Next step in survival: The Hunter

Most people have seen or read the Hunger Games, and I'm expecting that by posting a picture of Katniss I should get a nice flood of views.

Indulge, you know you want too.

Following the craze, which I admit I'm a fan of both the book and movie, another thing that has been huge is the popularity of Archery (Logic: Hot chick + killing people = Awesome). Not to sound like a hipster, although that is almost always followed by something hipster sounding, I was really into the idea of learning how to use a bow, first when I wanted to be a badass zombie hunter and now that I'm interested in the world of bow hunting & zombie hunting still. I'm excited like a gitty school girl because after years of talk, I have finally signed up for class, and for only $5. As I type this I can hear a lot of you saying things like "really" and "Bullshit" but its the truth. My states park and planning offers all kinds of classes at varying prices, I'm actually thinking about signing up for a sustainable gardening class. I admit its only a 2 hour class but its a great first step to Katniss level shooting. I also know of a local range where I can rent gear so I plan on practicing everything I learn while taking more classes in the future. When I do take the class, I will chronicle you on the whole experience.

First Week Back: 4 College Survival Tips

So the beauty of summer is over and you back to the grindstone, college. Well it sucks having classes but its also a great time for clubs, friends and parties (everyone loves the parties) so what now, go off and be crazy, no its time to prepare for the struggle that is having fun and graduating at the same time, oh and sleep, maybe.

So here are some real quick tips to help you survive this nightmare:

1. Come Ready: For the love of God, show up with at least pen and paper, and not a half used post-it note that already has your class schedule and breakfast on it. Also don't come prepared to write the next Harry Potter series in class, a simple legal pad will get the job done.
2. Don't Get Lost: It happens every time, especially if your a freshman, you're looking for a class and your sure you have the right classroom....you have the wrong classroom, you panic, "Oh crap, Oh crap, 2 min to get to my class, where the hell is it!!!!!" this can all be made so much easier if you just leave 15 min early and don't be afraid to ask for directions. Maybe you can get a number in the process. 
3. Don't Sweat the Books: All the administration and people paid to make you think they know about college will tell you that if you don't have your books by the first day of class a giant bird like creature will whisk you off and devour your internal organs or something like that. Screw them, the truth is you should wait til at least first day of classes to see if you really need the books, if you need the latest addition and if you can find it at Library for free, yes I said FREE.
4. Use the Syllabus: I know for most of you will use your syllabus as the new lining for your backpack to cushion your laptop, or it may just be online. Well take it from a person who has missed more due dates then he cares to remember (which might have something to due with it) don't just discard them to the Jansport abyss. Most of them have a schedule of everything that's going to happen in the class; use that, really do it. Make a schedule in your phone or computer, I assume you have one since you're reading this, and add all the important dates for your classes. It will be a live saver. 

It's not a lot but these tips can really lighten the load of the first two weeks, oh and have fun, your in college don't forget that. Survive or Die.

Random trek: Trip through the local wilderness

The opening of 90% of horror movies.

So this Sunday I felt that with all my talk of survival in the woods I really haven't spent much time there. I decided to man up and just head out to the unknown. The Unknown was of course the local woods near my school, its actually some kind of environmental area, whats important is that it gave me a chance to see if I was man enough to last one day in the woods. I was running on bare essentials some simple energy bars and water, my knife (S&W Rescue Knife), compass, matches and some dyer lint, small first aid kit, and the clothes on my back.

It was a simple trip into the woods, I just needed to get out there and see what it was all about, find out if I would have a fighting chance or just be up shit creek. I found out that I'm not all talk, and I still have a ways to go. Using some of my survival knowledge I was hot on the trail of some deer which are pretty common around here.

Fresh footprint from a white tail deer.

It had rained recently so tracking by footprints wasn't to hard but 1 wouldn't be enough I kept on the hunt.

Shows me that it wasn't just a single deer.

I came across several more as I ventured in deeper into the brush, traveling off the beaten path lead me to a stream and more evidence of these elusive deer. (I should make note that 1. I wasn't actually hunting deer 2. tracking them wasn't my only intention in going into the woods.)

Yeah...thats deer poop.

and......

I think I was on the right trail.

Of course I took a moment from that to find something that I could eat in an emergency that I didn't have to catch, we all know where this is going, I'm about to have a Bear Grylls' moment.

Also found some ant hills, not much I could do with that though.

Beetle, the other other white meat.

Yeah, after walking around a bit further I came across a downed tree trunk, I noticed this one had tiny holes in it, so without really thinking about it I started smashing it open with my crappy Walmart boots (note to self, next big purchase, proper boots) until it cracked open to reveal among other bugs, to huge beetles. I was surprised that I had made a good call on that, of course I didn't eat them because I'm not being followed by a camera crew somewhere in South America, but if I had to, there they were. I kept moving after this, still off the main path and got some great use out of my knife clearing some thorns from my path. I also came across some large mushroom and other plants I couldn't identify. I am working on learning plants that are of use but I at least took a pic of the 'shroom. 

This looks a little less psychedelic and a little more deadly.

I had been in the woods for a few hours now, I decided to check out a small clearing and find some wood to try and construct a fire. I failed at the fire epically but in the clearing across a gully I found my little family of deer I was tracking, oddly they really didn't notice me (more likely they were use to humans) but as they ran along I did notice that if I was hunting these guys, purely for survival of course, I would be within easy kill range with most kinds of firearms (including high caliber pistol or bow & arrow). 

All in all, it was a nice experience and I learned some stuff like, I suck at making real fires, need better boots, need a real bag and I need to learn to recognize local plants at least. But I found out I'm not a survival failure and that I wouldn't be the first to go down when the SHTF. Its a Good feeling.

New Favorite Survival Show: Wild Within

The Travel channel has a new series that I have been watching and I have to say its an informative and entertaining show. The show I am speaking of is titled The Wild Within. The show follows outdoorsman/survivalist and pretty skilled cook Steve Rinella as he travels to global locations to connect with the wild and hunt and gather food which he prepares for his family & friends at the end of each episode. The really amazing thing about this show is that you actually see him out hunting (and butchering) his prey in the wild with different cultures in every episode. The wealth of knowledge from this show is amazing and it pulls the watcher in to the hunter lifestyle, something most of us need/should learn how to do properly. By showing the difficulty, heritage and just plain awesomeness of hunting the viewers leave with a greater interest and respect for hunting. I know that this show inspires me to go hunting and become proficient at it.

Here I have a slideshow to his episode in Canada. Click Here

Bombing of Libya

It has been confirmed that we will be bombing Libya, the time is to be determined but it has been confirmed.
I am posting a link with live updates on the situation. I will comment on this and other news after receiving more information.

Libya Air Strike

Survival Canned Food Challenge: Final Days & Thoughts

Well people, lets be honest, weekends for college students are how should I say this, "busy" for most, so I couldn't post this weekend I did however keeping making meals so I decided to compile all the photos for this final day.

This weekend I ate mostly leftovers (I had plenty of them) and these two meals which both were delicious. As for this little experiment I would say it was a success and very informative. I was able to get a fairly large amount of canned good for almost 1 dollar each can, it was also enough food to last further than the week I had planned. It was a great variety and I was able to make some pretty good meals, especially under the food restraints I had placed on myself. Some things I learned were that you must keep close watch of you sodium intake (of course in a survival situation this may not be paramount) many of these canned food have high levels of sodium. Also, you have to work to keep a bit of a balanced diet if your eating out of the can alone. There were some foods I missed but it wasn't unbearable and even though I am hardly a good cook the dishes turned out well. Final thoughts, it wouldn't be hard for a student or anyone for that matter to "survive" off of canned and dried foods alone, I would want to live off of them though. I also wished I could have experimented with more dried foods but I have a new found curiosity for them so I may try some down the road (which I will blog about of course) I would give this overall experience a 4.5/5, because there is always room for improvement.

Survival Canned Food Challenge: Day 4

Day 4 here, although this is a very late post. Being a college student I spend much of my time awake in the evening so this is a good time to blog for me. Today was another late day so breakfast was skipped but my lunch was very nostalgic.

Lunch:

My childhood comes flooding back....

I have been getting great use out of my camping cook set this week.

Dinner:
-Mackerel (Pan Fried)
-Cream Corn
-String Beans

I love creamed corn.

Forgot to de-bone....

Adding some seasoning at this point. 

Cooked until darkened.

Nice balanced dinner for 1.

 Now the mackerel wasn't prepared as well as it could have been, but I never claimed to be a cook, needless to say it was a little dry. The string beans and creamed corn made superb sides though. I did enjoy this one, not as much as my Kale Stew but still pretty good. Solid 3.7/5.

Survival Canned Food Challenge: Day 3

Had to use my knife to open this can of milk, it worked like a dream.

Well folks, today was mostly a leftovers day since I have an important Test tomorrow, but I did have some thoughts to share about this little experiment. First I'm glad to say that most of my food is edible and that I bought enough to last for more than a week at least for a single student such as myself. I also wish I could have gotten more, mostly more dried foods, there are several things I would like to try (Spam and powdered eggs for breakfast) and some things I miss (like cheese) that might be supplemented by dried goods. I really want to experiment more with this, I know TheSurvivalMom blog tends to talk about dried goods a lot and I think its worth reading into, especially after this.  Also I've had my craving but I have stayed strong so far, I think I can make it so wish me luck.

Here are some photos of my breakfast:
Oatmeal (Maple & Brown Sugar) w/ a little evaporated milk:

Survival Food Challenge: Day 2

Having some PC problems I had to make this a late & quick post. Also I woke up late so no breakfast edition today sorry.

Simple lunch, was feeling lazy today.

Ramen to go w/ my smoked Ham.

Today I'm using my portable cookware that I have for camping.

All of it was pretty cheap online.

Interesting.....

Sauteed the fish in the pan first before mixing in the pot.

adding mixed veggies

Doing second batch.

This stuff is pretty good gave the sauce that extra kick....

This is sad but being college students, we had no spaghetti.

Being a survivalist, I made do w/ Ramen.

I add some more sauce after mixing w/ the ramen and a little more seasoning.

All in all, my seafood pasta turned out pretty good. A decent 4/5 from me, it would be perfect with a little cheese, maybe next time. I was hungry and had 2 bowls, well dig in.