Hi, Ziggy!

You're probably not going to have a .22 and an axe in a survival situation. I think they would look kind of odd in your video.

A lot of people just go out hiking and get into a survival situation. You might want to carry some small backpacks with some basic survival things, so you don't look like brainless yoyos with just shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes (you know, the ones who are so stupid that they make the news when their bodies are found).

You could carry things like a couple of tarps, some nylon cord, some kind of small cook pot, something to hold water (even a couple of sturdy plastic bags), matches or a couple of lighters, maybe a wire saw, a signal mirror, first aid kit, etc.

Have a plan:

1) MAP & MESSAGE - Show how you were smart enough to leave a map and instructions on where you were going. It will make you look a lot brighter than most people who get lost and have no one knowing where to look for them.

2) SHELTER - What do you intend to do for shelter, the most important part of survival? Do you know how to set up a shelter with just a simple tarp and some cord? What if it rains?

3) WATER - What will be your source of water? Many/most places are contaminated with either farm pesticide/herbicide run-off, or things like bacteria and parasites that you can't see with the naked eye. What are the dangers of the water in your area? Once you know, you can take appropriate measures: a filter (for chemical contaminants), a pot for boiling (parasites and other 'bugs') or a chemical purifier (which you'll need to know how to use properly).

4) FIRE - Do any of you really know how to start a fire? You'd best practice a bit, or you might look kind of silly on film. Knowing how NOT to start a tree on fire is a good thing, too. DON'T take gasoline/petrol with you to start a fire. That immediately shows everyone that you don't know what you're doing, and it's dangerous, too. Take a magnifying glass and try to start a fire with it if the sun is shining... it's tricky. (I'll bet you can't do it!)

5) SIGNALING - If you were really in a survival situation, signaling would be important. You might want to learn how to use a simple signal mirror, just to show that you know what you're doing.

6) FIRST AID - A small first aid kit containing stuff you know how to use would be a good thing to have.

7) FOOD - Like others here have said, food isn't a big issue for just a few days. Eating the wrong wild foods can be deadly. I wouldn't do it without learning from a good wilderness instructor, myself. A guy in Oregon ate some Camas roots, which are fine if they are regular Camas, but he ate one Death Camas, and croaked before his friends could get him to a doctor. Toss some granola bars and beef jerky into your packs, and maybe some
bouillon cubes or those little packets from the Ramen type soups for a hot drink. If you're determined to eat wild food, use cattails -- they're easy to recognize, the roots can be cooked and eaten, the pollen can be scraped into hot water to make a kind of soup, and no part of it is poisonous.

Are you going to make your video kind of a How To Survive film?

Sue