New Contest... "true" survival tales...

[MrCoffee]

Hi Everyone,

Things have gotten a little tense in here, and I thought maybe we could lighten things up a bit with some "true" survival stories.... you know which stories I mean... the one where you survived walking thru a blizzard to trek the 80 miles home... with nothing but your Izula and a Speedo.... the kind of stories we tell around the campfire about how we bravely saved the baby panda from a hungry pack of wolves armed only with an RC-3... the true stories...

So I want your best adventure....the taller, the better....and featuring your Rat Cutlery knife... all true off course....

The contest will run until Mid Jan, and the winner will get a set of Rat Dogtags and a ESEE tee shirt. No RP membership required, this is open to everyone, but I WILL NOT be shipping overseas.

The judges for this contest are Mrs Shotty and LuckyKitty.

 

[R.A.T.]

Love it. Great contest and something that we can learn from.

 

[Fletcher Knives]

I'll go. This happened to me back in May of 2008. I actually posted this whole story in the WS&S section after it happened. This is a good example of how the most important tool in your survival arsenal is a cool clear head and being able to control your panic can save your life. If I had lost my head and not thought through my actions I wouldn't be here.

So my friend, Ryan, and I decided to go up to Wild Cat Creek in North Georgia recently. We hadn't been up there in a long time and just wanted to make a day trip and hike down the mountain following the water. We weren't strapped (as the kids say) this time. We both knew that more than likely we would end up going throught the water more than once and it was raining, which meant A) we were wet either way and B) we didn't really have to worry about running into anyone else.

Of the gear taken, there was my day kit/bugout bag, a Mora Stainless Clipper, My Leatherman Charge, and my CRKT M21.

We hiked waaaay up the mountains with no bearing, not even paying attention to where we were going, to practice a little land nav. We got to a point where we decided to find the creek and started getting our bearings and picking our route. Without too much trouble, we found the creek. It wasn't exactly where we thought, but we weren't far off. Now it was time to hike down.

After a few creek crossings, we decided that since we were already wet, it was EXTREMELY unlikely that it would turn into a situation that would require us to try to stay dry (like a survival situation), and just because it was fun, we would practice moving down the mountain actually in the water. It was a lot of fun going down rock slides and hiking through the water like crazy jungle ninjas. It was like being a kid and pretending we were sneaking into an enemy camp to go Rambo and blow everybody up.

There were several spots where there would be a rockslide that terminated into another slab angled in the opposite direction. The technique for those was pretty straight forward. Slide down and use your feet and legs to absorb the impact. It was never a very hard impact so the threat of snapping an ankle was very small. However, there was one thing from hiking down creeks with rockslides and such as a kid that I had forgotten, something I garantee you I will never forget again.

I came to one that terminated into an opposing rock face that looked just like all the others. I slid down it at 100 mph and positioned my feet to absorb to stop. THERE WAS NO STOP. Within a milisecond I was well under the water, deep in between rocks, caught in some serious water foliage. For a second I tried to grab the side of the rock and pull myself up but I had become tangled and my chest was wedged between the two rocks. Luckily, for some crazy reason, I didn't panic. I felt that the foliage was the main problem and the pack wasn't helping. I couldn't slide the pack off of me so I took out my Clipper which luckily was still in it's sheath (sheath I made by the way ) and cut the strap around my waist and the one over my shoulder and pushed it up. Then, I reached down and cut away a couple of the pieces of foliage that I could feel were restraining me the most. I resheathed the knife and started crawling up. It felt like I had been wdged a good 7 to 9 feet below the surface. When I got to the top, Ryan grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me the rest of the way out. He was noticeably very freaked out and in his shaking voice asked, "how was the trip?" I said, "good, sorry I didn't get you anything while I was down there." lol.

Then I thought, "damnit, my pack." I said, "Ryan, I know this is going to sound crazy, but grab my ankle, when you feel my foot kick, pull me back up." He said, "Are you f#$%ing crazy?" I said, "Thats my favorite pack and it's right there somewhere. I'm not leaving it when I know I can get to it." He agreed and took hold. This time I went in upside down and was feeling around. It was a lot more fun when it was on purpose. I felt my pack and got a grip on it, kicked my foot, and Ryan pulled me back up.

Once it was all said and done and we were sitting on the bank taking in the whole ordeal that had just unfolded, I was thinking, "wow... that was almost death on a stick." It was a damn good thing I didn't panic. I could see that it would be very easy for someone to drown in that situation just from struggling and tiring themselves out and not being able to problem solve to get themselves free. If I had been a little more wedged or tangled, that might have been the case with me. I was definitely lucky that day.

Note to self: Don't do stupid sh#t and let your guard down when you're having fun like a 5 year old in a mountain creek.

...oh also I had my M21 clipped to my shirt in between two of the buttons....yeah it's gone forever. Gotta buy a new one of those now.

Funny side not: I replaced that knife with the CS Recon 1 that almost took my finger off.

Also, I didn't meantion it in the story, but there was a RAT Cutlery blade in the pack as i never leave home without one.

 

[Don Rearic]

So I want your best adventure....the taller, the better....and featuring your Rat Cutlery knife... all true off course...

I was on my way back from the P.O., not the Parole Officer, but the Post Office, and I had my newest RC-3. Now, this is my second one actually, I have two and I became addicted to them after owning a RAT-3...and I was being followed by Yuri and Serge Cutchikokoff. Normally these guys were my Ketel One dealers, but today was much, much different...

 

[Mrs.Shotgunner11]

i can't wait to hear these

 

[Kenix]

I'll go. This happened to me back in May of 2008. I actually posted this whole story in the WS&S section after it happened. This is a good example of how the most important tool in your survival arsenal is a cool clear head and being able to control your panic can save your life. If I had lost my head and not thought through my actions I wouldn't be here.




Funny side not: I replaced that knife with the CS Recon 1 that almost took my finger off.

Also, I didn't meantion it in the story, but there was a RAT Cutlery blade in the pack as i never leave home without one.

Damn, I can't say with confidence that I wouldn't have panicked in that situation. Where on you was the mora attached?

 

[Fletcher Knives]

Damn, I can't say with confidence that I wouldn't have panicked in that situation. Where on you was the mora attached?

horizontal on the front of my belt IIRC.

I was telling Mr.Coffee earlier that I think the only reason I don't panic in situations that tame anymore is just because I've gotten myself into way too much stupid crap in my life, so nowadays it's just like, "ok. I'm screwed. Now how do I get out of this." One thing that helped was that on every one of those slides, I had taken a deep breath before I slid down, just in case my feet came out from under me at the bottom. So my lungs were full of fresh air right as I went under. I had plenty of time on the breath i had taken to figure my situation out. Had I not had lungs full of air and accidentally gasped under water, it would have been a charlie foxtrot.

 

[Horn Dog]

i can't wait to hear these

Can we use "made up" facts?

 

[cheftothestars]

what if I pay for you to ship to Canada...its not that far, or ill meet you at the border!

 

[Horn Dog]

It was cold. New Year's eve. All I had was my HEST. All the other winos in the park were out of booze. Then I saw it, a full unopened bottle of some expensive foreign beer.....

 

[R.A.T.]

It was cold. New Year's eve. All I had was my HEST. All the other winos in the park were out of booze. Then I saw it, a full unopened bottle of some expensive foreign beer.....

I love it. Mas, mas mas!

 

[Murphyslaw]

Here's mine...

Last Summer my then 11 year old daughter, 10 year old son and 5 year old son went exploring up the stream accross the street from our house. Mind you now, this is not true wilderness as there are plenty of houses around, but something to respect nonetheless...as my children learned.

When my children returned from their adventure, they told me that Stephen, my then 5 year old, got his wrist tangled in a snarl of fishing line caught in the rocks on the side of the steam, and obviously the more he pulled, the tighter it got.

The older sibs told me that that Alex, my daughter, calmed Stephen down, while John, my oldest son, cut the line off by pounding it between 2 rocks.

I asked the two oldest why they didn't have a knife with them. Their heads went down immediately, as they knew better. The lesson was learned. Now they never "adventure" without a knife.

Sometimes (hopefully in this case) the longest lasting lessons are the ones learned the hard way...

Have a great weekend folks,

Chris

 

[Horn Dog]

Dylside's Wild Cat Creek story to totally believable. I used to hunt and camp up there a lot in the 1970's. There used to be a rock slide for the adventurous. That fast moving water is stronger than it looks for sure.

THIS HAPPENED TO ME! Real True facts. Two other hunters and I went down into the Altamaha swamps in the winter hunting wild hogs. When the river is low, you can walk for miles down there, but even though it is fresh water, the tides do affect the river level. It was cold and we had wandered maybe two miles into the swamp, crossing many small creeks. It began to get dark about the same time the tide came in. One of the other hunters was spooked by the whole thing. He was Bawana, but he always hunted from tree stands no more than 100 yds from is truck. We got a little disoriented and came to a place I knew, but the water was too high for us to cross there and it was getting dark. None of us had any flashlights. Nobody wanted to spend the night there wet, either. This guy had always kidded me about carrying that big old bowie knife. I took out that knife, chopped down a few small trees and made a bridge. We crossed the creek safely and made it back to our trucks right at dark. He never kidded me about that knife again.

1 We should have had flashlights.
2 I now know how to chop down trees with a small knife.
3 We should have worn waders.
4 A compass and map would have been useful!

I learned a lot that day.

 

[R.A.T.]

There was guy that emailed us a few years ago and explained how his Ontario TAK knife saved his life after he busted through the ice on an ice fishing deal.

 

[Horn Dog]

By the time I discovered RAT knives, my swamp tromping days were much less frequent. That big bowie I had was a Cold Steel.

 

[R.A.T.]

Before I discovered RAT knives a Cold Steel SRK was on my side. After I discovered RAT knives I started using a machete.

 

[Horn Dog]

Before I discovered RAT knives a Cold Steel SRK was on my side. After I discovered RAT knives I started using a machete.

Yep. The machete is the best all-around survival knife. That and a folder, and I'm good to go in the woods and swamps. Handy for water moccasins, too.

 

[Murphyslaw]

Before I discovered RAT knives a Cold Steel SRK was on my side. After I discovered RAT knives I started using a machete.

I've had an SRK from when they first came out. In my opinion, back then it was near the top of its factory knife class. I like the knife, but not the factory grind. I finally go around to fixing it this year.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Well, my lady and I had one hell of a scary time this last spring...

It was finally at the point in the season when the Park roads had been opened up here on Mount Desert Island and the snow was finally gone from the ground. It was a nice warm day tempered with the slight cool sensation brought on by the spring thaw, and Lauren and I decided to try tackling Sargent Mountain, which is my personal favorite. It also happens to be the second highest mountain on the Island (topped only by the much more famous Cadillac Mountain, though I think Sargent is MUCH more beautiful). We left a note at my parent's place detailing when and where we were going, and brought along some good snacks and a full guyot to stay hydrated and energized, as well as a park map. I was also wearing my usual EDC bag, filled with the usual gear. We decided to take the Maple Brook Trail up the mountain (there are about 6 different ways to get up it).

Upon arriving there we discovered that there was still a little snow left on the ground due to the tree cover, but not much. The brook was going nicely thanks to the melt.
Well, my lady and I had one hell of a scary time this last spring...

It was finally at the point in the season when the Park roads had been opened up here on Mount Desert Island and the snow was finally gone from the ground. It was a nice warm day tempered with the slight cool sensation brought on by the spring thaw, and Lauren and I decided to try tackling Sargent Mountain, which is my personal favorite. It also happens to be the second highest mountain on the Island (topped only by the much more famous Cadillac Mountain, though I think Sargent is MUCH more beautiful). We left a note at my parent's place detailing when and where we were going, and brought along some good snacks and a full guyot to stay hydrated and energized, as well as a park map. I was also wearing my usual EDC bag, filled with the usual gear. We decided to take the Maple Brook Trail up the mountain (there are about 6 different ways to get up it).

Upon arriving there we discovered that there was still a little snow left on the ground due to the tree cover, but not much. The brook was going nicely thanks to the melt.

We started getting to the point on the trail where it began crossing back and forth over the brook. There was more up and down along this section. Everything was still going as planned.

We paused for a quick break. As a note all of these photographs are in chronological order, but we took them sparsely due to the difficulty of the hike. Here you can see my handy-dandy RC-3, which came in handy--but more on that later. I also had my Izula in it's usual place--my right front pocket.

As we continued on we started seeing a little more snow and some ice, but we'd made it pretty well along, and figured it would clear up once we made it to the more open areas, so we carried on.

Not much further along we got to the point where the trail passed under a bridge for one of the many carriage roads in the park. Little did we know that it was really a gateway to hell!

Continued...

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

It got a bit steeper here, and the snow/ice bulked up a little, limiting the space around the brook, which was also wider, deeper, and moving a bit faster.

Looking back...

...and forward.

We ended up having to cross the brook again, but this time it wasn't so easy. The water was deep and the rocks across it were either far apart or unstable. Lauren documented the process as before.

Here's were it got bad, and there are obviously no photos involved. We came to a bend where the trail was completely entrenched in ice, and the brook was wide, deep, and FAST. The only way to continue was to cross and climb over the land that divided the bend. After crossing to the opposite side, we scrambled up the steep embankment, only to find that the ground was like sand thanks to the recent melt. We were actually in serious danger of falling if any of our footholds gave way, but we couldn't back down--it would have been even more risky. At the top there was a fallen tree blocking our way, and I used my RC-3 to hack (YES it was hard) through a branch that was keeping us from progressing safely. We literally slid down the opposite side on our butts to make sure we wouldn't fall. Scary as hell!


Made it! But now look at the ice and snow...

Given the difficulty of making it this far (and the other ways down the mountain, including park trails) we decided to continue in the hopes of taking an easier route back. As far as we could tell on the map we were about two thirds of the way there. Time for a break! We drank some water and ate some granola bars and clementines to replenish ourselves.

Continued...