Three Day Survival Canoe Trip
John Gibbons
It was around 9:30 PM on Friday, the day after New York went dark, when Rick and I paddled our canoe close to the shore of our planned camp site.
However, a dog started to bark so we veered away. It was just too dark to even think about finding a place to camp so we canoed to the opposite shore of the lake to Little Square Pond in the Fish Creek area of NY state's Adirondack Park. We headed towards a point and found a place to land the canoe. Walking 150’ from shore, we made camp with a tarp. Getting a late start has its price. We bedded down in a pile of pine needles and loom.
This actually created one of the best mattresses we would have during the entire trip. We didn’t bother with a fire.
The temperature was high 80s and the humidity was sweltering. If we had needed to make a debris shelter, the materials were readily available. Camping in an established site would have been a different story. Those sites are usually picked clean.
Saturday morning we packed up and discovered a site that we had passed during the night. This site was located on a stream that flowed into Little Square Pond. The plan for this trip was to use a minimal amount of gear, practice survival techniques when possible, travel at least ten miles, and plan a future more rigorous survival trip.
It is important to make sure that your low/no-tech camping skills are up to the challenge. This brings you to the next step, replacing and eliminating your dependency on any equipment. It also brings in to perspective how difficult or how easy it will be to tackle the next level.
Once you find your comfort level in camping with little or no gear, you will be that much closer with a deeper understanding of what is needed to go to the next step. I started a fire with my magnesium fire starter and began to boil water for coffee and bannock. As a treat I brought along some real old-time slab bacon that requires no refrigeration and is high in nitrites and salt. Normally I wouldn't eat much of this but it was worth experiencing a feel for what the old timers ate.
First, I boiled the bacon slices in water (in my frying pan) and then fried them to a crisp brown. Rick suggested changing the water twice in the future because the taste of salt was still stronger than preferred. The bannock consisted of 1 c. flour to 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/8 tsp. salt and approximately ¼ c. (or less) water for a stiff dough. I originally brought along 4 c. of pre-mixed bannock for the trip, adding water as needed. This was prepared in a frying pan and leaned up to the fire which browns the top or flipped it over. With more water the mix works well as pancake flour.
The rest of the afternoon was spent canoeing up the stream, jumping from pond to pond by way the canoe carried us. We counted six carries and about seven ponds. This put us well within our goal of ten miles. However, it did not allow much time to practice other skills. Before leaving, we erected our lean-to tarp arrangement to have ready for our return. This time we kept the tarp low to the ground since there was a threat of winds and rain driving on us. Thankfully the bug population had been in our favor up to this point.
The weather cleared for a great day. Along the way we noted the wild foods we could gather -- jewel weed, cattails, yellow pond lilies, wintergreen, blue berries and white pine. Plenty of fish and a turtle were sighted along the way. Early that morning I came within 20 feet of a white tail deer. The time to hunt and prepare food will be our focus on the next trip, as well as the time for fishing using the survival kit.
Arriving back at camp we settled into a restful night dining on long grained rice, coffee and stew. On Sunday morning we broke camp and made our way to the car. However, we couldn't resist the opportunity to check out one last pond on the way back. We detoured and found even more remote camp sites. Here unfolded a clear plan for the more involved survival trip we had discussed earlier.
In closing I leave you with a couple of tips that will hopefully make a successful and enjoyable trip should you venture out. Even if you practice only one or two skills you will still be closer to discovering your own personal level of skill. So leave the MREs at home and try cooking from scratch. Master your fire skill, starting it without matches. Catalog wild foods you can use as you come upon them, even if you're not able to cook them at that moment. This will give you a true understanding of what it takes to be self-sufficient.
Gear List
1 fry pan
1 pot
1 wire handled coffee can
1 Cup
1 Spoon
water filter
water bottle
1 tarp 10X8
100' string 1/8
Sleeping bag
pack
Knife
Magnesium fire starter
Class 1 and 2 survival kit (see article The Kit)
Camera equipment
rain gear
head lamp
long pants, shorts, swim trunks
Food rations
Bannock mix 4 cups
long grain Rice 2 cups
Bacon
coffee
sugar
2 Small cans Stew