Tag: survival

Foraging Courses

Posted on August 21, 2018 by - Aquisition/Food, Uncategorised

It’s that time of the year again!  Autumn in our view is the most exciting season when it comes to wild foragables.  The berries are all on the go and the Fungi are popping up here and there, and as folk who spend the majority of the time outdoors, it’s this seasonal shift that is as noticeable as the change in temperature.

It’s these shifts that our ancestors would come to know and more importantly rely on, as they lived in a more symbiotic way with the land than us.  Spending a day out finding food for free and learning new species of fungi that can be eaten (and more importantly not eaten) definitely makes you think that you’re doing what people have done for millennia.

We are practioners of Survival, and as you may well know, the aim of the game in Survival is to get yourself rescued within the 72 hour window, which automatically negates the need for food.  However missing the 72 hour window of rescue will mean having to do your best to hunt and gather what can be found around you.  This ties in nicely with the Survival Pyramid, which states that in hierarchy “Will to live” is the most important, followed by “knowledge” and last of all “kit”.  It’s the Knowledge part of the triangle that is important when foraging.

With plants, fungi, berries, roots etc, there’s no tidy trick to remember what’s edible and what will kill you.  The emphasis is very much on you to get out there with a field guide and start the journey of collating a list of foods that you could live off should the worst happen……..and it’s not that difficult.  BCS have a number of courses running over the autumn that can help you if you get stuck, or can act as a basis to build from.

But if we’re honest (and it doesn’t make good business sense to say this)  There’s a huge amount of satisfaction attached to getting out there yourself, so that’s what we’d recommend to begin with.  But remember never eat something you’re not 110% sure you can identify as safe to eat, and if you get stuck…….give us a shout!

 

New Filming Project

Posted on August 11, 2018 by - location

We’re getting pretty excited about our new filming project in collaboration with the guys over at SumoSurvival.  Each episode will be dedicated to Debunking some of the Survival myths that we all accept as being true, whilst at the same time confirming some of the more unbelievable ones.

The Series “Pseudo Survival” will be available on YouTube, as well as being posted up on our website and social media.

The first episode will be all about the Survival/mountain whistle and it’s effectiveness and range in a number of scenario’s.  We’ll be testing everything as accurately and scientifically as possible to give you, the viewer, the most accurate information we can, to be able to make your choices on equipment and techniques safetly.

We’ve got a long list on what we think we should be filming, but if you’ve ever wondered about techniques that you quite frankly thought were BS, then leave us a comment below or send an email to info@backcountrysurvival.co.uk.

As soon as the first episode comes out we’ll let you know!

Asprin from Willow Bark

Posted on June 13, 2018 by - Medical, Uncategorised

It’s a well known fact, Salicylic acid can be found in Willow bark, and as you may know Salicylic acid is close to the compound acetylsalicylic acid that is better known as Asprin. But can you extract the active compound out in the field without a complex setup/laboratory conditions?

The family Salix contains some 4-500 species within it; Weeping, pussy, green, crack, grey etc. The Latin “Salix” is where we get the word “salicylic” acid from.  Before you go rushing out into your garden/wilderness please be aware that sound identification of the species is essential…..Willows can be notoriously hard to identify as they appear in many shapes and forms and are prone to hybridism, and you don’t want to identify the wrong tree and end up poisoning yourself.

The opposite picture is a goat willow, which are common up in the highlands of Scotland.  The bark has diamond shaped markings on the bark and is a slight hue of blue to brown. The leaves of a goat willow are easily identifiable if you know what you’re looking for; the goat willow has oval leaves (as opposed to the long leafs of other willows) and have a “waxy” texture……again be 110% sure of the species of tree before committing to the following process.

To go back to the original question; Can you extract the acetylsalicylic (asprin) straight out of the willow using primitive techniques? – The short answer is no! Acetylsalicylic is a synthesized form of the simpler compound called Salicin.

Can you harvest Salicin from a willow? – Yes absolutely, although it is not as refined or effective as the acetylsalicylic acid. It should however be noted that when metabolised, Salicin is converted to Salicyclic acid.

Safety

Benefits attributed to Salicin include; Analgesic (painkilling) Anti-Inflammatory (reduces swelling) Joint pain and bloating.

Dangers of ingesting Salicin; Some people may be allergic to Salacin and may develop anaphylaxis, stomach upsets or haemorrhaging. It’s worth mentioning this, as there are potential dangers to consider when using new chemicals.

It’s also worth mentioning that the LD50 in a mouse (the maximum Lethal Dosage that would kill 50% of mice in tests) is >500mg per kg of body weight link here . This could mean that a lethal dosage to a 80kg man would be 40g, which is an exceptionally high dose.

Having said all this, willow bark has been used medicinally for at least 2000 years.

The process

Identification

As stated above, make sure you have correctly I.D’d Willow for starters. The active part of the willow that contains the highest level of Salacin is the inner bark, that is the white fleshy part between the outer bark and the inner wood.  There’s a few blogs out there that show folk going straight into the trunk of the tree to harvest this inner bark, however this leaves an ugly mark on the trunk, and can also lead to the whole tree becoming infected.

When doing this procedure I like to look straight branches, around the thickness of two thumbs, that can easily be sawn off, leaving the main body of the tree untouched.  Please remember the countryside code and when not on your own land, seek permission and/or be as careful to leave no trace as possible.

 

 

Cutting

As you can see in this picture a saw has been used to cut the required branch from the tree.  One of the great quality’s of Willow, alongside trees such as Oak, Lime and hazel is there ability to “coppice”, this is when the tree loses a branch or limb, it will quickly send forth new growths from the damaged site, replenishing the missing limb and encouraging further growth.

 

When cutting a branch/limb of a tree, always do your best to cut at 45 degrees, this will allow the tree to heal quicker, and will stop rain water and/or disease from settling on a flat surface and festering.

 

 

Sizing

As stated above the LD50 of Salicin is remarkably high, especially when harvested from source, however, I’ve always cut my lengths to approximately 30cm’s, which has proven safe for everyone (thus far). The actual dosing of Salicin harvested in this way is sketchy as there are no resources out there that accurately show dosages. If you are sensitive to certain substances err on the side of safety and half this to begin with

 

 

 

 

Harvesting the Inner Bark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Score down the length of the branch with a knife, be certain that the cutting edge of the knife makes contact with the wood under the bark remember; It’s the inner bark that you are trying to harvest.

Once the length has been scored peel the outer and inner bark off the wood, a good sign that you’ve got both off is to feel the wood underneath the bark, it should feel smooth and slippery to the touch.  Keep teasing the bark layer all the way round in an attempt to peel off in one piece.

 

Once you’ve go the peeling started it should come off without too much trouble.

 

Separating inner and outer bark

This is the tricky part, time should be taken to take separate the outer from the inner bark.  Start by getting a finger nail between the two and gently peel them apart.

 

The main purpose of this is to offer more surface area to the hot water when you go onto extract the Salacin from the bark, making the process a lot shorter than it otherwise would be with the bark left on.

 

 

The picture to the left shows the inner bark processed and ready for the next step.

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for the boil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the prepared inner bark into small strips, again this will help speed the process of extracting Salacin from the bark in the long run.  Drop the inner bark into a pot, and cover with approximately 1 Cup of water (10 fluid ounces/half pint).

Boiling

Fashion yourself a pot hanger and adjust so the flames are licking the bottom of the pot.  Bring your water to the boil and then let simmer for 30-40 mins, it’s handy if you have a number of “settings” on your hanger to make sure you’re not overheating the mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sign that your Salacin is ready is the water will take on a very light brown to pink colour to it, let it cool down and drink as and when you need to!

The importance of Group Shelters Fjallraven Windsack 3

Posted on May 15, 2018 by - shelter

What safety equipment do you guys carry with you when you’re out in the nature? Whistle, orange survival bag, foil blanket, head torch, first aid…….check!  How many of you carry a group shelter or “bothy bag”?  Running courses in the Highlands of Scotland, we would put a conservative number of our clients turning up with one at 50%.

“But I always carry an orange survival bag with me, this does the same thing right?” Yes and No, we’ll come back to that argument in a second!

 

Cast your minds back to School (daunting I know), now remind yourself of the 4 main ways the body loses heat…..here’s a quick reminder;

Radiation – We are constantly radiating body heat to the external environment, the 2nd rule of thermodynamics states that “heat passes from a warm source to cold, to try and reach an equilibrium”.  This is why we wear clothes right?  The clothing basically stops the heat dissipating from our body quickly, and traps warm air against our skin.

Conduction – Same as above, if you lie, lean or make contact with a colder surface than your body temperature, you will lose heat to that cold source. Hence why we use sleeping mats/thermorests.

Evaporation – As we all know sweating is natures way of losing heat as quickly as possible when we are trying to achieve “Homeostasis”, the act of balancing our body temperature with the outside climate. This is paramount in hot climates or when exercising.  However evaporation can be one of your biggest enemies when you are soaked with rain or sweat and are stationary. Your body warms the water particles against your skin, turning the water into vapour, and carrying heat and energy at quicker rate than air away from you.

Convection – In an outdoor setting convection is “wind chill”.We’ve all been there, hanging out your hoop, overheating going up a steep hill, then you get to the top you rest for 5 minutes all the while getting hit by the wind, you wish you were on the move again! The wind moves heat away from the body at a faster rate. (This shows the importance of the layering systems in clothing) Below is a wind/temp conversion chart.

This goes to show you that it can be 10 degrees, but with a 30mph wind, it’ll feel like -1!

The Gruesome Twosome

In the majority of hypothermia cases in the outdoors it’s very rarely just the one heat loss mechanisms that does the harm, usually a mix of two or more.  The real problem is when individuals get wet, either through sweat or rain/snow (Evaporation) and there is a significant wind chill (Convection).  Evaporation+Convection = Big trouble! This is when the “rule of three’s” comes into force, without adequate protection from the elements you’re going to last a maximum of 3 hours before the symptoms of Hypothermia are so bad…..it’s probably too late.

Lunchtime in the FR Windsack 3

Group Shelters and the Fjallraven Windsack 3

Like most things in life it’s the simple things that can make all the difference.  The fjallraven Windsack 3 and other Group shelters are basically a tent material that can fit individuals, or a number of you in and keep you sheltered from the elements.  Group shelters aren’t just a survival piece of kit, but can also be used to have your lunch in, if you can’t get out of the wind.

So looking back at the 4 mechanisms of heat loss the Wind sack 3 and group shelters will stop;

Radiation – Fjallraven use the same materials as the outer on their tents (40D TripleRip nylon) , this means that any radiated heat is trapped in the bag itself and is allowed to freely circulate.  This is even more evident when there are two or more of you in there, the temperature will noticeably rise quickly

Conduction – When using a group shelter, ruck sacks should be placed on the ground and sat-on to stop conduction to the ground.

Evaporation – Ok, so a group shelter won’t stop the act of evaporation, however the heated vapour will be trapped in the bag itself to avoid excess heat loss. The great thing about the wind sack 3 is the three individual zippers, which allow airing and stop excess condensation on the inside.

Convection – You’re still going to feel the wind if it’s strong enough in a group shelter, but it’s not going to be able to draw the heat away from you at the same rate.

A miserable way to spend a night, but will save your life.

As was stated above “an orange survival bag does the same thing”, yes it does, but can only really be used once and is a “one person shelter”.  Don’t ditch the orange survival bag, just make sure you carry a group shelter with you from now on.

It’s worth noting that the orange survival bag should be pulled over the head, with an “air hole” made for breathing/avoiding condensation (pictured).  This will assure radiated heat is trapped in the bag with you.

 

 

 

Most group shelters will come in bright colours, this is obviously so rescuers can spot you, should you need to deploy it “in anger”, the Wind Sack 3 comes in UN blue. The two colours that are unnatural and are picked up easiest by the human eye are Orange and UN blue, so when buying a group shelter bear this in mind.

Two other great features of the Wind sack 3 that we’ve noticed are the reflective tape around the outside….easily picked up at night, but also the carabineer on cordage (pictured) that you can attach to you in high winds (those of you who use a group shelter regularly will know all about the potential for the wind to rip it straight out your hands!)

Let’s be honest here, many of you will be on a budget and might not be able to afford the Wind sack 3 , however a trip to any reasonably reputable outdoor shop and you’ll be faced with a wide range and at a reasonably cheap price.

Don’t just take our word for it, here’s an incident that happened this winter in the Cairngorms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land-Based Survival Instructor Award

Posted on February 20, 2018 by - Uncategorised

Backcountry Survival along with a number of other Schools and civilian/military instructors have rolled out the LSI which is an IOL accredited  Award.  The award is run over 6 modules throughout the year, and covers a wide range of geographic areas; from woodland, to mountain and coastal.

The award was set up as a sensible alternative to other Survival awards schemes who ventured into the realms of fantasy when it comes to the subject, many offering falconry and hedge laying as part of/bolt-on’s to their award.  Although these skills are subjects in their own right, they don’t have a place in Survival.  The LSI is grounded in common sense, and true survival but also offers all of the “Bushcraft” skills you would expect from a Bushcraft award.

Perhaps the most appealing part of the LSI is the emphasis on candidates becoming an instructor.  Throughout the year participants will be supported and mentored through the scheme, and also given open access to any of the courses run by the partnership companies……be it for brushing up on further skills, or getting experience delivering sessions to a paying clientele.

Regardless of whether you want to work in the industry or want to qualify yourself to a high standard, the LSI is the benchmark.

We are now taking bookings and enquiries for the first course starting this summer.  For more information you can visit our Training page or visit www.landbasedsurvival.co.uk.