davidmil

I know that if you get half way through.... you're halfway out of the woods. I know I am the baddest predator in my woods so the buggers probably won't get me. If things get tough, think it threw and plan a way to survive or get out. The best plan is preparation before you go. I know I need water, shelter and food. Would I come out as pretty as I went in, probably not, but that's because I need my daily shower, toilet paper and soft bed to be fresh. Rocks and rain don't make for great sleeping, but I'd get buy. YUP, I know enough to live, even if I had to I eat the first non survivor.[8D]

RDHunter

Hey Mathewsboy

I live down state in Ypsilanti, do you know where thats at.
I hunted up in kalkaska and by Boyen Falls.

nodog

If I was dropped in the middle of some wilderness for a spell and had to go through some inclement weather conditions, I really couldn't say. Lots of things that could happen and Lord willing I would come out. I would do my best. It's a learning experience. Someone who lives there may have just as hard a time here. Could be a great deal better at knowing what is and what is not edible. Many of the first settlers here in Ohio (a wilderness) perished.

I know a brilliant man who as a kid decide to find a certain plant. On his way to school he ate 14 different ones. At school he dropped dead, literally no sign of life. He came around obviously, but his words have stuck with me.

Arrowmaster

I wouldnt have a problem surviving.

Abuelo

Being a woodsman/woman is about knowledge, sure. But it's even more about attitude - even spirit, if you will. It's like a dance, and the mountain always leads.

The opposite of being a woodsman is being "city", which isn't about where you live at all.A real woodsman avoids trouble. City folk either don't see it coming or they arrogantly refuse to acknowledge its potential.

Again, being "city" isn't about where you live. Most of us live in the city these days. I live in the city. But there are a few tell-tale city symptoms brought on by over exposure to city life and city culture.

1. Afraid of the dark
2. Uncomfortable withsilence
3. Uncomfortable being with oneself
4. Non-observant
5. Hyperactive/ easily bored

I've noticed that after a coupledays out in the wilds, my own headset makes a noticeable shift. I slow down and become focused,calm and centered. When I return home, friends and loved ones often ask, "What's wrong?"

Antler Eater

Are You Wood Wise....

I am afraid I wouldn't consider myself "wise" in any department....


Years ago I spent about three weeks hunting solo in Idaho about 1500 miles from home. There would belong stretches of days in a rowthat would go by without having any contact with another human being. It was my one "Hunt from Hell".

The first day up the mountain, after being out all day, and having depleted my water, I took awrong turn coming back to my camp and found myself coming down a very steep slope in the dark. It would be a long exhaustingdescentback to camp. In that descent Ideveloped blisters the size of fifty cent pieces on the heel of each foot (yes my boots were broke in ). They would stay with me for the rest of the trip. Every step, every day, wouldbe a painful one.

About a week into the adventure I developed an abscess in one of my teeth and my face swelled up to the point that it affected my speech; the pain became intolerable. I came down the mountain and searched for a dentist in a small town. I was told the infection was so bad all they could do was to prescribe pain killers and antibiotics. As it normally is for me the pain killers had no effect. I would have to endure the raging pressure and hope the antibodies could overcome the infection.I went back to camp and about three in the morning I couldn't stand it anymore. I grabbed a knife, a light, and a mirror and performed surgery on myself. Cutting out the infection gave me instant relief and I was able to sleep the rest of the night.

I eventually got chased off the mountain by a blizzard after having to stay up all night keeping snow from collapsing my tent. There wasn't really any place I could go to keep dry, I had to evacuate.

Coming home while crossing the great State ofWyoming at nightI hit another bad blizzard. There were miles and miles of cars and semis nearly bumper to bumper stopped on the interstate. I was afraid I was going to run out of gas in these brutal elementsso I put it in four wheel drive and drove on the shoulder for miles until I hit Rawlins. Everything but a gas station was shut down, all the motels were full, not another room to be found so I napped in my truck. When I woke up I decided to push on because I knew if I got further east there wouldn't be any snow it was justSeptember after all. It was the only time in my life I drove 100 miles on the interstate and never saw another vehicle on my side of the interstate (turns out they shut down I-80). When I hit Laramie the snow ended and shortly thereafter it was like a desert again. Two days later I made it home.....

The irony of it all was that I didn't suffer from altitude sickness on that trip. As I have gotten older, every year I deal with some form of it.

buckhunter2054

I guess everyones definition of woodsmenship is different. When I think of woodsmenship I think of it as being able to outsmart the game your hunting because you know the area or terrain just as well as the game does.

hoseromon

everyone is woodswise to an extent. but just remember no matter how wise you might be or how much you have hunted every trip isa learning experience and no matter what you might know good old Gods earth seems to beat you up at one point or another and you realize how much really isnt in your hands.
JOE

LnWolf

I grew up in northern Utah. I spent all the time I could in the mountains. I spent weeks at a time on my own, and the most important thing you can take with you is your common sense.

Washington Hunter

That pretty much chalks it up, in my book.

Whether you could survive in the wilderness isn't so much about what you know, but how you act and react to the situations that present themselves. Granted you do need to know some basic survival skills to last any real length of time, but I believe that with the right attitude and mind-set anyone can survive 48 - 72 hours.