I improve my fieldcraft and become a better outdoorsman by taking notes in the field. I call these my “lessons learned.”
This practice comes straight from my military background, and it’s one of the most effective tools I’ve ever used to advance my skills.
Document Your Lessons Learned in Real Time
Start by capturing observations during your trips, not after. I use wet notes or my phone, whatever works best for the situation. Over the years, I’ve filled volumes with these field notes.
The entries don’t need to be profound. Jot down any minor observation that crosses your mind. That note about how your boots performed during a river crossing or how your layering system handled afternoon temperatures might seem insignificant at the time. But you never know what insight could prove valuable on a future trip.
Whether you’re on a hunt, a scouting mission, a training exercise, or a hike to a high lake for an overnight fishing trip, keep that notebook handy.
Run a Hot Wash After Every Trip
When you finish a trip, conduct what’s called a hot wash: a quick, informal debrief. You can do this alone, with your buddies over a beer, hiking back to the truck, or during the drive home.
Keep it simple. Cover three points:
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- What would you do differently?
A hot wash might sound like this: “My nutrition plan worked well. My foot care needs improvement. I got a hot spot on my right heel. And next time, if we work out our no-comms plan beforehand, we’ll be safer and run smoother.”
That’s it. Run a hot wash at the end of every trip, and you’ll start building a record of patterns you’d otherwise forget.
Compile a Formal Debrief Each Season
At the end of every hunting season or calendar year, sit down with all the notes you’ve collected from your trips and compile them into a more formal debrief.
Unlike a hot wash, the formal debrief goes deeper. Bring your partners together and dissect how you performed across multiple outings. Ask yourself:
- How was my navigation? My stalking?
- Did I miss shots I should have made?
- Did any equipment fail me, like a rangefinder battery dying at the wrong moment?
- How did my nutrition and hydration hold up over multi-day efforts?
- Was my physical fitness adequate for the terrain I covered?
- What gear or clothing needs replacing before next season?
Write it all down. Be honest about your weaknesses. This formal documentation creates a clear picture of where you stand and where you need to improve.
Build a Training Plan for the Off-Season
Here’s where most outdoorsmen fall short: They take notes, maybe even run a hot wash, but they never act on what they’ve learned. That debrief becomes wasted effort if you don’t commit to an improvement plan.
I don’t believe in an “off-season.” There’s always more to learn. But during non-hunting months, often winter and spring, you have time to address the gaps your debrief revealed.
Your improvement plan might include:
- A list of gear to replace and new equipment to acquire
- Physical fitness goals with specific benchmarks
- Medical training courses for you and your partners
- Scheduled practice sessions for weak skills
If you struggled to build a fire during an Alaska caribou hunt, winter and spring are the perfect time to work on that skill. If you’re not confident in your ability to construct an improvised shelter, spend a few nights in the backcountry building survival shelters before fall arrives.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
This cycle of field notes, hot wash, formal debrief, and training plan is where you’ll see the biggest leaps in your fieldcraft. The best teams I’ve ever been on or observed use this exact process to improve and advance their capabilities.
Most outdoorsmen show up each season hoping they’ve gotten better. Hope isn’t a strategy. The hunter or hiker who documents lessons in real time, debriefs honestly, and trains deliberately during the off-months doesn’t rely on hope. They show up knowing they’ve improved.
Start simple. Grab a notebook or open a note on your phone during your next outing. Jot down what you notice, both good and bad. Run a quick hot wash on the drive home. At the end of the season, pull those notes together and build a plan.
Your future self will thank you when that plan pays off in the field.
by John Barklow, a Special Operations Survival Instructor and consultant who has spent decades teaching military personnel and civilians survival techniques in extreme environments.
