https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/blog.php?3751-Sourdough A public discussion forum on wilderness surivival, primitive technology, and disaster preparedness. en Sun, 19 Jul 2026 09:46:38 GMT vBulletin 60 https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/blog.php?3751-Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?434-Big-GRIZZLY-BEAR-on-top-of-me Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:06:39 GMT [QUOTE=Sourdough;409775]A Brown Bear Experience.


I was guiding a hunter in Wide Bay, it was the day before the bear season opened, so the hunter and I slept in. I had two 8'X8' "Bombshelter" tents set up facing each other about 6' apart. One was for sleeping and the other for cooking. I told the hunter to stay in his bag till I get the coffee made and the cook tent heated. So I crawl out of the sleep tent on hands and knees, and figure as it is only 6' till I have to get back on my hands and knees, I'll just crawl over to the cook tent.

Well I get about halfway and a nice 8' brown bear comes from behind the cook tent and walks right up to me, still on my hands and knees. I don't want to move more than necessary, so I go down slowly onto my elbows and knees and freeze with my hands over my neck fingers locked, waiting. The bear walks up to me and sniffs my head, then continues moving till it head is over my butt, and its front feet are next to my elbows. For a long time it just sniffs my butt, which after 60 days afield was very aromatic. Plus most likely there was dried blood on my pants from packing moose.

As nothing was happening (I was not getting nibbled) the bear was just sniffing my butt. I remembered I was responsable for the hunters safety and calmly told him not to move or bump the sleep tent. The bear just stayed there sniffing my butt, (the flap to the sleep tent was still open) so I calmly asked the hunter to slid a rifle out to me with out disturbing the tent. He said, "Which one do you want". Remember he still did not know there was a Brown Bear on top of me. I said, slide my rifle out slowly, very slowly, but he needs to stay in the tent. Well, now he wants to know what is going on......???? He says, "do you want the barrel first"....??? I said, yes and about that time as the rifle started out the flap of the sleep tent, the bear calmly raised up and swung to his right, and slowly walked off. I watched his large butt walk away. Then made coffee. I understand that that hunter moved to Alaska, and may even be an AOD forum member. He is a very good hunter, and hunts all over the world. I am so glad he remained calm[/QUOTE] ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?434-Big-GRIZZLY-BEAR-on-top-of-me https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?433-Have-you-changed-your-basic-FOOD-inventory-theory-or-practice Tue, 03 Sep 2013 15:53:42 GMT [QUOTE=Sourdough;411208]Have you reassessed your reserve food type or inventory allotment in the last 24 months........???

When I turned 65 y/o I assessed my basic theory for the next 15 years. Now nearly two years into the revised plan, I feel good about the new direction. I aspired to list the known natural disasters that had to be considered; Forest Fire & total loss of everything above ground, Being down wind of a Volcanic Eruption resulting in up to a few feet of volcanic ash, Catastrophic Earthquake which could destroy roads for several months, Grid Down for extended period of time, maybe very extended period of time.

Next I took an HONEST inventory of my physical ability at age 65, then estimated what that would be at 70/75 & 80 years of age. I decided to scrap any consideration to years beyond 75 y/o.

From this model I re-looked at my past food storage theory. And made changes as appropriate. The main shift was to more Freeze Dried Food and an Extensive Caching program.

Other changes were made in reassessing the area of firearms for the future, and clothing for the future.

Have you looked at your fundamental theory with fresh eyes.........????[/QUOTE] ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?433-Have-you-changed-your-basic-FOOD-inventory-theory-or-practice https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?432-Big-GRIZZLY-BEAR-on-top-of-me Sat, 24 Aug 2013 01:01:34 GMT [QUOTE=Sourdough;409775]A Brown Bear Experience.


I was guiding a hunter in Wide Bay, it was the day before the bear season opened, so the hunter and I slept in. I had two 8'X8' "Bombshelter" tents set up facing each other about 6' apart. One was for sleeping and the other for cooking. I told the hunter to stay in his bag till I get the coffee made and the cook tent heated. So I crawl out of the sleep tent on hands and knees, and figure as it is only 6' till I have to get back on my hands and knees, I'll just crawl over to the cook tent.

Well I get about halfway and a nice 8' brown bear comes from behind the cook tent and walks right up to me, still on my hands and knees. I don't want to move more than necessary, so I go down slowly onto my elbows and knees and freeze with my hands over my neck fingers locked, waiting. The bear walks up to me and sniffs my head, then continues moving till it head is over my butt, and its front feet are next to my elbows. For a long time it just sniffs my butt, which after 60 days afield was very aromatic. Plus most likely there was dried blood on my pants from packing moose.

As nothing was happening (I was not getting nibbled) the bear was just sniffing my butt. I remembered I was responsable for the hunters safety and calmly told him not to move or bump the sleep tent. The bear just stayed there sniffing my butt, (the flap to the sleep tent was still open) so I calmly asked the hunter to slid a rifle out to me with out disturbing the tent. He said, "Which one do you want". Remember he still did not know there was a Brown Bear on top of me. I said, slide my rifle out slowly, very slowly, but he needs to stay in the tent. Well, now he wants to know what is going on......???? He says, "do you want the barrel first"....??? I said, yes and about that time as the rifle started out the flap of the sleep tent, the bear calmly raised up and swung to his right, and slowly walked off. I watched his large butt walk away. Then made coffee. I understand that that hunter moved to Alaska, and may even be an AOD forum member. He is a very good hunter, and hunts all over the world. I am so glad he remained calm[/QUOTE] ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?432-Big-GRIZZLY-BEAR-on-top-of-me https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?345-Wilderness-can-Change-a-Man Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:05:06 GMT The wilderness can change a man............ There is a real transformation that can metamorphose within a man who is alone in the wilderness. He... The wilderness can change a man............
There is a real transformation that can metamorphose within a man who is alone in the wilderness. He can exit the wilderness fragile, very fragile, he is no longer sure where that which is himself ends and that which is not himself starts.

Everything is kind of fuzzy, and has a softness about it, all things appear slightly blurred to the eye, like after one has been crying, and it can be hard to distinguish where one object stops and another object starts.

He feels weak and vulnerable, but centered. In fact he is stronger, but the feeling of weakness, and vulnerability comes from the loss of arrogance.

There is a clarity about the perfection of everything. Sounds are crisper, colors are different, there are so many more (new) colors now.

He feels as if he is looking through things and through people, this is a very uncomfortable experience, he tries to focus, but he just looks through everything.

Part of him wants to go back to the way it was, before being alone in the wilderness. But he also enjoys the bliss of how it is now. He wants to weep for no reason, but for the perfection of everything.

He has change, and can not change back to that which he was before, being alone in the wilderness.

I know not of drugs, but being alone in the wilderness, for long periods will change your perception of the universe. The universe is the same, but you have shifted to a place where you can see, with new eyes, a new heart, and a new empathy for all life. You have been born a second time, and are a child of the wilderness.

There was a time long ago, that a man was encouraged to go into the wilderness alone for a extended period, so that he might find wisdom about life. Sad it is discouraged today. Welcome home....welcome home. Home from the wilderness, for he is free to return at any time to his true nature. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?345-Wilderness-can-Change-a-Man https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?335-The-dead-Grizzly-Bear-well-MAYBE Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:48:44 GMT Don't know if Curly Warren is still using that nice Grizzly Photo for his advertising. But an Italian Hunter and I had been storm bound in the bomb shelter for two days when the sky turned blue.

Step out of the tent and stretch and glass a bit. I spotted a porcupine and pointed at it, he thought it was a grizzly bear. I said, No Porcupine. He want to take a photo, and we needed a stretch and as it was mid afternoon we walked over there.

So it was not a porcupine but a nice Grizzly. We were about 45 yards away. I pointed behind my shoulder, and gave the thumbs-up sign. The bear was in a clearing with tall willows on three sides. The bear was broadside, and looking straight at us.

I had my cross hairs in front of the bear as I expected it to run straight ahead if hit. Boom his custom goes off. the Bear disappears from my scope. But I had a faint memory of the bear being sucked straight down to the earth faster than I would have thought a bear could drop. But there it was when I lower the scope in a pile.

An hour of Photos and it is time to go to work. Now I had been moving the bear for photos several times and had not consdered if it was dead. But I wanted to check if the bullet exited so it did not get lost if it was just inside the skin. Well it had not only not exited, it had NOT ENTERED. I jumped back about 12' feet in two jumps. Then very carefully examined every part of that bear, there was NO Hole in that bear, None.

Now I am not the brightest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. But I figure either the bear is not dead or I am having a bad nightmare. I check the eyes, nothing. Check the nose nothing. Look down the mouth nothing. I stick my little finger down each nostril and one has blood. None was on the face when we did the photo shoot.

There was a stiff wind when he shot, anyway the bullet went right up the nostril perfect center. And did not exit the back of the skull. Very pretty bear. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?335-The-dead-Grizzly-Bear-well-MAYBE https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?328-A-Funny-one-for-Alaskan-Survivalist Sat, 22 Jan 2011 07:10:46 GMT Brooks Range, Alaska. Near the head waters of the Noatak River & the Ambler River. We are on a private six week hunt, just my hunting partner and myself. 1970 or 1971 we had a base camp on a large lake in the main valley. And we would do three or four day trips back different valleys, sometimes together and some times go our separate ways and report back at base in four days. We had shot several wolves, and one Dall Sheep.

We decided to go together back this one interesting valley for three or four days. But we saw no shoot-able game. We did get to watch two huge wolves pull down three sheep. Dejected we are returning to camp, which was out of fresh meat. Having seen nearly nothing for days, about a mile out of base camp is one caribou. I shoot the caribou, and we back most of it into base camp.

It was a very hot and sweaty day, and we had most likely logged 12 to 15 miles, plus packed the caribou in. We get to base camp exhausted, and hot, and stinky, and bloody. So I proclaim I am going to the lake and bathe, my hunting partner wants to clean he's gear and eat.

So I am naked at the lake washing in ice cold water, and I see movement to my right, which just happens to be a good size interior Grizzly Bear. The bear is about 40 yards away, I did not take a rifle, just soap & a Towel. The bear is not charging but is walking quickly toward me, and I do mean Quickly.

I look up toward base camp and see my hunting partner studying the bear for size, and color through his binoculars and spotting scope.

Now the bear has stopped maybe thirty feet away from me. It is watching me, and does not see my hunting partner who is evaluating the bear for harvest. I look up expecting to see my buddy with rifle in hand, but NO he is looking at the bear still studying it. The Bear slowly walks toward me, I am buck naked, head covered in soap, the bear is about 15 feet away. And I am looking back and forth between the bear and my friend. The bear moves closer to about to feet, I look up and my hunting partner now has his rifle, but is not aiming at the bear.

So I said are you going to shoot......? He said, No it is the wrong color. Now mind you while we are talking the Grizzly Bear is just standing there on all four feet watching me ten feet away. It never looked up toward base camp or at Bill.

Bill yelled, "Go on, get out of here". and to my good fortune it did a 180 and left the way it came. We later figured it followed the bloody trail of the blood dripping off the Caribou meat we packed it and hour earlier. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?328-A-Funny-one-for-Alaskan-Survivalist https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?327-Large-Wolf-Packs Sat, 22 Jan 2011 05:40:03 GMT The 125 wolves is the number I counted. My hunting partner counted 129. The wolves were mostly sleeping in the hot sun. Some of the wolves were... The 125 wolves is the number I counted. My hunting partner counted 129. The wolves were mostly sleeping in the hot sun. Some of the wolves were with-in 50 yards sleeping, my rough guess is that the number sleeping or resting/laying down with-in 50 yards was about 20 or 25. They were not in the least alarmed. I will grant you that it may have been two different packs but I doubt it. I would also point out that the day before this I had shot a grizzly bear that was eating a fresh killed caribou. There was also another half eaten caribou near by.

I left the bear skin to be fleshed the next morning, at first light the next day when I returned to flesh the bear, all that was left of both caribou was a few bones the antlers, and some small pieces of hide. The Grizzly large for the area had been completely consumed, the hide was shredded to the point that all that was salvageable was a short necked head mount. I sat there for hours removing the skull and fleshing it, this is when the wolves started returning to the site. They never came closer that about 50 yards, and as I said they (Some) lay there and watched me for more then two hours before moving off.
Also they never acted aggressively toward me, never growled, they seemed to be as interested in me as I was of them. I will admit that I was a bit fearful, they would get up and move but never closer, they remained a set distance. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?327-Large-Wolf-Packs https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?326-First-of-hundreds-of-bear-encounters-Enjoy Sat, 22 Jan 2011 05:14:23 GMT Oh' The stories I could tell.....
Some of you must know Lance T. former head of Habitat at F&G. In about 70' three of us were engaged in unofficial Porcupine control. Back then there were thousands of porcupines, I don't know why. I shot 74 in 60 days that summer. (In case you are prone to being judgmental, save it.....I don't care).

So we were shooting porky-pines between Los Anchorage and lovely Hope, Alaska. It was about 11:PM mid-May and the last, or nearly last light. We were on the rough "Dirt" road that was the Hope Road. Roughly mile 9'ish. We saw a large'ish Black Bear cross the road, and we pulled up and stopped at the spot.

Now Lance and the other guy both had .22 LR pistols only, for executing Porky-pines. I had a Winchester model 100 in .308 Win. w/ a tip-off scope.

So we are all on the passenger's side of the truck, and we are listening to this God awful crying and thrashing just fifteen or twenty feet away. It went on and on, and we figured that it was a sow spanking and driving cubs up a tree.

It was almost dark, and we could hear the crashing coming to us, In one heart beat a bear busted out of the dark woods/alders/willows from about six or eight feet, coming straight a Lance T. With out thinking From the hip I shot the bear as it was with-in a foot or two of Lance T. The bear turned and went 180* the way it had come, back into the dark woods.

Now all Hell broke-out 15 feet away, crying and thrashing, and crashing, and it is now dark-dark. The story is getting long, so I'll wrap it up. I tipped off the scope, went in after the wounded bear (Which was hit center behind the shoulder). I skillfully missed the badly wounded bear three times form 12 feet with iron sights. The bear was just thrashing around NOT coming at me. I eventually flipped the scope back up, and could clearly see the bear and finished it.

OK, This is what is educational. There were NO bear cubs. The first thing I encountered on entering the woods was a day old moose calf that had a bite in the small of the back and very alive but paralyzed. Next at about 10 feet was the wounded bear thrashing around, and a P!zzed'off cow that was about 12 feet away and lurching at the bear. The calf was crying, the cow was exhaling hard, and the bear was flopping around and crying also.

We figured that what happened is that we had not seen the cow and calf cross the road, only the bear right behind. And after the bear bit the calf in the small of the back, the cow charged the bear, and the bear retreating from the cow ran straight at Lance T. The bear was trapped between the truck and the cow. Wow I am exhausted. "Oh' but the stores I could tell". Someone here must know Lance ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?326-First-of-hundreds-of-bear-encounters-Enjoy https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?325-Wilderness-can-change-a-man Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:13:30 GMT There is a real transformation that can metamorphose within a man who is alone in the wilderness. He can exit the wilderness fragile, very fragile,... There is a real transformation that can metamorphose within a man who is alone in the wilderness. He can exit the wilderness fragile, very fragile, he is no longer sure where that which is himself ends and that which is not himself starts.

Everything is kind of fuzzy, and has a softness about it, all things appear slightly blurred to the eye, like after one has been crying, and it can be hard to distinguish where one object stops and another object starts.

He feels weak and vulnerable, but centered. In fact he is stronger, but the feeling of weakness, and vulnerability comes from the loss of arrogance.

There is a clarity about the perfection of everything. Sounds are crisper, colors are different, there are so many more (new) colors now.

He feels as if he is looking through things and through people, this is a very uncomfortable experience, he tries to focus, but he just looks through everything.

Part of him wants to go back to the way it was, before being alone in the wilderness. But he also enjoys the bliss of how it is now. He wants to weep for no reason, but for the perfection of everything.

He has change, and can not change back to that which he was before, being alone in the wilderness.

I know not of drugs, but being alone in the wilderness, for long periods will change your perception of the universe. The universe is the same, but you have shifted to a place where you can see, with new eyes, a new heart, and a new empathy for all life. You have been born a second time, and are a child of the wilderness.

There was a time long ago, that a man was encouraged to go into the wilderness alone for a extended period, so that he might find wisdom about life. Sad it is discouraged today. Welcome home....welcome home. Home from the wilderness, for he free to return at any time to your true nature. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?325-Wilderness-can-change-a-man https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?264-Advise-to-the-quot-I-am-moving-to-Alaska-wilderness-and-live-off-the-land-quot Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:01:43 GMT After 40 years in Alaska, much of it remote, I give the following advise to those who dream of: Living alone in the wilderness off the land. ... After 40 years in Alaska, much of it remote, I give the following advise to those who dream of: Living alone in the wilderness off the land.

Study: Read everything you can find written FIRST Person, by those who did it in 1886 to 1936. Spend one year reading, studying, and get a good magnifying glass with which to study photographs of the period. Make notes, what did they wear, what tools are present, how did they feed the dog team, how many ways too build a cache, etc..

The good news is that much was recorded by survey parties, and Federal Judges, Missionaries, and a few educated prospectors.
It is doable, but the physical pain and suffering, the mental anguish will be beyond anything you can currently comprehend. However the reward, even if you fail, will be beyond anything you can currently comprehend.
The key is to study those who really did it. ]]> Sourdough https://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/entry.php?264-Advise-to-the-quot-I-am-moving-to-Alaska-wilderness-and-live-off-the-land-quot