Jedi Bush-trackers...

Weaving is the easy part. Selecting and preparing enough fiber to make any length of cord is the tough part. Have you ever tried to prepare nettle fibers? Ouch. Nettly is real real stong. Strong enough for a bow.

Making a few inches of cord for fun is easy but if you have to prepare yards and yards of cordage for: snares, shelters, fishing etc you need a lot of material. UNLESS...someone here can show me a better way.

K were you a Boy Scout?

Rickie The Grey wrote: Weaving is the easy part. Selecting and preparing enough fiber to make any length of cord is the tough part. Have you ever tried to prepare nettle fibers? Ouch. Nettly is real real stong. Strong enough for a bow.

Making a few inches of cord for fun is easy but if you have to prepare yards and yards of cordage for: snares, shelters, fishing etc you need a lot of material. UNLESS...someone here can show me a better way.

K were you a Boy Scout?

Yeah, I made it through a few of the ranks but ended up dropping out of the club due to the immaturity of a lot of the other people in there.

Hey fellas. I see a lot of great stuff in here! I wish I'd have found this earlier - I love this stuff.

A little on my background...

Eagle Scout, military with a few survival schools under my belt. I am no expert...I'm just a guy who knows how to starve well

Speaking of which! If you have an idea of where you're going, bone up as much as you can on the flora and fauna of the area. It can save your life, or even just save you a lot of time from having to systematically test plants you think are good to eat. Along with that...a basic rule of survival is to go ugly early. If you're out backpacking and something unplanned happens and you find yourself lacking food (or you WILL be), "Go Ugly Early." Don't wait until you're starving before you start leveraging all the food sources out there. Bugs, nuts, plants, road kill...they all offer something when properly identified and prepared.

Another thing is establishing your priorities - finding fresh water won't matter if you aren't going to live through the night because of exposure. Once you find yourself in a survival situation, think in terms of what your immediate needs are, or will be in the near future. I've heard the "Rule of 5s"...you can be stabbed, shot, or bludgeoned to death inside 5 seconds. You can be brain-dead in about 5 minutes from lack of oxygen. 5 hours is plenty of time to die of exposure, 5 days of no water - you'll die of dehydration, and in 5 weeks starvation will get you. A lot of folks start immediately worrying about food and water when there are MANY more immediate concerns. That isn't to say you can't fight off several of the 5s at the same time...just that one must be sure they're completed in a prioritized way which makes sense. A survivor could be handed an extra large pizza and three gallons of water - and freeze to death with a full stomach.

So...we've glossed a bit on priorities, how to test plants so you're ingesting them safely, and the mentality of 'go ugly early' so that by the time your alternate food sources start producing...you're not COMPLETELY starving.

Now for some basic packout and travel stuff.

There are survival kits out there for purchase - some are better than others and have some pretty nifty tools and ideas. A drawback to them, however, is that it is unlikely they are perfectly suited to the environment you're operating in. Emergency blanket, 550 parachute cord, fish hooks with line, flint and pocket knife...basic stuff that is useful in many areas. That may be good enough. Generally speaking, there is an inverse proportion of fieldcraft vs. equipment. The more skilled and learned a person is, the less they tend to rely on things. Even still, it's smart to have a survival kit of some kind stashed in common places like your car, house, and even self. Think about what you'll need in terms of the Fives - How will this help me in that five seconds, minutes, hours, days, and weeks? The more multi-use something is, the better. A car is a great place for things like a Meal Ready to Eat (MRE), extra water, flashlight, emergency blanket or poncho, personalized first aid kit (we'll get into that another time)...things like that. Heavier things. You'll have a pretty decent idea of what you might need if you think about it for five minutes. Stick your kit in a compartment or small portable, and you're good to go. There are personal survival kits that can fit into something the size of an Altoids tin. Again, multi-use is best, but understand that you're not going to cover everything with a personal kit. You'll have to supplement with some skill sets. Identify the holes you have in your kit and learn skills to overcome them. Learn the flora and fauna of a place, be able to start a fire with a shoe lace or piece of string. Make cord to lash your shelter together. Know that the leaves from the bush over there make a great poultice.

Above all...never stop thinking. We don't have fur, claws, or wings...but we can think. Take that away and humans aren't all that competitive in nature.

I hope I'm not going in the wrong direction, but I always think in context of safety and first aid when in the woods. I have participated in a search for an Alzheimer patient. When the patient was found he was injured, so for me emergency medical is an important aspect of being in the "bush".

I found this website (I'm sure there are more) which has some hints for "wilderness medicine".

I know I am about to date myself (and I love the 5’s Reacher) but I always learned it as the rule of 3’s from the US Army Survival Manual 21-76.

3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without water
3 weeks without food

I really like how the rule of 5’s brings into account being attacked. I may have to look more into this idea! Do you have any more on the 5’s? What I mean is a book or training material that it comes from.

Hmm this UNCLASS SERE Manual is what I could find with about 2 minutes of searching. It looks to have some of the key info we used. The fives may or may not be in there - I didn't sift through it all. The other thing is that SERE manuals are different for the Air Force and for the Army. Air Force tends to focus more toward survival with certain tools that ANY aviator will have based on the nature of their work. The Army SOF elements are a little different. Nothing too crazy between them...the principles are all the same.

Hope this helps!

Another thing is establishing your priorities - finding fresh water won't matter if you aren't going to live through the night because of exposure. Once you find yourself in a survival situation, think in terms of what your immediate needs are, or will be in the near future. I've heard the "Rule of 5s"...you can be stabbed, shot, or bludgeoned to death inside 5 seconds. You can be brain-dead in about 5 minutes from lack of oxygen. 5 hours is plenty of time to die of exposure, 5 days of no water - you'll die of dehydration, and in 5 weeks starvation will get you. A lot of folks start immediately worrying about food and water when there are MANY more immediate concerns. That isn't to say you can't fight off several of the 5s at the same time...just that one must be sure they're completed in a prioritized way which makes sense. A survivor could be handed an extra large pizza and three gallons of water - and freeze to death with a full stomach.

Amen!

I have had conversations with people before where we discuss bush craft. Well, I say we discuss it; but, what I have found is that I am discussing bush craft and they are discussing survival. Sure, survival is a part of bush craft but the big difference is that in bush craft we begin to focus more on making things out of material-at-hand to make life more comfortable; and, having the skills to “survive”, and do it well, in your environment.

What I like about it is being out in nature and getting away from today. I do it to relax and just have fun. Of course, things can happen and there is a possibility where you could quickly find yourself in a survival situation… and at that point having those skills ahead of time and being well practiced at them will give you a level of security that most could only dream of having.

Shelter…
So often I hear people go on about fire and “survival knives”, then they pull out something you might find on Rambo’s hip. What is that all about? Hahahhaha

Tarps, tents, sleeping bags, wool blankets, cordage and extra stakes (yes I carry stakes, I am too lazy to make stakes) are the first things that get packed when I head out. And the shelter is the first thing that goes up. And more importantly, shelter (the creation of a micro-climate) begins with clothing. Fall in Texas means days that reach 85+ and nights that can drop below 40. (it was 86 today and 48 last night) And dressing for that is important; your first line of defense against the environment.

Foot maintenance :side:

Walking.... easier then crawling.

Ventilate damp feet, and keep socks dry. What is it with blisters again, drain and bandage, or not (I always forget)?

Adder wrote: Foot maintenance :side:

Walking.... easier then crawling.

Ventilate damp feet, and keep socks dry. What is it with blisters again, drain and bandage, or not (I always forget)?

Socks are like gold in the badlands. Wilderness survival ultimately comes down to the Boy Scouts motto: be prepared. Same I guess would count for Bush craft I figure. in knowledge and brought items on excursions.

I can't recall hearing a rule of fives either but I remember the threes lol

I LOVE socks! And wool are my favorite.

Blisters...
If a blister isn't too painful, try to keep it intact. Unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to bacteria and decreases the risk of infection.

Don't puncture a blister unless it's painful or prevents you from walking or using one of your hands.

If you have diabetes or poor circulation, call your doctor before considering the self-care.

If you do have to drain a blister, or it burst, keep it clean. Use antibiotic and bandage it to keep it covered.