Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Topic Options
#136694 - 06/19/08 01:36 AM My Unexpected Bush Lunch!
SwampDonkey Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/08/07
Posts: 1268
Loc: Northeastern Ontario, Canada
Stupid Story Time,

Yesterday at work I was tasked to travel in 25km on a Forest Access Road to check out the extent of a recent washout. I had not planned on going in the bush; but hey, any day in the field is better than a day in the office.

So I travel to the site and the washout was not that bad, one lane of the road was still passable for a pick-up truck. While I was marking the hazard with flagging tape a lady came along in a small car, there was no way she was getting through the washout. She explained that she had come a very long way to get to a camp only a short drive past the washout, so after about a 1/2 an hour of shoveling I got the car through. There was still some hazards and unmarked roads that the lady had to navigate before she found the trail to the camp, so I followed along in my truck to make sure she made it, no problem. Since I was this far in the road I decided to go and check some restricted access gates further in the bush.

The difficulty was that it was now 15:00hrs and I was really hungry because I had not brought a lunch. I figured I would try one of the boil-in-a-pouch meals (think MRE/IMP type) I had in my truck kit, all I needed was a container to boil water in. So I started checking old campsites and boat launch's along the road for a decent sized can. I found lots of pop and beer cans but nothing of a larger size. At 16:30 hrs I finally found a potato can of about 16 oz, that would just do.

It was now raining hard and I did not feel like fighting with a campfire, so I decided to test the Colghin's "Camp Heat" Alcohol Wick type stove http://www.campingsurvival.com/cocahe.html that was still in my snowmobile winter kit (this is the kit my employer issued me). The first thing I discovered was that the top frame for the stove that holds the pot was missing, therefore I crowded 3 stones around the stove to hold the can. I shoved the aluminized food pouch in the can of lake-water and placed it over the lit stove wick. Then I waited, and waited, and waited; it took at least 20 minutes to get the water even close to a boil. In that time I ate all the rest of the stuff in the food pack (dessert, chocolate bar, crackers, jam packets, everthing ...).

The main meal was "Spicy Turkey Stew" and it was not very hot or good, but hunger is the best appetizer. I then made tea with the water left in my water bottle and headed out of the bush for home.

Lessons learned:
-Keep a better stove in the work truck (I must have 10 at home), and update my winter snowmobile kit.
-Keep at least one pot in the work truck (I have one on the snowmobile).
-If you are going in the field, think ahead and take a proper lunch along.

I did not say it was an exciting story, just one I learned from.

Mike

Top
#136700 - 06/19/08 02:20 AM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: SwampDonkey]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
"...Lessons learned:
-Keep a better stove in the work truck (I must have 10 at home), and update my winter snowmobile kit.
-Keep at least one pot in the work truck (I have one on the snowmobile).
-If you are going in the field, think ahead and take a proper lunch along..."

That pretty much says it all...
_________________________
OBG

Top
#136771 - 06/19/08 03:46 PM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: OldBaldGuy]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
+1 on the pot and stove.*

I've started adding a big metal mug to my kits for boiling/ cooking.

( * and a lighter!)

Top
#136799 - 06/19/08 06:19 PM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: SwampDonkey]
Stu Offline
I am not a P.P.o.W.
Old Hand

Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 1058
Loc: Finger Lakes of NY State
Test your emergency rations at home to see how easy they are to heat, use and very importantly, taste.
_________________________
Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused! SBRaider
Head Cat Herder

Top
#136813 - 06/19/08 07:30 PM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: Stu]
Erik_B Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 08/10/07
Posts: 315
Loc: Somewhere in my own little wor...
Originally Posted By: SBRaider
Test your emergency rations at home to see how easy they are to heat, use and very importantly, taste.


+10

i recently tested my main BOB, and while the MREs were as good as ever(i like em; what can i say), the mainstay lifeboat rations were not so much. The lemon flavor combined with the odd texture made me reconsider them as a viable option for emergency. i think i'll go with the coconut-flavored Datrex.
_________________________
Originally Posted By: scafool
Camping teaches us what things we can live without.


Originally Posted By: ironraven
...Shopping appeals to the soul of the hunter-gatherer.

Top
#136829 - 06/19/08 09:53 PM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: ]
MoBOB Offline
Veteran

Registered: 09/17/07
Posts: 1219
Loc: here
Just "rig" any 12-volt appliance with the hitch connector and you should be good to go. Current draw would be my main concern on wires that light. Now, if there are two 12-volt lines coming of the connector then you may be in good shape. If I had a spare battery, connector and the 12-volt appliances I'd give it a whirl.

NOTE TO BLAST: On the concrete driveway with ample fire suppression stuff around...

Check out http://www.roadtrucker.com for 12-volt apppliances. Standard Disclaimer



Edited by MoBOB (06/19/08 10:04 PM)
_________________________
"Its not a matter of being ready as it is being prepared" -- B. E. J. Taylor

Top
#136918 - 06/20/08 03:30 PM Re: My Unexpected Bush Lunch! [Re: ]
jdavidboyd Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 12/20/06
Posts: 78
Loc: Hudson, FL
_________________________
What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?

Top



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, chaosmagnet, cliff 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
1 registered (SRMC), 332 Guests and 70 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.