bp survival hunt

[Stumpkiller]

I have done short survival style hunts, where lunch is a squirrel or rabbit as the game bag allows. Having a bit of dried rice and a billy can (or corn boiler) and a bullion cube or some diced jerkey can make a world of difference if the game ain't cooperatin.

Twice as many blankets as you think, or a good modern sleeping bag (or both). A spare pair of warm socks.

Locally I have lots of wild rose bushes (not too far from the Catskills). Gathering a handful of rose hips will provide a lot of vitamin C and can be eaten as is (if you're seed tolerant) or boiled in with tea. Have a really nice tangy flavor IF they are ripe.

And toilet paper. Even better are the little "baby wipes" as you can clean all the squirrel blood and day's grime off if water isn't plentiful.

Also, make sure you have a ball-puller between you. One of those things you never need if you have on hand, but when the gremlins find out you didn't bring one . . .

My wife and I did a day hike off Overlook Mountain this fall and hit the leaves just right. Beautiful country!

PS - Don't confuse hemlock needles for spruce. That's how they killed poor 'ol Socrates. ;-) (Hemlock have two lighter stripes on the underside)

 

[armymedic.2]

yeah pretty country. i dunno a whole lot about plants, so i will probably stick to meat and carbs. pine, spruce, hemlock...they all look alike to me. scary stuff if ya don't know what your doind. i do know, if you can catch it or kill it, and cook it, you can eat it :}

 

[Runner]

Sitting against a leaning tree all afternoon watching it rain is a sure fire way to slow down to woods time!

 

[armymedic.2]

amen brother/ can't wait to be "bored" in the woods. i expect a lot of my time will be spent trying to secure meals, but when all you can do at night is build the fire and maybe cast a ball or two, what could be better?

 

[Black Hand]

PS - Don't confuse hemlock needles for spruce. That's how they killed poor 'ol Socrates.(Hemlock have two lighter stripes on the underside)

Hemlock (the tree Tsuga species) is not the toxic plant (hemlock, Conium or Cicuta species) that killed Socrates. They are entirely different plants......

 

[Runner]

91B10 91F20 197th Support MASH.

 

[Mr Hawken]

when i was guiding we were in wyoming and a father/son team did the same thing.it was summer and they hiked in with fishing rods and what was on their backs which i think was only a sleeping bag no tent.these guys never had anything else no medi kit no food nothing.they just about starved as they couldn't catch many fish to eat.luckly the weather was good.another time i seen were the guide dropped the hunters off at their stands hunting bear.he went down the river to check baits when the boat motor crapped out. these hunters spent all night outdoors in wet cold weather before we found everyone the next day they just about froze. my point dont lose touch of reality.have some food for back-up know your country and be prepared and you will have good time

 

[gmww]

You guys probably know this but it's worth mentioning. When you dial 911 with the current cell phones, it puts out your location via Longitude and Latitude which is displayed in the 911 center. Many of us carry the cell phone out on the Sound (ocean) around here for that extra safety margin. :thumbsup:

 

[Geraldo]

my point dont lose touch of reality.have some food for back-up know your country and be prepared and you will have good time

That's my point as well. You don't have to eat it unless it's whatever you classify as an emergency. I've had planned trips change drastically because of sudden weather changes. You sign up for five days, end up stuck for eight.

Be smart and have fun.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Im going to have to plan a survival trip with my two nephews next summer. This seems like it would be a lot of fun. :thumbsup:

 

[rabjr]

And if you don't take a camera at least take a long a journal and scratch the days events into it at the end of the day next to the fire. Might not mean much right now but 20 years from now I'm sure you'll enjoy reliving it all. :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

Been there, done that on the survival rations. Never more than a week, but often enough to experiment and know what makes the most difference.

Top of the list is salt. You're going to miss it taste-wise and due to sweating from all the new activity. You'll actually start cramping up if you aren't getting enough.

Next on the list is fat. You'll be scraping the guts of your rabbits and squirrels to get it by the time the week's out. Made a two week sheep hunt one time with nothing but freeze dry food, and darned near did ourselves in. Got cold all the time even on sunny days and had no energy. Now we pack butter along with our freeze dry- a quarter pound per person per day as a standard ration.

If you're real active, your vitamins and minerals are going to get all scrawed up on a straight meat diet. Pack some multi-vitamins in your kit, not only for this trip but in any survival pack. Notice that the old timers spent all of spring and summer tracking down roots, plants and nuts to set aside for winter.

Also note that somewhere in the L&C accounts, there was reference to each man's daily ration of meat. Those guys were pulling harder than you will be, but if I recall correctly they figured on 8-10 pounds of meat per man per day, and they considered the animals "foul" if they started skinning and discovered they weren't fat. Those guys put a high value on fat. 8-10 pounds of meat adds up to a whole bunch of rabbits and squirrels.

 

[jbg]

When do you plan on going? The bears are laid up for the winter now. Not that insurance, ala S&W, is ever a bad thing. If it were warm out I'd be more worried about the 2 legged animals anyway.

 

[DBox]

Sounds great! Be sure to give us a heads up when you get back.

 

[roundball]

I think they should take a Blackberry with a GPS link and update us daily !!
:thumbsup:

 

[armymedic.2]

looks like we will be leaving out sat. maybe a bit of rain but not too cold. i will take many pics and post when we get back :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

Good luck man...remember priorities:

Priority 1 is to get back;
Priority 2 is get back with all your parts still working;

:thumbsup:

 

[Walks Alone]

This outing sounds like a great experience, especially with your Dad along. But it won't start out as a true survival situation, nor correctly reenact one.

Comments suggest some folks have never participated in an approved survival training course (3 here) or ever been in a real survival situation (couple of serious ones, a few of what turned out to be minor ones). If you venture into the wilds, especially as much as I used to, sooner or later it could/will happen. So doing a course and putting together a kit is time and effort well spent that just may save your life.

In a real survival situation...

The immediate priority is the best shelter you can come up with. And it should be located in a place that takes into account for the heat loss mechanism's (conduction, convection, radiation, respiration and perspiration). I add to that a more than adequate supply of firewood as well if available, even on the desert environs where I live now where it can be freezing at night even during hot summers. Both are things you want to get accomplished ASAP and while you still have all of your faculties and strength.

Next priority should be a continual supply of drinkable water (within 2-3 days) as close as possible to your shelter. Water is hard to come by on the desert, but alternatives are there if you know how to find/use them.

Food, while it elivates the spirt and to some extent the body is one of the last priorities. A fit person can go weeks without food as long as they have protection from the elements and plenty of water. By far more people are mamed or killed by exposure (hypothermia/dehydration) than die from a lack of food when stranded in the wilds. BTW, valuable heat resources in your body are used up when digesting food too.

Regardless, enjoy your outing with your Dad, be careful and stay safe.

 

[armymedic.2]

thanks WA, the point isn't really to "reenact a stranded situation. it is to go out and live off the land with limited provisions, just like our forefathers did way back when. we will bring powder, and a pot, some cofee, flour, things that a traveler would have with them. really the only challenge will be securing meat, and staying warm and dry. also purifying our water on a continual basis. not trying to be like survivor man, just do what humans were meant to do, hunt and live from it's proceeds :thumbsup:

 

[armymedic.2]

have some faith RB, "i'll see you after" :grin: