Surviving in the Smoky Mountains

It's only been a couple weeks without power, but the world seems to have fallen into pure chaos. Haven't decided if it was good or bad that this happened while we were camping. On one hand we have some basic supplies but on the other we are in one of the more unforgiving places to be trapped, the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Right now the locals who have lived in these hills for generations and aren't showing any Southern Hospitality. Just this morning a group of marauders heavily armed stormed the campgrounds we had been staying at for the last couple weeks. Each morning we had been packing everything we could carry and practicing an emergency exit plan so unlike most we were ready for this attack and it paid off. We got out of there with almost everything, but we did forget the food bag.

As we escaped we took a cleared path for about a mile and then went straigh uphill and over the peak of the mountain to try and get away from anyone who might be following us. This was our personal plan as the others planned to run downhill as it was "easier" and we figured doing the exact opposite of what was easy would increase our chance of survival.

Luckily we stumbled onto a cabin that seems to be empty for the time being and a good place to spend a few days. Will be nice to sleep inside a cabin and not crammed into a small tent with 4 people. Need to find some food, seriously food seems to be the one thing that is always on our minds. Luckily there is plenty of streams for water around here so that isn't an issue. Keeping warm is starting to become an issue too. We weren't prepared for the colder nights that have crept in.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Source

Inside the cabin we take inventory of what we have and what we lost. We also quickly dig around the cabin to find any food that might be here or weapons. Luckily we found a can of beans that was stashed in the cabinet so we get to have lunch.

So glad we had brought the .22's for target shooting. Have been teaching the girls to shoot with rifles for a couple years now so they are fairly accurate up to around 30 yards. Wish I had more then the 248 rounds we have left as there is no way to know how long they will need to last. Nice that 22 rounds are light and fitting that many in my pack didn't change how much we can carry. Just wish we didn't have to leave behind the last of our food supplies this morning. Keeping my family safe and feed never seemed like such a challenge.

Original Photo

Leaving the girls with 1 rifle and taking the other with I'm going to look for dinner. The small amount of food we found in the cabin was good for a meal which gives me the energy needed to hunt, trap, or forage for our next meal...but it's not enough to keep us going for long. Food is now a priority that can't be ignored.

Know we passed some black walnut trees in our rush to get off the beaten path, but not sure I want to venture back towards the marauders. Sure they are still hanging around the campgrounds enjoying all the food they stole from everyone that was there. There was enough food to keep them satisfied for a while, but no reason to test going that direction right now. Need to make sure the wind in blowing the right way before making a fire too...hmm wonder if the smoke from everyone's fires the night before is how the marauders found us in the first place.

Food...dammit it's hard to stay focused when you haven't been getting full meals or more then a couple hours of sleep a day for weeks on end. Stop thinking of anything other then food, focus.

As I venture into the woods I mark my way by marking trees with my knife. Want the marks big enough I'll notice them, but small enough that they aren't to obvious to someone that isn't looking for them. Don't want to lead marauders right to my family.

Rabbit Food

While I set out hoping to find some small game I don't have the time to wait around and more I think about it firing off the 22 while not very loud compared to larger caliber guns it's still a distinct pop that can be heard from a distance in the woods. So when I ran into this clearing filled with Dandelions it was time to do some digging. Hate sitting out in this clearing, but this is an easy source of food that can't be ignored.

Source

Yup, instead of eating a rabbit we will be eating like a rabbit. But we need some nuts or something to go with this. Why can't I find a nut tree? As I look around against the bright blue sky I notice pine cones and think back to the fun I would have tossing them into camp fires as a kid and then promptly getting yelled at...but wait the needles can be used to make a tea. Right about now any flavor other then plain water sounds great. Need to grab some of them as adding flavor to our water while gaining a large amount of vitamin C can be a life saver. Talk about an easy way to boost the immune system.

Added bonus pine trees inner bark is edible and will give us some much needed protein and fat! Need to cut only enough for the day and come back for more later. Don't want to harm the tree and need to try and keep my harvesting of bark on the side of the trees that people won't notice if they stumble upon this clearing. The layer of yellowish inner bark just beneath the dead layer of outer gray bark is what I need to collect for eating, but will bring the outer layer back to the cottage to let dry for a few days for a fire starter. Using everything I take will make resources last longer out here.

Source

As I walk the rest of the clearing I notice something that will make the meal have a little more flavor, the local call them ramps but most people would call them spring onions. These are a pick and eat item or great in a salad. Only grabbing a handful and will return for more as needed. Walking 40 minutes each way in the woods to get tree bark, onions, and weeds Dandelions for dinner, who would think I'd be excited to know this was an option.

This clearing would be a great spot to set up early morning to hunt and maybe tomorrow that will be the plan, but for now I will have to live with eating what I always considered pesky weeds as I really want to get back to the cabin and check on the girls. Been away long enough to find what I have and mark the trail to get here. Tomorrow it will go much faster to get back here, but still not sure about firing the rifle. Going to need to see what there is in the cabin that can be used to rig up some traps. Would be much safer this way.

Back at the cabin everyone is safe and they tell me they have been busy setting up some warning systems. Smart girls, with some fishing line they tied off to a couple trees with some metal cans tied together to act like a bell if the line is kicked. They only had enough to cover the most likely ways someone would come to the cabin, but it's better then nothing. Might have to take that line for snares tomorrow, but for tonight it will be nice to have some warning if someone comes towards the house. So glad the kids had a book from the library about living in the woods. We have been reading it daily learning as much as possible like making a snare.

With water already boiled and bottles all filled the packs are ready in case we need to escape quickly. Looks like the entire time I was gone my Wife an Girls were busy getting ready in case we need to run again and at the same time trying to make the cabin a safer location in case we can stay for a little while.

For the next few days I know there is enough rabbit food in that clearing to keep us fed. Not that the bitter taste of Dandelions is what I want to be eating for days it's better then going hungry. As this was our first day in this location we kept things simple and just rinsed the Dandelions and Onions and made a simple salad with some pepper which was in the cabinet. As for the bark we just ate it fresh with salt (it really needed something) and put some in a pan over the fire we used to boil more water for our pine needle tea. What we fried up in the pan will be our "bark jerky", which won't taste good but holds most of the nutritional value of the fresh bark. Want to store at least a few weeks worth of this to make sure we have something for winter.

Think tomorrow I will take a trip back towards camp and get some walnuts. We really need some food items which taste good that can be stored for future days, the winter is hard up in the mountains but seems safer then heading towards the city. Can't imagine the chaos down there without power...no I think finding a way to survive up here on the mountain is going to be best.

---

---

So I was reading @el-nailul's entry into @canadianrenegade's Prepper Cook-Off Challenge #3 and I decided to do something I haven't in a long time. A creative writing session and while I'm guessing it won't qualify for the contest it is what inspired my story. It's partly based on the challenge, partly based on some facts, and loosely based on some creative ideas that got tossed around the campfire by the family last week. Mixing it all together to have a little fun.

If this is a valid entry I'd like to ask any and all funds be sent to @pifc if that is allowed, if not know that they will all be donated to @pifc to help support the Pay It Forward Curation Contest.