Come-Get-Me Bag for Lost Hunters

[Windy Wilson]

What, no cards?
The perennial joke among the "adult" leaders when I was in the Scouts was to include a deck of cards, so if you became lost, just start playing solitaire, using the same rules as in MS solitaire. Eventually someone will come along, tap you on the shoulder and tell you to put the red five on the black six. You ask that person how to get to where you want to go.

[JAG2955]

A medium-length sheath knife. About a 5-6" blade. Of course, if they're hunting in the woods and aren't carrying a knife, they should just be left to die.
Space blanket and bivy.
Fire starting gear-a windproof butane lighter and some trioxane or other types of fire starters.
A Camelbak bladder and water purification tablets
A hunter orange bandana or two.
A whistle.
A set of pen flares and launcher.
A LED flashlight.
A lifeboat ration.

You could set it up in the Gold/Silver/Bronze hierarchy where the lowest version, call it the "Hiker", has the basic necessities. The next level up, the "Trekker", includes some more gear, and the final "Expedition" has all of the goodies. You could even add riders, like insurance. Add a medical module for $10, rent a Personal Locator Beacon for another $10, a summer module, winter module, etc.

[Jered]

Start with the ten essentials and go from there.

You need to care for your needs in this order:
Air
Warmth
Water
Food

[Precision]

duct tape wrapped around a plastic business card. say 10-15 feet of it.

Forget about packing water, too heavy for more than a quart or two and anyone who doesn't pack water on their own, needs left in the woods. Instead add a simple bottle water filtration system.

http://www.campmor.com/aquamira-water-b ... _-Primary-_-

sun screen and lip balm
bug spray / thermacell / thermacell back up propane & insecticide sticks
flash light of the crank or shaker kind
crank radio
a few packs of freeze dried meals
a few packs of beef jerky

[SeekHer]

This is my personal survival pack, carried with me whenever I go in the bush and I have a totally different one for the car as well...

Date and duration, as does destination, determines amount and kind of gear and fitness whether you’re able to carry it.

I travel with a medium sized (very large week-end or 3/4 day) pack stuffed with gear and I can and have survived with it for 3 days or longer… I wear it over my fishing vest and I never take it off while outdoors, ever! Nor do I ever let go of my .416 Rigby rifle; either in hand on slung on my back as there are lots of polar bears around and handguns for anything but especially hunting is Verboten, big time here in Canada…

10 rounds of rifle ammo and 10 rounds of shotgun “Banger” shells. They shoot an exploding pellet downrange that produces a very loud bang. Scares the bears off—usually. The second guide is carrying the shotgun and 10 rounds of Bangers.

2 Pocket survival guide plastic playing cards. First set shows all the basic survival stuff like shelter and navigation and the second set shows edibles plants, animals and their tracks.

A small first aid kit, suture kit (staples), dental kit & some cloves and a water purifier and two 1 qt. Canteens and a metal cup/mug hanging by a leather thong outside the pack, insect repellent, sun screen, anti-itch stuff and some Lanacaine type stuff

Lighter, Strike Anywhere matches, wind & waterproof survival matches, fire steel & striker and tinder tabs, Fire Ribbon and a fold-up pocket stove with fire cubes and pocket flare gun—looks like a pen--with 6 or 8 mini flares…Some dryer lint and some paper wrappers from light bulbs (wrapped around stuff to prevent rattling)--both are excellent tinder! I also have a small white gas stove that I carry above the tree line and a small fuel bottle.

A sheet of 6 mill poly (tent) and 2 Space Survival Blankets but not the really light gauge ones but the original two colour heavyweight ones and a self inflating, half length sleeping pad—makes into a folding chair--for the rocky ground that’s encountered everywhere in the region. When I'm out and about by myself, I take a one man Gore-Tex bivey sack to sleep in instead of the tarp

Rope (clothes line) and some light gauge wire, thick elastic bands & paper clips.

Map and compass, GPS unit, signal mirror, whistle, 10x pocket monocular/microscope.

Roll of toilet paper stuffed into a large coffee can (wire bail added) and 6 candles stuffed into a Zip-lock bag—keeps things cleaner..

Leather gloves, light weight long underwear bottoms, extra socks (2), a sweater and a rain suit.

Couple of Survival cans (Metal cough drops tin) with hooks, line, weights and some lures, brass snare wire and locks.

Stuffed into Zip-lock freezer bags (to be used for water storage) and placed in a titanium “solo” cook kit which has a fork & spoon set of Lexan and made by Boker:

Trail mix, granola bars, jerky, energy bars, hard candy, gum, bouillon cubes, crackers, Cup-A-Soup, tea bags and coffee bags (not instant), individual packets of sugar (NOT sweetener), salt, pepper, olive (salad) oil & margarine (for cooking), ketchup, white vinegar, peanut butter, maple syrup, honey and some jam/jelly (the packages that are available from any restaurant) and a squeeze bottle of lemon juice—makes water taste better in the canteens.

Small hatchet and folding saw, 6’ Fillet Knife, Boker Scout. On my hip I have a 5” belt knife, a 10 round cartridge wallet, a folding hunting knife and a multi-tool and I carry in hand a machete/kukri for brush clearing and I also have and a Swiss Army knife in my pant pockets. There is a Hudson’s Bay style (24”) axe strapped to the opposite side of the machete sheath.

Weighs around 20 to 22 pounds (dependant upon the amount of foodstuffs)
Very early or late in the season I’ll add a very compact and light, down filled, -20F mummy sleeping bag. Weighs 4.4 pounds.

I'll also have my lunch and snack for the day and a couple of cold drinks in a cooler pack along with a Thermos of coffee stuffed in the pack…

I also walk with a 5½' walnut hiking staff that when above the tree line will act as the tent or ridge pole for the poly tent...one of my partners carries 6 golf balls with him to use as corner & center tie points for his poly tent, I just use rocks...You can get staffs from Atlanta Cutlery and Cold Steel made of Lathi with ferrules and they're VERY strong and cheap to buy...Just drill a hole and add a tong for convenience...

My list of Order of Importance:
1) Feet
2) Sleep
3) Comfort
4) Water
5) Food
6) Entertainment

*If you’re backpacking and can’t walk, you aren’t!
*If you’re too tired accidents can occur and you aren’t going to be very happy, loss of concentration, missing the sights, cranky…
*Warm & dry is a lot nicer then cold, wet and miserable…Good tent or other means of cover for sleeping with a properly rated sleeping bag and rain gear for when you’re awake and outdoors…
*Hydrating yourself is very, very important and make sure it’s safe to drink, filter it and/or boil it…then you must have the caloric intake to maintain your internal furnace so that you can keep on walking and having fun…