Wilderness and Survival?

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Cascade_mtn's

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Jan 13, 2011
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I'm a very new member here and am extremely glad I found this sub forum. I haven't posted a whole bunch, but I have spent plenty of time doing searches here in W&S on different things. Obviously knives, axes, backpacking gear, carving, woodsman skills, ect.....

In one of my searches I found this post by one of the Mods here and It really made a lot of sense to me.

Brian Jones said:
Great great report and excellent thoughts, Rock6!

I've often thought of changing the name of this forum to Wilderness & Bushcraft Skills.

"Survival" implies getting the hell out of the wilderness as quickly as possible.
I'd argue that most of us here are trying to get the hell into the wilderness as quickly and for as long as possible! :thumbup: :)

Survival is all the other daily crap like surviving gas prices, etc.!!!!
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I have been an outdoor nut since I was old enough to know what OUTSIDE was. Came from an outdoor family. We took trips to Montana (fly fishing) every summer for two weeks or so, as well as several family trips to different lakes and such. We didn't have a lot of $$$ so CAMPING/BACKPACKING was a relatively cheap vacation for us.

My Granddad bought me a Buck-light (mainly a Buck 110 w/ plastic scales) and that was it. I was HOOKED on knives.

My point of bringing the above quoted post from Mr. Jones up is this. MOST of the threads regarding skills I have read here are not just survival based. Many are from folks that obviously really do know how to THRIVE in the outdoors..... not just survive. Please don't get me wrong, survival skills are a must IMHO. For many of us here however, it's a pleasure to get outside and THRIVE in the woods.

It's a pleasure to find like minded people all in one place. Thanks to all and I look forward to learning all I can. It's a never ending proccess for me. :o:D
 
Good to see Brian's words brought up here. Currently, he is surviving groupies on a musical tour with his band.

In truth, this forum has about 30-40% that is more broadly survival oriented and about 60-70% that is more wilderness/bushcraft orientated. There are other on-line forums that are totally bushcraft and others that are very much LNT-back packing. W&SS seems to find a decent niche in balancing among these.

Truth is, nobody fits into the extremes. Backpacking can be a bit boring when all you do is walk. Bushcraft is fun, but how many damn spoons you gonna carve? Survival plain old sucks, but damn your glad you got those skills while you could. Most of play loose with the strictest rules in any given camp. I like to push myself to get out there and then divvy up that time between practicing skills, which is just fun, more mundane activities like swimming in the lake, ice fishing or smoking a cigar by the fire and every once in a while try to push my comfort zone a little.

For me, being in the bush is the get away, it is the stress relief. But, I also don't lose myself to the mystique of it. There is a big difference being a customer at the ripper bar and being the guy who spends 8 hrs a day there (but his job is to clean the toilettes)....You know what I mean. I love the bush, but I don't want it to be my life. I want it to be my vacation.
 
Welcome and you have an excellent attitude. You will fit right in here.

Thanks for bringing up Brian's post, I will let him know that he hasn't been forgotten around here.
 
kgd said:
Good to see Brian's words brought up here. Currently, he is surviving groupies on a musical tour with his band.

In truth, this forum has about 30-40% that is more broadly survival oriented and about 60-70% that is more wilderness/bushcraft orientated. There are other on-line forums that are totally bushcraft and others that are very much LNT-back packing. W&SS seems to find a decent niche in balancing among these.

Truth is, nobody fits into the extremes. Backpacking can be a bit boring when all you do is walk. Bushcraft is fun, but how many damn spoons you gonna carve? Survival plain old sucks, but damn your glad you got those skills while you could. Most of play loose with the strictest rules in any given camp. I like to push myself to get out there and then divvy up that time between practicing skills, which is just fun, more mundane activities like swimming in the lake, ice fishing or smoking a cigar by the fire and every once in a while try to push my comfort zone a little.

For me, being in the bush is the get away, it is the stress relief. But, I also don't lose myself to the mystique of it. There is a big difference being a customer at the ripper bar and being the guy who spends 8 hrs a day there (but his job is to clean the toilettes)....You know what I mean. I love the bush, but I don't want it to be my life. I want it to be my vacation.
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^what he said. There is a big difference in going to the woods for a week and going there for a year.
 
kgd said:
For me, being in the bush is the get away, it is the stress relief. But, I also don't lose myself to the mystique of it. There is a big difference being a customer at the ripper bar and being the guy who spends 8 hrs a day there (but his job is to clean the toilettes)....You know what I mean. I love the bush, but I don't want it to be my life. I want it to be my vacation.
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I agree. :thumbup: It's by far the best ways for me and my family to unwind. Spend time together that doesn't involve (schedules, homework, soccer practice, dance recitals, worrying about how in the hell I'm gonna pay for my Girls college tuition, one Daughter thinking her Sister is getting something she isn't an now the WORLD IS OVER, ect.....) ;)

It's not my life, that belongs to my family. It is however a passion of mine. I guess my point was more that this forum is called Wilderness and SURVIVAL, while most of the skills posts I have read go along with being confident with your skill set to be comfortable in the wilderness. There by making it a real VACATION. Well said KGD.
 
tonym said:
Welcome and you have an excellent attitude. You will fit right in here.

Thanks for bringing up Brian's post, I will let him know that he hasn't been forgotten around here.
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Please do. I have been wondering about him and what he's up to lately.
 
This is a great topic. I look at being out of doors like therapy. "Smoothing It" as someone smarter than me coined. Skills can be used for survival in many instances. Working on skills outdoors assures that I can mentally and emotionally survive another slot of time in urbania and with other people.
 
Right on, all. To me it's all about finding a spot and not having to do anything, but exactly what I want to do. It's an escape for me. It's funny how I, and probably a lot of you guys, "survive" society and thrive in the woods.

When I am out "roughing it," and after all the chores are done, I sit by the fire and do a lot of thinking. I think about how fortunate I am to be one of the few people in the world who can still enjoy the outdoors for being the outdoors. I think about the "trendy" outdoors people who only say they enjoy it because it's "in" or they like the clothing style and gaggets. A great example would be the episode of Man vs. Wild called Fan vs. Wild. I couldn't believe those guys. I was in an "outdoor outfitter" not long ago, and I kid you not I saw backpacking wine glasses... WTF. All I could think was, I better not run into someone using those on the trail. That will be the day I quit... probably not. I think about how bass-akwards our society has become. But, that is only the way I think when out alone. When it's me and my boy, or the scout group, or with friends I am too busy enjoying all the good times and laughs. What could be better?
 
CM_Rick said:
I think about the "trendy" outdoors people who only say they enjoy it because it's "in" or they like the clothing style and gaggets. A great example would be the episode of Man vs. Wild called Fan vs. Wild. I couldn't believe those guys. I was in an "outdoor outfitter" not long ago, and I kid you not I saw backpacking wine glasses... WTF.
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The above statement could not be better. :thumbup: I will be the first to admit that I do love "gear". I do. However it's not the gear that gives me the reason I go out.

A few years ago my buddy and I were coming out of the Lake Diablo area in the North Cascades after a 3 day trip. We ran into a Older fella, about 65-70 years young in my opinion heading for the same spot we had just came from. We talked for a bit. He asked about conditions up back in the bush, had we been there before, and just normal guys passing each other on the trail stuff. He mentioned that he and his brother had been backpacking that area for over 45 YEARS.

The best part. He had a 1970's magnesium outer frame backpack that looked as though it had survived a bomb, an old wool red and black flannel, as well as flannel pants. An Old Timer belt knife (looked to be a Sharp finger) and he was off for a one nighter by himself. My buddy and I were talking about him all the way to the first burger joint we could find (Power bar overload);)

It was obvious he didn't need, nor did he care if he was in fashion. If we could have, I would have loved to spend a night or two hanging out with this fella. I'm sure there would have been lots to learn. :thumbup:
 
ya, it's nice meeting people like that on the trail. I met an older gentleman back in the fall and talked for a while. He as in my area with the Lewis and Clark group. They were doing some work on a near by trail that Clark had taken after splitting from Louis on the journey back. It is nice to meet good folk and have good conversation. I don't like running into the trail-runners or mountain bikers, lol
 
I like the broader "Survival" aspect. It allows for post on environments outside of the wilderness such as survival in the urban setting after a natural disaster or some such incident. A lot of the skills cross over and are just as useful in an urban setting so that part works nicely.
 
Tyrkon Lawson said:
I like the broader "Survival" aspect. It allows for post on environments outside of the wilderness such as survival in the urban setting after a natural disaster or some such incident. A lot of the skills cross over and are just as useful in an urban setting so that part works nicely.
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I will only make fire using a bit of steel wool and a battery in an urban survival situation, just because I can't find that stuff in the woods... LOL! It's a jenra thing, like going in a biker bar and playing Britany Spears, you just wouldn't do it... LOL!
 
Very good thoughts on the topic of wilderness, survival, and bushcraft... I'm hoping to see many more posts from you Cascade...

My thoughts on nature are as follows...

JGON
[youtube]kez3MpAfSww[/youtube]
 
JGON said:
Very good thoughts on the topic of wilderness, survival, and bushcraft... I'm hoping to see many more posts from you Cascade..
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Thank you JGON.......:cool:

I enjoyed your video. Very well said IMO. I feel very fortunate to live in an area where a 45 min drive puts me in some fairly remote woods. Full of game trails, as well as old overgrown forest service/logging roads. I agree with you on getting out and exploring what is right in front of you. It's not always about that "epic" trip you just came back from or are planning for the future. Although..... those are fun too. ;)
 
I recon survival is about getting out into the bush (wilderness) and coming back to brag about it.
 
CM_Rick said:
I will only make fire using a bit of steel wool and a battery in an urban survival situation, just because I can't find that stuff in the woods... LOL! It's a jenra thing, like going in a biker bar and playing Britany Spears, you just wouldn't do it... LOL!
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:D:D:thumbup:

And though I have lighters and matches at home for the BBQ I almost always light my fires, especially back yard fire pit, with some Swedish Fire Steel. It's good practice and just more fun.
 
Just to be fully upfront, I have fold down wine glasses (the stem unscrews and packs into the glass). I've even used them when car camping with me wife. I might have even gotten a bit lucky that night ;)
 
kgd said:
Just to be fully upfront, I have fold down wine glasses (the stem unscrews and packs into the glass). I've even used them when car camping with me wife. I might have even gotten a bit lucky that night ;)
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You were dangerously close to having your "Man Card" revoked...... however the above statement gives you a reprieve. ;):D
 
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