a leaf out of Chris McCandless book?

[Peter_t]

afler reading 'into the wild' for the second time im thinking of giving chris mccandless way of life a go, well just for a long weekend maybe.

i wont go into detail but for those who don't know chris spent a couple of years living a nomadic lifestyle hitchhiking around america living off a sack of rice and whatever he foraged along the way. sadly a few months after walking into the alaskan interior he found himself trapped and succumb to starvation and was then found dead by some hunters in the famous abandoned bus.


im just wondering if anybody has tried this? not necessarily the hitchhiking but just living off a sack of rice or similar and whatever else you can find.

i partly want to challenge myself but usually when i spend a day or two in the woods i tend to get lazy, having no real need to forage food i don’t make a good effort



i know the life chris mccandless is a bit controversial so i would rather this thread doesn't degrade into argument please


pete

 

[rik_uk3]

Weight yourself before you go then when you return.

 

[Joe]

Hi Pete,

Take a look at this thread first http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54807

You won't starve to death in a weekend so give it a go and take note of the findings for future reference.

Take care with your identification this time of year though - lots of young edible plants aren't as easy to ID so early on in the season.

Good luck

 

[locum76]

You'll find it hard to get a leaf out of Chris McCandless' book, he probably ate them all.

Seriously, I'd give it a go in summer/ autumn but not just now.

 

[Peter_t]

thanks for the link joe, i havn't read much of the article yet but it looks a good read.

the place i plan to try this is on the coast where there are many plants i am familier with and there is also seaweed and even limpits if i get REALLY hungry lol i may try fishing too if i can find myself a rod.


your right locum, its probably not the best time of year but work gets quiet round about now and i will have more time. also i can't wait for summer!



pete

 

[locum76]

I'd want to replace the bag of rice with a bag of porridge too.

There's places in Scotland where it'd be a doddle in summer. The earn valley would be amazing - its a foragers dream. But you wouldn't get the sense of isolation there.

What kind of location do you have in mind?

 

[bushwacker bob]

Take McCandles recipe for wild potatoes with a pinch of salt.