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Thread: @ people who have done extended Wilderness living....

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    Default @ people who have done extended Wilderness living....

    I have a goal in mind for about 2 years from now to head out on my own for a bit.

    I'm not so naive as to say "I'm going" and assume it's all going to be sunshine and rainbows. Reality has a tendency to knock your **** in the dirt. You need the proper tools. The one tool I think thats probably second most important besides your mind is your body. Really haven't seen to much on this.

    Do you have a regime you stick to a few months before you head out or is this really not something most people concern themselves with?

    Personally, I've started getting back in shape now to be as physically sound as possible, but I realized mid workout today that I'm a big guy @ 6'2" 280. Yes I gots me a beer belly but I've got alot of muscle on me too and I would think thats not conducive to a long term foraging/hunting lifestyle. Even getting down to "my old fightin' weight" I'm looking at 230lbs plus.Thats ALOT of calories a day to mantian.

    I know the body will naturally regulate itself but theres no point in making life any harder than it's going to be at the begining. I may just be over analyzing things but if it would server me better I can completely change my work out to try to go leaner.


  2. #2
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Moose - Since we don't know your skill set or lack thereof I'm going to error on the side of caution and give you this link:

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ve-in-the-Wild
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  3. #3

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    Wow...how the heck did I miss that.... Thanks.

    As far as skill set. It's pretty basic.Thats why I'm not planning to head out for a couple of years. I have alot of learning to do. I've already amassed a list of 60+ books I feel reading will compliment the skills I'll be practicing.Going to attend a survival school as well. I've come across Alderleaf and will research more on the link you gave to Earthwalk Northwest in another thread.
    Last edited by _Moose_; 07-20-2011 at 10:50 PM.

  4. #4

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    I am curious if you have any insight on my question in the original thread though Rick. Common sense is screaming at me that I should probably focus on mainly cardio with light weight training. If I keep going routine I'm on now I'll just be a big ole' slab of meat.

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    I'm certainly no expert - but will offer this....
    Cardio and weight training are good - add to that hiking and backpacking, or real world work outs to acclimate your body to what you intend to do.
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    Moose; this is a report I just filed on a different forum about todays dayhike through hell. Note: I was packing about 60 pounds of gear and I am near 65 years old. Yes, I am very tired. Was a hard day.

    "Well I did it, the killer dayhike to "Hell". Up Summit Cr. into East Cr. jump into Colorado Creek, transition over to Fox Creek, have lunch, explore two side valleys in Colorado Creek on the way out. 10 hours & 45 Minutes. Colorado Creek is awful. One Grizzly, and one Black Bear at 10 feet. I was able to call him up close, making crying sounds. I got the grizzly to turn and start coming, but he got skid dish and would not come. Was a good day hike. No Caribou, No Sheep, No Humans."
    Last edited by Sourdough; 07-21-2011 at 02:22 AM.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Okay.....color me quizzical but why on earth would you want to call a bear? If he thought you were lunch wouldn't he be hungry by the time he got to you? I know I get hungry just looking at the menu.

    Moose - I am the last person that needs to give you advice on physical training. I'll just say that Crash's advice is very good. You need to be out hiking to ensure that leg, ankle and foot muscles are being worked on the kind of terrain they will be seeing. Hauling a pack is a pretty good cardio vascular work out and gets your torso and leg muscles accustomed to doing what you will be asking them to do. In addition, you'll be finding the right pack in the process. If a pack is no good for everyday hikes it won't get any better for hikes lasting weeks or longer.

    Oh, yeah. 65 pound packs belong in the back of the truck. Not on MY body.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  8. #8

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    Changing your diet might be one of the first steps to your goal. Eat anly the foods you plan on eating during your walk in the woods.
    Walking should be another first. Start walking until you can easily walk the same distance you plan on traveling during your walk in the woods.
    Just doing these two things should drop your weight.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Okay.....color me quizzical but why on earth would you want to call a bear?
    It is fun to call animals in close. I had my Glock 22 RTF, No worries.

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    Not a Mod finallyME's Avatar
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    Extended wilderness living requires a lot of WORK. Chopping, sawing, hauling, climbing etc. Weight training only gets you so far. You need to condition your body to work, and that means doing the work. Doing the work now also teaches your body how to do it more efficiently. Someone who has never dug a hole, or chopped wood might think that there is nothing to it. But, there are tricks on how to do each one. It takes time and experience to figure out all the tricks.
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  11. #11

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    Build some callouses both on your hands and feet, that will help.

  12. #12

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    Alot of sound advice. I really apreciate the responses.

    Researching packs right now. I'll probably be humping 80 to 90lbs a min 5 miles a day(terrain permitting).I know that sounds like to much,but I did it in the Corps for longer distances so I don't see why I couldn't pull it off now (after training).

    Unfortunately theres no place to train for the terrain that I'll be going into where I'm at. I'm currently in southern Oklahoma and will be doing my sojourn in the NW. So the best I can do is as much flat land hiking as possible it seems.

    As far as cutting wood goes. Thats a great idea that never really crossed my mind. Yeah, I used to do it alot, but that was 20 yrs ago. I have no reason to cut it for myself but maybe I can find some older folks that need some help with it and get some practice in and help them out at that same time.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Why do you think you need that much weight? Have you tried to define what you intend to take? Remember, you aren't fighting an enemy so 300 rounds of ammo isn't something you'll need to hump with you. You might start making a list to see what you think will be required. Once you have the list honed to where you think you are close then you'll have a better idea of the size of pack you need and how much weight you'll have to carry.

    Most folks look for the pack first but if you don't know what you intend to put in it how do you know what size or type of pack you need?
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Why do you think you need that much weight? Have you tried to define what you intend to take? Remember, you aren't fighting an enemy so 300 rounds of ammo isn't something you'll need to hump with you. You might start making a list to see what you think will be required. Once you have the list honed to where you think you are close then you'll have a better idea of the size of pack you need and how much weight you'll have to carry.

    Most folks look for the pack first but if you don't know what you intend to put in it how do you know what size or type of pack you need?

    Yesterday I humped that 60# load, and I kept thinking, "If this really was a bug'out, I could carry much more". Yesterday I was looking for the perfect spot to start hiding stuff. The good news is that I found it, The bad news is I foolishly kept looking for a spot as good only closer. And I ended up packing everything round robin, in and back out to the truck. But I got good exercise, I know more clearly what my ability is.

    To answer your question: If I really had to bug'out from some mythical hoard of hungry humans, I would take all the food that I could. Even if I had to hide it on the way, and come back for it. In fact I would have three packs @ 85 pounds, and I would relay them out. I can't think of why you would not want as much food as you could haul.

    I also keep careful note of all eatable animals encountered, including robins, magpies, Harry marmots, grouse, etc. Just to train myself to always be aware that there are meals everywhere.

  15. #15

    Default people who have done extended wilderness living

    Second what Crashdive said. Weight training and cardio are excellent, but recommend that you do extended hiking at every opportunity in addition. The difference this makes in conditioning is amazing. Recommend thehiking be done in the woods if possible--realistic conditions.Wilderness survival won't include sitting on your butt most of the day. You will be on the move most of the time. Your naturalframe size has a lot to do with how light you can get. My Son is 6'2'', muscular and weighed 185 when he finished Boot Camp. The more weight you can lose, the easier things will be. Good luck, it will be an experience.

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Why do you think you need that much weight? Have you tried to define what you intend to take? Remember, you aren't fighting an enemy so 300 rounds of ammo isn't something you'll need to hump with you. You might start making a list to see what you think will be required. Once you have the list honed to where you think you are close then you'll have a better idea of the size of pack you need and how much weight you'll have to carry.

    Most folks look for the pack first but if you don't know what you intend to put in it how do you know what size or type of pack you need?
    I'm guesstimating on the weight Rick, but I'm planning on being out there a min of 3 months on my own. So in addition to the things I learn to forage and can catch for food I want to make sure I have a solid base of food. I've started my list but it seems I learnng something new everyday so it's fluctuating like crazy.

    Plus I do understand that I'll learn things that will make me more efficient as I gear up over these 2 years so I may "think" I need something now, but by the time comes to go I might have the skill, and more importantly the confidence in the skill to not "need" a particular piece of gear.

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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    SD - There is no way I'd hump a 60 pound pack. I can't do it. Seen the doc too many times to have illusions of hauling something like that. I've hossed a pack far too heavy to be comfortable and all you do is hump. If I had to do anything else I felt I was ill prepared. Even to defend myself. You might be able to get by with it and if you can then good for you. That's one of the reasons I'll stay put as long as I can.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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    Senior Member Winter's Avatar
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    The "exercise" talk for preparation seems counter intuitive. Slow is good.
    I had a compass, but without a map, it's just a cool toy to show you where oceans and ice are.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    SD - There is no way I'd hump a 60 pound pack. I can't do it. Seen the doc too many times to have illusions of hauling something like that. I've hossed a pack far too heavy to be comfortable and all you do is hump. If I had to do anything else I felt I was ill prepared. Even to defend myself. You might be able to get by with it and if you can then good for you. That's one of the reasons I'll stay put as long as I can.
    This is why I want to cache supplies in more than one location.

  20. #20

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    I strongly recommend stretching. This will reduce muscle tightness, improving muscle endurance, and reducing chance of injury.
    Last edited by Task; 01-03-2012 at 03:40 PM.
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