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Thread: Best locations / Survival stories

  1. #1
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    Default Best locations / Survival stories

    Hello,

    Me and my girlfriend are really into wilderness survival and are planning to experience it ourselves next summer vacation.
    At the moment we are reading books, gathering information and increasing our knowledge of bushcraft overall.

    Obviously we’ve got a lot of questions and would like to receive advice from the pro’s. That’s where you guys come in.

    1) First things first; what’s the best place to go to?
    What we want is quite simple: a forest environment, river/lake close by, plenty of fish/fruit, not too extreme cold/hot etc. We're want to live of the land for the most part and only take some rice with us.

    I believe I’ve read something that the only place where it’s still legal to practice survival in the wild is Scandinavia, or are there other regions that fit our criteria well?

    2) Secondly, we would love to hear travel stories/diaries of wilderness survival. Our internet searches for blogs with detailed information about the journey and pictures have so far been in vain. We would appreciate it if you guys could link us some good websites.

    Thanks a lot,
    Ralbert.


  2. #2
    Senior Member tacmedic's Avatar
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    I'll beat Rick to the punch on this one. . . Ralbert- why don't you surf on over to the introductions section and tell us a little about yourselves. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14 Also, if you use the search function on the control panel you will probably find a lot of info already posted on here that may help.
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    Cold Heartless Breed tsitenha's Avatar
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    Se:kon Ralbert, First thing, how much experience do you have actually?
    If you are just starting up I would suggest a day trip followed by a few week end trips to get used to applying those book taught skills that you are acquiring.

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    How long do you plan on going for? Do you have experience fishing and hunting? (rice can get real lonely) It's great that you are determined to learn before you go. Might I suggest practice as well. tsitenha gave good advice with starting out with shorter trips. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know until you try it. Welcome to the forum.
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    Welcome, I need to ask the same. What kind of wilderness skills are you proficient at, ie; fire starting and up keep of fire, shelter building, water purification, hunting by any means, fishing, cleaning game or fish, compass and map reading? Those are just for starters. What kind of camping equipment do you have that you are experienced with using? Again Welcome!
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    Well, first, you don't practice survival. You might go out for an extended period of time but being in a survival situation is what you are wanting to AVOID.

    We need to know a LOT more about you and your GF in terms of wilderness knowledge and experience before I'll even attempt to provide an answer.
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    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
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    here's a question that might bear asking more often:

    what do you consider to be the difference between a 'survival trip' and a camping or trekking excursion? e.g. what experiences and/or challenges are you wishing to create? what are you hoping to do? what will be legal will depend not only on the area you are in, but on what kind of activities you intend to engage in.
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    I offer a "CRASH" course.........

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    There is no such thing as a survival situation unless you are in an emergency. You don't just go out and put yourself into it, well unless your Bear Gryls or Les Stroud what you are doing is going camping or hiking or a mix of both. Now if you get lost, or injured, a natural disaster hits while your there then you will be in a survival situation and lets face it really... as Rick said... YOU WANNA AVOID THAT.
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    Super-duper Moderator Sarge47's Avatar
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    Cool Yo Ralbert!

    1st do a proper intro...2nd, we'll then decide if you're a Wolf or a Numpty, or TheFreakinBear sneakin' in to "Jack more data!!
    Last edited by Sarge47; 08-31-2008 at 08:30 PM. Reason: Re-thought the situation!
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    Hey guys, thanks for your replies!
    We'll give some more information about ourselves as requested.

    As for our actual field experience; little to none. At the moment we're reading "Ray Mears - Bushcraft" and "Collin Gem's - SAS Survival Guide". Any suggestions about other reading material (books or on the tripple double U is appreciated.

    As for a more detailed discription of what we want to do:

    a) Setting up camp. Crafting a shelter, fireplace, reflector and such. We will be bringing along a tent but only to sleep in and it will be away from the cooking/daytime shelter area.
    b) Aprox length of the survival trip will be 2-3 weeks (in one spot) depending on how well we're doing.
    c) We want to learn the bushcraft skills overall with as little outside help as possible when they are not absolutely needed. A few examples of our 'rules list':

    - No lighter/matches, flint/magnesium stick and firebow as replacements.
    - We will be bringing some cooking equipment as it is pretty vital to boil water and be able to make dinner in. At the moment we're not absoultely sure one how much of this equipment is needed though.
    - We will of course have some emergency items in the car parked quite some distance away, like a phone, lighter, flashlight, food, etc... but the goal of the trip is to not use it or we've 'failed our mission'.
    - No/little outside food. Rice as stomach filling mostly, maybe some vitamine pills 'just in case' but most of the actual food has to be available. Living of the land is an important thing of survival in our opinion. Fishing and gathering fruits shouldn't be a big problem but actually catching wildlife without experience is probably a stretch? Still, we are thinking about following bow training and bring one along. Also; trapping is an interresting part to learn in our opinion aswell. The big question here is: is it viable to get meat by means of bow and arrow and traps without actual wilderness experience?

    We hope this gives you guys some more information to answer our questions.
    Thanks in advance,
    Ralbert


    PS: We know following a survival/bushcraft training before our trip is the smart thing to do. However, it's also less exciting to go somewhere when you know it will be a cakewalk once you get there... We believe (/hope) detailed knowledge of all the theory (with some practice @home) should be enough to prepare us for the trip.
    Last edited by Ralbert; 09-01-2008 at 09:45 AM.

  12. #12
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    At the moment we're not absoultely sure one how much of this equipment is needed though.
    It's all needed. You don't go off without backups of everything and expect the woods to provide all that you need. It just doesn't work that way. You take everything you need and then use only what you have to use. What are you going to do if you get out there, it's raining and you have no way to start a fire? Not having a lighter or two, flints, etc. is just fool hardy. Folks have been known to succumb to hypothermia in 50-60 F weather when they get wet. The wrong clothes can wick your heat right out of your body in what would otherwise be a nice temperature.

    Since you have little to no experience you need to start learning the basics. That means learning how long you can stay alive without anything. That's called the rule of threes.

    3 minutes without air
    3 hours without shelter
    3 days without water
    3 weeks without food

    And your priorities may not be in that order depending on the circumstances you find your self in. Do a search on the rule of threes on this site (and others). You also want to do a search for what needs to be in your survival pack (you dang sure better have one) and what your ruck or pack needs to have. There are even threads on the best survival books on this site.

    Going off into the woods with no knowledge, no experience and no tools is a good way to find yourself dead so do some searches on here.
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  13. #13
    Cold Heartless Breed tsitenha's Avatar
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    Do take a course, there are several groups that offer such skill driven education in the UK and they are well worth it.
    Courses like these for newbies are an easier way to be exposed to the real skill sets that you will need not the imaginary outdoors life style.
    Most here have spent a lifetime acquiring such skills and practice them all the time.
    Take the course then come back and tell us if they were really needed or not.
    PM to follow.

  14. #14
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Gosh, where to begin. How about with your last statement.

    PS: We know following a survival/bushcraft training before our trip is the smart thing to do. However, it's also less exciting to go somewhere when you know it will be a cakewalk once you get there... We believe (/hope) detailed knowledge of all the theory (with some practice @home) should be enough to prepare us for the trip.
    No offense, but this speaks volumes.

    We will of course have some emergency items in the car parked quite some distance away, like a phone, lighter, flashlight, food, etc... but the goal of the trip is to not use it or we've 'failed our mission'.
    Think about this. Having essential emergency items in a location that you may not be able to reach will do you absolutely no good at all. Keep them with you. Don't use them unless the situation calls for it. You may consider it failing your mission, but at least you'll be able to learn from it and make improvements on future attempts.

    No lighter/matches, flint/magnesium stick and firebow as replacements
    Some things are critical for survival. Shelter, fire, water.....as Rick said, review the rule of 3's.

    but most of the actual food has to be available.
    Being available and being able to obtain it may be two different matters. I consider my knowledge of the wilderness and survival pretty good. I would not want to place myself intentionally in a situation where I had to rely on my limited knowledge of wild edibles (notice I said intentionally). If you make a mistake, you can become very ill or worse.

    I'm glad that you've come here to learn and are using other sources to learn. Start out with shorter trips. Bring all of your gear. As your experience level improves you will use less and less of it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a full pack containing everything you need, but not opening it. Keep in mind that survival is not a game. Knowing that you can survive if the need arises can be exilerating though. Good luck. Learn and practice.
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    Alright, the warnings are well understood.
    It’s not like we are going into the wilderness without preparation. We are well aware of the need to practice and learn about the subject.
    The reason why our posts probably seem too optimistic is that we factor in that the trip won’t happen till like a year from now so we’ve got quite some time to prepare.

    We will take everything essential and then some with us, keeping it close is logical. The goal however is to gather the knowledge so we won’t be needing it IF the environment can provide it.
    That’s part of the reason why we’ve asked for a location suggestion here since the location matters a lot on what type of skills/knowledge we are going to need. Knowing what place is best suited for us enables us to prepare further with information regarding that particular environment.

    Have that said, I thank you guys for warning us how not to end up like 2 corpses in some foreign forest.

  16. #16
    Cold Heartless Breed tsitenha's Avatar
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    In Scandanavia trapping and such would probably need a license and a specific area, it is very well regulated, even here in North America.
    We are not trying to be hard but only want to open as many possibilities that you may not have considered.

  17. #17

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    I haven't been on this forum very long, but already can see how this sort of post crops up considerably often. I just don't get it. Is this because of how society has increasingly distanced itself from wild places? Even small rural towns growing more suburban and insular, so that the folks living in them - the closest they get to the wilderness is the camo T-shirt section of the local Wal-Mart? Or is it the popularity of survival-themed reality television? You just take so much of the perfumed, anti-bacterial environment of your day to day life that you snap and want to run off into the woods naked with a bowie knife in your teeth?

    Don't get me wrong - I understand the itch. I'm just not getting the urge to toss yourself into a fabricated survival situation.

    I have a suggestion, so that I am actually contributing to (instead of dumping on) this thread:

    Go backpacking. Seriously. Forget backing up the SUV and your camper, unloading the propane grill and hooking up the sat connection for your TV. Instead, spend a week or so figuring out how much you can carry - for how long - and look for some good trails in your area. Eat and drink only what you carry and can find, sleep only on what you bring or find. Pare down the weight by bringing tools and information to make or procure what you didn't bring. (Water is lighter when you find it than when you hump it in. What plants/food is in season?) Leave your Ramboman Serrated Survival Katana and your genuine customized SAW at home, load up on Clif bars and iodine tablets, and go get stinky in the woods for a while.

    You have a few weeks . . . a few months to kill? Head out to the Appalachian Trail. Get your Man vs. Wild experience (if you have your own support crew & can copter back to the hotel each night) that way.

    Start with a few smaller, one or two night hikes. Get to know your equipment, your limits, and the limits of those you are with. Along the way, make all the little bark baskets and fish spears you want - but remember not to crap too close to the trail and to scatter out your little pine bough-shelter when you're done so that the next one coming along gets to feel as Dan'l Boone as you did.

  18. #18
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Ralbert - I may have missed it, but what part of the world are you in now and how far do you want or would you travel for your journey?
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    Super-duper Moderator Sarge47's Avatar
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    Cool Ok, listen up.

    You're headed over into the "Numpty"(idiot) category quite quickly. SURVIVAL is NOT the latest "Extreme Sport"! "It's LIFE OR DEATH"! Get that through your head! You find yourself in a situation where your girl-friend's life is hanging by a thread & you watch her die because you can't get any help! Your a month without food with a broken leg waaaay out in the woods & her corpse starts to look like a 3 course meal! That's SURVIVAL! Training is one thing, but you don't EVER deliberately put yourself or your loved one into a LIFE OR DEATH situation; that's plain STUPID! Sorry if I'm not making myself clear. However I'll not advise you in any manner & have your, or your girl-friends life on my conscience!
    SARGE
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  20. #20
    Cold Heartless Breed tsitenha's Avatar
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    Sarge, your right the money, to often that we have found people out in the bush completely bewildered, the experience wasn't exactly like their plans.
    Some of us had to return with these "adventurers" and you know what most didn't even leave a thank you or even acknowledged the help.

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