So, you've got your shelter built next to a decent water source, a good little fire going with enough wood for the night, you've eaten and made yourself as comfortable as possible. Is there anything you have in your psk etc. that can help you pass the time and lift your spirits?

I always thought a simple little harmonica would come in handy. Some folks recommend a set of playing cards or something to read. What, if anything, do any of you keep in your survival gear for entertainment?

A survival/playing card deck, a couple of small survival books, and a radio. What more could you ask for?
Before anybody suggests it, she won't fit in my pocket <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

Well, you see, in the couple or so TRUE survival situations I have been, I never thought of any need for entertainment- Had other things to mind.

OTOH, In those idilical places you describe, no entertainment is really needed: just look around and try to understand/learn/enjoy the place: it might be beautiful, interesting with many things to explore/investigate.

I have been from Patagonia to beyond the N. polar circle with most of what's in between and never felt the need for an harmonica or a book. Not even a Tom Clancy.

I practise a form of Soto Zen walking meditation. I wander about smelling flowers, looking at sunsets and stumbling over mother skunks.

I have never been in a situation where real survival even for a short period of time was an issue.

I do know that in my day to day life when I have time to think and it is too rainy to enjoy the outdoors and there is nothing good on television, I do spend a fair amount of time cursing the fact that they shut down the Mustang Ranch before I had a chance to check it out.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Good question <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I've been doing many survival outings (1-2 weeks), and each and every time I ended up playing around with cord (not to hang myself, no <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />). Braiding pouches, slings, nets, hammocks, etc. I also like to carve stuff, make and decorate crude weapons (rabbit sticks, bows, etc.), stuff like that.

I also like to track, watch nature, try to learn as much as I can. That's endless, and that can help you spend a lot of time...

Cheers,

David

what you describe here looks more like a picnic with the local boy scouts.

I'd say that a survival situation would look more like trying to get out of a mine field at night carrying a couple wounded colleagues, after being hit by an AT missile.

Sure , those rope things and being out for a week living under the stars, drinking from a canteen and feeding on canned beef helps hone your skills and instincts, but it is not yet "survival".

Hmmmm... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Next time I go out, I'll let you know. You come with me, and we'll see how you manage to catch fish with your bare hands, flintknap and make yourself a blade to clean it, and carve a bow drill set from scratch to cook it <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

What you describe there is what I call war... Not survival. War usually DOES come with it's own package of sh!t... plus MRE's, med supplies, among other things (I've seen US military in the middle of canadian bush have Big Macs dropped to them from choppers... They were there to learn winter survival with us, but they didn't like the spruce tea and the birch inner bark much... <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />).

Anyways... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Cheers,

David

I was gonna shoot out a reply along the same lines as yours, but you seem to have said it pretty well, so... ditto from me.

Troy

Yikes, I thought I was asking for good times...

Even in the trenches, a little distraction could be a nice thing. It don't all gotta be grim and bear it, do it?

well theres other ranches that are hopefully as good.

i think hbo covered one of them last year.

Keep in Mind Folks, that Ben Originally said, -that this Hypothetical (But It Can Very Well also Be Real!) Survival Situation, -Involves "Nothing to Do" Moments when One's Survival Basics and Tasks HAVE Already Been Attended To!

Yes, -Those Survival Imperatives Sooner or Later Will Return, -and One Must then Firstmost Get Back Onto Them!

But While you are in Such "Between Survival Tasks" of Down Time, -What Might One Suggest, or Like to Do, -to either Pass, or "Gainfully" Make Use of What Could Otherwise be Idle Time?

That I Feel is the Spirit and Question here.

Personally, I've Thot of Things Such as Reviewing and Learning my Self Taught Foreign Languages Vocabulary, -Things of That Sort.

(Incidentally, -I'd like to someday Cull Together a Basic List, -of some Most Important Survival Words and Phrases, -in the Chiefmost World Languages. This Admittedly Ancillary Area of our Entire Survival Sphere, -Can Nevertheless Come In Very Important and Handy! Far From our Entire World, and All the Environments we can Find Ourselves Thrown Into!, -Speak English!, You Know!).

Or One might rather Solve various Mental Math Problems.

Or Towards Going on Imaginary Trips and Reminiscing on Memories, -

To the Already Mentioned Just Enjoying!, and Learning From!, -Nature and the Great Outdoors!

Also a Practicing of various Survival and Outdoor Skills, -From Knots to Fires to Many Things Else, -Would be Another.

As would Going Out to Gather Up *Extra* Firewood!, -Over and Above What you Think might be your Needs!

Having some Small and Lightweight Reading Material, would be Another.

As would Journal or Log type Entries, or Other Writing! Many Other Possibilities Exist!

If you for example Want to Remodel a Room Back Home, -Think and Plan How you might Go About Doing It! This can Serve to "Kill Two Birds with One Stone"! One Such "Bird" is With you now here in the Wilderness. The Other is Back at Home! You'll Save Yourself some Thinking and Planning Later!

Or you Can either Make a Conscious Effort To Think About Life / Your Life, and What It's All About! Or Just Let Such Thoughts and Reflection Come! You're *Not* Too Busy with Other Things in Life Now! You have No such "Excuse" Now! It's Now a Perfect Oppurtunity to Just Sit Back and Think! This Same Goes for Just Enjoying the Beauty and All of Nature Around you!

Many Other Great, "Something To Do!", Possibilities Exist! A Great Overall List of Such, -Can Go On!

So in the Down, "Nothing to Do" Times *Between* your Vital Survival Tasks!, -What Might we Do to Pass or Fruitfully Occupy such Down Time?! Thats the Spirit and Substance of the Question here. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]benjammin[/email]

good idea about the phrases scott, i got an idea for board members as well as newbies.
is there a way to sticky a thread on top that contains those important phrases and perhaps a seperate one for newbies with all the short hand we use explained?
you know EDC,SAK etc..

Again,with all my respect, you are mixing things: what you desscribed was field craft, campcraft, however you wishto call that-It is NOT SURVIVAL!!!!
In a survival situation you are struggling to save your life. Sure, those skills we learned when kids help improvise tools and devices that will make your task easier, so keep improving yourself on them- it is both fun and useful.

If I know how to make a blade? oh yes, I do know that.and thousands of knots, , and first aid, and field cooking, and navigation by the stars, and reading topo maps, and other things. No, I don't play harmonica, but drums I can play decently well.....

But you can Still Do such Fieldcraft, at your "Between Survival Tasks" / "Nothing to Do Moments"!

Its Still Fieldcraft, Yes. But as Ben Constructs it, -Its Nothing that Goes Against Survival Imperatives. It's Nothing that Can't Be Done, -in your In Between, Down Time Moments!

You're Both Right!, if in Different Ways. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]dBu24[/email]

NYRat:

This will be a little hard to explain because of some of the constraints on this board, but I will try.

The Mustang Ranch was in Reno, Nevada.

All the "employees" left there on their last day in their Lotus's, Mercedes, Cadillacs, Corvettes, Ferarris, etc.; with their whips, chains, handcuffs, leopard leotards, exotic oils, wigs, costumes, and medical certificates of immunization.

Understand ! ?

Bountyhunter
<img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Dbu,

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree with you. The stuff I do and teach is about wilderness survival. It's a set of skills designed to keep yourself alive in the wilderness, whether you're lost, delayed or whatever.

Is the stuff I teach useful in the middle of a godorsaken combat zone? No. But it's still survival, and not only bushcraft... Bushcraft is a part of it, though.

I've seen a "wood guy" who could light a fire with a single match every time and sharpen a knife beyond shaving sharp, get lost and start bending the map, forget drinking (and stop thinking) and start rushing and trashing around to find the exit... He was good at bushcraft, but he didn't know how to survive in the woods outside of his usual framing... I had a hard time bringing him back to the real world and just have him calm down, drink a little water and think again...

Now, could we say that wilderness survival is just a specific part of survival in general? IMO: yes.

Cheers,

David

>>what you desscribed was field craft, campcraft, however you wishto call that-It is NOT SURVIVAL!!!!

It is if your life is at stake.

I may have misunderstood your post, but survival has nothing to do with comfort. You can be very uncomfortable and not in the least threatened; you can be very comfortable and be minutes away from death.

For example, a pilot in a light plane over the Rocky Mountains at night, with only ten minutes of fuel left, is physically just as comfortable as if he had full tanks and was within gliding distance of Kansas City Municipal. Except he's probably sweating bullets.

Laurence Gonzales (Deep Survival) describes the case of a US Army Ranger Captain who drowned after he got thrown overboard on a commercial whitewater rafting excursion - apparently because he made the same mistake as you (apparently) just did. He was properly dressed, he was warm, he was fit, he was well-fed - so when the (civilian) guide tried to rescue him, he just laughed and pushed the guy away. A few minutes later, he was pinned under a rock and drowned. His army training had conditioned him to think of survival as being wet, cold, hungry and miserable.

If you're lost in the woods, you're lost in the woods. If you don't know how to build a shelter, build a fire, keep warm, find water, and signal for help, you could die. That, by definition, is a survival situation. MHOO,OC <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Some people can just sit still and be entertained; others will go stir crazy without something to do.

I never saw it as a problem myself. If I got bored with the scenery and the bird-watching, I'd probably try making up some math puzzles. (My dad spent several days in a POW camp in Italy reconstructing the proof for the Pythagorean Theorem that he'd learned in university.)

I'm told that it's more likely to be a problem with children of a certain age group (8 to 14) because they often have a lot of energy and a limited attention span. Even though they may know about the "hug a tree" principle, they may be conditioned to think that if they stop and hug a tree, rescuers will magically pop up from behind the nearest rock; after 4 or 5 hours with no sign of rescue, they may get bored and/or start panicking and decide to try exploring a little further "just in case".

I agree with Moine, a couple of feet of paracord (and, if possible, a good book on knots) would provide many hours of amusement.

heh, i know i just tried to keep it pg on the boards.

This really is a "to each his own" kind of question, but I do think it is legitimate. Each of us can imagine the differences among the different forum participants -- for example, someone might find it more relaxing to whittle, and wouldn't know what to do with a Playstation 2 if their life depended on it. Us city slickers are more accustomed to external entertainment than using our imaginations. So the need to be prepared for any emergency should include the need for reducing stress at opportune moments. To that end, I will add my $.02 to Benjamin's question.

I think that dual-use things are quite appropriate here. The survival playing cards is a great example, as is the radio, as they both provide information and entertainment. I would also include (and I know this will get some snickers) extra condoms if your emergency situation will include a significant other. If anyone has ever seen the episode of MASH where Hawkeye and Hotlips are trapped in the shelter while the bombs are falling, you'll know what I mean. Close proximity when sharing warmth, stressful situations, and/or fear of losing loved ones are great for generating a need for distraction, and passion fits the bill quite nicely. You might as well prepare for it. Those with kids should have small travel games and books ready to go.

People who enjoy the "bushcraft" activities described in other responses ought to include the items necessary for that activity. Why not? If braiding cord helps you relax enough to refocus, then go for it. If knitting works for you, then include a small pair of needles and a ball of yarn (BTW, I can think of dual uses for those, too).

Bottom line: do what you need to get through the situation. If you need toys, hobby items, whatever, to keep from going crazy in a crisis, then include them in your preparations.

I totally agree with dBu24

One of the disasters I was in was an earthquake. 20k people died.
The house was well constructed and suffered only moderate damage.

I can tell you that SURVIVAL was on my mind, not some silly game.

Ever try to play cards while the ground is shaking due to aftershocks? Ever hear really LOUD aftershocks?

(yes, I also lived in L.A. ... if thats the worst, I aint impressed)

Very well said...we need to hear more from you, thanks.

Troy

That's like arguing that, because you once got stranded on the shores of an Alaskan lake, that you don't understand why finding water has anything to do with survival. Or because you once got shipwrecked on a desert island on the equator, you don't see what starting a fire or building a shelter has to do with survival.

In some types of survival situation, being bored is not a problem; in others, it could be life-threatening. (Never heard of "Cabin Fever"?)

Okay, maybe one more anecdote might make some sense here...

I left elk camp well prepared. I had all the right gear, and was ready for anything. Anything is what happened, and 10 miles from camp at 3:00pm on a snowy November day, I broke my leg. Thus disabled for the night, I got my leg splinted okay. I managed to pitch my shelter in a suitable windbreak where an abundance of twigs and branches quickly became a cookfire for some water and soupfixins. Laying at the mouth of my tent, I had little else to do but be bothered by the pain in my leg. I took my meds and pulled out my harmonica and proceeded to learn how to play yet another tune (Emmylou Harris' "Away beyond the Blue"). An hour later, I was able to fall asleep after putting a few more branches into the fire. The next morning, I awoke, turned my radio back on, and within about an hour heard my hunting buddy calling for me on it.

I was lucky in a lot of ways. The harmonica did not take the pain away, but it got my mind off the pain and thinking about something other than my sad state. I stayed calm while I was dealing with my survival issues, and I remained calm after there was nothing else left to do for the night thanks to the harmonica. I am sure if I had playing cards, it would've been about as distracting, although there really wasn't enough light to play by, and I didn't want to overuse my flashlight batteries.

Anyways, survival isn't always about facing life or death actions each and every moment. You take care of what you have to, and if you can't extricate, then you may have some time on your hands with nothing really to do for a bit. It may not be all the time, or even some of the time, but it can occur. It is nice to have something to do that isn't based on do or die mentality. If you think survival is only when you are in a grotto full of gators and snakes with no way out, you may have missed the point. I would agree, nontheless, that situation is also a survival one. A rather immediate, extreme one at that, and I wouldn't think of pulling my harmonica out then, unless it was to play tapps as I went down in the pile for the last time.

I'm rather stunned that none of you employ a time-tested technique for passing time while surviving: you paint a face on a soccer ball and you then have a friend to talk to.

Wilson!!!!!!!!!!!

I've Read Previous Posts which Talked of Using Condoms for Carrying Water. So there is a Dual Use there, too. Though I'm Not one to Exactly Encourage it, -I Know that "Houlihan and Hawkeye" Situations in the Ways you've Described, -Can Occur.

And Oh Yeah!, -If one could Take Along a Small Something, -to Keep any Kids Present Contented and Occupied!, -That would be Great too! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Getting There[/email]

i got to agree here, assuming the emergency part of your situatuation is passed, (you bandaged any wounds built a shelter, got some food etc).

then mostly what you have to do is WAIT, and then the mind wanders and thats usually not good, we all know the psychology of survival is as important as anything else if not more so.

so for those who suggested bringing cards or something (maybe in your b.o.b or emergency pack if its a small item).
its not about them camping comfortably, its more about them trying to do something in the downtime of a situation if there is any, to keep from going stir crazy or depressed with negativie thoughts they are bound to have.

I agree, too. I feel it's important to have these "distractions", especially in a scenario where you have kids involved. Anyone who's endured a long car ride with kids has probably played "Are we there yet?" When the batteries die in their Gameboys, it won't take long for them to get bored, and having a deck of cards might kill some time.

I'd pretty much sketch/doodle with the pencil in my PSK, use burned wood as artist's charcoal, or even sketch my beloved's face on the cave wall with a rock, just like Tom Hanks in "Castaway."

Christina:

So you're the one that has been defacing all those caves!

Shame, shame!

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />