#119: How To Live In the Woods
|
|
| DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : Rotteneggs.com text files and message bases are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT undertake any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site.We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site. |
|
|
|
(61 votes)
Published: Dec 12, 2004 1:17 p.m.
In 1 Favorites Lists
Viewed 1773 times |
Once, I lived in the woods behind our house for a week during the summer. My parents didnt think I could do it, and their really cool parents so they let me as long as I came home each day around noon to check in with them. This is a guide, and I know from experience that these ideas will work. When I lived there, I had 5 days of shine and 2 of rain. I got pretty lucky.
Packing items for a stay in the woods is essential. You will need to pack all you can, considering you can leave it at camp. These are the essential things you need to pack. A tent is unessisary, because it takes too much room, and I’ll teach you how to make one.
- Food: And lots of it! Unless you feel like hunting rabbit, then pack as much food as you can. I made the mistake of not packing enough, and I had to return to the house to get some.
- Water Bottle: Most forests have a creek, so you can fill it up. Also, in case your fire gets out of control.
- Matches: To start fire
- Knife: Always take a knife. Very valuable tool. I take one everywhere I go, but especially in the woods.
- Hachet: To cut trees and make a sheleter. Also to get firewood. This is and a knife are a must.
- Sleeping Bag: Optional, You can sleep on the ground in your shelter if you want, but I wouldnt suggest it.
These are the bare essentials. You can bring more stuff if you want. I tried to make it with the least amount of stuff I could.
Making a Shelter:
There are 2 shelters you can make. We’ll call them upright and inground. Inground is better, but takes longer to make. While I was making my inground shelter, I had to make an upright one to sleep in for one night. Uprights are cramped and uncomfortable, but protect you from the elements.
Upright: Find a pretty big log. Drag it to a large tree and prop it up against the tree. It should form a right triangle, the ground being the base, the tree being the vertical line, and the log being the hypotenous. Collect lots of long sticks. They dont have to be too strong. Lean them up against the log on either side, making a tent like structure. Leave an uncovered area on one side near the tree. Cover the whole outside in many layers of leaves. Make them really thick. You cant stand up in this shelter, it is just made for lying down in. It can actually keep you warm too if you make it right. I wouldnt suggest making one of these to stay in for a long perious of time, because they generally fall apart after a few days.
Inground: This is the best shelter. You can stand up, Walk around and keep all your stuff inside if you find a good location. The thing is, a good location is hard as hell to find. You need to find a dried out creek. I’ve found there really common in most wooded areas. If you cant find one, consider going to a different area, unless you want to sleep in an upright for a week. Once you find a creek, follow it untill you find the absolute deepest area. I found where a waterfall once was. The waterfall part was about a 6 foot drop, and the walls were just as high. It was perfect. I used the waterfall drop as the back wall. If you cant find a waterfall, then you will just have to cut down more trees. Go out and find as many big logs as you can, and drag them back to the creek. lay them across, from one side to the other. These logs should be pretty strong. You need a layer of logs. Now you basicly need to collect all the twigs, sticks and switches you can. Throw them all on top of this structure. Then, cover it in as many layers of leaves that you can. If you dont have a waterfall, you need to make a wall leaning up aganst one side. Now, go to the open side, and start laying more logs until it it mostly covered up. Leave a door at the corner, about a foot wide. I stacked some sticks on the bottom so my door was more like a window to climb in. You need to make the side wall (or walls if you cant find a waterfall) very thick with sticks, because leaves are hard to get one this. Cover it with the most leaves you can, trying to close up all the holes. Now, its done. A perfect shelter. Mine was about 6 feet tallk, 6 feet wide and 7 feet long. A pretty good shelter. Keep all your stuff in here.
Tips:
- Keep a fire going every night, all night. You can cook food (assuming you brought some uncooked food with you) and keep warm. It also keeps animals away. Make sure to build a firepit.
- During the day, find was to improve your shelter. Stack more leaves, add more logs, or even expand.
- Conserve food. If you want to last long without going back home, you need to conserve. Eat only when its essential. Look for wild berrys, but make sure you can tell what kind they are. I found an apple tree and a blackberry patch in my woods.
Thats my guide on how to live in the woods. Its not perfect, but you can improvise what I havent written. |
|
|
|
 | Dec 12, 2004 5:00 pm -
Thanks,this will come in handy if I ever get booted out of the house. |
 | Aug 13, 2005 5:01 pm - Living in Woods 119
Nice. Where’s 1 thru 118? |
| Dec 12, 2005 6:31 pm -
omg made on my birthday! anniversary for me and this egg! |
 | Dec 26, 2006 9:58 am - Liveign in the woods
That’s great Ihatenames...it was a really good post and covered a lot of points. We are doing something like what you did, but we are going to leave our careers and go live in the woods. There is a website that I signed up with and found some other dudes that are into the same thing, we are going to do a scouting trip in the summer and leave in the spring or so. If I could add some helpful hints onto yours, I learned something from yours and maybe you can learn something from mine :D
Food: Although you can live three weeks without food if you have water, bring some dried goods and use them in Emergency sitiuations or the winter where it’s not good enough to go and hunt, like when you haven’t succeeded much in huntning or fishing. There are many things to eat such as plants/tubers/roots (be sure), you get more protein from bugs than you do some meats, squirrels, you cannot live off rabbits though, all they are is protein and no fat/calories and you will starve, fishing is great and rewarding.
Water: Water bottle is good, boil water if you are unsure, also filters can now come in some water bottles which you can just fill up and it filters it automatically...it’ cool beans!
Water is pretty vast in the wilderness....if not, you can dig a hole 3 feet x 2 feet in a field, fill the hole wtih greens from trees and plants. Cover the hole with preferably a see through plastic tarp and a small rock in the middle of the tarp with rocks on the outside of the hole holding it down. Inside the tarp below the rock have a glass or bowl that you can catch the drops of condensation off the tarp coming from the moisture in the plants when the sun hits it.
Fire: Matches are great to bring you can split them in half and double them and waterproof them. There are also things like the "Metal Match" (my pick), magnesium flints (also good), fire piston, the ol’ glass mirror trick, and fire form chocolate and a pop can...check it out!
Knife: A Leatherman is a must, never leave it’s side. Always a great thing to have, can make more knives out of bones and trees. All kinds of uses with knives.
Hatchet: Good for firewood, all kinds of uses.
Sleeping Bag: Like ihatenames said, you can bring it, but I mean you can make one out of thatching grass and if your shelter is good enough with a fire...you don’t need one. Please DO NOT sleep on the ground, you want to get off the ground with some bedding of some sort (pine tree sticks), this helps by getting you off the cold.
Some other essntials I would bring is a First Aid kit, money (you never know), wool or polyester clothing, fishing gear, candles, razor blades, 5/50 PARA Cord. I have a lot but I’m not writing a book, email me if you wanna chat or have questions.
swillott5@hotmail.com
teve |
|
|
Edit Page
Message ihatenames
Add Comment
Add to Favorites
Email to Friend