Sensory Reorientation

Early morning hikes, complete with MP3 player, sunglasses, and poles often lead to zoning out.

My mind is off on problem solving or simple list making.

Living in the moment takes some practice.

I take off the sunglasses, unplug the music, blow my nose, and reorient my senses.

This is important in survival practice. Dark glasses protect eyes from glare but they also make identifying bear scratchings or rattle snakes more difficult. Gray skies look more menacing, and obscure trails blend into the forest.

Music hide the soft noises of woodland creatures, distant barking or howling, hunter's shooting a few rounds. Hearing is a vital sense which contributes to the other senses in ways not fully understood.

To fully appreciate the subtle smells of the forest, a person has to clear the nasal passages of all other home smells. Blowing the nose clears the mucos. Sounds gross, but its a blunt reality. Hard to distinguish campfires from cigarettes unless I do this first.

Sensory Reorientation is a technique I use when I really want to touch the wilderness.

The Cabin

I have this favorite shelter going on; every time I hike up to the mountain top, I add to the Cabin.

It started out as a learning project. If you're faced with nightfall and no shelter, how long would it take to create something from scratch? There are no caves, overhangs,or large blow downs. Its fairly open with small trees because years ago it was clear cut: a method whereby all trees are cut down and removed at once.

With winter approaching, I find myself adding to the shelter with plans to do an overnighter there. I'll bring a thermometer to measure the difference in temperatures inside and out.

Playing in the woods like this is just practice for if one had to hole up and wait for rescue. Its important to feel some control over the outcome so that panic doesn't set in. With purposeful work, like improving the shelter by adding more leaves or branches, a person can stay put and not panic.

One disadvantage to this location is no ready source of water. A stream is shown on the topographical map, but it is nearly 700 feet lower in elevation, way down the slope. An advantage however would be easy to spot by air search and rescue teams.

Playing with survival scenarios is like practicing basketball. The practice sessions hone skills for the real game.

Sierra Magazine-A Review

I'm working my way through the July/August 2009 issue of Sierra, the magazine put out by Sierra Club.

There's a website, http://www.sierraclubtrails.org/ which is a relatively new social network promoted in it, as well as very interesting articles.

One, How Not to Die in the Woods, written by Paul Rauber,a senior editor at Serra, left me pondering many things.

Paul talks about the wilderness clinic he took sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Game. Everyone was supposed to bring their personal survival kit to class. He threw together some stuff so he didn't arrive empty handed.

I loved his honesty. Refreshing.

How many times I've headed out in the woods with nothing but my hiking poles, and maybe a bottle of water. Then, taking a notion to explore some back area I realize how important it is not to get lost because all my "survival stuff" is at home. Well, not everything. My brain is my biggest asset. I've been practicing, some call it playing, in the woods for many years.

Back to the article. Paul really describes the class, or clinic very well and the instructors key advice when you feel, or really are, lost : "Sit down, breathe deeply. Think things over. Fear is like being hot or cold. You just learn how to deal with it."

I love that. My partner used to tell me true courage is when you are afraid. If you weren't afraid, there would be no need for courage.

Fear is a survival instinct. It wakes us up from nonchalance. Our senses give us necessary clues to survive if we know how to utilize them. Panic, not fear, is the enemy.

His Survival Pack Checklist :

Cell Phone

Compass

Lighter, flint and steel, waterproof matches

Duct Tape

First Aide supplies

Parachute cord

Knife

Whistle

Signaling mirror

Garbage bags

Space blanket

Water purification Tablets

Pictures of Loved ones

Dryer Lint

Paul goes onto remind us that these survival skills used to be taught to children by their parents, and now they are learned from reality shows, books, and Department of Fish and Game. I'll add that we learn from the Internet. I do a lot of research online.

Sierra Magazine is a great read, and I recommend it for enthusiasts regardless of which coast they live on.

New Wild Foods

Now that I pretty much have the acorn thing down, I'm looking at other wild edibles. So many things can make tea, that's not an issue.

What I want is something you can chew, and feel good about. Not gritty or slimy, but something our ancestors might have collected for the table like dandelions.

This week I've found Sassafras and Common Plantain. Both of these wild foods can be used as salad greens or cooked greens when young and tender, or made into a tea if you like. Being fall, and everything in tough Old mode, I collected leaves. I firmly believe in bringing book knowledge into the field, keeping it real.

We have a lot of kudzu around here in the South. It was a gift from a Japanese Ambassador at the turn of the century. A plant that is much maligned, it can be used to feed animals and humans, weave baskets and furniture, prevent erosion and has enough cellulose to create fuel for cars.

I've tasted it raw and its not bad, a little coarse. Once I try some cooked I'll report back.

Get Some Acorns

My Acorn Project video is now available on my channel at

http://www.youtube.com/user/brawny03

I took all the footage, compiled it with that down home touch hoping to inspire all my friends to check out this cool nut alternative.

While I was up at the picnic site processing these acorns, a nice older couple came by to chat. Turns out she had taught boy scouts back in the day how to use acorns to make pancakes. My whole thing, I told them, was to find ways to use acorns with the simplest of tools and least energy expended. I use these acorns, after processing, like one would use walnuts, pecans, almonds or cooked beans.

Being an experienced cook, I have some preferred methods to create flavor. Sauteing with canola oil and spices creates a product which can be eaten as a garnish or with fried rice. I prefer to use canola oil because it has higher burn point than butter, and contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids which raise our beneficial HDL cholesterol.

By mincing this prepared product we can incorporate acorns into vegetarian burgers or patties and serve with a variety of condiments.

Preparing the acorns with cinnamon and nutmeg instead of savory spices would make an excellent addition to baked goods such as muffins and nut breads.

Some acorns do not require processing. Their tannin levels are so low that they can be eaten raw or cooked in foods. Before processing, taste raw shelled acorns and decide how bitter they are. Then use water to remove bitter tannins as needed.

According to my research, the only animal that can not eat acorns is horses because acorns are toxic to them.