Surviving 101

Discussions, Stories, Hints & Tips about everything outdoors. Biking, Hiking, Fishing, Shooting, Camping etc.
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Foxtrotter
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Surviving 101

Post by Foxtrotter »

Disclaimer:

The great outdoors is not television! We do not play at Survivor Man or ALONE or any outdoor youtube hero. Myself and those mensioned in my posts have training and years of experience in different fields and still we learn something each and every time we embark on a journey into the backwoods of Manitoba, each time relying on ourselves and each other to make sure that we return safely to those who wait at home.

Tony: Mechanical engineer and self proclaimed re-inventor of modern neccessities. Expert in using "simple machines".

Alex: Fauna, flora and fungi expert. He's a walking library on anything living / organic that can be found in the Canadian Shield. Terrific fisherman and cook.

Darryl (myself): Expert hunter, trapper, navigator. Eldest and most practised in bushcraft of the 3 brothers.

We all know how to navigate well without GPS. We all hold a Canadian First Aid Certificate. We can all swim, though admittedly I am the weakest swimmer. We do not harvest more than we ever need to and do our best to leave no trace behind.

It was Alex's 25th birthday this past weekend and he invited Tony (27) and myself (35) out for a weekend in the back country to one of our favorite camping spots along one of the many Manitoba lakes.

Admittedly it was a little rush and last minute to organize but we're all minimalists when it comes to camping.

Friday
5 a.m. I grabbed up my basic pack and rifled through it to ensure everything was as I had left it, check the first aid kit for supplies and expiry dates and grabbed my bear kit. Grabbed a few pair of clothes after checking the weekend forcast, threw it all in the truck and went to pick up the boys. Canoe on the roof. Paddles, PFDs and fishing gear in the box. We were 2 hours from our launch point.

8:30 a.m. The canoe is in and the sun is reflecting off the water. Tony and I are on the paddles and Alex is trolling for brunch. The morning progresses with calm waters and scattered clouds eventually turning to overcast skys. 2 fat walleye and a 26 inch northern pike now also occupy the floor of our canoe. Its been little more than 3 hours, 3 lakes and 2 short portages and a couple of shift changes on the paddles and we've arrived at our destination.

11:45 a.m. The skys are still overcast but we know that wont last. Rain is on its way for mid afternoon. Game plan set, we each grab a task. Alex is on fire and grub. Tony, shelter. As for myself, I start gathering some dry deadfall and fell a few smaller poplars to assist the boys with what they need.
Alex has the fish ready to go and has the makings of a scrub fire. He's lashed a couple of tripods together and has tun a spit between them thats lined with fillets, skin on.
Tony has made a larger version of Alexs' tripods and has started to line the floor of the shelter with spruce boughs. Tony's tackle box catches my eye as it lays open near where he is working. My crafty brother has since purchased some upgrades. In side, there were a myriad of pulleys ranging from 1/2" - 4" and anywhere from single to triple pulley. There were turn buckles and quick links and carabeaners and hooks. Packed into the bottom were 10 bags of 550 lb. 9 strand paracord, each had 100 feet. This kid is crazy. But I cant really blame him after last time.

sped up montage

A log crane is built and resides next to a pile of large logs in the back ground. Darryl sits on a stump with his knife as he fashions himself a pulley for the block and tackle out of an old piece of dry oak. Finished he lashes it all together with rope and attaches it to the crane. The stones counter the weight of the logs as they're lifted into place for the cabin wall. The rope holding the pulley block together has worn and gives. Tony escapes with a near miss as the 400 lb log comes crashing down beside him.


1 p.m. The shelter is up and encased in an industrial grade tarp. Brunch is finished and we decide to just sit for a bit.

2 p.m. The rain is right on schedule. Our rods are in the water along shore, handles wedged in the rocks. The fire is going strong even in the heavy rain. We look through it as we watch our rods from the shelter. Tony has brought his rocket stove along for a bit of additional heat in the shelter as he tries to stave off the chill from the humidity.

6 p.m. Its still raining. The fish aren't biting at all. Alex has gone to forage for other means of sustanance. I go with him for an extra pair of eyes and hands. Along the shore of the lake on a large piece of bedrock I spot a turtle shell. As I approach it, I'm met with a hissing. Alex comes to my rescue, haha, and saves me from this snapping turtle. Grabbing a nearby stick, my brother coaxes it into clamping down on the wood while I grab it at the base of its skull from behind and snap its neck. I've never eatten turtle before, Alex ensures me it's not bad if cooked nicely. Alex proceeds to harvest some edible roots , leaves and flowers. Unfortunatly its still too early in the year for the berries to be ripe. Tony is pumped that we get to eat supper. The rods completely motionless while we were away. Alex is a master with his knife. I can carve wood and make tools but this kid is one with his fillet knife. The turtle stew we ate that night was good and would you believe me if I told you that the turtle could have passed for chicken?

8 - 9 p.m. sometime. Its still raining pretty good. We hear some thunder now and then but we see no lightning. Tony is laying down on the boughs and his wool blanket (something each of us carry almost religiously), Alex and I are in the doorway of the shelter wrapped up in our own blankets talking about the cabin we started to build on another lake.
One of the rods bend and Tony jumps up from his bed and scared both of us. We thought he was sleeping. Neither Alex or myself seen the rod bend. Tony coaxed that fish in and back out and back in again to tire the fish out. It was a big old pike and it was putting up one hellofa fight. We didnt have a dip net to help land it and Tony wasn't about to let breakfast shake its way off the line.

With a few alterations to our cooking spit, we managed to make a smoker by adding a few cross members to hang fish steaks from and by wrapping the tripod in my wool blanket after throwing on some green cedar. (Word of caution, never use any species of Pine for smoking. The smoke actually contains toxic resins which are harmful to you and will make you sick if consumed and enters your digestive track). We let that sit over night and by morning we woke up to some amazing smoked fish. It was like jerky but it still fell apart and was oh so juicy.

Saturday.

Throughout the night we all slept well enough. The temperatures didn't drop too much but the humidity was high despite the rain seizing over night. The boys were generous enough to share part of their blankets with me and I packed on 1 more layer with a hoodie and a new underlayer.
We woke to the birds and scattered showers that didn't let up until after noon. We each sat in ceremony around the fire which still had scraps of pike hanging over it. I sat and carved up a new walking stick. Tony was busy doing something with knots and his rigging while writing calculations in the sand. Alex would get up now and then to check a snare he laid out earlier that morning. Once reporting that he found scat from a black bear.

3 p.m. ish. The day passed fairly uneventful. The skys were blue now and the mercury was rising. We decided to try our luck fishing out on the lake, so we jumped into the canoe and went across to the far shore and casted our lines into the shady shallows of the rice that grew there. What a peaceful afternoon. We were out there for about 4 or 5 hours and came back with our limits on small mouth and walleye. Tony and I wanted some rice to go with our supper and Alex obliged, he even served it up in the turtle shell the clever guy!

9 - 11 p.m. sometime.
The sun set across the lake from us in a sky full of color that was reflected off of the calm waters. Its surface only disturbed by a passing loon. Too much sun and sitting around all day makes for an early night. None of us sat around the fire that night as nice as it would have been.

Sunday
Morning came early to the sounds of birds. Its pack-up day. We each resorted to our dried rations for breakfast while we tore down camp and packed up our bags into the canoe. As we pulled away from shore, I looked back to our site. Except for a few low stumps and some matted earth, you'd never know we were even there.

A person can have everything they ever wanted but you can't take it with you when you die. If you're lucky enough however, you can make a few memories in life and carry those pictures with you where ever you go.

Please feel free to leave your own stories, comments, questions /answers, bush recipes, and bush knowledge here.
Returning Soon!
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