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Northwoods Sporting Journal
Page 54
Outdoor Survival Tips
by Charlie Reitze,
Millinocket, ME
Having hiked various sections of the Appalachian Trail
from Virginia to Maine, I’ve heard
myriad comical stories about beginning hikers. And having taken
hikers with me on bushwhacking
and Appalachian Trail trips, I’ve
seen some things that caused me to
grin and shake my head in aston-
Just in case you’re wondering or considering it, twentypound propane tanks don’t quite
cut the mustard either, at least not
on a hiking trip.
On a quiet peaceful night,
one full case of quick oatmeal,
when dumped out of a backpack,
rumbles the ground like an earth-
Now you have to understand they were
instructed not to carry a pack weighing
more than twenty-five pounds. That’s my
preset limit for a two-week summer hike.
ishment. Just to list a few:
One lady beginning her A.T.
hike at the Southern trailhead in
Springer Mountain Georgia began
her short-lived journey by pushing her gear down the trail in a
grocery cart.
Another would-be hiker
began with a two-burner Coleman
Stove complete with all the trimmings, spatulas, pans, and foods
to match.
Every spring university students go to the trailhead and hike
it for a ways outfitting themselves
with free camping gear discarded
by wanna-be hikers who soon
learn that they can’t hike with all
that camping stores have to offer.
quake and provides the two hiking
companions with joyous memories
for years to come.
Let me comment on the last
bullet. I took two guys on a bushwhacking trip for about ten days.
One complained that his pack
was too heavy. Now you have to
understand they were instructed
not to carry a pack weighing more
than twenty-five pounds. That’s
my preset limit for a two-week
summer hike. Further they were
told that all evening meals would
be provided. All they had to bring
for food items was a simple dried
food breakfast and health bars for
lunch.
Well, that first night after
February 2015
Hiking Survival
we got settled, the hiker, whom
I’ll refer to as the oatmeal man,
dumped out his pack. Noah and I
just watched as the contents kept
coming when all to once came the
big thud. It was a case of oatmeal.
I’m not talking about a small
case; this beast was about
a foot wide and eight to ten
inches high. Also out came
a water filter with only half
the parts to it. That wouldn’t
have been quite so bad except
for the fact that they knew I
already had a working water
filter. I’ll forego the conversation that followed except to
say that the Oatmeal man said
he didn’t want to be hungry.
Some people have either been hit by lightning too
much or perhaps not enough.
Now when I go hiking,
I check other peoples’ backpacks before we leave. This
spring I’ll be going on a weeklong fishing trip with some of
my grandkids. Granted this is
a different kind of a trip in that
we’ll be canoeing; but it will
afford me the opportunity to
teach some of the younger ones
about packing and survival. One
of them surprised me the other
day when he said he wanted to
learn about survival. Now that
his Dad’s buying the Northwoods
Sporting Journal next month, I’ll
breakdown my backpack in print.
It’ll take me an entire column
to cover an all you need to sur-
vive comfortably for two weeks
twenty five pound or less pack. If
you have to carry more than this
than you will need to revert to a
motorhome, or roadside yuppie
camping. It’s easy to tell a hiker
parts that can fail. It’s fail proof.
And no I don’t use sticks for fuel
although I could.
When I go on a bushwhacking trip I’m comfortable. My
survival is well thought out and
who has suffered from being hit
by lightning. They’ll be carrying
so much weight they look like a
hunchback gorilla.
Let me give you an example
of lightweight. My stove is a perfect example. It weighs in at one
ounce. And I don’t have to carry
cumbersome fuel canisters or alcohol either. Further there are no
planned. I think I’ll leave it dangling there for this month. Have a
great year.
Charlie Reitze is a Vietnam
War Veteran, published author and
survivalist. He also is a graduate
of Tom Brown’s Wilderness Survival School, and Solo Wilderness
First Aid and CPR.
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