Wilderness Survival Campout

[daveyburt]

Does that mean you're up for the next one ?

I'd do it again.

Joe was great and the spot was perfect. I've never been winter camping. I learned a lot, both through others shared wisdom and personal experience. I witnessed many ways to get through the cold with far less gear then I humped, and learned a lot from the fireside chat.

I'm beat and it feels good - Great experience!

 

[Tim L]

I brought my daughter up this afternoon to see the debris shelter and the site was spotless . That is how all campers should leave the area . Nice job all.

 

[Boghog1]

here is some information for those that wanted to know about my mag light LED

http://www.amazon.com/TerraLUX-TLE-5EX-MiniStar2-Extreme-Flashlight/dp/tags-on-product/B000B868MK
and
http://www.amazon.com/TerraLUX-TCS-...ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1331553242&sr=1-1

if I find that article about using a baton I will post that up as well

 

[Mike-Mike]

In for the next one!

 

[jmjkd]

Looks like you guys had a ball….did it turn out to be just a camp out? or structured learning? Maybe you could share a bit about the skills you learned, someone mentioned the yucca plant?
thanks
btw how close were you near water?

 

[Tim L]

Thanks Boghog I just ordered the light upgrade.

 

[Boghog1]

Looks like you guys had a ball….did it turn out to be just a camp out? or structured learning? Maybe you could share a bit about the skills you learned, someone mentioned the yucca plant?
thanks
btw how close were you near water?

There was structure but it wasn't so fixed that we had to drop one thing so we could start another, as for yucca it is a great spindle material but isn't found locally except for as an ornamental in peoples gardens, we used mullein for spindles and cedar for hearthboards. water was about a 7-10 minute walk away.

ETA
to those that attended I want to apologize for some bad information I gave you, for chlorine it is 2 drops of bleach per liter and for iodine it is 5 drops, this is for clear running water, for cloudy still water use 4 and 10 drops respectively time will increase as well. again water additives that contain citric acid will kill the taste of the iodine but only add after your sterilization is complete. boiling is still my preferred method.

 

[Tim L]

The only problem I saw was there just wasn't enough time. One more full day after the camp site was established to hike around and reap the benefits of the members knowledge. Saturday was the hike in,build shelter, obtain wood for the fire and build the fire pit. It gets dark fairly early so if Sunday was a full day of exploration it would have made a good thing even better. That said ,people have lives and responsibilities to get back to so it is what it is. Perhaps next time we can get an advance party to set up ,freeing up instruction time.All of the attendees had great input in this area after they hiked out.

 

[jmjkd]

Boghog I was wondering, why did you choose yucca for spindles, I would think that the material around here would be better suited for the guys learning, they will never find yucca but cedar is every where? Was there a specific reason?

One more thing and I will shut up. The debris hut seemed to be the focus point, was there any personalized twist you did to make the shelter more comfortable or functional outside the norm of the average debris hut? I always try to pick up a little personalized twist if I can.
Thanks

 

[Boghog1]

I didn't choose yucca, I used mullein found locally in the wild, yucca is an excellent spindle and is available locally in peoples yards as a decorative plant, I got some from my local chiropractors office garden. Cedar is much more difficult to locate here in NH than down in MA as well but it is plentiful in people yards as well in the form of fences and siding. what the lesson was with the bow drill was the mechanics of it once they practice some more the hope is they will try different woods local to them and see what works, plus what if one of them end up in a local that yucca is plentiful they will know they can use it. I will be trying it with some blackberry this year too. the key is experiment.

As for the debris hut everyone is personal and we covered that in training

ETA
Mullein

Yucca

 

[daveyburt]

for the record, we saw tracks that looked like this:

00oo 00o o 00oo o
and this
0> 0> 0>
and some like this
>- >- >-

 

[Andy in NH]

The debris hut seemed to be the focus point, was there any personalized twist you did to make the shelter more comfortable or functional outside the norm of the average debris hut?

I'd say that the focus point was the bow and drill. I think we spent more time working that than any other area. The participants were working it so hard that only a few pictures were taken.

The take away I got from Boghog1 about the debris shelter was his rule of thumb; the apex is waist high and the ridge beam is twice your height in length.

The time we spent making cordage was also valuable to me. The materials weren't ideal, but I have a better understanding now how to do it and what to look for.

 

[Tim L]

I also want to add that AndyinNH was so true to the cause he carved his own tent stakes and drove them in with a bigger stick. That Jarhead is the real deal.

 

[Matt_SERE]

I didn't choose yucca, I used mullein found locally in the wild, yucca is an excellent spindle and is available locally in peoples yards as a decorative plant, I got some from my local chiropractors office garden. Cedar is much more difficult to locate here in NH than down in MA as well but it is plentiful in people yards as well in the form of fences and siding. what the lesson was with the bow drill was the mechanics of it once they practice some more the hope is they will try different woods local to them and see what works, plus what if one of them end up in a local that yucca is plentiful they will know they can use it. I will be trying it with some blackberry this year too. the key is experiment.

As for the debris hut everyone is personal and we covered that in training

ETA
Mullein

NATURES TOILET PAPER!

The leave are that soft and the shaft when dried is a great spindle for around here.

I so wish i could have been there.

Great job everyone and I am still going through my guide books to see which tracks those were that were seen; [sad2]

 

[Tim L]

Looks Squatchy !

 

[Andy in NH]

...he carved his own tent stakes and drove them in with a bigger stick.

Not bringing the pegs & poles for my shelter and a hatchet (to drive the stakes with) saved me about 3.5 pounds. I managed to keep my equipment weight under 40 lbs.

 

[Tim L]

If Bear Grylls sees that his junk will shrink a half inch from shame.

 

[Twigg]

If Bear Grylls sees that his junk will shrink a half inch from shame.

While in his hotel room...

 

[Chrisg67]

While in his hotel room...

while drinking his pee...

 

[Tim L]

"Bloody flippin Norah!"" I've stubbed my toe ! Quick, everyone pee on me !"

 

[Billy2]

Just wanted to Post that I had a great time and learned a lot. I would do this again just to reevaluate my chosen camping gear and try to get my pack a lot lighter. I will try to get my pics up today or tomorrow.

 

[jmjkd]

Just wanted to Post that I had a great time and learned a lot. I would do this again just to reevaluate my chosen camping gear and try to get my pack a lot lighter. I will try to get my pics up today or tomorrow.

Can you share with us what you learned please? for those of us who missed it and might be thinking of going to the next one.

Also Andy, did everyone get fire with Bow Drill? and how did you make your tent stakes?
thanks guys...

 

[Twigg]

<snip>Also Andy, <snip> and how did you make your tent stakes?
thanks guys...

Have you never gone camping ?
Its a pointy stick fer cryin' out loud !

OK that's a fancy pointy stick, but really ?

 

[jmjkd]

Ahhhhh? if it was just camping why was it called a “survival” camp trip???
what makes this different?

The skills of woodcraft have been handed down for centuries, Andy’s cool so I asked him about his tent stakes and how he made them, I’ve seen them made a lot of ways…not just a pointed stick .Ok?

Andy?

 

[Boghog1]

no one got fire going he made his stakes with a knife and it really just was a bunch of guys sitting around drinking beer and taking random shots in the air because here in NH that is how we roll. call it whatever you want to call it.

 

[Andy in NH]

...and how did you make your tent stakes?

MrTwigg's "pointy stick " reference pretty much summed it up, but I can elaborate a little bit.

I found several green saplings of a diameter that would fit well with the peg loops of my shelter. Using my Corona pruning saw, I cut them to length at about 9". I cut enough to stake out the cardinal points of my shelter - ten. Then I sharpened them with my my EDC knife; a Benchmade Griptillian.

Using a MKI MOD 0 log, I pounded them into the soft earth until I thought they were deep enough to hold the shelter down. The forecast did not predict any high winds, but there are only a few things worse than having you shelter come down in the middle of the night.

As I was making the stakes, we joked about how they were "100% organic, American made, adjustable, renewable" tent pegs.

Using the same tools, I also made the front and back poles for my shelter out of a 2" diameter stick.

Ahhhhh? if it was just camping why was it called a “survival” camp trip???
what makes this different?

It was a camping trip where we worked on "survival skills"; fire making, shelter building, natural cordage, and others. If we had practiced chess or the Irish River Dance, the trip would have been called something else. Nobody showed up with just a space blanket and a knife vowing to, "shiver through the night and dig for grubs". I didn't see anyone with just a double-bit axe either.

One of the first things I said to Boghog1 on Sunday morning was, "Looks like fulfilled the first rule of survival!"

I experimented with "under-bagging" where you bring a sleeping bag rated for higher temperatures than is expected and use other equipment / skills to make up the difference. Bringing a smaller bag you can save weight and space.

The temperature was predicted to be in the upper teens on Saturday night. I have no idea what the actual temperature was that night, but I had ice in the bottom of my insulated cup in the morning.

I used two 40*F bags and a USGI poncho liner. To supplement heat, I placed a canteen of hot water in the bottom of my bag and kept a candle lantern burning through the night. I slept pretty well and didn't get cold.

We took time to get to know each other standing around "nature's television" and discussed the pros and cons of different gear.

There was a discussion between the terms; "primitive living skills" and "practical survival skills". I'm not sure we ever came to an exact definition of each, or even agreed on the concept, but the discussion was lively and intelligent.

I think I'm more of a field craft / practical-skills survivalist than a primitive-living survivalist. If I need a fire NOW, I'd rather reach for my ferro-rod and cotton balls/Vaseline than hunt for the materials necessary for a bow drill. If I need a shelter NOW, I'd rather dig out my tarp than spend the time building a debris shelter. I'm not trying to say that those other skills are unimportant, but with the type of back-country roving / rambling I do, I find that my choices better fulfill my requirements.

 

[jmjkd]

I’m with you on tha practical-skills But the primitive stuff is fun to do as well. and thanks man that was good.

You said you used a saw, do you ever carry a small ax or hatchet? A guy from Iowa showed me a very cool 6 point cut to make awesome stakes in the time it takes to make 6 chops. . It’s really an exercise for folks to learn ax woodcraft but you get the benefit of getting ground stakes as well. You can baton it if you had a half decent blade I’ll pass it on if you want.

 

[Twigg]

As I was making the stakes, we joked about how they were "100% organic, American made, adjustable, renewable" tent pegs.

Nice write up on the fabrication of tent pegs.

But you forgot "biodegradable".

 

[Coyote33]

...davyburt prepares his evening meal.

Did you guys carry in the firewood, or split and saw it all into log lengths? I can't imagine how long that would take me when camping out with small tools, for just one night. I'd have just burned the wood in half.

 

[Tim L]

Boghog1 brought a small amount of firewood from his stock for late night, but the rest was blow down tree branches and downed trees so yes to both.There was an abundance of blow down in the area.