Aside from a knife or edged tool, rope is the most important tool we can bring with us into the wilderness. But rope is useless without knots. Knots make rope work for us, and a knowledge of a few basic concepts will help us use rope efficiently. That will make our stay in the wild much more hospitable. In this multipart series I explain the basic concepts, terminology, types, form and function of the most important knots to know for wilderness camping and survival.