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Category Archives: survival

Balancing Your Back Pack

31 Mar

In hurry and trying to hastily pack out a deer from the backcountry in one trip, a hunter carried a heavy, irregular pack too low and in the process damaged a spinal disc, pinched nerves in his hip, and lost feeling in his ham hocks for quite some time.

Packman_0

 

Here are a few tips to help you shoulder a heavy load comfortably and safely—and avoid the physical therapy and chiropractic sessions the hunter had to go through.

From the bottom up
Stuff your sleeping bag, pad, and tent in the bottom of the pack.

Heavy load
Place the heavy freight—like a meat quarter—above the light cargo and against your back. It should sit above your hips and between your shoulder blades.

Cram Session
Surround the heavy stuff with lighter gear, such as clothing and food, followed by cooking gear, water filter, and the like. Pack the lightest gear like a hat and gloves in any remaining space at the top.

At the ready
Stash gear like a GPS, flashlight, or other items you might need to access quickly in the pack’s lid.

It’s a cinch
Now that it’s packed right, here’s how to carry your pack:

1. Lift the backpack up onto your shoulders. Next, pull down on the shoulder adjustment tags to lift the pack and draw the load closer to your upper back.
2. Secure the belt and cinch the slack so it cups the top of your hip bones. Fastening the belt too high constricts your stomach; too low limits leg movement.
3. Pull down the load-lifters. Once you cinch these, the straps should be in contact with your shoulders—but with less weight on your shoulders and collarbone.

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Posted by on March 31, 2015 in hunting, hunting equipment, preparation, survival

 

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Make A Vault From PVC

25 Mar

Whether you’re storing beans, bullets, or bars of gold, you’ll need a secure place to keep these potential survival currencies. For a quick solution, you could purchase some expensive olive-drab burial vaults, but does it really matter what color they are if they’re buried in the ground? Follow these easy steps, and you can put together a PVC pipe vault for $15 or less.

pcv1

Materials
First, you’ll need a length of PVC drain pipe. Many stores sell pre-cut two-foot sections, but, if you’re planning to make several of these, it’s cheaper to buy an eight footer and cut it down. For each vault you’ll also need an end cap, a female threaded coupling, and a plug, plus some primer and PVC cement. Four-inch pipe and fittings give you a lot more interior room than three-inch line, but the cost of four-inch fittings is roughly double that of three-inch material.

Construction

Apply your purple primer around each end of the pipe, inside the cap, and inside the female fitting (but not on the threads!). The primer dries very quickly. Once dry, wipe the cement around one end of the pipe and inside the end cap. Do this quickly, it sets up fast! Slide the cap on and press it onto the ground to force the cap on tightly. If you don’t apply pressure for 10 to 15 seconds, the reaction from the cement, primer, and plastic will actually push the fitting apart. Repeat this process with the female fitting, but push on it with the threaded section facing upward (solid cap on the ground again). This keeps cement from running down into the threads.

pcv2

Let the fumes clear out for a day before storing any food in the vault. Otherwise, wait a few hours for the cement to dry. Once you have filled your vault, screw the plug in place tightly. If you’re burying it in a damp area, use a little Teflon tape around the threads. Use pipe dope compound on the threads if you are burying it in a wet location. Use a permanently glued cap on each end if you are submerging the vault in water.

Burial
After you fill your prepper-style treasure chest with loot, bury it in a smart, secure, and memorable location. Fake pet graves, flower beds, and under a mean dog’s doghouse are a few of my top recommendations. You can either bury it horizontally or, if you have a post hole digger, drive a hole straight down and drop it in. The vertical option means minimal surface disturbance and a smaller profile if someone comes along with a metal detector. Just make sure you can find it!

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Posted by on March 25, 2015 in Camping, camping equipment, cooking, do it yourself, Off the Grid, preparation, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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How to Use Wood Sorrel for Food, and Hangovers

17 Mar

If you had a little too much green beer over the weekend, don’t worry — you weren’t alone. St. Patrick’s Day may have a rich historical point of origin in Ireland, but here in North America, it’s often just an excuse to chug cheap brews died into verdant colors. So here’s a little shamrock for the outdoor lover who might still overindulge.

4 clover

Wood Sorrel

The little green plant known as wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta) has often been mistaken as clover because of its three leaflets. On closer examination, you’ll find a big difference. Sorrel’s leaflets are heart shaped, while clover leaflets are round or oval. Wood sorrel grows in both sunny places and shady spots on the edges of woods throughout North America and it has many relatives growing coast to coast.

Wood sorrel usually tops out at under a foot tall, and it typically has small yellow flowers, though some species have more pinkish or purplish blooms. Looking much like a classic shamrock, the fresh leaves can be eaten raw as a tasty sour salad green.

4-Leaf Clover

4-Leaf Clover

You can also make a helpful hangover cure with wood sorrel. A handful of the leaves can be steeped in hot water for 10 minutes and then chilled to make a cold drink. This cold beverage looks and tastes like a green lemonade, and has the remarkable ability to calm nausea and soothe upset stomachs, which often go hand-in-hand with the headaches of hangovers.

While there’s no problem with the occasional consumption of this plant, use it in moderation over the long term. The sour tasting oxalic acid in wood sorrel can inhibit the body’s absorption of calcium and possibly contribute to kidney stones over time.

Look for related edible species such as the violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea), the pink wood sorrel (Oxalis montana), and other members of the Oxalis genus.

Have you eaten this wild edible? Or used it to treat nausea? Leave us your comments.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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Posted by on March 17, 2015 in cooking, do it yourself, how to, news, recipe, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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Girl Shoots Mountain Lion That Stalked Her Brother

14 Mar

During the course of a single week, three cougars were killed at a family ranch in northern Washington. The latest big cat was killed by 11-year-old Shelby White, who shot an emaciated lion that had been stalking her older brother near their home.

ML1

Thomas White awoke at 2:30 a.m. to the barking of the family dog so White walked outside and discovered a cougar trying to enter an enclosure of cows and calves. Although he scared away the cougar without incident, the lion returned two hours later and White drove it off a second time.

Later that day White’s three children arrived home from school at 3:30 p.m. The cougar turned up a third time when his 14-year-old son Tanner White was doing his chores outside. Tanner had finished feeding the dogs and was walking back toward the house when the cougar emerged from its hiding spot by a vehicle in the driveway. Tanner didn’t notice the cat following him and walked safely through the basement door.

His dad was in there and said, ‘Close the door!’ because there was the cougar, right behind him.

Shelby White, 11, was the only member of the White family with an unfilled cougar tag.  She retrieved her rifle and shot the cat where it stood outside, just 10 feet from the door. The 4-year-old female cougar appeared “very, very skinny” and weighed just 50 pounds. A healthy mature female cougar should weigh twice that, according to Treser. “It was starving to death,” Treser said.

Shelby’s cougar was the third big cat taken on or near the family ranch in a single week. Two days prior a family friend tracked a cougar within 200 yards of the ranch. The hunter shot the 2- to 3-year-old female cat near the White’s driveway a couple days earlier.

The youngest White child also tracked and tagged a cougar on the property. Nine-year-old Cody White and his father spotted paw prints near the White house  and followed them to the family’s calving pasture. He discovered a 120-pound male cougar and shot it on the hillside.

ML2

Additional tracks and big cat sightings have occurred in the region since and a total of 10 cougars have been harvested during the season. Five were taken by hunters and the other five were killed by wildlife officials after the cats attacked domestic animals.

The number of cougar predations and encounters in the area is above average. Wildlife officials suspect cougar numbers have increased or the big cats cannot find enough deer to survive without resorting to domestic prey.

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Posted by on March 14, 2015 in animal tracks, game, gun hunting, hunting equipment, news, survival, tracks, Wawang Lake Resort, Wildlife

 

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ID the Morel – Spring’s Best Mushroom

08 Mar

When the spring gobbler season and shed hunting is in full swing, you’ll probably spending a lot of time in the woods looking at the ground for antlers and turkey sign. Something else you ought to be on the lookout for is a weird little pitted thing that looks like a small, lumpy, brown brain. This time of year, that organism is most likely a common morel mushroom, a popular item of spring foragers. Here’s how to properly identify this delectable fungus.

mush

ID a Morel
The common morel (Morchella esculenta) is a prized wild mushroom that grows in forests and shady areas, primarily in April and May. These mushrooms are usually 2 to 4 inches tall. The tan, gray, or brownish colored head with irregular pitting is well camouflaged against leaf litter. If you cut the mushroom completely in half, it should be entirely hollow inside. Look carefully for the cone-shaped head to be fully fused to the stalk at the lower end.

mush2If the head is only attached at the top, and hangs like a skirt, you are probably looking at a false morel, which can be very poisonous. False morels (the genera Verpa and Gyromitra) usually grow in the summer and fall, which are great times to avoid anything resembling a morel. Another way to properly ID an edible morel is to make a spore print, which, for a common morel is yellowish. Here’s how do that.

Make a Spore Print
1. Handle your foraged mushrooms carefully, and assume that any unidentified mushroom is deadly. Get the whole thing if possible, but the cap is the part you need for spore prints.

2. Wrap each individual mushroom in wax paper or a piece of aluminum foil for transport. Plastic bags will make them sweat, and putting multiple mushrooms in a bag can create confusion.

3. Place the mushroom cap gills-down on a piece of white paper and set a cup or bowl over it. Allow it to sit several hours or, better yet, overnight.

4. Remove the cover and lift the mushroom cap. Observe the color of the spores that were deposited, and use that color for identification. Some mushrooms deposit white spores, which are hard to see on the white paper. Set a strong flashlight beside the paper, shining across the surface, to assist in your identification of pure white spores. Check this color against several guides, and double-check the mushroom’s structures against similar mushrooms to ensure that you have the right mushroom ID.

How is the morel hunting in your area so far this spring? Have you ever had a bad run-in with a misidentified mushroom?

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Posted by on March 8, 2015 in cooking, do it yourself, hunting, mushrooms, northern ontario, Northwestern Ontario, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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Wild Plants to Cure the Flu and Common Cold

06 Mar

Can’t make it to the drug store right now? Whatever the reason, you do have some natural medicinal options in the winter season. Look for these three plants to lessen the symptoms and shorten the duration of your next case of the cold or flu. All you need is a sharp eye and a patch of wild growth to find these common and potent medicinal’s.

Mullein 
Mullein is a native plant, which favors dry, rocky soil and full sunlight, and is found throughout North America. An easy way to spot patches of this plants in cold weather is to look for the chocolate brown skeletons of the second-year plants. Look for 4- to 6-foot-tall stalks, which often have branching flower heads that resemble the arms of a saguaro cactus.

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The part you want for medicine are the velvety green leaves, which can still be found in winter growing in basal rosettes on one-year-old plants. Treat head colds by crushing the leaves into boiling water and breathing the steam. This medicated vapor acts as a decongestant.
barberryBarberry
The little red berries of barberry contain a compound called berberine. This acts as an immune system booster, helping your body fight off viral attacks like the common cold and the flu. The bitter taste of the berries isn’t very inviting, but eating a handful each day you’re feeling sick can shorten the illness, much like elderberry and Echinacea will. Look for small bushes with small dangling red berries. The two native varieties of the shrubs will have thorns in sets of three growing all over the twigs. The introduced Japanese species will have single thorns growing around the twigs. All three species can be used medicinally. As an additional point of identification, check the seeds in the red berries. Each berry should contain dark, slender seeds—typically two per berry.


Yarrow
This non-native plant grows from coast to coast on sunny open ground, although it’s originally nativeyarrow to Europe. Its most common use is as a poultice for cuts and other wounds. But you can fight colds and flu with it by making a tea from the leaves. Chop up the fresh leaves and add one tablespoon to one cup of scalding hot water. Soak the leaves for 10 to 15 minutes. You can sweeten the drink if you need to, or drink it commando-style. The anti-viral compounds help your immune system through its battle, while the diaphoretic compounds will get a sweat going to help break fevers.

 

Just make sure you use a field guide or guidance from an expert for positive identification of these plants. The last thing you need to do is poison yourself while you’re already ill.

rosehipsRose Hip Benefits
A Rose hip is the fruit of a rose. The wild dog rose is the type of rose most often cultivated for their hips. This plant grows up to ten feet tall and bears a white, very fragrant flower. Once the flower has bloomed, and all the petals have fallen off, the hip is picked and used in a wide variety of preparations. Rose hips are the best source of vitamin C; they contain 50% more vitamin C than oranges.
A single tablespoon of the pulp gives an adult more than the recommended daily allowance of 60 mg. They can be eaten raw, after being put through a blender, or soaked in water overnight and then cooked in the water for about half an hour. Because of the high vitamin C content they are an excellent immune system booster, and are often used as a supplement to prevent or treat a cold. The pulp from rose hips may be used in sauces or made into jelly.

Have you made medicine from wild plants?

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Posted by on March 6, 2015 in Camping, camping equipment, cuts, do it yourself, hunting, hunting equipment, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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Making Waterproof Matches

05 Mar

When it comes to matches, waterproof ones are best, especially in dire circumstances like a flood. Since they’re much more expensive than their pedestrian cousins, you might want to make your own.

cabdle

Use the Candle Technique
Burn a candle long enough for a pool of wax to form around the wick. Blow it out, then dip the head of your match into the wet wax, about of an inch (3 mm) up the stick. Remove the matchstick and allow the wax to dry, pinching it closed to form a water-tight seal.

Deploy the Nail Polish Ploy
Coat your matches with clear nail polish to waterproof them. Dip the head of the match and a bit of the matchstick itself into the polish, then rest the match on a counter with the head hanging off the edge to dry. Survive any wilderness situation with these critical tips.

Try the Turpentine Trick
The easiest way to waterproof your matches is simply to drop them in turpentine. Allow the matches to soak for five minutes before placing them on newspaper to dry. After twenty minutes or so, you’ll have waterproof matches that will last several months.

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Posted by on March 5, 2015 in camping equipment, do it yourself, hunting equipment, preparation, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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How to Make a Quick CAN Stove

04 Mar

If you suffer sticker shock after shopping for wood-burning camping stoves, you’re not alone. Why pay $60 to $100 for a titanium backpacking wood stove when you can make one out of a bean can for nothing. Sure, you could build a fire without any containment at all, but the low weight, efficiency, and minimal set-up time of a tin-can stove could make you a believer. And as long as there are sticks to burn, your stove will have fuel. Follow these easy steps, and you’ll have a lightweight bug-out-ready survival stove in no time.

1

The Gear List
To create a bean can stove, you’ll certainly need the empty can. You’ll also need a pair of tin snips. If you don’t have a pair in your tool box, borrow a pair. You’ll also need a tape measure, a pencil or marker, a drill with a ½-inch (or similar size) drill bit, and a file to remove sharp edges when you’re done. Gloves are a good idea, too,  since you’ll be working with a lot of sharp metal.

2

The Procedure
Remove the can lid completely from a 40-ounce (or similar sized) food can. You could use a smaller can, but the 40-ounce size because one-quart water bottles will nest inside the finished stove. Next, make a mark all the way around the can about 1 ½ inches below the open top. Use your tin snips, spiraling in, to cut this ring off the top of the can, but before you start, determine whether you are using right- or left-hand snips. It will be easier if you cut in the correct direction. You could leave the can full height, but I wouldn’t recommend it. A shortened stove has better balance, and the last thing you need is for your stove to tip over.

3

Next, make four equidistant marks around the mouth. Each mark will be the centerline for the four “teeth” on the top of your stove. Mark a line half an inch on either side of each of the four centerlines and draw a line around the can 1 inch down from the mouth. Using the tin snips again cut out the lines,  leaving four 1×1-inch teeth at the top of the can.

Next, drill eight equally-spaced holes around the bottom of the can wall. These will be the air intake vents. File off any sharp or rough edges from your metal work. Finally, before you start cooking food or boiling water over this stove, burn a few twigs for about ten minutes to get rid of the plastic can lining.

4

The Effectiveness
Once your stove is complete, set some tinder in the bottom and some broken twigs on the top of that. Place it in a stable, level spot and light the tinder through one of the vent holes. Place your cooking pot over the top of the stove and cook away. You will have to remove the pot every time you need to add fuel, but this is far better than trying to create stove doors for adding fuel. It also forces you to set the dangerously hot pot out of the way when refueling. This stove can burn twigs, paper, cardboard and any other solid fuel that’ll fit inside; and it boils one quart of water in about eight minutes. The finished stove weighs only 2 ½ ounces.

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Posted by on March 4, 2015 in Camping, camping equipment, do it yourself, hunting, preparation, survival, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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Stay On Track – Navigation Tricks

03 Mar

Getting lost is one of the primary reasons that people find themselves in a survival situation in the outdoors. It can happen to anyone, anywhere; but it’s much more likely to occur when someone fails to keep track of their location, or when navigation skills are lacking. Getting lost can be a preventable problem, if you take the right precautions.

compass

To avoid getting lost on your next hunt or hike, put the following tricks into practice:

– Get a map of the area that you are traveling to and study it before going.
– Take the map along, and use it and a compass (or GPS) while you’re there. If you’re printing out maps from your computer, don’t use an inkjet printer. If the map gets wet, the ink will run and turn into a rainbow-smeared mess.
– Imagine what the terrain would look like from a “bird’s eye view” and where you are in that terrain.
– Look behind you frequently, especially if you are returning in that direction.
– Look for and use landmarks, if possible.
– Study and remember the landmarks that you use.
– When traveling off trails, use prominent, distant landmarks and/or a compass bearing to travel in straight lines.
– Account for declination when reading your map and compass. Any good map should tell you how much to add or subtract for True North.
– Watch out for gun barrels and other metal items, which can pull the compass needle off course and distort your bearing.

If you’re heading into the woods this weekend, good luck and stay safe.

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Posted by on March 3, 2015 in hunting, hunting equipment, survival, trip planning, Wawang Lake Resort

 

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Tips for Winter Weather

01 Feb

winter

Winter can be a cruel thing.  Snow, while pretty, can wreak havoc on driving conditions. The aftermath of ice storms, while beautiful on a sunny day, can cut power to your home for days and make driving nearly impossible.

Take for example the Nevada family whose Jeep overturned in the Nevada mountains. James Glanton, 34, and Christina McIntee, 25, thought to stay with their vehicle, making it easier for rescuers to find them, reported CNN. They also thought to heat rocks in a fire, then place the heated rocks in the Jeep’s spare tire to smokelessly heat their vehicle. By making use of some ultimate survival tips, they were able to stay alive.

Winter’s not just tough on humans. In early December, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a dog that fell through the ice of Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., according to a news release on the Coast Guard’s website.

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“The ice is really new right now, so it is really important to understand ice conditions,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Disher, officer-of-the-day at Station Sturgeon Bay. “In this case, the owner of the dog did the right thing by not trying to rescue her dog by herself and calling us for help instead.”  Click here to read five facts about ice

According to the release, the dog rested at a veterinary clinic and went home with its owner.

To keep safe, the Coast Guard encourages the acronym I.C.E., which stands for “Intelligence, Clothing, Equipment.” The Coast Guard hopes I.C.E. will help ice anglers and other outdoor sportsmen to know the weather and ice conditions before they venture out. Ice anglers should also dress for the water temperature rather than the air temperature and wear a life jacket. Screwdrivers tied on a string around your neck are also handy to claw your way out of the water if you should break through the ice.

Read more: http://www.gameandfishmag.com/survival/10-ultimate-survival-tips-winter-weather/#ixzz3KIhTHRiG

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Posted by on February 1, 2015 in survival, Wawang Lake Resort, weather

 

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