My name is Ryan Dotson, and I am a wilderness survival specialist. Several times each year I pick a location and venture out into the wild to test my skills. In addition to selecting some of the most challenging environments in the country, I also have set parameters to make the experiences more difficult.
There is a set number of days, a set gear list, and set activities to test my skills. In this particular challenge, I traveled to Puskus Lake in Northern Mississippi. This lake is in a very remote part of Holly Springs National Park. The challenge was to spend three days in the wilderness with no food, no water, no tent or sleeping bag, and no standard methods of starting a fire.
In addition to the standard challenges of surviving in the wilderness, I was also required to swim roughly 1000 feet across the lake and 1000 feet back in a simulated supply run. The water was roughly 43°F which is plenty cold to induce hypothermia if the body is not quickly warmed back to normal. The air temperature was only in the mid 60’s, so it was very difficult to get warm. As for gear, most of what I brought was with the intention of demonstrating how to use the items for survival. Some of the gear was intended as backup gear for emergencies only. Unlike most survival specialists, I complete my challenges alone with no camera crew or medical personnel. Because of this, the challenges can be very dangerous. I must always have a backup plan in case I get into serious trouble.
- Primary Gear (Expect to Use; See Photo)
- Fixed Blade Camp Knife
- Folding Blade knife
- Small Metal Cup
- Two Emergency Blankets
- One Bivy Sack (Emergency Blanket With a Zipper)
- 15 Feet of 550 Paracord
- Zip Ties
- Folding Blade Saw
- Pocket Fishing Tool
- Ferro Rod
- Bear Bell
- Water Filter Bottle
- Fish Trap
- Small Roll of Duct Tape
- Second Water Filter Bottle (in case the first gets clogged)
- Iodine Tablets
- Head
- Fire Starting Kit (includes a lighter, Wetfire Cubes, Firestix, Char Cloth, and a Pocket Stove)
Arrival
When I first arrived at the lake, I noticed that there were no other vehicles parked anywhere along the gravel road. I would be completely on my own. After parking the vehicle, I walked down to the edge of the water to scope out the landscape. I had studied a satellite image of the area prior to travelling to the lake, so I knew that I was parking at roughly the center of the lake on the Southern shore.
The best areas for shelter appeared to be towards the Eastern end of the lake. It is a man-made lake with a dam along the eastern shore and a creek running off of the dam. I figured the creek could be a good place to collect water and find food, so that could also be a convenient spot for a shelter. In addition, at the Northeast corner of the lake was an evergreen grove. This could also be a good area for a camp as the evergreens would block the wind better than the deciduous trees that still had not leafed out.
I grabbed my pack and started hiking East along the shore of the lake. The shore and the location of the sun were my only ways to navigate as I did not bring a map or a compass. The terrain was very steep, and my pack must have weighed around 60 lbs., so the hike was slow. There was also a thick layer of decomposing leaves left over from the fall making the ground was quite slick. I quickly found a walking stick to give me three points of contact with the ground. It helped quite a bit.
Once I got near the creek, I had to climb down into the flood basin. It looked like prior to the dam being built, the creek would flood and cover the entire area east of the lake. The area was relatively flat with a good amount of visibility due to the deciduous trees being bare. I liked this as it made finding resources and watching out for predators easier. This area is known for rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, copperheads, wild hogs, black bears, panthers, and alligators. I had plenty of animals I needed to avoid.
Setting Up Shelter
I dropped my pack and hiked over to the evergreen grove. There was not nearly as much visibility and there were limited resources, so I decided to stick with my first location for my camp. I needed to stay at least 100 yards from the water to avoid both predators and mosquitoes. There was a spot with a dip in the ground and trees on both sides that would make for a good shelter location. I had the idea to use the two emergency blankets I brought to make a modified double lean-to. First, I needed a ridge pole to stretch between the two trees.
Green wood is great for making my shelters. You can get long, thin poles that are very strong. I found two trees that were only about two inches in diameter at the thickest point and over 10 feet long. I used my survival knife to chop them down and limb them up with little effort. This is one reason I like having a full tang knife with a long, thick blade. They are great for chopping, batoning firewood, and also more delicate jobs. I used 550 paracord with square knots to attach one pole between two trees about four feet off of the ground. I then stretched the other pole from the center of the first pole to the ground. This ‘T’ frame would allow for the structure I wanted.
On the East side of the ridge pole I attached one emergency blanket. I split open the 550 paracord and used the interior strands to conserve my cordage. Again, I used square knots to tie the blanket on. Quality emergency blankets have eyelets at the corners making it easier to tie off. I then found a heavy log and used it to stretch out the blanket and pin it down the edge. The reflective side was facing down to reflect body head and warmth from the fire back to me. I then attached the other emergency blanket to both the ridge pole and the secondary pole running perpendicular to it. Again, the reflective surface was facing down. This gave me a decent opening to climb inside, but also blocked most of the wind that was whipping through the bare trees.
Last, I used a log to pin down the corner of the second blanket and a stick about three feet long to prop up the center. I piled up a bed of leaves under the first blanket and dug a small pit for a fire under the second. The stick propping up the second blanket would keep it high enough that the flames would not damage it.
Food & Water
Now that the shelter was built and I had dropped off my gear, it was time to cover some of my other needs. First was water. The banks of the creek had been eroded from heavy water flow, and there was a sheer drop of about 20 feet. I had to climb down the bank using tree roots for hand holds and foot holds. As always, I maintained three points of contact to avoid falling. It had rained the night before, so the banks were muddy and slick. After making my way down to the creek and filling up my filter water bottle, I realized I was so dehydrated that I had to fill it again.
Now I have to set my fish trap in the creek. There were mussel shells along the creek bed, so I hoped there would also be fish or crawdads in the creek. The fish trap is a net trap with openings through which the fish can enter but cannot exit. I put a stone in the bottom to weigh it down and attached paracord so I could pull it to the shore without getting wet. I found some insects for bait and threw it out in a calm pool. Hopefully I would have dinner when I came back in the evening.
On the way to the creek I noticed some wild edibles, so I decided to collect some of them for dinner. I climbed back up the creek bed and headed back towards the shelter. Along the way there were small pine trees only about four feet tall. They had buds of new growth all over them, so I snapped off a few. The new growth on many varieties of trees is edible and quite tasty. Next, I noticed that there were ferns everywhere. They also had new growth in the form of fiddleheads. This is a food source found in temperate forests all over the world. Fiddleheads are okay to eat raw but taste better when cooked. I collected almost a pound of fiddleheads to cook for dinner. I also noticed a small purple flower on the ground. Wild violets are delicious and great for a salad. I snacked on some of these and brought back a bundle for dinner.
Finally, I noticed a huge fallen pine tree. While looking it over I saw wild onions which are absolutely delicious. Both the green tops and the white bulbs below the ground are good raw or cooked. I now had about as much food as I could carry to bring back to camp.
Starting the Fire
The last vital item I needed to survive my challenge was fire. I brought a ferro rod to get it started, but I needed to get together a tinder bundle, kindling, and logs for fuel. Kindling was easy. There were plenty of small, thin branches that had fallen to the ground in the area. I collected a bundle of sticks ranging from the thickness of pencil lead up to about one inch in diameter. My bundle was large enough I could barely hold it in my arms. I noticed a bird’s nest on a low hanging branch. This would be perfect for my tinder bundle. I also found areas that had recently been burned. In these areas were burnt pine cones, dry pine needles, and burnt pine bark I could use for additional tinder. Larger logs are tougher to collect without doing a bunch of sawing or chopping, but I found enough to serve my needs. During the day the air temperature was around 60F, so I would not need fire until around 3am. This would allow me to conserve my firewood. I now had food, water, fire, and shelter to cover me into the second day. I would continue to use these same sources for the entire challenge.
Just before dark I checked my fish trap and had no catch. I moved it to an area with a little more water movement and hunkered down in my shelter for the night. I ate some of the food I collected and laid down to rest. The temperature dropped to right at freezing, and I lit a small fire to keep warm. I did not get much sleep during the night but was able to get some sleep the next morning.
Around noon I prepared for my swim. I was forced to wear a wetsuit to make sure that I didn’t get too cold to swim. However, I would still need to quickly get dry and warmafter the swim. The water was freezing and took the breath out of me when I jumped in. It took a minute of acclimation just to get my limbs functioning. I swam slower than I typically swim in warmer water but was able to get across the lake and back in about 30 minutes. As soon as I got to shore, I stripped out of my wet suit and hiked back to camp. I was shivering uncontrollably and was definitely hypothermic. I dried off and got back into dry clothes. Finally, I lit a fire and boiled some water to drink. This warmed me from the inside out, and I was back to normal a few hours later.
Finished!
The rest of the challenge consisted of just collecting the same resources. Once you have established sources for food, water, firewood, and shelter, you can rely on them over and over. The second night was much warmer than the first, and I did not even need a fire. The temperature was about 15F warmer than the first night. I spent the last day hydrating, eating, and resting for my hike out. I broke down my shelter and got my gear back in my pack. The fish trap never did provide any food, but the wild edibles got the job done.
By the time I got back to my vehicle I was completely exhausted and sore from head to toe. Over the course of the three days, I ended up hiking about 20 miles. This is not the furthest distance I have hiked on a challenge but was more than I am used to hiking on a daily basis. I enjoyed getting to test my skills in a new area and got to appreciate the beauty of the forest. I am happy to be home but am looking forward to my next adventure in a few months.
Ryan Dotson is a survivalist, writer, photographer and prepper. Mr. Dotson was raised in the Ozark Mountains. His interest in survivalism began with the Boy Scouts. His father, uncle and grandfather continued to teach him how to hunt and fish. Currently living in Mid-Missouri, Mr. Dotson has begun to write about his experiences of survival here at SurvivalistWarrior.com.