Basic Required Skills Originally written for family members Still under construction
This area is my personal list of basic skills that I feel are required for survival in most any situation. If you have made it to this page it is because it was given to you since you cannot navigate to it from the standard weebly site navigation bar. You may still navigate the remainder of the site from the navigation bar above, but to return here will require that you manually enter the specific URL for this page.
You basically will always need shelter, fire, food, water and protection. Resources may be few and the time you spend in this condition may be long. The skills listed here, once learned, will keep you alive albeit in a very primitive state.
There are levels of preparedness that you can, and should, maintain. They were going to be numbered 1 through 5, but I added a level zero for one simple item you should ALWAYS have on you. The higher level stuff can be kept in a backpack or tote in an auto for immediate access when needed. Level one stuff can be kept in a belt or belly bag. Just strap it on when you think you are going to be away from civilization for a while and there could be a chance of getting stuck there. You should always have all 5 levels available, as in, you should always have some sort of food in the car or have the tools and tarps in a backpack in the trunk. The lower the level, the more available the stuff in that level should be.
Learn now! Knowledge is the survival tool that you always carry.
Level 0 - mandatory always carry
knife
Level 1 - always have
knife 3 methods of starting a fire (or knowledge to do so) --ferro rods, fire piston, bic lighter, magnifying glass, char cloth, --steel wool and battery, dryer lint, water proof matches, bow & drill --set, etc., or simply do one of the things to the right. metal container to cook or sterilize water (can be in car) container for water (can be in car) cordage (paracord, mason twine, shoe strings, etc.)
Level 2 - extreme weather carry
everything in level 1 plus: tarp (& ground cloth if able) saw blanket or warm covering more cordage cheap poncho or garbage bag
Level 3 - extended stay or harsh conditions
everything in levels 1 and 2 plus: cook set axe, hatchet, machete folding shovel Sham-Wow or other water absorbing cloth to collect dew emergency fishing supplies poncho or large garbage bags flashlight or other light source (to carry) emergency foods (energy bars, freeze dried, etc.) first aid kit
Level 4 - more comfort for extended stay
expedition cook set water filter system purification tabs more food extra clothing personal hygiene items advanced first aid
Level 5 - extra items as needed
emergency radio portable power camp stoves and fuel tools (including weapons)
You may add to any level as you see fit, these are only my recommended minimums. You may want to add freeze dried meals to your level one or two items. You may decide to have more than one saw or different types of water filtering in case one fails. The ultimate decision is yours. These items can be stored in your vehicle, as long as they are available when you need them. If you are on a hike then they need to go with you.
Water This is something you will need fairly soon if you are out for more than a day. Your body needs about a half gallon per day (2 liter soda bottle) of liquids. You can get some of this by eating vegetation (like fruits, berries, wild greens, etc.), but you will have to end up gathering water that is drinkable from somewhere. If you have just spent overnight in the outdoors, get up at sunrise and collect dew by passing an absorbent cloth over grass, leaves, or anywhere that the dew collects. Wring out the dew into a container and repeat. Be aware that dew collects (condenses) at the coolest part of the morning just after it gets light. If there is absolutely no dew in the morning, then look for it to rain later in the day and be prepared to collect the rain water. You can also cut tree climbing vines at the base and let the fluids drain into a container (make sure it is not poison ivy). It will take about 15 minutes to get a cup full, and it won't keep past 24 hours due to the sugars in the fluids, but it is safe and nutritious to drink. Trees can be tapped the same way. I would recommend something like a willow, poplar, or maple instead of a pine. If you have a spare plastic bag with no holes, wrap it around a very leafy branch on a tree (put the branch end into the bag) and secure. moisture will collect throughout the day and night to give you some extra fluids. The best method is to find a fairly clean water source (moving creeks and streams are best) and boil it for 10 minutes to make sure all parasites are dead. You can filter it through charcoal that is left over from your fire to make it taste better. Look on the main weebly site for more water training. Remember that knowledge is a tool that you can take with you everywhere.
Fire Down the right side we start with the basic bow & drill method of fire making. This can be accomplished with nothing but a knife (or a set of bow and drill tools made from rubbing sticks on rocks to the proper shape and vines for cordage). A shoestring or piece of paracord is helpful. The only way to get good at this is to actually do hands-on practicing. Just knowing how from a video and having to do it for the first time in an emergency is NOT very fun.
The next video is how to make your ember by simply rubbing sticks (like on the movie Castaway). Use this when you have no other choice. It is much harder to do.
For additional ways to make a fire, see the regular Training & How-to pages on the navigation bar above.
Shelter This should be a no-brainer. A single tarp with a 5 to 6 foot pole will give sufficient shelter in most situations. A guy line is required for this configuration. Try to remember not to build your fire under the guy line.
If you have two tarps you can put them together to make a sturdier shelter that requires no guy line to keep it upright. Tarps with a reflective underside will help direct heat from fire directly onto the occupants.
Below is a video on some other single tarp shelter ideas. Remember to always adjust, adapt, overcome.
Food While you should always have some quick foods available to you, you will have to learn what forage foods are available and edible. You will need to get good at collecting foods and processing them before your emergency supplies run out. Don't worry, you won't starve though you may feel like you are. Some examples will be the obvious like dandelion leaves, grape and muscadine leaves, cattail roots and shoots, young kudzu leaves and blossoms, and acorns.
What you may not know is that you can make a good tea from green pine needles (high in vitamin C). The inner layer of pine tree bark is very edible and is sticky and sweet (The Adirondack Indians ate pine bark all the time. Their name means 'bark eater') . The white pine seems to be preferred. ALL varieties of the Hosta plant are edible, the favorite being hostas niagra. Plantains (the broad leafy plant) are edible as well as the buckhorn plant (it has the long bud stems that all of us folded over and shot at each other). Both of these are also good for poison ivy treatment. You can also eat clover. I'm going to stick a video up on just how to do that at some point. Thistles can also be eaten.
Crickets and grasshoppers are good, just don't eat them raw or with their wings and rear legs attached. Pull off the wings and legs and roast over a fire (in a can or mess kit) until crunchy. ALWAYS cook them as they do carry parasites (we don't do the Bear Grylls thing).
DO NOT eat or handle armadillos. They carry leprosy.
Small birds can be trapped, cleaned and roasted, snakes are good, we may have to get used to squirrel (tree rats) or maybe even 'possum or raccoon. I ate dog in SE Asia and it wasn't too bad, so coyotes may make the food list.
Remember that traps and snares work for you all the time and only need to be checked daily. Snare fishing is really good since you will have to be doing other essential work while your rigs are catching your dinner.
Definitely don't forget acorns. They need to be peeled and soaked to remove most of the tannin, but are a good source of energy and protein.
Long term it will be inevitable that food must be planted and harvested. There are plants that can be sown all year and will even grow in the winter. A supply of seeds would be a good thing to stash away each year. To preserve excess food, canning, drying, fermenting and root cellaring will all be used.