Wow, we are having another failure of communication.

Choose whatever would motivate you to try the experiment. Money was just an example that motivates many.

The point is to think through and share with us what you would do if you accepted the challenge.

If it makes no sense to you, then so be it.

I don't understand why so many people want to take the scenarios offered as mental exercises as THIS IS YOUR LIFE.

These are just 'What If' exercises that everyone with a brain should run through all their lives.

What would you do if you broke down in the desert? For three hours? For three days? For three weeks?

What would you do if you were parked at a RR crossing and were slammed from behind by another vehicle and your car got caught on the side of the train and dragged?

What would you do if Earth was hit by a solar flare right this instant, where you are and with what you've got right now?

Outside of this forum, do some of you never do this, think about things like this? Are you waiting for the actual situation to happen before you start thinking about it?

Or... *drum roll*... do you think it will never happen to you because of A, B, C, D?

Thanks for getting it.

I think many of us have vague notions and half baked
theories on primitive woods surviving with migration as an
option. I for one, do not think it has a substantial probability
of success. There is a huge amount to know for very little
return on investment. Example: study plants books and actual
plants and get really good at identification and prediction
of locations; a lot of work and the knowledge will fade,
if unused.

Some of the primitive woods forums will deal with
this much better. I think Elpel did a walk across Montana and
there are plant experts who have written books and post on some
of these forums.
Do some Googling and you will find a lot of the important
info is already posted.

Another problem, if you publicize a decent strategy, and provide
details, the animals and plants along that route may disappear.
Nature is very fragile when attacked by a bunch of recreational
scavengers.

A thread with a well chosen context and constraints for the
discussion will get much better results than one that is too
general.

In addition to the coastal and estuary cruising stratgey I mentioned earlier, I think that stayng in a major delta area might be aviable strategy. In the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's 1000 miles of waterways there are abundant legally harvestable fish, crustaceans, molluscs,and plants year-round with seasonal fish and bird migrations as well. I might get tired of clams, crawdads, and cattails but I sure wouldn't starve.

i have the gear and skills to harvest everything except the birds; need a shotgun for them.

How about the major deltas and estuaries near you?

The estuary as a survival location is a good one, for all the reasons you mentioned. But it would be interesting if someone had the money to do some testing on the water, plants and game in those areas. Most of the estuaries I've seen are overly loaded with algae due to chemical farming and manure runoff, plus all the other businesses that dump into the water sources, including community sewage operations.

You might be able to use snares to catch birds, but I'll bet you would need some practice. The easiest would be the scavengers, like gulls, using a chunk of waste meat on a hooked fishing line. But I have always assumed that scavengers would also be the least desirable. I would have to be pretty hungry to eat an opossum.

A fair number of beaver, muskrat, and raccoon still call the Delta home, also.

Pollution is a problem almost everywhere with wild harvesting.

Presently, there are no estuaries, deltas, or large rivers
near me. The few rivers are barley navigable. My limited
exposure was as a kid in and around the Chesapeake Bay and
some swamps in the mid-west.

I guess you would want a boat with a shallow draft or a
retractable keel. Sail power is an advantage, but have a very
reliable motor or engine to get you out of trouble fast.

I used to catch numerous fiddler crabs but never ate them.
If you chase them, they run into a hole. You can wait for
them to come to the surface to "take a look"; you immediately
plunge a stick (flat is best) at a 45 degree angle into the
adjoining soil, but pointing toward the tunnel and this
will block their escape. Now dig up the crab.

Agree, that pollution is a real problem that is hard to
analyze. Piracy is on the up-swing, so piracy copy-cats
or piracy wanna-be's will increase. Corrupt LEO's can
harass you or confiscate you boat.

Sailing, coastal sailing, fishing, and coastal scavenging
is a whole different world. I have seen articles written
on this life-syle, but I cannot remember where. There must
be other sailors doing this life-style and forums where
you can learn some tricks of the trade.

The question for this thread is, what would you do if you took up the challenge of living off the land for a year?

In this order I would look for

At least part of the land above a flood plain level
Good Soil and water
Existing Perma-culture, wild and tamed
Garden Plot
Small animals chickens, rabbits (can be left alone for days)
Medium animals mini-goat milkable. Ties you down!
I would only get a milking animal if I had a partner or
extremely trusted neighbor.

Naturally Small cattle -- general purpose.
An alternative to a draft horse or mule is an ox (steer).

BTW, you could have a couple chickens on a 20ft boat.
I saw 2 chickens on a ship in the movie Captain and Commander.
You could feed them fish guts and let them graze on shore.