Simple Survival – What Do I Need?

waypointsurvival
November 16, 2017

As you struggle up the hills and slip and slide down the slopes with the sweat running down into your eyes, you pause for a breath and wonder, “Why did I pack so much stuff for this trip?” Like many of the pioneers in their covered wagons so long ago, who littered the trails with their unnecessary trunks, bureaus and heavy extraneous items, you must learn what you need to carry when you are backpacking, camping, practicing survival skills or bushcrafting.

Just because you have the newest Titanium, light-weight, everything, doesn’t mean you can pack whatever you want, just in case you might need it. Remember a hundred pounds of lightweight gear is still a hundred pounds! Being wise in your selection of gear and being able to know what you need to survive as well as enjoy your time in the outdoors, requires knowledge, experience and training with your gear. Don’t allow yourself to fall into the category of the person who packs up an emergency Go Bag, or Bug Out Bag (BOB), etc. and never actually goes out and tries it. Don’t be an armchair survivalist or bushcrafter. No matter how many books or blogs you’ve read, or how many YouTube videos you have watched, without practicing and owning the skill, you are not prepared.

Remember simple survival covers seven basic areas:

Fire
Water
Shelter
Food
Navigation
Signalling
First Aid or Self Aid

Human beings have been surviving for millennia with out all the modern gadgets and gizmos that we seem to take into the wilderness with us. For instance, the Jetboil is a great invention and will boil water in an incredibly short time, but have you ever practiced just boiling or cooking over an open fire on a hot rock or using a skewer made from a stick? Did you ever drink water right from an underground spring without boiling it or purifying it? How about finding shelter in caverns, hollow trees and logs or rock overhangs? How are your foraging skills? Do you recognize enough edible plants, trees, shrubs, nuts, berries etc. to find something to eat every day? Can you hunt, trap/snare or fish to get fats and proteins? Can you navigate using the Sun, Moon and stars as well as reading the terrain around you? Do you know how to fashion signals using natural materials? Can you use the medicinal plants/herbs and trees as well as make splints, slings and bindings out of the things that surround you in the wilderness?

In truth, many adult human beings are no better off than babies if they really were left alone to fend for themselves. Without Google to look things up and without having a pack full of modern gear to make camp and prepare food, many would just starve and die! This is why everyone should get some basic training and practice with their gear. Outside of a First Aid/Self Aid kit and a very basic list of items that you should always carry, if you don’t use it when you are camping, backpacking, or bushcrafting, then take it out of your pack and don’t carry it next time. And get some training…..no excuses…..”Get out and get it done” as Lars from Survival Russia would say. You may just find out that simple survival is not so hard when you have experience and you know what you’re doing.

Spiritually speaking, carrying around a lot of spiritual and emotional baggage is very hard on your soul. God has promised to forgive our past and take care of us today and every day from here on out. We often carry heavy burdens in our soul that keep us from enjoying “The day that the Lord has made”. He promised that if you would focus your attention on seeking first the Kingdom of God and pursuing His Righteousness in your life that He would supply all your other needs. So, will you give your burdens and daily anxieties to Him or will you continue to struggle up the hills and stumble and slide down through the valleys? I encourage you to give your cares and burdens to Him and take on the task of carrying the Gospel to every person. You will find that His burden is light! After all, what we really need for simple, spiritual survival is Him. Why is your load so heavy?

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James B