature!

There are at least three problems with this approach to camping. First of all, as already mentioned, it's expensive. Only those who can afford to spend $1000 or more on camping gear can afford to venture into the wilderness in this sort of style. Many people, including some of those who would benefit the most from contact with nature, can't afford this.

Secondly, if the point of camping is to get into contact with the natural world, surrounding oneself with a bubble of plastic and high technology defeats the whole purpose of the exercise. It doesn't do much good to leave behind modern industrial society, after all, if you're carrying it with you on your back.

Thirdly, while manufacturers of modern outdoor equipment boast that their gear permits a ``zero trace'' approach to camping - one in which the camper leaves no impact at all on the environment - this looks true only as long as no one takes the manufacturing process into account. A nylon parka, for example, is made out of chemicals derived from non-renewable fossil fuels; the synthesis of the nylon and its precursor chemicals involves the production of various kinds of toxic wastes; the nylon is turned into parkas, in most cases, in Third World factories using sweatshop labor; it is then shipped up to halfway around the world, using up more fossil fuels in the process, to the store where it is offered for sale. The same sort of story could be told about most of the equipment sold in modern sporting-goods stores. The idea of harming the environment in one place in order to enjoy it in another seems a little counterproductive, to say the least.

The Earthcraft Way of camping is a little different. Ordinary clothing, sturdy shoes, a wool sweater and an inexpensive poncho for bad weather, and a simple pack will do as well in most camping and hiking situations as any high-tech outfit. While sleeping bags are an improvement on the old-fashioned blanket roll, and modern camp cookwear is much easier to carry than the cast-iron pots and pans of fifty years ago, these modern items can usually be picked up cheaply at department stores, garage sales or used sporting-goods shops. Many Earthcrafters, in fact, go the next step and make much of their own camping gear, following traditional patterns and low-tech methods. Many of these do require a little more skill and knowledge to use than their modern, high-tech equivalents; still, one of the classic principles of the Woodcraft movement has it that the alternative to spending a lot of money is to know what you're doing.

This same notion governs many other aspects of camping; many people nowadays tend to rely on expensive technology to do things that can be done just as well, or better, by simpler means intelligently used. For example, hypothermia - the dangerous lowering of body temperature that can strike the unprepared in bad weather - can be prevented by wearing the best modern, insulated waterproof gear; it can also be prevented by knowing what the risks and danger signs are, paying attention to them, and packing a wool sweater and a waterproof poncho whenever you go into the woods.

There are times and places where some elements of modern camping gear are useful or necessary, of course; to name just one, it's often necessary to carry a camp stove into the woods in the summer, when the danger of forest fire is at its height and open fires are banned. The point is that expensive gear and gadgets are an option for the camper, not a requirement, and may not be the best option at that.

Earthcraft and the Environment

Now it's worth noting that a number of modern books on camping and backpacking present a very different image of the Earthcraft approach to the outdoors. The accusation has been made that the old Woodcraft movement encouraged the destruction of wilderness by teaching campers to use wild-gathered natural materials for their camping needs, despite the impact such behavior has on the environment. The stereotype of Woodcrafters as would-be pioneers stripping bark from trees and hacking down saplings for outdoor engineering projects is still held by some. One backpacking manual that was very popular a few years ago included a caricature of a Woodcrafter with axe, hammer and nails, knocking together some sort of structure out of freshly cut saplings - the stumps were visible in the background - while a boy in modern camping gear, looking on in horror, muttered, "Woodcraft is dead."

A glance at any of the classic texts of Woodcraft will show that this stereotype simply isn't true. Major Woodcraft writers from the golden age of the movement such as Seton himself, Ellsworth Jaeger, and Bernard Mason all stressed that natural materials should never be gathered except when this can be done without harm. Woodcrafters were taught to collect bark and other materials from areas about to be logged, to learn non-damaging ways of gathering, to find alternative materials or to do without. In fact, the first group ever to articulate a "no-trace" approach to hiking and camping was apparently the Woodcraft Folk, one of the English branches of the movement, who established this as their standard policy for all outings as early as the 1930s.

Another source of confusion on this topic has to do with the difference between overnight camping in wilderness settings and permanent camping facilities owned by private groups (such as Woodcraft circles). A good deal of the Woodcraft program that has come down to us was evolved and matured in long-term camps of one sort or another, since low property values in wilderness areas of the United States and Canada earlier in this century put such camps within reach of Woodcraft circles with quite modest budgets. In the case of a permanent camp, a certain amount of selective thinning of trees and clearing of ground will usually have to be done, and the principles of ecology (as well as those of the Earthcraft Way) would suggest that what is taken in this way should never be wasted. Thus in many Woodcraft camps, the permanent buildings, council rings, and other structures were often made out of timber harvested on the land itself, and coppicing and other ecologically sensitive approaches to woodland management were used to provide a steady supply of natural materials for Woodcraft activities.

In or out of such a permanent setting, Earthcraft nowadays clearly understands the potential for ecological damage entailed by hiking and camping, and no Earthcraft group that values the traditions and teachings of the movement will ever engage in activities or styles of recreation that will have negative impact on the wild. The point of camping is to celebrate the wilderness, not to despoil it, and never to leave it in a condition that will lessen the joy of those who come after.

Alternatives to Camping

In camping, as in any other Earthcraft activity, Seton's principle - "where you are, with what you have, right now" - is a wise guide. There are times then "where you are" and "what you have" may not include the wherewithal to go camping. In such times, the Earthcraft Way can be followed in other ways, some of them allowing many of the same experiences as camping provides.

Day trips to wild or semiwild areas are always an option. Few cities and towns are more than a short distance away from parks and open country, where many Earthcraft games can be played and wilderness skills put to use.

Another option, one that has some valuable lessons to teach, is a "blackout overnight." A house with no electricity is not much different from a wilderness cave, after all. A Earthcraft circle or clan gathers at one member's house, with sleeping bags, flashlights and candles, and equipment for cooking outdoors. At a given time (which may or may not be known in advance), all the lights and appliances go off; the houseowner can simply turn off the circuit breakers if this can be done safely. From then on, the overnight proceeds as though a real blackout were in effect. Meals are prepared in the backyard or on the porch, candles and flashlights provide the only light, and television and computer games are replaced by more creative forms of entertainment.

There are plenty of other possibilities. The point of Earthcraft, after all, is to learn to use all the potentials of the self - including, above all, the imagination.