I’m taking a two-week “Hunter Gatherer” B.O.S.S survival course in 3 months. 9 people bring NOTHING into the desert, mountain, forest for two weeks. Im pretty out of shape and know I need to get in cardio vascular shape but is there anyway to train your body to deal with low caloric intake and low hydration while hiking 30 miles a day in 120 degree weather? Also will aerobic training, say 30 minutes a day at 85% mhr really help in hiking up to 30 miles a day, or am i better off walking longer distances? I’ve asked the course people but want more opinions. Thanks in advance.
I don’t really know how you should deal w/ dehydration except to be in good shape to begin with. I don’t think it’s a good idea to simulate lack of water.
Personally if I were to do it I would chose mountain or forest (or even artic wastelands) over desert (even though techically the artic and antartic is a desert), I don’t do well without water - and for that matter high temp.
Another idea I had if this is allowed. I have used those breathrite strips during prolonged high levels of activity and have found that by using them I breath more through my nose less through the mouth which leads to less water loss.
Kid, I assumed the NOTHING in your post was hyperbole. I mean, no one’s going into the bush nude these days. Verification from the B.O.S.S. site: “Tents, sleeping bags, stoves, backpacks and many other “required” pieces of outdoor equipment are replaced with their low-tech counterparts: a poncho, a blanket, a campfire.”
Also, prolonged hiking in 120 degree heat with poor hydration will kill you, and pretty damn quickly too. Poor PR for the program, so I expect you’ll get as much water as the Army would provide its trainees.
Specifically, I would do these things.
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See a doctor and get his agreement that your plans are not life-threatening. Dead heros and all that.
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Decide on footwear. Boots with plenty of ankle support are good. Train in them and make sure they are well broken in. Blisters in the field are no fun.
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Wear a hat or cap. If not allowed, wrap a T-shirt around your head or make something from leaves or fronds. Keep it wet.
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To train, find a hill, say 1/2 mile in length. Walk up the hill. Walk down. Repeat. After a while, try carrying a pack. If you’ve got some trails around, take some hikes on them. As you progress, get out in the heat of the day. Keep a log; it’ll help focus your attention. Drink plenty of fluids. Listen to your body. Don’t be a fool.
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Go slow. You’re not in a race. 3 months is plenty of time to prepare. Have fun.
Well Well Well kid first of all congratulations. When I lived in Arizona (while attending grad school) I worked for an outward bound crew out of Tempe Arizona. Here are some Survival tips to live by…
I am not sure exactly what you will be allowed but here are some very very helpful hints. **I lasted 10 days in the Sonoran Desert in July…You can do it…
Bring a full brim hat, with a sweat band. You want your head to sweat but at the same time you want your head to re-absorb all the lost fluid when you rest. It sounds wierd but its true.
Also you will be supplied with water, do not over drink it. That’ll kill ya if you can’t walk because of a cramp.
Boots, Boots, Boots, Boots, Boots, Merrill if you can. They are light weight and very very rugged. I still wear mine I bought 10 years ago.
Learn how to use the sun to find your way **at 6 in the morning if the sun is on your right your walking north…etc…etc…
Start training now. Eat less, drink plenty of JUST WATER, and walk a few miles a day.
When your out there, in the mountains/desert/forest. Remember, walk more in the mornings and evenings. like get up at 4. (don’t worry the sun will be peaking through that early) and never, ever, eat anything you don’t know exactly what it is…Also if it hisses, rattles, or blows up like a balloon…STAY AWAY!!!
I saw a kid get bit by a rattle snake…not a pretty picture…
OH yeah the best advice …
Have fun with your buddies, whoever is with you, the time goes much quicker if your having a blast…
Oh man I wish I was going now…I’ll write more when I think of it…
Boots, don’t settle on a single brand. Go try on many makes of boots and find the ones that fit you. No boot fits all feet, no matter how well they are built. Break them in very well before the trip.
Swimming, running, walking, exercise bikes, etc will all help in the CV area. As far as training your body to make do on little food and water, 3 months isn’t too much time and you’ll probably do more damage in the end if you try. It took me many years in the desert to get my body accustomed to very little water, and take it from me, heat exhaustion isn’t much fun and heat stroke really sucks. I’d concentrate more on just getting in shape as that will help you more than anything.
I’ll also chime in with getting some good boots, and a hat. I found the standard pith helmet to be more useful than any other headgear in the sun but anything with a brim is a good thing. Also, loose fitting clothing is better than tight, and if you get the choice, wear black rather than white, especially in the desert.
Enjoy the trip, you should have a pretty good time!
Well, NOTHING may have been a hyperbole, but on the hunter-gatherer course, you can’t bring a poncho or a blanket. Just the clothes on your back and your feet. No change of socks either. Doh!.
No tools except that which you make. I’ll be foraging, trapping, making cordage, etc. Primitive with a capital P. No synthetic materials except boots.
Can’t wait to paint my face in Pig’s blood while dancing around it’s head on a stake in the pale moonlight.
You could try the Navy SEAL workout program. They claim it is how you should prepare if you intend to try out. I have actually been doing this for 3 weeks (not that I’m trying out for the SEAL’s or anything. I just need to get my fat ass in shape again), and it really seems to be working. Best thing is you don’t need any fancy equipment or gym memberships, except for maybe the swimming part.
Anyhoo, give it a try.
Damn! Hunting/Gathering huh?
OK well a few tips… Get a walking stick right off the bat, sharpen one end of it…
Pick up a copy of the SAS survival guide right away!! study it. Damn your going to have fun. You will most likely lose 20 pounds but thats cool.
Water can be found in the early morning collecting as dew on things… You can find it in roots etc…etc… in the desert you can eay prickly pear cactus…sour but good for you…you can also dry it out and chew on it to keep saliva going…
BRING A HAT WITH A WRAP AROUND BRIM!!!
The SAS will show you how to make snares, and other hunting utilities. It will show you most importantly how to start a fire…I would do that first!!! shoe strings 
I’d implant a spare shoe string in my boot, as well as a razor blade…You’d be amazed what you can do with just those…
Sounds like me!
Don’t neglect knowledge as opposed to physical fitness. Extremely fit people tend to die of hypothermia when separated from their group, when a bit of information would prevent this.
Here’s a great set of books I encountered recently. Their author runs an Apache-style survival school:
Tom “Tracker” Brown survival guides
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425105725/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425100634/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425111067/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425157725/
I’m sure that others have recommendations too. When taking a course which is actually important, it always helps to read FAR more than just the books they supply you. Take responsibility for your learning, don’t let yourself be entirely spoon-fed.
Let me chime in with the boots: Buy the best you can, and break them in. I prefer Rychle, but mainly because they fit my feet perfectly. I still have my rychle’s from my 3 week Outward Bound I took 15 years ago. And my light boots now are Rychle’s- love 'em! Again, break them in! At least 10 hours of wear while hiking, if not 20.
I’d agree that a bunch of cardio exercise will help you the most. If you are fit in that regard, then your body will use its resources more efficiently. Thus, when faced with low intake of food and water, you’ll be able to use it better.
But the most important thing in a survival situation is attitude. It’s gonna suck sometimes, but if you shrug it off, focus on doing what you CAN, not what you want, and then laugh- you’ll be fine.
And don’t be freaked by the desert- it is actually easier than other areas to survive in. You just need to find water. Food is generally abundant- cacti, rats, lizards, snakes, rabbits, tons of bugs, nuts and seeds, birds & eggs, cattails, etc. The high mountains are a bigger bitch- seriously dangerous weather and the smallest thing to kill is a deer (ok, a marmut) and the only edible vegetation I could find was dandylion leaves…In the desert you’ll just be uncomfortable, not dead (once water and shade are taken care of).
Have fun! Keep a positive attitude! Anytime it starts to get you down, think about how hard we’re going to laugh when you tell us about it!
Take care-
-Tcat (another guy who would happen to double lace his boots with strong, thin twine, as well as a necklace made of good jewelers metal string/wire/whateveryoucallit, and maybe a bracelet of fishhook-line leaders)