Posted on 03/28/2014 11:29:16 AM PDT by kingattax
VIDEO AT LINK
What would you do if you found yourself alone in the wilderness -- with nothing but yourself to rely on?
Road Trip host Marc Istook wondered that very thing. So he went out to Liberty, Texas, to learn exactly what one needs in order to survive 24 hours alone in the wilderness. Luckily, he recruited an expert guide: former Green Beret Mykel Hawke, who learned about survival first-hand at a young age.
As a teenager, Hawke lived on the streets, relying on his wits to stay afloat as he watched friends go to jail and even get killed. From there, Hawke decided to pursue his interests in survival skills via the military, where he spent 25 years.
Post-military, he embarked on a career teaching survival training and education, even hosting on TV shows such as "Lost Survivors." Needless to say, Hawke is the guy you'd like to have along if you're ever stranded far from civilization!
The worst wilderness survival error in Hawke's book may surprise you: He claims it's overconfidence, which can lead to disaster. "Most people over-estimate their abilities," he explains. "They over-estimate how easy it is to make a shelter, how easy it is to start a fire, and how long they can go without water. Those can all be fatal mistakes."
(Excerpt) Read more at music.yahoo.com ...
At SERE school, we were in the woods for about a week with no food. In the camp were had just under a week without food, but very charming camp counselors...
I envy you, hg. I've got my eye on my dream place yet.
'Go east young man.'(Hat tip to Wrong Way Horace)
I can make it.
Had to plenty of times.
Depending on conditions I order my priorities.
Inclement or so cold it’d freeze the balls off a pool table? Shelter and fire, then water.
Warm weather? water. I’ll worry about shelter and fire later.
Been caught out in many conditions and the most important skill is expecting it to suck, everything will be harder than last time and somehow I find a way to enjoy the experience.
24 hrs in the woods ... pftt, childs play.
How about 3 - 4 days up in the snow country of the Colorado Mountains during the Winter at 9,500 feet elevation with 2 feet of snow on the ground. That is what we taught our boys in the Boy Scouts.
Done it many, many times. “Lost?” No. Hard to be lost when you can see a mountain. Does anyone care that NOAA has ceased publishing charts?
But yes, I'm good in the wilderness for up to 2 years at a time, based on actually having done it.
/johnny
Which SERE school was that?
My camp counselors weren’t particularly charming.
Unless you were speaking sardonically.
In todays day and age, I think most people would die in 24 hours from withdrawal from the internet.
Find Bigfoot and make a deal to share with him if he helps find the bass terd who done took it.
Ask Bigfoot to use the thief like drum stick and beat the thief up against a tree.
Problem solved....new friend.
Depends on what’s in the woods with me.
Quite true. Though in winter shelter alone isn't enough. If you aren't dressed right, you're immediately in a desperate struggle for survival.
When in the wilderness alone, the first thing he suggests doing is scouting out a good place to build your shelter (high ground, level).
Accurate but incomplete. Protection from wind may be a much more critical issue than flooding.
From there, Hawke showed Istook how to create a rough-looking but functional hut out of branches and leaves;
Presupposes some sort of knife, hatchet or saw. Such a shelter may be buildable without one, but about 50x more difficult. Also depends on the types of trees around.
how to find and collect water;
Varies so wildly by locale I'm unclear how one can teach such a thing in a general sense.
and how to start a fire using a technique that's thousands of years old.
Presumably the old firebow or something similar. Again, tough without a knife at least. And if you've got a knife along, where are your matches or lighter?
Once the fire's started, water can be boiled and made safe to drink.
Presupposes a container for the water.
24 hours is just a long sleep and some bird watching.
As far as camping goes the grunge factor peaks on the 3rd day. After that it’s smooth sailing until the beer runs out.
New friend, but you did lose half your beer, possibly more than half if Big Foot drinks faster than you.
And now you have a drunken Big Foot hugging you.
For only 24 hrs?
Assuming no lions, tiger, or bears, all you have to do is avoid hypothermia.
Is that a banana in your pocket? Actually,yes!
uP`N here in the boondocks we`uns git thum couple racoons to run down to the outpost store n 6 paker back -
racoons` ull do anythin for can of dog food
Is wifi available? :)
24 hour walk in the woods, no problem.
Obviously this author never heard of the Boy Scouts.
I already lost all my beer to that steenken thief.
Bigfoots happy I told him about beer.
I’m happy and won’t tell a soul.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.