My wife and I might not be what you would call survivalists, but we are in touch with what would be necessary to survive in the wild for an indefinite time. I have my own small solar system for back up power, I can build a generator station from a creek or river and could build a home in the woods given some basic tools.
This summer past, my wife and I decided to try and light a fire in the back yard without anything other than a few sticks. It did take quite some time, but in the end we had a small flame going on.
We live up here in the frozen north, aka : Canada, and it does get mighty cold up here. Today we were out on a walk through the snow with kids in tow, and I asked my wife if she brought her flint. (Yes, she has a flint striker, was a Christmas present from last year.) She answered in the positive. (of course)
With a little scavenging around for grasses, and something to use as a decent tinder, (harder to find than you might think sometimes) we had a small blaze going in about 15 minutes. It wasn't much and it did take a little time to find the right material to get the fire going. In the end however we had a small blaze capable of being more. We didn't need the fire for any reason other than the practice so with a few kicks of snow it was all but out.
I do know this, should everything in society go in the dumps, my family will at least have a fighting chance of survival.
So what do you think your chances would be to survive if you were given only the barest of essentials?
The clothes you could carry, a basic knife and whatever you could drum up from around you...
Oddly enough it is this same thought that often starts the stories in my head, and on that note...back to my writing!
Oh, in case you didn't notice dear readers. If you look up on the left and right of this window, you will see a new link for my latest short story as well as a new progress bar for the next one. It is already going way faster than the last! Bad guys (and girls) can be very fun to write.
Merry Christmas all and see you after the holiday!
I went camping as a teen and learned the basics. Hubby is a boy scout, and he learned the same. From there we've added things because we live in hurricane alley and it's quite likely we'll go without grocery stores or electricity for some period of the hurricane season. We've seen what happens when a disaster hits, and it's something you have to plan for.
ReplyDeleteWe have 72-hour kits packed for everyone in the family. That includes fire starters, clothes, food, medicine, water, lights, tents... everything you need for 3 days in an emergency situation. We also have several weeks' worth of dried food and a fully stocked chest freezer. If we lose power, at least we can grill some steak. :o)
Living in a semi-tropical area gives us some advantages. It gets cold here, but rarely below freezing.
Really, if you can purify water you're good to go anywhere. Edible plants abound if you not what to look for, so water is probably the limiting factor in every case. As long as the water supply isn't poisoned you'll survive.
I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie yesterday, and this post reminds me of one of the previews they showed: guy in plane that goes down over Canada or Alaska has to survive in the frozen wilderness. It reminds me of the survival stories I used to read as a kid, like Hatchet.
ReplyDeleteI was a Girl Scout and my brother was a Boy Scout, so between all the camping and hiking and lectures and merit badges I think I learned the basics (including how to survive and build shelter in the snow). It would help being with a group of people, of course. Then you could eat them when everyone else died (KIDDING). Also it would help loads if I was just starved enough so that a certain monthly inconvenience would be averted. :P
LOL I find it funny you mention something like that, my wife has often commented on it as well...I feed her regardless, thanks for the visit and the comment!
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