What should I bring with me to start LIVING in the wild???

[Carl Rotebrink]

Hi! :D

My name is Carl, I'm 19 (turning 20 in August), and want to make a serious attempt at living in the wild.

I'm hoping I could get some help on what I should bring with me.

I've already made a basic list and just want some feedback.

Survival book (SAS? it's what I could find at my local book store)
Edible plants book
Knife (buck 119) + sharpening stone
Fire striker
Cooking pot
Basic fishing equipment (rod, line, hooks, and sinkers)
Map(s? several?)
Quality string/cord
Water bottle
Emergency money- I don't want to die

Please, let me know what I've missed. I only want to bring what I NEED to survive.

Thanks so much.
:)

[Rick]

Welcome home. Well, Carl, you left off a great big chunk of information for us. Like, what kind of experience you have and WHERE you plan on surviving. A couple of important considerations.

You're going to catch a LOT of flack from the members and I'll tell you why. Asking what you need to survive in the wilderness is a bit like asking what you need to survive a plane crash. That probably sounds dumb to you because the problems associated with surviving a plane crash are a bit intuitive. You've seen plenty of pictures of plane crashes. Well, wilderness survival is no different if you have some experience. It's pretty easy to see where things are going to fall apart.

Your list tells me you either have a tremendous amount of experience, in which case you wouldn't be looking for advice or you have very little experience, in which case you are about to put yourself in harm's way. So let me start with this.

1. Do you know how to built expedient shelters?
2. Do you know how to build fire? (what materials are good for tinder, how to do it when it's raining or showing, the best method for heat reflection)
3. Do you know how to find and purify water (depends on where you will survive)?

We have a LOT of folks come on here asking the same question. I don't think we've seen anyone yet with much experience. However, I could be wrong. Most have a romantic notion and little else. So let us know how much experience you have and answer those three questions and we'll start from there.

[crashdive123]

Carl - Welcome to the forum. I really do wish you luck and success with your plans. I agree with all that Rick has said in his reply. You have left me with more questions than answers. Where? When? Temporary? Permanent? There is a checklist here that may help. It'll give us a better idea of what you really want to do, so that the answers you get will be more meaningful.

[nell67]

Welcome to the forum,and um,well, yep to what they said....

[Pict]

Carl,

You have plenty of time to learn the skills required to do what you propose. You need to temper this adventure with a base of experience and that can be gained by taking shorter trips. Start with dayhikes to practice wilderness skills then progress to overnight outings and then multi-day trips.

Being able to handle yourself in the wilderness covers a wide range of disciplines. So much so that I am convinced there is no such thing as a true expert. There are people that are good, certainly, but not when it comes to wilderness survival in the global sense.

In the local sense if you take the time to focus on your particular area you could gain the skills to become very independent in the bush you have access to on a regular basis. What you are talking about is a long term course of study. Mac

[Sourdough]

Welcome to the forum. If you just keep spending more and more time in the wilderness, the wilderness will teach you what you will need. Learn to "Listen" to the wilderness, she is a stern teacher. Living in the wilderness is not about the "Stuff" you take, It is about you being willing to be changed by the wilderness, so as to live with her on her terms. It is about the sensory data you receive, don't trust that rock, don't trust that branch, go no further today, turn back now.

[Rick]

Carl - I put together a sticky for you and all those that come on here asking the same question. Perhaps it will give you some ideas and offer you some guidance.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=6837

[RobertRogers]

It is not as easy as Tom Hanks on a deserted Island will lead you to believe. A human requires substantial resources that can easily be depleted in a given area - assuming he has the skills needed to harvest these resources.

More than gear, you need real world experience.

[Tony uk]

Hi!

My name is Carl, I'm 19 (turning 20 in August), and want to make a serious attempt at living in the wild.

I'm hoping I could get some help on what I should bring with me.

I've already made a basic list and just want some feedback.

Survival book (SAS? it's what I could find at my local book store)
Edible plants book
Knife (buck 119) + sharpening stone
Fire striker
Cooking pot
Basic fishing equipment (rod, line, hooks, and sinkers)
Map(s? several?)
Quality string/cord
Water bottle
Emergency money- I don't want to die

Please, let me know what I've missed. I only want to bring what I NEED to survive.

Thanks so much.

No offence, but ive never heard of money saving anybody’s life out in the wilderness.

Also, I think you should look more at personal skills than an equipment list.
There are hundreds of usefull posts on this site packed full of information that should be of use to you, try the search feature for any information you think you require.

[laughingbeetle]

Hello Carl. Welcome to the forum. Please pay attention to the above responses. Be careful out there. Be prepared for anything. Wear good hiking boots. Do not eat the pretty mushrooms. Take some classes in wilderness edibles for your area. Read the thread introducing Amy Headrick. She survived the wilderness, with nothing. I hope you take the time to read the responses given you. In my humble opinion to survive the wilderness is to survive a bad situation that circumstances, good or bad, have left you in. But if you want to thrive in the wilderness, really have an experience where it is just you and Nature, no hold bared and you are loving every minute of it...Listen to the guys on this sight. Noone will steer you wrong. Everyone has your best interests at heart. Again, welcome to the forum.

[Nativedude]

Carl Rotebrink wrote: "Hi!

My name is Carl, I'm 19 (turning 20 in August), and want to make a serious attempt at living in the wild.

I'm hoping I could get some help on what I should bring with me.

I've already made a basic list and just want some feedback.

Survival book (SAS? it's what I could find at my local book store)
Edible plants book
Knife (buck 119) + sharpening stone
Fire striker
Cooking pot
Basic fishing equipment (rod, line, hooks, and sinkers)
Map(s? several?)
Quality string/cord
Water bottle
Emergency money- I don't want to die

Please, let me know what I've missed. I only want to bring what I NEED to survive.

Thanks so much."

What you need to survive depends greatly on your knowledge and experience.

The less experience = more gear.
The more experience = less gear.

[Schleprok]

welcome Carl, take to heart what info you're being given. Do your research before making any moves.
And, as someone said before, go out into the backyard, field, what have you and practice. Practice one thing until you know you've got it down (fire with no matches maybe), then move on to the next (shelter perhaps).
As your knowledge grows, your equipment list will change. Don't throw out the old stuff unless you've positively determined it to be absolutely useless. It may be just the thing you need in the future.
Practice, practice, practice.

[Canadian-guerilla]

Into The Wild

read the book, rent the video

and want to make a serious attempt at living in the wild

it's not something you want to rush into


anyone can go camping (with gear)
just for the heck of it
go into the bush for the weekend with only the clothes on your back and a knife
test yourself early with a few rough days

[Carl Rotebrink]

Rick:

experience? almost none :S i pretty much only have experience making fires most primitively with a fire striker or flint never tried through means of friction


where? i was planning to go just north of mattawa river provincial park in ontario

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8...EYFJ-w&split=0


Do you know how to build expedient shelters? i was planning to live in lean-tos with an L-shaped fire reflector and/or tipis


Do you know how to build fire? like i said i do know how to build a fire and i have practiced in rainy conditions not snowy though

if difficult to find dry tinder put some moist tinder between layers of clothing like pockets away from sweat but within proximity of body heat to dry

look for kindling and fuel thats elevated off the ground peel/shave if necessary to reach drier wood

build a platform to elevate the fire off the ground

L-shaped fire reflector
http://www.outdoor-survival-guide.co...h_firewall.jpg


Do you know how to find and purify water? i was planning to use small lakes/ponds, rivers, and streams for my water source and you boil it to purify it?


crashdive123:

Where? like i said to Rick mattawa river provincial park in ontario look above for a link

When? soon

how long? permanent


the check list

1. Reason: choice?
2. Location: ontario
3. Environment: temperate?
4. Season: year around?
5. Weather: all kinds?
6 .Temperature: moderate/cold?
7. Number in party: lone person
8. Health: no injuries
9. Equipment: you know my list
10. Desired outcome: sorry but what does this question mean exactly?



Everyone: thank you

[crashdive123]

Well Carl, with the experience that you have, the equipment you are bringing and the location you are going - permanently - I give your chances of survival less than 10%. I hope that I am wrong and truely do wish you luck.

[Ken]

“On a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”
Chuck Palahniuk


How long will your time line be?

[crashdive123]

He said his trip was going to be permanent. Probably correct on that point.

[JRR]

I've spent considerable time in the woods, and let me tell you, as romantic as it may sound, doing it permenant is not possible. Let me rephrase that. Doing it permenantly, and keeping your sanity is not doable. Man is a social animal, and as such, he needs other people. Some more than others. I'm not a people person, but I've spent as much as 3 months alone in the bush, and upon returning home, I wanted to hug the first person I met. As a vacation, you can't beat it. 2 weeks, a month, a year can be a wonderful experience, but 10 years? I don't think so. Now, I'm talking about leanto conditions and complete solitude. If you really want a wilderness experience, get a job, buy some land, build a cabin and go to town twice a year for supplies and a lap dance.

[Sourdough]

He said his trip was going to be permanent. Probably correct on that point.

It is a good and noble thing to feed the bears and wolves, and birds, and the porcupines will eat the bones.

[Carl Rotebrink]

i just want to make an attempt at living/surviving with the equipment on my initial list ill get more according to what i need thats what the "emergency money" will be for kind of
food too if absolutely necessary

ill be making monthly visits to town anyway to call my mum to let her know im ok if i am haha
maybe get some pipe tobacco too?

i guess what im saying is that im not shutting myself out im willing to adjust

i just cant wait much longer im miserable in the city

id rather die happy than live miserable you know?

i dont want to discuss my motives for going theyre personal and complicated i just have to go
i feel like i dont have a choice