Just for fun.....

Welcome volunteer!

As an experiment, you and a group of about 20 other volunteers will be dropped off at a remote location to be determined. Your goal is to stay alive for 7 days. How you do so is entirely up to you.

At the end of the 7 days, you will be picked up.
Alternatively, there is a pickup point 30-50 miles away from your dropoff point. You will be given a general heading towards the pickup point. Once you reach this point, you don't have to stay the remaining time. If you reach it in 5 days, you don't have to stay the last 2, so there is some incentive to moving out.

Each member of the group will be dropped off at a different location within the local area. You can team up with others that you find if you wish, or you can go alone. Once you're on the ground, there are no rules. Just as easily as you can work together, you can also take out other members of the group and take their gear for instance. Just as possible, other members of the group can be hostile to you. The natural wildlife might be a great source of food, but then again it might consider you a great source of food depending on where you're dropped off!

The catch is, you can only take what you can carry on your person, and you will not know where you will be dropped off until you get there, so the environment and climate can vary. Packing a parka then ending up in the desert is a bummer. Try to be flexible. If you decide to trek it, and pack too heavy, then the journey will be tedious. Pack too light and you can find yourself equally in trouble. Carry just your EDC and PSK and "rough it"? Carry your BoB? Something more extensive?

A few clarifications: You will not be put into a climate that would make the pickup point unreachable before 7 days are up. If, for some reason, you don't reach it in 7 days you'll still be picked up on the 7th day as if you hadn't moved out.
If you decide to stay put, it doesn't necessarily mean you can just pitch a tent and hang out- If other members of the group are going after you or your gear, "staying put" may actually mean you'll be spending much of your time on E&E and being on the run!

There is no rescue if something goes wrong, you are on your own. If you are injured, try to keep alive till the 7th day, because only then will you be picked up (unless you reach the pickup point before then).

I know the scenario is very vague- but with the limited information you have, what do you take with you and why? Do you trek it towards the dropoff point, or stay put? Do you go it alone, or team up? What factors drew you to this decision? There is no right answer, of course, just state your thoughts <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Personal thoughts: One person can do 30-50 miles in two days or so in a woods setting if really moving (I've done 50 in 5 days at a relaxed pace with others). My thought would be you want to spend the least amount of time "surviving" as possible, so I would try to get to the early pickup point as fast as I can. I'd take enough water (or the means to get it) , a short gun (pistol), a machete, maybe a saw, comfortable shoes, a compass/gps, a few compressed food bars, clothing I can loose if the climate is warm, maybe a nightvision setup so I can keep moving at night. I'd try to stay light and move fast to the point. Basically, why other people are still trying to figure out what to do I would already be half way there. No reason to mess with others if you don't have to, in a situation like this I wouldn't trust anyone. Again, that is just me.

Ah a Tunnel in the Sky scenario. I'll bring the parka. If it's cold I'll need it. If it's Hot I can always dump it.

This is a good post!! I am not sure if I in the spirit of the rules, but here is what I would take for a drop and hike type situation.

I would take:
CamelBak MULE with my larger PSK and FAK
Poncho rolled up and tied to the camelbak (even in the desert, it can provide you some shade)
Garmin Rino
EDC knife (spyderco milie) and swisstool
Ka-Bar
Nalgene bottle in hip pouch (I kow this can get heavy, but it is invaluable in water collection versus a camelbak)
Headlamp
Extra batteries (in camelbak)
Sunglasses

Clothing:
Cargo pants and my hiking boots
Long sleeved shirt and light jacket
beanie

Food:
Three MRE's broken down to get rid of the extra stuff in them.

That’s about what I take with me when I go hiking anyway, I just modify the clothing as needed, mostly because I know what the weather is going to be like.

Garrett

Well if nobody is bringing a weapon (so far anyway) then maybe I should bring a gun and rob the rest of you. Or better yet use all your gear but make you carry it. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Execllent practice scenario!

Let me think...

My carry gear:

1. GPS Receiver & 4 sets of Lithium Batteries
2. Sattelite Phone & 2 spare charged batteries
3. Aviation Walkie Talkie & 2 spare batteries
4. 406 Mhz Emergency Beacon
3. $80,000 US Cash
4. 1 Gallon of Water
5. 2 MRE's
6. A sleeping bag
7. A Tent
8. A Flare gun with 12 flares
9. A Glock 19 with 4 15 round clips loaded with hollow points.
10. A Beretta CX-4
12. 500 Rounds of 9MM Ammo
13. 3 Boxes of No-Doz
14. 4 Gore-Tex Outfits (Pants/Shirt) layer as needed.
15. A FAK - small, basic.

DAY 1: Tell everyone they are going home in the next 24-48 hours. Anyone who wants to leave, can. Wait for sat phone to come in range. Call wife, have her arrange a pickup at your coordinates via military helicopter. Activate EP beacon. Cordinate with chopper on 121.5 via aviation radio, Pay chopper crew in cash, use leftover money to buy everyone else drinks at the bar.

The end.

DAY 2: Go home.

Never underestimate the power of communications and cash.

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

I once had a navigation/survival exercise with my SF team. We dropped the guys along a forest road from inside a closed truck, in the dark. There were given a coordinate to reach for pickup. Distance varied from 40 to 50 miles from the pickup point. Gear was a sleeping bag, poncho, knife, firemaking gear and one meal, as much water as you desired to carry, a compass and a 1:250,000 scale JOG (Joint Operations Graphic) topo map. They had 2 days and all roads were patrolled so they could not use roads. No one had a GPS in those days either.
The surprise was on me, about 36 hours later everyone was within a mile of the pickup point waiting to come in at the designated time! No one caught a ride, they used general directions to move until daylight, although no one had a real idea where they were precisely. When daylight came they determined a more specific location using the compass and map and moved out in a hurry! I was really surprised they all made it in such a short time. All had slept at night and moved during the day. Running short of water was the biggest complaint. The map scale was not too specific on springs and such. So, the challenge is a good one, but people may just surprise you!!
Today, I would take a light sleeping bag, lots of water, knife, compass, GPS and a supply of jerky and dried fruit. FAK, PSK and a poncho. I would enjoy every quiet moment too!!!
Cheers!

Bad Brian!

Bad Brian reminds me of Australian yahoo with similar posting once who is no longer posting (By choice or by request unknown.).

Dumb post as even if post is in jest, the mindset is now known and if you are recognized in a survival group, it is quite possible you will be "neutralized" for the safety of the group.

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

Well I won't be robbing you will I? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Okay ... 7 days. I have camped relatively comfortably for 7 days with what I can fit in a backpack so no need to load up a backpack full of gear. However I have no clue where youre dropping me so two situation I need extra preparation for IMHO are lack of water and extreme cold. So I will bring my basic 7 day PSK/BOB (contents listed below) which fits snuggly in Maxpedition M-2 belt puch or even in a couple pocktes. I will then add a heavy down coat and longjohns which I can ditch or use for tinder (or something else) is I'm not dropped off in a cold region. In addition to that I will take a backpack containing two 3600 calorie mainstay rations and as much water as I can possibly squeze in to it, which should be over 2 gallons in an average day pack. Clothing worn would be comfy shoes, jeans, tshirt, long sleeve shirt, socks and underwear.

The contents of my normal 7 day pocket PSK/BOB (mentioned above):

Full-Size Red Bic Lighter
Storm Shelter Instant Pocket Tent
Inova White LED Flashlight w/ Extra Battery
Kershaw Ken Onion Leek Folding Knife w/ 3" Blade
1" x 40" Nylon Web Belt
1 Reynolds Medium Oven Bag
1 Rescue Flash Signal Mirror
1 Modified ACR Whistle
8 Tinderquik Tabs
1 True Nord Compass
1 Roll 45' #69 10# Black Thread
1 Inova White LED Coin Cell Light
1 Spare Battery for Inova LED Light
6 Windproof/Waterproof Matches w/ Striker
1 Non-Lubricated Condom
1 Sparklite Fire Starter
2 Benedryl Caplets
2 Anacin Aspirin Tablets
2 Tylenol Caplets
2 Advil Caplets
5 Small Bait-Style Fishing Hooks
7 0.4mg Modified Lorazepam Tablets
1 Silver Metal Waterproof Nitro Pill FOB
1 Sterile Drop Point Scalpel
1 3" Smooth SOG Knife Blade
1 3" SOG Wood/Metal File
9 Katadyn MP-1 Tabs
1 Bundle 8' Black 7 Strand 550# Paracord
1 Large Gaff Hook
4 1"x1" Sterile Isopropyl Alcohol Pads
1 Bundle 12' Professional Grade Silver Duct Tape
1 Bundle 12' 3M Black Electrical Tape

[EDIT

And just for kicks I think I will throw in my CRK Shadow IV which contains the following items in it's handle.

2" Ferrocerium Rod
3 Tinderquik
1 Cotton Ball
3 Katadyn MP-1 Tabs
1 Condom
1 Red Mini Fishing Bobber LED Light
1 SAS Compass
1" x 6" Duct tape
1" Diamond Rod Hone

For the experts: As above, but budget limited to $250.
( Skin out --every piece of gear/ clothing must be purchased with that money. Glasses/ perscriptions excepted.)

Go.

Okay if we are keeping it under $250 then my list is as follows.

$40 comfy shoes
$15 jeans
$5 tshirt
$8 long sleeve shirt
$4 wool socks
$3 normal underwear.
$6 long underwear
$40 warm, heavy coat
FREE as much water as I can possibly squeeze in to a day pack (should be over 2 gallons)
$15 Jansport Daypack
$18 3 3600 calorie mainstay rations
$1 Full-Size Red Bic Lighter
$5 Storm Shelter Instant Pocket Tent
$2 1" x 40" Nylon Web Belt
$1 Reynolds Medium Oven Bag
$8 Rescue Flash Signal Mirror
$2 10 Tinderquik Tabs
$17 True Nord Compass
$7 Inova White LED Coin Cell Light
$2 Spare Battery for Inova LED Light
$2 Colghans Windproof/Waterproof Matches w/ Striker
$1 Non-Lubricated Condom
$3 Small Ferrocerium Rod
$2 2 Benedryl Caplets
$2 2 Anacin Aspirin Tablets
$2 2 Tylenol Caplets
$2 2 Advil Caplets
$1 5 Small Bait-Style Fishing Hooks
$2 Sterile Drop Point Scalpel
$5 9 Katadyn MP-1 Tabs
$6 50' Black 7 Strand 550# Paracord
$1 Large Gaff Hook
$1 5 1"x1" Sterile Isopropyl Alcohol Pads
$2 Bundle 12' Professional Grade Silver Duct Tape
$1 Bundle 12' 3M Black Electrical Tape
$8 Mora Fixed Blade Knife
$8 Opinal Folding Knife

Grand Total $248.00

We did a "36 hr" ADVENTURE RACE last weekend. The Ozark Challenge, in Arkansas.
We started at 5 am Sat and had to travel over 100 miles by sunday 6 pm.They gave us UTM coordinates on a piece of paper. We had to plot the points on a map, then go find them as described below:

-We started with a Landnavigation trek of appx 20 miles...took 7 hrs. Tough terrain, we had to rappel, rockclimb, finding coordinates on the map WITHOUT GPS!!!!.
-next was 4 hrs of class 2/3 canoeing
-then to our bikes. Mountain Biking/ land Nav for 8 hrs.
-back to LandNav/trekking for another 7 hrs.
-then finish up with another Mtb Bike fo 6-7 more hrs!

......We finished Sunday afternoon, no sleep....just kept moving!

....GEAR we had: small pack, rain jacket, fleece jacket, headlamp, compass, spaceblanket, water, puification tablets, food, FAK, folding knife, repair kit for bikes, climbing helmet, harness, biners.

...Was a great experience!....on the move for 32 hrs straight. All map & compass! In the dark(through Sat night). Teamwork. going for speed (other teams also racing).

....If you ever want a well organized way to challenge yourself, test your skills......Try an Adventure Race...they are all over the place! You can Google 'Adventure Race' & you will get a lot of sites to check out.

....Anyway, this post made me think of the race...sorry to ramble!

Week one turns out to be Winnipeg in winter.

-20 in the daytime with full white-out conditions. Hip deep snow in spots. No food or water available. How would you training/ gear hold up for a week?

TRO

Time to re-think your planning, and list your new gear here.
New scenario in a few days...list your ideas and see how you fare.

TRO

"Week one turns out to be Winnipeg in winter.

-20 in the daytime with full white-out conditions. Hip deep snow in spots. No food or water available. How would you training/ gear hold up for a week?"

Being from Alabama, where I get cold when it dips below 70 F, I'd curl up and die! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Turns out your next seven days will be spent in sunny Florida... in August weather.

Heavy rains, crossing swamps and jungle, brackish water, sun, heat, bugs and those darn gators...How would your gear and training hold up?

Teacher RO

Teachro:

Did you catch the news this morning?

With the help of a little Darwinism, some adult male dipstick walking his dog somewhere in Florida was attacked and hauled off by an alligator. They haven't found his body yet.

I hope the dog is alive.

Bountyhunter

Heinlein's list:

http://members.1stconnect.com/anozira/SiteTops/original/heinlein.htm

I love the fact that this is for a variety of planets and yet Heinlein includes a compass. I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that the compass is probably not so useful on planets other than earth seeing as how a magnetic north pole is sort-of specific to our homeworld (at least based on our current scientific knowledge). <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Brian,

I don't know what RAH had in mind, but I suspect that any planet capable of supporting humans will have to have a fairly robust magnetic field. http://tinyurl.com/dg32e

Worst case, it is useless. Best case, one can determine local N-S using one of several simple methods, and then note the correction for the compass (or in my case, adjusting the compass).

Other thoughts?

Regards,

Tom

Why?

Most planets in our solar system have magnetic fields, and I imagine any planet that supports life would have to have one.

Obviously magnetic fields on different planets are probably oriented differently, so the planets north may not be in the same direction of earth's north, but a compass will still let you keep a steady course if you decide to head in a particular direction.

Very interesting. I stand corrected.

Tie to re-set your gear and thinking for another variation on the test...this third one is "out of the box", so be prepared for some surprises..

This test you're dropped off in the exotic wilds of...San Diego.
And you have a week to get to LA.

Its urban, hot, and crowded.

How would you do?

What am I missing here. Sandiego to LA on an average day. I'm thinkin it's pretty cheap to hitch hike from Sandiego to LA. Heck even a phone call to a cab to take me to the bus station to buy a bus ticket should bring me in under budget right?

This assumes you have money in your kit. Also, for the sake of completeness, let us assume a transit strike...

I just figured since I was alotted $250 originally that if I had no other gear then $250 minus cost of clothes on my back would would still leave plenty for transportation. I see your point though.