driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Jan 22, 2019 10:53:08 GMT -8
In other words, you're using fire for lack of adequate gear. This forum is full of people who've spent extended periods backpacking in remote wilderness areas. My bet is very few of them carry a big ass knife for batoning wood or personal defense. I'm not trying to "flame" you; far from it. There is much to learn about wilderness survival gear and strategies.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 11:05:05 GMT -8
what do you do with your trash? LNT Pack it in pack it out. I use a stove to boil water in and then pour the hot water into a gallon zip lock freezer bag that contains my food and let it soak for a time. Yes you can cold soak freeze dried food.
Ever been hunting before? Ever just go into the woods pull out your gun and just start shooting, hoping you'll hit something? Or do you study the lay of the land, get to know the animals to be hunted, and gain a bit of knowledge about the other hunters in the woods? Which way works better?
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danny
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Post by danny on Jan 22, 2019 11:20:12 GMT -8
what do you do with your trash? LNT Pack it in pack it out. I use a stove to boil water in and then pour the hot water into a gallon zip lock freezer bag that contains my food and let it soak for a time. Yes you can cold soak freeze dried food.
Ever been hunting before? Ever just go into the woods pull out your gun and just start shooting, hoping you'll hit something? Or do you study the lay of the land, get to know the animals to be hunted, and gain a bit of knowledge about the other hunters in the woods? Which way works better? I don't hunt although I know several hunters who hunt all the time. I do a decent amount of fishing. I don't carry a knife as far as my personal protection, it's more to do with me considering it important as far as in a survival situation. I've had a bear mace in the past I do have a concealed carry permit I don't actually even carry That Into the Woods all the time. I have shot in the woods with friends but not into Random Woods we was shot into the ground and not at a hiking spot this was at a fishing place.
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desert dweller
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Post by desert dweller on Jan 22, 2019 11:24:50 GMT -8
I carry something similar to the Swiss Army Champ. It has all the tools I need and weights much less than one big ass knife. I use the straight pin more than the blade. Camp fires? Haven't had a campfire in decades.
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RumiDude
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Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 22, 2019 11:31:29 GMT -8
Benjamin Franklin wrote: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." That weight relationship is a literal one in backpacking, not just figurative. Put more effort (an ounce) into staying found (prevention) rather than surviving (a pound of cure) two weeks lost in the backcountry. That is where one should place the emphasis. It means carrying less survival gear, replaced by better knowledge. I carry a Benchmade folder that does everything I need for a survival situation. I rely on a good shelter, sleeping gear, and clothing to keep me warm and dry. I carry an extra day of food whenever I am out backpacking/hiking. I rely on navigation skills and gear (map, compass, and altimeter) to keep from getting lost. Only injury/sickness combined with not leaving a detained itinerary would result in needing to survive for a week or two.
The Rule of Threes for survival: -You can survive three hours in a harsh environment of extreme hot or cold. -You can survive three days without drinkable water. -You can survive three weeks without edible food. When in survival mode a person has to accept being uncomfortable. For instance digging a snow cave may help one to survive but is often a miserable experience. Once a person realizes she/he is lost, they should immediately start rationing food. They should immediately find a water source. They should calmly assess the situation and devise a strategy. Also a PLB/InReach/SPOT device is relatively lightweight compared to saws and survival knives.
I like knives. I have a few high end custom big ass knives. Every two or three years I take one of these with me on a short hike or backpacking trip. But generally I leave them at home because they are just too heavy and bulky as well as being superfluous.
Rumi
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danny
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Post by danny on Jan 22, 2019 11:32:42 GMT -8
I carry something similar to the Swiss Army Champ. It has all the tools I need and weights much less than one big ass knife. I use the straight pin more than the blade. Camp fires? Haven't had a campfire in decades. Guns? Life is much more enjoyable when you don't have to carry a gun to comfort you in your fear. I guess I have to make this super clear for you guys. I carry a survival kit in case I have to survive in the woods for weeks. I cannot and I do not feel safe at all with only a Swiss army knife. I have used several types of Swiss Army knives although I don't remember the model numberames. Most of my folders have been Kershaw,Schrade, ZT, Benchmade and such It seems to me, most of you are betting on the fact that other hikers will come across you or that you will have cell phone signal or that you have a beacon I am referring to you having to survive in the woods for weeks I have played around a good bit doing Bushcraft type stuff. I know what's easy what's not. I may not have 8000 Miles of hiking experience in the Himalayas but I know what type of shelter works when it's raining and windy outside and one type doesn't. I am referring to survival situations. so it's quite clear than most of you are not planning for any type of survival situation that's why you don't carry a big ass knife Look at all of these www.google.com/search?ei=DHBHXIXENY74sgXMw4GYDQ&q=hiker+found+dead+&oq=hiker+found+dead+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.3..41j0l5.4106.5546..6066...0.0..0.247.1482.1j9j1......0....1.........0i71j33i160j33i22i29i30j0i22i30.E7GIl5pXUFo
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jan 22, 2019 11:40:23 GMT -8
Must admit, I don't really understand why a "big ass knife" is necessary to "survive in the wilderness" while backpacking, much less multiple knives. Common sense goes a long way in preventing "survival" situations, like maybe checking the weather forecast before a trip. If I had doubts about my navigational abilities, I would probably invest in a good GPS before a big knife.
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swiftdream
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the Great Southwest Unbound
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Post by swiftdream on Jan 22, 2019 11:43:13 GMT -8
First learn navigation so you don’t get lost. I’ve done countless off trail trips into places utterly unknown to me beforehand, extremely rugged terrain and have never gotten stumped enough to become lost. But I pay attention, know how to really use both a compass and a map separately and together. Simply carrying them does not count. That should be a number one skill. GPS is an excellent addition to any navigator’s kit.
Learn how to stay warm and dry without a fire. That is an essential outdoors set of skills too. Again, blowing all your energy building an ineffectual leaky shelter is not a good start when you could throw up a 7 oz sil nylon tarp in less than 10 minutes and be snug with your puffies and shell clothing. That has been proven every single time.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Jan 22, 2019 11:43:26 GMT -8
For general-purpose tasks I still prefer to have a belt knife that's 5 to 7 inch Long, however for cleaning fish I prefer to have a dedicated bird and trout knife fixed blade pointy stainless and keeps a good Edge. I have cleaned fish, butchered small game, and cleaned a deer using a 3" folding blade. But Mountain House meals require boiling water do they not? Or do they work with cold water to? Freeze dried food will mostly reconstitute in cold water but it needs to soak a long time and will still be disgusting. Which means I have to start a fire which means I need wood processing which means I need ignition source. You don't use a stove?? It seems to me, most of you are betting on the fact that other hikers will come across you or that you will have cell phone signal or that you have a beacon You have no idea of what you are talking about I am referring to you having to survive in the woods for weeks Those of us who go off trail actual have a means of contacting the outside world in the event of an emergency. And we leave an itinerary of our planned path. so it's quite clear than most of you are not planning for any type of survival situation that's why you don't carry a big ass knife Have you actually played Survivorman for anything more than a night?
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 22, 2019 11:43:46 GMT -8
With my average backcountry visit at roughly twelve days plus, all that extra water in MREs just isn’t happening (weekends? Chinese takeout is my solo goto, something sauté if with others). Versus a 4 oz stove plus a canister? Snort. “Trash” is twelve empty ziplock baggies: all tucked nicely into the one from day one’s dinner. Of course it’s terrain specific to an extent: desert and stripped prehydrated meals would be a wash, other than the overly heavy packaging. And where I’m usually traveling, above treeline alpine terrain, there’s no wood prep time as there’s no legal, or responsible, wood fires. Yosemite: www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildregs.htmSequoia Kings Canyon www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/minimum-impact-restrictions.htmThough, really, all alpine environments are so resource poor a stove is vastly less harmful but that’s a personal choice. The shorelines of Boundary Waters or some paddle route in the Adirondacks? Different story. Though I’ll still boil my kettle full of water with a stove: four minutes from pulling it out to the water being ready to go is addictive, I futz with food prep in my home kitchen, out there I’ve got way better (imho) things to do, messing with that big ass dSLR to including nothing at all. . . Saving the wood for perhaps a small social fire.
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desert dweller
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Post by desert dweller on Jan 22, 2019 11:45:23 GMT -8
I am referring to you having to survive in the woods for weeks I am a responsible backpacker. I let folks know where I'm going, how I'm getting there and a time frame of when I'm expected back. I carry everything needed to survive for three days beyond what I've planned for. If I have to survive for weeks in the back country, then it's either an apocalypse or I didn't do something right. Leaving an itinerary is part of backpacking. Paying attention and using your wits is 95 percent of surviving or even not getting into a survival scenario in the first place.
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danny
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Post by danny on Jan 22, 2019 11:48:52 GMT -8
Benjamin Franklin wrote: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." That weight relationship is a literal one in backpacking, not just figurative. Put more effort (an ounce) into staying found (prevention) rather than surviving (a pound of cure) two weeks lost in the backcountry. That is where one should place the emphasis. It means carrying less survival gear, replaced by better knowledge. I carry a Benchmade folder that does everything I need for a survival situation. I rely on a good shelter, sleeping gear, and clothing to keep me warm and dry. I carry an extra day of food whenever I am out backpacking/hiking. I rely on navigation skills and gear (map, compass, and altimeter) to keep from getting lost. Only injury/sickness combined with not leaving a detained itinerary would result in needing to survive for a week or two. The Rule of Threes for survival: -You can survive three hours in a harsh environment of extreme hot or cold. -You can survive three days without drinkable water. -You can survive three weeks without edible food. When in survival mode a person has to accept being uncomfortable. For instance digging a snow cave may help one to survive but is often a miserable experience. Once a person realizes she/he is lost, they should immediately start rationing food. They should immediately find a water source. They should calmly assess the situation and devise a strategy. Also a PLB/InReach/SPOT device is relatively lightweight compared to saws and survival knives. I like knives. I have a few high end custom big ass knives. Every two or three years I take one of these with me on a short hike or backpacking trip. But generally I leave them at home because they are just too heavy and bulky as well as being superfluous. Rumi No sleeping bag and Pad will keep me comfy if it's raining and windy outside. I do not want to curl up into a Bivy either. I want to an A frame with a tarp on top and some leaves inside as bedding. Unless I have a $600 bag I would still not feel toasty if it's super cold outside unless I can keep a fire going. For the shelter and fire I kind of need a knife and a saw and ignition source. I also need water purification filters to purify my water I cannot be building all of this if I'm hungry so I need extra food first aid kit is very important to me also. As a kid I have cut myself before in the woods and nothing happened but on one occasion I have cut myself and it got infected and I got a fever. Infection in the woods is the worst thing I would could be asking for especially since I'm on my own. A first aid kit would have helped with this. All of these things add up and I'm fine with that. I understand what that Benjamin Franklin quote means but I have a relatively bad luck. I am Murphy. Murphys law. If Something can go wrong it probably will. I'm cursed. However I can be prepared I can't really avoid it too much but I can be prepared I am likely to get cut but I had I can carry a first aid kit I'm less likely to be hungry but I can carry food I need a fire I can carry word processing and ignition source Map and Compass only helps me before I'm lost. Once I'm very lost and all the woods around me look the same, map helps me nothing. You have to be on the high ground and be able to triangulate your location preferably also you need to have the trail marked on your map otherwise you cannot be setting your compass to where you want to go. This is a lot of assumptions. Assuming I'm not hurt assuming I can get to High Ground, assuming I can have a clear view of everything around me I've been in mountains like that where I can see around and it still doesn't mean anything if I don't know what mountain I'm looking at. A map and Compass is damn near useless once I'm actually lost. I feel like it's there more to help you before you get lost
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Jan 22, 2019 12:06:19 GMT -8
Which means I have to start a fire which means I need wood processing which means I need ignition source. Open fires aren't allowed at some locations I go. I survive just fine with just a small knife and no gun.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Jan 22, 2019 12:09:14 GMT -8
I carry a survival kit in case I have to survive in the woods for weeks. Get a good PLB or similar and you won't have to survive for weeks.
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jan 22, 2019 12:17:56 GMT -8
It seems to me, most of you are betting on the fact that other hikers will come across you or that you will have cell phone signal or that you have a beacon Actually, I think most of aren't "betting" at all. We plan a backpacking trip and not a Bear Grylls episode. We expect to be largely self-sufficient, including carrying a stove and fuel for cooking.
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