How long could you survive?

[vizsla]

Hats off to anyone who joins in and tries it i think if i do it i will most certainly take some ready to peg out fishing lines and some ready to go snares and i will have these in place for 8am to give me a good chance of a catch for say 5pm and snacks for lunch can be foraged from known locations throughout the day. Food is obviously going to be the most difucult supply so the last thing id want to do is have to spend the first half of the day making lines and traps as it will reduce the chance of a good meal on the first day which would get me off to a poor miserable start which is the last thing you want.
I no i can get a fire going pretty quick i can filter water quick and i can build a quick shelter. So eighty percent of my first day will be aimed at getting food.
My kit list hope its ok its not as bare bones as others list
axe
sax
knife
fak
firesteel
crook knife
billy can
crusader cup
fishing line and hooks
cord
wool blanket
millbank bag

 

[udamiano]

cbr6fs,

Thanks for your concern, all reasonable precaution will be taken. and are being already planned. a system of drop boxes, for camera batteries, and memory cards will ensure no contact and an emergency panic system is already in place. A full risk assessment is being done, prior to the event,

Thanks

Day

 

[Martyn]

So what we're saying is humans have to be social to survive - a single man alone in the wilderness - even if prepared with a bow, a gill net, furs, some traps etc. couldn't hack it? At least not in the UK pre agriculture?

We are designed to be social, so it makes sense. It's the evolutionary route we have taken as animals. Just the division of labour is a massive benefit - one hunting all day, one collecting wood all day = big fire all night and twice the chance of a full belly. But also it's redundancy. If one gets injured, the other can pull double duty for a while. If you are on your own you are stuffed. The more people in your group, the more efficient your group becomes.

 

[Martyn]

cbr6fs,

Thanks for your concern, all reasonable precaution will be taken. and are being already planned. a system of drop boxes, for camera batteries, and memory cards will ensure no contact and an emergency panic system is already in place. A full risk assessment is being done, prior to the event,

Thanks

Day

Wow, good job - you ex-mil by any chance?

I'd also have me missus collect me on the last day with a bag of bacon and cheese butties and a flask of hot coffee.

 

[vizsla]

I dont mean to sound harsh or touch any sensitive nerves.
But im surprised how many people think that if the worst was to happen and you had to go back hunting the way we have evolved to do and feed ourselves that you wouldnt last anymore than a couple of weeks. I can only make a judgment of people by my own standards but for me my sole interest is bushcraft, making, not surviving but living in the wild or as close as possible in a modern world. So do i like to think i could survive your dam right i do is this realistic who knows possibly not but it would go against everything i do to say no.
If i do try it id be.10 min from a garage and 15 from a chippy and forever being quiet because of dog walkers and il have a mobile so im not risking anything plus i would take a emergency pack of food so if all else fails iv had a great trip learnt alot tested my skills id actualy beable to answer the next thread with a yes or no
theres no need for this to be dangerous.
Regreting this post already be nice

 

[decorum]

Wow, good job - you ex-mil by any chance?

Just very good at what he does

I do like the responses to Day putting down to do this challenge, on the whole it's a bit ...

 

[udamiano]

No not ex-mob. did a lot of work with them however in the late 80s and 90s in remote areas.

I've already booked a big steak sandwich with all the trimmings (actually the trimming are basically more steak, and bacon) to greet me by the boss

 

[udamiano]

Just very good at what he does

I do like the responses to Day putting down to do this challenge, on the whole it's a bit ...

thanks mate like it

 

[xylaria]

I am going to try to do a foraged week probably starting this thursday, I will blog up what I do. I see it as my part of the social survival mechinsim, what i come up with may useful to others. This is the hardest time of year to find food. I have done the odd day this time of year but never a longer period. It is good to push yourself.

 

[udamiano]

xylaria,

that would be brilliant, would certainly be interested in your blog about it

 

[cbr6fs]

So what we're saying is humans have to be social to survive - a single man alone in the wilderness - even if prepared with a bow, a gill net, furs, some traps etc. couldn't hack it? At least not in the UK pre agriculture?

Problem is as humans we are simply a concoction of chemicals.
If these chemicals go out of wack due to lack of water, food stimulus etc then life gets very tough.

History has shown us that some individuals have had the strength of character, fortitude and mental toughness to survive extreme circumstances alone.

IMO though these individuals are few and far between, the will power needed to get off off your **** after 2 days of not eating and forage and hunt for food is immense.
Plus as i said you really only need a bad stomach bug, twisted ankle etc and your then struggling to get up and forage/hunt, so unles you've built up a stock of food that's well preserved, your likely to go down hill fast during a illness or injury.

Man can survive asa race by hunting and foraging, obviously it's what we did and what some remote tribes still do 100%.
BUT these are in social groups where chores and labour is shared.

Older members of the tribe are fed and looked after in return they share their knowledge and experiences with younger members.

If someone is ill or injured they are then cared for by the rest.


As a species by farming we took a massive evolutionary step, as this now gave us more spare time as we herded animals rather than chase them for miles, and grow crops instead of spending hours searching for them.

This then gave us time to work on things like language, inventions, concoctions from natural materials to make bronze steel etc.

 

[Martyn]

This reminds me a bit of Ed Wardles flirtation with madness as he tried to survive alone in the wild. If you havent seen it already, it's worth a watch. I think the guy perhaps was a bit inclined towards madness, but he had previously climbed Everest, so must have a certain robustness of character....

[video=youtube;jy0kwaP-6Z4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy0kwaP-6Z4&feature=showob[/video]

Well worth a watch, just for the psychological insights.

 

[Martyn]

I dont mean to sound harsh or touch any sensitive nerves.
But im surprised how many people think that if the worst was to happen and you had to go back hunting the way we have evolved to do and feed ourselves that you wouldnt last anymore than a couple of weeks. I can only make a judgment of people by my own standards but for me my sole interest is bushcraft, making, not surviving but living in the wild or as close as possible in a modern world. So do i like to think i could survive your dam right i do is this realistic who knows possibly not but it would go against everything i do to say no.
If i do try it id be.10 min from a garage and 15 from a chippy and forever being quiet because of dog walkers and il have a mobile so im not risking anything plus i would take a emergency pack of food so if all else fails iv had a great trip learnt alot tested my skills id actualy beable to answer the next thread with a yes or no
theres no need for this to be dangerous.
Regreting this post already be nice

Good luck, but if you take backup food with you - you will eat it.

I would not take backup food and just know when to call it a day. The whole point, is to not have that backup, to not have anything to fall back on that will help you through psychologically. You dont catch it, you dont eat. You take nothing, no tea or coffee, not even salt and pepper. That psychological pressure of having nothing with you is important. Of course there are no rules really, it's up to you at the end of the day.

 

[Shewie]

The problem Ed Wardle had was not being able to take the game he regularly saw, if he didn't have that legislation and it was a real life situation I think he'd have surpassed the three month target, unless the bears got him

 

[udamiano]

A great programme, and yes I'm inclined to agree about the madness part, extroverts tend to suffer more than introverts IMHO, people who are use to the audience and the attention seem to suffer that much more when its removed, same with people with families the lost of the family group seems to be the trigger. For example lets look at the 'alone in the wild' series done by the discovery channel late last year. All the celebs found it hard emotionally to cope with the alone bit, about the only exclusion to this was the comedian 'Joe Pascal' who gave himself other distractions thru his sense of humour. the athletes coped better than the celebs, mainly because they crave the audience less (not sure). all of this could easily be argued though, I have no supporting evidence, just an observation made.

 

[Martyn]

The problem Ed Wardle had was not being able to take the game he regularly saw, if he didn't have that legislation and it was a real life situation I think he'd have surpassed the three month target, unless the bears got him

Yes, I agree - though he was allowed to take small game and did have a rifle and did take a shedload of supplies in with him and did have a satellite phone and a sophisticated support network.

 

[Shewie]

Yes, I agree - though he was allowed to take small game and did have a rifle and did take a shedload of supplies in with him and did have a satellite phone and a sophisticated support network.

Don't forget the electric fence

 

[Martyn]

Don't forget the electric fence

Oh yes ...oh and he had a boat too.

 

[udamiano]

I'm only taking a 35lt daypack where am i going to fit all that stuff LOL

 

[vizsla]

he spent most of his time worrying about bears which is not ideal when your in canada