This past weekend we participated in a really fun event put on by the Souris-Moose Creek Adventure Club.
It was a winter survival afternoon, and they brought in a really knowledgeable adventurer who went over survival kits and survival education.
Then we broke into groups and each group was given a survival kit. Our objective was to hike out, find an appropriate place for a shelter, construct said shelter, build a fire, secure a water source and heat a can of soup on the fire.
Our group consisted of my whole family and a good friend and her two boys. I have to admit, the adults in the group were fully invested in this challenge.
We found a great tree that had one fallen limb, making it a great structure for a lean to. We foraged dead fall in long pieces to use in our shelter and then secured a tarp to provide a wind break.
Part of our group foraged long dry grasses and layered it all over the floor of the shelter to insulate from the snow. Still another few foraged firewood and created a stack to use near the fire.
The kids enjoyed learning and reviewing how to start a fire. There was lots of cutting kindling and blowing on embers to get the fire going.
Once the fire was going they realized quickly that fires are hungry and they needed way more wood. We enjoyed pretending that we really had to make use of everything to survive.
The discarded beer can we found in the bush became a water pot once we cut the top off the can. We melted the snow to create drinking water. We also had the kids cut a couple green sticks and whittle the points to create roasting sticks.
My family had just finished reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and so we were all about survival skills. We had a blast and now we’re planning our next outdoor winter survival excursion. It’s such a fun way to spend an afternoon being purposeful and engaged outside.
