The-Atlantic-thefemalesurvivalist

Last night I watched back to back episodes of Survivorman, Les Stroud, and The Art of Dual Survival with Cody and Joe.


I enjoyed both. They're real, hard core and cautious. Real survivalists have to be cautious. No one is out there to bail them after a bad decision.


Les made an interesting point. He said most folks get lost within a mile of their cabins. I guess that compliments the fact most car wrecks happen within a mile of home. The odds would agree with that because that's where you feel comfortable enough to let down your guard, get careless, start thinking about other things.
His cabin just happened to be up near Ontario, tons of mosquitoes and water. During the episode he ate what he thought was a young wild cucumber, then regretted it because it was not a correct observation.


He uses a huge rock as part of his shelter and explains the beauty of natural habitat to make the process easier.
I thought Les was a lot more mature, seasoned and informational in this new episode and plan to watch show he does.


With Cody and Joe, stranded on a small island in the Fuji chain, we see a great compliment of skills. I enjoyed watching make fire with bow and drill. It was real, nothing leapt into flames with the mere suggestion of effort.
It was weird they found a complete scuba diving outfit near shore. I would have wondered where the owner of such was, maybe dead?
Cody used the tank and hoses to successfully desalinate the ocean water, they moved their fire when the tide came in, and Joe built a series of thick vines as a SOS signal.


All told, both are great shows for the survivalist. Way better than the other things being broadcast lately. 

Tent cities haven't gone away, though we don't hear about them in the news. Simply google
tent cities in America and see what you get. Wikipedia even has a list and links for the biggest ones. Tent City Slide show


While I've lived in tents while backpacking, I think this full time situation would be quite difficult.
Showers, water, cooking, crime and boredom are just a few of the problems I see.


One shanty town rising up has people living in tool sheds. Of course, these sheds are nearly new and provided by the town trying to keep homeless people off the streets.


Its almost like a SHTF scenario, for these folks especially, or end of the world real life scenario.

I can't believe the time is flying and here we are 2014, January 7th.
Hope everyone had their new year in order.
The rule is you have to write it down if you plan to accomplish your goals.


Life has a way of testing your mettle though. What's really important? I find as a survivalist, the attitude is more important than anything I have or don't have. Survival stories abound for all age groups, all around the world. What we call hardship, third world countries call daily life.


Like clean water, a roof over our head, food without fear.

I watched this series all the way through for the first time. The challenge takes place in a Panama jungle.

At first the two couples meet, unaware there's another couple heading to the same target zone. The couples have no problem stripping and hugging each other. It doesn't take long before they're snapping at each other, fighting over the work load and life style.

Eventually the couples meet, shake hands and we have a foursome working towards the same goal of survival.
A co-worker watched it with me, both of us calling out suggestions when the four naked people seemed clueless. What I couldn't understand was how you could be walking through crystal clear stream in the swamp and be dying of dehydration. Finally they come to a waterfall and drink freely.

Manu suffered from a virus three days later and will suffer for the rest of her life. They lost many pounds, up to 16. The food situation proved to be the most surprising because vegetation was abundant. I figured some of that greenery would be edible and easy to access.

One thing we all can take away from this is its way harder than one can imagine. Each was allowed to bring one item. Both women brought machetes. One guy brought a flint. One guy brought plastic goggles.

I would definitely watch this series again. It helps a survivalist think about scenarios and possible outcomes.

The weather has definitely improved here near Bozeman. Last week we suffered negative temperatures, as low as 23 below. Cars started reluctantly, we eased over ice, through long narrow roads, peering through frosty windshields.

The blue skies are still here in big sky country, but its warmed up to the single digits. Still, one can't drive too fast. Yesterday a blizzard closed the Interstate for awhile.

Snowshoe rabbits and deer grazing in the fields are common sights. People get off work and hunker down. Not enough snow here to cross country ski. I'm loving the blue skies after working in Girdwood, Alaska for 3 1/5 months. There are two more hours of daylight than when I left Alaska, and soon the days will be getting longer.