The other day I went out for a walk to mark some waypoints with my new etrex 10 GPS unit. I didn’t have my pack with me, which I almost always do, so I decided to make the walk a mini-test of my wilderness skills. After setting a couple of waypoints I walked into the woods and headed in the general direction of my house from a road about a mile away. 
The test I set for myself was: using only what I had on me could I survive a night or two? Which could be tough because the only thing I carried with me was my EDC Camillus knife, which has a small firesteel taped into it.
I was thirsty and wanted a drink of water and I’d need shelter of some kind. The shelter really wasn’t a problem because the woods I was in are full of both hardwood and softwood with lots of dead stuff laying around to make a quick lean to. The hard part was finding something to purify water in and getting a fire started. I’ve never started a fire with such a small firesteel and I wasn’t sure how effective it would be. That’s why I always test my gear before being forced to rely on it in a real survival situation.
As I traveled through the woods I kept my eyes open for anything I could use to help my survival situation. The first thing I looked for was a good sized birch tree, so that I could harvest bark for a cup and some of the excellent tinder it provides. As luck would have it I found an old glass juice bottle (remember when juice came in a quart sized glass jug?), which I promptly dug out of the frozen ground and carried with me. That’s a real treat in a situation like that because that meant I didn’t have to fashion a cup or container out of birch bark saving me time for other things. A short time later I came across a tin cup buried in the ground. I damaged it getting it out, but it still held water. Score again!
I knew of a stream where I’d be able to fill up my container, but it’s usually buried in snow and frozen solid this time of year. Not this time. There’s very little snow this year here in Midcoast Maine, which is very unusual, but it did allow me to break through the ice and wash the containers and then fill them up. Now I had water and something to boil it in.
Then it was time to start a fire. In a situation like this make sure that you have a good safe location for your fire. After finding a good spot I gathered as much dry tinder as I could and then shredded the birch bark until it was very fine and papery. Next I used a big piece of bark to hold the tinder in place and then I pulled the tape off the knife and hoped that the firesteel was still attached. Happily, it was.
I tried the back of my knife on the mini-steel and had no luck getting a spark, but then I found a wonderful use for that Tanto point that I talked about in another post. That tip is ideal for striking a spark from a small steel like the one I was using. In order to get the spark to land in the right spot I put the knife over the bark and tinder I’d put together and then put the firesteel under and it pulled it towards me creating a spark that way. The first few times the spark went wide and then it hit the tinder just right and whoosh! I had fire. I quickly fed it with the small twigs I had laid nearby (always have your wood ready to go before lighting the fire) and soon had a very nice fire going.
After using the tin cup to heat water I was able to enjoy a nice drink and relax knowing that if I’d been in that situation for real my skills and gear were enough to get me through a night or two in relative comfort.
Gear is wonderful and I love it a lot, but skill and knowledge are more important in a wilderness survival situation. And I’ve got to say it’s a pretty liberating experience when you can enter the woods with a degree of confidence simply because you have an idea of what you’d do to survive if something happened out there.
There are no guarantees for survival of course, but you certainly better your odds if you practice your survival skills before going out in the big woods by yourself and find yourself in a bad situation.
How about it – are you confident in your outdoor skills? Have you tested yourself lately?
-Jarhead Survivor
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i say this all the time proper planning prevents piss poor performents
We have a state park near by, and hubby dear and I go hiking every weekend we can. I have finaly found a pack that is comfortable, durable, and big enough to carry what I need. The weather in my neck of the woods varries greatly from week to week, so I have been quickly learning what else I would need in my pack, and making the adjustments before heading out again. Going out weekly allows me to stay in decent physical shape, and keeps me thinking about what I need. Here in another few weeks we will start staying over night, to sharpen my skill even more!
Very cool – I love seeing going from theory to practical application.
Was your wife bummed that you made it back? Ha, ha – funny me.
There was a good article in this BACKWOODSMAN magazine issue about inexpensive compact fire kits. Your basic Altoids case, filled with petroleum jellied cotton balls, with small fire steel (Scout size) JB Welded go outide. This and a broken off hacksaw blade (good use for parts) and you are good to go – even build a few of them and place them in several locations.
Not much testing this past year, I’ve been loaded down with getting out some work and its getting frustrating. As in standing in moving traffic, throwing my shoes at passing cars while drinking shoe polish frustrating, lol.
South Texas doesn’t have much of a cool weather season, it’ll hit high 90′s today, though thats sort of freakish weather. I really need to get out before it really warms up.
I’m doing a no tap water test for 5 days next week which also means no hot water tank usage. I’m excited to see how it goes…
LOL… I tried to get a little fire going while walking though some woods by my house a few days back, the results were sad, sad, sad. It’s amazing how quickly your skills can fade.
Camillus makes a great knife.. But anyways know what ya mean it’s weird when you head out on an unexpected hike, packless, gearless except for your EDC. Makes you gut check how good is your EDC really?
Hey Jarhead – Great story. Thanks for sharing.
You may want to tell more about building a fire when there’s snow on the ground or the ground is soaked from a lot of rain. Did you create a small log base or a rock base for the fire?
Thanks!
Joe
I can get one going with my ferro rod, but am still trying to get the fire drill right. Not having much luck. I think its my choice of woods, but am not sure, as I am not good at id’ing trees. So, I hope I don’t lose my EDC before I learn how to do it.
I like the idea of testing out my skills, though. I think at least one hike a month, and one or two camping trips a year might be geared toward this, for me, and as a chance to train/ spend quality time with the spawn.