The Last Days - How to Live off the Land

As I'm sure you know by now, Islamic terrorists are thought by many to be plotting a nuclear attack on several U.S. cities (in an event that Bin Laden calls "American Hiroshima").

When this happens, most if not all of the U.S will likely fall under immediate Martial Law, where the U.S. military will attempt to take control of cities and communities. Soon after however, I believe the U.S. is likely to be invaded by outside nations, the same outside nations that are thought to be helping Bin Laden pull off his planned attack.

In the seconds that it takes for multiple nuclear weapons to detonate, the U.S. will never be the same and everything will be changed forever.

__ Fleeing into the Wilderness _______________

Where Do You Go?

Once you're certain that foreign forces are heading for your community, you should have an escape plan in mind, that you have already scouted, and mapped out, preferably months in advance.

(If you have a moment, use Google Earth to give you a general idea of different wilderness areas you – if you're still here – can flee to in your state. When you have two or three areas in mind, go to a backcountry store that sells topographical maps (such as "Green Trails" maps), and you can easily locate hiking trails, creeks, rivers, and small lakes, elevation points, and even identify different types of terrain, which will give you a better idea of exactly what you're up against.)

You also should have a compass that you've practiced using, so that when the time comes to flee into the wilderness, you'll know how to find your way without getting lost.

(If you live in a southern state, consider heading North, and seek out an area that receives plenty of rain. You'll have much better odds at survival, and less odds of dying of heat stroke or wildfire.)

Consider a destination many miles away from any roads, however that is close to rivers, forest, meadows, and even one or more small lakes.

This will put distance between you and invading forces, as well as provide suitable hunting, fishing, trapping, and fresh water sources.

Make sure the route you choose to get there doesn't include rivers that are impossible to cross. If you do come to a river that's impassable, the only option you may have is to hike along the banks, until you come to the narrowest / shallowest part of the river, and that's where you can consider making your crossing.

Keep a Small Backpack in your Car

Months before you even hit the trail, you should have a large backpack at your house (commonly used for multi-day hikes), and a small backpack in the trunk of your car. Be prepared. If you're stuck in the city when disaster hits, and have to abandon your car to get home, the small backpack in the trunk of your car can help you survive -- even if you have to hike fifty miles to get to your house.

Items to keep in the trunk of your car:

1. Bottled water.

2. A small radio with batteries.

3. A flashlight.

4. Sleeping bag and string (so you can tie the sleeping bag firmly to your backpack)

5. Extra clothing -- I recommend two pairs of sweat pants, and two hooded sweat-shirts (two sets of each, so they can be worn in "layers" for added warmth), wool socks, and a stocking cap (if it's fall or winter, you'll need to have warm clothes that are sure to protect the extremities). Also if it's fall or winter, you should have a coat with you at all times. A ski mask is an added bonus. Look for one that only has one large hole where your eyes and nose go. (Only wear it if you absolutely have to to keep warm, otherwise you're going to freak people out, and the last thing you want to do is call attention to yourself in a situation where there's panic and chaos.)

6. Dry food that doesn't spoil (high calorie energy bars, for example).

7. A canvas tarp (if it's folded and compressed, it will take up very little space).

8. A good knife.

9. A lighter (actually, pack multiple lighters, and protect them from moisture in a Zip-Lock freezer bag -- you can hand these out to people in need).

10. A candle (very useful for getting a campfire going, as the constant flame will help ignite wet tinder).

11. A compass.

12. Two extra-large heavy duty garbage bags: One you can use as a rain coat -- poke holes in the sides for your arms, and poke another hole for your head. The other, you can attempt to curl up and sleep in, if no other shelter is available, or if you forget to pack a canvas tarp, as advised above. Another, you can wear over your backpack, to keep dry when it rains.

13. Weapons for self-defense, depending on how you feel about that and what's legal in your area. You can do sufficient damage to allow time to escape with a can of bear pepper spray, for example. A bowie knife is also a good deterrant.

14. Good shoes, such as those used for "cross-training" or "trail-running" (it's very important that your shoes lace-up well, so that they don't come un-tied if you have to make a run for it.).

15. As mentioned above, have a small backpack. Nothing big, or someone else might want to take it from you while your hiking through the city. Also, make sure it's dark in color (so it doesn't attract attention), and waterproof. (If you don't have the money for a waterproof backpack, use the garbage bags to protect your backpack's contents.)

16. State map. Keep this map in your backpack, stored in a Zip-Lock freezer bag, to protect from moisture.

17. Also keep a few pieces of paper in this freezer bag, along with your lighter. The paper can be torn into strips and used to start a camp fire, if your candle runs out. Use the knife you're carrying to carve wood shavings out of trees or branches, to help ignite any wet wood you may be stuck using.

18. Last, but not least: 5 - 10 high calorie energy bars (just be sure to check the expiration date). These energy bars should be enough food to last you until you make it to your house.

Essentially, depending on the problem you're most likely to face (which I believe is being stranded in a large city when you're miles from home -- while your wilderness supplies are all at your house), you can decide what you may need / not need in this backpack you store in the trunk of your car.

Important: You should have two backpacks. One in the trunk of your car, and the other (much larger, commonly used for multi-day hiking) at your home, already packed and ready to hit the wilderness.

(Even if you never use your survival pack -- someone else you know will, if you let them know where they can find it. Having a number of articles on survival packed inside will most likely come in handy when they need it most. Remember to pack a small Bible with a personal note instructing them to read the Book of Revelation – so they understand that the 'end times' are really happening, and what exactly that means. At this point, I'm sure they'll finally start reading the Bible.)

You've Escaped from the City and Made it to Your House

Once you've gotten to your house, it's possible that you can live there for a few weeks, before you have to head out into the wilderness.

However, if America is attacked, and towns and cities in your area are being invaded by foreign forces, you need to head for the wilderness immediately, or risk being killed or taken captive.

Finding Food Along the Way

After you've studied a map and identified the best route to get to the location you've chosen as a possible place to set up camp, your next step is to plan your route, knowing that you have to live off the land along the way.

Most people have never "lived off the land". This means that as you travel through the wilderness, you will need to find food to stay alive. Staying close to a mountain range or river system ensures that you'll have fresh water, and will likely also provide fishing. If you have a book on Wild Edibles, and you pay close attention to what plants are safe to eat and which ones will kill you, you can also find berries, roots, mosses, etc. along the way, which are a valuable food source, as they were for the Native Americans.

However, one mistake with the wrong plant can end in a painful and miserable death. If you or someone in your household is likely to be "left behind" for this wilderness escape, they should buy a book on Wild Edibles now, and begin studying it. Take the time to identify all poisonous plants it warns about beforehand, so that you have a good idea of what these are before you or someone else in your household find yourself cold and hungry in the middle of a forest.

Avoid all mushrooms. I've read that many can kill, while others will make people severely sick, and identification is sometimes misleading. All this considered, I think it's better to just treat all mushrooms as off limits.

Permanent Camp

After you've covered many miles, and you're a few days into your trek, choose a location for your camp that is near a water source, like a river, creek, or lake, and offers secrecy. Anything flanked by mountains and surrounded by forests will help, as foreign forces will be less likely to pursue you into the bush. They may see your campfire from miles away, but they may consider it a waste of time to send a helicopter looking for you (by the way, it may be smart to make a rule restricting campfires during daylight, so that the smoke doesn't give away your location -- not until you're many miles away from any towns or cities).

Burn your campfires at night, and burn them in such a way that those in the towns and cities can't see the light the fire gives off. For example, build your fire behind dense brush. Don't build your fire on a barren hill.

What is Your Objective?

Well, what is your objective? If you're by yourself, you may consider sneaking down into the lowlands and joining up with others whom you can trust, and bring them to your camp. Preferably they're Christians, but some may not be. Some may be sent out as decoys, claiming to be Christians, so that they can find Christian camps and then give away these locations to enemy forces.

I can't recommend the optimal number for establishing a camp, but it does seem that the more people you have in your camp, the more chances there will be for quarrels and fighting. You will need a system in place to deal with social problems, and this should be discussed early on. (If you use the Bible as your rule book, your camp will likely get along great.)

__ Supplies ______________________

Solo Tent

Months before you have to head out into the wilderness, it will be smart to sacrifice items that will weigh you down, such as a full size tent, and instead assemble a makeshift tent yourself out of heavy duty canvas tarp and duct tape -- or, what I call a "Solo Tent".

The Solo Tent will be your best friend when you have to travel cross country, because it's very light weight, takes up very little room in your backpack (you can roll it up and tie it to the outside of your pack), and sets up in less than a second.

It's also very cheap to make.

Cut a heavy duty canvas tarp into a 7 x 8 piece. Then fold it so that the opposing edges touch. Then run multiple layers of duct tape along the outside edges and inside edge, so there's a perfect seal that will hold up to heavy use, leaving one side open so you can enter and exit. You now have an instant shelter, that rolls up like a sleeping bag to take up very little space in your back pack. To use it, pull it out of your pack and unroll it. Next, unroll your sleeping bag, and place it in the Solo Tent, so that the Solo Tent fits like a sock over the sleeping bag. It may not seal at the end, where your head will be when you're laying down, but that's fine -- you need to breathe right?

(Consider making two or three of these; especially if it's likely you'll be traveling with others).

Canvas Tipi

If you have a large canvas tarp, or 3 or 4 small canvas tarps in your party, you can quickly assemble a tipi like the Native Americans of the Great Plains. If it's large enough, you can even have a small campfire inside. Cut down a small number of slim trees, and trim off all branches, and then lean them up against each other, and then wrap the canvas around the structure, leaving a small hole at the top (so smoke from your campfire can escape). Be sure to wrap the canvas in a way that leaves you with a small door you can peal back to enter and exit, that points away from the wind. (If the tipi is big enough, four or five of you can all sleep inside by the fire.)

(You may be able to skip the canvas tarp all together. I just found this article in Backpacker Magazine, that suggests a Kifaru 4-Person Ultralight Tipi, which comes with a collapsible wood burning stove to keep the tipi heated.)

Fire / Keeping Warm

If the temperature drops below freezing and your sleeping bag is not enough to keep you warm, heat up large rocks by the fire, and wrap them in a towel to take to bed with you to keep your feet, legs, and torso warm. Be careful though -- I heard that if these rocks contain moisture, such as river rocks, they can blow up on you from the heat of the fire.

If it's really cold, build a fire in a ring of rocks next to where you plan on sleeping. Before going to bed, rake hot coals over the ground you plan on sleeping on, and then place evergreen boughs (branches with pine needles) over the coals, until no coals are exposed. You can now sleep on top of the evergreen boughs, and receive up to three hours of heat, which will radiate up.

Keep plenty of fire wood stacked up on the opposite side of where you sleep, within easy reach. If you wake up from the cold, throw more sticks and larger pieces of wood on the fire, and go back to sleep. You may wake up every hour having to throw wood on the fire, but at least you'll keep warm through the night.

Here's a good tip I heard: When you think you've gathered enough fire wood, gather five times more. That way you're sure to have enough fire wood to get through the night.

Stocking Cap and Ski Mask (balaclava)

If you're crossing over the mountains or find yourself deep in winter, a ski mask is a very handy item as it will help keep your head and face warm at night, when you sleep. You should also have a stocking cap, which you can pull on over the top of the ski mask, and keep yourself even warmer thanks to the added layer.

Mittens / Snowboard Gloves

Mittens will keep your hands warmer than gloves, however gloves make holding items like an axe or rope easier. Snowboard gloves are specifically made for heavy duty use. Look for a pair that has well-stitched rubber gripping along the palm-side of the glove. (Consider packing both mittens and snowboard gloves).

Light Weight Axe and Machete

These are items that you should definitely spend extra money on. A light weight axe is better than a hatchet, as you can cut down larger branches and small trees with it much easier than a hatchet.

The machete is important, because there's a great chance that you won't be on any noticeable trail at times, and may have to chop your way through heavy brush. Spend extra money on a good machete. Avoid cheap machetes, as many don't have good handles, which can break apart after repeated use. (If your hiking pack is too heavy, consider passing on the machete. The axe is more important. Definitely pack that.)

7 Days of Food

Before you even start your trip, you should have enough food in your hiking pack to last at least 7 days. This is the food you will live off, until you get far enough into the wilderness, and can set up camp, and begin hunting, fishing, and trapping. It may take a few days for you to become proficient at hunting, fishing, and trapping (it may take a lot longer than that, depending on how quickly you can teach yourself), which means you should go easy on the food you've packed, to survive on until you start catching your own food.

Do Your Home Work

At the bottom of this article, are links to websites with diagrams and instructions for making a hunting bow, making / using snares to trap small animals, and techniques using rocks and sticks for "funneling" fish into various traps. Print these articles out and keep them in a Zip-Lock freezer bag, and pack them in your backpack. If you're forced into a survival situation, you will have the information you need to survive at hand, which will make it much easier than not having this information. You may actually survive.

Hiking Pack

If your pack is already stocked when disaster hits, you will be ready to make your escape into the wilderness.

In preparing for this trip into the Wild, stock your hiking pack with plenty of freeze-dried food (most often sold at back-country stores, and also online), and high calorie energy bars. Be sure to pack at least two large bottles of water. You're going to need plenty of fluid to get you to where you're going. If you come across lakes or rivers along the way, you can always start a campfire and boil water, and then refill your water bottles.

Distance

If the worst case scenario hits, which is foreign military forces are invading the country, and are parachuting into your community, you'll probably want to hike at least three days into the wilderness, and put about twenty - thirty miles between you and them as quickly as possible.

After you're two or three days into the wilderness, you can consider setting up a temporary camp where you can rest for a day or two, and try to get your bearings. Study your map, and the surrounding geography, and figure out where exactly you're heading and how you're going to get there. If it is winter and your goal is to pass over the mountains, you may have to wait in the lowlands until late spring, especially if all you see is snow on the mountains and forest.

Firestarter

- Candles are excellent fire starters. Of course, you'll need a lighter or a match to ignite the candle, but once it's lit, you can place the candle in the ground, and stack tinder and sticks over it until you get a fire going, and then remove the candle and put it back in your backpack. The candle is great because you can use it to ignite damp tinder, due to the constant heat from the candle, which will quickly dry the tinder out and ignite it.

- Keep "000" steel wool. If you get into trouble and need to start a fire, the steel wool is one of the best tinder that will start even wet twigs

- While in the woods, collect the moss (lichen) hanging from the branches of fir and pine trees. This moss is found through out the Pacific Northwest. Place it in your pocket to dry. Once dried, you can light it with a simple spark from a flint bar.

- Another method is using cotton balls with Vaseline worked into them. It also can be ignited with a spark and burns hot. All though this second method really does not represent true wilderness skills, it is excellent for a survival situation. When putting your survival pack together, pack a number of cotton balls into a Zip-Lock bag, that have already been rubbed with vaseline.

- Lighter / Matches - Pack a number of lighters and wooden matches, and keep inside a Zip-Lock freezer bag to protect from moisture. The lighters / maches can be used while you teach yourself how to start a fire from primitive methods (see below). By the time your lighters / matches run out, you should be proficient at fire making.

Water

There is a lot of information on water procurement. To keep this article as short as possible, I thought the best thing I could do is post links to articles on other sites, that detail water procurement and purification. If you're putting together a survival pack, I recommend copying these articles into a word processing document on your computer, and then printing each one off, and placing these in a large Zip-Lock freezer bag, to bring with you into the wilderness.

You should consider practicing these methods in your spare time.

Natural Water Filtration Devices

Wildwood Survival - Water Purification

Survival Skills - Water

Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping

Like water procurement, there is a ton of information on hunting, fishing, and trapping in a variety of survival situations. I encourage you to copy and print the following articles on setting snares, making a bow and arrow in the wilderness, building fish traps, and food preparation of fish and game.

Survival IQ: Fishing Devices

How to Catch and Spear Fish

Survival IQ: Traps and Snares

Rabbit Snaring

Survival IQ: Killing Devices

Paiute Deadfall

Survival IQ: Preparation of fish and game for cooking and storage

Ranger Digest-Outdoor Tips - Snaring Game

Buckshot's Survival Snaring Video Or DVD

Deer Snares for Survival

Sub-Urban Trapping

How to Make a Bow and Arrow

Spear Thrower - Modern look at effective ancient hunting tool

Wild Edibles

I suggest buying one or two books on Wild Edibles that cover the area that you're likely to flee to. If you live in the U.S., you'll want a book on Wild Edibles that covers nearby states. However, if you live in another part of the world, such as Australia or Great Britain, you'll want a book that covers that area.

(By the way, I saw the movie Children of Men. When all Hell breaks loose, Great Britain is the last place I'd want to be).

Books: The Illustrated Guide to Edible Wild Plants

Books: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and central North America

Eating Insects

There are quite a few species of insects that are edible, and many are nutritious, and may in fact save your life. This is a topic I suggest you read more indepth on, and I've included links:

Edible Bugs

Hypothermia / First Aid

If you fall into a river, immediately get out and get a fire started, and strip down naked, out of your wet clothes. Prop your wet clothes up by the fire, so that they will dry out. You're going to be shivering and shaking, and you need to warm up as quickly as possible. Start doing push ups and jump ups next to the fire; any physical exertion you can do will keep blood flowing to your extremities and help you warm up faster. When your clothes are thoroughly dry from the fire, you can put them back on and head back out on the trail.

Clothing

Extra large Poncho

Water proof all weather pants

Hiking boots

Waterproof boots (knee high)

Wool socks

Snowboard gloves (they're heavy duty, warm, and made for snow)

Snowboard pants (they're heavy duty, warm, and made for snow)

Wool stocking cap

Single hole ski mask

Backpacking Parka (winter coat) - (How to buy a backpacking parka)

Hooded sweat shirt (two, so they can be worn in layers)

Heavy duty sweat pants (two, so they can be worn in layers)

Long underwear

Shorts (for spear fishing and river crossing)

Survival Gear

External-Frame Backpack - (How to buy an External-frame backpack). Compared to Internal-frame packs, External-frame packs are cheaper, simpler in design, have more compartments, are easier to load and unload, can often carry heavier loads, and allow for more circulation between the pack and your back.

Bowie Knife - (Examples)

Flint and steel - Small device that creates a hot spark when struck with a knife. Works when wet, and good for repeat use.

Lighters / Wooden Matches - Use these to start campfires, until you learn how to create a fire using primitive methods. Once you can start a fire using primitive methods, save your lighters / matches for emergencies only.

Mess Kit (small cooking pots with breakaway handles which are lightweight and take up very little space in your pack).

Lightweight Axe - Very important. Chop firewood; build shelter; even build a cabin. (Examples)

20 Gauge Wire - Very important, and most likely will save your life on multiple occassions. Use to make snares to catch rabbits and squirrels. (You can find this at most hardware stores, and at any Lowes or Home Depot.)

Compass - (How to use a compass)

Cold weather sleeping bag - Choose a rating that will keep you warm at a minimum of zero degrees farenheit. If you live in northern climates, such as Canada or Alaska, go with a bag that has an even colder temperature rating than that. (Examples)

Tarp - Very important for weather-proofing your shelter. To save space in your pack, roll it up and tie it to the outside of your pack. Also, makes an excellent "rain-catch", for collecting rain water, for drinking.

Rope - Use for lashing together shelter; hanging up tarp over temporary camp; crossing rivers; hauling firewood;

Knife sharpener / Axe sharpener - Very important. Without it, the blades on your axe and bowie knife can quickly dull. (Example)

Bear pepper spray - About the only thing that offers any proven protection from a grizzly bear attack (also works great on humans, if you come across any who are out to do harm).

Hemp cord - (suggested string for making a hunting bow).

Arrows - Arrows sold at outdoor / hunting stores are cheap and lightweight. Buying arrows from a store will save you the burden of making arrows in the wilderness. Consider buying 10-15 arrows. Educate yourself on arrowheads, and which type are suggested for deer hunting, elk hunting, etc.

Gorilla glue - Use to make repairs to hiking boots, arrows, etc.

Medicine Kit - Bandages, antibiotic cream (such as Neosporin), Ibuprofen (pain reliever, fever reducer).

Cooking Grill (just take the one from the oven of your house, and tie it to your pack; it's durable and lightweight).

Survival Manual - A good manual will provide instructions on fire-making, shelters, snow shelters, first aid, natural medicine, finding water, and finding food. Choose a manual specific to your area (mountain, desert, tundra, rain forest, etc.)

Zip-lock freezer bags - Protect your maps, survival manuals, Bible, and survival articles.

Collapsible shovel - This is an extra item to take along, if your pack doesn't weigh too much.

Water containers - Lash two empty water containers (with tops that seal) to the outside of your pack. These should be big enough to hold at least two gallons of water each. Choose water containers that will last under repeat use, and will not break if dropped. These water containers will come in daily use when living in the wilderness. Use one container to collect "dirty water" from rivers and lakes. Use the other to contain "purified water", as you procure it through filtration and boiling. Do not confuse the two containers.

Tooth brush and tooth paste - If you ration out your tooth paste (using a small amount every other day, for example), you may be able to stretch your toothpaste out for many months.

Dental floss - Take care of your teeth in the wilderness. There are no dentists, and having teeth go bad is a painful way to live. (Dental floss can also be used as emergency fishing line.)

Fishing kit - Pack hooks and lures. Tie to your dental floss or fishing line. Preferably, you should have a long roll of fishing line. Re-use hooks and fishing line, as much as possible.

Other items - Fingernail clippers, small sewing kit, scissors.

Survival Tips

The following tips are from Wilderness Ways Survival Tips. At this link are many more survival tips. I recommend reading and copying those you like, and then adding them to the Zip-Lock bag of survival articles you're putting together.

Hunting - To help disguise your natural human scent just before the hunt, try this method taught to me by a true (old-time) woods-man. When your warming up next to the fire on that chilly morning Just before daylight; Before putting out your fire and it has burnt down, lay a large portion of fresh cut GREEN pine needles on your coals. When they start up a good cloud of smoke, start jumping through the smoke several times while in your hunting clothes for the day. Be sure to close your eyes when doing this, as the sap smoke may burn your eyes a little. The pine sap and odor will coat you and your clothes with a layer of pine scented residue. The odor is pleasing, and if you have a very light sticky feeling (which shouldn't last long before drying) the sap smoke has done it's job. Be sure to coat your boots real well by holding your feet in the smoke about twice as long, as it will ware off quicker while walking to your hide.

Fishing in a Lake, Creek, or River - The next time you're fishing in a creek, try finding mussels or freshwater snails in the shallows of the creek. If the creek is fast running try looking around the downstream side of a sunken log or stone. The snails prefer these areas of calmer water. Mussels can be found in shallow sandy flats of the creek. Their shells are black usually and they can be seen fairly easily against light colored sand. Once you obtain a few snails or mussels crack them open and use them for fish bait. Both the mussel and the freshwater snail have hard bodies and you can often use the same snail or mussel to catch several fish. Bream love them.

Miscellaneous tips

- Don't neglect your teeth when you're out in the wild. In fact, I would suggest taking extra special care of them. This is one area "where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

- Pack Bandannas. You can filter particles from water, prior to boiling, and use as a tourniquet.

- Don't get "lost". When embarking on fishing / hunting runs, or covering a large area to collect berries and roots, etc., always know how to get back to your camp. Keep survival items on you at all times: Carry a water bottle, a bowie knife, fire starter, and if you have it, food.

- Don't sleep in the clothes you cooked in -- bears and other animals can be attracted to the smell. Keep any "contaminated" clothing and food scraps a good distance away from camp, and high out of reach of bears (for example, by hanging from a tree branch). As soon as possible, wash this clothing in streams and rivers by immersing in water and rubbing with sand. Wash all cooking tools in the same fashion, as soon as possible, to remove the smell of food.

- Smoke any meat you get as soon as you kill it. It will last longer. You must be fast and efficient about this. If you hesitate, flies may soon land on the meat and contaminate it. The moment flies land on the meat, they are likely laying larvae, and your meat will soon be crawling with maggots. In the end, prepare and smoke as much meat as possible before the flies arrive.

- If intestinal contents contact meat, consider the meat contaminated; cut off and discard affected area. Proper carcass care in the field is vital to preserving wild game. Big game animals should be field dressed immediately to cool the carcass and then hung by the head to allow the body cavity to drain thoroughly.

- Never sleep directly on the ground as it will sap your body heat and chill you faster. Instead, to help retain body heat, lie on leaves and evergreen boughs.

- Have two or more plans or projects going at all times. That way, regardless of weather, materials shortage, or whatever other variables may come up, you will be able to keep yourself occupied. This also helps to prevent disappointment and keeps your spirits up. This is very important in the wilderness.

- A sure way to keep warm is to carry a candle with a candle holder and an extra large poncho. Pile a layer of insulation on the ground. Sit down on that insulation pile and have your extra large poncho totally enclose your body, including your head, and light the candle. In this small space the air will quickly heat up. It is best to have a candle holder with a protective top so you don't end up burning your poncho should it fall on the candle flame. This set up can keep you warm in an emergency situation. You will need an extra large poncho to totally enclose your body when you sit on the ground. Don't forget to put that layer of insulation under you.

FURTHER READING -

One Week in the Wilderness

How to Make a Bow and arrow

How to Make Emergency Snowshoes

How to Make Snowshoes

How to Make Primitive Snowshoes

Native American Inventions: Kayak, Toboggan, Birch Bark Canoe, and Moccasins

Start a fire

Review of flint, lighters, and campfire construction

Seven Ways To Light a Fire Without a Match

Swedish FireSteel�. Sparks will fly.

Shelter

Canvas Tarps

Kifaru 4-Person Ultralight Tipi

Food