Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

80 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

always included hunting as well as foraging. I per-

sonally prefer not to kill reptiles, birds, and mam-

mals—for food or any other reason. But I don’t be-

lieve it is necessarily wrong to do so, in a humane and

responsible fashion, any more than it is for a wolf.

What to eat is a choice each individual needs to make

for themselves.

Tracking: Whether you are tracking them for din-

ner, or just to take their picture, you should learn to

recognize the foot tracks, droppings, and other signs

of many different animals in your neighborhood.

When I come to a mud flat, a beach, or a snowfield

where there are various animal tracks, I take it as a

matter of pride to be able to identify many if not all of

them—noting details like whether they were running

or walking, how many, what they were doing.... Deer

not only leave hoofprints; they also make trails that

you can follow through the woods. Also look for other

signs along animal trails—such as trampled grass,

broken branches, scuffed bark on trees, bits of fur

clinging to thorns.... Below are the tracks of some

common animals in North America; see if you can

spot any of them on your next campout.

Fishing: The water and its food sources are our natu-

ral heritage. In lakes, streams, and tidepools at the

seashore, we can find abundant delicious food in the

form of clams, mussels, snails, crayfish, crabs, aba-

lone, conchs, and fish. Many of these are very easy to

catch and harvest—especially clams and mussels,

which just don’t run away! Crayfish and crabs are

best hunted at night with a flashlight, when they tend

to congregate in large numbers in shallow water.

Just grab ’em in the middle, behind the claws,

and toss ’em into a bag or bucket.

Fish may require a bit more work. If you’re

fishing for food rather than sport, forget all the

conventional rods and tackle. Little fish can

sometimes be herded into shallow water and

grabbed or netted. Bigger fish can be corralled

in a weir of rocks or wooden stakes and speared

with barbed gigs you can easily make from

forked tree branches—hold the spear quietly

just under the surface of the water, then jab

swiftly at a single fish. Spear fish at night,

when they will be attracted and immobi-

lized by a flashlight beam.

Fish that live in deeper water require

hooks, lines, and sinkers to get the bait

to the fish. A kit containing such sup-

plies takes up very little space in your gear and is

well worth bringing along on any camping trip. You

can tie the line to an improvised pole made from a

branch, or you can just dangle it from your hands.

Live bait is best—especially worms, grubs, caterpil-

lars, and large bugs (all of which can be found under

rocks and dead wood). For best results, first “chum”

the area by sprinkling tiny scraps of food; then fish it.

Once you’ve caught the first one, you can also use

fish guts for bait and chum.

It’s important to be able to clean your own fish,

as well as know how to cook them. I recommend find-

ing an experienced person to teach you all this. I think

there is nothing tastier than fresh fish cooked any

number of ways over a campfire!

Fish

gig

A Few Common North American Animal Tracks

Fox, Cat

Otter

Porcupine

Skunk Racoon Squirrel Rabbit

Coyote

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