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Wilderness Eating/Living Week #6573440
07/13/19 10:18 PM
07/13/19 10:18 PM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
trapper
tlguy  Offline OP
trapper

Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Watching Youtube this week I was drawn to a series of videos by The Wooded Beardsman that got me wanting to try it. Basically what he's been doing is using regular modern tools and weapons to procure and consume only what he can gather from the wilderness. I believe he was in Maine and has gathered/eaten clams, lobsters, a porcupine, a possum, a turkey, dozens of alewife, some pigeons and a trout. The challenge is to see if he can maintain or increase his body weight by the end of the week. As far as I can tell the only thing he is eating that isn't a wild edible or something he killed is a spice blend that he sells.

I'm tossing around the idea of doing something similar this fall at our hunting camp in northern Wisconsin. I'm thinking I would want to do it mid-October to take advantage of most of the open hunting seasons. Our beaver season wouldn't be open yet, but that can be circumvented with nuisance trapping permission from the landowner (my dad).

I don't think I would have a problem finding protein, the area has a fair amount of wild game including grouse, squirrels, deer, the occasional turkey, and some beavers, as well as less desirable protein such as frogs, raccoons and coyotes. There are some wetlands that hold some cattails that could be harvested as a source of fiber, but I'm a little worried there won't be much for wild edibles in the woods by mid-October. Our property is lacking in mast trees and is mostly higher maple hills or cedar/tag alder swamps. I will have to do some research on that topic before venturing out.

I'm still trying to work out some of the specifics, and I'm open to suggestions. If I go through with the idea, I would be documenting it with video and writing about it online for work.

So here's where you come in. What are some things I could do that would make this interesting to follow and make you want to check back in the next day to see how I'm doing? I don't have the survival skills to do a Survivorman sort of deal where I hit the woods with nothing but the clothes on my back and a multi-tool. Here's kind of what I'm thinking. I could frame it as I got lost in the woods and came upon a cabin and can only use what's there (cooking utensils, ATV, firewood, weapons and traps) but the food was cleaned out when the cabin was closed down for the year. I could also take it a step further and camp in a tent/hammock rather than sleeping in the cabin.

I'm open to ideas and I have a few months to hammer out the details as this plan takes shape. What do you think?

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573450
07/13/19 10:34 PM
07/13/19 10:34 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,627
Ohio, 55yrs old
Pasadena Offline
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Pasadena  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,627
Ohio, 55yrs old
He’s also eaten, fiddleheads, cattail root, and that flour stuff he took with him everyday.


[Linked Image]


Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573452
07/13/19 10:37 PM
07/13/19 10:37 PM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
trapper
tlguy  Offline OP
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
You're right Pasadena, I forgot about the fiddleheads and his corn flour. Did you see that possum soup he ate? It looked awful!

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573458
07/13/19 10:51 PM
07/13/19 10:51 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,627
Ohio, 55yrs old
Pasadena Offline
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Pasadena  Offline
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,627
Ohio, 55yrs old
Most of the stews he makes are gross looking. I have to turn the sound down when he eats. He slurps everything sick I can’t remember what the outcome was when he went to Texas. They ate a lot of food but it’s so lean.


[Linked Image]


Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573463
07/13/19 10:56 PM
07/13/19 10:56 PM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
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tlguy  Offline OP
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Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Yeah the lean meat doesn't help much, I'd hope to catch a beaver or two early in the week for all the fat they could provide.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573482
07/14/19 12:00 AM
07/14/19 12:00 AM
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 3,491
Southern Illinois
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Foxpaw Offline
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 3,491
Southern Illinois
How you going to keep food when you boom for when you bust. Where will get your water. You going to take any meds you may already be on as well as prevention for the unknown belly ache, ear ache, open wounds. I've always thought about what your doing only on a longer term maybe 6 months or so, but now realize that its a struggle with all the things I take for granted and I'm sure there is many more that dreams it and know they can't. But if you can get your experience on film then maybe those who can't can at least live part of their dream thru your experiences.
Maybe if there is any neighboring corn fields that's picked you could glean some for corn meal. When you get older you'll know more about mixing fiber and bulk with that meat, lol. I've did the cattails before but have never been all that hungry for them since. Hope you the best and I await your trial.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573490
07/14/19 12:24 AM
07/14/19 12:24 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
trapper
tlguy  Offline OP
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Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Mid-October in northern Wisconsin typically has temps cool enough to store meats overnight. Otherwise I could improvise a cellar by digging a hole in a shaded area for short-term storage. I dont take any daily meds. There is a water source nearby, both a small river and a couple springs I know of, but rather than risk getting sick I would probably bring in 5 or 10 gallons in water jugs. No agriculture nearby but I may plant some stuff in our food plots that could be eaten in a pinch.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573903
07/14/19 08:42 PM
07/14/19 08:42 PM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
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tlguy  Offline OP
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Anyone have any books/field guides for wild edibles they like that would cover things found in the midwest? I'm not going to gamble with mushrooms, but figure there have got to be some plants that will still be green in October that could be edible. Or maybe not?

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573926
07/14/19 08:59 PM
07/14/19 08:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,803
Greene County,Virginia
R
run Offline
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run  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,803
Greene County,Virginia
Get Sam Thayer's books.


wanna be goat farmer.
Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6573989
07/14/19 10:28 PM
07/14/19 10:28 PM
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,482
PA
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PAskinner Offline
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PAskinner  Offline
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Joined: Aug 2010
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PA
I can't see how you would lose weight eating raccoon and beaver meat. If catching a couple beaver or coon a day. There are many people who are full bore carnivores, and eat no plants whatsoever.


Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.
Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574074
07/15/19 01:07 AM
07/15/19 01:07 AM
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,144
AK
bfisch Offline
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AK
A week doesn't seem like a very long time. Two medium beaver will keep you in enough calories for the week no problem unless you are doing some rigorous work. Like PAskinner said many people today and historically have lived off meat for the majority of their diet.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574076
07/15/19 01:15 AM
07/15/19 01:15 AM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 372
northern indiana
son-of-grizz Offline
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son-of-grizz  Offline
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Posts: 372
northern indiana
Check out Dave Canterbury books. Also the food plot idea I'd do carrots, radishes and turnip.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574137
07/15/19 07:13 AM
07/15/19 07:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
Kart29 Offline
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Kart29  Offline
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Posts: 2,324
Hancock Co., Indiana
From my experience, even if you are getting plenty of calories, the sudden elimination of sugar from your diet will cause you to lose energy for the first few days. I think the complete elimination of sugar would also cause you to quickly lose weight but I don't know if you would see it in the first week. It's amazing how much sugar is in the American diet.


What from Christ that soul can sever,
Bound by everlasting bands?
None shall take thee
From the Strength of Israel's hands.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574167
07/15/19 08:24 AM
07/15/19 08:24 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
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tlguy  Offline OP
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Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
I wish I could go longer, but with family and work, a week is all I can swing.

Any suggestions on what I could do to make it more entertaining? Sleeping outside in a hammock instead of staying in the cabin? Walking instead of using the ATV? Old single shot 20 gauge instead of my Remington 870?

There isn't a huge population of beaver or coon on this particular property. I would like to catch a beaver early on to render the fat and have it for cooking the rest of the week, but I may only catch one, maybe two during the whole week. And I would be setting the traps the first day, so wouldn't have any trapped animals until day 2 at the earliest.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574195
07/15/19 09:09 AM
07/15/19 09:09 AM
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,308
MT
S
snowy Offline
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MT
Sounds very interesting to me. One thing I would consider, is eating what you catch or hunt the same day as the kill. It would be a lot of meat to finish a coon etc. so I would stick to upland game, waterfowl and fish for meat, so you can eat it up in one sitting.

Do you have partridge, grouse, ducks, pheasants and or fishing in this area?? Is there a hunting (legal) season while you are there for that week?


Give me a fish, I will eat for a day. Teach me to fish, I will eat for a lifetime
Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: snowy] #6574199
07/15/19 09:14 AM
07/15/19 09:14 AM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
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tlguy  Offline OP
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Green Bay, Wisconsin
Originally Posted by snowy
Do you have partridge, grouse, ducks, pheasants and or fishing in this area?? Is there a hunting (legal) season while you are there for that week?


We have grouse and squirrels, ducks sometimes land on the beaver ponds, and there are a couple lakes not too far away where I could either take my 16' Sea Nymph fishing boat or my 10' jon boat. The waterway that holds the beaver likely has some chubs, but no game fish.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574221
07/15/19 09:45 AM
07/15/19 09:45 AM
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,482
PA
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PAskinner Offline
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4,482
PA
I would definitely try to mix is up if I was just doing it for fun and not running a fulltime trapline at the same time. Having a variety of meat and fish would make it more enjoyable. And I would try eating some beaver or coon beforehand if you don't regularly. I had some beaver meat on a trapping trip last winter and it didn't make me sick, but had stomach issues for some reason. A change in diet affects different people in different ways, that's the part you can't really know until you try it.


Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.
Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574327
07/15/19 01:46 PM
07/15/19 01:46 PM
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,966
Ohio
OhioBoy Offline
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OhioBoy  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,966
Ohio
Somewhere I read an article of kids that moved to South America on a mission trip of some kind. They wanted to try to live like the locals. Kinda the same thing. Long story short they grew radishes or something for money. They couldn't figure out why they could go to town and buy beans and whatever, cook them up, and eat what the locals were but they were losing weight like crazy. One of the elders helped them out. Turns out they would buy bricks of lard in town to go with their beans. By adding that to their beans they created the calories they needed. I thought that was interesting. Not sure how it applies here. Sorry for my ramblings. lol.

Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574329
07/15/19 01:54 PM
07/15/19 01:54 PM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,374
Green County Wisconsin
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GREENCOUNTYPETE Online content
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 18,374
Green County Wisconsin
you might also consider perpetual pot.

you start a pot generally a large pot and you keep it on heat and bring it to a boil after adding fresh meat , potato , carrots ect...

wild parsnip if you can harvest it without getting the sap on you would be a root crop to add to your stew.

did the perpetual pot last fall for a month , always hot food ready to eat , always warm. same pot all month just kept adding , it develops a lot of flavor , it was nearly all venison with some occasional pork

this is sometimes called hunters pot also adding things from the trap line or small game as you get it if you have a day without protein you add more potatoes and carrots and it carries you through.


as I understand it there are some cultures where they do something like this and the pot is passed from generation to generation it may go years without ever having been fully emptied


America only has one issue, we have a Responsibility crisis and everything else stems from it.
Re: Wilderness Eating/Living Week [Re: tlguy] #6574331
07/15/19 01:58 PM
07/15/19 01:58 PM
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
tlguy Offline OP
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tlguy  Offline OP
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 3,162
Green Bay, Wisconsin
OhioBoy, that sounds familiar. There is a video series on YouTube called Living on One where 4 young adults attempt to live on a dollar a day in in a village in rural Guatemala for 2 months. I've watched bits and pieces of it.

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