How long do you think you'd last?

[Chrisinmd]

How long do you think you would survive all alone in the wilderness with no food or shelter?

 

[jobo]

How long do you think you would survive all alone in the wilderness with no food or shelter?

which wilderness, are there polar bears.?

 

[Chrisinmd]

Let's say your dropped in the forest of the Pacific northwest. Washinton state area

 

[jobo]

Let's say your dropped in the forest of the Pacific northwest. Washinton state area

i've been there, its much like wales only a lot bigger, as long as its not winter and i don't get eaten by a bear, i could last for months, particular if i was in possession of a knife and some means of ignition

is that actually a wilderness, you cant be more than a couple of days walk from a road ?

 

[hoshin1600]

I have thought about this a fair amount. I would have no problem with shelter. Fire could be tricky with no matches but I think I could manage. Food would be an issue. Most of us don't know enough about local edible plants. Obtaining meat is the biggest problem. Without a gun or archery set up I would die.
The problem with this question is most people don't know all the issues that will arise in this type crisis. Without good food, after a day or two you won't have the energy to do much and you won't be able to think properly. What will kill you is lack of knowledge not lack of stuff.

 

[jobo]

I have thought about this a fair amount. I would have no problem with shelter. Fire could be tricky with no matches but I think I could manage. Food would be an issue. Most of us don't know enough about local edible plants. Obtaining meat is the biggest problem. Without a gun or archery set up I would die.
The problem with this question is most people don't know all the issues that will arise in this type crisis. Without good food, after a day or two you won't have the energy to do much and you won't be able to think properly. What will kill you is lack of knowledge not lack of stuff.

you really don't need meat to survive, you can argue about balanced diets in the long term, but its not an issue over a few weeks or months.

that said protein is a lot easier to find than complex carbohydrates, just turn a log over, best to swallow them whole


im not well up on the ecology of washing
state, but in the uk with have lots and lots of nettles and you can live on nettles for a prolonged period of time, best to swallow them whole as well

 

[Flying Crane]

A lot of variables. Am I wearing appropriate clothing for the region and the season? Or was I dropped into the Pacific Northwest while dressed for the beaches of Maui? Little things like that can make all the difference.

Do I have any equipment at all? Even a pocket knife and a bottle of water, or nothing at all? Or a backpack full of supplies for a multi-day hiking/camping trip?

It’s hard to speculate without knowing some background.

 

[Chrisinmd]

A lot of variables. Am I wearing appropriate clothing for the region and the season? Or was I dropped into the Pacific Northwest while dressed for the beaches of Maui? Little things like that can make all the difference.

Do I have any equipment at all? Even a pocket knife and a bottle of water, or nothing at all? Or a backpack full of supplies for a multi-day hiking/camping trip?

It’s hard to speculate without knowing some background.

To answer your question about the variables lets assume this happened this time of year. December. You have no supplies. Just wearing a shirt blue jeans and a light jacket.

 

[Chrisinmd]

i've been there, its much like wales only a lot bigger, as long as its not winter and i don't get eaten by a bear, i could last for months, particular if i was in possession of a knife and some means of ignition

is that actually a wilderness, you cant be more than a couple of days walk from a road ?

There is a lot of wilderness there but yes it is in the USA so im sure even if I put you in the most remote past of Washington State you could probably walk out in a few days assuming you know which direction to go. I hiked Olympic National park and that is 922,651 acres of preserved wilderness. Lots of bears you would have to worry about surviving and somewhat mountaneos terrain from what I remember. Lots and Lots of pine trees

 

[Flying Crane]

To answer your question about the variables lets assume this happened this time of year. December. You have no supplies. Just wearing a shirt blue jeans and a light jacket.

Bad situation then. It’s cold and wet, Ive got no rain gear, no cold weather gear, no tools, no food, no water, no ready means to build a fire (everything is wet) and no means to purify water. Drinking the water from a stream could be worse than not drinking it. Vomiting and diarrhea from drinking bad water can dehydrate and kill you faster than simply not drinking it. The cold and wet can cause hypothermia very quickly and lead to lethargy and very irrational decision making.

The prospects do not look good. If I don’t find help or a way out within a couple days, it’s likely all over.

 

[Tez3]

Trust me, being alone anywhere remote even without food sounds idyllic compared to the UK in the throes of a very vitriolic and nasty General Election campaign. Many of us may not survive this whereas the chances of surviving in the wilderness are quite high for me.

 

[Chrisinmd]

The cold and wet can cause hypothermia very quickly and lead to lethargy and very irrational decision making.

The prospects do not look good. If I don’t find help or a way out within a couple days, it’s likely all over.

Just checked the weather there low of 41 degrees with a 100 percent chance of rain. Not pleasant but with a light jacket I don't think you will freeze to death or get hypothermia

 

[Flying Crane]

Just checked the weather there low of 41 degrees with a 100 percent chance of rain. Not pleasant but with a light jacket I don't think you will freeze to death or get hypothermia

Oh yes you will. Not instantly. But without shelter and a source of warmth, of you are constantly wet in 42 degrees, just a light jacket, it won’t take long. Jeans will be soaked, if the jacket isn’t a rain jacket then it too will be soaked. That is hypothermia country, for sure.

 

[jobo]

There is a lot of wilderness there but yes it is in the USA so im sure even if I put you in the most remote past of Washington State you could probably walk out in a few days assuming you know which direction to go. I hiked Olympic National park and that is 922,651 acres of preserved wilderness. Lots of bears you would have to worry about surviving and somewhat mountaneos terrain from what I remember. Lots and Lots of pine trees

100 th

There is a lot of wilderness there but yes it is in the USA so im sure even if I put you in the most remote past of Washington State you could probably walk out in a few days assuming you know which direction to go. I hiked Olympic National park and that is 922,651 acres of preserved wilderness. Lots of bears you would have to worry about surviving and somewhat mountainous terrain from what I remember. Lots and Lots of pine trees

even with a million acres, your not going to be more than 70 miles or so from civilization

that's only a couple of days if your in good condition, or dead if you cant walk further than the distance between your car and the mall, the trick is a) going in the right direction and especially b) not going in circles

 

[Buka]

Wait, what, you mean abandoned without cable TV?

If I'm to play this game then I'm playing by my own rules if you'll let me - in that I'm going to be stranded with whatever I always carry with me everywhere I always am. My biggest threat is always the cold. I hate cold. My biggest strength is my training, the fact that I'm stubborn and I'm used to hoofing. That and the fact that I love Washington state.

So for me, I'm walking to the town of Sequim. I love Sequim.

 

[jobo]

Bad situation then. It’s cold and wet, Ive got no rain gear, no cold weather gear, no tools, no food, no water, no ready means to build a fire (everything is wet) and no means to purify water. Drinking the water from a stream could be worse than not drinking it. Vomiting and diarrhea from drinking bad water can dehydrate and kill you faster than simply not drinking it. The cold and wet can cause hypothermia very quickly and lead to lethargy and very irrational decision making.

The prospects do not look good. If I don’t find help or a way out within a couple days, it’s likely all over.

Oh yes you will. Not instantly. But without shelter and a source of warmth, of you are constantly wet in 42 degrees, just a light jacket, it won’t take long. Jeans will be soaked, if the jacket isn’t a rain jacket then it too will be soaked. That is hypothermia country, for sure.

i think your underestimating humans ability to survive moderate cold, we are a species that has colonised the most inhospitable corners of the globe armed with no more than a horse blanket.

i think 40 degrees and a light drizzle, whilst by no means pleasant is a long way from certain death. there's people sleeping rough who seem to survive far worse conditions than that, ive done countless hours on a motorbike soak through, in far far colder conditions than that and lived to tell the tale far better that than being stuck in the australian outback

 

[Flying Crane]

Wait, what, you mean abandoned without cable TV?

If I'm to play this game then I'm playing by my own rules if you'll let me - in that I'm going to be stranded with whatever I always carry with me everywhere I always am. My biggest threat is always the cold. I hate cold. My biggest strength is my training, the fact that I'm stubborn and I'm used to hoofing. That and the fact that I love Washington state.

So for me, I'm walking to the town of Sequim. I love Sequim.

I’m really hoping I would have been mindful enough that day to pack a roll of good, soft toilet paper. Using leaves in the woods? Sounds miserable. Of course without food I likely won’t need it more than once or twice. But still.

 

[Buka]

Time of year would matter a lot. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be on Hurricane Ridge in the winter.
And where in the state you were would matter, too. I've been to parts of Washington state where the trees were so close together I couldn't walk through them. And I'm skinny. I had never seen trees like that.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

i think your underestimating humans ability to survive moderate cold, we are a species that has colonised the most inhospitable corners of the globe armed with no more than a horse blanket.

i think 40 degrees and a light drizzle, whilst by no means pleasant is a long way from certain death. there's people sleeping rough who seem to survive far worse conditions than that, ive done countless hours on a motorbike soak through, in far far colder conditions than that and lived to tell the tale far better that than being stuck in the australian outback

Keep in mind, that's the time in the day. It will get a lot colder at night. If you can set up a shelter and figure out a way to dry off, then take off all the wet clothes you might be alright, but then you'll be naked in a cold forest. With no supplies.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Personally, assuming the weather doesn't get me (big assumption), I would be fine up until I eat a bad plant/berry (I know basic stuff to tell safe vs. Unsafe food but have never had to test it), I ran into a bear, or i stumbled across some people. The last is the least likely as if I found a good spot to set up shelter I'd probably do that and wait for whatever reacue group is coming from however I got stranded like that.

If I was intentionally going survival camping like that, I would be a lot more prepared than that (also doing it in the adurondacks) and probably be okay unless a bear or other wild animal got me.