bp survival hunt

[paulvallandigham]

If you are going where there are spruce trees, the needles of spruce trees make an excellent, orange flavored tea, full of Vitamin C. You can leave the tea bags home. I do think its a mistake NOT to take carbohydrates, like bread, or the makings. If you are not used to a NO-Carb diet, you will get the trots about the third day, and after a couple of days of constant diarrhea, you won't be physically able to do much of anything else. Always carry a surival kit that has candy bars, chocolate, sweet treats, whatever does it for you. The quick rush you will get from the sugar, and the stabilizing nature of those carbohydrates on your small intestines can make a difference between having a good trip or barely surviving.
I took rice to cook in camp, because It expands when boiled, provided needed carbohydrates, and pound for pound is better for you than processed flour. Potatoes- particularly those freeze dried potato bits make for a light carry, but lots of hot carbs with a little boiled water. Much more efficient, than lugging all the water than is in canned foods. PROVIDED OF COURSE, THAT YOU HAVE A USUABLE SOURCE OF WATER WHERE YOU ARE GOING. If you are camping in a desert, by all means, your first concern is to take enough water! You can go 3-4 weeks without food, but you will die of thirst within 3 days, or be so disabled that you will wish you were dead.

 

[tg]

Don't forget the lead!

 

[Runner]

Salt, tea, dry trailmix, water purification, and a GPS enabled cell phone if you have one. A blanket, a small ground sheet, and a change of skin level clothing rolled inside a piece of tarp. We carried whistles for years. They work very well. A well stocked shooting bag on one side and a bag on the other to carry your other gear like cooking and fire starting materials. A piece of fishing line and a couple of hooks. Twine/light disposable natural rope and a short piece of stronger cord. The ties on my tarp are leather hangmans knots around wooden balls to hold to the tarp. They can be moved to any configuration needed and there are a couple of extras. If you carry a knife heavy enough to replace a hawk, that works. A hawk and a smaller knife are better IMHO. The parafin over sawdust fire starters work great as do the little votive candles. It is hard to get out under about 25 pounds, but it can be done. Sunflower kernals make great additions to a lot of dishes as do the dried soybeans or peas.
Area specific details. The national forest is broken up and includes private property inside it's borders. For my use, a good forestry map and a GPS is needed to make sure I stay off private ground and to shut up those that claim the public ground is private.

 

[jbg]

I live in the Catskill Park. Some gorgeous country and deep woods. Where are you going?

 

[armymedic.2]

we are going in kerhonkson by an old cabin i know. probably hike one mile in and set up by a nice stream. plan to trap a little, they got muskrats in there? mink?
that would be an added bonus.
paul, i can't make tea out of the limbs because you can not cut anything living in forests in ny. only dead wood is acceptable. good idea though. taste good?
where i am going it is all public, but private lands are a concern. i have a handheld gps for calling in my long/lat to a buddy when we get there in case i need help.

 

[jbg]

I know the area. Pretty country. Enjoy.

 

[huntertrapper]

dot know whether anyone said this but a good knife or hatchet or both is best. i carry mine on my belt usually

 

[paulvallandigham]

My God, don't break any rules, now! I am talking about a few needles from a spruce tree, not the whole tree!If you are going to camp under some forest rangers nose, it kind of defeats the purpose of getting off alone, no? A few needles here, a few here, is not going to denude any branch or tree, and any guy who would write you up with a ticket is going to amuse a judge, and jury a whole bunch where I come from. I want to see those jury instructions the prosecutor will have to draft. I want to meet the prosecutor who would waste his time drafting those instructions and going through a jury trial.

The tea has an orange flavor and if you use green needles, it often tastes sweet. The brown ones make a much stronger tea, and are bitter. To each his own. its rich in Vitamin C- better than many sources we rely on every day. Indians used the tea to avoid getting scurvy during the winter, when fruit was non-existent, and their diet often consisted only of meat. The disease was rampant among white trappers who did not adopt Indian ways, nor spend the winters in Indian camps.

 

[armymedic.2]

interesting....sooo...if i misidentify, and say put cedar needles is, or any other pine like tree, will i get sick? does it have to be just the one?
got a kabar on my belt and a ontario heavy machete. blades i got :}

 

[armymedic.2]

oh, ok, i will bring flour for carbs. and to bread my critters. and im already bringing salt, thats all i need for johnny cakes right? cept for water of course.

 

[boar]

Things I would have not counting things for firearms.My coffee-parched corn-Old Fashion Rolled Oats. You can eat them any time.Fiber,carbs,protein. Have fun. Dilly

 

[Kentuckywindage]

How bout a few lbs of lead and your mold/ ladle? Give you something fun to do when you're at camp taking a break or in the evening when not much is happening.

 

[Geraldo]

I've been backpacking in the winter, and based on that I would not go without food. You burn a lot of calories in cold weather, more than you can probably replace with lean squirrel meat. I'd also bag the handguns. I'm not sure who you expect to have to protect yourself from, but for the weight you can carry something you'll need for sure (firestarter, compass, good first aid kit, dry socks, water purification, food, etc). Definately leave word of exactly where you will be going and when you will check in.

YMMV

 

[J.D.]

interesting....sooo...if i misidentify, and say put cedar needles is, or any other pine like tree, will i get sick? does it have to be just the one?
got a kabar on my belt and a ontario heavy machete. blades i got :}

Most pines work well for tea, but to my knowledge, cedar is not a good choice. There are a couple of pine species that are not recommended for use as tea, but I can't remember which ones. I don't think they are in your area though.

As a word of caution. DO NOT boil the needles in water. Boil the water, remove from the heat and steep a handful of chopped or bruised needles in hot water.

Boiling the the needles will release the oils in the plant. If, by chance, you see droplets of oil floating on the surface of your cup o' tea, just spoon 'em out and you will be ok.

DO NOT drink the oils. They will give you the runs, and run you will. Don't ask.

Pine oil is a great cleanser, BTW, it's the primary ingredient in PineSol. And again, the oils will clean out your digestive tract more efficiently than they will clean your hands or clothing.

Pine tea is a great nutrient containing more vitamin C than the comparable serving of oranges. It tastes pretty good too.

As another word of advice, take some back up food as mentioned in previous posts. Three friends and I once shared two squirrels, a very small handfull of dried peas, and another very small handfull of barley for a days meal. That was the largest meal we shared in three days...and that was the only meal we had that day.

Have fun,
J.D.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't know about dear for tea. Cedar is full of oils, and I don't think it would make a good tea. Maybe an emetic( causing vomiting), but not a tea.

I agree with the recommendation to NOT boil the spruce needles in the water. Heat the water up, remove it from the heat, and then steep the needles. Skim any oils off the top, and discard them. Remove the needles when the tea is the color you like. The tea has an orange flavor, and may taste sweet. The darker the tea is made, the less sweet it seems to taste, and it takes on that dusky flavor or oriental teas.

If you don't know how to identify a Spruce Tree from a long needled pine, I suggest you do some homework. And you should be able to tell a cedar tree from any pine or spruce, if by nothing else than its long stringy bark. PInes have that tight, slick bark surface, while spruces develop the allegator back texture to their barks.

 

[roundball]

You guys might want to consider making a "day/night/day" trip first to shake out the surprises, then reorganize accordingly for a 5 day

 

[lakota]

Be safe on your trip and be safe on your tour in Iraq.

 

[armymedic.2]

good info. not to sound concieted, but both of us are accomplished hunters, trappers, and fisherman. we have hunted in spike camps in wyoming, canada, scotland, florida, and a few others. i am sure we will do fine as far as SURVIVING. how comfortable we can make it with what the woods has to offer is the point of the trip (besides getting father son time before my tour). we are well conditioned to the outdoors because we are also farmers. im not saying it won't be hard. im not saying i know exacctly what im doing. i don't. i do know though, that we can make it on game with no issue that would be of health concern. worst case we kill two squerrils while we are there, and are hungry, but more than okay for a few days. im sure that frontiers men did not always do a nights bivouac as a test run, and neither will we. we have done it before, just not so long, and not in this locale. i think it will be a hoot! looking at next week, the lows will only be in the teens, which is not too bad for us this time of year.
i like the idea of casting balls out there, since im down to about 20 right now, but i dunno if i wanna carry the weight as oppossed to casting them before i leave. i did think about it though....still am actually. it is a booger to cast a good ball in this cold though. the molds are never hot enough for long enough if the wind is blowing

 

[armymedic.2]

ps, i never go anywhere without a sidearm. better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. i understand the wieght issue, but having a smith on my side always is worth the weight. specially in bear country, which is where i will be

 

[PJC]

Be sure to bring a digital camera and something to keep a log of your daily activities.
I have often thought this would be an incredible adventure. For food I would bring Rice, Tea, Salt and Pepper. Maybe some Lard to help fry any game you take. I assume most of your cooking will be stew or soup.

Wish I was going with you.

Pat