6 Months Alone in the Woods

[coloradopilgrim]

Ok, so heres my idea. I want to spend about 3 months in a woodland area away from everyone else as sort of a get away before I spend the rest of my life working. Im in college and want to do this before the "real world" hits. Heres my plan though. Ive decided to take more of a jim bridger-like route. I plan on making a one room very small log cabin like shelter to live out of for my enitre stay. Here is my gear list, give me some feedback

An axe
A Hatchet
A wool blanket
A Tarp
550 Paracord
A large bowie knife
gerber folding knife
Whetstone
2 pairs of wool socks
4 pairs of jeans
3 t-shirts (it willbe summer by the way)
2 flannel shirts
1 Carhart jacket
.22 Savage arms Rifle
500 rds of ammo (more? less?)
2 steel fox traps
Fire Starter
Aluminum bowl
Multi-tool
Boots
Canteen
Fishing gear

Am I missing anything here? I plan on doing aa lot of hunting and fishing for food, im also very aware of edibles having grown up in the region im staying in. Keep in mind its summer and I also plan to use furs from hunting as extra material. Some insight would be great!

[1stimestar]

You'll need many more pairs of socks. How about a first aid kit? Insect repellent? Water purifier system or tablets? Toilet paper?

[Sparky93]

Ok, so heres my idea. I want to spend about 3 months in a woodland area away from everyone else as sort of a get away before I spend the rest of my life working. Im in college and want to do this before the "real world" hits. Heres my plan though. Ive decided to take more of a jim bridger-like route. I plan on making a one room very small log cabin like shelter to live out of for my enitre stay. Here is my gear list, give me some feedback

An axe
A Hatchet
A wool blanket
A Tarp
550 Paracord
A large bowie knife
gerber folding knife
Whetstone
4 pairs of wool socks
4 pairs of jeans
3 t-shirts (it willbe summer by the way)
2 flannel shirts
1 Carhart jacket
.22 Savage arms Rifle
500 rds of ammo (more? less?)
2 steel fox traps (I would bring more or just leave this behind altogether)
Fire Starter
Aluminum bowl
Multi-tool
Boots
Canteen
Fishing gear
Snare wire
Buck saw
Sewing Kit
Large metal pot (washing dishes and clothes, heating water for baths, boiling water for drinking and cooking)
Smaller Pot (boiling water and cooking)
Dutch Oven
Cast iron skillet
Eating utensils
Small fix blade for more detailed carving
Fillet Knife
First aid kit
Food supplies (flour, beans, salt & pepper, spices, etc...)
Vegetable seeds (depending on time of year, like tomatoes and peppers)
Journal for recording your experience for your great grand children
Candles for light in the cabin
Tared bank line (good for catfish drop lines and has just as many uses as paracord)
Hammer
Nails
Hygiene kit (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc...)



Am I missing anything here? I plan on doing aa lot of hunting and fishing for food, im also very aware of edibles having grown up in the region im staying in. Keep in mind its summer and I also plan to use furs from hunting as extra material. Some insight would be great!

Some thoughts I had, and definitely practice the skills you are going to need before you head out to stay in the woods for three months.

[Sparky93]

What game is legal for harvesting in the summer in your area? Around here .22 caliber makes me think squirrel and rabbit, but our season is closed during the summer. When is your turkey season? If it runs through the time span you plan on being out, I would bring a shotgun. But I would definitely bring enough food supplies to supplement your harvested food.

[Rick]

Read this......

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ve-in-the-Wild

And who's land are you going to build on?

[tank]

I have two questions for starters.
1) How far out of town are you going to be?

2) Will you have some sort of communications?

The reason for these two questions, out of civilation a small cut can be fatal.

[mouse111111]

You're going to need alot more than an axe and a hatchet to build a cabin... Where did you get this cabin building permit? Who's land are you going to squat on?

[godisnum1]

I would HIGHLY suggest leaving a full itinerary with several family members who will be active to keep track of your detailed plan.
Also, you really should consider bringing a SPOT emergency device and a pack of extra batteries so you can keep the spot device on you at ALL times in the "On" position when you are away from your cabin. It would not hurt to send a pre-set message from the SPOT device time to time (or on a certain day) to your family members for them to see that you're alright, or the last time you were alright. That will give you the option to alert your family, as well as alert a rescue team to come to where you're at, should something terrible happen. You gotta think ahead about your safety.

Bran <><

[hunter63]

Nails...need nails...yeah i know it was covered...but important enough to be brought up again.

[postman]

Forget about the jeans, they take forever to dry if they get wet. Your far better off finding wool pants.

[kyratshooter]

????AGAIN????

First post, no intro, summer season specified (when not a single game animal is in season) but not where, no region of the world specified, not a bite of food or even a shaker of salt included, no skilll level specified except for a list that shows squat for any knowledge outside the fact that Jim Bridger was an old dude that lived out west.

Just a list with half enough to make it through a weekend.

Now we are to do what? Flesh out the list, give instruction on how to use the gear (perhaps making donations along the way) and recommend a place where there will be no hastle from the local law, Federal land management or U.S Park Service or those pesky private property owners who just refuse to "share the wealth".

On top of that we have three people out of ten replies that have less than 30 posts, so we have no indication of how knowlegable they actually are. I suppose that is a good thing since they do not realize we take this trip once every two months. The victem is always right out of High School or college, has zero idea what he is doing and is another person walking into the woods to die before he has to get a real job.

The only identification they will have on their body will be a slip of paper with the website address of this forum!

Go back to the college. Sign up with the PE department for a class in woodcraft or recreational camping, get some instruction and learn how to be miserable with the proper supervision.

[hunter63]

Hey CP, check this out....maybe get a free ride?
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...onsultancy-Gig

[BENESSE]

I knew that no matter what, Kyrat would come through.

[socom2173]

Didn't someone try this a few years ago, didn't turn out so well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_McCandless

[finallyME]

Am I missing anything here?

Land. The only way you can do this is if either you own the land, or the owner lets you. That limits it to private land. You won't be able to do this on any type of public land. If you plan to do this in National Forest Land, or BLM, then I would forgo the advice to tell others where you are going. That might be evidence against you.

My recommendation would be to do a CDT through hike. Not only is it a great accomplishment, but it is legal as well.

[Rick]

Yeah, we had a couple of guys that came on here two years ago and were going to do 6 months or some such with only a knife. Even had their own website. They lasted a week? I don't remember but the website never got updated.

[coloradopilgrim]

The land i will be on is a lot owned by my family, its about 20 miles roughly to the nearest town. Permits will not be needed. Also the place im staying at is much less challenging than McCandless in Alaska, plus Ive grown up knowing how to do various self-sufficent tasks, unlike McCandless.

[Rick]

I'll give you two weeks. The first week will be fun, the second week will start to be work. You can not be self sufficient for very long at all. Can you do all the things outlined in the link I gave you? In all kinds of weather?

[coloradopilgrim]

I looked at you link and Im pretty confident In my abilities to do what it takes to survive. Im also a med student so i have alot of knowledge in first aid. Other than that i see your two weeks as challenge accepted!

[Sourdough]

Will you have any human contact during this period........?