Author Topic: Alone in the Wilderness - Reality sets in (Read 7043 times)

ggreg · « **on:** December 18, 2013, 05:29:50 AM »

Interesting docuмentary bearing in mind that this guy climbed Everest and walked to the North Pole.

He lasts just 50 of a planned 90 days in the Yukon, in what looks to me like summer.

Food for thought and something to bear in mind when planning your post-apocalyptic bunker.

soulguard · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2013, 08:14:28 AM »

I have camped out in forests and on mountain sides before, but i was living on social welfare and used to go to a shop to get supplies. I dont know how to survive in the wild without money coming in, but I enjoyed the experience!

ggreg · « **Reply #2 on:** December 18, 2013, 09:56:00 AM »

I know a guy who lived in a teepee for a while and eventually had to move into a caravan as the damp and cold would eventually wear him down, despite having a wood burning stove in the teepee which he ran pretty much 24 by 7.

Makes you realise just how tough peasants were 1000 years ago, at least the ones who survived those cold Northern European winters. No wonder the human population grew so slowly.

Clemens Maria · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2013, 02:03:31 PM »

Quote from: ggreg

I know a guy who lived in a teepee for a while and eventually had to move into a caravan as the damp and cold would eventually wear him down, despite having a wood burning stove in the teepee which he ran pretty much 24 by 7.

Makes you realise just how tough peasants were 1000 years ago, at least the ones who survived those cold Northern European winters. No wonder the human population grew so slowly.

I vaguely recall reading something or seeing something on tv where an archeologist claimed he could tell the difference between a 19th century man's skeleton and a 20th century man's skeleton based simply on the thickness of the bones or something like that. I don't know the technical details but the point I took away from it is that 19th century men were more hardy than 20th century men. This makes perfect sense to me since not only are 20th and 21st century men more pampered but also due to the increase in genetic mutations their genes are not even as good as earlier men. I really believe we are closer to devolution than evolution.

Frances · « **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2013, 03:09:11 PM »

:dancing-banana:
Longest time alone for me, no human contact, was 21 days in the Maine wilderness, July, 1998. To be fair, however, I carried in all sorts of supplies. I did not have to "live off the land" in the full sense. I did fish, eat dandelion leaves, chop wood, sleep in a tent. Despite the season, there were several nights of near freezing temperatures.
(I discovered a way to heat the tent, but I would not recommend it for restless sleepers or those with children. Cover the tent with a plastic tarp except for two vents, one down low, one up top. Place a kerosene lamp on the floor in a secure spot. Be very careful not to knock it over or allow anything flammable to come in contact with it. Be certain the vents are working!)
The scariest part was the visit to my site of a bear. Fortunately, he was just passing through. I also had a cow moose walk right in front of my tent, early one morning. I saw a bull, but not up close. I enjoyed the solitude, but of course, if I hadn't, civilisation was an hour away! The worst part was the biting insects--mosquitoes and deer flies! I emerged looking as if I were suffering from a rashy disease!

Graham · « **Reply #5 on:** December 19, 2013, 06:55:37 AM »

Greg, you seem to like watching and hearing about men who do this sort of thing - you've commented on the carpenter fellow in Alaska as well as on McCandless - but your attitude is always relatively negative. Are you maybe a bit jealous?

Clemens Maria · « **Reply #6 on:** December 20, 2013, 03:33:10 PM »

Wow, ggreg, that was the worst video. It was 2.5 hours of watching a guy go crazy in the woods. I looked it up on the map and the guy was 10 miles from the Alcan highway. I'd say 50% of the show was the guy bawling his eyes out, 25% was him swimming nude in a lake and the rest of it was him walking around in the woods scared to death of being attacked by bears. Thank Goodness he quit after 50 days, I don't think I could have taken anymore.

claudel · « **Reply #7 on:** December 20, 2013, 04:06:15 PM »

Anyone with an interest in the Arctic and in the effects of the extremes of nature—the extremes of human nature, too—on an almost preternaturally sensitive and literate observer should do himself a favor by buying and reading Kabloona, by Gontran de Poncins (he was the nephew of Léon de Poncins, the great French Catholic Traditionalist before Traditionalism was cool).

Give Matthew and CI a few cents by clicking through to Amazon from the main page of this site. I say "few cents" advisedly, because whether the French or English edition of the book is in question, many copies can be found at Amazon for less than five bucks.

The book is now seventy years old, but the insights into man's nature found between its covers never get stale.

copticruiser · « **Reply #8 on:** December 21, 2013, 11:51:10 PM »

Its probably been mentioned before but getting back to the land try out ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS.

A 50yr old heavy duty mechanic living in California decided to build a cabin and live for 1yr in Alaska except it turned into 30yrs. Great docuмentary worth watching.

My kids loved it we all did and we have watched it several times since.

your friendly canadian :farmer:

Frances · « **Reply #9 on:** December 23, 2013, 07:17:11 AM »

:dancing-banana:
I, too, watched the entire show, well most of it. Cured my insomnia! This guy climbed Everest? Did he peak, or did he freak out when the plane landed? From what I've heard, a cruise vacation might be more pleasing to him. Lots of food, heated pools, no bear.

ggreg · « **Reply #10 on:** December 23, 2013, 10:52:12 AM »

He summited Everest and also walked to the North Pole.

moneil · « **Reply #11 on:** December 23, 2013, 08:37:07 PM »

Quote from: copticruiser

Its probably been mentioned before but getting back to the land try out ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS.

A 50yr old heavy duty mechanic living in California decided to build a cabin and live for 1yr in Alaska except it turned into 30yrs. Great docuмentary worth watching.

My kids loved it we all did and we have watched it several times since.

your friendly canadian :farmer:

In this genre one can't hardly ingnore Alone in the Wilderness for authnticity! I LOVED that show, saw all the episodes when they were shown on the US Public Broadcast System. For those into "survival tips" (I'm personally not all that caught up in the "survivalist movement" though I believe it is prudent to practice some form of emergency preparadness and to have some basic "make do" skills) this program showed some great examples of DIY ... just saying.

I defiently want to watch it again, even if I need to purchase it (I think I'll lobby the local library to add it to their DVD collection).

http://www.aloneinthewilderness.com/index.html

Frances · « **Reply #12 on:** December 23, 2013, 09:00:36 PM »

:dancing-banana:If anyone wants a fascinating read over the Christmas holiday, try Lost in the Taiga, the account of a Russian Old Believer family who fled into Siberia in the 1930s and were entirely isolated until "discovered" by geologists in 1978. The sole surviving member, Agafia Lykova, in her 70s? still lives in the wilderness, although has outside support. Look her up on YouTube, if curious.

Viva Cristo Rey · « **Reply #13 on:** December 24, 2013, 12:25:01 AM »

Recently, I watched a couple of shows where they had about three families living in the wilderness little house in the prairie style. They had to farm raise animals etc. it was really interesting to watch them survive.

After the show was over, some of the parents divorced after returning to their luxurious lifestyles.
That was sad and depressing.

soulguard · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2014, 02:06:01 PM »

Why I get downthumb?

Why you no like my post?