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My wife asked me the other day why I am so into all this survival stuff. Of course the answer I gave her apparently wasn't good enough. :rolleyes: It got me wondering though why did any of you make this a hobby/obsession/way of life? When did you begin, why did you begin, etc?
Recreation and in-case i'll need it some day.
I guess I better share since I created the thread.:D I think it started more of wanting to be in the Military. When I was a kid I would dress up as a "Army Man" and play in the woods near our house. I wanted to be a hero I guess. As a teen I began hunting with my grandpa and loved it. I love the woods, the sounds, the smell, the getting away from reality. I can't say these reasons are really about survival, but it all goes hand in hand I think. I love to be out there, so I have to be prepared and have the ability to survive if something was to happen. So I'm not into the bugging out stuff, or preparing for the world to end. I'm just an outdoor enthusiast I guess who likes to have that comfort of feeling safe.
..... Fear of death?Quote:
What made you crave survival?
I got into it because I joined the Search and Rescue team where I live, and needed to know how to put together a "ready" pack, so as to be able to survive on my own for a minimum of 24h..
There's probably a few people here who like the thrill of putting themselves into a "Survivorman" situation, to see if they have the skills and mental fortitude to make it..
But I think alot of us just want to enjoy the outdoors without hauling around alot of gear, and still be secure in the knowledge that we could survive should disaster strike..
Surviving, not camping..
One is fun, the other is not..
My 2 cents, anyways..
I don't view my enjoyment of the wilderness as survival, but rather just living.
Edit: Having seen my fair share of weather related disasters and the people that were not prepared for them, I vowed not to be a victim. It is not the job of the government to make sure that I have food and water to survive. It is my job to ensure that I keep my family safe.
Seen some hard times, trying to make sure they don't happen again. That is why I stock up on food and other things. I can now, may not be able to in a bit...As far as wilderness survival, I am in the woods at least three days a week, I live a long ways out in the country, and my hobbies are all outdoor oriented.
As a kid,I was in the woods around our farm alot,during the summer,I always went hunting ginseng with my grandfather,we would be out there for the biggest part of the day,leave the house before sun up,and get back in the evening in time to do the feeding chores before it got dark,only took cans of vienna sausages or potted meat to eat,and drank whatever water we came across.
After my kids were born,I had them out in the woods digging roots by the time they were 3 or 4, for me it's just the place I have always felt most comfortable.
I thought "Survival Forums" would be full of real hot sexy, rich women. Damn, I hate it when I am wrong.......:):):)
I don't craze survival. Last thing I want is to be in a situtation where I need to use those skills. But setting aside semantics, I was (and still am) a minimalist backpacker. I was a sleep bag and a cooking pot away from the "pick only three things to carry into the bush" option. So it was a natural transition.
I thought "Survival Forums" would be full of real hot sexy, rich women. Damn, I hate it when I am wrong.......
You saying it aint? :(
I love the outdoors and may find myself needing to survive
for me it started with watching Johnny Weismuller as Tarzan, living the good life. Then there was the boy scouts. Then camping on my own. The Military....so many foriegn countries, SERE school (as a student), TEST school (as a student), SERE school as an Instructor. And now living in earthquake country.
I grew up in the north country of New York state. In the summer, the power goes out because the thunderstorm/microburst knocked down trees and powerlines for a 100 mile stretch. In the winter the same applied, but with icestorms and blizzards added to the mix. i also grew up camping and hiking as something to do when i wasn't in school. So i guess i just like to be prepared.
I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's just something that has been in me from the start. From the day I picked up my college roommate's book Nuclear War: what's in it for you? I was compelled to learn more. After that I became a sponge for survival information of all types and got some lucky breaks, particularly when I dropped out of college and was able to get on a wilderness trail crew that summer. That introduced me to some amazingly knowledgable folks and the rest seemed easy. I loved to hike, I loved to camp, I loved gadgets, and that made it all fun. By the time I was 21 I'd started ultra-light backpacking (or fastpacking) and the prepping stuff just happened (although the ex-wife's Mormon family sure helped that along).
I don't much care for the thought of not surviving.Quote:
Originally Posted by doug1980
Not surviving never seemed like a good idea to me.
I have always loved the outdoors and I especially loved being in the woods. I would have to say that my grandfather piqued my curiosity in the outdoors. He always took me hunting for ginseng and yellowroot. He would take me hunting during the fall and fishing in the spring and summer.
I wouldn't say that I craved survivalism, but I love the challenge of taking my skills and knowledge to the next level. I don't think that you could ever learn to much.
I once(age 15) flipped a sailboat about 8 miles offshore. What happened afterwards was a very cold and scary night and day as i drifted back towards the coast... If I had been on an uninhabited coast, as opposed to southern California I would have died. From then on I have always planned for the worst.
These days I am more worried about the big quake that will eventually come and knock this town and region on it's a$$...
I suppose it started when I was young. Growing up on a ranch the only thing to do was camp and hunt. However I am facinated with history and those who had to lead a more self reliant life. This is the life that I try to lead.
Mostly my love of the outdoors, And the lod saying. Its better to have it and not need it, Than to need it and not have it!
As a kid I was in the woods everyday.Building forts etc.and cooking food on fires.I hated sports.In the boy scouts I attended summer camp and took the wilderness survival merit badge course.That got me interested.And I have always been fasinated by American Indians.The ultimate survivors.Trapping with my Papa and learning to hunt and fish by pole,fish trap and trot lines made me want to learn all I could.I started buying survival books and now the internet.Many of the old ways have been forgotten by most.Ive been resurecting wilderness living skills for years.Lightweight camping/backpacking is funner if you have projects to do besides eating,sleeping and hiking.Being prepared just feels better.Its like an insurace policy you cant buy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Runs With Beer
Short, sweet and to the point. I agree.
Since most of this involves a manual skill of one sort or another , and use of the gray matter between my ears, it is just a natural.
Count on yourself before anyone else.
Interesting thread, I have to say I don't know that I "crave" survival. You survive every day or you die. The wilderness? I crave it plenty, don't spend nearly as much time out of doors as I once did or as I still should. But I kind of have to say the opposite of what Doug said. He said "getting away from reality" when he used to go hunting with his grandpa. I think it's getting back to reality.
I just do what I have always done. I worked to live and when I was younger everyone raised a big garden & canned. Nobody gave us a free pass so it became a habit. If that's what you mean. We ate what we shot or didn't shoot it. Only thing that's changed is it's much easier now.
I didn't get on here to learn to survive. I got on here because there's "more than one way to skin a cat". Whether it be starting a fire, making a shelter, cooking food, etc...
The way you do things in Alaska may not work in Arizona. But living in Montana, we get -40 and 100+ degree weather. I might learn something from both those guys in Az. and Ak. You're never too old to stop learning.
Had a real life survival experience when I was 13. Got my self miss placed in the dead of winter when hunting and it was what I had leaned in the Boy Scouts that got me out of the woods. Been hooked every sense.
I don't know. As long as I can remember I've been out in the woods. I grew up on a farm. We hunted, fished and camped. I did the boy scout thing. Played in the woods. Made/ tested kits. The military thing w/ a couple courses. Still planning more adventures.
Making your gear makes the trip more rewarding. Knowing that you can make it with the minimal amount of gear makes the adventure more rewarding. I still carry everything I may need just in case my plans don't work out.
My family was farmers. I grew up stockpiling food, and using my hands and my head.
Hunting, fishing, staying out over night with coon dogs, chasing cows in the middle of the night, snowing, raining or sunshine it was just a way of life.
Picking berries, garden food, apples, Etc were canned by my grandmother and then stored in the root celler for use during the winter, along with home grown pototes, onions. She also canned meat, made jellies and jams.
We also gathered nuts, *black walnuts, hickory nuts Etc, then sat around the wood stove listening to the radio in the winter, cracking the nuts and pulling the meat and storing them in sealed mason jars.
There is nother better then coming in the house after your chores are done in the cold winter and setting down to a meal of crispy fried potatoes w/onions either pork chops or beef steak, home canned green beans/peas/corn, either homemade bread, biscuits (the yeast was kept going in the refrig) or cornbread, homemade butter, Blackbery cobbler and fresh milk.
One thing I sorely miss is her gooseberry pie.
We didn't have much money, but those that did, didn't have what we had to eat, or the
know-how to get it without going to the store.
My grandparents, who raise me, had been through the 1929 era depression.
* We would "hull" the black walnut by tossing them in the driveway by the house and the tractor running over them would break the hulls loose without our hands getting stained. Then we would take a rake pull them into a large pile and store then in wooden bushel baskets or burlap bags until we could crack them open.
When I was 13 or so, the movie, Red Dawn, came out. In my teen years, I daydreamed about being in that group of Wolverines, living off the grid, travelling on horses, waging guerilla warfare against the Cubans/Russians. What a crock! However, tuck that away for 20 years, and I finally got outdoors on a regular basis. I'm not looking to be Les Stroud, and definitely NOT Bear Grylls, but I want to know how to take care of myself and those I am with.
I am an outdoor enthusiast, not an EOTWAWKI guy. Like the Scouts, I want to be prepared.
Good post, by the way.
always like to be pepared like the outdoors so had to learn and help other learn to.
I didn't like the other option. Spent 9 years in the military (Active/Active reserve), scouts and do a lot of hiking though not as much as I'd like. There have been times when I was "a mite bewildered" which always is a motivator for being prepared to spend the night (or more) in the woods.
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