"Survival"/"Barebones" camping...

[usndocjaysin]

I put this thread in NON MOTO but after thinking it over it might get more hits being here in the sink...:dunno either that or bunch of deliverance references :rolleyes

So basically I would like to go into a somewhat "controlled" environment and last a couple days on my wits and skills with the bare minimal. I'm sure theres a following and pehaps even a name for this type of stuff but not too sure what it's called (if anything). So I'm looking for good survival books to study (make a fire outta twigs etc...) and places around the Bay that one would be able to hunt or fish in with a water supply. My ultimate goal would be to hike about a day to an area (not too far to get lost but just far enough) stay for a day or two finding water and hunting (small game rabbit, bird, fish and the likes) and hike back in. Any books, area suggestions, experiences and info on this type of thing would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Obscura]

Whatever you do, you'll need the following.

Knife ( I'd suggest a Gerber LMF 2, it'll also make cleaning small game easier )
Handgun/Rifle with ammo
Fishing line with hooks
Parachute/Jump Cord
Firesteel
Basic First Aid kit
Water Filtration/tablets
Canteen with Canteen Cup ( It gives you something to cook your food in)
Poncho ( For rain, failing crappy weather, also can double as a sleeping bag as it can separate you from the cold ground which will inevitably sap away heat from your body )
Heavy Duty pack to carry the above
Good boots

Everything else is just a luxury, I've used everything that I've suggested. Though in the end, the gear has to be tailored for your given "controlled" situation. Taking gear that works in Yosemite in August won't work so well in Alaska during December. :laughing

 

[Cheyenne]

A guy I work with who was some kinda special forces guy has a great story about his survival training "camping" trip.

Evidently, once you are starting to get weak and such from starvation, you'll go back and eat the dead bird that some animal cached, and spend the next 12 hours fighting to keep it down so you don't die.

And yes, of course he cooked it...even found some herbs to rub on it...says they didn't help much.


I'd say do it in a park, so you get to dodge rangers and stuff all the while!

 

[mlm]

Golden Gate Park with a fifth of vodka

 

[Shotline]

Here is a good web site to get info at:

http://www.survivaltopics.com/

As for where? Just head out to any national park....if you get in trouble it will be easier for them to find your corpse.:rofl

 

[Nemo Brinker]

If you're doing fires, be aware of national forest fire closures and such, and get a free fire permit for the national forests that will still issue them in the summer. Clear a big area around any fire you have and drown/scatter and bury all the coals from any fire you have.

You do NOT want to be the guy who accidentally sets northern California on fire this year.

Also consider bringing a bear canister with comfort food and something like a backpacking stove, a sleeping bag, etc. and caching it somewhere you can get back to.

Recommend you take an REI or similar map and compass course before heading out, and do keep a compass and topo map of the area you'll be in (consider it your alternative to what would have been a native american or trapper's knowledge of the land). It's expensive for the county to haul unprepared dorks out of the woods.

Get a hunting and fishing license if you're going to kill shit, poachers suck.

Book recommendation:
Survival Skills of Native California, http://www.kumeyaay.info/books/survival_skills.html

I hear this one is good:
http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Survival-Gregory-J-Davenport/dp/0811732924/ref=pd_sim_b_6

And I grew up on the SAS Survival Manual....
http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Survival-...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280016010&sr=1-1

 

[kevin 714]

I put this thread in NON MOTO but after thinking it over it might get more hits being here in the sink...:dunno either that or bunch of deliverance references :rolleyes

So basically I would like to go into a somewhat "controlled" environment and last a couple days on my wits and skills with the bare minimal. I'm sure theres a following and pehaps even a name for this type of stuff but not too sure what it's called (if anything). So I'm looking for good survival books to study (make a fire outta twigs etc...) and places around the Bay that one would be able to hunt or fish in with a water supply. My ultimate goal would be to hike about a day to an area (not too far to get lost but just far enough) stay for a day or two finding water and hunting (small game rabbit, bird, fish and the likes) and hike back in. Any books, area suggestions, experiences and info on this type of thing would be greatly appreciated.

go bear grylls style, and bring only a knife and flint stick

 

[Obscura]

go bear grylls style, and bring only a knife and flint stick

. . . and an entire staging crew that makes you look good while you take a helicopter trip back to your hotel once you shoot your last "action" scene and eat a three course meal before sleeping in a comfortable bed.

 

[kevin 714]

. . . and an entire staging crew that makes you look good while you take a helicopter trip back to your hotel once you shoot your last "action" scene and eat a three course meal before sleeping in a comfortable bed.

lol yes yes i know. it was supposed to be a joke.

 

[rsrider]

Don't do it.

 

[Obscura]

Jaysin, if you die. Can I have your stuff? I'll even take the JF, he'll up my game, son.

 

[Brokenlink]

I just took a course on survival up here in Alaska and am spending about two months in the middle of fucking nowhere. I could give you some tips, but the bottom line is, it's great to know the skills but you don't ever want to use them.

 

[number_6]

wait, so this isn't a MW2 thread?

 

[T-1 Thunder]

Have you already tried these things individually?
What is your level of experience with each of them?
(rabbit, birds, fish, ice and snow, extreme desert heat, etc)

These answers play the entire role of deciding where would be a good place to go for YOU.

 

[gixxerjoeca]

Wai until the fall so that you can kill tasty animals and not rodents and vermin. Of course pig season is year round but not many to be found on public property.

 

[Nemo Brinker]

I just took a course on survival up here in Alaska and am spending about two months in the middle of fucking nowhere. I could give you some tips, but the bottom line is, it's great to know the skills but you don't ever want to use them.

Dude, you have to come back and run us a BARF survival course...:laughing

and +1 on the feral pig hunting. I've got a suitable rifle and back-up handgun, but don't have any private land contacts to go after 'em.

 

[VTRZA]

I just took a course on survival up here in Alaska and am spending about two months in the middle of fucking nowhere. I could give you some tips, but the bottom line is, it's great to know the skills but you don't ever want to use them.

this.

I've done a 7 day survival trip with way less of the items than someone else listed in this thread. Hell of an adventure, but not something I would do for fun.

 

[ZiXeR636]

just watch Dual Survivor....you will learn everything you need to know from that show.

 

[Rambeezi]

I don't have any recommendations on survival books but my brother in laws will hike/camp out in Henry Coe State Park with just a backpack, bedroll, sleeping bag and a fishing pole. They will hike in 3 days to get to certain ponds and lakes (and according to them there are more even further away) to camp and fish and 3 days back out to the car. No hunting and I believe they just banned open fires for this Summer...or maybe the ban is just for Summer and other seasons you can have an open fire. U might want to double check that...and no hunting either though I heard my brother in law will snare a rabbit or two though they mainly stick to fishing as the fishing is very very good. Minimal supplies they bring are basic hiking stuff u can fit in a backpack like water purification pills, first aid, snake bite kit, knife, ....etc. No tents, utensils, .... they pack very light (no more than 40lbs). It is not a straight hike either....you will have to deal with multiple elavations changes of up to 5k ft (Coit lake which is about 25 miles in). I went with them one time but was not fit enough and had to turn back while they continued on for a week.

 

[lefty]

I don't have any recommendations on survival books but my brother in laws will hike/camp out in Henry Coe State Park with just a backpack, bedroll, sleeping bag and a fishing pole. They will hike in 3 days to get to certain ponds and lakes (and according to them there are more even further away) to camp and fish and 3 days back out to the car. No hunting and I believe they just banned open fires for this Summer...or maybe the ban is just for Summer and other seasons you can have an open fire. U might want to double check that...and no hunting either though I heard my brother in law will snare a rabbit or two though they mainly stick to fishing as the fishing is very very good. Minimal supplies they bring are basic hiking stuff u can fit in a backpack like water purification pills, first aid, snake bite kit, knife, ....etc. No tents, utensils, .... they pack very light (no more than 40lbs). It is not a straight hike either....you will have to deal with multiple elavations changes of up to 5k ft (Coit lake which is about 25 miles in). I went with them one time but was not fit enough and had to turn back while they continued on for a week.

OP-

I don't want to be a 'killjoy', but my advice is this; Don't Do It!!!

I'm an avid backpacker. Over the past 25 years, I got into 2 bad situations, 1st time at Henry Coe when the weather turned the 'little' creek into a raging river, and it took me and my g/f 3 extra days to get out (I got us out on our own). We even ended up on the front page of the Gilroy Gazzette.

The 2nd time was in the Sierras. I got VERY lost while following a friend who said he knew a 'faster' route. I ended up getting us out, but that was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced.

While it may seem 'easy' while watching the Discovery Channel, in real life you can end up with intestinals problems for the rest of your life from drinking 1 sip of dirty water. At elevation, the weather can change rapidly and your 'fun trip' in the middle of summer can cause you to die of hypothermia.

Listen to Rambeezi-

Bring appropriate gear. Coit Lake is very nice, as are many places in Coe Park. I'm in love with that place (edit- actually, it sucks, please stay away). Also, open fires are not permitted at Coe- anytime.