Helpful Survival tips

[Badgerbadger]

I saw a guy on that TV show,"Dude, you're screwed" debark part of a live pine tree, and roast/eat the inner side of it. Don't know how valid that is, but it kind of makes sense to eat the "live layer" that would contain the sap transport tubes and growing cells. That'd probably be where you'd get carbs.

Can anyone verify or debunk this?

[Crankbait]

Originally Posted by Badgerbadger

I saw a guy on that TV show,"Dude, you're screwed" debark part of a live pine tree, and roast/eat the inner side of it. Don't know how valid that is, but it kind of makes sense to eat the "live layer" that would contain the sap transport tubes and growing cells. That'd probably be where you'd get carbs.

Can anyone verify or debunk this?

cooking it or burning it?

[Crankbait]

just googled pine fever and found something on pine lung and then this snippet from 1831 which claims the inhalation of burning pine is good for hacking up greenies (though the author states it far more eloquently).

https://books.google.ca/books?id=Gkx...0lungs&f=false

[norwestalta]

Originally Posted by Crankbait

just googled pine fever and found something on pine lung and then this snippet from 1831 which claims the inhalation of burning pine is good for hacking up greenies (though the author states it far more eloquently).

https://books.google.ca/books?id=Gkx...0lungs&f=false

So it does the same as canadian classic silvers. Good to know in case the dumariers don't cough start me as well as they should.

[JD848]

Fire and shelter is a must if your going to survive alone with also good silva compass and a good knife,plus a weeks supply of meds if your diabetic you will need glucose tablets or pills for anything you need daily to survive at home,along with a small bottle of pain meds,25 feet of parachute cord and a candle,plus extra ammo,incase you have to fire a few distress shots,sounds like a lot but it all fits in waste type pouch or small backpack,and a roll of orange flagging tap ,I also buy a few of them survival blankets that are made of foil,only weights a few ounces and very good for a distress sigal when spreed out in the open,a pair of gore tex milatry soaks that go knee hi and weight nothing but if your boats are wet and you can only dry your soaks not much fun putting on dry soaks in wet boots,a good pair of safety glasses when your moving fast in the bush,plus write down on sheet of paper what to do incase you get lost and signs of what to do if shock sets in,and go step by step on what to do so you don't go into shock or panic and put this in your pack along with a tiny flash light even a pen light and small map of your area from googlrearth ,that's what the glasses are for plus a whistle ,if you can't see your not making it out.all of this should weight no more than few pounds, some dry grub,few snack bars or protein bars is the best and a few water purifying pills to kill parasites, may save your life,always tell someone where your headed and if you do change plans leave your vehicle well visible from the air,don't hide it under some big trees ,leave the truck in the open so airplanes can spot it if you get lost.

[antlercarver]

I used to go camping with less than some suggested they carry for safety.
As for direction, check last years grass, it mostly will be laying to the southeast. This is good for all times of the year, day or night.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Gave a survival course at work once a few years back. I gave the class a list of 25 items and were told to put them in order of importance. Number 1 was water, then matches, knife, ax, some rope etc If you do not know where you are sometimes compass will not help. You can use moss , bleached side of poplar tree, branches etc to give you direction.

[JD848]

Checking last years grass is fine,but in thick bush there is just moss and dead grass is ok for open country,the reason the grass is dead ilike this is your winds in late fall start to blow in from the north west,if your perfect and healthy a couple tea bags in your pocket and your off,but there are lots new hunters going out ill prepared and this why the list is a little longer,so they can survive in the wild,but if you can't carry a 3 pound pack ,make sure you know exactly where your going in thick bush,plus 3 pounds of goods is not much of a camping trip,unless your camping in your back yard. I spend up to 3 weeks a time solo hunting and as long as 4 months alone in the bush fishing and canoeing ,i don't go camping that's what my grandchildren do.

[Red Bullets]

A way to keep hydrated....

If you find a black birch tree, and you have knife, make a small slash into the side of the tree so it will drip sap. Put a small stick in the bottom of the slash and lay down below the tree. Let the stick sit in the corner of your mouth. The sap will flow down the stick into your mouth.

Birch sap flows like water and has lots of electrolytes and minerals.

[JD848]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

A way to keep hydrated....

If you find a black birch tree, and you have knife, make a small slash into the side of the tree so it will drip sap. Put a small stick in the bottom of the slash and lay down below the tree. Let the stick sit in the corner of your mouth. The sap will flow down the stick into your mouth.

Birch sap flows like water and has lots of electrolytes and minerals.

Some trees contain very bitter sap and also can be poisonous ,so be careful what you drink or you can get very sick or die.

[Red Bullets]

In regards to the birch sap drink I want to clarify that I wrote black birch. I actually meant paper birch or silver birch. There is another way of getting the sap instead of damaging the tree by cutting into the tree. You can also break off a finger sized branch and the sap should flow from the break. This method won't kill the tree.

[Red Bullets]

In central Alberta wild nodding onions like growing on south facing slopes along valleys and ravines. Be sure you know what a wild onion looks like. Google Images has lots of good pictures.

[HowSwedeItIs]

Originally Posted by HighlandHeart

Used to use a Silva Ranger, when I went to buy a replacement for one I'd used for decades I saw they are now made in China, so I went with a Finnish made Sunto compass instead. I can use a cheap little compass if all I want to do is shoot a backbearing, but for orienteering, shooting a bearing to follow or locating myself with triangulation I need a compass with a mirror, adjustable declination, and luminous orienteering points. I've had GPS's fail too often to forget how to use a compass.

Originally Posted by Bushleague

I religiously use Silva compasses. I am sure there are many others but I had a faulty Brunton compass once that caused me a fair bit of grief, so now I stick to Silva.

I keep two, I have one of those bubble type that pins to my shirt pocket for making quick checks while I'm on the move, and a Silva with a base for use with topo maps. If the bubble one gets torn off my shirt by the underbrush (its happened) or if I doubt the reading of one compass I have the other.

Heard a lot of great things about both names, thanks highland and bush. Like the idea of carrying two just in case, might just have to get both

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

A way to keep hydrated....

If you find a black birch tree, and you have knife, make a small slash into the side of the tree so it will drip sap. Put a small stick in the bottom of the slash and lay down below the tree. Let the stick sit in the corner of your mouth. The sap will flow down the stick into your mouth.

Birch sap flows like water and has lots of electrolytes and minerals.

In our climate, staying hydrated is way over rated. Note to all those people who can't leave the house without a bottle of water. Cold and exposure to the elements are going to be your first concerns most of the time.

Grizz

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

I read somewhere years ago that keeping hydrated in sub zero temperatures helps keep the bodys thermostat in check and a person should consume at least the daily value or more if your doing physical tasks, you are also less likely to get hypothermia if your intake is frequent.

A good wood to burn in a servival situation is ash, less work to conserve calories because you don't have to tend your fire as much.
Ash is a good slow burning heat producing log.

I don't recommend cutting an ash tree down unless it is a servival situation and I have ran across dead or dying ash trees.

The ash tree is a nice thing to see in the forest and I tend to set up close to one if they are around where I'm going to camp.
The prize tree of the forest to me and it's to bad the spruce is downing them out.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

In our climate, staying hydrated is way over rated. Note to all those people who can't leave the house without a bottle of water. Cold and exposure to the elements are going to be your first concerns most of the time. Grizz

In a survival situation keeping hydrated is crucial to keeping rational and able.

Originally Posted by ^v^Tinda wolf^v^

I read somewhere years ago that keeping hydrated in sub zero temperatures helps keep the bodys thermostat in check and a person should consume at least the daily value or more if your doing physical tasks, you are also less likely to get hypothermia if your intake is frequent.

The human body requires fat to keep warm. Water or hydration is the thing that help the body break down fat. Either eaten fat or body fat. If you are starting to feel cold have a drink of water. The drink should not be too hot or too cold if possible. Will usually generate some body heat, if you have fatty body reserves or you ate some fats.

[Twist]

1) If you sweat (get wet), you die. (good winter tip)
2) You are only as sharp as your knife.
3) Take care of your feet at all costs. If you hurt your feet, you're done.
4) Vasaline and cotton are great spark catchers for starting fires. I use a diabetic test strip tube. The short ones get cotton/vasaline. The long ones get wax coated, strike anywhere matches, cotton, or jute twine. Easy to throw one in your pocket and one in a pack.
5) Have EDC survival things on your person, not just in a pack. If you have to ditch your pack, or it gets lost/damaged, you'll be out of luck if all of your gear is in there.
6) Same for medi kits. I have 1 big one, and a separate small one.
7) Red berries from the ash tree are edibile if boiled (if you actually have something to boil them in, and water to spare, and fire.)
8) Learn what edible foliage is in your area of travels.

[58thecat]

In a multiple survival situation keep an eye on the fat guy that is a walking protein food source if he was to fall off a cliff

[denied access]

The first and most important rule is let someone reliable know where you are going and when you will be back. If you have done that your battle is halfway won.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket...as in don't put all your stuff in a pack.

On your PERSON at minimum an good knife, 3 separate sources of fire, tinder (pill bottle with drier lint soaked in paraffin or Vaseline) and a SPOT.

The trouble with a pack is if you get separated from it you are hooped.

This was made evident to me last year when a friend tipped his canoe. By the time they made it to shore they were in pretty bad shape from the cold water and all their kit was in their packs. If they had not had 2 friends in another canoe they could very well have died.

Also PRACTISE the skills. Do you really know how to quickly build a fire? With a flint and steel? Make a temp shelter? Read about it or watch a Youtube video and then go do it. For example to build a fire with a flint you need 3 times and much tinder and twice as much kindling as you think you will need.

Finally remember the rule of 3s
You are dead in:
3 Min without air
3 Hours without Shelter
3 Days without water
3 Weeks without food

Govern your priorities and decisions accordingly

[Wolfslayer]

Originally Posted by Tamarck

Before you go- tell someone reliable where you are going and when you'll be back - so if something goes wrong you know people will be looking for you.

Yes. Invest in a spot too it could save your life.

[Mr Conservation]

Originally Posted by Tamarck

Before you go- tell someone reliable where you are going and when you'll be back - so if something goes wrong you know people will be looking for you.

Along with this tip - stay where you are once you realize you are lost. Having been involved in searches where the person we were looking for was on the move, made it much more difficult to locate them. Had they stayed put when they realized they were lost, they would have been located much sooner.


Mr Conservation

[chris762]

I see lots of good tips here but am unsure what you mean by "SPOT". If someone could please enlighten me. Thanks

[bat119]

A cd makes a good signaling device, facing the sun look through the center at your target and wiggle.

What else are you going to do with them these days?

[Red Bullets]

Great tips fellow posters.

Survival does not necessarily mean lost. It could mean you are there by choice. Survival doesn't mean you are in a bad way either. Survival tips are meant to help a person utilize natural things to enrich the situation or day.

How about some tips that are about using only things from nature. Tips for the wilderness wanderer. Tips to enrich the natural experience.


Tip:
If you are in desert/badlands camp where there is soft dry sand. After making a camp or pitching a tent on the soft sand go several feet away from camp and make a 8 to 12 inch deep trench around your camp. Any spiders, scorpions or other ground insects will get into the trench and because the sand falls when they try to climb out most of the critters will be in the trench in the morning.

A trench around any camp in the bush can also divert surface water if it's raining provided you camp on a slight slope.

[rugatika]

Originally Posted by bat119

A cd makes a good signaling device, facing the sun look through the center at your target and wiggle.

What else are you going to do with them these days?

Also good for opening beer bottles in survival situations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xiivgeMd9Y

[BigRedJeep]

Speaking of trenches I've been meaning to get a shovel for the hiking pack. What do you guys run?? I'm leaning towards a garden trowel, but wondering about something bigger. When I was a kid i had a "toy" shovel it was a miniature spade about 5in wide steel head and a 8in D handle. Loved it when I was a kid I sure dug a lot with that sucker! Just not to sure where I would find one now days!

[Bergerboy]

Originally Posted by chris762

I see lots of good tips here but am unsure what you mean by "SPOT". If someone could please enlighten me. Thanks

http://www.findmespot.ca/en/

GPS emergency locator.

[rugatika]

Originally Posted by BigRedJeep

Speaking of trenches I've been meaning to get a shovel for the hiking pack. What do you guys run?? I'm leaning towards a garden trowel, but wondering about something bigger. When I was a kid i had a "toy" shovel it was a miniature spade about 5in wide steel head and a 8in D handle. Loved it when I was a kid I sure dug a lot with that sucker! Just not to sure where I would find one now days!

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...t=2,64944&ap=1

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...t=2,64944&ap=1

[ForwardBias]

I think it was been said but don't panic. If panic starts to creep in, sit down and make yourself calm.

[BigRedJeep]

Originally Posted by rugatika

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...t=2,64944&ap=1



http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...t=2,64944&ap=1

Perfect, thank you sir!