Survival Quest Camping Help - Multiple Month Survival in National Forest (CA)

[Kamel]

Well im glad im a trained CNA, ahh bet you guys didnt know this punk rocker was a certified *** wiper did yah :P

[Sourdough]

If it's an absoulte failure, I will admit, and you can all point and laugh and say

"I told you good luck with that."

It is NEVER a failure if You learned.

[BENESSE]

Well im glad im a trained CNA, ahh bet you guys didnt know this punk rocker was a certified *** wiper did yah :P

If you combine that with certified ***kisser, you'll be supremely employable.

[Sarge47]

You do realize this website is called "Wilderness Survival".

Define "Survival."

I understand it's annoying to hear idiots proclaiming "I'm just like Survior-Man weee" but I've never even watched that show.

Too bad, it's pretty good. They re-run it quite often. So's "Dual Survival, BTW."

And for many beginners it's not comfortable, it is a matter of survival. I don't even watch TV, it's propaganda and crap.

Sounds to me like you've heard about "Man vs. Wild."

If I had a family who was even close to wilderness minded, I would enjoy nature a little more comfortably, but I have no money, no support, no vehicle, and no home that I'm allowed to store hunted game. Not even a fireplace. Electric pans, and apathetic parents whose idea of wilderness is the park for 2 hours. They are willing to give me a ride to drop me off though. Sob story aside,

I'm truly sorry to hear that. Mine were the same way, however the Boy Scouts helped out a lot!
And that was when I was your age!

Realistically, "simply leaving So-Cal" is not so simple. Nor is going to college. To me college is just a business where they take your money, and then you still have the same chance of getting a job. The best chance at finding a job is just knowing people and connections, which I don't have.
Every successful job endeavor I've heard of was just, "My buddy got it for me." "My parents set me up." "My friend's Dad hired me."

​You need to talk to my kid brother. His college education was paid by the Military and he graduated college and went to work for the Caterpillar Corporation based on his academic record alone! Today he travels all over the world and has summited both Mt' Fuji in Japan and Mt. Kilimanjaro in South Africa. You make your own way! It's all part of "survival."

You don't know how many times people have gotten out of college and then said "Now what, I still can't find a job."

Then you would still be in the same boat you're in now. I used to hire for an insurance agency and I do know what you're talking about. None of those people would listen to anything I tried to tell them so they left still unemployed as they were when they arrived. We never hired losers.

I plan on living minimal, and trying to get into photography and journalism until I make some connections.

This, oft-times, requires some college courses.

I know a lot of things are illegal, I'm taking every move I can to not be an idiot.

Then please pay attention to what we're trying to tell you.. I worked with a guy who went hiking through bear country in Alaska every summer. He never carried a firearm, just loud bells on his staff and never had a problem.

Hunting License, fishing, Deer Tags, Moving site every two weeks, listening to what rangers tell me.

Whatever, if they value a bears life over mine, that's a problem.

Well, they may have more of a problem with you carrying a firearm in a National Park. You also will have the responsibility to prove that your life was in danger if you do shoot a bear, and not just on your say-so either. Finally, what caliber gun are you taking? Pistol or rifle, or both?

Will update.

That is extremely respectable Sourdough, especially for the much harsher environment than CA.

You can learn a lot from SD!

Some of this thinking is twisted, wanting to venture into wilderness life is not akin to robbing a bank.

The analogy was speaking to legalities.

The forest laws have seriously made people into conformist fear-mongerers.

And for good reason. Since we have criminals running meth labs in the Wilderness, as well as a large abundance of arson-inflicted forest fires, new laws have been added.

Like I said, will update, I envy you luckier people who have money to just camp legally with plenty of supplies,
Huh? Let me tell you, I operate on a very low budget, take care of my family, and still find ways to procure outdoor gear! Use your creative powers that you'll need to have if you embark on your journey!

but I wll try.

Quoting Yoda here: "Do or do not! There is no "try!"

Let you guys know when I'm setting off on a shorter test run.

Actually I'm looking forward to it!

If it's an absoulte failure, I will admit, and you can all point and laugh and say: "I told you good luck with that."

I wouldn't laugh at you, but I'm really great at "I told you so's!" However, I DO applaud your desire to get out into the Wild, I just want you to do it right so that you enjoy it. You absolutely need to hook up with somebody who's experienced. And don't give me that line "I can't find a job!" I'm 65 years old and I could find a job where you live within a week...and that's stretching it! There is work everywhere if you know where to look. Try to find odd jobs, even washing cars. Every cent helps. I paid for a bunch of gear picking up aluminum cans and recycling them. I found out that people even lose money! And I'm talking about the green stuff as well as coins! So "good luck with that," seriously!

Read the remarks in the red letters.

[crashdive123]

The reason I asked about your age (sorry - didn't check your profile) and job experience is because you said you needed to to this to get away from things that you have an adverse medical reaction to. The job market in some parts of the country is booming. Probably not a whole lot of perfumes and scented colognes in the shale oil fields of North Dakota. Your reasoning seems to have morphed into something else now, especially with your

I envy you luckier people who have money to just camp legally with plenty of supplies

Please understand that a serious response to this type of question is going to require a serious effort on your part to communicate effectively your existing situation and the scenario that you envision. By your own words, you didn't put much effort into that since you just did a copy and paste job from a different type of forum. I guess in your view it's OK to put little effort into presenting your request to a group that you have never met, but they should somehow intuitively just know what you meant and put an effort into making your journey a successful one?

To critique a "list" without knowing about any of your experiences or skills is foolhardy. You can get as PO'd as you want. You can chastise members here because you thought by the title of the forum you would receive different responses than you did. Know this....there are many experienced outdoorsman on this forum. There are many different and varied levels of experience here as well. What you will not find is any encouragement to do something foolhardy or illegal.

I/we truly do want you to succeed and even excel in the wilderness, but IMO you are not putting in the effort to make that happen.

[Kamel]

If you combine that with certified ***kisser, you'll be supremely employable.

ha right? back to school!

[Rick]

You poo poo a college education too quickly. Over an adult's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master's degree, $2.5 million. I'm not saying it's the only avenue to be successful in life. Just one of them. You are certainly correct that networking is the best method of finding a job. There are trades groups and professional groups for just about any job you are interested in. Start attending their meetings. That's how you meet people and start networking.

As for wool clothing check online for military surplus. There is a lot of foreign military, wool, clothing being offered online at the moment relatively cheap.

I don't know about the conformist fear mongers part but it does keep people from squatting in our forests and turning them into a waste land and cuts down on the poaching.

[JPGreco]

Proto, You've had questions answered and questions posed to you. As others said, just cause you don't like the advice, doesn't mean its not valid. I myself have little experience with the wilderness and would be asking similar questions as threads like this pose if I had the misconception that I wanted to go "survive" in the wild. You are clearly desiring to leave an adverse situation. You have chosen to leave for the wilderness. Its no longer a matter of "surviving" but preparing. In preparation, many of the issues posed by members apply (hunting, squatting, etc).

The other issue is that this will do NOTHING to better your situation. You say you are limited financially. Well, leaving for the wild won't solve this problem and will most likely make it worse as you end up needing to purchase supplies. Why not try to bust your *** for a few months, save some cash, and get the hell out of dodge (not the wilderness). As stated, there are places that are booming and any place that is booming in a single industry requires support industry. The shale fields need roofers to maintain homes.

The military is also an option for someone your age.

I'm just getting started with helping others and the biggest thing I've come across is that a lot of people talk about wanting better, but don't really think out a plan for it. You say you want journalism exp, but have no connections. Go make some. Go into EVERY place that needs photographers and TALK to the people. Shake hands and get names. Its not that you'll get the job, but if you go in and just get your name in there with some basic info, you never know where it could lead. You can see if any local papers need freelancers so you can build a resume. Leaving for the wilds won't help you here either. It is truly amazing what can be no further away than a handshake. Yeah, you'll find a lot of dead ends, but sometimes, that one handshake can change everything.

I don't think running a way to the wild will really solve any of your issues.

[Rick]

JP - I had to give you some rep for that. It was spot on advice.

[Sourdough]

JP - I had to give you some rep for that. It was spot on advice.

Dotto....good solid advise.

[hunter63]

Plus 2 on that....

[Sarge47]

JP - I had to give you some rep for that. It was spot on advice.

Ditto! Positive Rep sent!

[BENESSE]

Running away to the wilderness (as in this case and some others we've seen on here) hardly ever a seems to be rational decision but rather an emotional one. And as such, talking sense will most likely fall on deaf ears. Some people just need to learn the hard way and that's all there is to it.

[protogalaxy]

Thanks JP, for a very long time I strongly opposed joing the military, as it's full of biggots and drunks, and I've heard so many stories about people regretting it.

It may seem like an option for me now, though.

I'm slightly discouraged because I was in amazing shape 6 months ago, until I lost my vehicle, and have been home bound and depressed.

I never planned on living in the woods. I planned on doing extended camping trips, to stay away from my situation as much as possible.

I more so planned on staying out for a month or so, returning for a few weeks for supplies, and going back out.

My "survival equpment" is just for emergency, I'm not one to be close minded.

There is a good chance that I will start working out again, get in shape, and just join the military to help myself get some form of employment.

It might be my only chance to get a vehicle again, pay off my vehicle fine, and get a place of my own.

A lot of this comes from not being able to have the freedom to visit the trails and scenery I want to, and being stuck around a house.

The situation I live in truly is damaing my health not just from the stress, but from ignorance of my family. It is also a danger to my dogs, because one of the family members has dementia, and constantly lets them out near cars and roads, and is a contributing factor to chemical damage I've recieved to my lungs. Carbon Monoxide gas left on, checmical spills, etc.

I thought that a camping life may be doable, and may try out to see if I can live campground area, but there is a good chance I will be joining the military if I don't find a solution. At least when I'm off duty I will be able to have dogs without putting them in danger, and breathe, and enjoy jogging, etc.

I feel the military takes a lot of my freedoms, but as I am right now, I don't feel too free.

Thank you for all the advice, I surely wouldn't put myself in a situation where I couldn't navigate out of.

I'm not sure if I will be doing extended camping stays, or joining the military, I will be thinking a lot over the next month or so.

If my extended camping, and exploring for job connections doesn't lead to anything pretty quickly, I will probably have to join the Air Force or Army..

Thank you all..

ps- would have repped u too jp, but I've repped too much today, maybe next time ;p

[Rick]

Look at it this way, joining the military is like an extended camping trip of sorts unless you're in the submarine service. I think you'll do okay once you get past the bigots and the drunks. The ones that you generally have to step around are the drunk bigots.

[protogalaxy]

Haha yes, seeing as I'd probably be surrounded by them, I'll have to into camouflage mode. Regardless, I've always loved nature, and if I have to wait until I make money in some way I'd rather not, at least it will be a step towards being able to do a lot more fun exploring and camping in the future, without having to worry about returning to a bad situation, or getting so stressed that I decide I have to live there permanently.

We will see, life is what it is, **** happens, I'll be smart and figure it out..

[Sarge47]

You can also get your college education paid for if you join the National Guard! My middle brother got drafted when the war in 'Nam was going on, but thanks to a kind-hearted C.O. who was sending everybody he could over to Korea, he never saw action. He learned a trade in Auto mechanics, which he loved to do, btw. After he got out he later wound up in financial trouble so he re-upped in the Army Reserve as a full-time supply sergeant. After he retired from there he became a Sherrif's deputy for several years, 1st as a jailer, later in charge of administrative stuff! Today he's got two retirement checks coming in! You also can get some great outdoors gear and clothing as well as training for what you want to do! Something to consider anyway.

[kyratshooter]

Yes I would definately stay away from all the biggots and other types of people that are not good enough to share your world.

One must keep those undesirables with their own opinions that might differ from yours in their place on the lower rungs of the social order.

[protogalaxy]

Horny violent drunken idiots, maybe bigots was the wrong word, but though it sounds like a stereotype, and I'm sure there are plenty of nice intelligent people, a lot of them are trigger happy drunken machos who get their self satisfaction from yelling.

Protogalaxy for president.

[natertot]

Read the remarks in the red letters.

Jesus is on the forum?!