Write It down.

Something I wish I’d started when I first stepped into the wild. A journal, in my opinion is the most valuable tool we can have. Not a knife, not a back pack, the latest pair of trousers or cook set but a simple small object we call a notebook.

My first journal was a small A5 flip pad type that came in a pack of 4 and cost around £4.99 for the pack. I covered the outer in black electrical tape and I got to work filling it with excerpts from magazines, books, tv programmes and anything that appeared to remotely cover content on the outdoors all the while thinking I was gonna be the next Ray Mears. This was my first mistake in journaling.

I over complicated it and turned it into the most jumbled up scrapbook on the outdoors anyone had ever encountered! Was I ever going to master everything I’d put in it, no, was I even going to get a chance to try everything I’d put in it, no, did most of it make sense, no! Well why did I do it in the first place then? The main reason was a hunger that I couldn’t control on the need to gain knowledge. I thought I needed to know everything, I didn’t. A lot of the content consisted of the need for materials which just aren’t available in my country. Bamboo, I can get that in hardware stores, not in the forests or areas I’d be exploring. Banana leaves, great for shelter building and cooking, don’t even think I’ve seen a banana leaf in the flesh! Vines, great for lashings, guess what … not that easy to find in my area! You see where I’m going with this now, over half my content was useless to me as an outdoorsman in my area, the rest was useless too as it was all jumbled up amongst the irrelevant content and just stopped making sense. Now having said that, the information I had was all good if it had have been relevant and was cool stuff to know but I’d went down the wrong route. That notebook never made it outdoors, it got binned and I stopped journaling.

About 5 years ago I decided to take up journaling again but this time I’d take a more thought out approach to it. I bought myself a folder and some graph paper. I’d go on my adventures, explore, create, fail, succeed then come home, clear and tidy my gear and get to work on my “journal” entering my findings for the day. Long story short, this didn’t work either, it became a chore that I didn’t enjoy and I lost my way with it. It was a much better attempt this time though. I was entering my own content, improvising, inventing, learning. But something was missing.

I kept the folder and the graph paper but again binned the majority of the content, it wasn’t working and I needed a fresh start with a different mind set. I decided to use the folder for keeping an inventory of my kit. From tools to socks I have it down. Cost, source of purchase, product info, uses, pros and cons. All this helps me determine which kit works and which kit doesn’t. Can I use it differently, what needs changed to make it better, do I really need it. All these questions can now be easily answered through this method of inventory. So what about the rest of the content? Well more recently I purchased a leather bound journal from Roy at Gallagher Leather (find him on Facebook) who was recommended to me by the group Living To Learn (also on Facebook / YouTube and Instagram) an outdoors Facebook Community. Both of whom I highly recommend. The journal as seen in the pictures is your typical A5 field note book in a custom leather cover which I designed with Roy.

This journal now travels with me on each trip. I use it like a diary and I mainly complete my entries at night before bed or if I’m only out for the day I’ll sit for a while before I leave and I’ll input my findings for the day. I use a style that I understand, it’s my journal only I need to understand it. Some of the things I put in are as follows: weather, times, people present, people met, location, tasks completed, wildlife encountered, meals, clothing and kit used, failures and successes amongst many other things. At home if browsing online or chatting with someone and I get an idea or see something that I’d like to try then I make it an entry. Brief descriptions in a way I can understand it while outdoors. I don’t force myself to complete the tasks but its there if I want it.

It’s became less of a chore and more of a hobby now. A very useful hobby. Its also something I can look back on and see how my knowledge is growing, something I can pass on to the next generation of outdoor explorers.

So my advice to anyone that would like to journal is this. Get yourself a system that suits your style, its your journal. Make it personal, make it so that you want to use it and don’t follow trends or magazines or survival books. Make it relevant to your surroundings and don’t expect to fill it in a short time frame. Anyone I speak with concerning journaling always ask the same question, how do I start it? On the very first page I wrote down a piece of writing pertaining to the outdoors by a well known author. This piece of writing basically describes why I go outdoors, why I’m interested in wildlife and nature. I read it regularly when I’m out and it always makes me feel closer to what I’m doing. It also crossed the hurdle of the first entry. A quote, poem or song lyrics would be just the same. Then after that try an entry on a day hike or a walk in the woods. What was the weather like, what did you see, did you set up camp or complete some tasks. Once you find your style it all comes naturally and you’ll want to lift the journal and tell it your travels.

In my opinion a well kept journal is the most vital piece of kit we can have as outdoors people. I’ve gained so much knowledge through mine and kept a record of it for returning to on the move or at home. If someone asks me now what they need to take up bushcraft or go wild camping I tell them to get a notebook and write it down.