Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Camping. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Camping. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Flatbread Recipe

Think about being able to say to your camping counterparts: “Do you want freshly baked bread tonight?”  This will certainly win you points.

Of course, you’re not going to make a yeasty, fluffy loaf – that requires 24 hours to rise – but who cares, anytime someone offers to make freshly baked anything on an outdoor trip it’s impressive.
Flatbread is one of the easiest “gourmet” ideas you can make on a camping trip. The key is to prep batches of dry mix before you go, double bag it (you don’t want flour on the loose in your backpack) and then mix with some water when you’re ready to cook up your meal. Note that the only downfall of cooking flatbread outdoors is that you are often stuck washing slightly floury, sometimes sticky hands, which is more of an endeavor than when you have easy access to running water.

This base recipe allows for a lot of flexibility and variation. You can add spices to it, which I recommend, as the base recipe is really just water and flour and not very high on the taste scale. This summer on a backpacking trip I made a batch with cumin powder and that works great as an accompaniment to a pot of spicy red lentils, It’s essentially the backpacker’s naan, so, for example, if you want a garlic naan, roll the dough in finely chopped garlic before frying.
adventure journal camp notes flatbrad 02 
Don’t carry a measuring cup with you when you’re camping? Don’t worry, I don’t either. The consistency of the dough is more important than the actual measurement of water, and once you have made this recipe a few times, you’ll get the hang of it and you might just be able to add the water without measuring. But if you have a cup or a bowl on hand that will work too; as you can see from the recipe, you want a volume ratio of about 1 part water to 3 parts flour. A Nalgene bottle will work too, allowing you to easily measure out the right amount in ounces or milliliters.

This bread is best served fresh, but if you have a few rounds of flatbread left over, place them overnight in a container with a lid to keep them from drying out, and slather with peanut butter and honey in the morning. Instant breakfast.

The recipe makes about four flatbread rounds, perfect to go with a dinner for two people. You can easily double, triple, or even quadruple this batch depending on how many flatbreads you are going to want to make on your camping trip. Feel free to experiment with different flour blends as well. For example, I like to use half all-purpose or whole wheat flour and half rye flour, which makes for a flatbread with a bit more flavor to it. Which flour you use will slightly change how much water you need to add when you make the dough, so go slowly. You can always add a little more water as needed.

adventure journal camp notes flatbread 03  
Camp Flatbread
Makes: About 4 flatbread rounds.

1 cup all-purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour also works well)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
About a…“ cup (2.75 ounces, 80 milliliters) water
Oil for frying

Ideas for potential variations:
1 teaspoon cumin powder or
1 teaspoon caraway seeds or
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Preparation:
In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Place in a container that you know is going to stay closed when you pack it (double bagged for example, or in a reusable bottle with a screw on lid).

When ready to bake, add about half of the water to the dry ingredients. Mix together until the dough is crumbly. Add the rest of the water (more or less as needed) until the dough comes together.
Form the dough into four balls, then flatten them into rounds a little less than ¼-inch thick.

Fry in a lightly oiled pan (essentially any flat, hot surface that you can make with your outdoor cooking supplies) for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. You can also cook the flatbread on top of a grill if you’re doing that kind of camping, the end result will have a slightly smoky flavor to it.
Serve immediately.

Visit here for more interesting information:

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2015/09/how-to-make-camp-bread-while-actually-camping/

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Monday, March 20, 2017

Best Camp Site Selection Criteria

What makes the best camp sight? Have you ever seen a camp get flooded by rising water levels or runoff down a hill? Clearly that is not a good sight. Start searching for your site well before dark. Water access is an important factor. Look at your topo map; open circles indicate flat land, while stacked lines ringing a site can be good windbreaks. Cold air flows downhill, so higher land will be warmer at night. Anticipate how terrain could intensify weather. Could a long valley become a wind tunnel? Where will the runoff flow in a storm? What will attract lightning? Use natural advantages, seek shady forests in the summer, maximize southern exposure on cold days, and "choose a dry, sunlit spot with a steady breeze in mosquito country. Think, Anticipate. Here is some good information inspired by BackCountry.com, a growing provider of quality camping gear.

Ground Surface

Where you choose to sleep will be an important decision when picking a campsite. It’s crucial to pick a spot with flat, well drained ground to pitch a tent.

BCRE_130226-0116
Making sure that your flat ground is even is also important. Even ground with no sharp protrusions will help you sleep soundly. Flat areas covered in grass or sand are two prime choices, if available.

Shade

After flat ground, shade is the second most important factor when choosing a campsite. Having permanent shade throughout the day isn’t necessarily mandatory. But shade in the at the right time of day is nice. Being awoken at 7 a.m. by a blazing hot sun broiling your tent is unpleasant in hot weather. At the same time, morning sun will dry tents and warm you up on cold mornings.

BCRE_110525-308
In the desert, shade throughout the day is a plus. Just make sure you pick an open area to set it up, and be cautious of the infamous desert winds.

What’s Above You

For the sake of your own safety, always be aware of what’s looming above you. Don’t choose to set up beneath a dead tree branch with the reasoning that ‘it’s still standing, so it’s probably safe.’ Same goes for rock slide and avalanche paths, as well as pitching a tent beneath a loose rock ledge. Always be cautious of these sorts of hazards, because Mother Nature isn’t always forgiving.

What’s Around You

Not only is it important to think about what’s above you, it’s also smart to note what’s surrounding you. You may not want to be camped right on the water’s edge due to bugs, thirsty animals, and flooding risk. But if you’re out there hauling your own water, it sure does help to be relatively close to a water source so you’re not breaking your back lugging precious water about. (*JR note: Rising water levels can be a hazard and running water noise can impair hearing things that you may need to hear.  So within 100 yards of  fresh water for convenience, but not too close.*)

If your forecast notes high winds, consider settling down behind a windbreak such as large boulders or a stand of trees. Don’t be caught on the flat open ground during a windstorm—it’s not a pleasant experience.

Privacy

Although neighbors can be a good thing, you don’t always want another party 20 feet away from you. Finding yourself a little bit of privacy makes your camping experience all that much more enjoyable, and really highlights the excitement of getting out into the wilderness. This doesn’t mean you have to backpack in 10 miles, or four-wheel in for hours just to get away from everyone else (although this kind of privacy sometimes can’t be beat). It’s easy enough to get off the beaten path without overexerting yourself or your vehicle. So don’t settle for the first spot you see if it’s surrounded by other folks or too close to the trail. Go out and find yourself a new—and better—spot!

Space

With ground surface, shade, and privacy settled on, it’s now time to discuss ample camping space. If you’re out backpacking and pitching a sole tent, there’s not as much of a need for a ton of space. Alternatively, if you’re with a larger party and lots of gear, you’ll need to find yourself a bigger spot. Tent space and kitchen space are obviously two of the most important spatial factors. But don’t cut corners if there’s fun and games to be had. Be sure to choose areas which allow for any activities you may have brought along. After all, just because you’re camping doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice all the comforts of home.



BCIM_140314_IWM0274

When choosing your own area for a campsite, it’s important to just keep in mind what exactly it is that you’re looking for. The number of people, dogs or no dogs, activities, trail access, nearby water sources—all of these will play into your perfect camping spot. So go out there and find yourself in nature—just be sure to be safe, have fun, and always leave the area just as clean as you found it.

Security

In a SHTF scenario, you want a camp sight that offers concealment and cover yet provides a look out point or points with the ability to see and hear what is coming from a distance.  For large groups, set up camp in concentric rings, with the command post in the center.  Have three (or more) outposts in a triangle (symmetric) shape that can see and provide cover fire for each other.  An additional layer of outer security is good if you have the numbers to provide early engagement of intruders before they get to your camp, or to be behind them if they get through. A Scout or Patrol Team that is on the move provides an extra element of unpredictable security.  The use of Night Vision and Intruder Detectors are recommended.


Inspired by BoysLife.org: How to build a survival shelter

BAD PLACES TO BUILD A SHELTER

  1. Anywhere the ground is damp.
  2. On mountaintops and open ridges where you are exposed to cold wind.
  3. In the bottom of narrow valleys where cold collects at night.
  4. Ravines or washes where water runs when it rains or near water that might rise.
  5. Near dead trees or ones with dead limbs that can fall in high winds.
  6. By a single tree that towers above the rest that could serve as a lightning rod.
  7. Rocky ledges or below loose, boulder-strewn slopes where falling rocks or even a full-blown landslide, mudslide or avalanche could wipe you out.
For additional information see the following links:  
Blog Table of Contents 

Friday, June 7, 2019

Wilderness Survival TEST

Wilderness Survival Skills are FREE to learn, and by definition, require minimal purchases since we are supposed to survive off of what we can come up with in the woods.

How do your Wilderness Skills really stack up?  There is a TEST that follows.



There are several levels of Wilderness Survival, that are broadly classified by:
    1) the length of time you must survive and
    2) the degree of preparation and supplies you have available and
    3) the number of survivalist present, their skill level & physical condition

Most survival scenarios are solo or small groups, short term, with only what you carry with you, also know as your EDC or Every Day Carry items but often includes what you have in your car.

A popular example, the Naked & Afraid show requires medium term survival at 14 to 40 days (most often 21) with very limited preparations.  Typically only one item each, with usually only 2 people with limited to above average survival skills.  It is an unrealistic scenario, for several reasons. The wilderness regions selected are worse than average and because you have no clothes making your Naked & Afraid Survival Plan notably different from any others.

But other scenarios could be long extended periods like on the highly popular Alone Survival Show, which is a single survivalist (except once season), with a Survival Pack of 10 items.  On Alone, the last person standing out of 10 contestants, wins $500,000 and typically the winners must stay somewhere between 50 to 90 days.  On Alone, the 10 items you select are critical and region specific.  At the bottom of this post are links to items selected in past seasons of Alone, and an Alone Survival Plan.

 Types of Survival include:
  1. Primitive Survival which requires stone tools, wood spears, friction fire, etc.  The TV Show The Great Human Race is the closest example of what this would be like.
  2. Everyday Carry Survival (EDC) varies, but may have a knife, fire starter or a vehicle for shelter.  Hiking or walking the woods and getting lost is a common example of this. The TV Show Naked & Afraid might be an example of this, with insufficient clothes.  Man, Woman Wild is another good example along with Dual Survival which portrays actual scenarios.  Survivor Man was a good one.
  3. Planned Camping / survival - where you carry a back pack of useful tools to stay for an extended period.  For beginners and children, this is the best way to start learning.  The TV Show Alone is an excellent example of this.
  4. Sustainable Living is surviving for years which includes raising livestock and gardeningSecurity becomes a big factor in this scenario.
There are others and varying degrees of the above classifications.

Primitive Survival would historically consist of a small but skilled agile group who inherited a few basic survival tools, region appropriate clothing and a pocket full of food.  Some type of Primitive Fishing tools would also be available. This would be long term survival under Nomadic conditions to avoid exhausting regional resources and would almost always be near a source of fresh water.  This also requires several hundred acres of land per group member.

This is only for the most advanced experts who excel at these primitive skills:
  1. Hunting
  2. Trapping
  3. Fishing
  4. Identifying wild plants
  5. Starting friction fires
  6. Making stone tools
  7. Building shelter
EDC Survival, is definitely the most common.  Even when camping with a comfortable pack of supplies, people will wander off without it and get lost.  So the question at this point, is what tools do you consistently carry with you?  For me, it is a Leatherman Wave, a ferrous rod for starting fire, an un-lubricated condom as a water carrier, comfortable shoes and a strong leather belt as well as a pistol and several rounds of ammo.  If in my car, I have much more, including a case of bottled water, a Wilderness Survival Pack (<- see link for list), several prepper fire arms, several hundreds of rounds of ammo, a coat, a machete, a plastic coated map, a GPS, plus my smart phone.

This is usually for 24 to 72 hours, and you have regionally suitable clothes for the current time of day.

Planned Camping can be the most luxurious survival and usually the best place to start.  In addition, there are multiple levels of supplies, periods of time and difficulty.  Its best to start out, especially with children, with ample gear and supplies.

Other levels are to go camping with only the supplies you can carry in your pack.  Additional variations are to only carry 45 pounds in your pack, or 35 pounds (if cross country hiking), or with only 10 to 15 items in your pack.  Each level is progressively more difficult, especially as you increase the time interval. With experience, you can challenge yourself by carrying fewer items and staying for longer periods of time.

Sustainable Living is perhaps the most unique, especially in the time period, as it basically for ever, with a wide range of pioneer type tools that you can build or maintain with group members skills.  This type of survival requires domesticated livestock, gardening skills and tools plus about 7 acres of land per group member. Sustainable living also requires a higher degree of security as the events that would necessitate this are severe.

OK, here is your TEST (Its not as easy as you think)

Based on your Survival Skills, pick one of the different types of Survival above and go out in the woods for a 3 day weekend and TEST your survival skills.  You set the parameters and what you bring.  As you become proficient at your first level, advance to your next level.


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Saturday, February 24, 2018

Introducing Prepping to skeptics

Our Government says we should ALL prepare for disaster and even provides a website (Ready.gov) to tell us how.  To promote this, they have declared that September is National Preparedness Month.



Yet, we all know someone we care about who is not a Prepper or even thinks it is foolish.  These people fall in to three groups:
  1. Likes the idea of prepping, but doesn't' have time, money &/or doesn't think it is urgent.
  2. Not interested in prepping and even resents the idea if presented with it too often.
  3. Thinks prepping is crazy and Preppers are lunatics; that a crisis will not happen, at least not one that will ever affect them.  Or if a disaster happens, the Government will take care of things. Despite our Government Recommending everyone prepare, these people think it is foolish. 
When one of our loved ones is like this, how do we handle it?  What can we do to help them?

The answer depends on what group they are in.

Group 1 is willing but just needs encouraging or help.  Having lunch with them, go hiking, camping, fishing or something together that you both enjoy.  Talk about prepping, tell them about a few basic preps that you have or would recommend to them.  Help them get started. Invite them to go to a camping store to buy a back pack, a.k.a. Bug Out Bag. Either that, or give them your old one. No one wants to have an empty Bug Out Bag; once you have it, you immediately want to start getting things to put in it. Share the Beginner Prepper List. Next trip together, go get a Water Straw or a fire starter, or something else.  Each month go do this.  Introduce them to the Rule of 3 to help set their priorities;  even better, the Step by Step Prepper Plan.

Group 2 requires a more strategic approach.  The first step is to realize how important it is to NOT push to hard nor too often.  Speak to them one on one, never as a group where you are out numbered.  Speak with love in your heart and avoid confrontation.  Back off if they resist, regroup and try another day and another way.  Gentle persistence over time is the key.

Giving strategic gifts that help them be better prepared is a good start.  For example: A good set of MURS Walkie Talkies for the nephew, kids or grand kids so they can play in the neighborhood and communicate. Play with the new toys with them. Pick “our channel” so they will know how to use them in the future if an emergency occurs.  

Give them a Crank Flashlight / radio and pretend a hurricane has taken out all communications and you are in the dark. Some of the Group 3 ideas below are also good for Group 2 and vice versa. If they start becoming responsive, send them a bucket of Beans, rice and oats and then share a prepper link and then back off for a while.

Group 3 is most likely impossible to reach.  They will be calling Preppers lunatics until a disaster occurs and then suddenly they wish they had listened. There is an old saying that you can't help someone who doesn't want help.

So your options are limited to Stealth Prepper Gifts and buying extra stores of your own so you can provide for them.  Even that may not work if they miss the Red Flag Warnings and wait too late and are lost before they can get to you.  Best case scenario, they are close to you and your preps.  If they are far away, you could lease a mini-warehouse near them and stock it with supplies.  This is not practical for most of us on a tight budget, but there are other less costly options.

Do NOT buy them a Gas Mask or other "Kook" preps (yet) as this will cause a major push back.

Start out giving them something sensible like rechargeable batteries and a nice charger, but also include a Solar Charger for when there is a power outage.  Another sensible gift are solar powered Lawn lights which provide "attractive highlights to the yard," an added element of security AND can double as indoor lights or solar battery chargers during a power outage.  After giving these gifts, allow them a chance to come in handy so that they see the value of having a few preparations.

If a Winter Storm is coming, loan them a Propane Heater or even a generator. but conveniently never get around to getting it back. IF they give it back to you while you are visiting them, set it somewhere it will be easy to "forget" and leave it at their house.


For each group, you can help in stealthy ways like this.  When visiting for a weekend BBQ, carry a large box of Strike Anywhere Kitchen matches to light the fire. When finished using them, put them away in their kitchen.  Also bring a manual can opener (not electric) and put it away in one of their kitchen drawers.

Take them to the shooting range/lessons, or buy the kids a BB Gun or Air Soft gun so they can learn shooting basics.  Be sure to give them Gun Safety Lessons.  Take them camping and supply them with a sleeping bag, a pack and the usual Camping Gear.  Teach them how to find a good camp site.

Later as they have come to recognize the benefits of a few of your gifts, ship them (direct) some water treatment or a months supply of food like beans, rice and oats. Or get the premium meals if you can afford them.

There are an endless number of ways you can help without ever mentioning the word Prepare.  I'm sure you can come up with some good ones; if so, please share them with us using the comments option below, or e-mail us using the form at the right, or visit us on facebook

For additional information see the following links:
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Sunday, September 16, 2018

Sewer disposal when the SHTF

Here is a TEST for you.  After this test, the importance of this topic will be obvious. 


Go 7 days without toilet paper or flushing your toilet.  How long before it is intolerable?

Or try to bring in water from a creek or swimming pool in a 5 gal pail for every toilet flush you do.

Now suppose that every time you go out for a pail of water, that your life is in danger from Looters.

Consider the rule:  when it is brown, flush it down; if it is yellow, let it mellow.

For many, it may be difficult to imagine how dark and violent the world can become.  City Survival could become dangerous, especially without a Neighborhood Watch Program.

But our focus here is on waste disposal, which is an often overlooked consideration.  Imagine what the neighborhood will be like when everyone starts dumping their poop in different places.  Is there a vacant lot, or empty space away from everyone and water sources for dumping waste? Perhaps a business dumpster, or even an abandoned business.

Burning some waste and burying the rest (got shovels?) in 8" deep catholes could be a solution, although the smoke from burning could draw undesirable attention to you, putting your life in danger especially if you don't have Security &/or Intruder Detection.  Even if you detect intruders, do your people have  Shooting Training, or even Gun Safety Training?


The US Department of Conservation offers the following:

Shallow holes for human waste

Dig a shallow hole for human waste; but not just any hole, anywhere. Choose an appropriate place to dig the hole.
How to do it:
  • Keep human waste well away from waterways. Dig shallow holes at least 50 m from water, tracks and campsites.
  • Select a site where other people are not likely to walk or camp, such as next to thick undergrowth or near fallen timber. If possible also dig your hole where it will receive plenty of sunlight. Heat from the sun helps decomposition.
  • Use a trowel to dig a hole 150 - 200 mm deep (about the length of the trowel blade) and 100 -150 mm wide. Deposit your solid human waste. Then back fill the hole with dirt and disguise it with leaf litter or other natural materials.
  • If camping in an area for more than one night, or if camping with a large group, agree on a single toilet place and dig a hole deep enough for the group for the length of your stay.

Toilet paper

  • If you have to use paper, use only plain, unbleached, non-perfumed types.
  • Use toilet paper sparingly.
  • Do not burn toilet paper, as this can result in wildfires. Bury paper in your shallow hole or carry it out with you in a plastic bag. 
  • Try using natural materials such as bark or leaf vegetation (non-prickly!) or snow instead. Natural ‘toilet paper’ is as sanitary as processed toilet paper and blends back easily into the environment.
While a topic of debate, using human waste, a.k.a. bio solids or night soil for fertilizer, has been done for centuries.  In the absence of commercial fertilizer (and pesticides), it may be necessary to use anything possible.  Human urine is sterile and contains Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium which are essential plant nutrients.

Your Neighborhood Watch Program could help organize a safe, sanitary latrine location a minimum of 200 feet away from water, trails, and campsites, in organic soil.  Your latrine should be about 12" deep and one foot long for each person that will be using it each day.  Then as the first one foot is used, the waste is covered and then the next foot is used.

By the middle of the 1800's cities, life in big cities was hazardous to your health.  The air was polluted, the streams were open sewers and the streets were covered in horse manure.  This led to disease and the death of many people.  We must manage waste to prevent this from reoccurring and a small amount of planning can help achieve this.

For additional information, see the following links:
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Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Best Survival Knife

If you could only have one tool for hunting, fishing, camping or wilderness survival, what would it be? Lets talk about the characteristics of the best knife:

TBT-010
  1. Be durable, hold a good edge and does not break or bend under the most severe use.  This means is should be made in the USA.
  2. Able to chop, saw and cut rough, large and small fine things.  
  3. Usable for hammering, digging, prying and starting fire.
  4. Easily skin, break bone, and process an animal for smoking
  5. Have a solid, comfortable, full tang hand grip, and ideally a hole for a leather strap.
  6. Has a hardy scabbard, that holds the knife safely and securely, yet has it accessible.
  7. It should be a good defensive tool and be able to be strapped to a pole to make a Spear.
Here are some top candidates that my research revealed:

Tom Brown Tracker
Buck Knives - top rated knife
Tops B.O.B. Brothers of Bushcraft Survival Knife - top rated knife
Case Large Buffalo Horn Hunter Knife 
Case X-Small Leather Hunter Knife - good for people with smaller hands
Gerber Strong Arm Serrated Fixed Blade Knife
KA1218-BRK USMC Fighter Serrated
Ka-Bar BKR7-BRK Combat Utility
Ka-Bar Bk16 Becker Short Drop Pt

 

The Tom Brown Tracker TBT-010 is this Authors personal favorite fixed blade survival knife, having owned more than two dozen different knives.  Without a hatchet, axe or machete, this the best Wilderness Multi-Tool that you can chop or saw wood with.  Here is a video that shows its many uses starting at 5:00.  If you also have a chopping tool, a lighter knife like the Buck or Case is better.

But what about the Every Day Carry (EDC) rule?  This is the idea that you can only count on the tools, that you have on you each and every day.  This usually means a folding knife and compromising some of the heavier uses for a knife.

My top folding knife options are:

Case Amber Bone Hunter Trapper Pocket Knife
Buck 278BKG Fld Alpha Hunter
Kershaw Blur, Olive/Black
TOPS Knives MIL SPIE 3.5 Folding Knife
 
All top quality knives; the Case is the most versatile; The buck is hardy and better for skinning game while the Kershaw is the best defensive knife.  TOPS has a lot of good knives and the SPIE is sharp and holds an edge very well. In the end, there is no knife that is the best for every use.  The answer is to go camping and try different knives to see which one you like best.

More information:
Wilderness Today - Excellent detailed knife information 
Knife Den

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents

Sunday, June 6, 2021

Alone Season 8 Cast

Alone Season 8, where the longest lasting survivor will win $500,000, in the most popular survival show ever on TV.   In Season 7, the Winner, who stayed over 100 days won $1,000,000.  Yes, One Million Dollars.  Let's meet the Season 8 Cast.

Biko Wright from Alone Season 8

Biko Wright

BLOG COMMENT: Biko has a chance of winning this, not because of his survival skills which appear to be limited, but because of his fat reserves, and smart selection of tools.  Not trying to be crude or rude, but ample weight has carried others to victory in past events. With a little food from hunting, fishing & trapping, he has the potential to be $500k richer after this event, IF he has the mental toughness.  His young age could be an advantage in stamina, but a disadvantage in experience.

Age: 30

Hometown: Otis, OR

Profession: Construction Laborer/ Lead Singer

With the heart of a mountain Viking and the soul of a skald, Biko is most at home in the wild. He grew up in the mountains of Topanga Canyon, California, where his parents shared with him their love of the wilderness. Family vacations involved camping, backpacking, snowboarding, snorkeling, spear fishing or hunting. Wilderness and survival skills were prized in his family. Biko’s father, a former Los Angeles sheriff’s sergeant and Marine veteran, shared a passion for wilderness outings and hunting and fishing, that he learned from his own father as a child in Fiji. “In a survival situation,” was Biko’s dad’s constant mantra. He taught Biko and his older brother everything about wilderness survival training. His mom rambled the canyon trails with Biko, his dogs and his friends. When he was older, Biko trained with his Dad’s search and rescue team and he even participated in avalanche training.

Biko loves the Norse gods and following in the old heathen ways. He spars with sword, axe and shield with like-minded friends, and loves building, welding, and forging with his own hands. These are all skills he puts to good use on the property he owns with his fiancé, Erin, in the woods of Western Oregon. Just before leaving to compete on Alone, Biko learned his fiancé is expecting twins—their first children. Taking on the Alone challenge will be his greatest journey until his next step—fatherhood.

Music is in Biko’s blood. His grandparents are blues musicians in New Orleans, and he formed his first band when he was 9. By 14, his growls, screams and strong baritone put him at the front of metal bands. He became the lead singer of the melodic death metal band Sirion, which became one of the top LA area local metal bands. In Oregon, he is part of a heathen folk band, Endelos, that plays at local mead halls, pubs and festivals.

Biko has longed for an adventure like Alone his whole life. To help Biko prepare for Alone, his dad camped out on Biko’s property. Together they worked day and night to train for this epic adventure. He will test his skills, his mental will and his voice. Not to survive, but to thrive and tell his saga.

Here are the ten items Biko selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Pot

2. Sleeping bag

3. Ferro rod

4. Multitool

5. Axe

6. Saw

7. Fishing line and hooks

8. Trapping wire

9. Paracord

10. Bow and arrows


 

Colter Barnes from Alone Season 8

Colter Barnes

BLOG COMMENT:  Military SERE training and a fair selection of tools, give Colter a reasonable chance to win, but no Ferro Rod demonstrates confidence, yet may be his his failing, unless he is successful starting a friction fire.  If he is good enough to do this, he has a good chance to be in the Final 4. 

Age: 36

Hometown: Hobbit Hole, AK

Profession: Homesteader & Educator

Colter was born in Montana, raised in Oregon, and has spent the last 14 years living, working and homesteading in the Alaskan bush—far from the road system.

While he grew up hunting and fishing with his family and friends, it wasn’t until at age 22 when Colter moved into the fly-in only native village of Kokhanok, Alaska, that he actually understood what living off of the land means. With the mentorship of the local residents, it was there that he began the physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually challenging and rewarding pursuit of a more subsistence-based lifestyle. He discovered that it was more stimulating, hence fulfilling, to accomplish something for himself rather than trade money and have someone else do it for him.

After 10 years of working in public education in rural Alaska, Colter found a unique opportunity to combine his passions of teaching and living off of the land. For the past three years he’s been employed as a homesteader and educator by the Tidelines Institute, a field school located on a remote island in Southeast Alaska. Each summer, the school hosts environmental education courses where Colter gets to share his enthusiasm and curiosity with students by teaching “homesteading” skills each afternoon; milling wood and construction, blacksmithing, foraging, gardening, tanning hides and fish skins, food preservation and more. And in the winters, when he has the islands to himself, Colter enjoys the peaceful, slow paced life and deepening his connection with both himself and the natural world.

Colter hopes to combine modern homesteading science and skills with indigenous wisdom and traditions to not only win season 8 of Alone, but to demonstrate the beauty, meaning and fun that can be found when we slow down and simplify our lives.

Here are the ten items Colter selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Axe

4. Saw

5. Tarp

6. Bow and arrows

7. Snare wire

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Multitool

10. Paracord


 

Jordon Bell from Alone Season 8

Jordon Bell

BLOG COMMENT:  Alaska wilderness experience and accustom to working hard as a carpenter, gives Jordon a good chance of winning.  Watch his trapping/fishing skills for his key to success, and his 5 lbs of food rations will keep him strong for several days until he can start harvesting food.  

Age: 43

Hometown: Oak Ridge, TN

Profession: Carpenter

Jordon was born and raised in Maine, where he took to the woods and primitive living at an early age. He joined his family in beaver trapping, deer and bird hunting, and catching brook trout from mountain streams along the Canadian border.

Restless at heart, Jordon began a life-defining journey at age 19, when he loaded everything he owned into a beat up old truck and moved to Alaska. There, he spent nine years climbing mountains, hunting, fishing, snowboarding and somehow surviving his often reckless adventures, which included spending many shelterless nights at -40ºF degrees and once being swept down a mountainside by an avalanche.

A carpenter by trade, Jordon’s work eventually had him traveling across the United States. Each location offered him a new type of wilderness experience. A job in Tennessee led him to settle down once he met his wife and started his family. He spends much of his time now running his construction company and passing on his outdoor knowledge and experience to his 10-year-old son.

By participating on Alone, Jordon hopes to rekindle his adventurous spirit of the past, meld it with his present insight and knowledge, and create a legacy for the future with the ultimate story to one day tell his grandchildren.

Here are the ten items Jordon selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Ferro rod

3. Pot

4. Axe

5. Saw

6. Multitool

7. Snare wire

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Bow and arrows

10. Food ration


 

Matt Corradino from Alone Season 8

Matt Corradino

BLOG COMMENT:  Wilderness survival Instructor is a plus, but this will be the extreme opposite of what Matt is accustom to, and will require substantial adaptation to have a chance of winning.  Failing to bring a Ferro Rod may put him out of the game quickly.  If he passes the cold, wet region test of building a friction fire, he has a good chance to be in the Final 4. 

Age: 42

Hometown: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Profession: Wilderness Survival Instructor

Matt grew up in Norfolk, Virginia as a typical suburban/city kid. Family camping trips sparked a deeper interest in nature, which grew through the years.

As a young adult, a chance meeting with a childhood friend resulted in him acquiring a book by Tom Brown Jr. and, during his few years of homeless wandering, the seed planted by that book and others became fertilized. After taking a class at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School, Matt made primitive survival his life’s focus. During his almost 7 years as a full-time instructor, he met his wife and the two of them lived year-round in a primitive shelter while teaching in the Pine Barrens in New Jersey, encompassing all aspects of survival.

In 2012, Matt and his wife took an amazing opportunity and bought an eco-camp in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands called Mt. Victory Camp. There, they run their own wilderness survival school, Caribbean Earth Skills, which teaches both adults and children. The couple is also raising their two-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.

Matt sees Alone as an opportunity to hone his skills and challenge himself in a new environment. As a lifelong learner, he is looking to humble himself and learn to fuse with the landscape and his instincts. More importantly, he sees survival experiences as a spiritual quest and a chance to become a better human being and hopefully tell a few good jokes along the way.

Here are the ten items Matt selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Bow and arrows

2. Fishing line and hooks

3. Knife

4. Saw

5. Sleeping bag

6. Paracord

7. Pot

8. Water bottle

9. Food ration

10. Snare wire


 

Michelle Finn from Alone Season 8

Michelle Finn

BLOG COMMENT:  One of the older, potentially more experienced candidates, she selected a good set of tools.  Her cold weather experience can give her an advantage, but I hope to be wrong is saying she is unlikely to be the first female winner.

Age: 46

Hometown: Cherryfield, ME

Profession: Educational Consultant

Michelle was raised on the Maine coast, where she grew up exploring the forest and seaside areas. She spent a majority of her free time outdoors with her older brother wandering the woods, fishing off the town wharf, combing the shore, and generally getting up to childhood mischief. Her mother, a teacher, and her uncle, an avid outdoorsman, had a significant hand in inspiring her love of nature. They taught her all about the incredible world around her and would always take her camping and fishing.

Michelle received her degree in elementary education but, instead of entering the classroom after graduation, she chose to pursue bushcraft studies. She lived primitively in a semi-subterranean dwelling for nearly two years, taking classes and practicing various skills such as tracking, shelter making and wild edible identification. For years, Michelle ran and assisted trainings for adults and children to help them connect with the wilderness.

Eventually, she ended up in a public school in bush Alaska, teaching Siberian Yup’ik children on a remote island off the coast of Nome, where she continued to learn traditional skills from the village elders. There, she met her husband Doug, also a teacher, and they now make their home in rural Maine renovating a farmhouse from the 1820s.

When not providing professional development to teachers around the country, Michelle can be found traveling the world, practicing indigenous skills, scuba diving, and gardening. She looks forward to connecting with an amazing new wilderness area and learning as much as she possibly can from the land with all of the challenges and opportunities it will offer.

Here are the ten items Michelle selected to bring on her survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Ferro Rod

4. Multitool

5. Saw

6. Axe

7. Snare wire

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Bow and Arrows

10. Paracord


 

Clay Hayes from Alone Season 8

Clay Hayes

BLOG COMMENT:   With a good set of tools, fishing and hunting experience Clay can win, as his Bow skills can prove to be a huge advantage.  His Florida wilderness experience is good, but this will be the extreme opposite (cold).   With a focus on a good shelter and ample fire wood, he is a likely candidate to be in the Final 4.

Age: 40

Hometown: Milton, FL

Profession: Professional Bowyer & Hunter

Clay Hayes has been a lifelong student of the woods. Growing up in the rural pine woods of northwest Florida, he honed the skills in hunting, fishing and trapping that would serve him for the rest of his life. He has always been drawn to hunter/gatherer cultures and the self-reliant lifestyle they embody. As a child in the Florida backwoods, he practiced the primitive skills he admired in those self-reliant cultures and dreamed of someday living a similar life in the Rocky Mountains.

Those childhood dreams eventually led him into a career as a wildlife biologist, where he got to work in some of the most remote and beautiful landscapes in the lower 48. But despite investing seven years of college and ten years in the job, his true passion was always primitive and traditional archery. In 2017, he left the biology career behind to focus on teaching primitive bow building and archery through online videos and in-person classes.

Since building his first successful bow in 1999, Clay has introduced tens of thousands of people to traditional and primitive archery through his books, magazine articles and online videos.

Clay lives with his wife Liz and two sons, Coye and Fen, on their homestead in North Idaho. Together they hunt, fish, forage and grow a large garden. Raising their two boys in close connection with the earth, with a practical understanding of nature and a sense of self-reliance, is important to both Clay and Liz.

Here are the ten items Clay selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Axe

4. Saw

5. Multitool

6. Bow and arrows

7. Paracord

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Snare wire

10. Ferro rods


 

Theresa Kamper from Alone Season 8

Theresa Emmerich Kamper

BLOG COMMENT:  With amazing credentials, Theresa could be a finalist for sure, but she could also quit early in the game, as this environment will not be like any class room she has ever experienced.  The degree of experience from her Experimental Archaeology is uncertain but could prove to be a big advantage if she has a lot of hands on field experience.  I'd love to chat and learn more about this interesting field. Theresa is likely a rising or falling star, with either a strong performance or early tap out.

Age: 40

Hometown: Exeter, UK

Profession: Prehistoric Leather Specialist

Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper is an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and primitive technology of all kinds and has tanned skins using traditional technologies for over twenty-five years. She originates from the state of Wyoming in the United States, where she was lucky enough to grow up as part of a family of outdoor enthusiasts. The vast tracks of wilderness surrounding her hometown allowed ample opportunity to practice and hone her practical skill sets.

Learning to tan was a natural offshoot of the attempt to use as much of the animal as possible and had the added bonus of producing a beautiful end product. Through much trial and error and with the support of very tolerant parents, Theresa learned to brain tan skins between the age of 12 and 13. Later interaction with other traditional tanners and excellent written information vastly improved the efficiency and quality of her tanning process.

Theresa has taught various tannage types such as fat tan, vegetable tan, alum taw and rawhide production to groups ranging from bush crafters to University students for the past nine years.

In addition to her main area of expertise in tanning technologies, she has also taught a wide range of traditional living skills, including the construction and use of traditional weapons, the use of plant and animal fibres, patterning and clothing construction, basketry, clay processing, pottery manufacture and firing, shelter construction and use, friction fire lighting and basic flint knapping and stone tool construction and use.

Theresa holds a master’s degree in Experimental Archaeology from the University of Exeter, as well as a PhD on the microscopic analysis of prehistoric processed skin artefacts. Her background includes an internship with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, work with the Openarch project funded by the Culture Program of the European Union, where she was heavily involved in experimental work and public demonstrations at archaeological open air museums, giving international workshops, presenting at numerous conferences, consulting on television documentaries, co-authoring a chapter in Life-Cycle of Structures in Experimental Archaeology: an object biography approach with Sidestone Press. Her recently released book titled, Determining Prehistoric Skin Processing Technologies: the macro and microscopic characteristics of experimental samples, is also available from Sidestone Press.

Dr. Emmerich Kamper is currently an honorary research fellow with the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom and teaches practical courses across Europe, North America and the Near East on various tannage technologies as well as continuing to engage in research projects with a broad array of museum and academic institutions. Alone was an opportunity to put a lifetime of learning into everyday use in a long-term living situation, and was an incredible learning experience!

Here are the ten items Theresa selected to bring on her survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Knife

4. Saw

5. Food ration

6. Ferro rod

7. Snare wire

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Bow and arrows

10. Paracord


 

Tim Madson from Alone Season 8

Tim Madsen

BLOG COMMENT:  Hard working country boy, hunting and fishing, lots of time spent in the wilderness, Tim has the potential to do well in this event. 

Age: 48

Hometown: Laramie, WY

Profession: Oil Rig Roughneck

Born in Montana, Tim was raised in Wyoming. He grew up in the country, where raising livestock and growing your own food was a normal, everyday way of life. Since he was surrounded by mountain men gatherings, wild game hunting, fly fishing, and remote wilderness camping, his passion for wilderness living skills developed at a young age. With his deep fascination with the mountains of Wyoming, it was common for Tim to spend weeks at a time alone in the vast wilderness of the Bighorn Mountain range.

Tim has spent his adult life working on the oil rigs of the Midwest from Utah to North Dakota. Hard work in extreme conditions has been the normal environment for the majority of his career. The life of a roughneck also meant being away from his family for weeks at a time on a regular basis. Tim’s family and children are the most important part of his life. Every decision he makes and every action he takes is for the benefit of his children.

When not working, Tim spends all his time in the wilds of the Snowy Range mountains in Southern Wyoming. There, he built a remote off-grid cabin where he and his family spend almost all of their free time learning and living off of the land. An avid and successful big game bowhunter, every year Tim hunts elk, deer and bear. He currently has two bears in the Pope & Young record book, recognized as the official repository for records on bow-harvested North American big game animals.

Additionally, he is excited for the opportunity to culminate the skills he has learned during his life, as well as the hardships he has endured, and achieve a successful wilderness experience.

Here are the ten items Tim selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Ferro rod

4. Bow and arrows

5. Multitool

6. Saw

7. Axe

8. Fishing line and hooks

9. Paracord

10. Food ration


 

Rose Moore from Alone Season 8

Rose Anna Moore

BLOG COMMENT:  With hunting, trapping and fishing experience that will be a plus, Rose can be a strong candidate IF she can make these skills work for her.  Her attractive slim figure does not bring many calories, so she will need to get off to a good start finding and building some food supplies to have a chance of winning.

Age: 43

Hometown: Wellsboro, PA

Profession: Retail Sporting Goods Shop and Training Center Owner

Rose grew up in Tioga County, PA, where she spent most of her childhood hunting and fishing the trout streams of the beautiful Pine Creek Gorge area. Learning these skills and having an interest in sustainable living helped Rose develop an adaptable and agile nature. While most of her childhood was spent moving from one environment to another or from one home to another, Rose has always found a way to make the changes and curveballs work for her as she navigates through life’s journey.

As a mother of a 25-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son, Rose aimed to raise her children with the knowledge they would need to live sustainable lives. This included teaching them how to garden, hunt, trap, fish, and raise and harvest farm animals. Now that her children are grown, Rose spends most of her free time teaching local youths about the importance of hunting, trapping, and the cultural aspects associated with understanding conservation. Whether it’s through community wide classes or showcasing her own pursuit of a bow North American Super Slam, Rose always promotes understanding each animal and directly showing how conservation is important. Some of the hunts that Rose showcases include Musk Oxen in Greenland and invasive species like Pythons in the Florida Everglades.

Because of her lifestyle, travels, core beliefs, daily practices, and lessons learned, Rose believes that her drive and determination to never quit will put her at an advantage. While Season 8 of Alone will be one of the most challenging adventures of Rose’s journey, she is looking forward to putting all of her skills together to create a sustainable life for herself in the wilderness.

Here are the ten items Rose selected to bring on her survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Bow and arrows

2. Sleeping bag

3. Multitool

4. Fishing line and hooks

5. Pot

6. Snare wire

7. Paracord

8. Saw

9. Axe

10. Ferro rod


 

Nate Weber from Alone Season 8

Nate Weber

BLOG COMMENT:  Looking like a Mountain man, Nate's military experience, especially the SERE training makes him a strong contender, but he is one of the older participants; if this translates to experience and working smart, he can be a Final 4 candidate, but he must work smart, and not make mistakes that require a lot of additional work.  Chance / Luck may be a factor in his destiny. 

Age: 47

Hometown: East Jordan, MI

Profession: Retired Military/Homesteader

Growing up in rural Ohio, Nate Weber spent his early years outdoors (like most kids back then). Eager to find his place in the world, Nate joined the Navy three days after graduating high school. He spent the first twelve years of his military career as a Navy Corpsman, graduating from Field Medical School, EMT school and Cardiovascular Medical School. Even though his love for medicine has never waned, Nate wanted to explore other avenues, too. He accepted a commission as an Aviation Warrant Officer in the US Army to fly the Kiowa Warrior helicopter. Nate’s twelve years in the Army included SERE school, becoming an Instructor Pilot and many deployments all over the world.

Recently retired, Nate, his wife, and their five children decided to finally settle down for good in Northern Michigan where the children can enjoy a life outdoors, living off the land, and understanding nature in a more intimate and organic setting of real life living. For the past two years, the family has been living in a tiny home Nate and his boys built on the chassis of an old semi-truck. They are developing their land into a small homestead, as they move towards being completely self-sustainable.

In his spare time, Nate helps coach the local middle school football and track teams, hosting Air-Soft tournaments in the woods, snowmobiling in the U.P., researching and discussing primal nutrition and medicine with his wife, and grilling up the perfect ribeye over an open fire.

In joining the show, Nate hopes to perfect his own survival skills and to learn more about what makes him tick. Though Nate’s survival training has been mainly through formal military training, it is his ability to think outside the box, to adapt to any situation, to problem solve his way through any challenge, and to maintain a positive attitude and spirit against all odds that makes him well suited to face this challenge. These are the qualities and virtues he lives by in his everyday life and strives to teach to his children and all those he encounters.

Here are the ten items Nate selected to bring on his survival journey to Grizzly Mountain:

1. Sleeping bag

2. Pot

3. Ferro rod

4. Paracord

5. Snare wire

6. Bow and Arrows

7. Fishing line and hooks

8. Axe

9. Saw

10. Multitool


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