Oh, you mean the more pleasant smelling part of the loop.Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
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Oh, you mean the more pleasant smelling part of the loop.Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
You ever take your boat under an anhinga in a tree over the water? Best to give them a wide berth as they evacuate the bomber door for an emergency take off. LOL
Mitch said they are all under contact not to reveal the items on the list. Other than watching the videos on what each man bought and deducting those items we don't know. Most all of them chose the same items, I watched all of their videos, save for a few differences. Mitch did say that some of the items on the list were obvious not to choose. His Gore-Tex bivey and sleeping bag count as 2 items even though they are used in conjunction so we can assume there are other items like that on the list that while we would see the practicality f may have not rated as high of a pic with a limit of ten only.Quote:
Originally Posted by WalkingTree
I don't think I recall anyone got some kind of mini-shovel (or fold up). A mini shovel of some kind is one thing that I personally like. I wonder if that was on their list they had to choose from.
Why in the world would not telling us the options they chose from be a concern?
Nobody took anything like betadine either (?) Fo Rizzel?
EA I also heard him say very clearly those things about the limited list of items and some very strict specifications on many of them like size of pot, bow and arrows, fishing kit, net size etc. They seemed to be fairly generous with the cheap plastic tarps however, there are a lot of different things you can do with these. Lucas demonstated several. Poncho, roll up with evergreens for bed pad, collect rain water, funnel game or sea creatures or fish to trap or basket, suspended bear resistant bag, tear to strips and weave net or fish trap...
If plastic tarp get a hole or you want to fuse two pieces together it takes some practice but possible to use an improvised iron of Stainless Steel pot (not teflon) filled with hot coals and put a moist cotton fabric between so that plastic does not melt to bottom of pot. This way no need to stitch the tarp material to patch or fabricate poncho, fish net, basket, bucket. An electric clothes iron is easier but where they are it would require a long extension cord. LOL.
Given enough time you can make a shovel and clam rake out of wood with your knife and an axe. There are some fairly hard woods there. Also with a little luck some human made trash on the beach. A log staple would be handy and fish nets, buoys, ropes, etc. I have found some interesting trash in some of the most remote places.
Lucas made a primitive canoe paddle with wood using his knife and axe I am assuming, a shovel is not much different. The producers may have even given them small trowel to use for cat-holes if the land owners or provincial regulations required it. Human solid waste can attract bears and other critters so there are often regulations or recommended guidelines to discourage bears or in my region feral hogs from associating people with a warm fresh meal.
Yea a pointed stick and my hands can do some shoveling, I guess. I wonder though if show producers or anyone else thought of shovels or something like betadine for their list. Sad that our trash is everywhere even where there aren't people. Does make emergency survival situations that much easier though.
If I could only bring 10 items, a shovel would not be one of them.
Maybe some tires...Quote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
Trash that is thrown from or blows out of vehicles and trailers from backyards and parking lots of shopping centers etc. can wash down ditches into small streams across lakes over spillways down rivers and out into the ocean into the gyros and eventually some of it will end up on beaches all over the world. However, most of it is buried in the sediments along the way. I help out with many river and lake clean ups through out the year. People who come to volunteer are mad at the people just at that lake or wherever we are. I try to explain the trash could have come from 50-100 miles away. A plastic bag you find high in the mountain could have come from a road 20 miles below, not likely but possible they catch hot air and float like balloons on some days. Mylar balloons in trees may actually have come from 50 miles away on a good day. After I paddle under a highway bridge the amount of trash including car and truck tires and large household appliances always increases, also cars and truck frames and sometimes whole vehicles. But it is the tiny bits of styrofoam and plastic that small fish eat then a bird eats them, then an land predator or raptor, this trash kills its way all up the food chain that may be worse than an old TV thrown into the river. I have a photo some where of a block of styrofoam about 3 feet by 6 feet with several salvia plants growing on it. Floatation from an old dock that got dislodged during a flood. A survivor could make a raft with some of these huge blocks of styrofoam.Quote:
Originally Posted by WalkingTree
Out around Brownwood, we had a few customers losing their dock floats to nutria. They would ignore the foam or plastic and gnaw on the wood around the attachment points.Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
Litter isn't a new problem either; hiking with a friend at my mom's place, we ran across a spot near the fence line at one county road where we could have built a beverage container timeline of the county's history from the empties people had tossed over our fence. Everything from punch top cans (the ones you needed an opener for) to pull-off-tabs to current production.
crashdive - You'd have no use for a shovel? That's something I'd use. But yea 10 items ain't much...though, when they get that plus clothes, they sure got it easy compared to the naked and afraid bunch. Makes it more interesting too when the N & A folks would often go the 3 weeks, but in alone we lost 6 people after 9 or so days (?), 3 or so within about as many days. They seemed to drop fast and early. Like you or sarge said, I always wonder how they vet these people. one of the reasons I'd seriously hesitate to do one of these shows myself is because I know the show producers have criteria that don't totally match what it's about - primitive survival.
madmax - Tires? Why?
And yea, arg, our trash. Hard for me to believe that there was a time when people casually threw garbage out of their cars by the sack full on the highways, and we had to implement a movement to get people to stop littering.
Never said I wouldn't have use for a shovel - it's just not in my top 10 list. Probably not my top 30 list. The tire reference is an inside joke between MM and I from our last camping trip together.
It should be; what if you meet Bear Grylls out there and don't have a shovel to pound him repeatedly with?Quote:
Originally Posted by crashdive123
You use the shovel to dig a well every night......DUHQuote:
Originally Posted by NightSG
I've thought of the perfect survival show; use the format of Mission: Survive, but all the contestants are TV survivalists. Especially BG.
Real ego battles, without the pathetic squealing when somebody has to light a fire or whack a bunny for dinner.
Ok, that's funny right thar.Quote:
Originally Posted by NightSG
Trust me when I say.......I don't need no stinkin shovel to do no pounding.
A few post back I called Sam the dark horse and he has proven to be just that. The 22 year old has made it to the final 2 by virtue of a generally positive attitude and mental strength all the while embracing the suck to stay another day.
Mitch's tap was wrenching for me. I am just making a guess here that his mother may have a gleblobastoma brain tumor. From what Mitch described about its onset, the survival rate and the limited months to live after detection that is what I am thinking. My brother went through the same thing. His tumors were gleblobastoma's as well. At the time of his diagnosis survival rate was 5% after a year and 0% after at 1.5 to 2 years after detection. Now with the use of HIV as a carrier there have been several cases completely cured within weeks and in the one or two that the tumor was not killed or eaten away its growth was stopped completely. Hearing Mitch talk about his mother so reminded me of my brothers battle and I put myself in Mitch'es place , asking would I have gone knowing that he would be gone when I came home. Would I be willing to give up the short remaining time with my brother for the chance at 500k and the opportunity to change my families life? Mitch made the right decision in my book. Even though my brother had but 10 months left to live those months were spent with him , crying, laughing and forgiving leaving nothing unsaid in the in so that at 3:15 am on Christmas eve morn when he pasted from this world into the next I was there right beside him and in the end my family was changed as well. Now we are the keepers of his memory and if we do not share his life with our younger family members who will? Its no different for any of us really. That episode hit me square in the chest and really cemented in my mind for common we all really are. Wow I guess I just had to get it off my chest. Mitch nothing but respect brother and to your family as well through all that is to come.
I have to say that I did not see Lucas as one of the ones tapping in tonight's episode. It does appear that there has come a point in all of their existence on the island that has become mundane and from what they are saying has transformed their thinking in many ways yet the ways all seem to be similar. Salt and seasoning dress their guarded words now. the rolling wellspring of exuberance that was once there has not become strained and broken by paused of thought as the words trickle forth. Sometimes in non sensible gibberish as in the case of Lucas and his songs, but to him with eyes to see and ears to hear they belie the state of thought he is truly in. I would really like to hear their thoughts after a time they have refreshed and off camera given proper time to reflect if what they came to realize has held true now that they have returned.
Alan is still the favorite for me and he is without doubt a very intelligent and analytical person. Measured and calculating has kept him sharp but seeing the physical change in his body in tonight's episode reveals just how much stress his body is experiencing from the total onslaught of the freezing temps. A normal adult male needs approx. 2000 cal a day but add to that the physical and mental stress he now has and the calorie destroying cold he is constantly exposed to ,i.e. the ice inside his shelter, and the lithe small amount of food he has taken in is not even enough to make a dent in his caloric deficit. He is facing a real struggle, one I have never come close to and can only imagine based on his words and from others that have endured in the wild or in prisons.
All in all thus far has just been an emotional roller coaster for me. I am not one for much tv nor any drama/ reality shows at all but tonight was personal and hit home giving me pause to reflect and to think of the sad times to come for Mitch and his family. All of that said Neither Mitch nor Lucas are diminished in my mind and both did mighty well. If this show has proven anything is that we truly are social beings and can survive better when we are not Alone.
Well put EA. People who have not gone through similar experiences of loss cannot relate. Also if you have not solo camped for extended periods of time or in an climate like N-V.I. you cannot grasp the significance of the vast difference between this show and Discovery Channel’s N&A. (not better just different) That was all discussed in earlier comments on this thread. Survival is 99+% boring.
Sam has much better skills than some people give him credit for. I have noticed that most wild game will not let you get nearly as close in the true wilderness as they do in the city or suburbs. Therefore hunting close range with a bow and arrows is difficult on this part of Vancouver Island. Also there are a lot of predators there so competition for these prey animals is high, it isn’t suburbia or a state park. In Texas if you win the lottery for a permit to hunt wild game at a State Park (regular campers are not allowed then) it is like shooting fish in a barrel, some deer will eat corn out of your hand, more spooky during the rut obviously. I should post a photo here of about 20 deer surrounding me trying to eat out of my hand, NOT a smart thing to do BTW it really ticked off some other campers but was on a Monday few humans there. DON’T DO IT!!! All total there were about 60 deer near by that is what drought can do, poor starving critters.
I will not make light of the decisions of Mitch or Lucas but as many, many people have said that survival is mostly psychological. If you allow your mind to run in circles and come back to the reasons for quitting it will only increase the chances that you will. Better to focus on the reasons and methods you need to pursue to stay and stick it out. Focus on plans for the pay off and how you will use it wisely. How can I best invest the $500K after tax? Like teaching a bush pilot to land on a sketchy landing strip: if you focus on the trees you will hit them, instead focus on the where the wheels need to touch down. I try to do explain this to newbies on white water paddling canoe and kayak, “see the line thru not the rocks!” “Choose your line.”
Evidently the “line” Lucas chose was to prove something to his family and friends. Hopefully he will learn to live for his own goals and not seek the approval of others as he becomes more mature.
Edit: I observed in college that many of the kids that quit and did not even finish a 4 year degree had the brains and their parents had the money but they thought everyday about quitting far to often and therefore finally did. Others struggled far more than they did both financially and academically but graduated. Similar psychology applies to survival and making it out alive, your will power is often the most important thing.
A little off topic but if a person has health issues that prevent them from living in the wilderness alone to experience that a "Silent" Monastery may be an option. This is a good one:
http://christdesert.org/Monastery_Guesthouse/
"Christ in the Desert" is down a dirt road only accessible by 4WD if it has been raining or a lot of snow in the winter, and is right beside the Rio Chama in Northern New Mexico. Very little talking by anyone there. There are even signs on the river asking the rafters and kayakers to be quite. Then you can hike up into the wilderness during the day and find even for "alone" quiet time which is great therapy in this hectic life. So turn off you mobile phone, be quiet and don't speak to anyone for a full week. Winter time is a great time to go. One way to get there is to fly into Santa Fe and rent a 4WD jeep. If you need a break from the silence you can go visit the Ghost Ranch if you are a fan of Georgia O'Keeffe and be up to your elbows in tourists.
http://www.ghostranch.org/explore/georgia-okeeffe/
The only thing I will add and I am hesitant but I think it also plays a much larger role than most want to admit and that is that I don't think any of these guys are hunters. If they are then maybe their hunting grounds are as rich as those in Texas, been there and man the deer are like rats in New York! Here in La hunting on family land and on the WMA's is far from a sure thing. Being diligent, calculating and persistent are virtues needed to be successful year after year with a bow. I was fortunate to have grown up shooting a recurve or longbow all my life and have taken far more than just deer with them year after year.
Subsistence trapping has been apart of my grand fathers life out of necessity and those skills come from doing and not just reading or practicing a concept, but today with food being so easy to acquire or prepackaged for our convenience I think we oft take for granted how hard food is to come by when we have to procure it ourselves. Lack of knowledge about botany, fishing, trapping and hunting and the lack of serious study and doing has fostered up a false since of security in many whos rose colored lens taint the harsh truth that Nature is an environment where the foolish and ill prepared come to die.
This is Not about survival, it about extreme homesteading. these guys have found their island paradise more like a green prison. The loneliness is killing them and it's something to remember, however it's not survival. In a true survival situation you're stuck until you are lucky enough to be rescued, these guys have a lifeline..ergo a sat phone that they can call for extraction anytime they want. They are told in advance how much and what kind of gear they can take where a prudent person trained in survival would have taken additional items, more to the point of lasting longer, like a book or two or a deck of cards. They may have also tried to hook up with others. I've learned some things from watching this, like NEVER get involved in a reality show!...:scared:
I agree with you Sarge47 this History Channel "Alone" comes closer to my definition of primitive living than survival which would be to get back to civilization or at least an area with better resources and some people. The artificial rules of a "reality show" (oxymoron) dictate that they stay there in a bad situation and not try to be rescued even though they have the means, because they want to win the game and the reward.
One of my major reasons for not doing any so called "reality TV" show is that I don't want a camera in my face and then some off hand comment or a bunch of them shown on TV for thousands or millions of viewers to see and possibly live on for decades on YouTube. The internet never forgets! No amount of money can erase making an fool of yourself on TV. Once when I spent a year in S-California (4th grade) I told some kids about something I did and ate in the Amazon jungle, and then horror of horrors my father was asked by the teacher to come speak to the class. Those suburban nerds never let me forget that I was different than them. Should have just shut up and acted as normal as possible. People who live boring lives get jealous and act nasty in my experience.
EA some parts of Texas are infested with deer but not all. Out west where it has been very dry they are not common far from water. And most are small compared to OK and states further north. Other note about N-V.I. is that when the resources like water and vegetation are abundant for wildlife like deer and rabbits they can move out of an area were a human is camping fairly quickly and they men were not very mobile. But I wondered how good they were at tacking animals especially looking for signs of small game, speculative tracking as well. I.e. where would you expect a squirrel to be what would they be eating and living in?
I understand your thoughts on the word survival and yes they have an out however they must still do the same things as would be needed to survive as if it were the truth was they were there till rescued. There is always something to be learned or gained but you must be open to learning.
This; frankly, I was disappointed with six taps in eight days, but impressed that the rest held on well past the first month. That's really the point where I would call survival sustainable, and it's really just down to the deeper psychological factors (or unforeseen emergencies - doubt any of these guys could get through even a sprained ankle with the pure day-to-day existence they've got) by then. I have to wonder how this show would go with couples, whether preexisting couples or random pairings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Erratus Animus
I wondered the same things with the couples as well.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Perhaps, but at the back of everyone's mind on the island there's that thought: "Hey, I can leave anytime I want." they know that they're just one phone call away from leaving the situation. In a true survival situation you long for rescue and have to deal with the psychological consequences of that as well....:cowboy:Quote:
Originally Posted by Erratus Animus
Sarge I don't disagree with ya . I do think most rational and practical people understand that but the word survival has come to mean several things to modern society. The show is just to see how long some guys can stay with a few hitches. No one would , atleast I hope not anyways, be so ignorant to willing choose only 10 items to try and survival for a period or homestead as per your view. Semantics either way since it is a planned event with an out via the phone a friend.
I'm late to this party...I don't get to watch these while they are first airing nor comment about them till even later...and some of what I'd say has already been said...but I have a couple of points to disagree on, though it's not to disagree or argue but only to do my part in offering different perspectives...
Sam was one of who I thought I liked, though he was seen as immature by some in here. Liked his attitude and disposition. And Alan is definitely someone who I had a good intuition about early. That dude's attitude and dispostion is amazing. One of whom I personally relate to a little. There were a couple others who I felt the same way about, but was wrong. Tapped out early and seemingly easy. Couldn't tell you now what their name's were. Was almost embarrassed for the guy who lost his firestarter, because I swear he was just trying to make an excuse for tapping...he said himself at first ("need to nurture the fire that I have") and while he was complaining on camera that he couldn't make fire anymore, that fire was burning in the background. All the while him saying that he can't make fire now, so what am I gonna do? He wasn't even going to try to at least go for as long as he could keep that fire going. Very defeatist.
Yea, ALONE wasn't survival, or rescue, but more on the homesteading end of the spectrum. Dual Survival and Dude You're Screwed is more about rescue, including self-rescue...Naked & Afraid was about simply holding on for an extended/delayed rescue and being literally butt naked having almost nothing, but it often ended up with them just sitting around letting the days tick off till the 3 weeks passed, and if it were real, if they weren't getting rescued after 3 weeks, they'd be dead...Alone is more homesteading, but I'd say kind of a survival or primitive homesteading, there till they're the last one but not staying otherwise. Not totally uselessly naked, but not with all that much either if they were going to dig in for life. Trying to just hang on, but by carving out a home and living nonetheless, even if it is for a finite period of time.
Yes, hunting skill, butchering, and plant knowledge is vital. It can turn out that you're good at shelter, fire, and finding and processing water in the first few days (not to say that they don't require talent, but I see CONSISTENT food acquisition as being harder)...but if after that you can't find food, that's bad. These are the areas where I'm lacking the most - plant knowledge and hunting/butchering experience. I've done a little, and know a few things concerning plants, but I know that I don't know nearly enough nor have quite enough experience. I would cite the fact that I've mostly been successful at being a quick study, have good intuition, and am innovative...but I wouldn't bet any money on it making me successful in a primitive survival scenario. That's part of the good sense that I do have - I know that I wouldn't bet any money on it concerning those areas.
At a place where I lived once, there were a dozen deer within 100 feet of the front porch every morning, and you could count up to 50 pairs of eyes while driving down the dirt road at night...but as soon as hunting season began, almost nobody could find anything. The thunder of the black powder portion of the season didn't seem to sound very often. And in those parts I know that there was a lot of black powder out there.
And it's a tricky question - do something alone, or with others. Some do badly in solitude, and a group can help each other a lot...but at least with the t.v. shows (though maybe not in all real-reality situations), the social dynamics often suck badly. In groups or pairs, how they interact with each other and their attitudes are SO bad. Unbelievably aweful. What ruins it for me within the first few minutes in most shows is how the people start acting with each other so easily and early and over practically nothing at all. Downright pitiful. They seem so insecure, confrontational, and negative, instead of positive and productive and constructive in their interactions.
PSYCHOLOGY
I was going to say some of this in the thread about psychology, but I'll put it here for now...
This is an area where I think that I have most people beat. And I can't even understand or relate to much of what I see and hear about.
This is not to say anything against people with families and strong social connections though, and how it affects some versus how it affects me. But...concerning the solitude, monotony, boredom, being spooked by the outdoors and your vulnerability or feeling clausterphobic, etc...These are things which I just can't relate to. They seem alien to me. And my following views on how I'd do is not because of a naive romantic idea...this is just how I know I would be "out there".
I've said it before in here - I would love something like this NOT because I'd be trying to get away from something, but because I'd like being in the other world that the wilderness is. I am not anti-social, and am quite socially adjusted, and am very comfortable and successful socially. On the one hand, I am not introverted, in fact I'm decent at extroversion...but on the other hand, I don't "need" people so much just for the sake of their presence - I don't depend upon people for my identity or psychological health or happiness.
The "boredom", or "monotony"...that's just not how I see it. That's not how it feels to me. When I'm locked in my shelter for days because of the weather like it's a tomb...yea, I get tired of that. But it doesn't "bother" me or freak me out. I don't begin to hate being out there. I don't "miss" anything. I don't see anything to be bored from. I instead still love it. Versus people being spooked by the woods at night, or the harshness of the lifestyle, I see it as wonderful. All that stuff is what I'm there FOR. Doing what you have to do takes lots of time...I enjoy doing the basics instead of feeling like they're a chore. And if I have time on my hands, believe me I'll be working on something that I see as fun, all by myself. Improving my survival protocols, my situation. Carving a totem pole, making a drum and pounding on it for hours, watching and listening to the flora and fauna and getting to know it better - which would help my survival attempts. It's not lonely or quiet or peaceful...it's noisy with other things, other kinds of life which is why I'm there. The woods at night is cool, not scary or claustrophobic. Even when vulnerable and with dangerous predators around. And I don't have the mood swings between being negative and defeatist from a lack of success at something and rediscovered enthusiasm when successful.
I definately respect everything from mosquitos to cougars, trust me on that...but I don't fear them. There is very much a difference. You fear something, you're in trouble. You don't respect something, you're in trouble. So this helps my disposition I'm sure. This isn't to say that my fear wouldn't try to overwhelm me all on it's own when a bear is staring at me too intently, I'd be stupid to say otherwise...but I'm pretty sure that I'd respond out of more than panic and be prepared as well.
So...one mistake that I see often in shows like ALONE - They are trying to do what they need to do because they have to; because that's what's required to participate on the show, like they are a chore. Instead, a person should be wanting to live primitively in the wilderness, because they want to do that and because they enjoy it, and because they truly enjoy that environment. Not because that's just what they have to do because they're on the show. So they often approach their endeavors with such subconcious loathing, "oh do I have to ma?" attitudes, and defeatist mindsets, because they're not thinking of it or are there because they want to do it, but instead they're just there to either "win" the show or prove something to themselves or their family/friends.
Sorry for the long post...please don't throw vegetables at me.
I watched the final (10the episode of Alone season 1) last night it was good with many words of wisdom from Alan who has earned the right to give them in my opinion. I will admit I fell asleep at least once during the first hour and had to rewind, TV does not agree with me at that hour and I typically wake up at dawn or before. 99% of wilderness survival is boring even to me.
Sam earns a great deal of respect from me as well. I strongly dislike flapping tents and tarp in strong winds, and cannot imaging enduing that sound for 4 days straight, WOW!! He must be very concerned about falling trees, and uncertain about how to construct a sturdy shelter to deflect them.
Other concern is that even for a very healthy person typically after about 40 days the lack of good nutrition and basically a near starvation diet can cause permanent physical injury that will last the rest of their life. So about 56 days was pushing it. I have two friends in Brazil who grew up very poor and malnourished they are both very nice people but have some brain damage due to it. I was not quick on my feet when doing a Skype interview with TV Mark but he basically asked me what I would be willing to risk to demonstrate my Faith on a Survival show. I think that would be one big thing. Also being very cold and wet because that can kill a person in less than an hour in extreme conditions even in the tropics or in a desert after the sun goes down. I have been very close to my body core temperature spiraling down below 96.6F both in the Amazon Rain Forest on rainy nights and in the California High Desert without enough insulation. Alan with a 40F degree summer time Sleep bag in the winter on North Vancouver Island had it very bad. So great respect to him for sticking it out and building the best shelter to help in that situation despite the uncomfortable cramped design of it.
I enjoyed the whole season.
I was hoping for Alan to win. He maintained a sense of humor throughout.
Sam's most important trait was his positive attitude.
I find it very interesting and enjoyable that a sense of humor turns out to be more valuable then a positive attitude.
Discussing the show with my friends tends to gravitate towards why these guys stopped improving their shelters. Your shelter should continually improve.
That is an excellent point. The simple answer may be that during that most difficult part of the year (Fall-Winter) for that area all the fair weather days must be used foraging for food. However, Lucas built several shelters and if you watched the 2nd hour last night when the 3 contestants commented on the last episode they discussed how they were surprised that Sam stayed in his tent shelter out in the open the entire time, never moved to a more weather protected area. Sam either had no more cord or did not see the benefit of tying down the flapping plastic tarp or adding fir branches for insulation. That seemed strange. The men commented on that. Hunger can cause a person's brain not to work well but it may be that at age 22 Sam just had very limited experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
My camping friends often bug me about all the time I take setting up and messing with a very simple tarp that I sleep under. But there are an infinite number of ways to configure it and always new ways I want to experiment with rather than just sit around the campfire and chat for hours BEFORE the sun goes down. Same thing with a simple rod (sapling), line and set of hooks, infinite number of ways to catch fish with just those 3 items.
This; unlike the "pick up and run" mentality of all the other shows, Alone is focused on staying put. Once you've established a base camp, that's where every bit of effort not devoted to food, water and rescue should go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
I might overlook stopping after you have a flush toilet and microwave.
My area is much like Vancouver Island except 600 miles north of there, LOL
Here's a shelter for a 4 day trip.
https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net...d8&oe=5679E491
It was really windy so we started building walls out of sticks and moss. You can see one left center, the other is not visible behind that stump. If you have a tarp, use it for overhead and build your walls. That way you have way more dry interior space.
By the time we left, there was a wall on the right edge of the shelter as well.
I know, "leave no trace", but around here, your shelter frame could save someones life in an emergency.
Looks like he had at least three tarps, (brown canvas main shell with green poly on top and blue poly in back) so piling some bulk between the brown and green would have done wonders to silence the flapping and insulate the heck out of the shelter. If he was out of cordage, then gathering some fiber plants during his ventures outside would have allowed him to put the time in the shelter to good use. Doesn't look like there's anything as good as yucca or grapevine out there, but there are obviously some grasses that could be spun or braided for the lengths he'd need to lash more shelter coverage together.Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
Alan had the right idea with a tiny shelter to retain heat, but a larger sheltered work/staging area near the main sanctum would have expanded both of their possibilities a lot.
I liked Sam's comment that it had been a "big kick in the butt into adulthood." I bet it does have a major positive effect on him for the rest of his life, and I wish we could all have some serious rite of passage like a couple months in a harsh wilderness around that age, since it seems to be about where most people are finally forced into adulthood in modern society. (A quick look around a college campus will show you that it's sure not happening before age 20.) I wonder how many would actually last two weeks, considering 60% of these guys didn't.
Winter I noticed in your photo that you had a large Ice Chest, propane heater, and firearm, 3 items that were not even on the list of available items for the men of Alone to select from. These would have freed up some time for them to work on their shelter, also if they were camping out in the summer not winter.
Dogbane is one of the most popular and useful plants for making natural cordage in North America, not certain that it grows in this part of Vancouver Island but even it takes a lot of time, energy and skill to form into viable cordage.
http://www.primitiveways.com/hemp_dogbane.html
All I can figure out about Sam is that he just thought that his youth would allow him to tough it out and it did get him past 8 others. But I have seen older men hike or paddle past much younger men who were very inconsistent like the hare versus the tortoise. The younger go fast but are not steady or wise and experienced.
Edit: Going off to University and or the Military is a fairly good rite of passage for most people. I am concerned that today this is just not possible and it is much more economical to take classes online. Also less than 1% ever serve in combat even during major military operations like Iraq and Afghanistan. But after both boys and girls have leaned the basics of camping there is no reason they cannot camp for a long weekend or more solo. Just take a phone or PLB to signal for help if injured or have someone hike by to check on them from a distance. Many scouts do this. Alan made several good comments about the therapeutic benefits of this. I generally remove the battery from my phone and put it in a dry bag. There is no signal tower anyway, I would need to climb to a tall ridge to get one. When I am taking a group of kids, I check out detailed coverage maps to have an idea of which ridge lines might be best and where the closed roads are to hike to. Also in some very remote areas we take a satellite phone or PLB, but rescue could still take hours or even a day or two.
Funny story: once I went on a 2 night primitive camping river trip and used a very short wide kayak that was very difficult to paddle into strong winds from a tropical storm coming from the Gulf of Mexico. Almost all the others were way out in front of me far down the river beyond my sight around the river bends etc. I paddled steady and was certain they had all gotten to the camping island before me and I was a little ticked off, this was a group I had never camped with before. But most of them had taken breaks up side creeks and under tree branches etc., I had passed them and not realized it.
I was on a hunting trip in November. My post was more an example of site improvement, not comparing a 4 day hunt to a 56 day survival trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by TXyakr
Quote:
Originally Posted by Batch
This dude had the exact order a month ago. We should promote him to super duper clairvoyant reality show figurer outer or give him a cookie or something!
.....Looks down right comfy to me....Nice camp.Quote:
Originally Posted by Winter
I'll send you a cookie Robert, it might be just an envelope full of crumbs when it arrives but I have your full name, birth date, height, city and zip code from the Fish/Hunt license photo you posted. It may be enough. I'll do some research online and see if I can find the street name and number as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Batch
Alan WAS a good choice he whined the least on camera. When he had nothing to record he just did not record anything. What a concept. I overhear my daughter watching that Kardashinan show, If a person wanted to listen to whining they could watch that, LOL. Or that CBS so called Survivor show, OMG just shoot me now.