Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Surviving a cold wet night

I have followed that exact philosophy strictly since I dammed near died in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park on my first solo wintercamping trip. I was 24, had a considerable amount of serious bush experience and had wintercamped, BUT, I was over-confident and pushed myself until dark on snowshoes which soaked me with sweat.

When I finally stoped to camp, it was black dark, my Svea was balky and LED headlamps didn't exist in 1970. I was wet through, found that my down bag was also completely saturated and my sleeping bag cover was missing. Fortunately, I am very comfortable alone in the bush and although scared, I knew what to do.

I gathered Cedar boughs, covered myself and the snow with them, changed into my dry socks with my pacs loosened and huddled under my bag as a shelter from the wind. Within an hour, I was warm, sleepy and just sat there until dawn and then snowshoed out to the highway. I was wearing "Mellofleece" merino wool union suit, wool sweater, pants and socks plus wool jackshirt, IF, I had either injured myself OR been wearing cotton or many synthetics, I would have died; I have been back there many times since and I still wear merino wool AND carry a bivy rig.

It is a good idea to check your matches at least yearly as they can deteriorate with time. Also to check the water proofness of your match case. They can crack and leak. Both happened to me this hunting season, (my pocket match case).
I carry extra matches in my day pack and jacket pockets.

I my experience with disposable lighters has been that when the flint and sparking wheel get wet, it won't spark and light.

Learning some new things with this discussion.

Stu2 in Oregon

I don't rely on matches. Though I carry a few sealed up. Along with a couple of lighters bought new each season.

I carry a firestarting kit, in ziplocs, soon to be vaccum sealed. Contains wood wool, cedar bark, small squaw wood, and a block of gunpowder for a long burn. Powder melted with acetone and formed into blocks in an ice cube tray. This way I'm not scratching for dry tinder, I can actually rip the package open and hit my striker. I have an instant fire. All I have to chase is more squaw wood and larger stuff for the fuel. I've seen videos of guys that jump in water below freezing and show you how quickly you cannot find wood, manage to strike a match etc..... yet all I'd have to do is grab the package from the top of my pack, yank it out, pull out striker, rip package open and strike one time. Instant fire starting flames. Its a bit bulky, but I carry 2 packs like this at all times. I never knew till a couple of survival courses, how quick a sparker can start a fire, vs a match.

Jeff

Good point for all battery operated devices. I am really picky about flashlights, and will only buy serious ones for hunting or travel that are bombproof in terms of not accidentally having them turn on in a pack or suitcase and run down the batteries. I prefer waterproof switches that twist on. Exposed button switches are the worst, with sliding switches next. I used to reverse or remove a battery to keep such flashlights from running down their batteries, but in the dark, it is not alwasy easy to insert or reverse the batteries to get the light to work. OK, it's a pet peeve and I over react.

This is an expensive but very interesting process to produce a foolproof tinder. I use dryer lint mixed with fine steel wool saturated with Vasoline which is cheap and works well, the powder blocks would augment this and help to ignite damp wood such as is common here.....as Okanogan will attest.

Now, WHAT is this "striker", I have the magnesium type, but, is this something better??????

How does the steel wool augment the dryer lint for flammability? I'm always looking for cheap fire starting stuff and there is no shortage of dryer lint in my house...:)

Okanagan, I keep a tiny LED light clipped to my pack strap. Will allow the reversal of the real lights batteries..

Kutenay-- nothing special, just a normal stiker, something on a handle that has basically a cut down hard steel hacksaw blade, run along the edge, sparks galore. Got it in a survival class. Basically the same as on the magnesium strikers, its round like on the M but about as thick as 2 pencils. Or a blast match which is similar.

I've never cared much for the steel wool though it works. I prefer wood wool which catches instantly.

The powder blocks can burn for minutes depending on size. Which is great. Some packs I also put in a part block of the wax soaked stove starting blocks. Once lit they are good too.

One can never go wrong with vaseline soaked cotton balls.

I also carry a blow tube, plastic, O2 type tubing. Just be very careful not to inhale. But that sure can help a smoldering start.

I'll see if I can find more info on my striker. Had a link to the survival sight a year ago, don't know if I can find it back.

Jeff

SteelyEyes,

For some reason fine wire wool is very flammable and being what it is, is not affected by water as lint is...I suspect that it also burns at a higher temp than lint too...

You can ignite steel wool just be putting it across the terminals of a standard 9V battery...just tease it out a little and you will see the sparks flow through it when you connect to the terminals. You can also light it with a spark or flame in the usual manner...What I've never tried is with a magnify glass???

If you use a magnesium/flint fire set, a few shavings of magnesium onto your tender also makes it burn a lot hotter, but these firesets are very prone to corrosion, so seal them up well...

Regards,

Pete

No, I don't think is an overreaction at all...
I can only assume that the people who come up with some of these dumb designs have never actually had to rely on them in an emergency..

Regards,

Pete

Steel wool burns hotter and longer than cotton or wood wool and will ignite and burn when WET, if saturated with Vasoline. The dryer lint ignites quicker and I have also used rubber bands mixed into this mess as they last and help ignite wood, BUT, they stink something awful, so, I quit using them.

I know about "bracket fungus" tinder and pine pitch and spruce gum and birch bark and Cedar shavings, I have used wood heat since I was an infant, grew up in the BC bush and one of my major forestry duties was "slashburning" in wet Oct.-Nov. Nothing I have used will work like this mess and it is about H20 proof, important here where it rains a little bit.......28 days out of 30 in Nov., except when it was snowing.

If, you have Cedar and this tinder and a reliable lighter, you will get a fire going and then you use Doug Fir to stoke it or Hemlock. This will last all night if banked with soil and covered with even wet wood, allowing air to enter.

Kutenay,

Are Cedar shaving better than Silver Birch bark as far as lighting a fire goes?

Regards,

Pete

Aside from keeping stick matches in a waterproof case, a couple of BICs, a large ferro rod & magnesium shavings in a film can (made at home), I always have my old ZIPPO lighter and two small Tobasco bottles of lighter fluid.

When it's windy and raining, etc., that old ZIPPO will always light. Stays lit in the wind, too.

I don't smoke -- quit in 1976 -- so it is used strictly in emergency situations where the other methods won't work.

I wrap a couple small strips of duct tape around the opening to seal it so the fluid doesn't evaporate for a long time. It has never failed me.

If for some reason the fluid ran dry, then I just refill from one of the small Tobasco bottles.

I also carry four homemade firestarters made by pouring melted beeswax in egg cartons. Beforehand, I soak pure, heavy cotton string in the beeswax (or parafin), lay it in the separate space of the egg carton, put in some rough shavings of dry pine and pour in the melted beeswax.

Once dry, I wrap these separately in wax paper, which also acts as a wick. Kept in a Ziplok bag, they'll burn hot for a long time.

A road flare or lifeboat flare will start wet wood in the most inclement weather. I used to carry two in my saddlebags. Had to use them on two occasions when I needed a fire RIGHT NOW! and everything in the forest was soaking and cold.

Now, in my daypack, I carry a half road flare. Cut one in two, put some Krazy Glue on the cut end and electric tape. Works like a charm. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

FWIW.

L.W.

Guys this is good stuff thanks for all the info I'm soaking it all in!!!!! Chuck

13

Dakotan,
Thank you for bumping this thread up.
Very good stuff here!

Gents, Like others have said, pack like you won't be able to build a fire, but make one if you can. I am a newbie when it comes to hunting, much less backpack hunting, but have spent some time in the woods. When you are mountain hunting, do you not pass through the forest on the way up? Do you ever pass evergreen blow downs, with some spikes sticking up from the stump? Those spikes are "lighter pine" or "fat wood", very flammable and pretty waterproof. Sometimes you'll see hard little stubs or knots where a branch has fallen or been broken off, same thing, but be careful when you dig them out as they are hard enough to chip your blade. White birch bark is also very flammable do to the oil content and can be gathered as you walk. Lighter pine is also available for purchase, Why not carry a sitck or three with you as instant tinder?
Kute, Sparkers, come large and small. Can be found in BSA stores and many camping supplies. Lighters (Bics) frequently leak, and don't like cold much. Yes I carry several, but also carry matches in K&M match case and GI match cases and several sparker rods scattered about. Just my .02 FWIW.
How many of you choose their hunting equipment as survival gear, or don't but carry some sort of kit or do both?
Regards Jim
Ps. Kute, Id love to see the insides of your pack.
Pss. Great thread!!!

Shaq, my Brother spent a cold night misplaced (his words) in the Maine woods. At dawn, he fired shots until someone answered and walked out. I grew up with that information and have carried survival stuff all my days in the woods. I have a quart ziplock around a metal WW2 German infantryman's cup containing:

space blanket, poncho, emergency matches, fire starters,
signal mirror, whistle, compass,
dental floss, immodium, tylenol, eye drops, gauze, and tape,
parachute cord, super glue, red flagging tape.
There's also a razor sharp Benchmade Griptillian tied to the handle.

That's in my daypack along with whatever the season calls for. Spare hats, socks, gloves, raingear...


I am waiting for a product called Celox to hit the civilian market in early 2008. It's supposed to be the best clotting agent available. Emergency bleeding in the backwoods is my second greatest concern after freezing to death, and I can't wait to stuff a packet in my kit!

Still laughing at most of Lee24's posts....Sorry

Great info. I will definately add some of the items above to my pack prior to my next outing.

Really, knit-wit?! The general understanding (from those who routinely extract such victims) is that they tend toward counter clockwise traverses and shed clothing at various intervals. On balance, not a lot of "hunkering down" is seen during recovery.

Old post, but good lord!