Me and a friend are planning on going "survival camping" any tips?
Posted: August 23rd, 2010 | Author: Mitch | Filed under: Camping Tips | Tags: army, bb pistol, calhoun county, canteen, clothes, creston, entrenching tool, knives, south carolina, wool blankets | 7 Comments »its going to be in the woods of calhoun county in South Carolina in creston if you know where that is. we are bring a machete, canteen, army entrenching tool, knives, maybe a bb pistol for some form of protection, 2 wool blankets, and the clothes on our back.
don’t forget fire starting material (go to Walmart and buy one of those flint strikers with the Magnesium bar attached) a couple of knives each and sharpening stones. Don’t lay in the poison ivy. Also, just in case, empty the lint out of you dryer (great fire starter) and bring some granola bars or something like that.
IF you guys are going don’t forget to eather bring a flint to start a fire with or if u wanna be losers bring some sort of lighter your gonna need fire ide also bring a small amount of food like jerky and some water just incase things don’t go your way
Not familiar with the area but I camp in the Sierra Mountains where there are a lot of fast moving streams and small lakes. My best friend always brought about 20 feet of rope which I laughed at each time until it saved us twice.
The BIG THREE of survival is FOOD WATER SHELTER.
FOOD
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Do your research and figure out what is available to harvest for food at the time you are heading out. For example, is fishing season open? Are there any tasty berries around? I would definitly bring back up food such as MREs or Mountain House Freeze dried food. I’ve done this before. It is very hard to keep energized and healthy off of the forest.
WATER
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You can go without food for roughly 1-2 weeks. However, you cannot live without water. Bring a small tea kettle to boil purified water ( 7 minutes of a rolling boil). You can also buy and bring water purification tablets as well.
SHELTER
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Buy yourself this handy and field worthy piece of gear…military rain poncho. Protect yourself from bugs and rain. You can also use it as shelter. Thats what I do. Just be sure to bring some rope. Enough for the main line that you would drape the poncho over and the four corners. You can either bring stakes or make your own. Use a rock to pound them into the ground.
AS FAR AS PROTECTION GOES, YOUR BB GUN WILL NOT WORK. IF YOUR WORRIED ABOUT DANGEROUS PREDATORS, BUY SOME BEAR PEPPER SPRAY. IF YOU SHOOT AN ANIMAL WITH A BB GUN, YOU WILL ONLY PISS IT OFF. THEN YOUR IN REAL TROUBLE. PEPPER SPRAY….PEPPER SPRAY.
BRING SOMESORT OF A MEDICAL KIT.
SURVIVAL GEAR
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Flashlights
Waterproof matches in a waterproof container
Fishing Kit
Space Blanket
Compass
Topographical Map of the area
Knife
Wire saw or the serrated saw on a knife.
SURIVAL TIPS
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1) Pick an area with a south facing slope. You will stay warmer because you get the majority of the sun versus a North facing slope which gets practically none.
2) Camp about 100-200 feet above a river. You will stay warmer and dryer.
3) Wherever you want to sleep, look around for dead trees aka "Widow Makers" that could fall down and injur you in a wind storm,
4) Camp away from bogs or standing water. This way you will not get eaten alive by mosquitos.
5) Do not cook or eat in your shelter as it will attract bears and other predators.
6) You should do research and see what kind of other hazards are present in the area you are going. Any poisonous snakes or spiders? Know how to deal with these dangers so you are safe. You shouldn’t have to be afraid of danger, you only need to understand it in order to control your safety.
7) Be very wary of crossing streams and rivers. Sometimes you cannot tell how quick the water is. Find a shallow slow moving point to cross. Also check down stream for any dangerous canyons or waterfalls you could be trapped in before you cross. If you find any, cross down river from these hazards.
****UNLESS YOU HAVE EXTREMELY GOOD WOODSMAN SKILLS, YOU CANNOT EASILY SURVIVE AT ALL IN ANY TYPE OF OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT THE PROPER GEAR. UNFORTUNATELY WOODSMAN SKILLS HAVE GONE TO THE WAY SIDE. I ONCE CHECKED OUT A BOOK ABOUT WOODSMAN SKILLS. ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU WOULD EVER WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT. IT WAS LIKE 700 PAGES LONG.
MOST OF ALL, USE YOUR HEAD. MANY PEOPLE HAD ALL THE GEAR THEY NEEDED BUT THEY LOST THEIR NERVE. IT TAKES A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND THE WILL TO MAKE IT THROUGH A SURVIVAL SITUATION. YOUR MIND IS YOUR BEST PIECE OF GEAR OF ALL. KEEP CALM AND THINK IT THROUGH. MOST OF ALL HAVE FUN. MY FRIEND AND I ARE DOING OUR SURVIVAL TEST THIS SUMMER.
I would add to that a good flashlight.No matter how brave you are you still need to see if some animal should attack you.
I agree with my esteemed colleague Adam D. Make sure all your equipment is complete. My friend borrowed his brother’s tent for a hike, he did not check the condition of the tent prior to the hike. When he reached the campsite, he opened the tent bag and discovered it contained a bunch of gardening equipment. No tent. Blankets are warm but awkward, sleeping bags are better. Don’t get lost. Don’t try to get lost — you may succeed. Skip the BB pistol as protection. A big stick is better if confronted by a cougar but remember, don’t go looking for trouble when it comes to wild animals.
My tip is this is gonna suck for you…. you missed a bunch of really important gear. And seems to me your going to be under supplied. So read some of the other posts to get more ideas, Like ADAM D his was good. Also a BB gun come on what are you gonna do keep the squirrles at bay, or maybe the big angry birds. If you need to protect yourselves then a BB gun is not gonna do it.