New and needing direction (no compass needed)

**Ragnarok** · 05-16-2015, 03:20 PM

Hello ladies and gents

I'm new to the forums, but have been interested in learning survival skills and techniques for some time now. Since my son was born, that interest has increased, as I see survival skills as important skills to pass on to him and my future children, which they can then pass on to their own children. However, I have run into a pretty significant problem in finding instructors and courses. I can watch all the YouTube videos, Man vs Wild, Survivorman, Dual Survival, and Naked and Afraid episodes that I want, but I want hands on, first hand knowledge from an experienced and reputable source.

So does anyone know where I should be looking? I live in Northern Minnesota, an area where temps can reach over 100 degrees and 99% humidity in the summer, to -50 in the winter. The land is a mix of Grasslands, expansive woodland, and cattail infested swamps. So I need to find some place, or some one, that knows the area, or at least those kind of conditions, very well. The closest place I know of right now, is somewhere in Iowa, which is a bit more of a trek than I am hoping to make. Yet, if it is the only promising choice, then I'll simply have to deal with the drive.

At the moment, my survival skills and assets consist of general hunting skills, wood gathering, a Bear Grylls knife (you know, the one with the fire starter and other do-dads on it), hatchet/machete, and skills I picked up building forts in the woods as a kid. So, I have a long way to go.

I'm rambling now, so time to cut this off. I'm looking for a course/instructor for the area I live in. Any ideas on where to look, or who to look for?

Thanks ladies and gents.

**Rick** · 05-16-2015, 04:03 PM

I'll save you a bunch of money. You don't need an instructor. You just need to go camping and practice your skills. Camping skills are what you want. If you need a list of things that are handy to know then try this...

How to build expedient shelters.
Create fire with no tools or tools you create yourself in the wilderness.
Know where to find water and how to purify it.
Basic land navigation.
Basic psychology of survival.
Basic first aid.
Be able to identify plants in your area. Both poisonous and edible.
Understand weather signs.
Basics of trapping and snaring.
How to build expedient tools and weapons.
Basics of signaling.
How to prioritize needs.

Pick an item, check out how to do it on the internet then go practice it. It doesn't cost anything and if you learn how to do those things then surviving the 72 hours that most rescues occur in will be pretty straight forward. If you never require rescue you still have some good skills that will provide you and your kids some fun practicing. Most folks will spend their whole lives playing in the woods and never need rescue.

**hunter63** · 05-16-2015, 04:33 PM

Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.
What situation are you wanting to survive?

Most folks plan for success, so if survival is necessary, that means something has gone wrong.

Rick gave you a pretty good list of things to start with....and I confess I don't know of any one that "teaches survival" in the Midwest.

BTW..... "and cattail infested swamps".......tells me food source and water is available.
Try looking at things as a asset, not a infestation.
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Pla.../Cattails.html

**tundrabadger** · 05-16-2015, 05:22 PM

Sounds like you've got a good foundation to build on there....sometimes the best way to learn stuff is to pick a skill you want to improve and get stuck in in a controlled environment. That's how I learned to tie a decent variety of knots when I was a teenager. Got myself a length of rope, hauled out my mother's copy of the Ashley Book of Knots, and I practiced the ones that appealed to me until I had them down. Like Rick says...go camping and try stuff out! When your boy is old enough, take him out with you. it doesn't have to be a matter of "okay, sonny boy, I'm teaching you survival now", just go out and do stuff together. I learned a fair bit about plants and birds from my grandparents, and then never sat me down and said "learn", they just took me with them when they went walking in the woods, and since gramp was a botanist and nanny was a teacher who majored in biology and loved birdwatching, they wound up teaching me a lot just through conversation.

**hayshaker** · 05-16-2015, 07:57 PM

wecome home raganoark, so you want some direction,
try Delorne, Minnesota Atlas& Gazetteer. can buy at any good truck stop or barnes&noble.com
it is a page by page map listing all backroads swamps camp grounds,lakes,rivrs and streams.
cost is 20'00 and worth every penny.good luck.

**Ragnarok** · 05-16-2015, 10:38 PM

There's quite a few situations I want to know how to survive. There are a lot of rarely traveled back roads where I live, and the weather around here can get pretty dicey. And cell reception is problematic at best. So say I hit the ditch in a snow storm, and get stranded without any supplies. I usually have a backpack in my truck that has my knife/fire starter, machete, gloves, hat, etc, but I'm planning on the worst case scenario. Obviously, in that situation, you stay with the car, but I think you understand what I am getting at.

Bad weather --> Stranded --> Survive as long as necessary.

Food and water is abundant, in general. The area has a LOT to offer if you know what to look for, but I still HATE cattails.

**tundrabadger** · 05-16-2015, 11:57 PM

What's etc. in this case? Are you traveling along those roads frequently?

it seems to me that, in a situation like the one you're describing, survival is going to hinge on a few things. One would be telling somebody where you are going...that way, if you wind up stranded, somebody knows where to look for you if you don't show up. If you're drinking that abundant water, you're going to want to know how to purify it, because better safe. dehydration will kick your butt every time. If you're driving on winter roads where you think you could wind up stranded, you should absolutely have that backpack with you, including an emergency blanket and some kind of food that you don't need to prepare. Keeping warm at -50 burns a lot of calories, and low blood sugar increases your risk of hypothermia. On which topic, do you know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite? you really need to watch out for frostbite...first degree isn't so bad, it just hurts like hades getting thawed out and there's some superficial damage that heals with a little time, but if it progresses too far, say to third or fourth degree, then you've got serious problems.

**natertot** · 05-17-2015, 12:35 AM

Howdy and welcome. Rick has given you a great platform from which to work from and others have good ideas for you too. I grew up in Iowa and basically, I just simply went outdoors. Camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, swimming. You learn as you go along. Get you a basic tent, sleeping bag, and a few camping accessories and go play in your back yard. After a few rounds of that, go to a local state park. After a few rounds of that, go check out a national forest. I always take a small notepad and pen with me and make notes, writing down things that worked and things that didn't as well as writing down items I caught myself saying "Gee, I wish I had.......". Pretty soon you'll be dumping gear that you don't use and checking out new gadgets for better ways to do things.

As far as getting stuck in the winter, been there and done that. That falls under prepping more than survival. If you use the search feature of the forum, you can find all kinds of stuff for vehicle preps. Start with a basic tool kit, jumper cables, tow chain/strap, basic first aid kit, water, foods that have good storage and no prep needed, flash light, bucket of salt/sand mix, flares, shovel, and blankets/sleeping bag. Next winter, I am thinking about adding a small propane heater as well. Mr. Buddy Heaters makes a small one that is safe for indoors that I am strongly considering.

I hope this helps. Welcome again to the forums.

**LowKey** · 05-17-2015, 06:46 AM

Don't aim to survive. Be prepared instead.

You've identified one problem area. Stranded on the road in winter. Now that you've identified it, you shouldn't be stranded on the road in winter with no supplies. ALWAYS have supplies. ALWAYS tell someone where you are going when you go out. ALWAYS tell someone when you should return (or arrive at your destination if other than home.)
These preps don't just apply to winter either and they are simple to do.

What else could go wrong in Minnesota? What would you do if there was a natural catastrophe, anything from earthquake to wildfire to localized toxic train disaster? There are many books on the market that teach you what to do to get yourself prepared for any situation where you have to leave your home for an extended period of time. Do you have copies of your important papers? Photos of your home and belongings on flash media for insurance purposes? If it is winter, do you know how to drain your house plumbing system and put the furnace to bed if you have to leave for a week in subzero weather? Do you have family or friends outside of a 25 mile disaster radius where you could go so you don't end up in a shelter? Do you have a plan so separated family members can locate each other (like a rendezvous point in case cell phones aren't working)?

"Surviving" an unexpected setback while out hunting or fishing is also a matter of being prepared. Besides the three ALWAYS above, you also should have an understanding of at least basic first aid and carry an FAK with you in your pack and your vehicle. Check the weather before going out. Learn the things that Rick mentioned in his post and you should do fine in the time it takes for your family/friends to realize you are overdue and send out help.

For learning plants in your area, check local botanical gardens and adult education sources. The botanical gardens are a good source for finding people who know wild edibles. The money you spend at such places is for a better cause than for paying someone to teach you how to crawl around in the mud and eat bugs. Though it's kind of funny, As a kid I actually learned quite a lot from the lessons in a book called The Tracker by Tom Brown. At least it was the jumping off place for explorations into local ways to do some of the stuff the kids in that book did. My Side of the Mountain is another book that could get kids interested in the outdoors.

These days, you are going to have to get the kids interested in what you are doing. You will be battling technology just to get them off the couch. That will only get worse in the future as things get more and more convenient and getting dirty becomes more "icky."
The main thing is to get out there and practice and have fun while doing it. Tundrabadger has a good point in the observation that you don't want to be preachy and you don't want to come across as a stern task-master. Teach the kids to think for themselves and reason their way out of various situations.

All the money in the world isn't going to make you learn to think in a "survival" situation.
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pizz-Poor Performance.
My dad call that the Seven P's.
Words to live by.
Literally.

**crashdive123** · 05-17-2015, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by Ragnarok

There's quite a few situations I want to know how to survive. There are a lot of rarely traveled back roads where I live, and the weather around here can get pretty dicey. And cell reception is problematic at best. So say I hit the ditch in a snow storm, and get stranded without any supplies. I usually have a backpack in my truck that has my knife/fire starter, machete, gloves, hat, etc, but I'm planning on the worst case scenario. Obviously, in that situation, you stay with the car, but I think you understand what I am getting at.

Bad weather --> Stranded --> Survive as long as necessary.

Food and water is abundant, in general. The area has a LOT to offer if you know what to look for, but I still HATE cattails.

This is a bit more information and useful in trying to help you. If you'd like, try this guideline (whatever is applicable) so the responses can be even more tailored to your needs. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...rio-Check-List

To answer your question with what you provided (yes, the etc. is important) put together a kit for your vehicle (not sure what else is in your backpack) that will allow you to survive for a period of time. Staying hydrated is important, so a couple of gallons of water is, IMO important. With your weather extremes, keeping that water in a cooler in the winter will insulate it from freezing. Blankets/sleeping bag to make it through the cold nights...food (something that you like which is calorie dense) that will not be affected by heat/cold.....first aid kit and know how to use it.....signalling (flares, mirror (unless you want to rip apart your vehicle for a signal mirror), whistle (don't forget your car horn).

Take a look at the checklist I linked to and see if it will work for what you are thinking.

As Rick said - you don't need a class to learn this stuff. Practice. Practice with your family - make it fun and not laborious otherwise they will lose interest (you may too). Focus on one thing at a time. You can start in your back yard. The whole family will enjoy the time they spend together and the time in nature.

**DSJohnson** · 05-18-2015, 12:40 AM

Welcome to the Forum Ragnarok. I hope you enjoy it here. I must echo what Rick and Crash have said. Just load up and go camping. Keep it fun. Take your family. Set your tent up in the back yard. Sleep it it with your son. Get him a little pack when he is old enough and don't think that 5 or 6 is too young. Just keep it fun. Get a Boy Scout Field Book (http://www.amazon.com/Fieldbook-Manu...out+field+book) I like the older one better but then it is what I started out with (http://www.amazon.com/Fieldbook-Boy-...8SN9MFFC8TZ5RM) Practice with your gear. Pack your pack and then go for a walk with it. Build some fires in the back yard. Cook supper for the family over a campfire at a local park or in the back yard. I promise that between You tube and the back yard you will have tons and tons of fun if you like to camp.