Survival... Tragedy? Not Always. Adventure, Fun and Recreation.

Excuse the long title but I wanted to take a moment and look at other reasons for reading this Forum, learning the skills mentioned here and practicing them in real life.

Adventure and Fun...

Many years ago, in college, I became involved in what was then a budding day of outdoor fun called Earth Day. It is much more prolific now, but back then it was just a day of outdoor fun in most of the colleges and universities around the area I was in.

Anyway, we would all go to different places and camp, have some really cool bonfires and camp-fire sing-a-longs. Someone would always have a guitar and maybe a harmonica, a little John Denver to fit the occasion and we had a blast.

It was here that I started Climbing and learning to effectively use a canoe and kayak. It was here I got the bug and learned that while sometimes difficult, this was really really fun.

This led to a lifetime of camping, adventure racing, climbing and just flat out enjoying being out in the wilderness. To this day I take a week off from work and kiss the wife goodbye and head out to some remote place and spend a week on my own. Hiking, camping and sometimes I even still do a little climbing and rappelling...

While some of the topics and material here is very serious and should be taken as such, the majority of this is just fun to do; great to learn and no doubt handy if the world ever does fall apart, but for now, just a heck of a lot of fun.

So get up, get away and get out there and practice making a fire without matches or a lighter. It may take you a bit to learn, it does all of us, but it is in the learning that the feeling of accomplishment comes.

Get up with a climbing group in your area and ask if you can join them one weekend.. You will amaze yourself how well you will do and how it will make you feel. (Until you are experienced, NEVER Climb alone)

Go to the local range and do some shooting. Most places let you rent guns for around 10.00 and the range time is very minimal..

Just go into your back yard and get a nice fire going one evening, (Check local regulations and the burn status in your area) and roast some hotdogs and just spend the evening looking at the sky. Fall asleep and wake up with fresh dew on your body.

You will be amazed at how all of this will make you feel..

Survival can be fun and is definitely rewarding.

(I have a great secret for the best Smores you ever ate if anyone wants it)

Semper

A lot of people that live in the city don't want to learn how to survive in the woods with a pocket knife and compass for fun... But we are learning certain aspects of survival because we might be faced with this harsh reality in the not to distant future.


Survival is not camping.



[edit on 29-8-2009 by Doomsday 2029]

reply to post by Doomsday 2029

Survival is not camping.

The skills are the same..

If you can build a shelter for camping, you will have shelter in a survival situation

If you can build a camp fire, you can cook food in a survival situation

If you hike and climb, you will have the physical stamina to survive a situation

No one here on ATS has ever faced the end of the world, unless I slept through it last night. So no one knows exactly what to expect.

That being said, basic skills are just that, BASIC and can be learned if you desire to.

If you live in the city, take a trip. I have been all over the United States and many places throughout the world and I have never been more than a short drive to a park, state forest, wilderness area or somewhere where I can get "outside".. Even in Seoul and Tokyo and New York there were places we could go to have this kind of fun and adventure.

You are only as limited as you choose to be.

Semper

Disclaimer: I'm a theist but not of the Abrahamic faiths. I have minor biblical scholar and scriptural skills. Also I am not a scientific/legal or medical expert in any field. Beware of my Contagious Memes! & watch out that you don't get cut on my Occams razor.All of this is my personal conjecture and should not be considered the absolute or most definitive state of things as they really are. Use this information at your own risk! I accept no liability if your ideology comes crashing down around you with accompanying consequences!

Explanation: S&F!

Most of my survival training happened during my teenage years doing spelunking and also lots of bushwalking on my parents rural property and I have very fond memories of these endevours! You are TOTALLY correct in that learning to survive is both fun and recreational, just not so much when the SHTF though!

Personal Disclosure: Congratulations on being promoted!

I appreciate what you are trying to do for us Sempor. I really do. I know that if i can get some practice in, when things aren't real bad, I'll be better equipped to handle things when it IS bad.
We bought a firestick, but I saw the bow method on tv and really want to try that. Even here in the city, I think we can go out in the backyard and pretend like we went on a trip. Then it'll get easier. Three kids.

reply to post by OmegaLogos


I have never done much Spelunking....

Never really had the opportunity although it looks to be very fun...

Not a bad skill to have either considering the nature of caves and the natural protection they afford...



Semper

reply to post by semperfortis


You are so right.
I used to spend a lot of time in the bush, but had forgotten a lot as well.

I spent a week in June by myself in the bush and it is amazing how much comes back. And I had a great time.

Planning on spending 2 weeks next June..might also go back in a couple of weeks.

reply to post by notsosweet


Now see????

That is exactly the spirit that will enable you to survive, keep you alive and help you to help others..

BRAVO



Semper

I have never felt so full and proud to be alive then when I was in the wilderness enjoying myself.

Compared to sitting at home all day on the internet, the wilderness is just awesome and leaves you feeling fulfilled.

reply to post by semperfortis


I totally agree with you that outdoor adventure can be such fun. Me too I kiss me wife goodby and take off to the bush for 2 or three days. I live close to Rocky Mountain range and it is my favored place to go explore and have one on one interraction with mother nature.
I think survival forum is the best on ATS!!! You can learn a lot and also share some info of what you know could be useful in survival situation. For me I always mentally prepare myself for such situation if such could accure in the future.
For example I want to share how to build a fire that lasts all night if you are sleeping by the fire and it is the only source for heat. Also you can have a warm ground to sleep on if you do it this way...
You make normal fire for the start and keep burning wood to build nice coal bed first. Then using a big pole or a stick, move your fire 10 -15 ft away and make it burn again on the new spot. The spot it was on going to be your warm bed that warmth will last quite a while.
When you have enough coals made, find (or cut)three big logs and place two on each side of your burning coal bed close enough that third log will lay on top of the bottom two. This fire will last all night depending on how dry the logs are. And you don't have to get up and put more wood to keep you warm.

Originally posted by semperfortis

You are only as limited as you choose to be.

Semper

Like I said... Survival is not camping.

When I'm forced to survive, I will probably have a thousand zombies trying to kill me for food. Literally kill me as cattle

And yes, when SHTF and the real food crisis happens... You might get to witness some canabilism.

Survival is not camping... It will be a war.

There are no Smores when you are trying to survive dude. And their certainly won't be a feeling of "adventure" behind it.




But you are right... we should always be improving our "camping" skills for practice.

reply to post by Doomsday 2029


I'm sorry...

The Marines did not cover Attack of the Zombies....



Semper

reply to post by Doomsday 2029



I am new to posting [not lurking].

I think if you only focus on survival you will not survive mentally. I am learning for my whole family, not just myself. Children and teens will need a certain level of comfort and fun to not just survive but thrive.

We have purchased a tent for the entire family. Having a house with everyone used to their own space, learning to sleep all of us together would be a major adjustment. However camping all in the same tent is kind of fun. We are starting out camping at sites with a bathhouse and electricity. Our plan is to move to a more rustic setting as we progress with our abilities.

My husband and I have some experience with more rustic style from our childhood. Also as my children were growing we had a camp house. So they have learned fishing and running lines, using jugs and digging for their own bait. We have bathed in the river. Things that are fun but also teach how to survive in various settings.

I am enjoying this forum.

This is the same theory I apply to my food supplies....a little bit of candy will go along way when you start feeling stressed about your surroundings.

I forgot to mention, when we 'camp' we do not allow electronic entertainment which includes the kids cell phones.

We do entertain by learning about nature and some cards or board games.

Originally posted by semperfortis
reply to post by Doomsday 2029

 

I'm sorry...

The Marines did not cover Attack of the Zombies....

Semper

The only Zombies I am afraid of are the people who are totally unaware of what is going on in the world, who live only for today, and have absolutely no skills beyond shopping and "dining". These people will quickly get desperate if they are not able to grab their fast food, access their "cash" or be waited on.

When push comes to shove, these people who have been told by society all their life that they are "entitled" without ever having participated in the actual labor of survival, they will, in desperation, try to feed their needs through complete panic. It will become a dog eat dog scenario where the "do not haves" will do anything to get from the prepared.

reply to post by semperfortis


semperfortis, you are correct.

Survival is important but you can learn those skills almost anywhere.

Say for instance, the Boy Scouts of America, and survive because you practice Be Prepared.

Boy Scouts : International : Survival : All Scouting Organizations

Some people will never survive because they lost their "survival instincts" and some people will thrive quite well because they are outdoors people already.

Red Dawn is a good example of what you may be forced to do some day.

Originally posted by semperfortis
reply to post by Doomsday 2029

 

I'm sorry...

The Marines did not cover Attack of the Zombies....

Semper

Didn't the delta force or rangers learn anything from Mogadishu?

That was really was about as close to a zombie outbreak as anything.

I'm not trying to make a joke about anything so serious but Aidid's militia men were all totally whigged out from chewing khat - Almost suicidal in their indifference to our fire.

Did they ever write up anything on dealing with drugged-out militia?

Good topic.

Hope you don't mind me adding this.

I always mention this about learning survival. It is no always about a global or national tragedy.

A serious survival situation can be just about you.

In fact, most survival situations you hear about, are people by themselves trapped somewhere.

Think it will never happen to you? It is not hard for a car to drive off the road and no one see it, it has happened, many times.

Read a story about a guy who drove over, no one saw him. He landed in a creek. It started raining and the creek flooded. He used to have to suck air through a straw for a day at the gap in teh roof of the car.

I can't even begin to imagine it.

He was there for a week.

I do agree with tentikles that camping is when I feel most alive.
Though I don't do it as often anymore because it is hard work.

[edit on 29-8-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by nixie_nox


This is an excellent point and one that many don't think about.

Up here there are always people who get lost in the bush who were just picking blueberries or something like that. It's easy if you are not aware, to just step off the road for a minute and become hopelessly lost for a night or two.

If you don't have the basics of survival, that night or two can become a real nightmare and sometimes ends tragically.

And don't forget the winters. Have a basic winter kit that is within reach (not in the trunk).

The "it only happens to others" line can come back to bite you if your not prepared.

new to this board, first post...figured this is as good of a topic as any

i'm 25, i've camped all of my life, although recently it's become more and more "cushy" do to aging family members. i always long to go out and just rough it as much as possible.

in high school i was in AFJROTC, and we had a week "survival" training course, and we practiced in a natural park in the area...ever since then, whenever i go camping, i spend a day walking around the area, seeing what is around. materials, animals, everything. i have learned to be more observant, which helps in my line of work (IT/troubleshooting), but i also love the critical thinking and problem solving that is involved. i feel bored when i'm not challenged.

i'm finally stable enough in life that i can start doing things that i want, and "roughing it" is very high on the list, next to hunting/fishing


with that said, i've read a lot of threads in the survival section recently, lurkiing before i joined...and i see a lot of good information. i look forward to sharing what i learn/experience while out there, but also i look forward to learning a lot around here

thanks in advance to everyone in the community!