Survival Life #1

This adventure will be about making due with minimal survival gear. I am trying to remove as much of the snow as possible. When snow warms from the fire, it will create moisture. Moisture is bad, especially in the winter. Water take heat away 100 times faster than air, which can quickly lead to hypothermia. I'm looking for a straight dead tree to help with a shelter. This will be used to hold up the tarp. The ridge pole for a simple shelter. My cheap supplies. Tarp, rope, inexpensive cutter. Lean-to structures are quick and easy to make. But it is very difficult to construct them out of natural materials so they are waterproof. This tarp was too small to be effective, but it will have to do. Pulling out the tarp to make an overhang. The bottom of the tarp keeps slipping out, so I will use this to hold it tight. You can see how the tarp is too short. This snow will pack down and hold it. Spruce bows make a great bedding material. It doesn't take long to gather a good pile of material. It does take a while though, to get a couple of inches of loft to protect from the cold. Dead grass found nearby will help produce more loft. Nice and comfy! Cotton tail rabbits are nocturnal and don't change color in the winter. It is easy to spot their pellets. This is an effective way to break branches into firewood sized pieces. I'm going to make a big fire since I need the coals for cooking. A saw or axe is a very valuable tool in survival. I wonder how primitive people collected their fire wood without any tools! The creek is only partially frozen. Removing the first bit of muddy water. Stringing the rabbit up like this will cook it slow and prevent it from drying out. The fire dies out quickly as the coals get wet from below. It may not seem like a lot of work, but so far, it's been non-stop to get here. The meat will be cooked when it is firm to the touch. The meat is quite good.