wilderness survival
Are there any good wilderness survival games?
Im looking for a game where you have to survive in the wilderness and get your own food and a shelter and that kind of thing.
Ummmm... Turok?
| Account limit of 2098 requests per hour exceeded.
|
Any experts on Alaska,and/or wilderness survival?
I'm a big fan of wilderness survival. I want to learn everything I can on the subject,move to Alaska,and live off of the grid,maybe even teach others this way of life.Are there any experts out there with advice on the subject? Where do I start?What should I know,beforehand? Any advice,such as links to websites,schools,chat rooms,etc. would be helpful.I have a ton of questions about Alaska,alone.So,if you are a resident of Alaska,please feel free to contact me.
I disagree with the poster who said it takes a lot of money to pursue wilderness survival. Because when I'm doing wilderness travel, I'm spending very little money for either supplies or equipment. And the people I know who live off the grid all did to SAVE money. Build your own cabin, pay for no phone, no cell phone, no electricity, no gas, no heating oil, no homeowner's insurance, no mortgage, no cable or DSL.
Experts: Sure there are people who get themselves dropped in the wilderness with nothing but a knife, water bottle and a 4-person camera crew. But more importantly, there are people who are DOING it. Not as a stunt, a vacation, a corporate team-building exercise or a media event. But just as a way of life. How to meet them? Go to the end of the road or hang out in any resupplying town (Fairbanks, Kenai, Glenellen or better yet Eagle, Circle, Kasilof, Nikiski). Just look for the guy in the dirty smeared Carhartts who smells of wood smoke and a lack of indoor plumbing. Buy him lunch. Better yet, buy him a shower and then buy him lunch. Pick his brain, ask about the local off-the-grid culture, characters and opportunities. Do that a few times with different folks and you'll get a great picture of the area and maybe find someone to hook up with.
Most of the websites I've seen are more fantasy scenerios for the desk-bound. The perfect knife, the ideal wilderness survival kit, how to pilot a jetliner if all the paid pilots get killed, blah, blah, blah.
I'd recommend "Coming into the Country" about Alaska by John McPhee. Especially the section about the town of Eagle and the backwoods types like Dick Cook who live a hundred miles from the end of the road. It's not specifically about wilderness survival, but I think it is still the best written intro to Alaska and gives a lot of insight into that culture.
Some of my own "stupid human tricks" revolve around being off the grid, but with all the comforts of home. A backpacking hot tub. Gourmet food far out on the trail. Catered a wedding on top of Half Dome, feeding 160 people for 3 days in an unpowered campsite, etc. I don't try to live like that (indoor plumbing and vaccines are the best reasons I know of to be born in the West in the 20th century). But it is a fun way to use skills from years of backpacking, hiking, canoeing, etc and have fun with the "one-upmanship" when other backpackers forget to bring their hot tub.
Where to start? Your own backyard. Practice camping out in the all seasons and in all weather. That will really test your skill and gear use. And if it gets to be too much, you won't die or have to pay $37,000 for a helicopter rescue. You'll just walk in your backdoor, jump in a hot shower and then watch the last episode of Survivor. But you can be trying to start a fire from scratch, get your clothes dry, turn a tarp in a shelter, etc.
Next, get the heck off the trail. It can be a lot harder to get 1 mile from your car over broken ground than to hike 10 miles on a trail. You'll find out about what groundcover is easiest to walk through, where the berries are, how much work it is to travel off-trail, and how to cross streams. Push yourself by taking less gear and less food, etc. But leave youself an out. Always know where the car is and be able to get there. You don't learn anything by dying, only by getting close.
At least up here, there are a lot of great classes for free or cheap. The university/agricultural extension teaches people how can fish and fruits, pick berries, plant trees, etc. Fish & Wildlife has info on dipnetting, personal-use fisheries as well as normal sport fishing. They even have special classes and hunting licenses for first-time woman hunters and teach them to track, shoot and gut a moose. If you're a total beginner, consider something being on staff at a summer camp for kids or scouts. Read the books, the boy scout field guide, etc and then learn as you teach other to tie knots, lash timbers, ID edible plants, etc.
What do you want to know about Alaska? My work and play takes me throughout the state (over twice the size of Texas) and there is HUGE variety in terrian, climate and culture.
