I think the best new thing I learned in 2010 was to identify and prepare several more wild mushrooms with confidence.

How about your 2010?

Best thing i learnt in 2010 is not to assume that new gear will actually work. Test it before you go out.

Physical fitness and regular exercise matter. I just recovered from what I considered very serious surgery (the doctors' staff assured me that it was a pretty routine procedure -aortic valve replacement - but it was still open heart surgery and I have the scar to prove it) and my level of fitness going in was definitely involved in a speedy and uneventful recovery.

There have been other payoffs as well. Stay active....

Fire and food were the standout skill/gear focus in 2010.

Fire:

Acquired new tools (firesteels from www.firesteel.com and axes from Gransfors Bruks and Wetterlings) and practiced with various kinds of tender (including vaselined cotton balls, magnesium, fine steel wool).

I now have at home, in the car, teardrop trailer, backpack, rucksack and bike trunk rack, compact Fire Kits with redundant systems (waterproof matches, lighter, firesteel and multiple tender materials) that I'm confident in using.


Food:

Bought a food dehydrator. Am now sick of mango and kiwi.


Plan for 2011: make bread from scratch.


Good thread, Dweste.

you need lots and lots of birch bark to make a wet wood fire.
not a survival situation for sure but on the spring canoe trip i had a lot of heavy rain.when it was over i gathered up a heap of wet to damp pine branches to make a fire.a bit of bark about the size of magazine page is the most i would use but this year i used it by the bushel basket full for a sure light fire.behind a couple camp sites i found down and rotten birch logs.with my hand ax i cut them open and shook out the pulp.at he fire pit i piled that up ,like knee high,and put the branches on top.the resulting blaze dried out the sticks which burned hot enough that i was able to add more and get a nice hot fire and not a smoldering punk.
lesson--take some time to do it right.

All that glitters is not gold.

Just because something costs more doesn't make it better than a cheaper version.

Conversely - I also learned there are times not to scimp on quality.

And finally, just because somebody famous uses or endorses something, doesn't mean the item is worth a fart in a windstorm.

I learned 3 things that may not be survival lessons but were things I should have either known or guessed.

1) Shooting a skunk in the up wind corner of a dumpster and not having it die after the first shot is a very BAD thing. Even worse is haveing to shoot it twice more after it sprayed and stayed in the up wind corner.

2) Vinegar will take the skunk smell out of clothing (and off skin)very fast if you saturate it.

3) Hunters sent killer, removes the skunk smell that sticks to your clothing and gets into your car seats.

1) Figure out WHAT you're going to do, precisely HOW you're going to do it, and what you're going to NEED to do it before you start. That applies to life in general as well as survival / disaster planning.

2) Subject to rule 1, most things aren't as hard as they seem.

3) When using a knife, make sure your hand is NOT anywhere near the potential or intended path of the blade.

Assembled a minimalistic PSK and worked it into my outdoors habits and equipment - "never leave home without it". A big leap forward to me. Up to this point, the concept of PSK was not something that worked for me. Instead, it was just stuffing my pack with the required items. Old habbits die hard.


Preparing for a trip - any trip - is now a lot more structurized than before. The PSK is part of that, but only a small part. The most important part is the mental process of structurized moving through a mental check list: Shelter - food - fire - navigation and so on... (ya all know the drill). The result: Packing goes quicker, with less gear, and with much reduced chances of forgetting something vital. (And if I do there's a big chance I'll have a backup).


Staying around at this forum has been instrumental for both these transformations.

The next project is rethinking my car kit...

Don't attempt anything that stands a good chance of causing injury to yourself when you're out alone and a long way from help. It's no time to discover that you should have paid more attention in "Common Sense" class.

"Gee, that's a cool big pile of jumbled rocks that it might be fun to try to climb." NOT

"Wow, it's all downhill back to the truck now. I bet I could dash back through that boulder-filled creekbed and make it back in half the time." NOT

"Cool, a big western pacific rattlesnake right on the trail in front of me. I bet I could get a great pic on my cellphone if I just snuck up close." NOT

"Hey, I can just slide right down this bank next to the road here and explore the bottom of that canyon without bothering to take my water, PLB and PSK." NOT

If you're going to carry a pistol for self-defense, carry it all the time.

The two most used tools in the field are a pocket knife and a lighter. If you don't have them on you, you should always know where they are. (And then realize you should just keep them on you.)

Practice fire starting. Most of the fire starting videos on Youtube are probably NOT the first take, and many are in ideal conditions.

Use a signal mirror that allows aiming. With a regular mirror, I'm not nearly as capable as others seem to be.

I have learned the difference between preparing for wilderness survival and preparing to go camping. My wilderness emergency kit has shrunk by 75%.

USA military clam chowder MREs are foul beyond comprehension.
-Blast

Wow. I hope that wasn't the one I traded to you!

If so, I'm sorry!

Actually, it was. I just had it for lunch today on a whim. No worries though, I don't regret the trade. The pumpkin shortbread that came with it was pretty good.

I'm thinking the second MRE might end up in our lab's "White Elephant" Christmas gift exchange.

-Blast

Blast is Lucky to have had a Clam Chowder MRE & Live To Tell about it!Back when I served in The Military,Our seafood Item was The #9-Tuna & Noodles!YUCK!The banana-nut cake it came with was worth it's weight in Gold!