OM, your "Nine Essential Ultralight Backpacking Skills. " link is a good article. I was interested to see how they framed that and I agree, every backpacker should have those skills. What's missing from the conversation there, and in general, is the how to go about learning it part. Those that stick out most to me are:

"Weather and Environmental Awareness"

"On-Trail and Off-Trail Navigation"

It's good advice to offer that one has these skills but there's not a lot of detailed info out there on good ways to safely acquire them. Googling "learn how to hike off trail" doesn't provide much. The number one link goes to a "Backpacker.com" article titled "Master Class: Off-Trail Hiking", but it doesn't even touch on what I'd consider to be some very key factors, one of which is something both you and I have pointed out more than once: "Turn around and look at where you've come from often so you know what to look for on the way back".

In general, I think most backpackers don't really even think much about how to acquire those skills or even try to. They avoid the first by convincing themselves they're prepared for whatever comes and the second by never venturing off trail.

In the Ozarks, if you're paying attention, you can feel a rain shower coming in the way the wind changes. The wind gets sucked towards the shower when it's heading your way and that will give you a five or ten minute heads up to prepare. The stronger the wind, the faster it's coming. If you listen, you'll hear it coming a minute or two before it gets to you.

If you can't travel off trail in the Ozarks with nothing but a topo map you really need to practice your skills. The terrain is so well defined here that you really shouldn't even need a map or compass to find your way back. Most anyplace with hills or mountains is like that.

The thing is, it's not easy to write about how to acquire these skills and making a video isn't much better. I think they're best learned in person while doing it with someone's who's competent to teach them, and then practicing what you've learned.