In the Gathering Tradition of Knife Possession and Firestarting in the 21st Century, Your 10 Most Important Tools, and Other Such Topics and Threads, -I'd Like to now Pose This Question, Round our Campfire.-

-What are your Greatest Mistakes, -BooBoos, Blunders, Flubups, Foulups, Leaveouts, Leave Behinds, Breakages, Spoilages, Losses, ETC, ETC, ETCs, -That you've Ever Experienced out there in your Outdoor Activities?

And What are some of the Great Lessons you've Taken Away with you, from Such?

I'll Kick This Off with one of my Own. It Isn't Much, -though It nevertheless Makes for a Great and Valuable Outdoors Lesson I've Learned! And that's No Less than, -To Make Sure you're PREPARED FOR RAIN !

And I've also Taken from This, -an Even Greater Outdoors Lesson, than "just" Rain Preparation Alone!, -as you shall come to See.

It was my First Troop Campout at Ft. Neccessity, PA, of which I've talked on earlier, in another Post on this Forum. This was Part of a Great Camporee of Troops, from Across Much of Western Pennsylvania. It was my First Real Camping Experience,-Boy Scout or any Other.

So via a Combination of such Newbie Campout Greenhorning on the One Hand, and various Personal Problems back in my Home and Family Life of the Time, on the Other Hand, -I just Grabbed up a Few Suitable Enuf Looking Things, -which happened to be in Sight, just lying around the House! Somehow I was Suppossing that that would be Good Enuf for me! I was 12 at the Time. And Still a Tenderfoot. When as in my Case, One's Family Life and Home is Quite "Non-Such",-and "Anti-Such", -Then Everything Else in Life, -including Campout Preps,-Gets Shunted Off to a Lower Priority, Back or Side Burner. And you're Glad for a Chance to Get the Heck Out of the House Too! I was Approaching the Joy of an Upcoming Campout in Itself, as well as a Chance to Get Out of the House so!

And so Rain Gear, -among Many Other Items, -Weren't Among that Little Bit I had so Grabbed Up!

And as it was Going to Work Out, -We were In For a Quite Rain Soaked Campout! Pretty Much from Start to Finish! There's Nothing like a Wet, Soaking, Soggy, Cold, Miserable, Drizzly, Drenching, Continuous Campout Rain!, " to Learn you"!

I Arrived on the Scene Utterly and Woefully Unprepared! That Evening's Dusk was Good Enuf,-and Deceptively Reassuring! The Night's Rain that I would Wake Up to, had Not yet Come. I was Very Ill Equipped and Unprepared All Around!, for Plenty of Other things besides just Rain!

All in All, I just Grimly Tuffed it All Out! Nevertheless, There were Many Very Special and Memorable Experiences on this Troop Camporee as Well!, -Don't Get me Wrong! Not the Least Being, We were Astride such a Historic Site. George Washington had Been There, (as Well as at my Own City's Three Rivers Point.),-No Less than the Father of our Country.

But Miserable Much of my Experience was Too! I Being Utterly Unprepared for It!, The Rain as we Sure as Heck Got, as Well as so Much Non-Preparation Else!, as I've Done, Made for such a Glum and Miserable Experience. I Sure as Heck Learned my Preparedness Lesson there!, and the Hard Way! It Wasn't Terribly Uncomfortably so!, just Quite Significantly so!

But Rain Protection, Had I just Given It some Prior Thot!, Could Have Very Easily Averted and Avoided so Much of That! As well as with so Much Else, that I was Utterly Underprepared For!, on that Long, Soggy Drenched Weekend. It was Early to Mid April as well, up here in the North, and the Rain was at least a Little Colder, than what you might get, in say June or July. Boy!, Was that Being Caught Out in the Rain!, a Real Lesson!

So the Next Time I Camped, now, some 2 1/2 Months later, on an also Very Special and Memorable Patrol Campout, -I was Ready! -Life Lessons there at Rain Soaked Neccessity!, Had been Learned! I Wasn't About to be Having a Ft. Neccessity Experience # 2 All Over Again! Lists were Made Up. Rain Protection certainly Wasn't Missing from those Lists! I Worked from these Lists, as I Gathered Up the Requisite Gear, and Compared Them with Those I Found in my Boy Scout Handbook. There may still have been some Items that I had been Unable to Scratch Up, ( "Find",for you More International Members.), But I Arrived at Campout Number Two quite Well Equipped and Prepared! Far Better than Before! Rain Protection was Certainly One of Them! From both the Scout Handbook, and From my Own Bitter, Personal Real Life Experience, I Knew What I would be Needing!, I Knew What I could Again be In For!

I Learned that you Don't just Go Forth with Happy Campout Ideals Alone in your Head. In which you Take Little to Nothing, -in such a Happenstance Manner from about your House! That's Not Enuf, That Won't Cut It or Do! Now thats Pretty Elementary, and We All Well Know that. You Need Things!, You're Not around your House Anymore!, That Area Out There!, is Now your House and Home. You've Got to Preparedly Make It so, as Far as All Possible. Basic Campcraft Comforts Won't just Magically Come to you!, You've Got to Meet Them, Your Part of the Way. Berries, Firewood, and such may be examples of Things Already Provided for you and There!,-but you've Got to Go & Provide yourself the Rest!

And it Just Could Rain Out There!, It Does Do so, here in these Parts. If it Commonly Does so 50 Miles Away, in my Same Climatic Area of a Home, It Can just as Well Do so here! It Only Stands to Reason. You're then No Longer Under, your Old Familiar Home Roof. Things like Tents, Tarps, Ponchos, Raincoats, and Headwear, -Are now your Roof. You've Got to Pre-Think a Bit, and Take Them in with you!

As It Happened though, this Second Time around, The Summer Sun overwhelmingly Shined Down upon us! Dappling on Down thru the Interveneing Woods so. For a Twice as long, 4 Day Experience, than Before. There was but one Lite, Misty Shower, as we Woke Up in our tents one day. And that was It!, as far as Rain went. (That was the one Warm, Cloudy Day there, that I've Spoke of in another Post.)

My Definite Rain Preps this Time Around were No Longer Needed, but They were Sure as Heck There!, All the Same. It was No Less Appropriate to Now Make Them, than Before. It *Does* Rain in Early June around here!, We could Have just as Easily had a Reprise of Campout Number One!, -Rainwise! if so, my New Rain Consciousness and Preps would have Come In Right Handy!

As it was, This and Other Hard Learned Preparedness Lessons, -Did Make this Second Time Around a Lot More Enjoyable and All!, than It Otherwise would have Been had I again "Just Walked In"!,-Woefully Underprepared! I Wasn't About to be Doing That again!

Beyond only Rain Protection, This Lesson and Experience Impressed Upon me, the Great Place and Import, of All Round Outdoor PREPAREDNESS IN GENERAL ! This is the Greatest Lesson that I've Taken from all That, -Not Only of Rain Protection Per Se, -Valuable and All as That Hard Learned Outdoors Lesson Too was!

Those Two Words of our Scout Motto, "Be Prepared", were Now More than just Two Everyday Words. I was now Far More Conscious of their Real Spirit, Import, and Meaning! Not that I Didn't have some Foggy Enuf Idea of It Before, But I Sure had a Plenty Clearer Idea of It now! We Didn't Have It as our Scout Motto, over just Nothing!

This was perhaps my Greatest Outdoors Ball Dropping Flub Up and Mistake! Heck, I Pretty Much Didn't even Know there was a Ball to so Pick Up!, -To my Disservice and Disadvantage!

And as Such, It is also One of my Greatest, Hard Won, Outdoor Lessons ever Learned!

Something as Simple as at Least Basically Prepareing for the Rain! It Takes No Rocket Scientist for That!

And Something as Simple and Basic as Pre-Planning and Being Prepared!

It again Constitutes likely my Own Greatest Outdoor and Preparedness Mistake!, and Just as Likely, -My Greatest of Outdoor and Preparedness Lessons ever Learned! Via Experience, Via the Hard Way!

Now How About some of You!? How About Your's?

Such as perhaps Equipment being Left Behind!, or It Giving Out on you there in the Field!, Various Survival Techniques and Practices either Not being Done Right!, Nor Perhaps even at All!, or Perhaps some Stupid, Elementary Mistakes you Too Made! I Think that we All, Not Only just you, -Can Well Learn from It! So Think About maybe Shareing It, for Evrybody's Benefit and Education.

So How Bout Your's?

What are some of Your Greatest Mistakes ever Made Out There?!

And What are some of Your Greatest Outdoor and Preparedness Lessons!, -You've So Learned? [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

C'mon!, You mean to Seriously Tell me that No One's ever made a Mistake or Learned a Lesson?! <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Get and Be Real!, -I Can't be the Only One!

As to the "Public Records" Aspect of this Forum, This can get to Really Looking Remiss and somewhat Shameable of us. That we're All suppossedly so Flawlessly Perfect!, That No One Beyond me has ever made an Outdoors or Preparedness Mistake!, Nor ever has Learned an Outdoor or Preparedness Lesson! This Respectful and Friendly Reminder too, Goes Forth into such "Record".

Now I understand some Natural Tendancy to Not exactly want to Fess Up!, I Understand Anyone's Right to Not Speak, if either they've Nothing to Add, or just Don't Wish to.

But I again just Can't be the Only One!

So How About It?! Hoo Else has ever Made an Outdoors or Preparedness Mistake?, / Learned such a Lesson?

This can Serve Toward the Better Education and Benefit of we the Forum Members, and all Site Viewers, as Well.

Respond Only if and as you Really Wish to, There is No Undue Rush.

But C'mon!, Someone(s) Out There among us has Got to Have Something! If we were All Survival and Preparedness Know It Alls, We wouldn't Need This Forum or Site!

The Challenge is On! Is Anyone Else Out There at All, -Up to It?! Or Will the Friendly but Definite Challenge "Win Out" over you?! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]

Hi Scott,

You can definitely find a good many first-hand accounts of outdoor bloopers at the Backpacker Magazine forums, on which some of us here participate: http://forums.backpacker.com/

I would look at the "Trailhead Register" or "Backpacking with Kids" forums, and do a keyword searches. I know I've read some pretty interesting trip reports there, with plenty of "here's what not to do" comments.

Greatest lesson learned: Never, never eat yellow snow <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Johno
Very true -
Whats one mans campsite is another mans toilet!
Ahh, the joys of camping!

When I was on a fishing trip I had to cross a small stream. I was an easy jump about 5 m horizontal and 1.5 m down to a small island. I planned to take the bridge that had to be on the other side of the island. The theory was excelent. The reality revealed that the bridge wasn´t there <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. My hiking boots kept the feet dry and the water was only about 1.2 m deep. Wading was no problem as the ground was firm. Proper planning would have included the confirmation of essential assumptions.