Tag: food

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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.

rabbit-snares

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

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

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Food in the Backcountry – Fish

Are you hungry? Are you out in the backcountry without your normal food stores? Never fear, the NW is stocked full of all sorts of options to keep you fed and strong.

Probably the most abundant source of protein rich food is fish. In my opinion, we are blessed with having some of the best native fish in the country but then, I’m biased.

There are several methods you can use to secure your share and more of fish in the streams and lakes of the NW. If you are traveling away from your home, you should have supplies with you that can aid you in dealing with unexpected events. I call it a vehicle preparedness kit (VPK), which we will be talking about later.

Fishing gear is one of the tools I recommend having in your VPK. My kit has fishing yo-yo’s, a good supply of fishing line , assorted lures, weights, and hooks. However, you can catch fish with nothing more than paracord and a knife to start. Enough chit-chat? Let’s get specific.

  • Catching fish with a few twigs – If you know where to put them, you can catch fish with just a few twigs by setting up a trap near the bank in the slack
    fishing-trap4water. You want to make the entrance wide on the outside and narrow on the inside, like so – \ /, this will keep the fish in the corral. Be sure your twigs go far enough up the bank and are tall enough to keep the fish in the trap. Now, just get yourself a grasshopper or a worm – both of which you could eat yourself. But doesn’t a nice trout sound better?trap_3
  • You can also use rocks and the natural lay of the river or lake to trap the fish (see diagram on left). This is a great way to feed a large group seeing as it gives you the best chance of catching a considerable number of fish with minimal effort. It is relatively non-invasive and easy to remove once you have what you need. Remember to respect the natural flow of the world around you or it just might stop providing for you.
  • Using fishing Yo-Yo’s – I love these things because you set them and forget them. In case you didn’t know, fish like the water beneath the trees on the shore. This is to our advantage because Yo-Yo’s are basically automatic reels. You newmechan-1285090991-18402hang the reel from a branch hanging over the water, bait your hook, pull out enough line to put the hook where you want it, and set the trigger. When a fish hits the hook it trips the trigger and the Yo-Yo reels them in – all the way out of the water. So, once it is set you can go set another one, start boiling water, or work on whatever other chore needs doing. Check the Yo-Yo occasionally until you have caught something.
  • Of course, you can always just get yourself a long stick and use it like a pole, as long as you have your fishing kit.

These are just some of the ways you can catch fish in the wild, but I consider them the most practical.

 

As always,

Stay Vigilant and Be Prepared

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Survival Hacks – Leaves

 

Leaves are a great and underused resource – they can be used for food, shelter, water collection, medicinal purposes, etc. – and they are readily available here in the Pacific NW.

vinemaple-fall-treeFood and Medicine: We are lucky to be in a bioregion that flourishes with edible plant life. It is important to study up on native plants and their uses. An entire culture flourished here with the natural environment not too long ago.

One of my favorite medicinal plants here in Cascadia is Plantain. You can find plantain in your backyard and it is easy to mash up and turn into a poultice. To use: pplantainlace the poultice on minor burns, stings, small cuts, etc. and cover it with another leaf. It is full of antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties.

A great reference book for this region is “Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska)” by Pojar and Mackinnon.

There are also great communities that practice these skills… Trackers Earth PDX even has a wild edibles talk coming up March 9th. Check out the group here: trackerspdx.com

Event here: http://trackerspdx.com/trackers-presents

backgrounds-1423865796-NEXT_graphic_journey_rainwaterharvesting_leafWater Collection: There are multiple ways to collect water using leaves and both require some patience and creativity.

  1. You can harvest rainwater by positioning large leaves so that they collect and drain water into a container. Stems placed in the container will leave more surface area available for water collection and the water will conveniently run down the stems into the container.
  2. You can distill water by taking advantage of the transpiration that occurs naturally all day, everyday. All you need is some clear plastic – a clear plastic garbage bag would work well. While still on the tree or bush, gather up a large amount of leaves and wrap the bag around them. Tie the bag closed around the stems, making sure not to break them (you want the leaves to stay alive). Then let them sit in the sun. Water will transpire and collect in the bag. Important: Collect water from plants you know are safe. For example, you don’t want to collect water from poison oak or plants sprayed with pesticides. Stick to plants you can identify as safe and have many leaves (the more leaves the more transpiration).debris-hut-17

Shelter: Shelter is something very important and also very comforting. A nice roof over your head is sometimes necessary to stay dry in this climate and it is also very comforting to be shaded from the sun and hidden from view. Leaves make great shingles and fine insulation. You might even think about setting up a water collection system with your shelter – keep yourself dry and hydrated!

It’s important to remember the value of the resources around you and to let your creativity flow. You can find most of what you need in our natural environment.

 

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