Dr visit this last week, weighed me, nurse or tech or The lady, says you gained 7 pounds since you were in the Hosp.......I said no I just have my pants on with my "stuff" in my pockets, and belt.......She said, "Oh....".........It went right over her head.Originally Posted by Rick
Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
Evoking the 50 year old rule...
First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27
I absolutely am confused by the question..... Find yourself with nothing to survive??????... Well, then... I guess you'd b F*ed!
Survival sometimes means improvisation... Improvise with what is available....
So... "nothing to survive"?..... That puts me in the vacuum of space absolutely naked.... Or, F*ed, as I said earlier.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
A quest for knowledge is never complete.
The only easy day was yesterday.
... As for primitive ideas...
Find people who have that skillset and learn from them,
Find literature on the subject - read and study it
Practice and perfect your skills
Once you've done that- PRACTICE AND PERFECT, practice and perfect, PRACTICE AND PERFECT, practice and perfect... Continue as needed....
Once you've done that.... You'll be in a much better place!
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
A quest for knowledge is never complete.
The only easy day was yesterday.
For the sake of arguement on the OP scenario, let's say you were kidnapped by some dastardly person, driven around until they got some relative to pay the ransom, and then to avoid dealing with you, dumped you off in the woods somewhere with nothing in your pockets and no idea where you are, since they had you in the trunk the whole time. Other than that, I have no idea how you would wind up in the woods and lost without ANY gear whatsoever. But, going from that square one, I'd say do the following:
First, orient yourself. Find a clearing to get a bearing on the sun. Remember that in the northern hemisphere, the sun is slightly canted to the south part of the sky, and moves from east to west. Get a stick, shove it in the ground straight up and down, mark the ground where the tip of the stick's shadow is, and wait for half an hour or so. Once you have the new point, you now know your cardinal directions (where North/South is, where East/West lies, and now you can take a look around for landmarks that will help you stay on target while you walk in a specific direction, using line of sight/dead reckoning.
Second, assess what your situation is. Is it summer? Winter? What are the temps? What is your physical condition? How are you dressed? What time of the day is it, roughly speaking? What is your environment (All woods? Broken terrain? Any water? Rocks? What kind of vegetation, especially what kind of trees?)? Do you have any idea whatsoever where things might be in relation to your location (such as knowing that if you walk in a straight line from here in a specific direction, you will eventually hit a particular city, or interstate, or river, or fall off the map into the ocean, or whatever)? It doesn't matter if it would be ten days from now, if you KNOW for a fact that you are EAST of some specific landmark, for example, then you should work with that. At least you would have a goal, and you know that if you just keep going, you will EVENTUALLY get out. Unless there is a better route, or the way you would go would run into some other hazard like a swamp or chasm, I'd say figure on going in the direction you know rather that one you don't.
Look for wood, rocks, plants or inner bark that can be used as cordage, various types of plant matter that can be used as tinder, etc. Also note if there is any trash nearby (there usually is, even in the remotest places) that you might be able to put to use. Never discard or discount anything that might come in handy in a survival situation. Also take inventory of what you DO have on you. Unless your captors dumped you here naked, you might have more than you think:
* Eyeglasses (possible firestarting magnifiers)
* Belt (cordage/carrying)
* Shoelaces (cordage/firedrill bowstring/fishing or trapping)
* Cotton clothing/t-shirt (lint/charcloth for firestarting/water filtration/cover for neck, face, or head against sun, smoke, wind, or for cooling if wetted.
* Metal such as keys, the toes in steel-toed boots, belt buckles, etc. (various uses from spear points, bark strippers, digging tools, woodworking tools, skinning tools, cloth cutter, possible striker for quartz-bearing rock to get a spark.
* Watch crystal (signalling using sunlight, possible magnifier for sun based firestarting.
* Elastic (underwear tops) could be used to make frog or fish gigging sling bow or a small game hunting slingshot
Next, look for animal tracks. They usually lead TO water. Trails are everywhere, and there is a reason why animals usually follow a trail again and again. Usually it is water, but it could be a bunch of berry bushes, or a route to a more open pathway, sometimes a road. Might be a salt lick. In any event, it is the place to be if no other specific destination or path (such as a water way) is available.
Look around at some of your surrounding materials from a building standpoint. If you had to, could you make a lean-to or debris hut with what is around you? A nest even? Are there evergreens for boughs to insulate you from the ground, and to insulate the shelter walls, or to provides sustanence in the form of spruce shoots or pine needle tea? Any paper birches for tinder? Various young trees/shrubs whose inner bark can be stripped for cordage? Deadfall trees that can be mined for dry tinder sawdust or for grubs (food, bait, etc.)?
How much usable daylight do you have? Are you able to get moving right away or will you be better off making shelter and fire and leaving at first light?
Finally, before you leave this area completely, you came to this place somehow. Do you recognize landmarks? Do you see signs where you entered the area such as broken branches, your shoe/boot tracks, or other obvious signals that you passed this way that you might be able to follow back to a more familiar starting point?
Keep an eye out for fresh water. You should rehydrate at any opportunity. REGARDLESS of your ability to properly sterilize it, if you have gone for hours without drinking anything and you are doing heavy work, hiking, or the external temps are very hot or cold, you need to rehydrate. Worry about what they will do about your stomach problems AFTER you are rescued. For now, making sure you have enough water in your system is more important than worrying about getting the runs or puking sometime in the next few days. I know everyone goes on and on about making water potable, but sometimes (especially if your kidnappers failed to leave you some pots and pans, filtration device, or Polar Pure tablets. LOL) you just have to do what needs to be done and be willing to go through getting sick later if it gives you the ability to get the heck out of your current situation and back to civilization.
Don't eat anything. Seriously. First, if it is something known like berries or jerky, the body needs more water to process them. Second, if it is some unknown plant or meat, you could get sick from it or it could kill you, and that is a ridiculous risk. You don't NEED to eat. All of us could last 2 weeks or more on our existing body fat. It's just not worth it for a few dozen calories.
Rocks can be ore-bearing (iron pyrite for example) or quartz-bearing (granite, flint, agate, etc.) and good for firestarting. Pocket a few and try different combinations to see if you can get sparks.
Sticks can be used as weapons, or walking staffs, or markers to give you a marching line, or to make a crude sundial, to give a few examples. Of course, other uses might present themselves, so keep an eye out for specific sizes and species.
Hope this helped.
"A free citizenry should never abide a government that seeks control over it's people rather than service to them"
Celtic Warrior- great post... Bonus points for having the patience to type it all out...
EXTRA BONUS POINTS- for using the words- dastardly person
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
A quest for knowledge is never complete.
The only easy day was yesterday.
I"d probably follow the road where they dumped me out and try to hitchhike home. Just don't hop in with the first alien that flies by. I won't make that mistake again.
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.
It has to be in a special package tethered to you to qualify as a SK?
It can not be the "stuff you always carry"?
Do I now have to empty my pockets, put everything into a little pouch on my belt with a safety lanyard attached and mark it with some special symbol?
If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?
No, you can do whatever you likeMy point was that if stuff is jangling around loosely in a pocket or if it's kicking around in pouch you're not wearing, be it with or without a special symbol, it's entirely possible to get seperated from it in the scenarios I mentioned.
Actions speak louder than words
Wait.....there are special symbols? No one tells me anything.
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.
Plus one on that, gave ya some rep........
If I were you I'd copy and past this to a word doc, so as to not have to type it again next week......
Good job.
Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
Evoking the 50 year old rule...
First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27
Same here.
S.M.
I have not heard the term "dastardly person" since the last episode of Dudly DoRight on the Rocky Show.
And yes, that much typing is really going to extremes for an OP that has not stopped by to say hello since making the querry just after midnight two days back.
If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?
There are only three places I go that I could possible have this situation happen. One is a desert, little water, no rain, no trees, small brush, plenty of rabbits, snakes and coyotes, some trash, lots of rocks and hills. Could I survive with nothing? well, with my average attire, my spk, and my knowledge, I'd say yes. If I was in my birthday suit, it'd give it the best I shot. Pee on the dirt and make a mud roof with the twigs placed over rocks, gather water with the trash I found around, reflect the suns rays of it into brush for fire (best I got bow drill breaks to easily with the twigs I've used), and for food? decent sized rock should get the job done. Don't think i'll do too well in the desert with absolute 0. But the other places, tons of pine trees. give me a good sized pine tree, I think I could make a good run for it. Make a shelter out of the trees, build fire with a hand drill, collect water as it rains with twigs bent into a cup with leaves (from another tree), tons of deer, chipmunks and bugs to catch, I feel better in a forest than a desert.
Pee on the dirt and make a mud roof
This is too brilliant not to use as a title for a book.
It'll just write itself, it's that good.
Ok, I'll take a shot at it. Shelter. Pick up or break off tree limbs and fronds and build a shelter. Cutting edge. Bang a couple of rocks together and get a sliver of rock sharp enough to do surgery with. Water. You may have to drink out of a stream. If you don't you're going to die from dehydration, anyway. Fire. Bow drill, sparks from rocks, fire plow. Don't stand there feeling sorry for yourself. Start working on making or finding something to boil water in. Scrounge for something edible. Throw a rock and kill a small animal. Get those rescue fires going. The sun will come up and give you direction in the morning. Don't panic! I think I covered the basics. Anybody else want to chime in?
I agree x10.
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