Rose's Primitive Survival Experience

 Hellooooo everyone! I'm here to tell all of y'all about my awesome time during our Wilderness Survival campout! When we arrived we all helped unpack the van - there was a lot of stuff! Afterwards we all worked together to scout out the area we would be camping in. Sabrina, Rachel, and Trey set up camp by a massive fallen pine tree at the Western section, while Eli, Dr. Lammel, and I set up our camps in the East across the road. I was partial to that location as it was very clear and the ground was dry and firm. Carson and Nurse Judith opted to camp out right at where we parked the van. One group walked to the nearby Kelly's Pond to retrieve water for us to drink. Obviously we couldn't just drink pond water, so we filtered it through a gravity filter, rendering it potable. They got two huge and heavy buckets and carried them back using a large stick, similarly to the yoke of an ox. With our water needs taken care of, the next step was to begin making shelters.

I'm very proud of my shelter, as I spent a lot of time on it and I think it turned out well. I used a handsaw [and Sabrina's machete] to chop down three flexible yet sturdy saplings. I stripped them of their branches, leaves, and bark, which I used to make rope. I'd made one shelter similar to this one last Winter, so I got straight to work. I dug holes in the ground to secure my three saplings, and I tied them together at the top to create a sturdy pyramid. I used the branches I had stripped to create supports to better secure the three main poles together. That took a lot of time, and when I finished I was very winded! I took a short break and made more rope. After I had sufficiently rested, I collected green materials to create a sort of thatching. I tied them into bundles and secured them to my frame, creating a cozy and sturdy wall of leaves. Eventually I ended up using palmetto for the rest of my home, as my back began to hurt from all the work and I got a bit lazy. I'm very proud of my work and slept in it snuggly that night.

I worked on making dinner that evening with Carson and Dr. Lammel. I was in charge of washing, cutting, and boiling the potatoes while Carson dealt with the chicken. Dr. Lammel was a lot of help with the boiling, as I was pretty skittish of the open flame. Dinner ended up being very delicious. Who knew that the best thing to make unseasoned potatoes taste great was loads of effort? Rachel proved herself to be a very proficient fire-starter, so we had a blazing hearth to surround, enjoying our meal together. That night we ate smores.

Even though I slept comfortably, I woke up around 3 am absolutely freezing. The cold proved to be too much so I joined Rachel and Sabrina in their cozy tent. I think the dampness of the ground gave me a bit of a cold, so all that morning I stayed inside with a splitting headache. Eventually I felt better and taught Sabrina how to make a basket, which they finished! I regret to inform that we ran out of rope, so I wasn't able to finish a basket of my own. But I did make a cute doll out of palmetto I named Ms. Anelodi! I spent the rest of the day with Trey and Eli fishing at the pond. Being an animal lover, I just sat and worked on my basket while they fished. It was very calming. That evening Trey and I worked together to make dinner, which was spaghetti. Again, it was a delicious meal! After nightfall I walked with Ms. Judith and Dr. Lammel to the pond to look for critters. We saw a lot of glowing eyes, but we weren't able to determine what exactly they were. We returned to the fire and I worked on stripping more palmetto fronds before retiring to Rachel's tent for the night.

In the morning we all got up early to pack our things away and drove to Waffle House. Dr. Lammel and I sat together and talked about all sorts of things. I had a really wonderful trip, and loved every second of being out in nature!