Ever really had to survive?

3

3wolves

Joined
Dec 28, 2007
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I was wondering how many forumites really got lost in the wilderness. If you have, how did you survive? Any tips that actually work (are not just theoretical) would be great for the rest of us.
 
well once in scouts i got lost on a small stream we were all playing on, every one left for lunch as i traveled up the stream and through the woods to another stream then i freaked
i had a fire starter, a whistle, a compass my pocket knife, first aid and the clothes on my back. i whistled for a while (every 10 minutes thats what i heard so i did that) i got tired and as night started to come i was to afraid to leave so i made a fire and slept by it for the night. the next day my troop found me and i was ok. my best tip is the boyscout motto: be prepared. even if its a short hike in familiar area bring the things you need to survive
 
When I have time I'll post about how my anchor slipped and I slid at 40 mph down the face of a glacier, somehow missing the crevasses, smashed onto the rocks below, cracked a bone in my hip, got stranded because of it at high elevation above the treeline with a possible blizzard approaching, with fresh grizzly bear scat, tracks and mountain goat skeletons all around, had to build a makeshift camp at the edge of a cliff in 70mph gusting winds, and pray I'd make it through the night and get back out...
 
every time I go to the mall at X-mas......had a few really close calls.
 
1st time: When I was younger my brother and I ran out of gas on a beach on the other side of the lake of where we were camping. My dad didn't think anything of it because I liked to go night fishing sometimes for german browns, and sometimes didn't come back until after he went to bed. My brother was freaking out at first but, I got him to help me start a fire and set up a crude lean-to shelter and he calmed down once he realized we would just be "camping" in a different location for the night. It was early spring, so it was freezing cold, so we were bundled up pretty well when we were fishing so we just slept in our clothes next to the fire. Got some gas from an early morning fisherman the next morning.
P.S. This was very early spring(still a few snow patches) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Dad was a bit surprised, and consequently chewed our azzez out, when we came strolling into camp instead of out of our tent the next morning.

2nd time: Stayed a little late when out hunting back in Ohio, and couldn't follow the poorly marked(white spray painted) trees which were spaced sparingly. Couldn't find the next tree after a while and it was getting pretty dark, so I decided to stop before I lost the trail too much, and stay the night. I called my mom so she wouldn't be worried and send a search party or something. Started a fire in front of the base of an overturned tree and curled up for the night, got pretty freaking cold so not much sleep. Found my way out in the morning.

At the times, I didn't think of it as survival, and didn't really think about preparing for survival. Both times, just about all I had was a Bic(don't smoke, just always loved fire, lol) and a knife(vic classic for 1st one, and a buck with zipper back for 2nd time) Now though, I think about it a lot more, especially that I have a wife to consider, and realize that life could have been a lot more comfortable and easier had I had some other items, and that I would have been in some trouble if I didn't have backup and my lighter didn't work, or if I or my brother would have gotten injured.
 
Brian Jones said:
When I have time I'll post about how my anchor slipped and I slid at 40 mph down the face of a glacier, somehow missing the crevasses, smashed onto the rocks below, cracked a bone in my hip, got stranded because of it at high elevation above the treeline with a possible blizzard approaching, with fresh grizzly bear scat, tracks and mountain goat skeletons all around, had to build a makeshift camp at the edge of a cliff in 70mph gusting winds, and pray I'd make it through the night and get back out...
Click to expand...

I smell a book ;)

Skam
 
Brian Jones said:
When I have time I'll post about how my anchor slipped and I slid at 40 mph down the face of a glacier, somehow missing the crevasses, smashed onto the rocks below, cracked a bone in my hip, got stranded because of it at high elevation above the treeline with a possible blizzard approaching, with fresh grizzly bear scat, tracks and mountain goat skeletons all around, had to build a makeshift camp at the edge of a cliff in 70mph gusting winds, and pray I'd make it through the night and get back out...
Click to expand...

Hey Brian! That sounds like fun!...
Sorry man, I feel your pain. It is sad how much we (climbers/alpinist) read through all the survival hints here (shelters, firecraft, traps, etc) and then realise that in our playground there is nothing to be cut, nothing to be burnt, nothing to be hunted and nothing to build a shelter with besides snow and ice. You won't be able to eat anything you didn't carry along, you won't be able to drink anything unless you carry it with you or have means to melt snow and ice, and so forth...

Sounds like you ended stranded there alone... didn't you have a partner? was he worse injuried than you/dead? Maybe he was ok but couldn't get to you.

If I have time I may tell you guys about the two times my partner and me have endured some sort of survival experience:
- Stranded with sub-cero temps in a crest snowing without sleeping geat, wind, snow and the rescue team couldn't fetch us with a hely because it was too bad of a weather (zero visibiliti).
- Digging up our first snow cave at the botom of a serac when a storm cought us climbing the "Mont Blanc de Tacul" in the Alps.

Mikel
 
Twice in civilian life and many times in the Military. I posted two stories on this site a while back. I have done quite a bit of wilderness living but I was not lost and could head back any time i wanted to.
 
I've been stuck out in the bush while working, mostly in Labrador where you'll find some of the most unpredictable weather in the world (as well as the Arctic). I guess it's hard to call it "surviving"; I was prepared for these situations and they were not at all uncomfortable.

I am usually dropped off by helicopter in the morning and then picked up again in the later afternoon. A two man survival pack is dropped somewhere close by usually near a topographic feature or the edge of a lake where it can be found easily if needed. I could be several hundred kilometres away from camp or the next closest person. The survival packs are designed to keep you comfortable for three days; tent, sleeping bags, food, stove, fire, etc. When the weather moves in it can do so quickly, so one eye is always looking up. I've been left out when the helicopter went U/S right after dropping me off in the morning (hydraulic pump belt broke), and also when the fog has come in. I've been lucky and not spent more than one night out. I know of a group that was doing a crew change from a remote camp in northern Labrador that had to land the helicopter in the bush and spend three very uncomfortable nights in the bush (fog/freezing rain). The had the mandatory survival gear but it wasn't enough for the 9-10 people aboard the 212.
 
Not really survival--but about mindset.

Years ago when I first started deer hunting here in NE. Out camping during Nov in the cold and snow---I was afraid to fall asleep because I was sure they would find me sometime later frozen in my sleeping bag--after getting over that first fear for a few days and all these years later---getting lost in the woods would be no big deal---because I know I can make it.
 
Mikel,

I had partners, and they had to endure the uncertainty as well. It was teamwork that got us out.

I hear you loud and clear on barren and cold conditions. I was more of a daredevil (fool) when I was younger.

Looking forward to hearing your story.
 
Survive? Well, I would say yes, though it was always because of my own stupidity, in a sense. I've fallen through ice a couple of times in my life, for example, and only because I decided to cross it when I shouldn't have or wasn't careful enough to notice it, and have had to drag myself out using a knife as an ice pick. It's no big deal when it happens close to home and a warm sauna, but it does suck when it happens five miles from home. I've never been so lost as to have no idea where the heck I am, so at worst it's been a couple of extra days of walking to get back to where I should be, and the only "danger" in that was screwing up again. The worst, though, has been getting shot at by numerous people. That I could have easily avoided by not bloody volunteering for everything in the military. :p I'll say that there's nothing quite like having the bad guys shoot a mortar at your sorry hind. Not fun.
 
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