Living In The Wild

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Vivi

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If you were going to live in the wild somewhere in the North Eastern part of the North American continent during the cooler parts of fall for a month, where would you do it at? What skills would you have mastered? What gear would you bring?

Here's a rough list off the top of my head of things I'd be compelled to include...

Location: Undecided

Skills:

Vast local plant identification and usage knowledge
Fire from various primitive methods
Finding or constructing shelter
Tracking, hunting and butchering small game
Primitive navigation skills
Cordage making
Fishing by hand, primitive net or expedient lure and line
Basic medical knowledge covering the repair of lacerations, setting of damaged bones, treatments for common diseases and conditions etc.


Gear:

Warm, water-proof coat with water-proof pockets and hood
Waterproof boots with thick socks
Wool blanket
5x large trashbags
Gloves
Toothbrush and Baking Soda
Flour and rice
Pen and Small notebook / journal
Bic Lighter x2
Bandanas x2
Small LED lights x2
5-6 inch blade Mora style fixed blade
Victorinox Farmer SAK or One Handed Trekker
Victorinox Classic on lanyard around neck
Supply of Sea Biscuits
Firesteel
Firebow
Plant identification books
Ziplock bags x10
Medical kit / Sewing kit
Maps of the state and local area
Metal cup to boil or transport water
Some high-strength, low-weight cord

Ideally all the gear could be lost and you'd have the skills and imagination to replace it. Dependance on items needs to be kept to a minimal. Could expect some rain and snow, maybe a couple storms, probably beyond the mild. No contact with any other humans for 30 days.
 
WOW! You have put some thought into this thread. I am copying and pasting this one onto my journal for future reference. Thank for sharing man... All of the stuff I would have added in my voyage you listed here so I cant add anything. You got pretty much all the bases covered that I know of.... Kudos!


-reconseed
 
Vivi,
I think you should read up on Chris McCandless, if he is not who gave you the idea in the first place. I think you are seriously under packed even Chris had a 22 rifle, I understand your love of minimalist camping, but the extreme go light crowd treads a thin line IMO. Chris
 
boar brings up an interesting point... there is a book called "Into the Wild" about him I think its called... And I cant remember what all he took in, but guess what, he died.


However, I do think that you have some very good thoughts laid out there in the first post.
 
runningboar said:
Vivi,
I think you should read up on Chris McCandless, if he is not who gave you the idea in the first place. I think you are seriously under packed even Chris had a 22 rifle, I understand your love of minimalist camping, but the extreme go light crowd treads a thin line IMO. Chris
Click to expand...

Just read that book about a month ago and despite it all, it just makes me want to do it all the more :o
 
As far as guns go, I think if I were to carry one it would be a small pistol. Carrying a bunch of knives around wandering through possibly private property at times is already asking for it, I don't think I need to have to worry about Gun Laws. Minor legal details aside, I just don't perceive much use for them outside of violent human encounters.

I plan to go out and practice building fires and shelters tonight in the dark. If I find anything interesting out I'll let you guys know. Bringing some water, a SAK, lighter (I'll play around with friction lighting thogh) and possibly a Mora styled fixed blade. Also, in the spirit of roughing it, I'm bringin a piece of salmon along ;) To my credit there are no fish where I'm going and the whole place is next to a sewage plant with water that turns odd colors. Not sure I'd want to eat a fish from out there even if there were some there.

Boar, my list isn't really complete yet, but is there anything else in specific you think I should seriously consider bringing?
 
Vivi, I am interested to hear your stories when you return. Be safe out there and have fun!!!! I love doing things like that.... God bless
 
Ditto what reconseed said. I'm curious as to how the fire making goes. Haven't tried friction fires in the dark yet. Let us know what you end up trying and how you make out.
 
I'm heading out right now. If all goes to plan I'll have a report up here by noon or so. I've got a notebook and pencil to record the details. So long for now. :)

EDIT: Decided I'll take my new Brusletto out for the evening. I have a feeling I'm going to really like this knife.

2db3tqe.jpg


Cutting Edge: 5 5/8 inch
Handle: 4 inches
Blade Spine: 1/8 inch
Blade Width: 1 inch
 
Vivi, good surviving buddy... Are you pulling an all nighter? Damn, you better stay warm... And dont let your wife think you are going to a club.... Oh wait, its a sunday night... No clubs open on Sunday night here. haha.
 
30 days straight = tough and boring.
Not the best way to learn.

However, it is a good mental exercise;
I will start with your list.

Food:
Biscuits, even in massive amounts,
may not be enough to prevent malnutrition.
You must supplement, so at least 2 Plant ID books;
even experts do this.

I would take better food and supplements.

Clothing:
A Layered system is better than a coat.

A water-proof coat is a mixed blessing. I would
want a 7 by 9 foot woven poly tarp, at a
minimum. A 2 or 3 mil garbage bag, or two.

Extra socks. Sewing kit. Mittens. Thick stocking
cap. If boots are not insulated, more socks.

In 30 days, I guess I would wear out 3 pairs or socks.
A plastic or metal darning needle weighs nothing. Socks
can be darned to over-lap holes with patches that are
pieces or other socks. The darning "thread" is yarn which
you unravel form other socks. You might make other kinds of
needle/thread work hear; I know darning/patching works.

Boots made of rubber are not my favorites. In a real wet
swamp, OK. Trench-foot/fungal disease are the dangers.
Animal skins or woven bark, could be used for simple
moc-style shoes. Let your feet dry-out as often as possible.

2, 12 by 14 inch closed cell foam pads. Use to sit or sleep on.
Of course, I would rather have a full blue foam pad, but
these two small pads will work; you can keep them in a
pack, and you can supplement padding with local materials.

Scavenging:
Isolated trash or trash piles could have useful items.
Think "metal" for implements and tips. Even parts of old
fences can be used for snares or small metal tips, etc.

A blacksmithing book by Alex Bealer, shows how;
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Blacksmit...=pd_bbs_1/102-0144449-8080174?ie=UTF8&s=books
read in advance. All of Bealer's books are biased toward optimism, but they
are really good and he has books on Colonial era lumbering,
wood working, and farm implements. Some are amazing.

Or, just use rock-hammer and rock-anvil,
and make the tools directly. YourMileageWillVary.
(My 30yr old memory of Bealer: Make a chisel 1st, with it
make a file, with them make a hammer,
with them make pliers, etc. )
Of course, you can supplement with a multi-tool or individual tools.
Some blacksmiths do not like Locking-Pliers, because they tend to
snap open and cause red-hot metal to squirt at the smith.

Scrap piles and abandoned buildings are where I expect
rats (yummy) and also snakes (yikes); so, be aware.

Tools:
Fixed blade knife, minimum. I am not disrespecting your SAK
folder; I like them; but I would want a good fixed blade.

Keep a journal and take pictures.

When you leave, tell a trusted person, and leave written
directions.

fnc
 
Vivi,
I just read your second post, after I posted.
I am glad you are taking a fixed blade knife.

You reminded me that WATER is a big deal.
Read up on filtering and treating, you may
need both.

Wild dogs, raccoons, teenagers etc could be a problem.
Have a 5 foot "walking stick" with a sharp end.
Have several sticks, they are easy to make;
use for throwing, digging, hiking, fighting and in-fighting.

Make yourself a hard-copy list of things to make/do,
in order of importance. IF you do not have a list,
you may spend too much idle time looking at a camp fire.

fnc
 
Living off the land for 30 days is going to be very difficult without a .22 rifle. A .22 target handgun is fine if you are really good with one and you have a good density of small game. Small compact, concealable .22 handguns are a waste of time for hunting.

Personally if I were to do this I would pick up a M6 22/410or Savage 24 combo gun. I'm actually pretty good with a handgun, but I'd eat better with a .22 rifle.

If I were to go for a month I know exactly where I'd go. My brother and I did 8 days there, living off the land for about 80% of our food. We were very hungry until we killed a young deer and ate it entirely on day four, IIRC.

I also did a 10 day trip in Canada under conditions like you posted. We were under severely restricted food rations for the duration and it forced us to live off the land. We were moving the entire time so that made life difficult. I lost 17 lbs. Seven of that was due to totally empty intestines. A week after our return I was still 10 lbs under my pre trip weight.

You can do a month without a .22 or a reserve stock of carbs (large bag of rice, large can of Quaker oats, bag of sugar, can of salt minimum for what you describe). It's called "fasting" and attempting it for a month is going to be rough. The bush teaches humility before all else. Mac
 
Thanks for all the suggestions FNC, after I write out the journal stuff and come back with photos I'll add some of those items to my list and comment on it all.

I know I'm not ready to go yet, which is why I'm currently taking baby steps like tonights nightly visit and my 5-8 hour visits in the daytime. The hard thing is I know extremely little about hunting and there is literally more hunting in my backyard than the woods I go to that are nearby. I've got a couple things left to figure out, but I'm happy with the progress I'm making. Anyways, here's my journal for the night. I'm gonna go back and take photos of my shelter in a few.

Roughly 12:30

Made lots of shavings with the Brusletto. Batoned a seasoned log in half off-center, taking the larger portion and carving a track down the middle. Found a hard stick and attempted the fire plow method. Had trouble due to lack of practice with friction fire methods, but surprised myself by managing to get a coal. Placed coal on tinder bed of ground up dead pine needles and had a roaring fire within minutes. Took a greener log and batoned it, then layed my salmon on the flat part and rotated that back and forth over the fire.

--------

Salmon almost done. Unrecognizable noises coming from east of my camp. Have a heavy staff for defense. It's interesting from a psychological perspective what dark, cold and unfamiliarity can do to a person.

--------

Salmon was good. Noises have become more frequent. It's an animal, but I'm not sure what kind.

--------

Much cloudier, very little light. Fed the fire some more.

--------

Shelter framed. Cut down some dying trees and used the leaves and small branches to line the top. Cut down some dried, dead stalk-type things for bedding. The Brusletto and SAK saw were roughly even for this, the fixed blade being slightly quicker at taking down the trees. The saw is much, much quieter though, something I haven't seen discussed much.

--------

Shelter is very cozy. One end sits next to the fire area, where the embers give off some heat. Warmth shouldn't be an issue tonight. Those noises died off a while ago. Time for sleep...wonder what I'll dream about?

--------

Drifted in and out of sleep for a couple hours. Didn't sleep as well as I expected, but I wasn't awake for very long before coming out tonight so it's not too unusual. Put new wood on the fire and blew the embers back up to flame to warm me up. Cooler out now with many stars visible about the treetops. Pleasant.

--------

Sun rising as the fire dies back down to embers. On my left I hear birds, on my right I hear unfortunate souls going off to work and school. Thanks to the sun, color is returning to my surroundings for the first time since dusk. Put out the fire. Surprised at the lack of any noticable edge deformation on the Brusletto when I intentionally did lots of chopping with it.


Very fun night. I'm gonna bake myself some bread and take those photos while it's cooking, then I think I'm just gonna go back out there and work on water-proofing the shelter some then sleep out there. The shelter could of easily been made with just a SAK, nothing I did tonight required the fixed blade, but I enjoyed using it regardless. Surprisingly light, very sharp scandi grind and chops like a knife much larger and heavier than what it is.
 
Vivi said:
If you were going to live in the wild somewhere in the North Eastern part of the North American continent during the cooler parts of fall for a month, where would you do it at? What skills would you have mastered? What gear would you bring?

No contact with any other humans for 30 days.
Click to expand...

Snaring would be at the top of my list for both skills and gear:

http://www.buckshotscamp.com/Article-Snaring-For-Survival.htm
 
Vivi, sounds awesome man... I will be looking forward to seeing the pictures of the shelter...
 
This question is always an interesting one. In this day and age of terrorism and disaster it is even more engaging. Head to the woods for fun or to wait out a disaster, either way the northeastern US is a user friendly place for bush living. As long as everyone else dosen't have the same idea. I spend lots of time in the wooded hills of Pennsylvania. Lots of game, water but it sure gets cold. You need proper clothing, good sleeping bag, shelter, fire, means by which to purify water, snares from small game to deer,(if game laws are forgotten due to emergency), conibears from 110's on up, .22 and a deer gun, (how about Savage over and under in .22/ .20 guage), fishing kit, several knives, saw, axe, first aid and sewing kit, cooking pots. That and some skill snd guts should it.
 
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