I, Caveman, Back to The Stone-New Series Review

Its obvious some folks will do anything to be on T-V. I could have slapped Manu, a female bounty hunter who whined and complained how cold she was. Her feet got wet and she refused to sit by the fire.
I know mountains cool off at night, but there was not a sign of fall weather, it looks like mid July. Please.

She could have removed the wet foot gear, and propped her feet by the fire. A guy would probably have massaged them if she hadn't been such a bitch. I could have slapped her several times.
See I don't get it. Didn't they screen these 10 people to eliminate the cry babies? I guess that keeps it interesting.

The Discovery Channel new series involves 9 men and women with a dude named Morgan Spinlock who take on 10 days of survival in a lush verdant valley, mountains in the distance, elk roaming in herds, stream filled with trout and frogs. They trade all clothing for skins and hides replicated to be exactly as stone age people would have had. They must work together, fashioning a shelter, creating fire via spindle and block, and get food and water.
After a while, some guys get tired of feeding some laying around women, and they whined and complained about a tribal vote to move 3 miles. Picking and choosing among the bountiful stack of hides and weapons they've created, they carry all on their backs.
See, I don't get it. Have they never heard of travois, where these hides are tied between two lodge poles, laden with goods and drug those three easy miles. They weren't crossing through any forests that I could see.
So, I'm sorry, but between all the commercials for beer, cars and what more (I use the time to surf channels) and all the complaining, its hard to watch. I love learning new things. Watching them fish in the cold stream, using hands to slip around the trout bodies and fling onto the banks was nice. Creating the sling spear and launching practice was cool.

Can the directors give us more substance and less emotional crisis? We who watch such shows know about short tempers and illogical decisions due to physical stress. It shouldn't comprise 90% of the content. The question posed by the creator of the series: does modern man have what it takes to survive with as cavemen did. Number one, cavemen were raised with the knowledge, not snatched off New York streets, from lunch at Applebees.

Thats enough rant for one day, And here's my vote for better substantive programing.

Lets have more like Dual Survival, I love those guys.

Dual Survival 2011 -Three Episode Reviews

I watched three back to back of Cody and Dave's the Art of Self Reliance.

The first one was based in winter in the Rocky Mountains, specifically, Wyoming. In two feet of snow, we saw them use a fire starter to light a nice mound of branches. It was going pretty good so the snow that fell from an overhead branch didn't put it out.
They used dead snags and wood to build a lean-to and showed how to break off spruce and pine boughs to shingle the shelter, as well as provide a natural mattress and insulation. I was surprised they didn't use any snow to build walls around the lean to, if nothing more than just scraping it over and mounding it up.
On one of his recons, Cody came across the partially eaten carcass of an elk. After examination, they determined it was left by a human hunter, not a bear or wolves. I think the lack of tracks and amount of animal buried in the snow would have shown this as well.
Eventually they hiked down to a frozen lake where snowmobilers found them.

The second episode dealt with a couple kayackers dumping in the cold river in Kentucky. At first they are separated, but eventually rejoin. Fire is made with a Metal match stick by  Dave. Cody is unable to make a bow and drill fire, in spite of much smoke being produced. We're told it takes 800 degrees to ignite this wood.
A shelter is had in one of the many overhangs. It looked amazingly like one of my favorite haunts here in north east Georgia. They hike on and find the stuff from moon shiners, a good tarp and metal fixings.
Eventually they build a water craft with the tarp and duct tape, float it for awhile then get dumped back in the freezing cold water. They climb out, and walk to a black top road, where they hitch hike and are saved.
This episode is interesting in the amount of adventure that looks like my home. Dave snares a pole cat (skunk) but they let it go because of rabies danger. He does get some spray on his hat. Dave also finds some large shelf mushrooms, which get broken into pieces to join the worms Cody has found an is cooking in a kayaker's helmet.
Interesting stuff.

The third episode involves stranded men in northern Maine. We're told 90% of main is  heavily forested, with random logging roads. They find an old truck, use it's battery to make fire, and take the bench seat to sit on . The hood of the truck forms a reflector. A stray can of extra chunky dog food is opened for nourishment the second night. In the morning they walk three miles to the ocean, and are rescued on the beach.

There always is a lot of information on Dual Survival. Good stuff that is both practical and entertaining. We get to watch our man Cody, expert desert survivalist, deal with things outside his home town environment. He'll remind us of this fact, and then proceed to work on solutions. I love how he sucked water from his socks in Wyoming, while Dave laughed because they were surrounded by clean snow, some of which they were already melting in a plastic bag.
We love watching Dave create snares, teach us about electricity and hunting. He doesn't like eating crap. Neither man really needs to eat, neither one is dying of hunger. Just the mental and emotional aspects that come with obtaining food show us how important it is to feel control and care in our survival quest.

Watch any and all of this series if you get a chance. I even watch them more than once and feel challenged to try their techniques.

Dual Survival-A Stategic Lesson

Last night we watched another episode of Dual Survival.

This time Dave and Cody were in the jungles of Belize heading for the coast.

As night approached, we saw both men preparing their shelter and bed.

Cody built a bed off the ground, under the leaf thatched hut they made together.

Dave built a hammock. Both agreed it was important to get off the ground where snakes, poisonous spiders and other night creatures would more easily hinder their sleep. Of course, those creatures can climb, but are less likely to do so.

With 40% of the canopy in the jungle being vines, they showed us how to utilize this valuable resource.

Both had unique ways of trying to make fire. Unfortunately neither was successful the first night.

Cody tried by using a slice of rock and striking it with the steal blade, sending sparks into fine dry tinder.

Dave used the silver half globe of a flash light to focus a tiny sun beam to try tinder located in the center where the bulb had been. Not enough sun in the jungle, but this method did produce a coal and subsequent fire on the beach once they arrived.

After the jungle, they reach the savannah. While bushwhacking through the Savannah they eventually found two boa constrictors mating. They each picked one up, talked about the future of snakes and decided to let them both go so that they could continue the species. Dave is such a hunter, but did not want to kill them because he said he wasn't hungry enough. I loved that. This is strategic planning. By letting them live, and continue the mating process, they thought about the big picture.

Once they arrived at the ocean, they found coconuts, an iguana, and containers. Dave shows us how to capture a treed iguana via noose attached to long pole , coaching Cody as he snags it.

Cody also shows us how to open and extract coconut milk.

If you get a chance to watch these guys, you'll be rewarded with much entertainment, but mostly fantastic lessons in survival.

Dual Survival Lessons Learned

The Discovery Channel has a good thing going. Dual Survival's Art of Self Reliance is a series I could watch over and over. They say you can only retain 10% of what you hear, see or read, so I'm inclined to think its worth several viewings of these excellent survival portrayals.

Dave gave us his list of Five C's , things he would like to have in any situation: Cutting tool, Cover, Combustion, Containers, and Cordage.

Cody reminds us that its all about adaptation, awareness, and a positive attitude. Cody firmly believes we should never hunt something that can seriously hurt us, like honey bees, alligators, poisonous snakes.

Because they have differing world views, Dave calls Cody a hippie, while Dave is hardcore military bearing, we get some serious philosophy and skills being demonstrated. Dave is into meat, hunting and serious trapping and weaponry making. Cody walks barefoot, and has a lot of gathering and primitive fire making skills.

I file all this information away in my mind, accessible for practicing at a future date. For instance, we see Dave using toilet paper as a sponge to sop up water from a broad leaf plant. I hiked with a special forces guy on the Appalachian Trail who taught me that a straw was invaluable for picking up water. You put the straw into the water, just below the scum that floats on the top, being careful not to disturb the sediment that sinks to the bottom. You can drink this way if necessary and avoid most of the hazardous material.

A straw is also handy for picking up water off a seep in a rock face. Use the straw to funnel the water into a container, hopefully a water bottle. I carry a flexible plastic cup which also helps to pick up water in shallow pools or seepages. I've also used a broad leaf to create a water slide for the filling of water bottles.

All these examples show the skill we want to develop is innovation, adapting what is available for the desired outcome.

I think we can teach adaptation skills to our children. Basically, instead of giving them premade costumes for Halloween, coloring books, and prepackaged foods, we can provide the materials to create their own.

Problem solving skills with adaptation in mind will go a long ways especially in this rotten economy.

If you get a chance to watch these episodes, I think you'll find it time well spent.