Survivalist?

[Sass]

Ok - so how do you answer this. You have a US Army grade green duffle bag. You will be permitted to take four objects with you. You will be dropped into a remote portion of northern Canada where you will be required to survive on your own for more than a year.

 

Rules:

 

1. assume that you wear the appropriate clothing for the trip including boots, a water proof snow jacket, warm underwear, gloves, hats, scarves things of that nature.

2. You cannot assume that you can stuff anything into your clothing. If you want to take a poncho along, assume that it is NOT one of your four items.

3. An object can consist of something like a First Aid kit containing essentials for survival like bandaids, oiintments, water tablets, and things of that nature. You cannot stuff a bunch of objects together into a small pack and call it your 'survivor kit'.

4. You will not have access to any form of electronic communication. This means that your HAM radios, cell phones, and anything electronic that you think of to get you out of the rough WILL NOT WORK. Refillable energy sources (such as propane, clean water bottles, kerosene, etc). You can live near a fresh water river where water is abundant.

5. You cannot put a living (or dead) animal (or human) into your duffle bag. This is a journey for one.

 

Replies:

 

1. Describe what you would take.

2. Describe where you would setup a camp.

 

Disclosure:

 

1. More rules will be enforced as necessary governing the replies.

2. For enjoyment purposes - no compensation of any form is created by this fun activity.

3. Failure to read the rules does not cons!@#$%^&*ute that you've survived. It merely means you've lost.

[rootbear75]

1. generator powered by water
   
2. computer w/ satellite access <-never said you couldn't bring your own communication
   
3. a year supply of food
   
4. a year supply of first aid
   

I will set up camp: near the river

 

as far as i know, theses are all acceptable in the constraints you gave us.

[Sass]

Good reply, but try again. Four items in the duffle bag. A year supply of food would be too much for a single duffle bag and consists of much more than four items. Also, NO ACCESS TO ANY FORM of electronic communication was stated. Give evidence that a fully-functioning water-powered AC generator exists which can be hauled to the location in your duffle bag.

 

But I'll humor you - since you brought so much food without a place to store it (as you haven't brought a single item by which you can dig a hole, or rope for suspending it in a tree), you've attracted bears, mountain lions and wild dogs who ate you and your food.

 

You didn't survive rootbear75.

[rootbear75]

i can store it underground in the duffel bag

and you never said you COULDN'T bring one...

 

and give us the dimensions of the bag

generator powered by water = a water wheel

[11___________]

I would bring a far distance cellphone to dial 911 to get out of the sh*thole. and stuff the duffle bag full of twinkies and coke.

[Sass]

Good try. Given that you didn't read the rules, you climbed a tall tree to attempt to reach a cell tower, but since there was none available you became weary and fell out of the tree. You hit two branches and split open your bottom lip. You didn't bring any first aid so you've used your shirt to stop the bleeding. You could only bring four items so in addition to your useless cell phone, you have a total of 2 cokes and a twinky. You survived one day then at night you were eaten by a bear who smelled the blood on your shirt, ate you, your shirt, and your only twinky.

 

You didn't survive 11__________.

[Aileron]

Here, I will do the favor of replying to the topic in a serious manner. My four items are:

 

1) A tackle box

2) A knife

3) A first aid kit

4) A handgun

 

There would be room left, but you said 4 items. If you didn't say four items, I'd bring a sharpener for the knife, a fishing reel, ammo for the gun, and an actual fishing pole with that priority. I don't know if that's cheating or not as those last items are there to service my four and I could probably fit all that in the bag. If its illegal, I could manage with rocks and sticks.

 

By scenario I'm near a fresh water river, so water is no problem. As for shelter, I'd set up camp near the river but not on the bank of the river, ideally in some cliff wall or the like. That is ofcourse, after I check the area for bear activity.

 

Under most military manuals, they assume rescue will come soon and you are better of saving energy than seeking food. However, this scenario is for a year, so I'll need to acquire food on my own. Besides, fishing is a low energy activity and with my skills and the large stupid trout found in the area, I should easily be able to get at very least 10 fish a day when I could comfortably survive on 1. That's why I brought the tackle box along.

 

The knife is for filleting the fish and for carving. It is also made of steel, and can be used to start a fire if I find flint. Otherwise I could start a fire by rubbing sticks together, or simply use the lighter I snuck into my pocket when S!@#$%^&* wasn't looking. The gun is for defense and could be used as a signal, NOT hunting. The first aid kit is for scanning the skies for alien spacecraft.

 

 

Odds are my in!@#$%^&*ial shelter will be a lean-tu with a nearby campfire. That would not be good enough for the winter, so during my free time I would have to work on building something permanent. However, my "non-free" time would consist of fishing, foraging for bugs, and gathering wood. I'll solve the food storage problem by eating the fish immeadiately.

 

As for winter, the fish will be inactive so fishing won't work. Bugs will also be unavailable. I probably would be forced to hunt at that point, though by now I've probably scouted out the area and hopefully know of atleast one carribou trail I could set a stand off of. Though realistically I'd be SOL in a Canadian winter.

 

 

A more realistic strategy would be to instead of building a permanent structure, I'd build a raft and float downstream if the river goes south, which unless the Nile was somehow transported to Canada it should. To get rope to tie the logs together, I'd cut the duffle bag into ribbons. I'd probably use this strategy were it not for the fact that the scenario requires that I stay up there for a year.

[Sass]

Excellent! You have carefully thought out four useful items which you have also employed throughout the year. During your scouting the area one afternoon, you did indeed spot roaming caribou and thus making it through a tough winter was not at hard as it could have been. You were able to bring a large male down using dufflebag sliced ribbons to tie your bowie knife to a long stick. This proved worthy for digging a makeshift winter refrigerator in which you stored the remains of the hunted animal.

 

Shortly into the spring season you had an encounter with a bear. Fortunately, this was during the day and you used your wit and deep stress control to manipulate your way around the bear. That night, you spent time working to conceal any food remains lying around your camp area. This worked and bears were not seen afterward.

 

Nearing the end of your year stay, you decided that you're an exceptional survivor and hence became a member of the survivor masters and will therefore be welcomed to evaluate the survivor skills (or lack thereof) of others who attempt my tricky game!

 

You've survived Aileron!

[rootbear75]

good job lol....

[L.C.]

Survivalist?, What would you take with you?

http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/...1225788,00.html

 

Location: Anywhere really. Perhaps the tropical coastline of an undiscovered and unhabitted Ecuador.

Camp: Probably on the beach right where the tropical forest or palm trees border with the jungle.

[Sass]

L.C., you provide a link to a great article on how to create an awesome survival kit, however, it violates the rules since its not something that is purchased as a kit - rather, it's a bunch of stuff tucked into a kit. Letting it slide, are there four things you would take from that kit?

[L.C.]

A match,

A special straw that purifies water as you drink water through it,

A piece of flint that has a small cylinder of rubber - keychain thing (my dad has one of these),

And a waterproof watch.