survival for fun or for being prepared?

Do you like to survive for fun? Maybe you go on adventures or do hikes for months to see If you can make it in the wild. I'm not particularly fond of surviving for fun. I mostly just want to be prepared of anything disastrous that may happen. I worry about being under prepared. I'm just curious how many of you feel one way or the other?

 

The issue is that people doing it for fun is not really "surviving" anything. They're doing it as a hobby and that's quite respectable. But they are not giving away their current lifestyles, is like go camping or joining boyscouts, those activities could prepare you better as prepper or survivalist nevertheless. Survival is by embracing it completely by choice or because you're really living a critical situation that leaves you with no alternative but to do the best you can to survive or die.

 

When we go on overnight camping trips in the mountain resort, it is more of fun and maybe just 10% of survival learning. But there was a time when we went to a river, not a resort this time, where the survival lesson was for real. The instructor was my husband and the students were my sister's grade school children. The focus of survival lessons is the river which has clear waters. The search for drinking water is the first step and it looked easy for us. But what if there was no river? I cannot answer that. Second step is the search for food. Again, the river is the focus so the fish is it. But how?

We learned the fish in the river are harder to catch than fish in the lake. By the way, there were also small shrimps in that river. Using an old woven basket, it was easy as per the demo. But the basket was not allowed so everyone was on the drawing board on how to catch fish without a net. The only resource available for catching fish is the clothes so my nephew's shirt was the prototype. the arm holes were clipped and the head hole as well, leaving the shirt with only one opening where we tied the 2 sticks. It looked like a makeshift net. Hooray, we caught several shrimps and 1 fish in a span of 30 minutes. Not bad for a beginner.

 

Its a bit hard to digest the idea of survival for fun since it involves exposure to dangerous situations in some cases. However, some people do it for endurance or strength training to gauge their mettle. I remember when I trekked for a big distance normally travelled on board to assess my stamina.

 

It is a lifestyle for us as well Lonewolf. I have three children under ten so surviving is not optional and neither is being prepared. I also feel that part of my responsibility as a parent is making sure that they can survive as well. I never really thought of it as fun...it is just what we do. One of my kids favorite sayings is "two is one and one is none" . LOL

 

Although I would like to be prepared in the case of a disaster, I mostly do my traveling and outdoor survival for fun. I made the decision to hop freight trains several years ago. I felt a need for adventure, but I knew in my heart that I was going to have a ton of fun along the way. I learned a lot about what it is to survive on human instinct. I learned even more about what I'm capable of. I'd be lying if I said I chose to go into survival mode to be prepared alone. Majority of my reasoning was to enjoy myself.

 

Well I would not use the word "fun" but usually when we go camping the main goal is to try to use as much logic and simple skills as we can.
I just feel like that camping this ways, especially with children can teach a lot about the nature around you and how to use it for you own good while still being really really respectful.

Survival itself is a basic human instinct I think and to try these skills out in the nature is good thing to do.

 

I think you can clasify camping as a way of surviving and having fun, but purely surviving is another beast. By survival people mean you have to give up your current lifestyle and sacrifice a lot, most of us here like the idea and that's why we choose it, I also love to be really prepared in case a crisis happens in my city. I love living in the wild, I don't know, I think I was born in the wrong century.

 

It think it's a combination of both. People camp out to the wilderness for weeks with barely anything on them and try to survive through natural resources, most of the time to prove their manliness or camping chops, so it's both fun and being prepared just in case you will ever need these set of skills. There have been stories of people being dropped off by their friends in the middle of nowhere, with just a hunting knife, and would come back in two weeks, where they would have to survive on instincts alone. Think of it as their own version of the show Survivor, but there are no cameras around. They said it was pretty fun.

 

To me, surviving means struggling. I do see the point of going on adventures through the wilderness and deserts to see how far you can go with it all and even if I enjoy going on adventures, my type of adventures are different. For example, I like going on road trips to places I haven't been to, jogging trails and horseback riding. If I have to survive then I am forced to do everything possible to make it out alive and since I have kids to also make sure they are okay first.

 

For me, it's a little from column A and a little from column B.
I love the idea of reskilling and knowing what to do if the shit hits the fan, or being able to instruct others, or simply just being able to do something so that I don't have to rely on others (and yes, ultimately so I don't have to pay others for their time.)
But along with that, I want my children to have all the advantages I never did. I was never and outdoorsy person, I still don't really camp, but if the things don't go south in my lifetime I fear it may in theirs or their kids. I want my kids to be strong, to know hwat to do, and ultimately be able to survive anything they need to.

We have people telling us we never need to be worried. But a lot can change in say, 40 years. Do you really think where we're at now would have been predicted in the 1970's by your average lay person? Who's to say where we are in 2050...
Humanity has been this comfortable before, and comfort can't be a constant. The shake up has to happen in someone's lifetime. Might as well be a competent human being to give yourself and your family the best chances.

Those are my reasons.

 

Both. I think survival is an important aspect to take in consideration. You never know when you're going to be lost in a forest , and therefore , it's important you have knowledge on how to survive. Although, it's always fun to go camping and show off your survival skills to your peers and i do that very often.

 

No, I don't really like to survive just as an adventure--I mean, on purpose---but if it happens that we are on vacation or camping and things get a little rough , I do like to tease the kids: "I don't know if you two would ever make it!" and then ask them to imagine what they'd do if I broke my leg and couldn't get out of the woods on my own, or if I were trapped somewhere and they had to get help, what would they do? You know, those types of scenarios.

I think everyone should train their children on some type of what-if scenarios. Just to get them used to thinking about what they would or what they COULD do. Even a very young child can be taught to call 911 or emergency services when at home. So not all children have to be totally unprepared for an emergency situation.

And did you read about the 9 yr old that drove the car when his mother passed out from a diabetic issue? He got her safely to help. That mother should be very proud, and I'm sure she is. Hmmm... I just realized. He owes his life to his mother, and she owes her life to him.

 

What started off as a weekend camping trip as a kid has turned into a more significant role in my life. As a kid you like being outdoors and learning how to survive off the land and consume what nature provides. But with what has been going on in the past few decades you can't help to wonder if these skills will pay off in the future.

Every natural disaster that has happened in the past, teaches us to be prepared for unforeseen dangers. You never when the next Mt. St. Helen will blow it's top again, but if it does, having a plan of evacuation or back up supplies, wouldn't hurt. People in this world are reactive, when they should be proactive. Dangers exist, and the attitude of "I'm not going to worry about it" is not a excuse anymore.

If you live in a Tornado ridden area, you should be prepped for that. If you live in a Typhoon area, then you know what to expect and the supplies you will need to survive on. For god sakes, if your home gets flooded every year and you depend on my tax dollars to bail you out of a pickle, you should move out of the area or at least build your house several feet off the ground.

 

I also think survival is a serious thing but there is still fun in challenging yourself through going out in the wild with limited tools or materials and seeing if you can survive. If it's being done safely of course.

 

I feel that just because you consider something a hobby doesn't mean that you don't take it seriously. I haven't always made preparations for disasters until I was actually in one and realized that I could have been so much better prepared if I would have taken time out to think about "what ifs" ahead of time. In truth, we can all try to plan for whatever situation may arise, but the reality is that you can never really be completely ready for when disaster strikes. Our preparations only make us more knowledgeable and possibly more comfortable when the time comes.

 

When I think of the word, Survival, fun is not the first thing that comes to my mind. Preparedness has to be the number one priority. I think that going on a trip, camping, or any outing can be for fun. However, in order to obtain safety and survive I know I need to have all of my I's dotted, and my T's crossed. My family has survival weekends, and I will tell you I definitely do not think they are for entertainment. These drills are to prepare us for the insanity of what is ahead. To ensure that the strong does survive, and if you are not ready; survival of the fittest.

 

I like to be prepared but most of all I just feel that we have become way too dependent on the social system around us. My only answer is to break away and be self sufficient without having needing the system. If I can learn how to survive without for the next half of my life, I will be so proud of myself.