Survival. I think it is time to talk about Climate Change!

[old4570]

Oh dear oh dear oh dear !
Doing No2's in the bush ! I really hated that !!

Some places are crawling with bull ants .. Especially summer !
Stop walking for any length of time , and they are crawling all over you !
At other times of year , SPIDERS ! Everywhere !
Darker damper places , Mosquitos / Leaches ..
And lets not forget bush flies .... Hungry hungry bush flies .... Aaaaaaargh !
Exposing flesh under less than ideal conditions can be fraught with annoyance ..
And the last thing you want is to be caught with your pants down and no TP ..
Which is why my No1 accessory going bush was a fresh role .
Now that I think about it , my car has :
1) A fire extinguisher
2) A commercial first aid kit
3) A tool kit ( for the car )
4) Jumper cables
5) Shopping bags
6) Is there a roll of TP in the boot ? I'm going to go check that right now !

 

[Kindlling]

Oh dear oh dear oh dear !
Doing No2's in the bush ! I really hated that !!

Some places are crawling with bull ants .. Especially summer !
Stop walking for any length of time , and they are crawling all over you !
At other times of year , SPIDERS ! Everywhere !
Darker damper places , Mosquitos / Leaches ..
And lets not forget bush flies .... Hungry hungry bush flies .... Aaaaaaargh !
Exposing flesh under less than ideal conditions can be fraught with annoyance ..
And the last thing you want is to be caught with your pants down and no TP ..
Which is why my No1 accessory going bush was a fresh role .
Now that I think about it , my car has :
1) A fire extinguisher
2) A commercial first aid kit
3) A tool kit ( for the car )
4) Jumper cables
5) Shopping bags
6) Is there a roll of TP in the boot ? I'm going to go check that right now !

I don’t think the subject gets covered enough Old4570 .

First thoughts reading the vehicle list , what would Mcgyver do?

Maybe printing a bush toilet paper coffee table book ? .
Showing different plants , a kind of ‘mud map’ if you will and the no no’s.

Without a camp whist wandering , a lot of people would not know.

It’s the same as most things , this forum has the privilege of popping up in the first page of google searches , when your trying to figure something out .

Best case scenario , a right height fork in a fallen tree branch .
Second best , a fallen tree at the optimal point of decomposition so its soft , to lean back on and slightly forward of . free of critters.

It’s a subject not as exciting as a new knife , it is important.

 

[old4570]

Yeah , No2 is an important consideration ... I mean we humans do it often enough and the last thing most of us want is the scent of Chanel No2 lingering upon us .
I really dont want that ! Nothing worse than than being in a shopping line que or something and some one is wearing Chanel No2 !
Maybe there is something to that 1.5 meter distancing .. ( Less eye watering in anyways )

Checked my car , there was a multi tool , drinking cups , spark plugs , rope , but no TP .. ( Situation Corrected )
Not that I have gone anywhere in a while . ( Bad Back )
But still , I was lacking the No1 accessory everyone should have in the car when going anywhere . ( I should know better - for shame )

Regarding No2's in the bush ... Yes 100% ... Location location location .... Got to pick the right spot or possibly suffer the consequences of a poor decision !

Just the other day I saw a video :
Apparently some one sat down on the ground , and some how ! A tiger snake crawled up his pants leg !
Since the individual had time to apparently video the encounter ! I might be tempted to call BS .. Since we never see a actual moving / living snake !

Anyone remember - Song - There's a Red back on my toilet seat !
COS it was real - People actually got bitten on the ass'et by redbacks when out houses were a thing !
And what about the poor guy that got bitten by a brown snake on his Man Hood ! visiting a out house !
And have people been bitten on the ass'et by snakes when taking care of business ? ( I don't know - don't recall hearing anything - except for the red backs )

 

[Kindlling]

Am out having a shot with the .22 now and my cattle dog just pointed out a black snake by freezing and looking intently , as in about 2/3 of all cases , i would not have probably noticed it without the dogs help .

Had a couple close calls lately , many earlier.

Last was a brown before this black one , was walking with the dogs approx 6 Meters in front ,
The snake while we were moving actually passed between the dogs and I , so we are talking seconds at best across our path , after them and before me , heebie jeebies on that one.

Last Close call before was a brown , whilst seated on the bush toilet a few months ago.

Slithered a meter and a half past . Too close for comfort.

The amount of times a dog has saved me , I know a station fencing contractor keeps jack russels at camps for this reason .

The dogs kill the rats and snakes , i have heard of dogs lost to snakes a lot.

Unless they are inside my dog has not attacked instead does things like , wont jump over a log on the track so I know.

The dog goes ahead and finds a safe way .

 

[old4570]

Yeah .. We had Tigers a plenty here ..
When I was a wee Lad , we used to play @ the creek ( bush creek at the time ) .. Didn't see a thing ..
But , when a few years later they concreted that creek .. Two workers got bitten by Tiger Snakes ..
And after they concreted the creek , we wanted to play there even more ..
One day we were walking the creek to go to the local park , and I noticed something yellow and black dart out from the fence line .
And it was a tiger , and it was headed for right under my foot .
I did a little hop to avoid stepping on it .
And the snake vanished into a almost invisible hole in the ground I was about to step on .
That's the closest I have been to stepping on one .

Seen plenty since .. Camping out back of Mt Buffalo along a river .. Red Bellied Black Central .. Everywhere you looked , Red Bellies !
After a while , you just stopped looking for them ( So many ) .
Now , I watch the ground like a damned hawk , the longer the grass , the harder I look !
The longer the grass . the more heavy footed I am .

Like the time I went Hog Deer Hunting ! Was walking thru waist high grass .
And every 5 meters or so , something big quickly slithered out of my way .
Did not see a thing , grass was so thick . But you could hear them , you could see the grass move in the direction of the noise , and if they were snakes and not large lizards .... They was big snakes ( Goanna's ? maybe ) Grass was too high to know what the parking lot it was ..
But I was sure to move slow , and heavy footed !

I think the great thing about Australian snakes , they are not interested in Humans ! They just want to get out of our way and mind their own business .
And anyone stupid enough to F with a snake , deserves what they get ( You hear me Steve Irwin )

 

[Kindlling]

Yeah .. We had Tigers a plenty here ..
When I was a wee Lad , we used to play @ the creek ( bush creek at the time ) .. Didn't see a thing ..
But , when a few years later they concreted that creek .. Two workers got bitten by Tiger Snakes ..
And after they concreted the creek , we wanted to play there even more ..
One day we were walking the creek to go to the local park , and I noticed something yellow and black dart out from the fence line .
And it was a tiger , and it was headed for right under my foot .
I did a little hop to avoid stepping on it .
And the snake vanished into a almost invisible hole in the ground I was about to step on .
That's the closest I have been to stepping on one .

Seen plenty since .. Camping out back of Mt Buffalo along a river .. Red Bellied Black Central .. Everywhere you looked , Red Bellies !
After a while , you just stopped looking for them ( So many ) .
Now , I watch the ground like a damned hawk , the longer the grass , the harder I look !
The longer the grass . the more heavy footed I am .

Like the time I went Hog Deer Hunting ! Was walking thru waist high grass .
And every 5 meters or so , something big quickly slithered out of my way .
Did not see a thing , grass was so thick . But you could hear them , you could see the grass move in the direction of the noise , and if they were snakes and not large lizards .... They was big snakes ( Goanna's ? maybe ) Grass was too high to know what the parking lot it was ..
But I was sure to move slow , and heavy footed !

I think the great thing about Australian snakes , they are not interested in Humans ! They just want to get out of our way and mind their own business .
And anyone stupid enough to F with a snake , deserves what they get ( You hear me Steve Irwin )

Most snakes will get out of your way if they see you or stay still , some will arc up , I have seen snakes that wont budge .
Have even had them arc up when I did not yet know they were there .

Most attacks would be where we surprise each other and don’t know they are there , easy enough to do , or people who try do battle without the
Appropriate PPE.
Those tigers have a reputation of chasing people , I have never seen from memory or had much to do with them .

 

[old4570]

Yeah , poisonous bittey things = Best avoided !
I caught a blue ringed octopus when fishing off a pier when I was a teen .
Very / very carefully removed off the hook ! I have to tell .........

 

[WanderOn]

Hahahaha
In 7 posts we have gone from wiping rings to blue ring octopuses.

 

[Kindlling]

still waiting for one of these bushcraft geniuses to come up with the portable toilet butt hammock complete with inbuilt seat ring

 

[Newearth]

I like that K.I.S.S acronym . : Keep it simple stupid .

The basics should be taken care of first , unfortunately like bushcraft , survival has become an industry designed to bamboozle and sell you something .

We are consumers , at a basic level , hunters and gatherers.

Your comfort is on par with your preparation and imagination.
There is Can Do people , and Cant Do people .

I must say most people would not survive in the bush , because they prepared the wrong things.

The hills , ticks , wet , snakes , leeches , gympie gympie stinging plants , spiky vines , mosquitoes and dehydration will deter them here . Low energy would be a huge problem , its hard .
You can walk 20 m off the track and no one would know your there .

This comforts me to know .

I actually enjoy nature and the bush , don’t fear it , because I did the homework .

If the government gave you the rules ‘ rough guidelines’ for life , which meant you get into the bread line , or you had the choice to live freely though possible hand to mouth in the bush , ill be glad to go in the bush .

Gympie gympie stinging plants?? Do u live near Gympie?

 

[Kindlling]

Gympie gympie stinging plants?? Do u live near Gympie?

I am not near Gympie the town , am near the plant though , I am in north Queensland Newearth . The plant is on the sides of the road , on tracks in the forest in clearings and where the sun can get in .
People tend to walk where its the path of least resistance where its clear , on a ridge , in a seasonal water gully etc which is where it is.

Have been stung up the coast and down the coast a bit though . the plant grows larger down New south wales forests according to books . It is one of the common names of this plant :

Dendrocnide moroides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Quote :”D. moroides is notorious for its extremely painful sting which may leave victims suffering for weeks or even months. It is reputed to be the most venomous plant in Australia, if not the world.”

There is a few different varieties apparently , the dogs have had it also and they go absolutely beserk .
You really don’t want to mess with it , you will never forget .

I am not sure how things like wild pigs and other animals deal with the pain , maybe they learn to avoid it .

I know people who have gone to the emergency department at the hospital for help after being stung .

I have had it pass straight through long trousers like they were not even there and it is only tiny hypodermic fine hairs , they can even be inhaled . They are heat sensitive , once in you even a breeze makes them react painfully and they will be there for months reminding you .

Have tried removing the hairs with elastoplast , duct tape , never tried leg wax its supposed to work somewhat .

Best thing I found was paw paw cream , eased the pain a bit .

 

[WanderOn]

I am not near Gympie , I am in north Queensland Newearth . ,Have been stung up the coast and down the coast a bit though . the plant is even down New south wales forests . It is one of the common names of this plant :

Dendrocnide moroides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Quote :”D. moroides is notorious for its extremely painful sting which may leave victims suffering for weeks or even months. It is reputed to be the most venomous plant in Australia, if not the world.”

There is a few different varieties , the dogs have had it also and they go absolutely beserk .
You really don’t want to mess with it , you will never forget .

I am not sure how things like wild pigs and other animals deal with the pain , maybe they learn to avoid it .

I know people who have gone to the emergency department at the hospital for help after being stung .

I have had it pass straight through long trousers like they were not even there and it is only tiny hypodermic fine hairs , they can even be inhaled . They are heat sensitive , once in you even a breeze makes them react painfully and they will be there for months reminding you .

Have tried removing the hairs with elastoplast , duct tape , never tried leg wax its supposed to work somewhat .

Best thing I found was paw paw cream , eased the pain a bit .

Great info. Hopefully never get to experience it first hand
Thanks

 

[Kindlling]

One of the most useful pieces of gear I have used ever .
Is army surplus duffle bags .

I have loaded them up with heaps of food and gear and dragged them through the bush in hand with a backpack on too .
The current US one I have is claimed to take 70 pounds .
Good in the car too . They hold heaps . I would say more than that .

If we are talking bug out bags , or which ever name you like or just going bush for a bit.

Even put it on a golf buggy to travel if need be . Use one with a wide stable wheel base if you can on road . The golf buggy is not much use however on rough terrain off road .

Military duffle bags can take a beating where most things would have well and truly fallen apart .

My logic behind the effort to take it is , you may be in pain carrying it in , though excercise feels really good and I get a buzz from pushing the body in the bush .

So you will put in the extra effort at the beginning , for extra comfort and sustainability when you get there .

Go ahead and drag logs around the bush by ropes tied to them too and whatever else for a couple weeks , then marvel at how good you feel and look in your body too , even if it hurts just for the sake of it .

Then get the rewards as you rest in the comfort you have created by your work .

 

[Kindlling]

you can find a pattern to make a army duffel / kit bag in Ron Edwards number 10 bushcraft book .

I can’t see how people who can’t handle not being able to hit “buy now” on their devices , for instant emotional gratification,
Can possibly survive a major disaster on their own steam .

Those who can make , repair and have good solid gear , skills , knowledge and know what work is , will stand a better chance of surviving .
When they say “ bug out “ and 72 hour bag and all this stuff , or 24 hr solo survival etc ,

You have to question these scenarios and timeframes , contexts , I think bushcrafters already have an advantage because we do this stuff for fun anyway , which is actually practice for real survival .

These short term things are just camping for a couple nights.

Survival for me means longer term , if you were fleeing a home from climate disasters , an economic collapse and homelessness because you don’t yet have the house paid off etc , or a war zone , is more realistic than crashing a plane then surviving the wild in my opinion .


The old bag that is still good to use .
The new double handle upgrade ,
And was flicking through Ron Edwards bushcraft number 10 book and found the pattern to make them.

Number 10 book is fantastic .