A few basic skills are really necessary before going out into the woods: recognizing wild foods, building fires, staying warm in an emergency, first aid and my favorite, tying knots. I don’t have an expansive repertoire of knots that I use, just a few basic ones. My favorites are the Slip knot, the Butterfly knot and the Reef knot, also known as the Granny knot.
One web site that show really good graphics for tying knots is: http://www.iwillknot.com/
It doesn’t have the Granny knot, but you can see it here: http://www.apparent-wind.com/knots/reef-knot/
Get two shoe laces (different colors helps) or two pieces of different colored rope and have some practice. It’s fun and useful to know.
I especially like the Butterfly knot because it can be tied anywhere in a rope and then another rope can be attached at that point and it won’t slip up or down. It will stay where it is tied.
Have some fun with this before your next hike.
Dennis, “K1”