Year alone scenario

[Ozhaggishead]

Okay here is the scenario,you have by some twist of fate are to be left by yourself in a remote woodland wilderness for one year.Away for all human contact no T.V radio or phone no i-pods.Okay you have small hut for shelter a good axe and knife and firesteel.There is some tins of food a small well for water and a hunting rifle.You have all the essential kit you want.You more than good chance of surviving one year alone.But before you go away for the year alone you are told you can take just one luxury item.What nonessential thing would you take with you and why?

 

[Andy2112]

Ray Mears carrying a tin opener. lol.

Seriously i think i would take a backgammon set along (or another game), it would probably keep your mind a bit more active.

 

[sxmolloy]

My dog (if that is allowed).

 

[verloc]

ok, good question.

Either all of the Chronicles of Narnia - cracking read no matter how old you are (this might say a little too much about me)

or

The wife (aww shucks) - well she does do a mean wild sorrel soup !

 

[verloc]

My dog (if that is allowed).

oh yeah or maybes the dog - now I do hope the missus wont read this.

 

[Ozhaggishead]

My dog (if that is allowed).

Yes but you would have to feed the dog as well as your self.

 

[verloc]

Yes but you would have to feed the dog as well as your self.

My enthusiastic 20month old black lab is very adept at hunting - admittedly it's normally the crisps of the kitchen worktop or from the fields its a 3 month dead rabbit that she is normally very reluctant to give up when found.

 

[mace242]

Stuff for reading and writing. Good book(s) - the Narnia idea is good. And some pens and paper to write down a good journal of the year.

Raises an interesting thought: how would it be to go a whole year without human contact and what is the longest anybody here has done. That includes phones, etc.

 

[Mike Ameling]

It's the lack of human contact that would bother most people. I know waaaay too many people who can't even go one day just by themselves. I regularily go days and sometimes weeks without other human contact, and have gone months in the past.

So my "luxury" option would be a couple good books.

Which books? Depends upon the moment. Like the Illiad, the Poetic Edda, Rural Economy and Country Life in the Medieval West, A Pattern Language, The Poor Man's James Bond, or the Chronicles of Groo the Warrior. The range of possibilities varies a lot.

Paper and pencil? Naaah. I've never been too interested in all that "head shrink" stuff of needing to "delve deep within oneself" and write the stuff down for other people to read. If they want to know what it's like or how it felt, then go do it. Plus, writing that stuff down all too often gets used against you - as direct evidence that you don't think in the "correct approved enlightened" way. If YOU write it, it is considered DIRECT TESTIMONY against yourself, and not subject to the laws against "self incrimination".

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[British Red]

Seeds


Red

 

[korvin karbon]

Seeds


Red

Hop seeds

 

[British Red]

Barley, sugar beet, wheat, broad beans, chilli, mustard, peas, onion, garlic, strawberry, cabbage, parsnip, etc.

Hops won't grow enough in a year

Can I swap the rifle for my Benelli M3 and a variety of loads please? Far better hunting proposition.

Failing being allowed seeds Ill take 100lbs of salt

Red

 

[lostagain]

Andy2112 Ray Mears carrying a tin opener. lol.

Thanks, spilt my tea reading that !!! Very funny.

Wouldn't that be a great experience, would be good to get that much peace and quiet.

A dog would be good,
Bear Grylls for the first day, so i can practise my shooting on a moving target :AR15firin
Am I allowed to say Natalie Portman ?

A hammock (if one not already provided), I do like sleeping off the floor.

Good thread.

 

[ANDYRAF]

Claudia Schiffer carrying a case of Ouzo wearing only a smile, aaaaaaaaaah Heaven.



I'm sorry I'll get my coat.

 

[sxmolloy]

Yes but you would have to feed the dog as well as your self.

Or eat the dog....!

 

[Ozhaggishead]

Okay some good answers guys,

Sxmolloy,no you cant eat your dog mate!You are English Dam it!

Andyraf and Lostagain,Ouzo booze or hammock okay Miss Schiffer or Natalie Portman in the nude no sorry guys but no(no-one ask for Mr Mears nude please)

British Red,Like you thinking!Yes to seeds,no to Benelli M3 shotgun,sorry.


.

 

[Mike Ameling]

Okay some good answers guys,

Sxmolloy,no you cant eat your dog mate!You are English Dam it!

Andyraf and Lostagain,Ouzo booze or hammock okay Miss Schiffer or Natalie Portman in the nude no sorry guys but no(no-one ask for Mr Mears nude please)

British Red,Like you thinking!Yes to seeds,no to Benelli M3 shotgun,sorry.


.

Hey now, Dog is a fine meal! When cooked right. No, I'm not English. I'm American descended from German immigrants before the great wars.

Super models and actresses? Naaah, someone of much "sturdier" stock would be much more of a comfort - instead of trying to cater to and take care of such a "high maintenance" person. Those "looks" would wear off quickly. Give me a working farm/ranch girl any day - especially from a small farm or ranch.

Any gun other than a simple .22 becomes not worth the "baggage" toll. There are only a few large animals to hunt for food in any one area to justify a larger gun. And the .22 can handle those if used right. And careful attention to our surroundings negates most defensive needs.


So, upon further contemplation, I would chose a water filter/purifier. Potable water can get you through a lot of situations. Bad water can make you very sick and kill you. Plus, it uses up so much of your time/energy to "clean up" and make safe to drink.

Just a few humble rambling thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[Daegurth]

i'd have thought if you're staying somewhere for a year, boiling up your water isn't all that impractical. and you have a well, so the water is already potable.

hmm... this is a tough one. maybe a 12" laptop with solar charger and ext. HD holding tonnes of reading material- fiction and NF. unless that comes under the no-hi-tech rule.

if so... tolkien's complete works. LOTR, the hobbit, silmarillion, letters, all the fiction/poetry, the academic stuff, and all the posthumous releases. everything.

 

[demographic]

Give me a working girl any day

I like your thinking

That was what you meant wasn't it?

 

[Mikey P]

Hmmmm...part of me wants to say a camera, to record all the highs and the lows, but everyone will jump on that and talk about batteries, etc.

Maybe a nice bottle of slow gin or a good whiskey (Laphroag). It would last me all year and would be the perfect end to a long day every now and again.

Yeah, I'll go with that.

Anyway, my dog would be useless...