Your Most Critical Survival Resource

[pict]

Every time I go into the bush I use a combination of both wilderness survival preparations and bushcraft techniques. My goal is to go into the bush in order to expand my knowledge and skill set and come out with more kit and resources than I took in. Every trip tends to take on the same schedule…

Day One – Get Stable, Work like a dog, get through the night, a good solution right now is better than the perfect solution too late.

Day Two – Get Comfortable, Evaluate/Correct, fix whatever’s broken, find all sorts of neat stuff in the area, turn shelter into the Hilton, sleep well.

Day Three – Camping/Hunting/Trapping/Fishing, expand my borders, locate what’s for dinner, start collecting enough to stay the week or walk out. Most often I just have to cut things short as they’re getting good because I have to get back to real life.

The most critical resource when using bushcraft techniques to solve these problems is TIME. The most advantageous aspect of using wilderness survival preparations to solve these problems is TIME. I would love to see a discussion of how much TIME it takes to do the various bushcraft techniques we practice. If the time factor is not clearly understood this lack of understanding could potentially create conditions in which the day one priorities of SHELTER-FIRE-WATER are not solved in time. A solid understanding of these techniques will allow a person to better evaluate how to spend their most critical survival resource, TIME.

I would like to see photos, if possible, of bushcraft techniques in action and hear how much time it took you to resolve the problem. To keep the focus let's stick to the three main categories of primitive fire lighting, natural shelter, and purifying water by boiling or creating a filter from natural means. Mac

 

[RescueRiley]

Interesting thread Pict... When we say natural shelter.. do we mean one constructed of all natural materials or are ponchos and tarps collected.. sme goes for fire (ferros allowed?) etc....

 

[pict]

I set this up to give plenty of leeway in responses. I'll post a few examples...

This rock shelter involved finding the location, clearing the ground, finding and cutting a pole, rigging the poncho, removing some rocks, and collecting bedding. It took about 1.5 hours to get it to the point he could spend two nights here.

This double bunk shelter built under a rock overhang took my daughter and I four hours to build. That also included the time it took to prepare bark lashings and collect bedding.

This is the typical open ground shelter over a grass bed. It involved finding a flat spot, not easy, clearing enough flat ground to stretch out, cutting a few poles, rigging the poncho, and ripping up enough grass to insulate the ground. The whole process took about 1.5 hours, with some of that spent in searching a location and traveling back and forth to where we had decent grass.

ETA - Each of these shelters make use of a poncho for overhead cover but still involved a substantial amount of work. How much more time would have been needed to build overhead cover with natural materials? How much time could have been saved by using a man-made ground pad?

Mac

 

[kgd]

Good thread topic.

I'm usually tent camping, so that means a straight 20 minutes set-up including clearing the ground and unpacking my stuffed animal companions

A big unknown for me in terms of time is wood for campfire fuel. How long does it take to find suitable wood? How far do I have to drag it with me? What tools do I have to process it? At a minimum, I want enough wood to last my evening campfire with some leftover for a breakfast fire should I choose to make one. Also, if things get really cold in an unplanned way, I may need to build-up or re-invigorate my evening campfire for warmth.

Clearly the parameters change with each trip. I can vary the size of the fire both from the perspective of safety (small fire ring) and to preserve use of wood. I can choose to burn rounds in a well established fire to prolong the burning etc. I find it really important during the first scouting exercise to try to locate wood not only for the first night, but to gage where I can find fuel for subsequent nights.

For a small fire, this pile gave me sufficient needs for my last campfire. I had an axe, but not a good sized saw which prolonged the processing time. A full sized buck saw would make the processing job 20 minutes, but with just an axe and in some cases using a knife to baton rounds, it was about 45 minutes to process. Give another 20 minutes to gathering the wood - in this case it was easy to find.

 

[siguy]

I usually carry a bivvy bag and a groundpad, in addition to a tarp, so setting up my shelter is fast and easy. It can take as little as 60 seconds to pick a spot, unroll my pad, lay out my bivvy bag, and put my sleeping bag or quilt into the bivvy bag.

If I expect bad weather, or if I am in a rocky/uneven area, shelter can take up to half an hour to set up. This means I have to locate and clear a level sleeping area that either has good tie-out points or ground that I can somehow fix my tarp to. I have to actually go through the motions of setting up my tarp and making sure it is taut and structurally stable for the expected weather, and worse.

When I skip the groundpad (greatly reducing the bulk of my kit) setup takes longer because I have to search the area for enough pine boughs to insulate me from the ground. For a night out in the winter, I spent about 45 minutes collecting boughs in a primarily coniferous forest. I didn't have to walk far at any time. I avoid doing this most of the time, because I like to leave the area as pristine-looking as I found it, and I hike on trails or return to the same area frequently, so I don't want to use up all the resources of the area.

As far as a survival/minimalist type of trip, this past winter I built a frame of medium logs and filled them with about a foot of dead leaves. This was my bed. I think it probably took about 45 minutes. Then I tied a ridge pole over the top of the bed and tied my tarp over it, and then tried to block the back of the shelter up with boughs, and collected a pile of boughs to pull in front of the door. Total construction time took about 1.5 hours. I should have spent about 30 more minutes blocking the ends and the sides of the tarp better, to actually seal in some warmth like I was aiming to do. On the trip before this, I made the mistake of building my shelter first, and then collecting firewood, when I only had about 30-45 minutes until the sun set.

In terms of fire...this takes the longest. Fire is rarely necessary, because I carry a sleeping bag or quilt as well as at least an extra layer of insulating clothing. This means that I can be comfortable in a temperature range well below what I realistically expect for any given trip. I do enjoy a fire at night, though, even just to sit next to for a while. I also often cook over a fire, if I cook at all. I always have my Fiskars slide saw, which can handle wood up to about 3" diameter comfortably. I can get a fire started and going strong usually in about 15 minutes if I'm in a hurry, using my Bic lighter that I usually use. I live in a well mixed forest that contains lots of coniferous trees, which easily yield plenty of kindling and small fuel wood to get a fire going. With the Fiskars I can section up longer pieces of wood, or simply break them, and lay them over the fire to burn, or next to the fire to dry enough to burn. If my Bic is taken out of the equation, I have my ferro rod and a film canister of PJCB in my bag, which can be used. I always keep at least a couple bundles of dry kindling reserved (often under my tarp or tucked into a rock crevice) in case I need to get the fire going again in the middle of the night or for a breakfast fire. To collect enough wood for an all night fire, I can take as little as 45 minutes or as long as two hours, depending on the area and the size of the fire I want. I usually keep my fires pretty small.

I usually carry alot of water, more than I expect to need. For an average day hike, I will fill my 3 liter water bladder. I always have a small bottle of bleach drops in my bag, which can be used to clean water that's been pre-filtered through a bandanna (also in my kit). If my bleach bottle got broken or lost, I usually have a stainless steel water bottle or cooking dish that I can boil water in. I can only treat a liter at a time, which can be difficult on the move, but in a camp it would not be an issue.

 

[SouthernCross]

G'day Pict

I would like to see photos, if possible, of bushcraft techniques in action and hear how much time it took you to resolve the problem.

A couple of trips ago, a change in wind direction saw the need for a wind break at the end of the fly.

Using a thin green branch..

... and a Gb hatchet, I collected the bark needed from a fallen limb

All up (including stripping the bark ) the wind break took less than an hour and gave 5 nights of comfort.

Breaking up wood for the fire takes very little time and effort when you have a forked tree. The limb in this picture took less than a minute to break up into smaller pieces.

Getting a fire going with wet wood isn't often a problem here lol. There are times though when being able to comes in handy.

First up I always gather a fair bit of kindling of different grades before I light the fire. The kindling pictured took around 20 minutes to collect.

and use this as the basis of the firelay :thumbup:

Kind regards
Mick

 

[SouthernCross]

Water during drought conditions is always a priority.

During a drought a couple of years ago, my friend & I went hunting in a remote local area. When we got there the permanent creek was dry..

Looking for water, we followed a game trail...

that lead us to a mountain spring and enough water for the week we were out.

IMO, making use of what nature provides is at the heart of bushcraft.

Making your own tools comes in handy, especially around the camp kitchen. A flat surface to prepare food on and something to stir the meal with comes in handy several times a day. Being able to make them from local wood saves the need to cart them in

Edited to add: The chopping board/coolamon took about 40 minutes to make & the stirrer took about 20 minutes.

Kind regards
Mick

 

[pict]

Southern Cross,

Good stuff and an interesting area to work in. How long did it take to make that water run from the time you made the decision to the time you had water you could drink? Mac

 

[HikingMano]

This is a great thread Mac :thumbup: Don't have much to contribute bushcraft wise, so far I've only ever been car camping, but I'm looking forward to following the discussion. I agree that time permeates everything, especially in the survival side of bushcraft. Your schedule (on the day time frame mentioned above) is well thought-out :thumbup:.

 

[pict]

We have all heard "The more you know the less you carry". That is true to an extent. My personal Central Brazil pack is down to about 15 lbs (give or take, much more if loaded out with water). I could get by without many of those items and I'd be stripped down to a total kit load of about 10 lbs. If any of those remaining items are removed from the pack my TIME factor will go up dramatically to bushcraft my way out of problems that could actually kill me.

This is the basic 10 lbs or so of kit I'm not willing to leave without. I might substitute a machete and scandi for the BK-7 but this is the kind of kit that will give me the time to resolve my problems on day one and make day two a pleasure.

I often get to where I'm going to be practicing wilderness survival later than I intended and while I'm not lost and not injured I am often struck by the pace I have to work at to get into a stable situation before the lights go out. That is using basic minimum kit like in the photo. Using pure bushcraft techniques, as in knife only, that time factor goes way up.

Lost in the woods I think I could manage to bushcraft my way out of any one of the big three (shelter-fire-water) on day one. Attempting to conjure up all three and get into a shelter, in front of a fire, and have clean water with pure bushcraft techniques would be beyond me unless I was in a very favorable place and conditions were right. Given all day, maybe if that's all I had to get done, but certainly not between mid afternoon and dark.Mac

 

[udtjim]

I always carry one of those good plastic tarps for emergency shelter, It has worked well many times until I could build something more permanate. In a real pinch you can even just roll up in it.

 

[koyote]

I'm a dedicated hammock convert these days. Don't get out as much as I'd like, but Leif turns 6 on Monday and I'm getting closer to that point!

But a hammock and a tarp are real winners for me. I'm not talking emergency survival without a packed bag here, but lightweight bushcrafty camping- I likes me poncho liner, mylar blankies, hammock, and tarp.

 

[pict]

Three critical tasks that take way too much time are building waterproof overhead cover, creating fire, and boiling water without a container. If your wilderness survival preparations allow you to do all three you are way ahead of the game. Mac

 

[HikingMano]

We have all heard "The more you know the less you carry". That is true to an extent. My personal Central Brazil pack is down to about 15 lbs (give or take, much more if loaded out with water). I could get by without many of those items and I'd be stripped down to a total kit load of about 10 lbs. If any of those remaining items are removed from the pack my TIME factor will go up dramatically to bushcraft my way out of problems that could actually kill me.
[...]

:thumbup:

This is my thinking behind my gear selection and what I choose to carry even on a simple dayhike (rendered from a perspective of Time, in this case). I don't want to improvise and bushcraft through every single problem, I want to solve them in the most efficient (reducing time), safe, and resource conserving manner possible. I want to stack the odds in my favor, not bet that I'm good enough in bushcraft to get by with whatever happens to be in my area. Especially if I'm injured.

Three critical tasks that take way too much time are building waterproof overhead cover, creating fire, and boiling water without a container. If your wilderness survival preparations allow you to do all three you are way ahead of the game. Mac

This is a point few ever address directly. I'm vastly less experienced than you and a lot of the other guys here, and it would most likely take me a lot longer to get all three set up before nightfall or a storm breaks etc. That's why I alway carry a tarp (and rope), guyot, and firekit. And I would still carry all three even if I had a ton of experience.

 

[Ravaillac]

G'day Pict
... and a Gb hatchet, I collected the bark needed from a fallen limb

Funny, this is exactly what I did this afternoon... and I did use a mini GB too... and I also carried some asat stuff... seriously... without knowing about this thread.

 

[sicily02]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread pict. Thanks alot. I like what you have to say.



Bryan

 

[udtjim]

Kyote! They grow up and are gone so fast that it makes you wonder where the years went. Get started as soon as you can. My Daughter made her first camping trip at about six months old and she still loves it 32 years later.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Great thread and info, as always, Pict. In your 'minimum' kit up top, can you list all the items? I can figure out several of course, just curious.

 

[pict]

Shelter - Lightweight bivy, Poncho, Poncho liner, Paracord

These items allow you to basically pick a good spot and move in. I do normally rip up enough grass for a decent mattress.

Water - US Army Canteen, Cup, Stove Sleeve, PVC Filter, Potable Aqua or Clor-in 1.

These allow me to make use of water where I find it and make it safe in a half hour. It also allows boiling as soon as I have a fire going with no need to improvise a container.

Fire - Large Bic, Mini-Bic in canteen cover pouch, Ferro rod,

Need I say more? This photo must have been taken during dry season as the alcohol stove is in the photo. During dry season I use the stove for safety.

Knife - BK-7 set up as a self contained PSK (That's another thread)

Some of the major items on the knife sheath are a space blanket and a five liter water bag, altoids tin containing: spare compass, LED light, sparklite & tinder, Starflash signal mirror, moleskin, needle and line.

I more often carry a machete and a scandi but leave this one in my pack when at home. The kit with the knife provides for everything except shelter.

Light

Having a light is a good thing in a "day-pack" allowing you to work after dark. I carry at least one AA LED and two micro LED lights. The small light in this photo is not my normal light.

Possibles Pouch (manpurse)

This is the small purse-like object at the top. I carry all kinds of small stuff in there some of which is already listed. Major items include a Recta DP-2 compass, DEET, Ferro rod and PJ cotton, Fox 40, boo-boo kit, oral rehydration mix, raw sugar blocks.

This is what experience has taught me I need to carry in Central Brazil. In my opinion once you remove items below this level you start to move out of wilderness survival in 2009 back to the stone age. Some items are redundant only because they are that important. Mac

 

[GhostWolf]

Great thread guys. I think everybody is gonna learn something new as this thread continues. :thumbup:
Speaking of which, please tell us about the PVC filter.