>>2728862
/out/ related? Made it on a wildland fire crew for a little while. I know it's not hard to get signed on since they take anyone that's not outright mentally retarded or paraplegic and can pass a WCT, but I pulled myself out of 10+ years of drug and alcohol addiction to get there. Moving across the country on my own was no small feat, either. I eventually got filtered out for a different medical condition I developed mid-season and can't do it anymore. I miss it every day, even if it paid like utter horseshit.

>>2728880
WCT?

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>>2728862
>/out/ related
Made and lived soley out of an altoids tin survival kit for an entire week in the Appalachian boonies. Snared a couple squirrels, a raccoon, and fished for my food. I'd grown up in the sticks, but I definitely wasn't a survivalist and it was insanely challenging.

A close tie was managing a 2 day caving trip through Friars Hole in WV with pretty much no caving experience. I got wrapped up in an expedition with a professional survey group that was going super deep while I was at a VAR event and sort of negated to tell them I was inexperienced. I managed to keep up with the front of their group and they were impressed with me. Was underground for 25 hours, and they just about shit themselves at the end of the trip when I told them that was like my second time underground, kek.

>non /out/ related
Own and operate my own little machine shop @ 26y/o and own my house. Happiest day in my life was paying off my land. Thanks for reading my blog.

>>2728973
Work capacity test
Bottom line basic bitch physical fitness test all wildland fire guys have to do annually. 3 mile trek in 45min or less with 45lbs of gear
Some more specialized crews have their own set of standards they require personnel to meet, just depends on where you are and who you sign on with

>>2728986
How'd you get started running your own shop? I always played around with the idea of starting my own small business hoping it would give me some more flexibility to do /out/ stuff, being my own boss and all.

>>2728862
Climbing all 282 of these mountains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munro

>>2728993
I worked for another shop for a while and learned under an old master machinist. Took every opportunity I could to talk with customers and get my name out there. When another local machine shop closed down due to the dude dying, I spent every last penny I had buying up his tools and rented shop space. Had enough preliminary customers from connections at the first shop to keep me afloat until I started making a name for myself and could bring new people in.
My situation was definitely a right place at the right time kind of thing, but I've been busting my ass to make it happen. Owning the place is so much more work and a hell of a lot more stressful than just working for someone else, but the satisfaction of being your own boss is like nothing else. When work slows down in the winter, I spend nearly all of my time /out/, it's awesome.

>>2728987
>3 mile trek in 45min or less with 45lbs of gear
I fail lol
at least there's no drug test

Shooting a nice 14blpt stag that took a lot of hunts to get to him. But really I've done nothing impressive /out/, my best achievement is just getting it done again and again and never getting bored, I'm always trying to get deer in new places and I succeed at that every now and then.

>>2729012
Its really not as hard as it sounds, you could prepare for it in a few months at most
And there is a drug test

>>2729007
Glad to hear you found your niche, that sounds like a good life to lead. Was thinking about picking up a trade or something trade-adjacent after I left wildland fire like I mentioned here >>2728880
and it's always nice to hear success stories.

>>2729275
>And there is a drug test
but WHY
god shit is retarded
fuck them i hope the forest burns down

>>2728997
how long did that take?

>>2729143
So your biggest achievement is killing stuff? Anyone can do that.

>>2729372
I dont want a crackhead on the line putting me and everyone else at risk

>>2728862

>saved up for my own rifle
>learned to shoot on my own
>learned to stalk on my own
>killed my first buck and turkey this year


Trying for grouse next season

>>2728862
Two white sons who love going /out/.

>>2728986
I kneel.

>>2729363
Thanks mate, I appreciate it. If you're going into the trades, just do your research; I know some trades are beginning to get oversaturated now. Also congrats on kicking the drugs, mate. I'd always wanted to do the ranger thing, but couldn't cope with the pay. Wildland fire sounds fun as fuck.

>>2729421
Most people on 4chan wouldn't even know how to load a gun. Even on /k/.

>>2729394
about 7 years? from #1 to the end
I was working/studying so mostly doing it on weekends and spending all my annual leave from work on hiking trips to do them but I did ape into it pretty hard.
Covid lockdowns kept me away from them for a while. As did a job which kept me very isolated for a year put a hold on my progress

>>2728862
/out/ related, when I shot my first squirrel with a longbow. It's not so much the shooting the squirrel part, but all the work, money and practice that goes into getting to a point where you can do something like that. Worth it though.

Some of my happiest moments in (adult) life have been on my /out/ trips with my girlfriend. Specifically when we went to Algonquin park for a few nights, when she caught a musky on the French River after 6 hours of paddling against 40-50km/h winds, and our time exploring crown land around our family cottage. We've found some lakes that hardly anyone knows about where we can catch smallmouths on almost every catch. We've made some damn good campfire meals out of those.

>>2729443
This is the next step for me. Hunting grouse with a longbow just doesn't work in my region. They're too spooky and fly off before you're in range.

>>2729421
>I have never been hunting before
Nice to know.

>>2728986
Fucking based.

>>2728862
(Assuming /out/)

College summer jobs working as wilderness guide for groups of teens. Great community/friendships with coworkers, summer romances with coworkers, got to be silly and fun with the kids and play the games we stop playing as adults. Getting paid (meagerly) to whitewater raft, paddle, cave, hike, etc.

Maximum effort sport climbing and scary trad climbing.

Beautiful moments with wildlife encounters and stunning landscapes while backpacking.

>>2729421
Yeah I'm a simple man, what's my life got anything to do with your day?

I proposed to my gf at the end of a cool hike we did in Glacier National Park. She dumped me almost 1 year later though.