hello fellow WRAM members
im just back from a trip i felt the need to share with you all.
my wife and just bugged out for 4 days (was supposed to be 5) WITH NOTHING we could not carry on our backs or rely on for a long time , IE NO lighters , food , flashlights etc etc .
let me tell you this was one more learning experience. please let me share with you some of what we learned. with all our practice,training and experience WE WAS NOT READY !!! here is the basic / short list of what we had with us .
Hatchet , hand saw, cloths .knives .fishing line/hooks , rope/chord , tent/sleeping bags,tarp , one small pot and pan , cups ,camping combo utensils, one sharpening file & stone , bandanna, a small medical kit and our packs, a few other none major odds and ends but that's the basic list. now let me first say with out automobile close by and families homes close by of course we was no in in REAL danger for the most part ,and notice i never said we brought fire arms because we did NOT . we park our jeep and hike the 1 mile on train and then 2 miles off trail, so we arrive at the site we have used before because its so secluded no one would just stumble upon it , has 2 water sources a small river and a under ground spring .
after set up of tent . bags etc etc cutting and gathering wood etc would be our first task so we would have fire to cook and heat . and some light sources ( we picked this week because of the small cool front that was coming in) the wife picks a good stick and takes a knife and rope to go gather twigs, small sticks and tree sap , resson . as she walks off i remind her she needs to get or make something to hold the resson in also . she agrees and heads off , i grab the hatchet and a stone from the river with my large hunting knife already on my side and rope,I head off to get the wood we need . Getting the wood was not a hard task but i Realized the old boy scout hatchet i have will need sharpened often and is not sufficient for anything larger that will burn for a long time the .my wife (Alisha) ,Alisha and i both get back about the same time , both carrying our wood bundled up in rope Alisha had found a good rounded out piece of bark and gotten tons of sap/ resson . while gets to work building a fire pit ,stacking the wood , getting water and making shavings . im off to go try and get some supper while there is some light left. now this river is not hatchery supported but dose have trout . and im a fly fisherman , but i have no flys or a rod , just some line and hooks , I fashion a pole and tie on my line and hook , saw off a small peice of wood and coat it with a small amount of tree sap off a tree beside me tie it on for a bobber ,i grab a cup and head down to the water . i dig up some worms and start fishing .. 30 mins go by ... nothing . i rebait my hook and stick my stick in the ground and dig up a bunch more worms and put them in the cup . im watching my bobber and i start hunting under rocks for craw fish and find 6 , in the cup they go and u put a rock on top to keep them in ... i head back to the fishing .. nothing it will be getting dark soon .. im hungery ..i head back to the camp embarrassed ,with no fish i see a rotten log and lift it to find some hoppers and more worms , i gather them , on the walk back im woundering how much energy used vs food ive collected this trip would add up to i see some Stinging Nettle and grab up some on the way back . when i arive Alisha is done except she cant get the fire going , she asks " where is the fish " i say " in the dam river i guess " :) . i grab the bow & and string she had made and the paddle she made ,work on it a little then start trying to get the fire going , in about 35 min ( way to long) i get it going and we have a fire . Alisha is preparing the craw fish . and Stinging Nettle and got more water , she starts cooking boiling the nettles , frying the works , hoppers & crawfish . its getting dark i start making sawdust and small shavings and mixing it with a bit of resson , there is a rock here already that i use to mix on i take a a stick from the fire and test my mix,, it lights a nd burns slow, yay! . after we eat out little bit of Nasty supper we head to bed kiss and tell each other good night and we love eachother and go to sleep both a bit hungery but ok . To be continued ---next Day one