Master Wong is a little difficult to understand sometimes and loves to swear. But, his lessons in self-defense are priceless. Here is a little tidbit of all the good stuff he has produced.
As always,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Camping tips
Now that we are officially well into the camping season here in the northwest. I thought we should share some of our favorite camping tips.
One thing all of us will face when camping is laundry, even if you don’t have to wash your clothes you will inevitably need to hang something up to dry. We usually will just drape it over one of the many rope strung around camp or the back of a chair,this is not very efficient. Next time try using the little plastic clip from a bread bag, they work great as clothespins and are easy the pack.
Tired of all your cooler stuff getting soaked after a couple of days in the melting ice. Try filling old drink bottle 80% with water and freezing them before you go out next time. You won’t have the usual cooler swamp and you also end up with a bunch of fresh drinking water when they melt.
Ever trip over the guy lines of your tent when climbing out for your nightly relief, I have, they are hard to see when you are mostly asleep. Try this, take short little mostly useless pieces of tin foil and make little flags on your guy lines. The moon reflects nicely off these, not to mention your flashlight.
Always put a rock with a nice big flat top, level in the fire ring, it is so nice to have a place to keep your food and drinks warm by the fire.
Last but not least, we deal with the most dreaded camping nuisance of all, mosquitoes! You just can’t seem to avoid them, so here is a couple of useful tips. Firstly, bring some sage sprigs with you, when the mosquitoes are thick, through some on the fire, they hate it. Secondly, after you get bit, and you most certainly will, use a little dab of toothpaste, not gel, directly on the bite, it knocks down the itch and helps it heal faster.
Well that’s it for now
As always,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Will A Bite From This Snake Kill You?
Venomous Snakes in North 
America
When the weather gets nice, it’s time for the hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts to come out of hiding… which happens to correlate with an uptick in snake activity (including venomous ones).
First things first, I’ll say that I’m not one of those people who believes all snakes should be killed on sight. If a snake is non-venomous, I’ll let it slither on it’s way every time. If it’s venomous, and too close to my house or yard, that’s when a decision has to be made.
In order to make that decision, I first need to identify the species of snake and determine whether or not it’s a venomous snake.
Despite the fact that we only have 4 major species of poisonous snakes to deal with in North America, it can be surprisingly difficult to calmly ID these snakes in the heat of the moment. In fact, that’s why I’m writing this article, to make it easier for the non-snake experts among us to avoid a nasty and potentially fatal bite.
The 4 Big Ones
These are the 4 groups of poisonous snakes that you may run across in the US:
- Rattlesnakes
- Cottonmouths
- Copperheads
- Coral Snakes
When I say that there are 4 major species of venomous snakes, that’s a bit of an oversimplification, BUT that actually makes the identification process easier.
You see, it doesn’t matter much if you’ve spotted a Texas Coral Snake or an Arizona Coral Snake, both are deadly poisonous. So stay away.
As always,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Condition yellow
It saddens me that the world is a place that requires this. but it is, so act accordingly, or you might just be the next victim.
As always,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Welcome to NW Survival.
We are a community dedicated to providing education and training needed for survival in the Pacific Northwest. We share our insights, opinions, and offer gear reviews as opportunities present themselves. We also offer firearms safety training for individuals and groups.
Back from the batcave
Good morning,
Sadly it has been awhile since you have heard from me, but that doesn’t mean I have 
been stagnant, I bring word from the batcave.
I have been busy in the field, we have completed a couple of gun safety classes. I really enjoy these classes because I feel very strongly about how important they are. If you feel that you need to own and/or carry a firearm, I believe it is your responsibility to become highly proficient with its use and safe handling. I believe you should have to show competence, not just a written exam. Just like an automobile, show me you can parallel park.
My steadfast partner in crime has been insistent that we start offering pre built Bug out Bags. So we have been doing a lot of research so we can be sure to offer what we feel are the best solutions for the different type of bags we all should have. In the not too distant future you should see a selection of prebuilt solutions being offered. We believe everyone should be prepared for the unforeseen, and look forward to offering the best bags you can get. Stay tuned.
As always,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Food in the Backcountry – Trapping with snares
We live in a society that has trained us to eat meat on a daily basis. Fortunately we are moving away from this paradigm, as we have learned it is both unnecessary and problematic to the long-term health of our planet. That being said, when we are in a survival situation it may become necessary to our survival to harvest some fauna from the earth. Chances are you will not be packing around your hunting gear, if you even have any, when the need arises. So this will focus on methods that use your natural surroundings and a few basic tools.
There are many types of traps at your disposal. Snares, deadfalls and pits to name a few. If you are reading this I am assuming you have a certain level of readiness, like a pocket knife and some paracord.
Lets talk about snares, the two we will talk about today are spring snares and drag snares. Of these the spring snares are the most complicated of the two.
This is an illustration of what I call a drag snare. it is designed so that all that is needed is a well placed loop of cordage and the animals instinct to flee for successful operation. If you look closely you will see the loop is fashioned with a slip knot that will become tight when strained. This ensures that your prey does not escape. Placement is the key ingredient to success. Try to find an animal trail and place the loop so that your prey will pass through it while traveling normally. Make the loop the size of your intended prey. 3-4 inches for rabbits 2-3 inches for squirrels. You don’t want to catch a bear.
spring snare is quite effective but way more complicated in the setup and reduces your chances of releasing an unwanted captive, as it is more aggressive. But it tends to be more successful because it uses the critters body weight to maintain tension on the snare once it is tripped.
The single most important message I want to pass on is;
Traps are indiscriminate and must not be forgotten!
If we decide we need to set traps for our survival, we must be responsible in their placement and management. Taking life to maintain yours should never be taken lightly, be a good steward.
As alway,
Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared
Food in the Backcountry – Big Leaf Maples
Most people know big leaf maples best for their helicopter seeds and large leaves but they also have beautiful off-white edible flowers that are a delicious addition to your spring diet.
The flowers are best harvested when the trees leaves are just beginning to open up. The longer you wait to harvest the flowers the less tender and more fibrous the flowers become.
To harvest them you want to break them off at the base of the green stem. And to eat them you can simply just take a bite – stem and all. They are also great mixed into a 
salad or fry them up for a delicious treat.
Even though maple syrup comes from maple trees, big leaf maples are not commonly used for this. It’s taste is more earthy than traditional maple syrup. The maple syrup you put on your pancakes, assuming it is real, is most likely from sugar maples.
Wild Foods & Medicine has a great article on identification, preparing the flowers, and tapping the trees for syrup.
So, take some time and add these great little flowers to your salad or make it fun and fry them up with the kids for a delicious afternoon treat!
Food in the Backcountry – Dandelions
Dandelion comes from the french words – dents de lion – which means teeth of lion. It gets its name from the jagged edges of its leaves and the beautiful yellow flowers that some may say resemble a mane. They are a great wild edible because you can eat every part of the plant – from root to flower. The best part is that they are probably growing in your
backyard right now.
A great time to harvest these weeds are when they are in their flowering stage and growing rapidly. That is when you know the plant is fresh and ready to be harvested.
After you harvest the plant, you can throw the leaves and flowers into a salad. This will add a nice bit of bitter and color. The root of the plant can be eaten raw and is also delicious when roasted.
Roasted dandelion root tea is one of my favorite types of tea and is a great detoxifier. Check out this article about the potential benefits of dandelion root tea.
It is always a good idea to harvest where no pesticides have been sprayed. Wash your greens before eating them and most importantly, enjoy! Don’t be afraid to try something new because you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Food in the Backcountry – Wild Edible Plants Identification Book
First off, a huge thank you to Trackers Earth and John Kallas for their presentation on Wednesday. It was insightful and just in time for our early spring.
John Kallas of Wild Food Adventures gave us a look into what it takes to harvest wild edibles. He stressed the importance of choosing a proper identification book, gave us a taste of how to identify a few edible plants, and shared a few of his recipe ideas. Trackers Earth organized the event and provided the venue.
Let’s begin!
Choosing the right identification book
It is important to choose a proper identification book. If the descriptions or photographs are not thorough enough, the book could leave you in a dangerous situation.
Some things you want to look for:
- quality over quantity
- culturally/historically established foods
- photographs of the different stages in a plant’s life
It can be challenging to confidently identify an edible plant and there are many that have poisonous lookalikes. Take your time when identifying plants and if you’re ever hesitant ask an expert. It could save your life.
John Kallas has a great book entitled: Edible Wild Plants. This is a great place to start and will provide you with many opportunities for foraging this spring. He also includes great recipes for your wild edibles!
My next post will talk about a few of the wild edibles that are found in the Pacific Northwest.
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