Jump to content
The Corroboree
Psychaesthetic

Heading into the bush on foot to live with nothing but a backpack and tent.

Recommended Posts

you'd need some pretty serious vacuum to draw water through that 'xylem filter'. they never seemed to mention that in those recent viral articles

"They then filled the tube with 5 millilitres of deionised water under 5 pounds per square inch of pressure, equivalent to a gravitational pressure head of about 2 m or so, and waited to see what happened.

Sure enough, the water filtered through at the rate of 0.05 millilitres per second. That flow rate is equivalent to more than 4 litres per day, enough to keep one person in drinking water. That’s from a filter with an area of about 1 cm²."

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/520706/how-to-build-a-plant-xylem-water-filter/

I'm not 100% sure what "5 pounds per square inch of pressure,equivalent to a gravitational pressure head of about 2 m or so" means but to me it doesn't sound like too much pressure is needed :scratchhead:

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You're still here? Weren't you going somewhere?

No point dissing someone for doing something that you couldnt do. Leave the German guy alone, people who walk places always get shit, people who ride bikes never seem to cop the same shit! Walk the walk mate or shut up.

Honestly reading all the stuff you want and carrying all the equipment you can fit wont make you safer or more likely to survive. The more gear you carry the more gear you need to maintain that gear. What really counts is a mix of intelligence and luck, honestly you will probably disregard everything you have read within a week of being on the road, why because you will replace it with real life experience!

If its freedom that you seek too much gear will be your prison. You will make do with what you have.

Be ready to face your demons constantly, I hope you like your own company.

"All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!" Dr Seuss

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm not 100% sure what "5 pounds per square inch of pressure,equivalent to a gravitational pressure head of about 2 m or so" means but to me it doesn't sound like too much pressure is needed :scratchhead:

It means 2m of water above the filter, basically.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dry food means you need more water, 3ltr's water wont last more than a day. I figure you won't plan on walking more than a few kilometers from water or roads. This would mean you will be moved along by council, police, rangers pretty regularly. No offence but you don't seem to understand there is a HUGE difference to bush survival & camping, you seem to be getting organized for a camping trip not living in the wilderness. If you want to make a camp were you can stay long term you need to head deep into the wilderness. Do you know how to get water were there is no creek/river/rain? Were are you going to shit, how are you going to wipe your ass? Man your best bet would be to live in your tent at a camp ground (clean water, toilets, amenities etc), do this for a month or two & see if you still want to "live in the bush".

You're still here? Weren't you going somewhere?

No point dissing someone for doing something that you couldnt do. Leave the German guy alone, people who walk places always get shit, people who ride bikes never seem to cop the same shit! Walk the walk mate or shut up.

Honestly reading all the stuff you want and carrying all the equipment you can fit wont make you safer or more likely to survive. The more gear you carry the more gear you need to maintain that gear. What really counts is a mix of intelligence and luck, honestly you will probably disregard everything you have read within a week of being on the road, why because you will replace it with real life experience!

If its freedom that you seek too much gear will be your prison. You will make do with what you have.

Be ready to face your demons constantly, I hope you like your own company.

"All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!" Dr Seuss

With no siblings or family contact for years, I'm quite happy with my own company, and to state one pack and some dried food will "imprison" me is not only ill-considered, but smells a lot like someone trolling for forum popularity. By your logic, unless I'm out there chewing the maggots off road-kill, then you - The Master - deem it to be camping, and the *only way* to collect water is with a garbage bag and foliage or to piss in a pit of dirt.

Simply *acting* as though your intent is to provide positive information when anyone reading can clearly see posts filled with negative, patronising vomit not only broadcasts your inability to comprehend that you may not be the smartest person in the room, but makes you sound old, bitter and arrogant - in my opinion, of course.

But I did ask for everyones' opinion, so you go for it. Just be aware that the angrier/trollier you sound-off, the less weight your opinion will carry

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Who are you talking to? Me or teo?

No trolling here just pointing out the obvious!! I really don't give a shit whether you listen or not.

People have lived off the land here for thousands of years without anything but skills, could you do this? If not you are taking risks. Anyone here that has tried to tell you the FACTS get a stupid reply from you. I am betting you can't make this work - my opinion of course.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Honestly Riley I couldnt write a reply to your last post that wasnt actual trolling (and they were all so much fun too!) and I agree that is not helpful in any situation, so best if I just shut up and apologise! It is your life and everyone is different, the tools you need to survive will differ to others, as will what you are seeking.

You wont hear a peep more out of me.

Best of luck mate, hope you find what you are looking for! If you ever make it to the tip of Cape York keep an eye out for a young bloke wandering the bush with his rifle and dogs- that is me. Ive got a spare room in a shack on the beach you can crash in until you annoy me- Im a bit of a hermit and dislike company but a few days shouldn't be too bad.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Riley,

I can relate to where your coming from with all this and can sense your need to be close to civilisation. Being alone is not natural for us human beings. A holiday is nice or a weekend camping trip away can clear the mind and being a hermit in the bush for an extended period of time may provide you with a revelation, self discovery or insight but most of us like to be well setup and comfortable wherever we are. Maybe finding a farm or community along the north NSW Coast that needs farm hands/vegetable or fruit pickers. This way you can work for some lodgings eat good fresh fruit and veg. Maybe meet some interesting people from around the globe. This way you will be comfortable and you can be alone after work or mingle with the locals all up to you.

Start googling and emailing organic growers and you might get some leads. Maybe find a stretch of coast to head to and treat it like a holiday/camping trip and see what opportunities come forth :) And no.1 Always maintain positive and confident outlook.

All the best,

Cheers

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So you're recommendation, that I should be going out there with nothing but my own dick and a boomerang? what's that? Smart? ;)

We're not living in -30000BC, I'm not Aboriginal, and I can assure you, that if you popped into Native land 10,000 years ago and offered the natives some of the basic technology available to us these days, they would happily accept *some* of the items you offered. Reakon they would have said no to a lighter? You seriously think, that all those years ago, they would've prefered stick-rubbing over a BIC?

Really, the lack of rational thought behind the "advice" you've given me here - today at least - is simply mind-numbing.

The title of the thread has never been "Heading into the bush: Barefoot with my dick in my hand", yet here you are embarrassingly crowing that it's not "Authentic Survival". I never said I was going for authentic, bug-muching, fungus-licking, minimalistic survivalism, and what kind of pretentious toss would I be if i *did* go out there pretending to be Aboriginal? Just me and my boomerang?

Anyhow, had you have cared to read at least most of the posts, you'd already have known all this, saved me the effort of correcting you, and you the embarrassment of being corrected.

You are forgiven ;)

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Who are you talking to? Me or teo?

No trolling here just pointing out the obvious!! I really don't give a shit whether you listen or not.

People have lived off the land here for thousands of years without anything but skills, could you do this? If not you are taking risks. Anyone here that has tried to tell you the FACTS get a stupid reply from you. I am betting you can't make this work - my opinion of course.

Honestly Riley I couldnt write a reply to your last post that wasnt actual trolling (and they were all so much fun too!) and I agree that is not helpful in any situation, so best if I just shut up and apologise! It is your life and everyone is different, the tools you need to survive will differ to others, as will what you are seeking.

You wont hear a peep more out of me.

Best of luck mate, hope you find what you are looking for! If you ever make it to the tip of Cape York keep an eye out for a young bloke wandering the bush with his rifle and dogs- that is me. Ive got a spare room in a shack on the beach you can crash in until you annoy me- Im a bit of a hermit and dislike company but a few days shouldn't be too bad.

Alright so everyone's friendly again :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was just trying to point out, that things can go wrong, lighter get wet/run out of gas electronic devices brake loss signal, water bladder tears etc. If these things happen would you know how to find water, find your way out, be able to keep warm. This was never trolling or being a smart ass, I have followed your post from the start & don't think you grasp that people are trying to help. I don't need to be corrected & never asked for your forgiveness. My points are very valid for people planning to spend time in the bush!! You can thank me latter.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was just trying to point out, that things can go wrong, lighter get wet/run out of gas electronic devices brake loss signal, water bladder tears etc. If these things happen would you know how to find water, find your way out, be able to keep warm. This was never trolling or being a smart ass, I have followed your post from the start & don't think you grasp that people are trying to help. I don't need to be corrected & never asked for your forgiveness. My points are very valid for people planning to spend time in the bush!! You can thank me latter.

Okay you can stop apologising, I've already forgiven you.

To relieve the anxiety you have regarding fire-lighting though, I currently have water-sealed matches, a handful of BICs, and of course, a sparkstick and striker with enough cotton tinder to outlast quite a few rain-drenched days. Like the matches, the cotton tinder is in it's own little waterproof container.

;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So I could aim for 20kgs realistically I reakon. I figured 30-35 would be about the minimum, but thanks to the lightweight gear, the three heaviest items together and packed only weight in at *drum roll* .... ..11kgs, for the 90L pack itself, with tent and sleeping bag inside.

Edit: 14kg including the mandatory 3ltrs water.

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok here is one more post, for those following the thread who are looking for ideas or Riley if he cares to listen.

So here is what I pack/take bush in a 40L backpack

- Silnylon tarp, mozzie net, ropes. The tarp is a hex fly and the setup can sleep 4 people, weighs about 600g. Ive been through plenty of wet season storms in this, only a problem when the ground floods.

- Ripstop hammock that I made with sown on mozzie net- great for when it floods or the bugs are really bad. Weighs about 400g.

- Thin hardfoam mattress like a yoga mat.

I dont want to have to set up/ take down more than I need for a given location, if there is no bugs and no rain and no crocs then Ill sleep on the mattress on the ground. If there are crocs Ill sleep in the hammock with the mesh off. If bugs in the hammock with mesh on. If raining but no bugs, on the ground under the tarp with no mozzie net. Etc until Im in a monsoonal flood in my hammock with the mesh on under the tarp.

As well as that I take:

- a knife with a small sharpening stone

- a small saw- more useful than a machete in a lot of ways

- a billy, large cup and fork

- lighter (would trade for sticks if I could ever get a fire to light from some)

- Rifle, ammo, oil and cleaning gear if going for a while.

- Spare pair of clothes

- Sarong

- Torch and batteries

- Snake bandages

- Multivitamins

- Hat

- Water bottle 1-4L depending on where Im going but not a bladder.

- Potassium permanganate for sterilising water/ cuts n shit.

- Tea bags, powdered milk and some sugar.

- Small bag of mixed soup grains and beans- emergency use only.

A few other things vary depending on where Im going, handline, fishing gear etc, goggles, speargun.

From memory thats about it, I normally forget something.

I have been contemplating walking from Cape York to Cairns via the coast for a few years now. In that case I was going to add to my list a simple air/liquid heat exchanger condenser and an adapted billy so I can distil sea water at a min of 1L/hour- Im still building prototypes of this. It will be small enough to fit inside a typical 2L billy, durable enough to last the distance and infallible enough to survive. I figure water is the heaviest thing you carry, so something that weighs in at 500g-1kg but saves you carrying that in water is worthwhile. I would also take some sort of a heat shield/ wind shield to use with cooking and distilling. Id also take a blank book, pencils, rubber and sharpener to draw and write in.

I was also looking at trading the mat for just some thick canvas and ditching the hammock. Also looking at switching to a canvas tarp for durability at a weigh sacrifice. A stripped down driazabone would come with me on this walk if I go despite its weight. I would also probably do some food drops at towns and easily accessible locations on the way but wouldnt carry much of the food with me. A friend and I did a trial walk one day and only made it 6km along the beaches before we had collected enough yams, coconuts, crabs and oysters for a day or two's feed so we came home.

For me freedom is ease of movement, a light pack and not much gear. I can walk faster with a light pack, with less effort. This means I spend less time in bad weather/conditions/situations and use less energy getting around. I wish I had the balls to ditch most of my shelter materials, maybe settle for my driazabone as a bed / cover and a mozzie net and build the rest. I wish I was better with spears and could leave the rifle, Im alright with a spear on fish so once my tackle was gone Id convert to spear for that (can easily make a few sliptips before you go for use with any spear sized sticks you find). I also wouldnt leave without being able to light a fire with sticks. Honestly I wish I had the balls to leave everything but a knife and bag at home, you are a slave to what you take!

Why havent I gone yet? No need, I live by myself, near no one and pay no rent in the shack I live in, I can walk most places I need to and back home in a day. Im realistic at what life would be like and am more then happy with the luxuries I have around me. Also Im not so much a nomadic person but more of a farmer :) Had I no home Id probably wander between a few different camps each with more luxury then I can carry. Would I walk around the east coast between Cairns and Sydney? Nope, too many people telling me to move on and too many people who care about rules.

Edited by teonanacatl
  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bravo! Constructive, and with your actual inventory I can superimpose mine over, a much more digestable post.

I've got many of the items there, but since grabbing the tent and sleeping bag I've already accepted that the "original list" will either add too much weight, or too much volume and need to be trimmed-down.

Choice of knives to take and diamond sharpener are like bread and butter to me. Years ago i bought my first sharpener and started using it and now, I just don't understand how so many people Can have kitchen knives that're perma-blunt. I've bought and left behind four or five sharpeners since then, and simply couldn't imagine taking any knife without the stone to maintain it's edge. The years of cabinet-making solidified how mandatory sharp edges are on anything that cuts.

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Any event, I'll clearly be travelling heavier than you would, but then I'm hardly Bear Grylls. The tent is arguably the heaviest item of course, and I could've gone with a tarp and ropes, but it will most likely be the tail end of winter when I go so the lack of warmth will be at least partially addressed with a weather-proof shelter.

I spent a week white-water rafting around Grafton years ago and all we had was a tarp and ropes, and while it wasn't that terrible, it also wasn't cold enough to worry about the wind, and the gushing water must've stopped the mozzies swarming the area, yeah.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Riley,

I can relate to where your coming from with all this and can sense your need to be close to civilisation. Being alone is not natural for us human beings. A holiday is nice or a weekend camping trip away can clear the mind and being a hermit in the bush for an extended period of time may provide you with a revelation, self discovery or insight but most of us like to be well setup and comfortable wherever we are. Maybe finding a farm or community along the north NSW Coast that needs farm hands/vegetable or fruit pickers. This way you can work for some lodgings eat good fresh fruit and veg. Maybe meet some interesting people from around the globe. This way you will be comfortable and you can be alone after work or mingle with the locals all up to you.

Start googling and emailing organic growers and you might get some leads. Maybe find a stretch of coast to head to and treat it like a holiday/camping trip and see what opportunities come forth :) And no.1 Always maintain positive and confident outlook.

All the best,

Cheers

Yeah someone mentioned WWOOF and although I haven't ordered the index of hosts yet, I will, since that could allow me to pre-arrange a few set destinations and possibly allow me to bounce around between them, though I still do not want to live within a stones-throw distance of the farmers.

I'm basically sick of the suburbs, and even sicker of coming home every day to four walls. Doesn't matter where it is, a house is a house, and I'm tired of other peoples noise, neighbourhood noise, the phone ringing randomly and that Groundhog Day feeling of repetition.

Time of life also is a driver, since I'm approaching middle-age, and we all know that's when all the nasty mid-life diseases start populating peoples bodies, and I could easily spend another five or ten years comfortably dragging my feet around, going through the motions, and for a long time I've been quite at odds with the way society functions. People go out every day, work their way into upper-middle-class luxury, ending-up truly imprisoned by all the shit they own, their jobs, their families, their obligations, then sell everything at 65-75 to pay for medical treatment of cancers. How many times do we hear about people having to sell their houses to buy themselves a few more years towards the end?

Society is so full of shit, and everywhere I look I see people pretending to be happy while right below the surface their fucked-off they have to work so hard just for a shitty house - well - anywhere. Everything from A to Z is exploited by marketing now and that's another noise of sorts I am fed up with: I can't walk 20 meters from my place without seeing billboards and advertising plastered everywhere, and every letterbox on my street is almost constantly over-flowing with junk mail.

I want nature. I don't give a shit about Bear Grylls style survival, or living like a Nunga, but I want nature.

Edited by Riley
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tell ya I'm getting to be quite the craftsman with jerky. This weeks batch is lamb jerky with salt, rosemary and a small amount of pepper.

Thanks to the hydro grow cabinet I no longer use to grow anything, I can dry a kilo of meat into excellent jerky in 12 hours. The four fans pump about 500 cubic feet of air per hour when they're turned up all the way, and the supplimental flouros warm it *just* enough to allow slow dehydration. ;)

Edit: I did have a 400w HPS in there too, but removed it when I stopped growing, just thought I'd add that before anyone starts on why I'd use flouros to grow indoors. They were only side lighting. ;)

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd also like to add, while I'm here, that although there're many guffaws being tossed around regarding my insisting on taking an iPad with me, the number of roles a tablet can serve now makes them well worth the hastle, and for that 0.3kgs of weight, and as long as you've got a retina display (or better) it can act as a gps unit with very clear, full-sized PDF maps, a diary that can hold almost unlimited pages without any need to carry paper, a HD camera and video camera, email, online services and information, and god knows Google is never a bad thing to have - anywhere, as well as all the more mundane online shit like fb, twitter and forum access.

Of course I cannot use or charge it in the rain, but that's hardly reason to banish it from the pack.

So you may well scoff, but the Swiss Army Knife number of functions packed into such a tiny device leads me to believe that *not* including it in the itinerary would be exponentially more retarded than taking it. All it needs to function is a solar charger capable of charging it within a few hours, and to be kept dry.

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah that's the best batch to date, although i did like the pork with smokey BBQ sauce, it's stayed a bit sticky even when dry.

The rosemary and pepper - of course - goes well with Lamb, and being fresh from the bush out front, with fresh ground pepper and sea salt I've concluded that I prefer the all natural flavouring to sauces and pre-mixed flavours.

Last week I did a half kilo of pepper steak, and that was so good it was gone in less time than it took to dry.

The actual point of this rambling message, is that before i go, I will prepare several differant jerkies: Pepper steak, Lamb and Rosemary, and pork of some kind, stick em all in compression bags and suck the air out. I'm not sure quite how much will be too much to carry, but it's certainly packed with nutrition.

Then again, given my penchant for scoffing it down once it's made, I probably should make half the jerky completely unflavoured or just mildly salted, so I have some to cook with and don't eat it all in a few days.

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So after a few weeks comparing tents and sleeping bags from various manufacturers and outlets, I ended-up going with Katmandu for the tent and s/bag, and the pack is just a blackwolf 90L.

Since I didn't bother including the links the other day here they are:

Tent: http://www.kathmandu.com.au/boreas-tent-v2-sand.html

S/Bag: http://www.kathmandu.com.au/sleeping-gear/sleeping-bags/odyssey-sleeping-bag-blue-grey.html?___SID=U

Backpack: http://www.blackwolf.com.au/product/Cedar-Breaks/2

I wamted a square sleeping bag initially, but saw the difference in size, weight, and thermal rating and went with the mummy-shaped bag rated 0oC, since if it's not cold enough I can simply not use it, and if it *is* cold, I figure warmth trumps roominess. The bag took alot of thinking, and I tried several on. The top-loading tubular packs didn't look like they'd hold anything bulky and most didn't come in the larger 90L size, and after much comparison, as well as the fact i don't want to have to tie shit to the outside of the pack or carry the tent seperately, I went with the blackwolf one, in spite of it's stinking of popular brand commerciality.

The tent was the only all-year, 4-season 3-man dome tent under $800 I could look at and examine before buying,

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nono noo I will not kill a warm-blooded mammal like myself, I don't eat red meat at all, and dislike chicken simply because it's dull and common. Fish though, I have no issue eating but even where they're concerned, when I fish here I stab em in the brain as soon as possible so they don't die slowly.

Hate, just HATE any kind of cruelty to animals.

But, all that aside, I'll have a 6' two-piece rod and small reel with me, and I have plenty of fishing gear - far too much tackle to take even all the hooks, sinkers etc, so I have a good choice of good quality Mustard and japanese bits and pieces to choose from.

But no warm-blooded animal will be harmed. Ever. Unless it's big enough to eat me and tries to, of course ;)

Tell ya I'm getting to be quite the craftsman with jerky. This weeks batch is lamb jerky with salt, rosemary and a small amount of pepper.

Thanks to the hydro grow cabinet I no longer use to grow anything, I can dry a kilo of meat into excellent jerky in 12 hours. The four fans pump about 500 cubic feet of air per hour when they're turned up all the way, and the supplimental flouros warm it *just* enough to allow slow dehydration. ;)

Edit: I did have a 400w HPS in there too, but removed it when I stopped growing, just thought I'd add that before anyone starts on why I'd use flouros to grow indoors. They were only side lighting. ;)

Yeah that's the best batch to date, although i did like the pork with smokey BBQ sauce, it's stayed a bit sticky even when dry.

The rosemary and pepper - of course - goes well with Lamb, and being fresh from the bush out front, with fresh ground pepper and sea salt I've concluded that I prefer the all natural flavouring to sauces and pre-mixed flavours.

Last week I did a half kilo of pepper steak, and that was so good it was gone in less time than it took to dry.

The actual point of this rambling message, is that before i go, I will prepare several differant jerkies: Pepper steak, Lamb and Rosemary, and pork of some kind, stick em all in compression bags and suck the air out. I'm not sure quite how much will be too much to carry, but it's certainly packed with nutrition.

Then again, given my penchant for scoffing it down once it's made, I probably should make half the jerky completely unflavoured or just mildly salted, so I have some to cook with and don't eat it all in a few days.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah we already discussed the hypocracy of switching from vegetarian to meat-scoffer back on page 2. :)

I'll rephrase that: I won't have access to the mass of food stores or resources needed to maintain a healthy diet without meat, and cannot take a trailer-load of high protein/iron foods, so I can either buy already dead animal before I go, or have a bash at killing local wildlife.

That being said, I'm quite confident I have the patience and sneakiness to stalk-down animals, but won't have any ranged weapons with me, so jerky it is!

Edited by Riley

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wrap that up with the fact there's not a human alive who's not a hypocrite, and anyone who claims otherwise is delusional.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you know, we're all in the same boat man, ultimately theres no where to run, it's all happening inside our heads & in every square inch of this tiny planet. except through some kind of extreme form of denial, you can't escape it & you take it with you anywhere you go..

we're all stuck for the time being inside this twisted, chaotic & extremely uncertain vector.. thats the cross to bear for all of us alive at this time, whether you're aware of it or not.

if going on some kind of introspective quest will be constructive in your life in order to come to terms with the world & yourself then thats a good thing, though if you want others to jump on board with your trip, we should be honest about certain realities right?

  • Like 5

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×