Survival Campout - Knoxville

[Guest guardlobo]

I am looking at heading up a survival campout in Knoxville sometime in December. I'm currently planning to run it from Friday night through Sunday afternoon. I've run about a dozen trips like this before and it is fun, but rather hard work if you go all out. I usually bring just a knife and water bottle. However, I would like to provide small survival kits for all participants of this trip. You would just bring a knife, water bottle and warm clothes. No alcohol, drugs or tobacco, but you can bring just about any other item you desire. You can even use a sleeping bag if you want to be comfortable and just learn the skills instead of going all out. Cost should be under $20 and most of that will be for the survival kit supplies that you can take home with you. The reason I posted this is I need help choosing a weekend. Please, let me know if you are interested and which weekend would work best/you can commit to:

December 3-5

December 10-12

December 17-19

January 7-9

[mr.ak47]

well i would be game for it either of your dec dates.

[Guest guardlobo]

For all the guys that responded, this event has been canceled due to lack of interest/coordination. If I could get everyone interested on the same date we would be good, but that is very unlikely. Thanks anyway.

[whj812]

I just saw this and it can be a good learning experience and I would like to get included on the next adventure/survival training.

[bigwakes]

I'm not in the Knoxville area, but I have learned a few things over the years about getting guys...especially lots of guys to agree on a date. It ain't going to happen. I usually post a date and if folks can make it great, if not then they can be there next time. I say post a date that works for you and worst case you have a great time with yourself and one other. If you get noone, then change the date. But make sure noone can show up without your knowledge. Like only give the address and meeting time to those who reply. What you'll find is guys that really want to be there aren't that excited about aunt Agnises birthday party and just might make the date work. But be prepared to be there with just one or two and don't take it personal. Just my opinion.

Edited December 3, 2010 by bigwakes

[Guest pontiac_fiero_g]

id be very interested and would like to do it whenever is most convient for you.

[TGO David]

It's a shame that this didn't come together. Anyone who lives nearby and gets a chance to do one of these should take the opportunity. It may not sound like "fun" but it's not going to be fun if/when you ever really need to survive on your own in the elements either. It's better to know how to ahead of time.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I would also be interested in doing one of these. It would probably just be easier to just pick a date and be done with it. Another idea would be to put together a survival class and offer it through the UT non-credit courses. They are always looking for new ideas and this may attract some interest. It could be a one weekend event and include the (or primarily consist of) the outdoors trip. If you went this route, you could probably share resources with the Smoky Mountain Field School. I think it would be great to discuss how to build a proper fire (cooking fires vs. fires for comfort), how to properly sharpen and care for your knife, basic orienteering, finding food including local edible plants, and shelter. I'd put the thing together myself, but my level of expertise just isn't high enough to teach anything other than perhaps the knife part of the class. Thoughts?

[Guest pontiac_fiero_g]

why do we need an expert? why dont some of us just agree on a location and get together and everybody share what they know? some of us might have an aptitude for wild edibles, another for shelter building, or tool making and so on and so forth and so we could just share knowledge and learn what we can. and lets not worry about how many people show up, i think it will be a good experience whether its 2 or 20 in the group.

[mr.ak47]

well pontiac i'm game if you are and i know i can get a couple more of my buddies to go, and hell me and you are around the same age so should be pretty fun lol, I've been wanting to do a trip for like 2 days and bring a one day supply of food on the mountains

[Guest Huckleberry]

I'm interested if you guys don't mind an Alabama boy coming up for the weekend.

[ftncityfatboy]

I'm interested if you guys don't mind an Alabama boy coming up for the weekend.

Sure, we would love to have you join us.......

[mr.ak47]

so we going to try and plan a date for this? cause i'm all for it i'm free for the most part every weekend since hunting season ends today lol

[Guest marican]

I'm also down for this. The weather has been kinda ****ty though. Have you guys been down to the obed? I hiked nd camped the Cumberland trail earlier this year. Its a nice area, with little to no foot traffic this time of year.

[mr.ak47]

I haven't been but it would be interesting to go somewhere i haven't been in order to truly test my wilderness skills

[Guest marican]

Im gonna start a new thread about this, except maybe a little less crazy survival school and more hike/camp with BOBs. I'm interested in learning nd sharing survival ideas, but winter camping is rough enough for me.

[Guest Classickbass]

I have zero survival skills but would love to learn. We need to kickstart this thread/idea and set a date, maybe a month or two off so everyone can tell their work they need the weekend off(me).

[DRM]

why do we need an expert?

Myself and a friend are currently planning one of our own. We might round up 1-2 more friends if we can talk them into it, but to be honest - part of my goals are to keep it small and more of an individual thing to really test/hone individual skill sets.

Id be more interested in "expert" advice on setting supply ground rules (especially for a first-timer), structuring how long when starting out, etc.

[Guest guardlobo]

OK folks. Now that we have some interest. Let's do this thing on the first weekend in March. We'll meet Friday evening and finish on Sunday. I'll ask a friend about using his 29 acres in north Knoxville and get supplies together to make a basic kit for everyone. I'll be glad to teach all the basics (and more advanced skills on later trips), but would be more than happy to share the teaching responsibilities. As I mentioned at the beginning, cost will be about $20, but most of that is for your compact survival kit that you get to take home.

Topics that will be covered include:

Fire Building

Shelter Construction

Edible Plants (there is a limited supply at this time of year, but that just adds to the excitement).

Signaling for help

Basic Trapping

Water Procurement

Basic First Aid

PM me if you will be coming with your name, level of experience, skills you would be comfortable teaching and what your goals/expectations are for the weekend.

I'll post a tentative schedule after I get PM's from a few of you.

[Guest Classickbass]

PM'd

Edit: Well, I have tried twice to PM you but neither is listed in my Send folder. First weekend in March sounds good to me. I will make the necessary arrangements with my boss.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Classickbass

[Guest guardlobo]

I have them both and look forward to you and some others coming. It should be a good trip.

BTW, you can chose to not have sent PM's save. If you want them saved you can change this somewhere in the options.

[Guest Classickbass]

So what dates are we looking at currently? Let's hammer out the details over the next couple of days so I can talk to my boss about time off next week.

[Guest guardlobo]

We are looking at the evening of Friday, March 4th through sometime on Sunday, March 6th.

Is there anyone else out there that is interested? You know you want some training and this is practically free.

I'm still waiting to here back about using the land I want to have this at, but it has never been a problem in the past. If it is we can use a 12 acre plot closer to city limits. It will seem more civilized, but we should still be able to do everything we want to (including shooting) at either location.

Edited February 10, 2011 by guardlobo

[Guest mbushell]

I know its survival and all, but im a smoker and the no tobbacco thing wont work for me... its in the bug out kit and should be even if you smoke. it will be like money when the zombies come callin. Some one name a date and ill be there... btw im a survival expert. minimalist backpacking was a hobby of mine for years. 10 pounds of gear and im good for months.

[Guest Classickbass]

Nice to meet you, mbushell. Right now we're looking at the weekend of March 4th through the 6th. Guardlobo is still waiting to hear back from a friend who has property we may be able to use. Good to see so many survivalists willing to share their knowledge. I am new but I read a lot, catch on fast, and have a willingness to learn.