Article: 24 hours with only a knife and survival kit

M

mountainbiker

Joined
May 19, 2006
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74
Hi all,

I ran across this article

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/travel/escapes/10survival.html?8td&emc=td

in the NY Times travel section.

It talks about the author going 24 hours into the woods with two other persons and an instructor and armed with only a knife and a small survival kit - no gps or any other modern stuff.

It's very interesting and at the end it gives the name of two places that run similar courses.

Also, it mentions the case of a person that died in a similar course over the summer (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4865727,00.html)

I hope you also find the NY Times article interesting.
 
I read the article. The instructor had the students dig wild onions out of the ground with their knives.

That lost my interest right there.
 
I know, not the best way to keep the knife in good shape, but if the ground is too hard and it's a question of possible life and death?
 
I've used knives to dig, but the best course of action, at least in my experience, is to whittle a digging stick, or two. Saving the knife for the more important jobs.
 
Yeah, I guess the instructor of the course didn't think this was worth the time, but considering they built shelter and had to cut a few branches, this would have been a good idea considering the knives were the only tools they were carrying. Had they broken the knives while digging, then they would have been in a much more difficult situation.
 
eh, ya gotta do what ya gotta do... I'd prefer to go with the stick, or you can cut a plastic bottle off at an angle and use it as a scoop...

I'm really interested in a survival class thing that would last about a week... but they seem so expensive... so I just practice things I've read about when I go camping...
 
mountainbiker said:
I know, not the best way to keep the knife in good shape, but if the ground is too hard and it's a question of possible life and death?
Click to expand...

Many rules go out the door when it becomes a matter of life and death. OTOH, the situation those students were in was not a matter of life or death. Plus, the instructor missed an opportunity to teach the students about digging sticks, and to take care of your tools (the knives, in this case).

It would have been easy enough for the instructor to tell the students they COULD dig the onions with their knives, but that's not what we're going to do (and here's why...) and now let me introduce you to the concept of a digging stick.

But no. And next thing you know, you've got a major metropolitan newspaper suggesting to millions that digging in the ground with your one and only knife is a good idea.

All in all, I give that instructor a D- just on that account alone.
 
longbow50 said:
I've used knives to dig, but the best course of action, at least in my experience, is to whittle a digging stick, or two. Saving the knife for the more important jobs.
Click to expand...

One of the sacred rules to survival "take care of the tools that take care of you". Protecting your knife would be up there with protecting your arms and legs. I agree with Longbow. You can fashion many different tools(digging, wedges for splitting, batons, etc) for the Jobs that might damage your knife, axe, or whatever you have.
 
It might be worth considering that most people don't view knives (or any other tools for that matter) with the same reverence we do.
 
x39 said:
It might be worth considering that most people don't view knives (or any other tools for that matter) with the same reverence we do.
Click to expand...

Yup, you're right. I cringe everytime the wife picks up a kitchen knife. She just loves to abuse them cuz they're so sharp they'll cut anything. Plates, cutting boards, counter tops and occassionally some veggies.:D
 
mountainbiker said:
Hi all,
It talks about the author going 24 hours into the woods with two other persons and an instructor and armed with only a knife and a small survival kit - no gps or any other modern stuff.
Click to expand...
For 24h, nothing would actually be enough most of the time: you can go through it without eating and even drinking. You might need shelter if cold weather, but good clothing could replace it.

By the way that's why M.Kochansky consider the most important piece of survival kit is your clothes rather than your knife or even lighter.
 
It might be worth considering that most people don't view knives (or any other tools for that matter) with the same reverence we do.
Click to expand...
True dat. The reason for others' lack of respect, though, is largely due to 2 obvious culprits - our throw-away society and out urban-dwelling lifestyle. It seems the average Joe or Jane has little connection to life outside of a city, where all physical needs can be met with the swipe of a card. This life has taught them that anything and everything is readily replaceable and, therefore, inherently worthless.

The article itself had elements of sensationalism :barf: , such as, "with a deep sigh, he stepped into the cougar-infested wilderness with nothing more than a sharp knife."
Oh, brother! How "cougar-infested" can a wilderness be?!?! Gimme a break. Unless y'all in Arizona have a few million more cougars than we in New Mexico do :p I can't imagine the instructor, if he's reasonable, giving too much attention to the finer points of hand-to-paw combat with cougars, either.

On the whole, the article was decent, even with its city-boy views of the wilderness :cool:
 
Trout Tamer said:
The article itself had elements of sensationalism :barf: , such as, "with a deep sigh, he stepped into the cougar-infested wilderness with nothing more than a sharp knife."
Click to expand...

Cougar infested? hahahhaaaa!

it should read:
"with a sigh, he stepped into the cougar-infested wilderness with nothing more than a 30.06 rifle and his 1911." ;)

Cougar infested sounds like they need an exterminator.
If you poke their nest they will swarm! :D

Much like lawyers, there are just too many journalists, who, with each passing year employ more sensationalistic writing style and embellishment, in order to get their article published and read.

I'd do the digging with a piece of hardwood, sharpened with my knife, and hardened over a fire. :thumbup:
 
Lest anyone doubt it, Trout Tamer is correct. Your chance of running into a cougar down here are practically nil. I DO get out into the desert and mountains (hunting, camping, fishing) down here and have only seen 1 cougar in the wilderness after living here for 10 years. Most people who live here all their lives never see one, at least that's what I gather from talking to people. Of course, sitting on the couch feeding your face with potato chips while watching Oprah is no way to find a mountain lion.
 
"The group, ravenous with hunger, began the laborious process of shelling acorns, which were dropped into a rusty can we had found. Then we boiled up an acorn-and-wild-onion broth and devoured it ravenously. But we were all still hungry. Despite laboring for much of the day collecting onions and acorns we still couldn’t fill our bellies."

No mention of needing to leech the acorns of tannins - which is strange, but maybe they were particularly sweet acorns with low tannin content. In general, boiling up a bunch acorns is going to result in some really bitter chow.
 
akennedy73 said:
"The group, ravenous with hunger, began the laborious process of shelling acorns, which were dropped into a rusty can we had found. Then we boiled up an acorn-and-wild-onion broth and devoured it ravenously. But we were all still hungry. Despite laboring for much of the day collecting onions and acorns we still couldn’t fill our bellies."

No mention of needing to leech the acorns of tannins - which is strange, but maybe they were particularly sweet acorns with low tannin content. In general, boiling up a bunch acorns is going to result in some really bitter chow.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing when I read it. Also, Ravenous don't hit for at least 72 hours.:D Another feeble attempt to sell the story. I guess they don't have deadfalls and rotten logs in those woods. Grubs are an excellent source of nutrients and honey is #1 on my list for energy food.
 
SkunkWerX said:
Cougar infested? hahahhaaaa!

it should read:
"with a sigh, he stepped into the cougar-infested wilderness with nothing more than a 30.06 rifle and his 1911." ;)

Cougar infested sounds like they need an exterminator.
If you poke their nest they will swarm! :D

Much like lawyers, there are just too many journalists, who, with each passing year employ more sensationalistic writing style and embellishment, in order to get their article published and read.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing many, if not all, of you are not city dwellers. Words cannot describe the fear civilian authorities put forward when it comes around to cougars (well, mountain lions around here).

Everytime I go to one of the open space preserves in the Santa Clara or Santa Cruz counties, I see these huge, giant signs with big, bold letters telling me that Mountain Lions live here!!!!!!

I'm then told to never hike alone! Keep your children near you! There are predators in them thar hills!!!!!

Uh-huh.

The truth of it is, maybe once every year or two someone has a run-in with a mountain lion. Usually it's because one wanders out of the hills and gets caught up in traffic. Every once in a while it's because someone is running all alone in the hills and the mountain lion decides to do what cats do: chase the thing that's running away. But for the most part, no one is ever going to run into a mountain lion.

Makes me wonder why they want to instill so much fear, uncertainty and doubt into the minds of people who would actually dare to visit the open spaces ....
 
In the US and Canada combined, (1991 thru 2003) there were an average of 5 Mountain Lion/Cougar attacks on humans. So that is basically in all of North America. 5 per year. Deaths from Cougar attacks were less than 1 per year, in ALL of North America.

By comparison:

-Lightening kills an average of 93 people in the US alone, per year.
-Bee stings kill 90 to 100 people in the US, per year.
-During 1979-2002, an average of 689 per year (range: 417-1,021), were attributed to exposure to excessive natural cold (Hypothermia).

While I respect everything in the wild world, it appears that even walking into "Cougar Infested areas" doesn't yield the amount of attacks that the media would have you believe.
Statistics show that it is a "freak" occurence.

As noted above, some folks live in areas with known wild-cats, and can go for many years without ever seeing one.
 
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