The morning of the third day came with a nice autumn chill. I got up around 0630 and one of the other students (Bearded One) had the fire already going. It was nice to see someone else getting it going even though I don't mind at all. Already some of the other students had figured out that the firewood doesn't just appear there like magic and had started gathering themselves. Breakfast on this last full day was trail mix and coffee.
The first lesson of the day dealt with edible and medicinal plants. We learned about some of the different kinds and how to prepare them, then walked around the meadows and found a few varieties. There are a lot of useful plants out there.
The next lesson was tracking and we learned about the many different ways animals leave evidence of their presence around. We took a hike through the grounds and found various tracks of the local game.
Traps was next and after seeing some demonstrations from Dave and Critr, we each set out to make three of our own. I borrowed some bank line and before long had three traps done. The instructors came and evaluated each, giving tips and tricks to make them successful.
I had dug out my GPS on this day and marked a couple way points as we walked around for later use when I downloaded the info to my computer. It was cool looking at a topo map of the land and seeing where the different caves and camp are.
I went to the car again to see if I could send a text to Lisa and saw lots of Touchdown texts waiting for me. It looked like the Steelers were kicking ass and later I found out, they were.
The last lesson of this day was going to be processing meat. Critr had brought 3 domestic rabbits and groups dispatched and dressed the meat for dinner. For our group, I suggested we stew the rabbit in a pot I had and it came out really good. We spit a couple pieces too and everyone enjoyed fresh cooked rabbit and lots of good fellowship. I used the juice from the stew and made some noodles later. It was very tasty.
As bedtime approached I had improved my shelter once more by bringing my sleeping bag for the last night. I slept pretty good this night and around midnight, it started raining again. It was a slow steady rain and you could tell it was going to stick around for a while. Around 0630 I looked out of my shelter and saw the fire was already going. This time Quiet Karl had got the fire going and it was already to go.
We all started to break camp and the last lessons of the class were how to make a rabbit stick and gig spear. We all took some pictures and a couple of us bought Dave's book and that was it.
I headed back to Pittsburgh in the rain, looking forward to a hot shower and some fresh clothes.
All in all it was a good class. There were a few things I wish were a little different, but it was a basics class and the price was very reasonable. I had a good time and learned a lot of good information.
I continue to practice what I learned and within a week I was able to get my own fire going using the bow drill at home. I keep building my different kits and even have a close by Personal Space (PS) that is a fun place to hang out and make a fire and practice Bushcraft skills.
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