52 replies to this topic

[TVCasualty]

Ur's? The grow log for this book was posted here, well old site. Posted by who(user name) u win a prize! But it was before ur join date hehe.

You know, that Bible more or less illustrates what happens to our books and papers if we try to take them with us into the woods. We had an "office tent" at first but within 6 weeks or so the whole thing was just a bunch of mold and funk. We managed to hit the woods at the beginning of the wettest Summer in East Tennessee in 100 years, and that was about two years after I'd worked landscape maintenance during the hottest Summer in 100 years in Arizona (it was really fucking hot; the lowest high temp that July was 116℉ ) which makes me think I must have a special talent for being in the right places at the absolute worst possible times.

[Alder Logs]

There is no high ground anymore. Hang out in one place and extreme weather will find you soon enough.

This year, the PNW and the British Isles are being held out as examples of cool weather by the climate change deniers. What they don't seem to get is this is just what a general warming would predict. Still raining in July here. There are many places I can't do my summer work because I would turn them into mud holes. Meanwhile, everywhere to the east of here is in record heat.

One year I burned off my roof during an early snow. We moved everything into tents while we repaired the cabin. It all molded.

If you're going to survive, don't be too sure what's coming and be ready to roll with the punches.

When I lived in California in a previous lifetime, we used to joke about the four seasons: Fire, Flooding, Earthquake, and Drought.

[shroomhunt]

I know you wanted serious answers EP so I'm sorry. I'd bring Dora the explorer because that bitch has everything in that backpack! Sorry again but is never have another chance to bust that out.

[shroomhunt]

But I will find a way to actually contribute to the thread don't worry.

[TVCasualty]

I know you wanted serious answers EP so I'm sorry. I'd bring Dora the explorer because that bitch has everything in that backpack! Sorry again but is never have another chance to bust that out.

Oh no, that counts! One thing that's about as essential as a shelter in this context is a sense of humor. If you don't learn to laugh at some of the stuff that goes down while you and your fellow domesticated primates try to answer the Call of the Wild (as opposed to the much more commonly-answered Call of Nature) then your wilderness experience will merely be a shortcut to madness.


You know, I keep forgetting to mention that to truly live in full survival, with no manufactured tools or equipment (directly off the land), we won't be in the woods or rather we won't generally be very far inside of a forest and if we do go deep, it won't be very often. Relatively speaking, there's not much besides wood in the deep woods; all the hard-core bio-action is in the transition areas between biomes, such as where grasslands meet forests or coastlines and places like that.

That's why all the brushy dog-hair thickets where nice fertile land used to be annoy me so much; those are the places where we'll have to go if we're living off the land full-time, and all agricultural and suburban land will turn into briar-infested, nearly impenetrable thickets real fast once internal combustion is silenced forever. That's one reason I strongly advocate having a Woodsman's Pal machete in the bug-out kit; it'll be a true life saver once there's no more landscape maintenance or bush-hogging going on.

And while it might be a great thing to do while living in an intact and thriving civilization, hiking the Appalachian Trail is also the worst possible route for traveling on foot (or any other way for that matter) from the Southeast to the Northeast if one is merely trying to get from point A to point B and not be someone who hikes the AT. So interestingly enough, it might not be hitting the woods that's the ideal place to go, it might be the suburbs! Once the 'burbs depopulate from lack of logistical support, they might be good places to go hide out as they are often in fertile or transition areas (or will quickly become new biomes or transition areas as all the formerly carefully maintained, landscaped land goes wild). Many foot trails are similarly located in beautiful but inconvenient locations because all the gentle hills with easy grades and fertile land and good water where livin' is easy were claimed and fenced and defended a loooooong time ago.

[Alder Logs]

I guess if I really do this I would have to meet a nice mountain woman as well, I cannot go without getting some longer than a month.

The lone survivalist's best option: monosexuality. I should think you'd be able to handle it.

[strangedays_indeed]

I love this thread. Don't give up, I've thought the same thing as you after getting out of institutions (forced in to them) and seriously considered this route. Researching and learning as much as possible would be your best bet, just like everything else we do here on topia. The more knowledge you have the more prepared you will be to making it a reality that doesn't come crashing down around you. I once packed my car and hit the road, ended up in the woods for a while, then came out realizing I was not at all prepared (supply wise or psychologically), so I feel you for sure, culture/society is something that I have never agreed with. Whatever you do know that others feel similar and hope to accomplish things of the like, I know I do once I am more prepared with agriculture skills and as mentioned wilderness survival skills.

[shroomhunt]

A few things I can contribute here is the lust for natural life. I feel you EP and I'd say I'm down too if I hadn't taken a wife and had a kid. I have expressed on here before that i feel my mindset in life kinda makes me that cool yet weird guy to most people in that im overly (not imo) into nature and environmental concerns. Like organic foods for example I tell people im into eating non processed no synthetic bs if i can help it (its hard). Most people say well your fine and you grew up eating all that shit before you could choose and your healthy. Looking healthy can be only skin deep i think it takes time for the carcinogens or any bad for us to manifest illness be it cancer or whatever. Look at the elderly these days taking a fist full of pills daily just to feel good and be healthy...not!!! I will just stick to my all natural view of things and attempt to avoid intentionally speeding up my death. More stuff more on topic to add soon my wife wants to smoke out and me too! Peace

[Spliff]

SWIM went to a high school in South Africa, located on this expanse of bush land where boarding was the ideal. Anyway, they had this program of sorts where students could develop skills in leadership and team work blah blah, and you earned badges, like in pokemon. Such challenges were the Polar Bear club, which was a 5am swim every day through winter, paintball, carpentry etc etc.

The one though was a challenge where the dude was sent out onto the school property bush land with a black plastic bag, 1m rope, 2 matches, a match box, knife, some other things that escape my mind. Oh and, a pen and a note book.

The idea was to spend the weekend out there. The school masters would come check on you every day. During this time you were expected to use the pen and paper to write a reflection of sorts which would be sealed and locked in the school's safe for when you graduated or after some time.

Whats to stop you doing something like this, call it camping.

pretty cool huh.

[TVCasualty]

Here's a bit of practical advice I forgot to mention that may come in handy: If you go into the wilderness to practice this stuff, you're going to look really weird to any Rangers who happen by and you will probably be engaged in several illegal activities at the time (esp. if you're living off the land in a National Park) so be sure and remember this phrase in case the squirrel police find you: Thank God you found me!

That's the first thing that you should say to anyone who finds you practicing survival skills and absolves you of legal liability for breaking Park rules because you were doing what you had to do to survive... :eusa_ange

And if they do find you, you need to improve your stealthiness!

[shroomhunt]

A few good things to know in the event you are forced to leave civilization in the event of collapse or just if you want to like EP are as follows. Water of potable nature can be obtained several ways. One is if your near salt water simply desalinate it by boiling and have a clean rag or something to set into the steam to collect the water into the rag and ring it out into the drinking container. Salts and what not should be left behind I believe so the water should be good I would figure. Another method would be to pour non potable water into the ground below a plastic pyramid like contraption as a solar still in the sun. Sun will cause water to evaporate and collect by condensation at top of plastic and drip down as distilled water essentially. The rig in general could be devised several clever ways to include a direction of drip from the condensation to be collected at a pan or something placed at whatever point. Another thing to remember is that plants transpire water while doing there normal photosynthesis. If you were to say surround a branch with lots of leaves in the sun with a plastic bag of sorts water will collect inside the bag over time. Maybe not the best way to get tons of water but maybe enough to survive. Another rig to extract essential oils from herbs and what not could be taken to the woods with you made of durable materials that last like stainless steal. The oils being for food flavor enhancing or herbal medicines or whatever. Goes like this: first get a large pot that another steamer pot can easily fit into and can still be closed fully with the outter pots lid upside down. Get the pot with a glass lid with a metal center handle. You'll need also two or three "c" clamps and a glass measuring cup or other thick glass cup. Now you would put enough water in the large pot to boil steam and then set in steamer basket/pot. Shred herb of choice and stuff it around the glass cup in the center of the steam pot inside larger pot. Put lid on large pot upside down in a concave manner so as water and oil condense it will run down to the center and down off the handle of the lid into the glass cup. The clamps are to keep the lid on tight so no oils easily escape out of the pot during boiling. Once its been boiled several mins let it cool and oil will pool together on top of water in the cup and can be taken off the water with a syringe or something. Just a couple thoughts I wanted to add to this thread.

[CatsAndBats]

bump because end days

[av8or]

Thanks Cats.....some good reading.