The Beginning of a Journey

In the summer of 2016 I was challenged to do an experiment. I had mentioned the idea of being stranded in the woods, with limited equipment, and being able to survive. I will say that I have no formal training in wilderness survival, but I've pieced things together from watching Survivorman, talking to people with more knowledge than I have, and doing some reading on various skills and techniques. It's kind of a hobby, and part of all of the hiking, camping, and backpacking equipment I have is survival related. Anytime I hike, even if I'm going out for a few hours first thing in the morning, I'm set up to spend a few nights in the woods.

I don't remember exactly how the conversation came up, but I was challenged to actually do it. At first I made excuses, real ones that focused on the various responsibilities I had with work and school, but was convinced that I needed to do it. I looked over my schedule to find the time that would work, and initially picked out a Friday afternoon to Sunday morning time slot in August. I began thinking about the limited equipment I would take, and decided on my full Camelbak of water, my two knives I carry hiking (I always have a fixed blade knife and a folding knife on any outdoor excursion), two tarps, parachute cord, my firesteel, and the clothes on my back. I also had my waterproof Bible, some 3x5 index cards (I rarely go anywhere without some of these), and a pen.

I had a friend, the one who challenged me to do this, drop me off in the woods on Friday night, I had my phone with me in the event of an emergency but it would stay off unless I needed something urgently, and I went to find a place to set up camp. It was an area I was familiar with, and I knew where I could get water if I ran out, and "rescue" was less than 10 minutes away. It wasn't really a survival situation, and I knew that going in. There was never any point where my life was at risk, and so it was hard to really find the experience a challenge, but it ended up turning into a much more eye opening, and potentially life changing, outing.

I feel like I actually get to say this for real, please do not try this at home. Survival isn't a joke, and my setting ending up not really being all that dangerous or challenging. Don't just drop yourself into an unknown area with limited supplies and try to stay alive. I was in the middle of summer, with water and access to more water. I had the means of making fire and staying dry. Don't be an idiot and end up getting yourself killed.

My time in the woods on this particular outing didn't end up being about testing my wilderness skills, the setting didn't allow for that, but it began to test my approach to life. It gave me some unique experiences, and began a practice that I am hoping to continue for the rest of my life...


Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!