Episode-426- Developing Survival Knowledge While Camping
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My view on survival planning is that running out into the forest to hide if the shit hits the fan is generally a very bad move, well in most situations. Today though we are going to look at camping in another light. When you camp you deal with out a lot of the conveniences we tend to take for granted, families communicate better (sometimes by force) and opportunities for leaning and contingency plan development present themselves.
Join Me Today as we Discuss…
- New MSB Supporting Vendor CampingSurvival.com (MSB get 5% off all orders)
- Camping to learn about survival vs. survival camping
- Don’t go spend a lot of money right away
- The basics
- Good tents
- Padding, air mattresses or cots
- Lighting
- Food – including some “healthy junk foods”
- Insect repellent
- A way to cook
- First aid kit
- Storage bins
- Start out close to home with full amenities
- Focus on self reliance with shelter, food, water
- Get away from the crowds even in crowded areas
- Move on to more remote camping once you have a system in place
- Purchase animal, insect, plant, bird, etc field guides and use them
- Make fishing part of your camping experiences
- Require children to deal with discomfort within reason
- Take time to work on skill development (crafts, navigation, etc)
- Use the time for bonding, it may be part of family survival some day
- The golden rule, have fun and learn
Additional Resources for Today’s Show
- Members Support Brigade
- TSP Gear Shop
- Join Our Forum
- MURS Radio – (sponsor of the day)
- Safecastle Royal – (sponsor of the day)
- Ron Hood’s Survival.com Magazine
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.
Instead of a cot, try an Exped Downmat. Those things, though pricey, are extremely comfortable. I’d say it’s just as comfortable as most hotel beds. They will also work well for a bug out bag since they pack down so small and light (1 lb).
Backpacking, as opposed to camping, is a great primer for survival and bugging out.
“It’s a lot easier to fillet something that you don’t name.”
Another line for the Book of Jack! 😀
The part about kids not knowing how to do anything for themselves reminded me of one of my younger sister’s boyfriends. Really book-smart kid, but he couldn’t operate a toaster oven. No, that’s not a metaphor – he couldn’t even make one of those little personal pizzas that comes pre-cooked and frozen. Mommy (his, my mother would have just laughed) had to do it for him!
Jack,
Great show! Brought back many wonderful memories of when my family went camping. Some of the best times were sitting around the campfire in the evening and just being with one another. We mostly camped in State Parks and learned a lot from the Naturalists about the plants and animals.
Now we’re looking forward to taking our grandchildren camping this summer, to make some life long memories with them.
All great ideas if you happen to be car camping. If you are really getting out there and have to backpack things in then the items listed aren’t very practical.
@Brian, not sure if you listened or just read the notes but today’s show was about family camping and slated toward camping with kids.
Dear Jack, How about an episode highlighting a permanent BUGOUT situation on an Earth that has suffered a planet wide EMP and NOTHING electronic works, with or without batteries; flashlights, cars, burglar alarms, etc,.. What are your plans in a world that requires a pack with everything you own in it on your back as you wander about? What do you carry then and Where do you go? Perhaps nowhere if you have enough crops and farm stock, but for 99.2% of the planet that doesn’t, Whats your Plan???
Not to put words in Jack’s mouth but that seems like a bit of an esoteric/extreme situation to devote an entire show to.
HOWEVER I bet it would be an awesome thread to start in the TSP forums … 🙂
The sad state of yuppies and their kids. I listened to this show not knowing what the hell to think. For me, I said suffer to the upper middle class artsy fartsy McMansion dwellers. How thoughtful of you not to forget them.They have been warned. They don’t have a chance in hell.
About Ron Hood’s Camping Survival DVD, is it geared toward teaching city people how to shit in the woods, or is it a primer for serious wilderness survival?
Great subject! What a fun way to learn survival skills. I have taken my grand kids out every year. This year I will buy them a cumpass/whistle, and try to teach them some skills with a game using these tools. Last summer, my SO and I spent 21 days on the Colorado through the Grand canyon. What a learning experience that was. I have also learned quite a lot on just a pick-nick lunch in a park. Get out, enjoy the outdoors, and learn survival a fun way!
Another great episode Jack
Great episode! For thin insulation between you and the ground, reflectix insulation (the double bubble wrap with foil laminates) is incredible. I have slept on snow with only reflectix and z-rest foam pad but a thermarest inflatable pad(remember the repair kit) is superior. Lightweight and highly effective, great for camping and backpacking in cold climates and also has a lot of other uses besides sleeping pads, like food cozies. Around here at the large box stores it is about $50 for a 4 foot by 25 foot roll.
Jack
Just got through listening to the show. Great idea making a gameto teach plant ID. Iam going to do that on the next trip with kids. I am getting tired of having to bathe them in calamine lotion after they rolled through posion ivy.
Hey Paul, great idea about the insulation! This was a great episode for me because it is so much like the attitude and way we camp. Rustic camping with kids is a lifetime memory producer. Do more on this topic Jack!
Great show. We have two small children and find that shorter trips (like a weekend excursion to the lake) works best for us right now, but as they get older I would like to extend those trips and visit some new places. It seems like we just get set up and and then it’s time to break it all down again and go home.
My son missed one of his Cub Scout camping trips this year due to illness (which was short-lived, but just long enough to mess up his chances of going out with his pack). To make it up to him, we set up the tent in the back yard. That may not sound like a great way to camp, but since our back yard overlooks a creek.. complete with howling coyotes and prowling raccoons, he still managed to have fun. We even built a campfire, cracked a few glow sticks and roasted marshmallows on a stick. No one even noticed when I sneaked back in the house while they were sleeping and enjoyed having the place all to myself! Now THAT’s what I call good campin’ fun! 🙂
Jack,
Fantastic episode! I just turned 30 years old last month and you made me realize a lesson my Dad taught me when I was 11. We were on my first camping trip in fall in northeast Ohio, packed my own gear. Ii spent the weekend in a windbreakerr freezing my tail off. Ever since that trip I have always made a list before packing for any trip.
Camping has taught me more than anything else ever could, I was very lucky to grow up in a small town where our Boy Scout troop camped one weekend a month all year and one to two weeks a summer. If you want to teach a 15 year old to be a prepper give him the chance to spend a night in a tent when it is 9 below zero and 6 months later be on a trail in new mexico in 115 degree heat backpacking.
Keep up the great work Jack!
Jeff
Terrific show. My family is heading out for a trip to Guadalupe Mountains N.P. in a couple of weeks, and I definitely plan to incorporate some of your ideas. BTW, if you plan on camping with kids, a great book is “Camp Out! The Ultimate Kids’ Guide” – $8 on Amazon. Well worth it. Lots of cool activities and skills that are fun for the kids.