What would you teach a newby in their first weekend in the woods?

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leahcim

Tenderfoot
Aug 2, 2011
92
1
USA
this is what I call the 4 elements air, earth, water, fire.
1. 3 minutes to breathe or stop bleeding - so first aid is a must
2. 3 hours to hyperthermia - build a shelter - using clothes first, like stuffing shirt with leaves, and then debris hut., natural wind breaks, conifer tree cedar fir tree shelters
3. 3 days to water - spring finding, dew collecting, rain collecting, solar ditill with a turkey oven bag - water filter making.
4. 30 days to food, promontory peg trap - Dog bone African Bird Snare, Objawi bird snare, Burrow Tree snare, Learning insect and worm gathering, learning animal habits, basic tracking. throwing stick, basic edibles oak, pine, basic berries in your area - poisonous plants
5. 3 months without fire - before winter sets in, learn quartz, flint, and pyrite fire starting without steel and char cloth (Tree Fungus, and Two hard rock sparks); Hand Drill Stick friction fire (not bow drill), Fire Match lighting. basic fire building, tinder finding and making, wood shavings, popping wood with 2 trees to avoid bringing ax. Learning Dakota Fire Stove; making a rock or clay stove for shelter. Pit cooking, grilling on coals, ash cakes, boiling water in bark baskets.

that would be my class
 

leahcim

Tenderfoot
Aug 2, 2011
92
1
USA
darn forgot to finish
4 elements of Additude as well
1 Wind - the spirit (good additude)
2. earth - who you are, and your skill level - you are spirit not flesh, your home is within yourself. Your spirit has all it needs, learn to live in needs of flesh and not wants.Down sizing like Jesus asked us to do.
3. water - the flow - where are you going with all this, what is the goal? like water running to the ocean only to return. what are you trying to do when you are out there.
4. Fire - the passion, to carry you forward - your drive.
if you dont have these, you will become depressed, bored, and down right lazy, and give up, additude adjustment is more important than any other survival skills training. I have seen it time and time again, the ones wthout knowledge but good spirit allows over comes and out survives the person with all th training and has a bad additude.
 
Dec 16, 2007
409
0
Get them to draw a sound map. Sit down under a tree with a piece of paper. Listen to the sounds of the wood and identify them if you can. You are at the centre of the piece of paper so you draw what you heard and the direction you heard it from. Works great with kids and teaches them to listen, identify and place the direction of sounds. A very handy skill we should all practice.

So thats a tree huggers version of a range card we had in OP's. [:)]
 

almac

Forager
Oct 13, 2010
157
0
Okanagan, BC CANADA
1. how to use a knife and/or axe safely. sharpening and batoning, etc.
2. fire building/lighting. matches, lighter, striker, and firebow.
3. tarp shelter basics. i'd just do something simple like get a free lumber tarp with twine and start with that.
4. some basic knots. i'd start with 4 like the bowline, 2 half hitches, clove hitch, etc.
5. survival kit building. try and build a basic kit for under $50.
6. basics of water sanitation/ sterilizing. talk about Giardia and the really bad things it can do to you if you dont at LEAST boil your H2O.

camp out somewhere, eat a few meals and stay the night.
most of all have fun! :)
 

Maggot

Banned
Jun 3, 2011
271
0
Somerset
Get them all to watch Deliverance, then turn up in full camo, with face paint and a huge chuffing knife.

They'll survive the weekend, and everything else will be a bonus.
 
Dec 16, 2007
409
0
Bet you still remember these 2 then

CLAP (clear, loud, as an order, with pauses)

GRIT (group, range, indication, type of fire)

LOL, range card, just rip the card from the top of your rat pack

Still use the CLAP when asking the DS (Domestic Sunray) for a cuppa in the morning and GRIT when giving directions in the Jeep.

Gone off topic.
 
Mar 15, 2011
1,118
7
on the heather
For the complete newbie, First what not to do.

No1 camp fire etiquette.
Don’t poke or stoke the fire when anyone is cooking or using the fire.
Don’t throw rubbish in the fire, paper and fag butts are ok but not plastic, glass or tins and DON'T P##s in the fire.
Pull your own weight if you want to stoke up the fire or cook you better have collected your fare share of the wood.

No2 camp etiquette.
Don’t take other peoples kit for granted; if you want to use someone’s axe or knife ask.

No3 camp hygiene.
Don’t p##s up river, don’t p##s down river, don’t p##s anywhere near the River, the same goes for any fresh water.
Don’t p##s anywhere near camp.
Cover up you’re S##T.
Watch out when using soap in small streams it can kill fish.

Sorry No1 You can never take to much whisky.
 
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