LAST FEBRUARY 2016, an independent
event organizer contacted me for a survival training, far inland beyond the
Wawa Dam, in Rodriguez, Rizal. This particular organizer became one of the
participants along with twenty others. I could not forget the two days I spent
with them and the hosting family who originally were from Aklan. That training,
came days after I had also done one with 34 individuals organized by CLIMBER.
The organizer, now my former
student, arranged again another training for another set of participants, this
time on the approach to the Binicayan-Pamitinan Protected Landscape, in
Rodriguez, Rizal, near the DENR office. I am again obliged to travel to Luzon
with my tools, educational aids and instruction manual. It is another
compressed training which would run for two days on December 9 and 10, 2017.
Although I do not mind doing a
training for two days, as I receive the same compensation package that I do for
three days, but three days is best for both the participants and me. I only
give the best instructions and the extra day would have given justice to what
you spend for. An extra day would have been relaxing on my part also and, in
the process, participants would not be forced to receive an overload of
information.
This training is called the BASIC
WILDERNESS SURVIVAL COURSE. It is designed for tropical wilderness settings of
dense jungles and rugged highlands, which I first offered to the mountaineering
community in October 2013. It is open to all individuals or groups of any
interests and purpose. Attending now are fifteen people, to include two minors.
The training is done inside a local resort.
The first chapter is Introduction
to Survival. Survival situations demand that you stay tough after the initial impact. Mental stability
and toughness are very important characteristics of a survivor. You must
develop a survival mindset. Do not engage in prolonged mind games of fantasy
and false hopes. You should rein in your mind so you would not release excess
adrenaline and cause you more confusions in a very stringent moment.
The best thing to do is stay still
and fill up your lungs with oxygene. Your brain needs it most to help you
process thoughts. You are now in a high state of agitation and so does your
brain. Your brain will be in hyper mode, collating and processing many thoughts
all at the same time which is beyond human capacity. We can do so one thought
at a time. Just stay still and breathe regularly, supplying your blood system
with oxygene.
In the hierarchy of needs and of
nutrition in a survival situation, water is always on the top of the scales of
both. Rightly so, for we are in the tropics and humidity plays a big role. With
that, we surrender perspiration by the acts of our exertions and by what the
climatic conditions imposed on us. Along with the lost moisture, is our body
heat which we let go without our knowing.
When you stay still in one place,
you lessen wastage of moisture and body heat. Then you confine the latter by
setting up a shelter (if you still have one) or make one from scratch. That is
the second need. The third would be food then warmth. Although food, and even
water, would give you warmth, but heat from a naked flame or from the rays of
the sun or from a person’s body is solace. Last is security which would
complement well with the rest.
Our body has four hypothetical
storage tanks that needs to be replenished from time to time during survival.
First is constant rehydration that would offset dehydration. Second is food
that would give you nutrients, carbohydrates and proteins. Third is sugar which
is converted by enzymes for your adrenaline rush. Fourth is fat, hardest to find
in the tropics yet are wrapped as tissues in our body.
The topic for the next chapter is
about Water Sanitation and Hydration. The first chapter had mentioned
the importance of water during survival. Water could be sourced from natural
springs, water seeps, man-made water holes, flowing streams, the atmosphere and
from plants. It could be refined through boiling, by chemicals, exposure to
heat, through filtration and by desalination. It is wise to cache water in your
survival camp or just travel early and take advantage of shady places and
breeze if you happen to have less.
We move fast to the third chapter
which is about Knife Care and Safety. The knife is a tool and should not
be used to what it was not designed for like digging holes and as pry bars. It
is a vital piece of equipment that should be properly handled and cared for
because it is your link to your surviving. In all my training, knife etiquette
is learned first before you touch a knife, so as to lessen accidents.
Besides that, there is a knife law
that forbids the display, even of concealed carrying, in public places unless
you are in a lawful activity, which we are in right now. A knife should be in a
sturdy sheath when travelling and should be unsheathed when at home to keep it
from rust. There are many kinds of knives and it is important that you know the
parts, blade shapes, grind styles and the tang designs. You must also learn how
to field sharpen a knife.
I was able to finish three chapters
in the morning and noonbreak is mandatory when the clock struck twelve. There
is no cooking as food is prepared by the family-run resort. After lunch, the
hammock is an inviting proposition and I sneaked into its comfortable grip for
a quick nap. I needed the rest to keep my mind sharp since the participants
would be handling knives later. Refreshed after 90 minutes of siesta, I
continued with the activity.
After the much appreciated
instructions about the knife in the morning, we moved on to Survival Tool
Making. Using a tool is essential in survival or even when not in that
situation. I showed them the most basic of tools like the digging stick, traps
and snares from pieces bamboo that I prepared, and the batoning stick. I let
each carve a spoon on bamboo to practice their dexterity with a knife while
supervising the practical exercise.
Following this is the chapter on Notches.
There are five basic notches that are used regularly in bushcraft. These are
applicable in shelters, furniture and tools. Again, this is another exercise in
knife dexterity but it can only be achieved with the use of another tool, the
baton stick. On a single stick that served as an art canvas, each participant
carved their five different notches, starting with the easiest up to the most
complicated.
Next is Fire, Fuel and Campfire
Safety. You cannot make a fire if one or all elements are not present,
namely: fuel, heat and air. Lately, they added a fourth element – chemical
reaction. Fire-making is 80% common sense, 10% skill and 10% perspiration. We
are talking about the friction methods. Your fire can start if you can acquire
and identify the right tinder, if you are in a dry place, and if you have the
patience.
Aside from friction, there is the
conventional method which are matchsticks, lighters, ferro rods and the flint
and steel. Then there is solar magnification which can be done with any lens,
reading glasses, water and even ice. Then you have pressurized air, exemplified
by the fire piston. Since I do not have the luxury of time, I limit my
demonstrations to the flint and steel, which I paired with charclothe, and the
ferro rod. I showed them how to make a tinder bundle.
Showed them how the bow drill
method is made and spun. Unfortunately, I could only make thick smoke as
sawdust embers refused to light up my tinder. Humidity is very high since we
are beside a big river and there is a promise of a downpour. I let others try
the bowdrill, the ferro rod, and the flint and steel. The teenagers among them
were able to light the charclothe. Unfortunately, we cannot do with the bamboos
because the dry ones have not been stored properly and are all wet.
A strong downpour came as expected
and we have to end the first day. The activity on primitive cooking using
bamboo could not proceed. The storage of firewood, along with dry bamboo had
been left to neglect. I have to dry just a few after I have set my shelter in
the morning and left the rest to the onslaught of rain when the rush for the
safe shelter commenced.
Likewise, the activity on Nocturnal
Hunting has to be shelved. The Marikina River has risen and very turbulent and
is not safe for people. The good thing about catered food is you appreciate it
in times of rain but I have seen a lot of cooking in the worst of times and
today is no exception. Should have but the organizer designed this as it is and
it is beyond my control.
When the rain stopped, the Campfire
Yarns and Storytelling pushed through naturally. A small fire gave the
participants a reason to gather around in a circle. I have to gather the
drenched firewood nearer the fire to wick it away of moisture so it would be
fed next as campfire fuel. A bottle of brandy appeared and the glass made its
way among the adults animating more of the stories. The evening program ended
at 23:00 and the hammock is most appreciated.
The second day (December 10) start
with Customizing the Survival Kit. It is better that survival kits are
made from scratch than bought commercially because a survival kit’s size and
its components depends upon the type of the activity you are indulging in and
the kind of environment you are going to visit. Your personal preference still
matters. The components should include the medical kit, the replenishment
pouch, the repair kit and a small knife. It could all be integrated in one
container and should be waterproofed.
Next is Foraging and Plant
Identification. Foraging food in the wilderness or on unfamiliar terrain
can be very taxing to the mind. When you are stressed and hungry, you tend to
remove all caution. Looks can be very deceiving in the tropics like fruits,
leaves, nuts, roots, flowers and mushrooms. Likewise, you need to evade harmful
plants while travelling your way in a jungle.
Short term food would be grub, tree
snails, fresh-water shrimps and crabs and frogs. These can be picked by hand.
Cook it if you must to remove parasites and bacteria. Long term food are meat
from mammals, fish, birds and reptiles. For that, you must use a weapon or
traps and snares. Traps could be anything designed to lure prey into a simple
contraption of a hollow bamboo or a dam of rocks. It must work with the
terrain, with gravity and the habits of creatures, including its anatomy
design.
Snares are more complex. It has a
spring mechanism and a trigger mechanism which would be initiated by the prey. Showed
the students a very common snare employing a pressure-trigger mechanism. It
could catch anything from birds to goats. Another is a tube snare popularized
by the Aeta. You must use bait so prey would be lured to set it off. A single
trap or a single snare would not yield you a catch but a trap line of 20 to 30
of these, after ascertaining where prey would most likely pass or visit.
Related to these is the chapter on Food
Preservation and Cooking. If you can eat a deer all in one setting, well
and good. You are very fortunate to still possess a healthy appetite. Meat rot
in a short span of time. During survival, meat can be preserved and its
edibility can be extended for a few more hours to several months. You can boil
it. You can dry it. You can smoke it. Or you can cook it with its own oil from
its fat.
Fish can be preserved by drying and
by smoking. Fruits can be digested after a drying session and provide you
natural sugar. Common rootcrops, has high starch value, and should be cooked,
by all means possible, to remove toxins and poison. Famine crops need to be
immersed in running water for five days before cooking. Salt and vinegar are
good food preservatives. Vinegar can be sourced from any palm.
Next is Navigation and
Understanding Trails. This is more on traditional navigation which use the
natural terrain, shadows and the sky fixtures for travel; avoiding obstacles
and exposed areas; and knowing how to identify signs on trails made by both
animals and humans. Following that is Understanding Cold Weather. During
survival, exposure to the elements is expected. There are five physical
mechanisms that steal away body heat and the things that we should do to keep
us constantly warm.
Dusk would soon come and we have to
break camp, intending to finish the last chapter which is Outdoors Common
Sense. This is based from my yet unpublished book, ETHICAL BUSHCRAFT.
It is about trail courtesy and behavior while on the trail; choosing the best
campsites; practicing stealth camping; increasing individual safety and
security; wildlife encounters; and introduce people the idea of Blend, Adapt
and Improvise.
We finished the training with a
blade porn. It is a traditional bushcraft activity where all edged tools are
laid together in one place to inject another round of useful conversations and
to encourage closer camaraderie among the participants. What resulted was the
presence a considerable number of high-quality imported blades and rare local
blades. It is now almost evening and we took dinner.
The van-for-hire that took me here
two days ago from Cubao, came back to bring me back there. The organizer made
sure of that. From Cubao, I took a bus bound for Navotas where an invitation for
a second dinner awaits me and, of course, a refuge to rest a few days before my
departure back to Cebu. I am tired, not of the training compressed in two days,
but from a trusted person who failed to keep his end of the bargain. It is one of the hazards of a journeyman and it is sad.
Document done in LibreOffice 5.3
Writer
Some photos by Vernie Tuason and Franz Tiu
Some photos by Vernie Tuason and Franz Tiu
No comments:
Post a Comment