Why we carry survival stuff

udtjim

udtjim

Joined
Sep 4, 2007
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This came up on another forum and someone thought I should tell the story. I was deer hunting in the Black Hills Of SD. It was late November and late in the afternoon when I slipped on a ledge and fell about 20 feet landing on my knee on a rock. It was 20 degrees and I knew it would probably drop below zero before morning. I fired the three shots a couple times trying to signal someone in out party. I had strayed to far and the shots went unheard. Near me, maybe twenty yard away there was a large tree probably toppled in a storm a few years before. I couldn't stand on the leg with the injured knee so I crawled over to the tree which offered pretty good shelter from the wind. It was already getting dark and I knew I had to get a fire going fast before I got to cold to operate. I was dressed pretty warm but had gotten some snow inside my jacket and it was cold already. I had the envelope from my deer tag and scraped some pine needles and pine cones into a little pile along with some twigs. I stuck the wadded up envelope under the little pile of kindling and lit the fire. The only good thing about smoking which I did back then was that I had a Zippo lighter in my pocket. This saved the day as I don't think I would have got the fire going without it. I had an old Swedish knife that my dad had given me. It had about a seven inch blade and I chopped and split some more wood to keep the fire going. Another stroke of luck helped me out when a cottontail rabbit came close to my shelter. I shot it with the old 30-06 Eddistone rifle which I had cracked the stock on when I fell. I know I could have survived without that hot meal but it really picked up my spirits. During the night I packed some snow around my knee and the swelling had gone down a little by morning. When it got light I cut a walking stick and slowly I was able to make it down to the bottom of the draw where I knew there was a fire road. By now the other guys were looking for me and I fire three shots again and this time a different bunch of hunters were close by and heard me signal. About an hour later I heard a truck coming down the fire road and the guys gave me a lift to the doctor in a small town near by. The knee was not broken but to this day it gets fluid on it now and then. I didn't have a real survival kit but that old knife and that Zippo pulled me through. I still have that knife and I would post a picture of it except that I don't know how.

This happened about 46 years ago. I have learned a lot about survival since. If you are going to spend time in the wild alone then there is a lot of good info here to help one survive. The first and biggest lesson I learned is that you never expect to be thrown into a situation like that. It does not happen when you plan it. You need to be ready all of the times and teach it to your kids or even someone Else's kids if you can. I survived another situation many years later and will post that one sometime as well.
 
Good story Jim! And a good illustration of how important it is to keep a good attitude and... think! All the kit in the world won't help without that. With it, every bit counts.

Codger
 
Great story, you never know what or when something like that is going to happen to you. I catch a lot of grief for carring a Max. Fatboy loaded down with stuff. Oh well....
 
Thanks for a first hand account of a real situation. Excellent story.

KR
 
Some people think that they can "plan" their emergencies, or avoid bad situations at all times..... :rolleyes:

Your story proves otherwise.

Thanks for posting it !!

.
 
Good story. It just goes to show that attitude makes a huge difference, even in the absence of a proper survival kit.
 
Glad you decided to post your story. A classic example of the bare essentials: shelter, knife, tinder and fire, coupled with the most important thing, will. Looking forward to the sequel.:thumbup:
 
I would like to claim a good attitude but I was abouit 18 and invicable . I was always kind of laid back though. Tomorrow, the canoe story.:o
 
UDTJIM - "I didn't have a real survival kit but that old knife and that Zippo pulled me through."

Glad you came out of that "little adventure" with no really serious injuries.

When it comes to lighters, I strongly prefer a Zippo. Even though I quit smoking in 1976, I still carry my old Zippo. Some people claim a Zippo is no good in an emergency situation as " it'll run out of fluid."

Well, maybe, if you're not careful enough to fill it now and then... but I always carry two of the tiny Tobasco bottles I cleaned out and filled with Zippo fluid. Ain't any way my Zippo is gonna run dry.

Another great strong point of the Zippo is that it'll light in almost any kind of wind... and rain. I like that. :thumbup:

FWIW.

L.W.
 
Glad you came out basically unscathed. Shows you should carry a few items with you "just in case".
 
Great story, Jim!

Welcome to the forum. Over 200 posts in a month? Wow, I'm impressed! :D

-- FLIX
 
An excellent recounting of a dangerous event. I'm glad you overcame it and survived to tell the tale. Carry on.

I have long thought the lowly Zippo lighter was an underrated piece of gear. My dad used one for many years, and I have a couple, too. They can even be used when they run out of fuel to light a bit of cotton or similar fuzzy tinder. I once read a very interesting article in some magazine (possibly Time or Life) in the waiting room of a doctor's office about the history of and interesting stories about Zippo lighters. One point made in the article was the various fuels that can be used in Zippos. One man mentioned had been on an aircraft carrier in WWII I believe, and he had filled his Zippo with avgas, then taped the seam where the lid meets the body to prevent evaporation in his survival kit. Decades later he took the tape off and that darn Zippo lit on the first strike! I think there's a lesson to be learned there.
 
Good story. I've never smoked a day in my life, but I carry a Zippo every day.
And who says a old Swedish knife isn't a real survival knife? A survival knife is the one you have when you need it.
 
My son told me about the Blade Furums and I have always been a knife nut so it is a good fit. I am mostly retired now so I have more time than I need. As a hobby I make walking sticks because it gives me a chance or reason to get out in the woods and shelter belts hunting for nice sticks AND of course, work with knives. I whittle big piles of bark and small twigs off the sticks. I like a walking stick anyway because after breaking a foot my balance when walking on uneven or rough ground is not very good. I drill some of my hiking sticks out and put small survival kits in the handle and stick a cork in it. I figure that if a knife handle can hold a small kit then a walking stick could too. I always carry a lighter too even though I have not smoked for 35 years. The small botttles of extra fluid is a good idea, one that i will now use too. A few drops of that extra fluid could reall save the day. I always carry a small hatchet while I am hunting as well.

I have done and still do a lot of wildernesss camping but in these situations you know what you need and there is no reason to be caught unprepared. Its good practice and I think a person should be able to survive without all the things that we take for granite because in this time of unsettled political times, it could all go away pretty fast.. We no longer know who is amoung us and God helps those who can help themselves.

A little about the old knife. All it says is Sweden on the blade. No brand name and I have no idea what kind of steel is in the blade but I would guess its carbon steeel. It has a stag handle and a blood groove in the blade. The Sheath has a little writing on it but I have no idea what it say.. The knife is at least 50 years old and it was not new when Dad gave it to me. The blade is narrow now from many years of sharpening. We used to sharpen our knives on an old peddle grinder. You would set on the seat and peddle it to turn the big old stone.
 
Good story. Reminds me of Stephen Hunter's "Point of impact", where Swagger hides injured in the swamps, shoots a pig (with the gun he took from Nick) and cleans it with a Case XX folder, that he happens to carry with him all the time without thinking about it.
 
I carry survival stuff because I dont like to rely on others if something weird happens. I live quite close to the forest, not that I walk out deep into the forest and have close encounters with bears and wolves, but even at the edge of the forest you can cut yourself, meet someone who has some extra coffe to share, need to cut some twigs and stuff. I carry the PSK all the time in my backpack, just in case.
 
That was an awesome read. Its exactly what we're preparing for! Thanks bro!
 
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