Joel,
I assume you're going to Yellowknife for the floatplane fly-in. Might see you there.
File a flight plan!
File a flight plan!
Make sure your airplane is fit before heading off into the boonies.
Clean water is everywhere noth of 60. No need for anything fancy in that department.
All of the above assumes you're flying on floats in relatively temperate weather.
Hope this helps a little.
Larry
C-GAMW
Kugluktuk, Nunavut
Hi Larry!
Thanks very much! Your posts are certainly helpful.
I'm going to have a 100 hour inspection done on the plane with an AME friend that I have no problem trusting with my life.
I will definitely be filing flight plans for every leg, and am hoping to have at least 1 other aircraft flying with us.
I need to check, but I am pretty sure my ELT is a 121.5mhz. I may need to upgrade this before the trip, or atleast get a SPOT or some other PLB. One of those has been on my research list for sometime, but I wasn't impressed with a friends first gen SPOT and stopped being interested. I know they have bluetooth ones for smart phones and such now, and I'll start looking into them again.
I am on wheels and didn't know about the fly-in, but I'll look into that as well. I've been to Whitehorse (years ago before I owned the plane) and loved it, and I'd like to see more of Northern Canada. This seemed like a good way.
Shotguns, and the 94 can be taken apart to make shorter. I prefer a shotgun for food gathering, a bit heavier, but often I travel in hunting season...
A really bright LED flashlight with a 'flash' feature is a good signal item.
Once you think you got your gear figured out, take it out to the local camp area and spend a night in the rain...
Remember, body temperature is key. Sleeping on the ground will chill you, so get a sleeping pad with insulation. Thermarest make some sheep hunting ones, as do Big Agnus, that are itty bitty and light.
Back to firearms: for the same weight, you can carry many days of food.
A sleeping pad is nice.... for camping. No need in a survival situation since you can always find enough insulating material (spruce boughs, seat cushions, extra clothing) to get you off the ground.
Do the ELT, PLB/Spot, sat-phone and flight plan thing and you can safely reduce your survival gear to the bare minumum.
The flashlight idea is good. I guess I was thinking summer in the arctic and 24-hour daylight.
Guns are for bear protection and not necessary for gathering food. As aktango pointed out, you can carry many days of dried food for less weight than a .22.
The key to survival in the modern aviation context is to have other people and SAR know exactly where you are. That trumps everything else.
Of course, it goes without saying that you carry a good first aid kit and know how to use it.
Larry
Yes, the firearm on board will be for bear protection. This means no 22LR. I highly doubt it is needed, but better safe than sorry.
I guess I'm confused. If you're going camping I'd expect you to have more gear that necessary to "survive" in comfort. If I'm headed out for a hunt I take my "survival" pack out of the plane because it's redundant. To the heat question, again, I assume you'll cook to eat on your trip so you should already have a stove of sorts. As to a weapon? I don't carry a gun in survival gear. I carry a gun in my every day gear. I'd you see me out in the plane or boat I'll have either a 500 mag handgun or a 45-70 guide gun. I don't leave home without one. In my experience my survival gear has been called upon when stuck on the ground due to weather. A little comfort is a good thing. So is a little something to occupy idle hours. Like a book. And a sat phone to notify family I'm okay. Above all I don't need them to be upset over my tardiness while I'm sitting around waiting for the clouds to climb out of the treetops.
I hadn't thought of my 45-70! I have a Marlin 1895G. This may fit in the back of the plane, but seems a bit heavy.
We will be doing some camping, and will have some food, but I was hoping to purchase most of it along the way. I can't carry much weight with full fuel and the two of us. This is why I would like something like the Mare's leg, only 4lbs.
That is a good tool, but when I am in the woods wanting a fire, I seem to be wet, cold, tired and hungry. Forget my ego I like these:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...38688&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15212
Put under the rear seat until you want it.
I have a TerraGear mini stove with a 4 season butane mixture that will be coming along. It's quite small and compact, and works great. That one looks pretty nifty too.
My experience using the SPOT as a tracker has been disappointing. I'm pretty sure that's due to my latitude. I feel better with it in my pocket rather than on top of the glare shield in case of a hasty exit from the airplane. And yes, I use it as a back-up to the PLB, which would NOT be in my pocket.
Here's what I keep in my kit. This works OK for me in the midwest but I'd augment it with more robust camping gear if I was headed somewhere far off the beaten path. In addition I have a 406 MHZ ELT, cell phone, VHF radio, tiedown ropes, and I always dress for the conditions. But as we know ELTs don't always survive the crash, so plan B is a flight plan, flight following, or a spot/PLB if I was off the beaten path. At least with the ELT I can turn it on in flight... if I have time, if I remember, and if I'm high enough for it to do anything before I land.
The rule I was taught is you can survive 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. So being able to stay warm, dry, and out of the elements is key. I am also big on signaling. Someone mentioned lightsticks -- tie one of those to a 3' rope and swing it over your head and it is very easy to see at night. That's also what I'd use the magnetic compass/VHF radio for: if someone is looking for you and you see or hear them you point the compass at them, take the reciprocal, and give it to them as the heading to fly to you.
This all stays in an old pack in the back of the plane and I got through it a few times a year to make sure it's all OK. Putting it in a vest is a great idea too.
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[TD]Black mittens[/TD]
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[TD]Green fleece gloves[/TD]
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[TD]Plastic sheeting[/TD]
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[TD]Gerber folding saw[/TD]
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[TD]Power bars[/TD]
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[TD]Long underwear shirts[/TD]
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[TD]bottle of water[/TD]
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[TD]REI Backpacker first aid kit[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]Poncho[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]2[/TD]
[TD]space blankets[/TD]
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[TD]cyalume light sticks[/TD]
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[TD]small bottle of OFF[/TD]
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[TD]piece of tin foil[/TD]
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[TD]AAA flashlight[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]spare AAA battery[/TD]
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[TD]bottle of potable aqua[/TD]
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[TD]packs of water purifying pills[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]tube SPF 15 suntan lotion[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]Silva magnetic compass[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]signal mirror[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]2[/TD]
[TD]fire starting cube[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]1[/TD]
[TD]whistle[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]2[/TD]
[TD]Bic lighters[/TD]
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[TD="align: right"]3[/TD]
[TD]citronella candles[/TD]
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This is great!
I agree a handheld compass is needed. Yes, there is one in the plane, but I don't see myself ripping it out to go find food or water if I had to.
Thanks!
I really would like to find some Mountain house and Power bar like products to stow away... not as camping food but as just-in-case food.