Hunter Gathering in 2005: Could You Survive?

[wolram]

Okay, so first on the list: Find water. Second: Make chastity belt.

Now come on guys, we have to resist these sirens, and keep this thread pure,
survival is the game, and we all know that it takes energy ,so resist the lure
of the fem fatale, ignore the call of nookie, and survive on your tod with knife
and bits and bobs.

 

[brewnog]

I can make a lovely pot-holder out of some sturdy branches. It's counterbalanced so that it can hold a pot of water (or beans!) over a fire, and you can swing it off the heat at the pull of a stick. Clever little thing.

Also, my favourite fires are the long sort which are fed mainly by one giant log. As the log burns, you just feed more and more of it in. You can even use wet wood; the heat from the fire heats and dries the bit of the log which is about to be burnt. Also, being long, you can put a reflector behind it and use it to heat a body-length sleeping platform. Genius!

 

[honestrosewater]

Also, my favourite fires are the long sort which are fed mainly by one giant log. As the log burns, you just feed more and more of it in. You can even use wet wood; the heat from the fire heats and dries the bit of the log which is about to be burnt. Also, being long, you can put a reflector behind it and use it to heat a body-length sleeping platform. Genius!

Didn't wolram just say to keep it clean?! Don't worry, wolram, I'll stay on him. If he doesn't behave, I'll grab his bits and bobs.

 

[wolram]

I can make a lovely pot-holder out of some sturdy branches. It's counterbalanced so that it can hold a pot of water (or beans!) over a fire, and you can swing it off the heat at the pull of a stick. Clever little thing.

Also, my favourite fires are the long sort which are fed mainly by one giant log. As the log burns, you just feed more and more of it in. You can even use wet wood; the heat from the fire heats and dries the bit of the log which is about to be burnt. Also, being long, you can put a reflector behind it and use it to heat a body-length sleeping platform. Genius!

Nice one Brewy, i intend to catalogue all the ideas that this thread inspires, what would you use as a reflector?

 

[Math Is Hard]

I was just thinking of those stories (or ones like them). They remind me of that movie Brotherhood of the Wolf. Have you seen it? It's French but...

Oui. C'est triste quand la bête est détruite à la fin du film.

 

[wolram]

Didn't wolram just say to keep it clean?! Don't worry, wolram, I'll stay on him. If he doesn't behave, I'll grab his bits and bobs.

You is a naughty lady, and resistance is not futile, but the shields are weakening, so engineering divert all power, we must finish this mission
to survive.

 

[honestrosewater]

Oui. C'est triste quand la bête est détruite à la fin du film.

Watch out, I have translation tools, and I sort of know how to use them! (Don't tell me yet.)

Just to earn some brownie points, I'll make my small contribution: use water as a reflector. Especially if you want hot water for something.

 

[honestrosewater]

Oui. C'est triste quand la bête est détruite à la fin du film.

Yes, but sadder when Mani (the gorgeous, half-naked Indian) dies. :!)

 

[brewnog]

Nice one Brewy, i intend to catalogue all the ideas that this thread inspires, what would you use as a reflector?

You just build a wall of sticks and foliage behind the fire. If you've got an aluminium survival sheet you can use that, but sticks work just fine. It's obviously not terribly efficient, but still reflects a good deal more heat back towards your bed.

Also, large rocks placed around the fire (being careful that they're not explody rocks, like flint) can be useful to take to bed with you, they hold their heat for ages. Good tip for anywhere you're forced to sleep in the open when it's really cold!

 

[hypatia]

When its really cold, yet not frozen, you can bury the hot rocks under your sleeping area. Heat rising as it does, will keep you warm all night.
Both the bark of the Birch and Alder tree will light even when wet, its best to keep some in hand.
I'd love to see your pot holder, I make one of lashings that's more of a teepee shape with joints in the legs to raise and lower the pot.

 

[brewnog]

Hooray, I knew hyp would play fairly in this thread! I didn't know that about the bark though! Other good fire-lighting paraphenalia include a magnesium block and flint striker (you'll never be able to get it cold or wet enough not to get a spark), wire wool (ditto), and a nice mixture 1:9 of potassium permanganate and sugar.

Especially for you:

http://personalpages.umist.ac.uk/student/E.Smith-2/potholder.jpg

 

[brewnog]

You can also cut beech bark into strips or sheets, and fold and sew it up to make some really good cooking containers. Surprisingly, you can boil water in a pot made from beech bark.

 

[hypatia]

Now that is a really nice picture, and I will try it.

Foods.
Any water/marsh plant with a arrow shaped leaf, you may eat the root/tuber, they all are safe.

The roots of Queen Annes Lace, yummy carrot flavor, boil until soft.

Acorns, boil whole with at least 3 changes of water

wild onions/garlic

tender new shoots{ONLY THE NEW SHOOTS} of ferns

Clovers...the flowers made into tea

anyone care to add more?

 

[wolram]

Now that is a really nice picture, and I will try it.

Foods.
Any water/marsh plant with a arrow shaped leaf, you may eat the root/tuber, they all are safe.

The roots of Queen Annes Lace, yummy carrot flavor, boil until soft.

Acorns, boil whole with at least 3 changes of water

wild onions/garlic

tender new shoots{ONLY THE NEW SHOOTS} of ferns

Clovers...the flowers made into tea

anyone care to add more?

Nettles, boiled

Dandilion roots

Puff balls, mushrooms and other "fungi".

Crab apples

 

[wolram]

Thats a great pot holder Brewy, and you are really good with crayons

 

[fuzzyfelt]

nice pickie and close Brewnog, now to really boil a billy you need a billy can with a wire handle, once boiled with your bush brew inside, protect your hand and swing the whole thing over your head three times, the g-forces will send the leaves to the bottom and behold, a perfect cup of billy tea.

 

[brewnog]

Moss makes excellent stock in soup. All the little bugs in it add protein too!

Also, collect the sap from birch or maple trees (cut a few v-notches in the trunk), and boil it down to make yummy syrup!

 

[wolram]

What about them bugs Brewy? i think Earth worms are edible, i hope caus i
ate some when a nipper, are grubs edible?

 

[arildno]

What about them bugs Brewy? i think Earth worms are edible, i hope caus i
ate some when a nipper, are grubs edible?

Sure, both grubs and maggots are edible, or rather slurpable.
here's a slurping tip:
1. Hold the grub between two fingers (don't kill it, half the fun is that it remains alive)
2. Chew off its tail end

3. Put your mouth around the now opened end and SLURP!
When you get really good at this, you'll see the grub squirm as you slurp, almost to the very end, when it has been reduced to a hollow shell.

 

[honestrosewater]

Sure, both grubs and maggots are edible, or rather slurpable.
here's a slurping tip:
1. Hold the grub between two fingers (don't kill it, half the fun is that it remains alive)
2. Chew off its tail end

3. Put your mouth around the now opened end and SLURP!
When you get really good at this, you'll see the grub squirm as you slurp, almost to the very end, when it has been reduced to a hollow shell.

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

 

[brewnog]

Pretty much all bugs and creepy crawlies are edible, and very nutritious too. Avoid any which smell bad, are already dead, or produce a rash when handled. They're fine to eat raw, but more palatable when cooked, - boiling is safest, but you can roast them on hot stones from a fire too. Remove the legs and wings from large insects to avoid irritation of the digestive tract. Do NOT eat the skin of a hairy caterpillar, do as arildno suggested and squeeze out the goodness! Similarly, remove the armour from big beetles before eating. Ickle tiny insects can be ground up into a paste, or roasted and ground into a powder to thicken soups and stews.

Never collect insects which are feeding on carrion or dung, and avoid grubs feeding on the undersides of leaves; use them as fish bait instead. Very brightly coloured insects and caterpillars often have poisonous skins/cases.

Termite mounds: Food goldmines. Break off pieces of the termite mound, and dunk them in water to drive out the termites. You can also put pieces of termite mound on a fire to make smoke to keep other biting insects away! Alternatively, suspend some termite mound above a fishing spot; falling termites will attract fish to the surface. Termites' eggs are also nutritious.

Bees are edible; honey is too but is hard to collect: Attack bees' nests at night, - make a smokey torch from wet grass, and hold it next to the opening of a nest to fill it with smoke. Then seal the hole. Wait a bit, then crack it open to reveal your dinner of bees and honey. Remove legs, wings and sting before eating. Again, boil or roast to improve the flavour. Eat the honeycomb too, it's gorgeous. Make candles or waterproofing out of the wax. Use the smell test and standard plant edibility test for honey, - it's not guaranteed safe.

Don't bother pursuing wasps or hornets, it's not worth the risk.

Cook ants for at least 6 minutes to break down their poison, then tuck in.

Eat slugs, snails and worms FRESH: Either starve them for a day, or place them in a strong saltwater solution for 10 minutes to clear out the guts. Then boil for 10 minutes with herbs to make them taste nicer.

 

[arildno]

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

EAT SQUIRRELS??
Sacrilege..






Just consider how expertly those little hands handle nuts and the like..

 

[wolram]

Any one have a recipe for snail and worm stew? i will give it a try if i can
find the stuff.

 

[wolram]

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

No brains for me, i will eat the flesh but not the offal.

 

[arildno]

Here's something cool to do with snails (the large soft ones):
(that's slugs, right?)
Stuff one into your nostril, and block that exit.
Slowly, the snail will start crawling upwards, creating the most delicious sensation in you. It all ends with a plop and a gobble when it ends up in your throat.
Be careful not to get it in your breathing tube!

 

[wolram]

Here's something cool to do with snails (the large soft ones):

Stuff one into your nostril, and block that exit.
Slowly, the snail will start crawling upwards, creating the most delicious sensation in you. It all ends with a plop and a gobble when it ends up in your throat.
Be careful not to get it in your breathing tube!

I just threw up in my mouth

 

[arildno]

I just threw up in my mouth

Oh, that's a very common reaction for the first 5 slugs or so.
Some prefer to continue this practice even when they are able to suppress their gag reflex, because they want to see how far they can spit the slug. The record for post-nasal-injective slugspitting length is currently 12.7 yards.

 

[wolram]

Oh, that's a very common reaction for the first 5 slugs or so.
Some prefer to continue this practice even when they are able to suppress their gag reflex, because they want to see how far they can spit the slug. The record for post-nasal-injective slugspitting length is currently 12.7 yards.

Can it get any worse

 

[honestrosewater]

Is that safe - sticking things up your nose? I was just looking at a cool sinus tutorial this morning, and it seems there's lots of places for the slug to crawl and get stuck.

 

[arildno]

Can it get any worse

Oh, sure; next stage is to get a ladybug to crawl up your urethra..