sign in sign up
<<
Home , Ember, Ferrocerium, Fire making, Fire plough, Flint, Match

WMS Survival Workshop February 2021 Preparation List

Given that this workshop is virtual, hands-on training will be challenging. I propose that, to get the most out of the workshop, you read the syllabus before the actual date of the workshop. You will need to procure certain items in order to make the workshop enjoyable and interactive.

During the workshop, short 10-15 minute films on will be shown, with a 15-20 minute break to do the skills demonstrated, or in the syllabus (or maybe you have a pearl of wisdom to teach us)! Then, we will move on to the next subject and skill demonstration. At the end, we will have a debrief. Granted, a 1.5 hour virtual workshop may not give you expertise, but should motivate you to practice on your own thereafter. That continuous practice is what will ultimately give you some expertise.

Having said that, if you have a , bring it to the meeting. We will be covering “no ” making, shelters, water procurement, and food. Please have these materials on hand before the workshop. Items below are suggestions only-feel free to obtain items wherever! An army surplus store, if open, might have.

1. A metal /ferro rod (https://www.amazon.com/bayite-Ferrocerium-Drilled-Survival- Emergency/dp/B00S6F4RDC) and a multi- . In addition, bring a bar (https://www.amazon.com/SE-FS374-All-Weather-Magnesium-Firestarter/dp/B0010O748Q) if you have access, or care to compare. Other fire starting materials welcome.

2. Vaseline, and balls for (fire starting material); if you’re feeling adventurous, have on hand pitch or a large clump of dry grass or other tinder to light. You can also obtain XXXX wool without soap, (https://www.amazon.com/Homax-Products-Finish-Package- TV713206/dp/B078JWWCBZ/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=xxx+steel+wool&qid=1611854077&s=hi&s r=1-11) and a 9-volt battery. If you’re more experienced bring other types of tinder. If you’re really adventurous, try to assemble a bow and . Or, a magnifying (if you have enough sun).

3. An ice water bath to dunk hands in, and matches, as as a cigarette . A towel to dry self.

4. Small very dry twigs for kindling, the size of a pencil lead, approximately 6 inches longer or more.

5. A large fire plate to start a small fire, a grill, , or something in which to start a small fire. Have on hand some means to extinguish the fire if necessary. Larger branches if desired.

6. Tarps and cordage for building a simple shelter. You can also bring supporting material, such as logs, ski poles, skis or whatever similar materials you have on hand. If possible, have a means to tie your tarp onto a pole (s), and with the ability to use an anchor. If indoors, use imagination! If you are near a tree, great! Also have cordage-550 paracord ideal, see https://www.amazon.com/WEREWOLVES-550lb-Paracord- Parachute- Strand/dp/B087QY1N79/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=550+parachute+cord&qid=1611854405&sr=8-5 and/or duct tape on hand for lashing things together. Ideally you would be out in a field or somewhere near snow, provided a good internet connection.

7. Clear plastic bags and a small . I will let you use a match for the candle as well.

8. Set up a transpiration bag with clear plastic and cordage in the morning, in an area that faces the sun all day (see syllabus). You may put the bag over some boughs of a nonpoisonous shrub or tree. If this is far from where U will be attending the zoom conference, take a picture of the bag in its entirety before the conference to show and tell. If able, build a solar still as well. Use a shovel.

9. Bring several pieces of fairly straight or carvable wood (from 12 inches to 5 feet) as well as 26-gauge hobby wire to fabricate some traps. You can use a long 5 foot stick. Use a multi-tool knife to be able the cut/carve pieces. If you are not near a tree and want to do a twitch up trap, I can show you an improvised way for a twitch up which will involve a Y shaped branch that will be deep enough to dig into the ground, or to somehow be able to be fastened, with a long stick, and cordage to attach a rock to the other and. The whole idea is to improvise! So, have an assortment of small and medium rocks-nothing over 10 pounds.

10. If you’re brave enough, procure some insects–crickets and meal worms can be bought at a pet store or a fishing supply/sporting goods store. If you know of some native that you can eat near your locale, bring them. We will cook with a camp stove…with utensils. You’re also free to the procure some of the plants discussed in the syllabus. It is recommended that you cut, slice and prepare some of the food for beforehand.

11. Unfortunately, we will not have much time to discuss signaling but will discuss briefly. The whole idea is to enjoy the workshop given the restrictions that we have. Feel free to contact me through the WMS for any questions.

Be safe, and until then!

Darryl FIRECRAFT WITHOUT MATCHES

I CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT ONE, THANK YOU

FIRE IS ESSENTIAL TO SURVIVAL It provides warmth, protection, a means of signaling, boils water, cooks, preserves food, and is a psychological morale booster. You must learn to build and light a fire under any condition, anywhere, fast & any time. It is not enough to know all the methods of fire starting. You have to be an expert at actually doing them. By the end of the workshop, you will begin to understand how to build one. But it is a perishable skill, so keep practicing in the future. This handout explains the principles of preparing and building a fire using electrical, chemical, friction, solar, and producing devices. and matches are not allowed to be used during this course. Don’t worry, you will do fine and you will be the hit at every barbeque.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE FIRE? Think : To have a fire, three things must be present, they are: (air), heat, and . Lack of any one of these three elements makes fire impossible. Enough heat must be applied to the fuel for it to start to burn. The level differs from material to material and is influenced by material thickness and moisture content. The general rule is that the smaller diameter the fuel the less heat that will be required to make it burn. The more material burning, the higher heat level generated. This enables us to light a match (generates low level heat) that will eventually cause the redwood tree (which requires high heat) to begin to burn. Fuel is broken down into three elements as to the type of fuel.

TINDER: Tinder is a highly combustible substance and can be ignited by just a spark. Tinder’s principal property is that it MUST be readily combustible, fluffy and finely fibered. Tinder can be dry, beaten grass, finely teased bark, cotton, charred cloth, and fibers. Magnesium shavings are another example. Most coarse tinder can be improved in its ability to take and hold a spark by being beaten, hand rolled or pounded until the fibers are fine and soft.

Rolling cedar bark between the palms of the hands to break down the fibers so it can be used as tinder. Then, a nice pile in the palm of the hands is ready for a spark, or

Another method of producing tinder is to select a DRY branch and place your knife so that it is perpendicular to the branch. Scrape the blade down the branch to produce finely fibered scrapings. This process is continued until you have a single handful. You can leave the scrapings attached to the branch. This method allows you to light the tinder and then place it under your kindling. I prefer to trim the tinder off the branch and place it on the platform because I make a lot of tinder scrapings and it prevents me from packing the shavings too close together on the branch while I am making them. Remember, you need lots of tinder which is fluffy and airy to be successful in starting a fire with just a spark.

KINDLING: It is the wood used to raise the temperature and provide more heat so that larger and less combustible materials can be burned. The best kindling consists of sizes ranging from pencil lead size to pencil thick. Small dry twigs and the softer are preferable because they up quickly. Those that contain (, cedar and fir) burn readily and make fire

2 lighting a snap. The drawbacks of soft woods are that they tend to produce sparks and burn very fast. IMPORTANT: Don't collect kindling straight from the earth, it is almost always damp. Take it from standing deadwood or the bottom dead limbs of trees/bushes. Remember, kindling ranges from pencil lead thickness to pencil thickness initially.

Kindling-pencil lead size, and progressively larger dry logs for fuel

FUEL: Fuel is thumb size wood and larger that is less combustible material that will burn slowly and steadily once it is well ignited. Use dry wood from standing trees to get the fire going. Once it is established you can burn greener wood or dry out damp wood. As a general rule, the heavier (hardwood - oak, hickory, maple, and walnut verses softwood - pine, aspen, and cedar) the wood the more heat it will generate. This applies to both dead and green woods.

Types of wood used to build a fire and their advantages/disadvantages:Hard Woods: hickory, beech or oak for instance burn well, give off great heat and last for a long time as hot coals. They keep a fire going through the night.

Soft woods: tend to burn too fast and give off sparks. The worst spark-makers are: cedar, alder, hemlock, spruce, pine, chestnut and willow. Note: Damp or green wood is sometimes advantageous by producing smoke to keep flies; midges, “noseeums,” yellow jackets, and mosquitoes away. Also, they tend to burn longer, so that it requires less maintenance on your part and the smoke produced aids in signaling.

Building a Fire: The first crucial step in preparing to build a fire is choosing a location. Location often determines the success or failure in building a fire. Choose a site that is sheltered, especially in high winds, rain or snow. Make sure that the area around where you plan to build the fire is clear of obstacles (hazard to walking) and flammable material such as brush, stumps and overhanging limbs) which may catch fire and burn out of control. Do not

3 build in low areas where the ground may flood if it rains. Remember: Preparation is everything and may mean the difference between life or death in a survival situation. Preparation:

1. Select the site where you want to build a fire that has plenty of burnable resources.

2. Clear the area of flammable material which may burn out of control.

3. Collect three times the materials you think you would need, which also maintains the fire.

4. Prepare the fire so that once you light the tinder, the fire will be self supporting and require little maintenance other than adding bigger fuel. Be sure to place the tinder on the windward side, so the wind will help you to get the fire going quickly.

Lighting the Fire

Use a platform as shown on the film, to avoid disturbing the fire teepee and avoid poking and disturbing the fire while it iw in the fragile stage. Add larger pieces of fuel to meet your needs. At some time later, wet wood can be added. Now, MAKE SURE that you have sufficient quantities of tinder, kindling & fuel. A general rule is to have enough quantity of each type of material to build three (3) fires. Running around in the dark trying to collect material to nurse a fire along is dangerous. It will set you up for failure and may lead to disaster.

Then, prepare a place to build your fire. Try to clear a circle (5 ft. in diameter is ideal) of all obstacles and flammable material that may burn out of control. If the ground is wet or snow covered, build a platform of green (live) logs on which to build your fire. Do not light a fire at the base of a tree or a stump. Scrape everything away there are particularly strong winds and no cover, dig a trench and build your fire in it or encircle your fire with rocks if available to retain heat and conserve fuel. An additional benefit is you can use the rocks themselves as bed warmer. You can burn on snow until you have a surface of bare earth.

4 Tepee: This is the basic building block from which most fires start. This design is chosen because as the fire is started, the and heat is concentrated on the next layer of burnable material above it. This method of constructing and starting a fire has served me well in all types of conditions and environments. This method is designed so that once you have lit the tender, you can walk away and the fire will continue to burn and grow with little or no maintenance except for you to add more fuel. Once the fire is burning tepee fire designs tend to fall over easily. Don’t get worried, because by that time it has served its purpose of starting the bigger fuel that you have put on the fire.

Construction of a fire Building the Tepee: Next, after you have made your platform, build a teepee design using pencil lead thicknesses of kindling first. Place/pile enough kindling so that it is about 4 to 6 inches high and 6 inches in diameter (be sure your kindling is not tightly packed and air can circulate through it). Make sure that you leave enough room on the windward side of your kindling to slide your platform with the burning tinder under it. Push a stick into the ground, slanting over the middle of the fire site. Then, place several other sticks around the kindling so that one end of each stick rests on the ground and the other end is centered over the kindling and rests on the stick that you stuck in the ground. Do this with several other sticks and gradually add larger pieces of kindling by leaning them at a 30 to 45 degree angle and touching at the top. Now, add the fuel (thumb size first), gradually increasing the diameter of the pieces.

Platform: Use a piece of bark, flat rock, piece of glass, or similar. This is what the tinder will be placed on, and the initial flame started. This platform, once lit, will be placed underneath the kindling. I chose to use the platform method because it is sometimes difficult to light tinder in confined space (especially with gloves on). For example, using a and steel to light tinder that is near the bottom and in the center of the fire teepee requires lots of skill to be able to shoot a spark into the tinder, without hitting your tinder and kindling with your hand. With the tinder on a platform, it is readily accessible from all sides and can be easily lit, then placed at the bottom and in the center of the teepee to catch the kindling on fire.

Preparing the Tinder: The last step is to prepare your tinder before ignition time, making sure that it is a fluffed and finely fibered ball about 2"- 3" in diameter, as seen in the photo above. Place this on the platform and light with your metal match/ferro rod, or other techniques below. Once the flame has caught, slide the platform into the channel you created in the tepee on the

5 windward side. Make sure that you get the flame directly under the kindling. It won’t be long until your fire starts producing warmth and light that you can enjoy. Add more fuel to the fire as needed. Fire is your friend in a survival situation and it is important that you be able to start a fire under any conditions the first time. Preparation is everything.

Let’s discuss lighting a fire from a spark, or coal/ember. This is a skill that you need to learn and practice well. Using a spark from a metal match takes minimal practice, and the technique will never fail, even in harsh conditions. Using a spark from a cigarette lighter is unreliable! Pitch wood and shredded, dry grasses or bark will ignite readily from a spark. Bark from cedar takes more shredding. Sap does not really work. The film, and workshop shows the reliability of the metal match/flint and steel method. It is easy enough that children can easily master the skill.

FLINT AND STEEL/METAL MATCH AND STRIKER: Flint is a stone found in many parts of the world. If it is struck vigorously with a piece of steel, hot sparks fly off which will ignite dry tinder. There are several man-made …ferro rods or metal matches, which are more reliable and produce a hotter spark. Some have a block of magnesium with a small long rod of flint attached to its side. Others are simply a rod of steel. To use this device, place the flint in your non-dominant hand with your thumb on top of the flint, and 1 inch from the end. Place the flat of the striker against your thumb (your thumb will be acting as the pivot point for the striker) with the edge against the top of the flint at about 45 degrees of angle. When you feel the edge of the striker or knife blade grab the flint, rotate you wrist so that the bottom edge of the striker maintains contact with the top edge of the flint. This is a scooping motion. As you rotate your wrist briskly, apply a little downward pressure on the striker so that it gouges a bit into the flint. As you continue to rotate your wrist a spark will be produced and shoot off the end of the flint. Follow through with your hand, as you would in a ball sport (baseball, tennis; GOLF!) The idea is to produce an intense spark of long hot duration so that it will light the tinder you have prepared. REMEMBER: Quality of the spark vs. the quantity of sparks. There are several good commercially made flint /pyro flints on the market. Gerber Strike Force and Blast Match are excellent. It requires a little practice to get proficient but once learned you will never be without a fire.

However, it is extremely important to know how to make a fire from a single tiny coal/ember. This method is usually employed when you are starting a fire from a coal from a previous fire or using a magnifying glass, battery and steel wool or a friction type fire starting device (bow and drill, spindle, , or fire thong, for instance).

6 Here’s how to light a fire from a coal: First, collect a bundle of dry tinder (beaten and shredded bark does well) and softly tease a large piece into small fibers. Place the coal in the center, then fold the rest of the tinder over the coal. Hold the tinder ball very loosely between the fingers. You can gently blow on the coal inside the tinder or whirl the ball round and round at arm’s length or if there is a strong wind blowing, hold the ball in the air, allowing the wind to blow between the fingers. The ball will start to smoke as the tinder catches. When there is a dense flow of smoke, steadily blow into the ball of tinder gradually increasing the strength and duration of the breath. Don’t choke! Soon you will hear a little roar as the coal increases the heat and is able to ignite the material around it. Continue to blow until the puffs convert the smoldering mass to flame. Fire from coal at last! It’s easy but it also takes practice.

USING A MAGNIFYING GLASS: Strong direct sunlight, focused through a lens, can produce sufficient heat to provide a coal with which to ignite your tinder. Accidental fires are caused by the sun shining through broken bottles on dry or pastures. Some sources of lenses are: Your magnifying glass in your survival kit, a telescope or camera lens, and some eyeglasses. Grind up or powder about 1-2 teaspoons of wood, that rotting wood you find inside fallen trees (lots of tasty grubs might be nearby). Shield powdered punk from the wind to keep it from blowing away. Using your magnifying glass/lens, focus the sun’s rays to form the tiniest, brightest spot of light on the punk. Keep the dot steady. Once the punk begins to smolder and smoke under the bright dot, slowly move the focused dot around to cover more area and start more of the punk smoldering. A dime sized coal is good. Now, blow gently on the punk until you get a live coal that glows red and is about the size of a pea. The punk surrounding the live coal will stick to the live coal and start to burn as well.

Carefully add some fine tinder on top of the live coal and gently blow on the live coal, gradually increasing the strength of the breaths until the live coal begins glowing and getting hotter. You should also notice more smoke being produced. Continue blowing on it gently as it begins to glow. The coal continues to get bigger and hotter as it continues to consume more of the powdered punk which surrounds it. Blow with long, sustained breaths.

7 ELECTRICAL: A spark from a car battery can start your fire. You need a length of wire, which you can simply attach to one of the battery terminals (if you have enough wire, connect one piece to each terminal). If you cannot find any wire you can use any metal object that will bridge both terminals at the same time. Be sure and take the battery out of the vehicle first. Slowly bring the bare end of the wire together with the opposite terminal on the battery. When they touch, sparks will go everywhere. Catch the sparks on your tinder. A small piece of cloth with a little gasoline/fuel on it will help (caution)!

Battery and Steel Wool: Use four (XXXX) (or 0000) grade steel wool, without soap, and a flashlight or a flashlight battery to start a fire. A 9 volt battery or a mag lite flashlight works very well. All that is required is that you construct your fire and get it ready to receive the lit tinder. Then take a piece of steel wool (XXXX) grade and touch it across both the terminals of the 9 volt battery. It will start burning immediately. Now blow gently on the burning steel wool and place it in your tinder while continuing to blow on the steel wool. Your tinder will soon burst into . Place the tinder under the kindling of your pre- prepared fire. This method is simple, quick and effective.

FRICTION FIRE: First, the “bow and drill.” A true confidence builder, needing lots of practice. Don’t depend on this as your first means of fire building. Although the technique is simple, considerable persistence and effort is required. This method is labor intensive. This is a skill you must practice to be successful at it. The parts of a bow and drill are: The bow, drill, fire board, and the drill holder (socket).

WHAT WOOD TO USE? Among the North American woods favored for making fire by friction are: Poplar, Tamarack, Basswood, Yucca, Balsam Fir, Red Cedar, White Cedar, Cypress, Cottonwood, Elm, Linden, Willow, and Aspen. Use a softwood, and avoid woods with pitch (such as pine)!

The DRILL: The drill should be a straight & well-seasoned stick from 1/4 to 3/4 " in diameter & some 12" to 15" long. The top end must be rounded as smooth as possible so as to incur a minimum of friction. The lower end for maximum of friction MUST be blunt. The shaft of the drill (lower half) is shaved so that it has six to eight sides. This provides a gripping surface for the cord and prevents the cord from slipping as you apply more friction/pressure to the socket. In the film, I put a hole at the bottom of the drill to increase friction temperature (see video).

8 FIRE BOARD: The size of the fire board that may be split out of a dry branch can be a matter of convenience. The board can be about 1" thick and about 3 to 4" wide, and long enough to be held under the foot. Cottonwoods may need to be thinner. Using a knife or a sharp stone, start a hole about 3/4" from the edge of the board. Enlarge this hole, thus fitting it, & the end of the drill at the same time, by turning the drill with the bow as later described. Then cut a notch from the edge of the fire board through to the side of this cup. This slot or undercut “V" is usually made wider and deeper at the bottom. It should be cut from the edge to the center of the drill hole. This will permit the hot black powder that is produced by the rotating spindle (drill shaft) to fall as quickly as possible into tinder massed at the bottom of the notch. (Generous bundle of tinder under "V" cut!).

THE BOW: Sometimes, it is made from a branch that may or may not have a slight natural bend. One end of the bow may have a natural crotch to facilitate the tying of the thong or it may be notched or drilled to accept a loop of cord. The bow string can be made from your lace, a twisted length of rawhide, or the 550 cord in your survival kit. The cord is tied at both ends of the bow so as to leave enough slack in the cord to allow it to be twisted once around the drill.

USING BOW AND DRILL: The tinder is bedded under the slot in the fire board. If you are right-handed, you kneel on your right knee and place the left foot as solidly as possible on the fire board. Take the bow in the right hand, looping the string over the drill. The drill is set in the cavity prepared in the fire board. Pressure from the socket which is grasped in the left hand holds the drill in position. You can grip the socket more steadily if you keep your left wrist/forearm braced against your left shin. This is the most stable position in which to use the bow and drill method. The bow is held in the right hand with the small and middle finger outside the thong, so that by squeezing these two fingers, the tension on the thong can be increased. Press down on the drill, but not enough to slow it when you start twirling the drill by sawing back and forth with the bow. Only a light pressure is initially put on the socket. Now start drawing the bow smoothly back and forth in sweeps as long as the string will conveniently permit. Often a few grains of sand into the cup will increase friction (therefore, HEAT).

9 After 20 to 30 seconds of continual strokes, the hole will start to smoke. Work the bow even faster now, NEVER stopping the swift even strokes. Press down more firmly on the drill. When the drill is freely and you have the fine wood powder (punk) grinding out easily so that the V cut is full, place extra pressure on the socket at the same time giving 20 to 30 fast strokes with the bow. Lift the drill cleanly and quickly from the foot piece. Sometimes the coal will stick in the cut of the fire board, so use a small stick to dislodge it, so that it falls into the wood dust and tinder below. Fold some of the tinder over lightly and blow gently into the "V" cut. If you see a blue thread of smoke continuing to rise, you can be sure you have a coal, with a nice glowing red ember. Fold the tinder completely over itself, and continue blowing into the mass. The volume of smoke will increase and a few quick puffs will make it burst into flame. A fire plough (in the film) and a fire spindle are one of many other ways to initiate friction fire.

Chemical Fire: This could be limitless, but the chemicals here are easily obtainable (watch the video). Crushed lye or chlorine pellets, mixed with antifreeze from the car, is said to be able to ignite (I haven’t tried this one). However, an old school disinfectant, permanganate (an oxidant used to remove certain impurities from water in the early to mid-20th century) can be mixed with to ignite a fire. Mix a teaspoon of each on a hard surface and mix. Then, take a hard object, such as a piece of wood, scraping the mixture against the surface in a nice, firm stroke, and presto-it works. Be aware that the fumes are toxic!

Gunpowder will also readily accept a spark. However, if it is in a bullet round or shotgun shell, be cautious not to hit the at the bottom. Carefully twist the bullet from the casing with pliers, or remove the shotgun wading and pellets. Pour the in the desired area. A little less than a teaspoon (two .22 caliber short rounds) can do the trick. But this should be a last measure… save your rounds for something else! Similarly, magnesium shavings from a fire starter kit requires a good teaspoon to ignite-but it will burn nice and bright. Metallic sodium is a nice party trick when you throw a pea sized fragment in the lake or pool, exploding with hydrogen, but it is impractical to carry this with you, unless you need to unclog a drain with sodium hydroxide. Lighting a spark with gasoline is simply a bad idea! A signal flare will light a fire nicely, and is a good addition to a survival kit.

10 Be safe! Never leave a fire unattended. If you leave the area, make sure the fire is out. Make sure you protect your clothes and equipment from sparks. The fellow on the left failed to do so, and a big flame on the rear end resulted. Probably had too much “apres-ski!” Avoid placing wet or porous rocks and stones near fires, especially rocks that have been submerged in water. They may explode when heated. Avoid slates and softer rocks and test others by banging them together. Do not use any that crack, sound hollow or are flaky. If they contain moisture it will turn to steam and can make the rock explode, producing dangerous fragments that could put out your eye if you happen to be in the way.

11 WILDERNESS SURVIVAL: IT’S JUST A PROLONGED ADVENTURE! WMS WINTER CONFERENCE FEBRUARY 23, 24 2021 DARRYL J. MACIAS MD, FACEP, FAWM, DIMM

BE THE MENTALIST YOU find yourself alone, or maybe with a companion, stuck far away, lost, without cell phone battery power. You are hoping the whirly bird rescue cavalry will whisk you to safety, but the sun is going down, and a storm is coming. Your natural reaction might be one of fear. Even good survivors are not immune to fear. It is a question of what you will do next.

Within the first three seconds of realizing your predicament, the flight, fight, or freeze response can hit suddenly. These responses can literally kill you in seconds. Will you despair and run away, not seeing the 500-foot cliff in front of you? Will you just stand there, frozen, until hypothermia sets in tonight? Will you fight yourself or your companion? This is called stress. It will erode your memory, observational skills (tunnel vision) and decision-making capacity. The amygdala shuts off logic, the stress hormones climb sky high, and you end up expending an excess of energy…calories and water…which should instead be conserved. Then you look for your survival kit, realizing you have a box of matches, toilet , a flashlight without batteries, some band aids, and a small candy bar. You panic, and hastily search for food, because you are gonna starve! Then your cold hands can’t light that match! WHAT ARE THE SURVIVAL PRIORITIES?

The vignette is very common to an unprepared, untrained individual. Fear takes over, and survival priorities do not happen. The “survival kit” was woefully inadequate, but it is not the kit that makes the survivor. The “it can’t happen to me” attitude contributes to the fear and panic. The first, very first priority is the attitude. Without an underlying positive, trained attitude, the first seconds of panic could lead to a fatal error. Thus, cognitive training under stress is essential. Acknowledging that “yes, it can happen to you, but you’ll get out of it” is the first solution. So, survival priorities (and designing a survival kit) is based on the rule of threes. Roughly speaking, fear, or hyperactivity can harm or kill in the first three seconds, so that must be mastered first. Lack of oxygen will kill within three minutes (attention divers and cavers). Heat lack kills in three hours, hydration depletion in 3 days, hunger in 3 weeks, and no help (no love) can kill in 3 months, from a sense of hopelessness, or resource depletion. Below are the survival priorities.

Event Survival Time Interventions/priority

Hyperactivity/Panic 3 seconds “S.T.O.P.”

Hypoxia 3 minutes Seek air/ descend height

for air Hypothermia/Heat 3 hours Clothing/fire/shelter

for air Hydration/water 3 days Seek water sources

for air Hunger/food 3 weeks Seek food (animal, plant)

Help 3 months forSignaling; air map/compass

So, the first priority when lost, or in some stress inducing situation is tofor STOP! air Stop what you are doing. Take those deep breaths-tactical breathing, whatever. A bit of laughter over your predicament might help. Don’t think about the “what ifs.” Now Think…ponder, analyze your situation, weigh the pros and cons of a given action. Don’t think on negative ideas, but be detached and objective. How are you physically? Organize yourself-what resources do you have? What are the immediate priorities? Finally, Plan. What will you do next with the available resources? Can you look for materials, or improvise? How will you fare this night? This is where preparation and practice pay off. Let’s discuss some of these survival priorities.

WATER PROCUREMENT WATER IS GOOD We will briefly cover some novel ideas on water procurement, since there is much out there with regard to water purification techniques, and our time in the workshop is limited. These techniques are worth trying out, because they work! I will emphasize obtaining water in the desert, since that is the most challenging, and add something about obtaining water at a .

FINDING SOME Where can water be generally be found in a desert? All animal trails tend to lead to water. Follow in direction that trails merge. Signs of camps, ashes, animal droppings, and trampled terrain may mark trails. Flocks of birds will circle over water holes. Some birds fly to waterholes at dawn and sunset. Their flight at these times is generally fast and close to the ground. Bird tracks or chirping sounds in the early morning and evening sometimes indicate that water is nearby. Bees or ants going into a hole in a tree may point to a water filled hole. In the picture above, we found a watering hole where willow trees and invasive Russian olive trees abound. Large cottonwood groves are also areas where water abounds. These areas often stand out in the desert, contrasting the usual cacti and shrubs that grow in more arid areas. Along with green vegetation, moist river beds in valleys may hold water underneath. You can dig at the foot of a concave bank in a riverbed or at the foot of a cliff. I have had better luck locating this type of water in the deserts of Utah, compared to New Mexico or California/Nevada (except at Red Rocks). The spaghetti westerns might induce you to scoop the pulp of a barrel cactus for water. However, barrel cacti are protected. In extenuating circumstances, the pulp is to be sucked and spit out…water does not gush out of these spiny little guys. Saguaro cacti are illegal to harvest. I have not tried one, but am told that native tribes in the day took advantage of the edible fruits, and ate the pulp. Rocks with depressions occasionally hold small pools of water. Bear Gryllis occasionally puts elephant dung in a rag and squeezes the watery contents out into a contestant’s mouth. If you do this, let me know how it goes. Otherwise, wet mud is probably safer, once purified. Blood products or a placenta found by this hapless hiker was an extreme way to rehydrate. But don’t lose hope. On occasion, animals graze the desert, and often have water tanks provided by ranchers. Although needing purification, finding water in these areas are lifesavers. Maps may indicate the location of these tanks, as well as springs.

Cow tanks, Cabezon NM

Evaporative techniques: Solar stills are a waste of your time and energy, but because they are a traditional inclusion in almost all survival manuals and some commercial survival kits, I will mention them. They are marginally effective at best and require a large expenditure of energy to dig and build them. The principle is fairly simple. The size of the plastic sheet determines how big the diameter of the hole you will dig. A clear plastic sheet is needed. Dig a hole 3 feet in diameter and a foot or two deep, cover it with clear plastic and collect the water that condenses on the plastic and drips into a container at the bottom of the hole. Place a small rock to create a funnel into the container.

2 It is important to seal all sides airtight. You can add non-poisonous plants inside the hole for additional evaporation. After a day in the sun, condensate might form. But as seen in the video, little water is produced, compared to the effort taken to build one of these. Maybe elephant dung would work.

Transpiration bags work! They are quick and easy to build. They work anywhere where there is vegetation (bushes, scrubs, trees). Like the solar still, they require sunlight. A transpiration bag system is a continual water replenishment system. You construct one by wrapping a clear or semi-clear (not opaque) plastic or plastic bag around non-toxic green foliage, and tying it tight around the branch. This traps the moisture given up naturally by transpiration, and promotes output because of the trapped solar heat. You will need several transpiration bags for your water needs, and so, should not be your primary means of obtaining water. Plus, make sure you do not dehydrate yourself with excess energy expenditure during the hot day. Allow the bag to get sun throughout the day. Change the area where the bag is every 2-3 days, and deconstruct them when you leave the area.

Water Purification. This is only briefly covered, given the frequency of the discussion of this topic in several conferences. I touch on these techniques throughout the videos, and will discuss a few key items. First, have three means to disinfect water. You know how to make fire, so boiling water is an option. The CDC recommended that getting water to a rolling boil was ok; now you have to wait a minute…or more if at altitude. Chemical and physical options (ultraviolet, and water filter pumps) are other options. Most chemical means are through iodine, which works well, as long as you do not have certain seafood allergies or thyroid disease. “Potable Aqua” is the most common iodine tablet product on the market, with a shelf life of six months once the bottle is open. a 50 tablet bottle of Potable Aqua will only disinfect 25-50 quarts of water, depending upon how clear it is. Cloudy water requires two tablets per quart and they now recommend two tablets to ensure killing of Giardia cysts as well. The Potable Aqua tablets have a useful life of about 5-6 years. “Polar Pure” is crystalline iodine in a small water bottle, lasting indefinitely if water is replenished. It can purify up to 2000 quarts of water. Ascorbic acid pills can reduce the iodine taste. Turbid water lessens the efficacy of water treatment with many of these chemical techniques; prefiltration with a cloth is useful. Plus, a sitting time from 20 to 40 or more minutes for very cold water is needed. Do not forget to dissolve the tabs in the water, and pour a little around the opening of the water bottle as well as the cap. Chlorine dioxide (such as MicroPur) has a better taste than chlorine or iodine, and is reliable. Again, prefilter. Either chemical is sufficient against viruses and bacteria as well as

3 Giardia (for the most part); chlorine dioxide is better against Cryptosporidium (with a 4 hour wait time). Refer to the table below.

Potassium permanganate? This is an oxidant which has a basic pH, and is caustic in high concentrations. It has been used for removing manganese, iron, and from water, and has been used for water purification. However, there aren’t many studies on its use. Some purport its use as an antiseptic, but I am dubious about its effect on skin and tissue=es. However, it makes great fires and makes great signals in snow covered areas. A few grains in a liter of prefiltered water will do the trick…the water should be pink, not purple, so that it does not burn the mouth.

4 Filters. Water filters do not remove chemicals, pesticides, or from the water unless they incorporate an activated filter. Charcoal filters do not remove nitrates or arsenic salts from water efficiently, nor do they get rid of harmful viruses in the water that has been filtered, unless the filter also incorporates an iodine in the filter. Keep in mind filter porosity…Giardia is 7 micrometers in size, Cryptosporidia about 2 micrometers, and the end of Leptospira (1 micrometer) can potentially get through larger pore filters. Obviously, most viruses are smaller, so an iodine resin is needed. Be careful not to clog your filter with mud or silt prematurely by prefiltering your water with a cloth, placed around the intake hose.

Distillation. This might remove heavy chemicals from water, but can also be used for brackish sea water. Dig a hole in the sand deep enough to allow water to seep through. Don’t get too close to the tide. You can throw hot rocks in the puddle, catching the steam with a cloth and wringing the water out. Alternatively, you can boil the water in a container and collect the steam in a cloth, and wring it out. There are more complex ways to do this process with a tarp and teepee, but I will spare you this.

5 FOOD! FOOD IS GOOD! You realize this truth if you have ever gone without food for a day or longer. The first few days are difficult…your brain tells you “time to eat!” Fatigue and mood changes set in. However, if you are otherwise healthy, are you really starving if you go without sustenance for a day? I challenge my students to go without food for 1-3 days. Why? In. sense, it serves as a type of stress desensitization training. One understands how function is altered or augmented. Then, when food scarcity really happens, you know how to deal with it. A Special Forces mentor once told me that civilization is only nine meals away from total anarchy. This probably speaks to the fact that the majority of us are not used to discomfort. If you find yourself without food, it is best to focus on the more immediate priorities-calmness, warmth, then water. Conserving energy is necessary until a food source is found. So, before you get to your personal training in fasting, we will discuss a few common edible plants, and discuss very easy to remember traps.

WHY EAT PLANTS? Plants provide carbohydrates, which provide body energy and calories. The carbohydrates keep weight and energy up and include important starches and . It is estimated that about 300,000 classified plants grow on the surface of the earth. Not all of these plants are edible; however, edible plants are found in every environment without exception. Plants require no resources (traps) to collect. They do not run, hide, or try to eat you. They are abundant (dependent on season, location and climate) if you know what you are looking for. A variety of plants are needed to meet the body’s requirements for minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates. Yet, plants will not provide fats, and are not usually as protein rich as animal or insect products.

WHAT PLANTS TO EAT? This syllabus is not exhaustive, nor will it likely cover your locale. I will focus on some commonly found desert foods, as well as foods found in the mountains that you might not be aware of. “Easier” to identify foods, such as berries found in wet climates, and jungle foods are excluded for brevity. Mushrooms are also not covered. A person in a survival situation should consider two things when selecting plants which may be edible. First, is the plant edible (recognized by the person, or based on an edibility test)? Secondly, is the plant abundant in the area that you are in? If you recognize the plants, and know it to be edible, then determine if the plant is abundant for use as a food source. in your area and should be considered as a food source. If the plant is unknown to you, then a survey of the plants’ availability, and abundance in your area should be done first and prior to performing the edibility test. It would be a waste of time and effort to perform in edibility test on a plant that is not abundant enough to meet your food requirements.

A disclaimer-ensure that the plants mentioned are safe for you if you have a particular medical condition or are on medications.

THE EDIBILITY TEST The edibility test should only be applied to one plant at a time. If any adverse effects are attributable to the plant being tested - STOP and discard the plant!

Select the plant to be tested and follow the below listed steps (memory jogger: sap, skin, lips, chew and spit, swallow and wait, swallow twice and wait, eat…7 steps):

1. Crush or break part of the plant to determine the color of its sap. If the sap is clear, proceed to the next step. If it is milky, this is suspect. If it turns black-throw it out.

2. Touch the plant’s sap or juice to the inner forearm. If there are no ill effects (such as a rash or burning sensation to the skin), proceed with the next step.

3. Touch the plants sap or juice to the tip of the tongue. If there are no ill effects such as a burning sensation, bitterness to the taste, or numbing sensation of the tongue or lips, then proceed further (sometimes heavy smokers are unable to taste various poisons, such as alkaloids).

4. Prepare the plant or plant parts for consumption by boiling in two changes of water (parboiling).

5. Place about one teaspoon of the prepared plant food in the mouth for five minutes and chew, but do not swallow it. If you notice a burning, nauseating, or bitter taste, remove the material from the mouth and discard the plant as a food source. If no burning sensation or other unpleasant effect occurs, swallow the plant material and wait eight hours.

6. If after eight hours there are no ill effects, such as nausea, cramps, or diarrhea, (and so on and so forth), eat two tablespoonfuls and wait an additional eight hours.

7. If no ill effects occur at the end of these eight hours, the plant may be considered edible only by the method that it was prepared. If you wanted to eat this plant raw, you would again have to perform the edibility test using a raw sample instead of cooking it.

Note: Eat a new food in moderation if your GI tract is not used to consuming it. Keep in mind that some plants may be toxic or harmful when eaten in large quantities.

2 TREES Piñon and other pine trees (Pinus spp.): The American Southwest is known for the delicious piñon nuts, which was a staple of the indigenous cultures of the Americas. These trees are paired and are short; ponderosa are in needles of threes. The time of harvest is around the fall season, and the nuts are a good source of protein and fat. Beat the area where cones exist with a stick to get them to fall to the ground. The nuts can be extracted out of the pinecone, or roasted with the pinecone, collected, and shelled. Some might soak in water or brine, then occasionally roast thereafter. They are delicious. The pine needles can be used for a tea rich in vitamin C, and even the cambium under the bark can be stripped and chewed.

Oak/Acorn (Quercus spp.): a common tree found throughout the Rockies and New Mexico, commonly found in the moderate elevation foothills below 8,000 feet. Acorns are quite bitter, needing several changes of boiled water for palatability. It can be made into a bread when ground into meal after drying. Occasionally, edible worms can be found in the nut. All parts of the oak are useful as first-aid in cases where you have inflammation, cuts, and abrasions, as it has a clotting, shrinking an antiseptic effect. A tea made from the bark of the oak, (or of the insect caused galls, or swellings on the twigs), because of high tannin and quericin content, can be used as a wash for gingival inflammation, as a gargle for sore throat, or to wash/soak open wounds/abrasions and insect bites. Some have used these products for hemorrhoids (nice thing to have in the backcountry!) The bark can be chewed for toothaches. Tannin is also useful in the treatment of first and second-degree burns outside the hospital setting.

3 Common juniper (Juniperus spp.): Another unique smell! The smoke or steam was inhaled to relieve cold or chest infections, with expectorant qualities. Interestingly, it has been shown to lower blood glucose in insulin dependent diabetics, stimulates urination, has strong antiseptic qualities, and some species have strong tumoricidal activity. Too much internal intake can cause renal insufficiency, so go light on this stuff! Don’t forget-the wood makes for solid , and the bark nice tinder. A few berries make a nice taste addition to wild game. Some have made a type of gin from the fermented berries. But don’t chomp on too many of these berries!

Dock/Curly Dock (Rumex spp.): The Dock species are edible, but might be high in tannin and oxalates, which makes it bitter, and toxic…so parboil if using for food. They are large, wavy leaves, found near sandy areas or near water areas where stinging nettle grows. Dock has slick, smooth, somewhat succulent leaves; one-half to one and one-half feet in length. The leaves also have a pronounced central vein. Dock might have a slightly sour taste. The easiest method of identification comes from the docks’ underground cluster of yam like tubers, from two to as many as a dozen. They are dark reddish brown with an inner flesh ranging from light orange to dark rust red, and are astringent to the taste. Properly cooked, the leaves taste like spinach. It contains anthraquinones, which have laxative and antibacterial effects, and also have some antifungal properties. Dock has vitamin C. Should you get sunburned, fresh grated dock root placed on the skin and allowed to dry soothes the skin. A poultice made from the inner pith of a beavertail cactus (for the expressed juice), mixed with the grated dock will soothe, protect, and help heal the sunburn. When used as astringent/hemostatic properties, the root is sliced/grated/cut and boiled for about 30 minutes. The resulting tea may be used to wash cuts, scrapes/abrasions and wounds.

4 Rubbing dock leaves on skin irritated by stinging nettle quickly soothes the skin and decreases urticaria.

Common nettle (Urtica dioica): The fine hairs under the leaves and stems are known to cause urticaria (formic acid, histamine and leukotrienes are responsible), but can be neutralized by boiling the leaves, and eaten. Delicious! Nettles are rich in polyphenols, vitamins and even some amino acids and fats. Nettles are used as anti- inflammatories and for folks with prostate issues. The urticaria does not last long but rubbing curly dock leaves relieves the discomfort. Avoid harvesting when pollinating/in flower (very high calcium oxalate), near toxic waste sites, or if leaves are discolored. Find them near waterways, or moist areas of the forest.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): a common weed that makes a nice salad. Can eat raw, or cooked. The dried root, roasted and ground makes a nice substitute for coffee Find them on roadsides, meadows, hillsides and the desert. The leaves make a nice tea.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus): Grayish felted biennial herb that grows several feet, usually growing in disturbed areas as a weed. It is a tall, velvety, erect plant producing rosette seeds and flowers, with velvety leaves. The seeds were ground by native peoples as meal, and the parts can be eaten raw, used as a salad, or cooked.

5 Lambs-quarters (Chenopod album): found just about anywhere in the foothills and mountains, or in waste lots or cultivated ground. Many consider lambs-quarters superior to spinach, and like spinach, loses bulk when cooked. They can be eaten raw or steamed or boiling. Parboiling removes calcium oxalate. The seeds can be eaten whole or crushed to make flour. Unfortunately, the seeds are kind of bitter, so mix with something more neutral. Caution in landfills: these plants often collect and absorb toxins from the ground, so consider the lot where you are foraging if they are abundant!

Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.): Sandy areas, open meadows, sandy grasslands, and hillsides are places to look. Most easily found during August and September because the fruit (“tuna” or cactus apple or pear”) is a bright purple and stands out. It is seedy, but sweet and digestible. The green pods may also be eaten and can be sliced and cooked.

Collect and handle purple fruits with tongs or leather gloves until you can burn off the spines and fine hairs over an open flame. Next, peel the outer skin off of the fruit. The inside should contain seeds and a bright purple pulp, which may either be cooked or eaten raw. The fruit is somewhat sticky but contains a lot of juice. You can boil and eat the cactus itself-good with chiles (“nopal con chile”). See the video on how to prepare. The peeled cactus pads can be sliced and pulped to treat sunburn. The pulp is usually mixed with dock. The mucilage content increases gut food viscosity, slowing/reducing glucose absorption. The effect of soluble fiber in reducing glucose absorption may account for nopal’s anti-diabetic effect. It may also help alleviate BPH.

Lichen (various species): Found in forested areas along the Rocky Mountains. Lichens are a symbiotic association between algae and . The algae are a layer of single-celled plants on the surface, just below a gelatinized layer of fungal hyphae. The algae capture nutrients that land on its surface and provide energy through photosynthesis, while the fungus absorbs moisture, and provides a protective structure for the algae. Lichens can be cultivated off coniferous trees or rocks. Raw lichens taste bad, and are not so tasty cooked either. The

6 bitterness comes from usnic and vulpinic acid. If too bitter after cooking, do not eat. Some bitterness can be removed with lengthy soaking, several changes of water, or mixing a bit of baking soda or ashes to the mix. Hair lichens can be steamed with onions for 12-48 hours with onions for flavoring. A gelatinous material may be produced, which is proteinaceous. Palatability is increased with the addition of bouillon (like a soup), a sweetener, or mixed with berries. Nevertheless, it is found year-round, and is a useful emergency food. Lichens often grow off trees (such as the “horsehair” or “bearded” variety of lichens on the left. Don’t eat bright yellow lichens-poisonous!

Bracken/Fiddlehead ferns (Pteridium aquilinium): They’re easy to prepare and can be eaten raw, steamed or cooked. Collect the young fern fiddle heads when they are just coming up from the soil. These fiddleheads are eight the 12 inches tall and curled at the top. Late April early May is a good time to start looking for them. It is important that you remove all the fine hairs on the fiddlehead fern. This can be done by washing them in cold water before you eat or cook them. These are a delicacy, they compare in taste to that of asparagus; however, most people prefer them over asparagus. A little salt, pepper, butter and who needs rescuing (well, at least until after your done eating). Bracken ferns and ostrich ferns are commonly found in bottom lands, swamps, strange sides, ponds and enriched soil.

Fiddleheads are safe only before their fronds uncurl! Do not eat afterwards. Note: These ferns may constipate: some use fiddlehead ferns for diarrhea. It is also best to cook them to destroy thiaminase (an enzyme that will cause thiamine deficiency-depleting your body of vitamin B1

Mormon Tea (Ephedra spp.): Mormon tea can be collected at any time in the desert or high desert areas, even in snow. The large plume branches are the best and easiest to process. They are long, nodular stems. If at all possible, the stems should be dried before use. However, in survival situation or just because you want a cup of hot tea at the moment and don’t have the time to wait to dry the stems, you can crush the small stems and boil them in water. This may not be the best way to make it, but it’s warm and has a good flavor. For tea, stems should be dried, however you can make a tea by cutting the stems into 2–3-inch

7 lengths and placing them in boiling water for about 10 minutes. The ephedra can help with rhinorrhea/cold symptoms and might act as an appetite suppressant.

ANIMAL TRAPS This section is for the purpose of catching animals. We will not go at length to discuss all the various traps; rather, easily remembered and constructed traps will be emphasized. Complex traps are not covered here. A workshop on more complicated traps takes time. The traps described herein have worked for me with amazing reproducibility. Several traps may need to be set up to meet your particular nutritional needs. Traps are meant to conserve your use of firearms, which might be needed later, if you carry one. These traps are for small game. Larger animals are problematic to kill and are not recommended for the survivalist with minimal experience. Some of these traps will not kill the animal. However, you should be prepared to kill an animal that will be fighting you. If you kill the animal, you eat it, plain and simple. This is not a “game.” If you are rescued, disassemble the traps; they will keep working long after you are gone.

Make sure you watch the videos, where basic traps and use of snare wire are covered. Assemble some of these at home, and have them ready to demonstrate in the workshop.

Where to look/find animals: First we need to locate an area that has animal activity. These are usually near water holes, rock outcropping, meadows, down logs and stumps, and pine trees. They are identified by visually seeing the animal, finding a hole with tracks going in and out, locating active dens, game trails, or game runs which lead to and from feeding areas, water or sheltered areas. These are your best and most productive areas for setting up traps/snares.

How many Traps? The rule of thumb of how many traps are needed to support one person is no less than 20. It takes a lot of small game animals to make a meal. Any extra game you catch can be smoked and preserved for those rainy days when the animals stay inside and don’t come out. Although you can survive several weeks without food, your mental, physical, and behavioral disposition will quickly degrade to a point of ineffectiveness (you can’t take care of yourself and you make a lot of mistakes. In a cold environment you need food to make energy so your body can keep the internal furnace going. Remember: Kill only what you need, eat everything you kill, and remove all traps and snares when they are no longer needed. Always be aware of your surroundings and especially careful where you stand, sit, and place your hands when setting traps. Don’t compound your problems by getting bit by spiders or snakes, stung by bees/wasps/hornets. Above all be especially careful when setting your traps so that you don’t get hit, cut or injured in your own trap.

8 If you catch an animal in your trap, be sure that it is dead or that you kill it before you touch it and remove it from your trap. All animals can bite or scratch, they are more prone to bite and scratch if they are hurt or injured. Be Careful, use a stick to touch the animal first to see if you get a reaction. If in doubt - Whack it! Leave a strange acting or diseased animal alone.

Cleaning Animals: Clean all animals away from your shelter and campsite. Use all uneaten parts as lures or bait for your traps. Dispose of all animal wastes that are not eaten or used bait for traps by burning them in your campfire or burying them somewhere away from your camp.

Simple Snare with noose and stake (prairie dogs, ground squirrels, rabbits). Set a stake near the hole and make a noose (locking is best…see video) with a 22- gauge snare wire sold at hobby shops. These animals are strong, so ensure the stake is deeply placed and sturdy, with the sharp end well into the ground. Put it several inches from the hole and twist the free end of the snare wire securely to this stake. Some will add a second stake on the other side of the initial stake. The loop of the snare wire should be over the hole, sized such that when the animal goes in or out of the loop, the loop, being large enough for the head, will tighten around the neck. The animal will try to get out, likely running in a circle around the initial stake. The second stake might impede the animal from running around too much. It is unlikely that you will be able to safely release the animal, so you might have to hit it with a large branch. This takes courage if you have never hunted v=before, but your life may depend on it. Poke the animal to ensure it is not dead. Then, cut the head off and take the entrails out with a large vertical incision from throat to pubic bone, careful to keep the peritoneum and entrails intact, lest you taint the meat. You can cut the feet off, and remove the skin and cook the meat.

9 Ojibwa snare. Effective for birds. A long stick, or an upright tree branch is used, where the top end is sharpened to prevent a bird from perching there. Using an awl, a horizontal hole is drilled through the stick/branch, and a straight stick of smaller size that can loosely fit into the drilled hole is fitted. Then, one end of a thread-preferable a paracord strand-is looped with an overhand knot with a loop diameter about the size of your thumb or larger. Put another overhand knot at least a centimeter away from the knot used to make the loop. This second knot will abut against an area between the straight twig and the awl hole. This knot is pulled into the hole, but is prevented from doing so because of the loosely placed twig, which blocks the knot. On the other end of the paracord is a weight which pulls the knot, such as a rock or stick. The loop is evenly looped on either side of the twig; when the bird perches on the horizontal twig, the twig falls, and the counterweighted loop goes around the feet of the bird, effectively trapping the bird against the hole made with the awl, thanks to the counterweight. Do not make the counterweight too heavy, in order to avoid amputating the feet.

10 Squirrel pole. A simple snare trap using snare wire with a simple non- locking loop. Look for a tree with evidence of squirrel /shucking )pinecone debris as evidence of their feeding). Find a straight 15-20 foot pole to slant at a 45 degree angle, and attach several loops spaced about 2 feet apart, tied on the pole. The first snare is attached about 4 feet from the bottom. For some reason, squirrels like to climb such poles. If a loop is placed in front of it at the height of its chest/head and goes through it, the squirrel will fall and dangle, making a noise. Ensure that the length of snare wire does not allow the squirrel to touch the ground. This noise arouses curiosity in other squirrels, who will repeat the same action one by one. You will soon have a rich amount=t of squirrel soup. The loops are alternated; the results are evident, as seen in this US Air Force diagram on the right.

Twitch up snare. This snare is quite effective, and uses a toggle mechanism to activate a spring…in this case, a supple tree branch (there are other variations to this, of course). There are two notched triggers. The bottom one is a sharpened stake that must be quite deep; otherwise, it can become dislodged from the upward force exerted by the bent branch. The upper notched trigger fits to the lower stake, both easily made with some whittling. Attached to the upper trigger branch is the loop of snare wire, which can be locking or non-locking. The upper notched trigger is also attached to the supple tree branch, and enough tension is placed by bending and tying the paracord so that, when the small animal or bird walks through the loop, the toggle is disengaged. The noose tightens around the animals neck as the bent branch tension is released, sending the animal upward and strangling it. Easy to build with practice.

Other foods, such as snakes, frogs, and lizards, as well as dead carrion, are potential sources of food not covered here. Campground waste may also be an opportunity for dumpster diving.

11 INSECTS This is a squeamish topic for many, yet many societies worldwide include insects in the diet. The US is no exception according to National Geographic: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also allows certain levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods, as long as they doesn’t pose a health risk. For example, chocolate can have up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams, tomato sauce can contain 30 fly eggs per 100 grams, and peanut butter can have 30 insect fragments per 100 grams (3.5 ounces), according to the FDA”. “Cochineal insects give a red or pink coloring to foods, lipsticks, and beverages. The small, scaled bugs are listed as cochineal extract on the ingredient list”.

Insects are rich in carbs, fats, and proteins. A good exercise in survivalism is to buy mealworms and chomp some down. They’re actually tasty. Overcoming food prejudices is key to survival. Below are some examples I took from the June 27, 2018 Backpacker article. The advice is good. I have not tried the maggots yet, but the rest are good. Keep this in mind: all venomous insects should be avoided. These are typically bee variations, spiders and centipedes. A general rule of thumb for selecting bugs to eat is to avoid brightly colored or smelly bugs as well as any with 8 or more legs. Any bug running around in the open without a care in the world probably has little or no predators and there IS a REASON for this. It’s either toxic or venomous or not digestible due to some prehistoric, thorny armor plating. Think before you eat.

I would also avoid slugs, snails and the like. They are usually packed with parasites and diseases that will kill you in a long, slow, painful way if not prepared properly. Like mushrooms, there are variations that are not edible. If you don’t know, don’t eat them. Blood suckers like mosquitos and leeches (and flies) should also be avoided for obvious, blood borne pathogen reasons. As I understand it, roaches can be eaten, again, cook these to kill diseases and parasites. Just think; if there is ever a nuclear winter, roaches will survive.

Grasshoppers and crickets are extraordinarily protein-rich, and you can collect them pretty much anywhere. Most types of grasshoppers and crickets are edible. If you want to try it without picking legs out of your teeth, you can try a store-bought food product called cricket powder, or cricket flour. Cricket powder is very high in protein, has similar baking properties to regular flour, and has a slightly nutty flavor. If you do decide to go wild, remember: They can carry nematodes, so remember to cook them before you eat them.

Grasshoppers are easiest to catch in the early mornings when they move more slowly. Look for crickets in damp, dark places first: under rocks, logs, and other large objects. Also check in tall grasses, shrubs and trees. Try shaking branches above a shirt, sleeping bag or other piece of fabric, and see if any edibles fall onto it. 1. To prepare crickets and grasshoppers, pull off their heads and the entrails should come with; discard both. The entrails are edible, but removing them reduces the risk of parasite transmission. For this reason, always cook the bugs before eating them.

2. Remove the wings and legs.

3. Dry roast them if you have a pan, or skewer them and roast over flame if you don’t. You can char them if you prefer.

12

Ants. To capture, use your hands, a stick if you want to make things easier on yourself

Method: 1. Just scan the ground, and you’re sure to eventually find a skittering battalion of ants. They march in straight lines, so they’ll lead you straight to their home base.

2. One good way to collect them is to hit an anthill or other habitat (like a rotting log) with a stick a of couple times, then put the end of the stick in the opening.

3. As ants rush to bite the stick, dunk it into a container of water—ideally the container you want to cook them in. Repeat until you have a few hundred.

Capture as many as you can, putting them straight into the water so that they drown while you catch more. Once you’ve caught a sizeable portion, boil them for about six minutes. This will neutralize the acid in their bodies. If you have to eat them raw, just make sure they’re dead first so they don’t bite you. Rubbing them between the palms of your hands helps. They tend to taste sweet or tangy.

Termites are a great source of protein, and since they live most of their lives buried away in wood, they are less likely to carry parasites than other insects. Mature adult termites have wings and can fly. The other stages (larvae, workers, soldiers, nymphs, queens, etc.) can’t fly, so they’re easier to snag. In some cultures, termite queens are regarded as a delicacy. Who knew you could eat like royalty while eating insects?

Termites love wood. It’s their main food source. So crack open a cold log, and collect your dinner. Method: Break open a punky log and grab them or shake them out fast. As soon as they see light, they’ll crawl deeper into the wood. Roast them in a dry pan. You want these critters cooked up crispy

Grubs/mealworms. Is this the one you dreaded reading about? When someone says “grub,” they’re typically referring to the larval stage of a beetle. There are over 344 grub species consumed around the globe. Some of them are small and crunchy, like mealworms, and some are fat and juicy, like rhinoceros beetle larva. The best place to collect them is in rotting logs. You can also try stripping bark off of living trees, or searching under rocks and litter. Find a rotting log. Strip the bark off of the log or smash the log. Or strip the bark, harvest the grub (pun intended), and then smash the log to see if there’s any more inside. Grab them with your fingers—they’re not exactly fast. Skewer them lengthwise with a long stick and cook over an open flame until the skin is crispy.

13 Sow bugs/wood lice. Also called “sow bugs,” “potato bugs,” “roly polies,” or “pill bugs,” woodlice are actually not a bug at all. They’re the only terrestrial crustacean in North America and have a flavor that’s similar to shrimp. In fact, they’re even called “land shrimp” sometimes.

They are extremely easy to collect. Overturn rocks and logs or sift through dead leaves, and you’re sure to find some. 1. Drop them in boiling water, and leave them there for a while. They can carry nematodes (better known as parasitic roundworms—things you don’t want freeloading in your intestines), so be sure they’re thoroughly cooked.

2. When they’re done, strain the water out and eat.

Scorpions are a common street food in and can be found in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and other Southwestern states. They taste a bit like crab. If you decide to dine on scorpion, make sure that you cut the stinger off first. Usually the venom is produced and stored in the top two or so segments of the tail. And make sure you cook them! Cooking generally negates the venom’s poisonous properties, but you can still have an allergic reaction to it. Unlike a bee or wasp, you’re not likely to get stung by a scorpion after it’s dead. If you’ve never eaten scorpion before, however, it might be best to avoid these—but if you’re in a survival situation, you might not have a choice. These living, dangerous thumbtacks reside in dens. You’ll have to find a den if you want scorpion for dinner. To collect, find a jar with a lid or similar, hands (or something you prefer to dig with), a murder weapon (like a stick or a knife—probably don’t use your hands for this one). 1. To catch them, first find their dens. They’ll be low to the ground, burrowed under overhanging rocks or logs.

2. Dig a hole right in front of the burrow, large enough to accommodate an open- mouthed jar, water bottle with the top cut off, or cup.

3. When the scorpion emerges at night, it will fall into the jar and be unable to climb out.

4. Kill it with a stick or a knife while it’s still in the jar.

5. Cut off the stinger, and roast over a fire or coals until it’s well browned.

14 Aphids. Do you remember that children’s book “The Grouchy Ladybug”? The tale’s protagonist is in search of dinner: aphids. Aphids are tiny little insects that love sweet, sweet sap. They’re often green or black, but come in a wide variety of colors. They’re very small—you could probably fit more than 50 on a penny. Now, you get to be the Grouchy Ladybug—but you don’t have to share like the ladybug did.

Aphids live on plants. There are many different types of aphids, and they have different plant preferences. If there are plants around, you’re sure to find an edible variety. What they feed on can affect what they taste like, ranging from slightly bitter to sweet. Just put them in water, boil, and eat.

Grubs and maggots are a bit different—even if they’re both pretty gnarly and maybe not prime snack material. Grubs are fat, juicy, and usually white in color. Maggots are thin, yellow-brownish, and legless. “Grub” usually refers to beetle larvae, while “maggot” usually refers to fly larvae. They are both edible though. So they’ve got that going for them.

There are many different types of maggots. Some maggots live in rotting flesh and spoiled meat. While rotting meat isn’t safe to eat, the maggots are (but cook them first!). They also tend to live in rotting vegetables and fruit. Some even live in water. Maggots are incredibly high in protein and other beneficial nutrients. Find a source to harvest them from. If you’ve got time, and some spoiled fruit, you can create your own by leaving it out. Collect. Boil or sauté to kill any potential lingering germs, eat them, yum!

Note: While the majority of bugs are safe to eat, there are a few precautions you should take: • Avoid Bright Colors: Don’t eat any insects that are brightly colored; their coloration is a warning to predators that they’re toxic. That even goes for the insects on this list.

• Avoid Hairy Things: Avoid hairy bugs; there may be stingers nestled in the fuzz.

• Avoid Smelly Things: Also avoid any bugs that have a potent smell (except, paradoxically, stinkbugs).

15

16