Ok, in response to BlueyM and RAS (and forgive my spelling mistakes, I just woke up)...
The biggest failure in planning was my lack of foresight about one thing: This entire state is more or less at sea level. It rained for 4 hours saturday afternoon, and everybody got wet. regardless of how well built the shelters were, the little tarps didn't cut it... I may have to consider switching to 1 person Bivy tents, or larger 5 person tents, with the weight dispursed in the group..
Morale went well.. I told everyone to bring comfort items if they felt like it, and almost everyone did. These ranged from a teddy bear or two amoung the women in the group, to one guy bringing a Gameboy, and 2 lb in rechragable batteries..
I personally brought 2 decks of marilyn monroe playing cards (big moral boosters) and little travel versions of chess and checkers. Sadly, I really didn't have an option to test morale, because even in the rain I was teaching them stuff... and besides, this was a planned outting.. we all knew how long we'd be there...
All in all the gear I chose to bring out there, with the exception of the shelters, worked perfectly. They built fires for warmth, light, bug sheilding, and signaling. They used thier alch stoves for food, and the little "just add water" MRE's I made were damn yummy. Combined with a bit of fresh caught catfish, it was one of the most satisfying meals I've eatten in the bush.
We didn't eat the snake, nor did we kill it. I have an affinity for snakes that really stops me from hurting them. It turned out to be a dry bite. I watched as he applied a sawyer extractor, pumped out nothing but blood, and then watched as he decided he was lucky as hell, and treated the puncture. He took it like a champ, walked out himself, and within 2 hours, the hospital had confirmed it was dry.
This thread has generated some genuine real world discussion, and that is what it is all about. A point that many 'lone wolves" have probably not considered is that they are far too decent human beings to leave others stranded, and the knowledge of the group survival problems and solutions could be vital.
We are decent people.. each and every one of us. The fact that we're on these forums proves it. We're sharing knowledge, and teaching others.. helping other survive when SHTF.. if it came down to it.. in a real world scenario, face to face.. I couldn't say no
