An Outdoorsman's Journal

Backcountry Survival Trip

Hello friends,

   With my golden retriever, Red, due to have pups in late July I have to get a head on my deadlines so I can be home when the golden puppies are born. For this week's column I chose a rather unusual way to spend two nights outdoors. I would call public land
on Taylor Counties, Big Rib River home to test my skills at survival or should I say starving and sleeping outdoors without shelter, a sleeping bag, food, carried in water, cooking utensils or bug spray.
   I did carry a machete with a saw blade, aluminum foil for cooking trout if I caught some, a spool of monofilament line, split shots and some number 12 hooks. I also had a water filter, a container for water and a hand spade for digging worms and a lighter for what I would find to be my most important tool, a campfire and finally a knife and forceps for butchering and or releasing trout.
   Red on the other hand was loaded with a loaf of wheat bread, a bag of dog gumbo made in my slow cooker and dry dog food.

   Wednesday, July 15th
   High 88, low 55

   This adventure took place when Wisconsin was covered with forest fire smoke and that was much of my view as I drove up highway 13 to Medford. I have never seen the land that I picked to hike on or the Big Rib River but was told it was a good trout stream, and I was very excited about my challenge.
   I have to be vague, lots to say. I hiked in maybe 500-yards downstream from my truck and I was either in tag alders or dense hemlock and balsam stands, it was late afternoon and I knew I had to be wise with my energy as the only food I was consuming is what I caught or found.
   I found a beautiful spot immersed in balsam trees both dead and alive next to the stream and filtered a half gallon of water right away. Next, I collected firewood and started a fire both to keep warm in the night and most importantly to keep insects away. The smell of
Canadian and Minnesota forest fires was very solid but pleasant.
   Close to dark I put some bigger logs on the fire and laid next to it and Red who had just consumed a thousand calories laid next to me. I was on bare ground wearing a pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt and I am going to be honest, the moisture from the ground creeped into me and I had not collected enough firewood to stay comfortable.

   Thursday, July 16th
   High 91, low 61

   I was up early and had a plan, find worms, build some sort of fishing rod and catch breakfast. First problem, I could not find a worm and I was using energy as I explored. Then my brain told me to go to the lowest land possible. I used my hand spade, found a worm and felt really good about that. Twenty minutes later I had 30 and was ready to put a hurting on the local herd of trout.
   Next I had to build 2 fishing rods; I chose 2 balsam trees that had passed away and dropped them with my saw. I made each rod to be like a cane pole that would be about 15 feet long with about 15-feet of line a split shot and number 12 hook.
   While I was doing this Red kept digging at the base of a long since dead but standing aspen tree. She started pushing on it with her hind legs, next a mouse jumped from about 25-feet up in the tree to the ground, Red promptly caught her quarry and ate it.
   The next part of my day I collected a half a truck load of firewood so that I would rest peacefully at the end of the day.
   The last 8 hours of daylight I did everything I could on this stretch of river to catch my supper and had zero luck, my thoughts were the stream was too low, warm, and my supper was not living here.
   Towards dark I fed Red for the 3rd time today and my feelings were that I was hungry, happy but a little weary and at first light I could hike out, drive to Medford and buy the biggest breakfast that I have ever consumed.

   Friday, July 17th
   High 86, low 55

   I slept on the ground very peacefully until 2:00 am. I had a beautiful fire and the moisture that I felt the night before seemed to be gone.
   At 2:00 I woke up with a knawing belly, could not fall asleep and looked at the sky through the trees and watched night become day. I did not have a light and when it was light enough to see brush, 4:50 I hiked to my truck. I actually loved this trip and in reality, if you feel that you are starving after 2 nights, you really are not.

   Push yourself!

  Sunset