Survival

dougo83

dougo83

Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
4,834
I don't know what exactly prompted this, but we sit on here and talk about survival and what we would do to survive and have even discussed if we have, in fact, ever had to use these skills we read on and practice.

However, I have not seen it discussed anywhere how we help nature survive us. Surely, we pick up after ourselves in the woods and such, but how often do we go out of our way to ensure that the next hiker/camper/whatever sees a clean wilderness when we leave?

I am just curious and, as an environmental science student and theology major, I see a great responsibility that we have to maintain the land, even though others may not.


Thoughts?
 
I really try to avoid cutting live wood and if I do so it is in more of a coppicing fashion or I cut a withe stemming from a root of a larger tree. I also try to return my campsites as much as possible to the way they where befer I got there.. and often bring along an extra garbage bag so I can cart out trash I find.

despite that however I'm of the mind that nature will survive us..it has seen the coming and going of countless dominant species and global disasters..
Will we survive us that's the question.. Not to sound like a Hippie or anything... just a thought.
 
Last edited:
I try to take out more than I take in.

I belong to a club that has a Rod and Gun club within the council. We do a creek clean up every year and make sure our outings are cleaned up.

Spey/neuter my pets to keep the potential stray population down.

Because I drive so far I had to give up my has gog for a econo-box that gets almost 40MPG. I hate it but I get to blow my own horn about how little fossil fuel I use.
 
dougo83 said:
...I see a great responsibility that we have to maintain the land, even though others may not.
Click to expand...

I'm with you 100%, and most if not all folks who frequent this forum will agree, too. Luckily, I was taught this as a young boy, so it only seems natural to me.

I camp most often on public land, so I'm keenly aware of the need to pick up after yourself. Like Riley, I rarely cut live wood. I obey applicable rules and laws so as not to make a bad name for all of us. I don't poop in the creek.

I'm blessed with a wealth of great parks to relax and explore, and many are quite remote; unfortunately, I rarely spend a day without seeing wrappers and trash from other "enthusiasts". My kid thinks I'm a little weird, but we've gotten in the habit of keeping a bag handy and picking up every damn piece of litter we come across. It's my very small way of helping others enjoy God's country. Probably won't hurt my karma either (not to sound like a hippie or anything :D)

Short of industrial-scale abuse or starting a forest fire, there's not that much one person is going to do in a week or two that any given woodlot can't deal with in a growing season. The planet will almost certainly outlive us, but it is important that we protect our resources, and the privilege to enjoy them.

I'm considering joining Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited, even though I don't hunt and rarely fish. They have preserved a heckuva lot of wild lands for all of us.

Having said all that, if I was really lost, I'd do whatever it took, live trees and fishing/hunting regulations be damned. I'd still try not to burn down the whole county with my signal fire, though. :)

Rupestris, that's a good point about spay/neuter your pets. There are so many feral cats around here that they almost classed them as a shootable pest (not sure of the official term, but you know what I mean.)
 
*takes a bow*

:D

Y'all come to Wisconsin sometime! If you can't find something outdoorsy to do here, you're just not paying attention.
 
Great thread topic.

Others have mentioned the importance of low-impact camping / hiking and packing out any garbage found along the trail. :thumbup:

I'll add that I think that it is important to support local and regional outdoors and conservation associations, both financially through membership or donation and through one's actions (such as participating in organized clean-ups or building projects). For me, this means supporting the Bruce Trail Association.

All the best,

- Mike
 
Most of my woods time is practicing skills and one of those skills is not to be detected while in those woods so I never leave trash behind, cut green timber, leave an obvious campsite or fire pit.

Before I lived in Texas, I charged myself with the upkeep of a 40 acre tract of public parkland attached to my back yard. I typically went in and cleaned trails and picked up trash twice a month.
 
I always pack out what I pack in and collect trash as I go. A far as having a minimal impact on the environment, SCREW THAT. If I need it, I take it. If I am cold, I burn it. If I am hungry, I eat it. If you really want to be "Minimal impact" stay home because the trail wouldn't be there if people didn't beat it down. Even the knuckleheads that don't take care of covering their campfire when they leave are covered by nature in a year or so.
 
PrimitiveMan said:
I always pack out what I pack in and collect trash as I go. A far as having a minimal impact on the environment, SCREW THAT. If I need it, I take it. If I am cold, I burn it. If I am hungry, I eat it. If you really want to be "Minimal impact" stay home because the trail wouldn't be there if people didn't beat it down. Even the knuckleheads that don't take care of covering their campfire when they leave are covered by nature in a year or so.
Click to expand...

PM...I was talking about when we are out enjoying the outdoors. I think I should have clarified that. I hope you are talking about survival situations. If not, please do not grace my old Lone Star with that mentality.
 
Nah, I'm talking all the time.

I leave it as close to as I found it as I can, and I clean up everything I can from other dirtbags. I always cover my fire and leave my campsite nicer than I found it, but if I want something from nature, I take it. I am certainly not going to cut down trees for the hell of it, but I ain't no tree hugging mamby pamby wing nut that wants to become "one with nature" either.

It is there to use, responsibly, but there to use.
 
I take out more than I take in, every time, no matter where I go. However, reguarding animals, if I want to eat it, I will take it. (If legal, non survival. No matter what, if survival situation) If I take down a tree for some reason or another, I will ALWAYS plant 3 trees in the woods behind my house.

I don't just kill things for the fun of it though, nor do I kill trees just for the fun of it.
 
About 20 years ago I was cutting firewood on my property. Mostly dead Elm, along the dirt road. This car pulls up and out steps this really nice looking hot college age babe who begins to cuss me out for killing the trees that purify the air she breathes. I got really pissed off and told her that I own over 500 acres of land, that I was cutting mostly dead trees and when I was cutting live trees it was a selective cutting operation that allowed the other trees room to grow. This didn't satisfy her as she continued to rant on so finally I lost it, called her a bunch of nasty cuss words and asked her how much land she owned that was purifying the air I breathed. She just couldn't shut up so I gave her 3 seconds to get the hell off of my property. She took my warning seriously.
I consider myself to be a very conservation minded person but I get fed up with these A$$ holes always telling someone else how to live or what to do with your property. I bet she works for the Government today.
Oldman/Marty
 
Maybe a little off track but one of my biggest pet peeves in the world is to go to a remote spot, find a good spot to camp and 10 to 15 yds from the camp spot someone dropped a big duece, wiped their ass and threw the TP on the ground. How hard is it to bag it up and burn it, bury it or if you are really in a hurry move a rock or log, take a dump and then put the rock or log back over it. I think that is one of the most disrespectful, nasty, pig behaviors that "outdoors" people do. :mad: Chris
 
runningboar said:
Maybe a little off track but one of my biggest pet peeves in the world is to go to a remote spot, find a good spot to camp and 10 to 15 yds from the camp spot someone dropped a big duece, wiped their ass and threw the TP on the ground. How hard is it to bag it up and burn it, bury it or if you are really in a hurry move a rock or log, take a dump and then put the rock or log back over it. I think that is one of the most disrespectful, nasty, pig behaviors that "outdoors" people do. :mad: Chris
Click to expand...

I had to chuckle at that Chris, but you are correct in that field sanitation isn't about wiping your own a$$! I teach my kids to never urinate or defecate around water; burying your business along with your TP helps keep critters away, minimizes disease spread and makes a much more tolerable camp area for others.

Cigarette butts are my pet peeve. I grew up in the Army where we had to "police" up cigarette butts from all the smokers (I never smoked) and I hate picking up after other people!:mad: Some jackass flicked a butt out their window last weekend and burned over 100 acres of a grass field and a few trees; closing down the highway and threatening a Senior Citizen's Home and several other private homes...

RANT ON:
I'm no tree-hugger (although I am originally from WA state:o), but I do believe we should all be responsible stewards of our private and public lands. Some of the biggest hypocrites that are always criticizing hunters, outdoorsmen/women and good'ol Marty:D are typically the worst "environmentalists"...they don't conserve water, they don't recycle and they don't volunteer to clean up parks or other public lands...what they do is spout off BS with little true understanding or knowledge and most likely they've never spent one night in the remote outdoors. RANT OFF:D

I'm a believer of living by example. Show your children and others how to be responsible and even pick up after other slobs for the benefit of the outdoors. Recycle, avoid being wasteful, teach to garden, hunt/fish. My daughter has a shirt with a quote from Gandhi: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world"...don't bitch at others, show others by example.

ROCK6
 
I camp mainly on land used by the military. It's open to use when they're not on it or as long as it's not a range. I pick up loads of trash, most of it non-biodegradable, like ration packaging. I recently found:

A maglite solitaire (working)
An AA maglite torch with spare batteries taped to it (working)
Around 300m or paracord (made up of 15 lengths or so)
31 tent pegs (metal and plastic)
Goretex trousers
Bivie and bag for it
9 bungees

This was in one area and took me about an hour to find. I also filled a trash bag with used cyalumes, batteries and ration wrappers. So almost like getting paid to be a groundskeeper. I will say while the good stuff isn't always there the bad stuff usually is.

As for chopping wood, I go for deadwood for fires and any live stuff I cut from areas that need thinning or are damaged and need cut off cleanly.
 
All the outdoors/woodsbummin/hunters/fishermen I know care more about being responsible and "giving back" to nature than some of the so called environmentalists seem to. People who spend a lot of time in the woods want to keep them wild.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top