JWR:
In response to some of the comments on my article: My point is that is not necessary to carry a lot of “gear” to survive in the wilderness. I’ve seen some list of items you would need a van to carry it away. If we have a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault (and shut down bridges for hundreds of miles on the Mississippi River and cut off the food supply to half the country), flood, tornado, Yellowstone eruption, meteor impact, economic collapse or whatever, your gas tank will be empty very soon and then what do you do with all of your “gear”? The longhunters and native Americans went into the wilderness with only a few items on their backs and lived, not just survived, but lived. It is very difficult to carry more than 10 days of rations if you need to leave in a hurry the rest is “procured” where every you end up. If you make it to a well-stocked safe retreat well and good, but you may have to walk there and if you do you will need to survive along the way.
I didn’t want to get into making fish spears, fishing equipment, brush houses, cordage from plants, wild food harvesting, large caliber versus small caliber, hand gun, long gun, et cetera. My focus was that you will need to take the time to test your gear in extreme conditions and determine what is necessary.
As to the durability of my gear, my pack now has over 4,000 miles in some extreme situations and is still going strong. My tent has over 3,000 miles and not so much as a drop of water in it. Last year on a hike we had 6 inches of rain in two days and all my gear was “dry as a bone.”
My gear is all forest green with no bright colors. Please go to my trail journal web page and look at the photos. Only 10% of the hikers that attempt to through hike the Appalachian Trail complete the hike. If the gear was not tough it would not survive.
Test your gear for an extended period of time in all conditions and you will limit it to just the things that are “necessary.”
You have a great blog site with some great information. Thanks for providing it. – Charles M.
Hi JWR,
I am writing you about the letter from Charles M. It was an interesting read, and great for the new to long hiking, but had some huge holes in it as far as surviving and G.O.O.D. is concerned. First off he stated that light weight boots had come a long way and that we should stay away from the all leather heavy type. This is false and he proved it himself as he stated that he wore out three pairs on his hike! As a fifth generation Idahoan, I was raised in the woods. Hiking and mountain climbing is a way of life in my family, and I can attest that buying high end boots that will last is a must. I will only buy boots with all leather upper, a stiff shank, Norwegian welt, and a hard semi rockered waffle stomper sole. I have one pair that have climbed many peaks in Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Ecuador, Germany, and Australia that are 10 years old! Other than the nicks and scrapes they still have half the tread left! Light weight boots with a soft sole have no place in a long term use situation. The other was the premise that you can carry all your food on your back. He was re-supplying every 10 days or so at a store. You can carry some of the food you will need but you must be able to produce some along the way.
I went into the woods of central Idaho in June of 2002 (diving a 1980 AMC Eagle) with 15 lbs of brown rice, 5 lbs of dehydrated vegetable soup mix, 10 lbs of oats, 16 oz jug of honey, and 5 oz of salt and pepper mix (I didn’t mix it, after that). I had fly fishing and spin-casting gear, a 1920s single shot .22 rifle (with 500 rounds), a bullpup 9mm (with 150 rounds), 20 gallons of gas, 2 gallons of water capacity in various canteens, a dutch oven, axe, shovel, 5 gallon bucket, high lift jack, and a big dog.
We (the dog and I) lived like kings until the snow pushed us out in late September. I ate fish, rabbits, birds, mushrooms of all types, berries, apples, nettles, wild onions, and so forth. Take what you have go to your desired “woods” with extra gas so you can come home, and see how long you can last, and see what really stops you in your tracks. (For me, it was two feet of snow at 7,000 feet over night. I thought I was done but the lower I got the lees snow and I was fine. Could I have lasted the winter? Maybe, maybe not.)
Now is the time to find out if all the things you think you have learned really do work.
Cheers from Idaho, – Wayne P.