Honestly that's not a soldier course, it's a rowlock course, but yeah it looks sloppy.

Wait, you spent fifty bucks on brushes?

I used to worry about losing map skills too, but that ranger changed my view. He showed me how to save the map area on my phone, then pointed out the real mountains around us to match the screen. It wasn't just about the tech, it was using it to learn the land. @brown.wesley has a point about knowing moss and sun, but maybe the phone can be a teacher instead of a crutch. You can let the battery help you see the patterns in the rocks and streams for next time. The old skills and the new tool don't have to fight each other.

It's funny how often the right tool just makes the work disappear. I spent years with a heavy old drill before getting a modern lightweight one, and suddenly hanging shelves wasn't a whole production. My buddy is a painter and said the same thing when he switched to a lighter extension pole. You don't realize how much energy the bad gear sucks up until you try the good stuff.

Wait you fed eight people for a whole week on just forty bucks? That's insane, I can barely feed myself on that. Chili and rice was a genius move, stretches so far. For another cheap crowd meal, try a big pasta bake with whatever veggies are on sale, maybe some lentils mixed in for protein. It's filling and you can make a ton for almost nothing.