Maybe it’s just me – but sometimes I get the feeling that the “wildlife” in our neighborhood is getting just a little too comfortable around humans.
 
So that you can see what I’m talking about, here are a few photos from the past 12 months of the animals that surround our home - Bears, Bobcats, Cormorants, Coyotes, Deer, Foxes, Fisher Cats, Hawks, Owls, Snakes, Snapping Turtles, Turkeys, Woodchucks, and a Turkey, Duck and Bunny all snacking together. Some of these photos are from our yard, some are from our local walks and hikes, and others are from our neighbors: ​(click on any photo to start the slideshow)

​We had an amazing coincidence occur earlier this week when, on the night of 11 May 2024, as we were waiting for the Aurora Borealis to appear, the International Space Station (ISS) streaked directly overhead.

​The largest man-made object in space, the ISS is 356 feet (109 meters) end-to-end, one yard shy of the full length of an American football field including the end zones. The solar array wingspan (356 feet, 109 meters) is longer than the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380 (262 feet, 80 meters). In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets at a speed of 17,100 mph (4.76 miles/second). Here’s a short video of what the ISS orbit looks like as it passes 248 miles above the Earth. Note that the highlighted “cone” shows the locations that can see the ISS as it passes by.

​Because of its size, and the sun’s rays reflecting off its metal hull and solar panels, the ISS is very visible against the night sky – if you know when and where to look for it. Luckily, we knew that the ISS would be passing overhead that night, so we noted the compass directions that it would come from and head off to, and were prepared to look for it at the scheduled orbital pass time.

​Here’s a time sequence photo montage of the ISS passing overhead during the 6 minutes and 34 seconds that it was visible to us. 

​We even captured a short video of the ISS streaking through the night sky. (click on the arrows to expand the video to full screen since the ISS was shot against the dark night sky)

​
​Although we initially headed out for a chance to see the Aurora Borealis, the fact that we saw both the Northern Lights and the ISS passing overhead made for an unforgettable night. 

Last night the conditions were good for potentially seeing the Northern Lights here in New England. So, on the night of 10 May 2024, we ventured out in the late evening and luckily got to see some amazing sights between 9:30 PM and 12:30 AM from a variety of locations around our town.
 
Prior to heading out we consulted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/) to check the forecast to find out if the conditions were actually good for seeing the Northern Lights in our area – since they’re the authoritative source for solar and space environment data.

We also checked our “Sky Live”, “Moon Calendar” and “Lumnos” apps to see what the sky conditions were, the phase of the moon, and the location of the moon in the night sky – and the viewing conditions were excellent.

The only odd thing we found was that our cameras “saw” the lights (which are caused by charged particles from the Sun interacting with the Earth’s electromagnetic field) much better than our eyes. So, we had to shoot lots of photos and then see what showed up on our cameras. Needless to say, we were surprised many times because the faint colors and striations that we saw in the sky were much brighter and more pronounced in the images that our cameras captured. Here's a great write-up by Ewen Bell explaining why this occurs: "Why Auroras Look Different on The Camera"

The gallery below shows photos of the Northern Lights that appeared in our town’s skies that night:  ​​(click on any photo to start the slideshow)

​To get 2024 started off on the right foot we took a 10-day trip to Texas; a state that we’ve been to many times before – but not in the past few years. Since Texas is so big we tried to plan out a trip that allowed us to spend more time sightseeing and hiking than driving. To accomplish this, we laid out a triangle – Houston to San Antonio to Austin to Belton and then back to Houston.  Everything worked out great. We only had to drive 960 miles. Got to visit several friends. The sights were uncrowded. And the January weather cooperated (with cold and snow arriving in Texas the day after we flew back home).
 
Here's a map of what our overall trip looked like. 

​During our Texas travels we visited the following major sites:
 

• Buffalo Bayou Park and its underground cistern
• San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site
• Houston Botanic Garden
• Buc-ee’s (a mandatory stop for people that don’t live in Texas)
• The Alamo
• San Antonio Riverwalk
• Tower of the Americas
• Japanese Tea Garden
• San Antonio Art Museum (SAMA)
• San Fernando Cathedral
• Black’s Barbecue
• McKinney Falls State Park
• Texas State Capitol
• Blue Bell Ice Cream factory
• Gerald Hines Waterwall Park
• Houston Space Center

 
As always, we took lots of photos – here are a few to give you a taste of what we saw. ​ ​(click on any photo to start the slideshow)

Lots of great sights, outdoor activities and friends. Just what you need to make a wonderful trip.

​As with all other websites, during the year we’ve continuously tracked our Hiking, Camping and Shooting (HCS) website traffic ever since we launched it back in 2016. Because we recently finished up 2023, we thought that we would share some of our latest statistics from the year with all of you so that you can see who our readers are, where they’re located and what they read.
 
In 2023 our readership increased by 7% and came from 104 different Countries from around the world. During the year 77% or our readers came from within the United States with 23% coming from the rest of the world. The largest concentrations outside the US were from the following 20 Countries:

Once again, we had readers from all 50 of the United States - with the largest concentrations being in the following 20 States:

In 2023 we saw an increase in the number of people reading our blog posts – something we like since it means that people are finding value in the original content that we generated over the year. ​The 35 pages and blog posts that people read the most during 2023 were:

​Since we have readers from around the world - there is constant activity on the site during the day – with no single day really seeing significantly more readers than any other time.

​Most of our readers find us either by searching on Google (63%) or by previously having been to our website and coming directly to us (26%). A smaller percentage (11%) find us through other sources to include our Hiking, Camping and Shooting Facebook page.

​The majority of our users view our website from either their mobile device (57%) or their desktop computer (41%).

​Hopefully this data shows you that in 2023 you were once again in good company as you read through our Hiking, Camping and Shooting gear write-ups and blog posts. We hope that they gave you some information that made all of your adventures a little more fun.
 
Wherever you’re from, we’re glad that you stopped by to look over our HCS website and look forward to seeing you again in 2024 as we grow even larger and add more gear write-ups, blog posts and adventure photos.

As we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, one of the main reasons that we started our HCS website back in 2016 was to share the knowledge that we had acquired during our many years of Hiking, Camping and Shooting. So we’re always gratified when someone reaches out to us to say that they found our gear evaluation criteria, product information, blogs, adventure photos, "Useful Apps", and "Other Helpful Information Sources" links to be helpful.
 
In that vein, this week, Marc and his son Tyler (who is in the process of earning his Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Merit Badge) dropped us a note to say that they found our site to be helpful. And, as with many contacts that we receive, Tyler wanted to “pay it forward” by letting us know about another great online resource that he had found; an article from Advantis Medical on “First Aid and Outdoor Recreation”.

Since we’re always looking for additional information, we checked out the article. The article starts out with 9 paragraphs discussing a few of the most significant First Aid risks that you can face when hiking - at a high level:

• Wilderness First Aid Basics
• First Aid Kits
• Wounds
• Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion
• Burns
• Strains, Sprains, and Broken Bones
• CPR
• Hypothermia
• What to Do in an Outdoor Emergency

 
But the real payoff of the article is the fact that it has links to 14 other webpages that cover a wide variety of wilderness First Aid topics from a broad set of viewpoints. So it’s a great starting point to jump off from.

• Wilderness First Aid Basics
• Outdoor Safety
• First Aid and Travel Safety
• Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide
• Wilderness First Aid vs. First Aid at Home or at the Office
• Wilderness Survival: First Aid and Health
• Packing a Personal First Aid Kit
• What to Put in a Wilderness First Aid Kit
• How to Build a Hikers' First Aid Kit
• Why Wilderness First Aid Matters
• Essential Items for an Outdoor First Aid Kit
• The Basics of Wilderness First Aid
• What You Should Put in Your Wilderness First Aid Kit
• Nine Things to Know About Wilderness First Aid

 
For us the topic of First Aid is so important that we have different gear for Hiking and Camping and Disaster Preparedness – since because Camping normally includes getting further from civilization, staying overnight and making meals outdoors, the level of activities and risk increases, and in Disasters there are more extenuating circumstances that require additional supplies.
 
So, if you’re interested in relooking your First Aid gear and knowledge before you head out into the wilderness again you should take a look at some of this material. 
 
I know that with these resources Tyler won’t have any problem obtaining his Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Merit Badge.

​During the past month we took two shooting classes with Bill Dalpe from Patriot Firearms School & Defense: “Carry and Defend 1.0” and “AR-15 Defensive Shooting”. Both of the classes were worthwhile since they helped us practice and hone our existing skills and taught us some new techniques.

The Description for the Carry and Defend class was: Elevate your live fire skills beyond the static draw and shoot format. To achieve this we will expose you to neurological conditioning linking your basic skills (physical) to in context (your brain) realistic training. This better prepares you to use these skills under dynamic stress. Become an efficient defender for yourself and your family. The following topics are covered:
 

• Gear and firearm review
• Sighted vs unsighted fire review
• Improve your defensive shooting accuracy (evaluation)
• Firearms malfunctions and how to clear them (Failure drills)
• Multiple target engagement
• To shoot or not to shoot (situational drills)
• Scan and access (360-degree awareness drills)
• Think… think… think (mental drills)
• Move it (shooting on the move drills)

The Description for the AR-15 Defensive Shooting class was: This Patriot AR-15 Defensive Shooting class is designed to expose students to an efficient method of defending themselves with an AR-15 during a dynamic critical incident. All of the principles and fundamentals of the USCCA AR-15 Shooting Fundamentals program are applied. The following topics are covered:
 

• Four Points of Contact with an AR-15 and Intuitive Shooting Fundamentals
• The Balance of Speed & Precision with an AR-15
• Primary and Secondary Aiming Methods
• Zeroing concepts
• Volume of Fire
• Critical Incident Reloads & Efficient AR-15 Handling
• Fundamental AR-15 Malfunction Clearing

If you are interested in seeing what classes Bill has to offer you should check it out at Patriot Firearms School & Defense LLC.

​We recently made it home from a 21-day trip to the British Isles.
 
During our trip we drove 2,476 miles on the "wrong side of the road" (at least for Americans) and on small and smaller roads most of the time. It was a great trip – even if the driving and parking was a little challenging in some places…….
 
In addition to the all the driving, we also walked more than 243,000 steps (which translates to over 115 miles) – through all types of both country and urban terrain.
 
Here's a map of what our overall trip looked like. 

​During our 7 days traveling in Ireland and Northern Ireland we drove almost 750 miles and visited the following major sites:

​During our 14 days traveling in Scotland, Wales and England we drove almost 1,750 miles and visited the following major sites:

​As always, we took thousands of photos – so we’ll be editing and posting them over the next few weeks as time allows. ​Here are a few teaser photos to give you a brief overview of some of the sights we saw until we get around to posting the photos from each location on our Adventures page. ​(click on any photo to start the slideshow)

​These days there is an ongoing high-profile fight to redefine and change the rights of the people of the United States to have, hold and use firearms. The discussion is constant and many times the truth gets lost in the hyperbole as the media skews the truth to fit their agendas. But one thing is clear, if you own a firearm, and especially if you carry it or use it for self-protection, you need to know and understand your legal rights and your local laws.

​But the Constitution might never have been ratified if the framers hadn't promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today's Americans' most valued freedoms.

“On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1992, 203 years after it was proposed, Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1 was never ratified.”
 
The Bill of Rights enumerates the birthrights of every American. These are not rights granted to the people by the US Government, these are rights that the US Government was formed to protect. Furthermore, these rights are the rights that each individual has. They are not rights bestowed on the people by membership in a group; they are specifically individual rights. One of these rights is the right to own and bear arms as delineated in the 2nd Amendment.  The right to bear arms was to specifically added to ensure that a citizen had the ability to secure their other enumerated rights. 

Here’s a really good short article on what we believe the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution means.
 
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
https://www.historyonthenet.com/second-amendment-to-the-united-states-constitution
​

Given today’s environment, whatever you do, know your rights, know your State’s laws, know the rules of gun safety - and if you get into a situation that requires legal support do not talk to the police – get a lawyer that knows how to support your 2nd Amendment rights - and then move forward with the legal system. If you don’t follow this one piece of simple advice you may regret your actions for the rest of your life. You are responsible for your actions, so plan and act accordingly.
 
If you do need legal assistance related to your Gun Rights what should you do?  Recently Timothy from the O’Mara Law Group in Orlando/Lakeland Florida sent us an email discussing their “2nd Amendment Rights Guide” that contains a lot of great information about what to do. We liked their overall position on the issue:

Here’s a brief summary of some of the key points from the O’Mara Law Group’s 2A guide:
 

• “The Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to bear and use arms in lawful situations. However, you can still face criminal charges if you discharge a weapon, even in self-defense. Our Second Amendment lawyers can help you assert your rights and protect your future from the devastating consequences of a conviction.”

 

• “The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution preserves the right for individuals to “ keep and bear Arms” without infringement. While some statutory limitations exist, it is critical to preserve the right to lawful gun ownership and to protect individuals who are charged with a crime in violation of their civil rights.”

 

• If you have discharged your weapon in self-defense or been prosecuted for lawfully owning a firearm, the Second Amendment lawyers can help you fight back.

 

• “The Supreme Court of the United States has weighed in, providing that the Second Amendment plainly “protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with services in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes.” The Supreme Court has also held that cities and states cannot pass laws to infringe on an individual’s right to bear arms.”

 

• “The Second Amendment right to bear arms does not mean that anyone can have any weapon and discharge it anytime they want. Gun ownership and use have limits — including age requirements, background checks, permit requirements, and restrictions on the types of firearms that can be sold.”

 

• “The Second Amendment protects your right to keep and bear arms for lawful uses, including self-defense. The Supreme Court mentioned self-defense explicitly in its 2008 decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller.”

 

• “If you claim self-defense ………, you will have the burden of proving that you acted to protect yourself or others from imminent harm. If you don’t prove your case, you could be convicted of a crime for asserting your Second Amendment rights.”

 

• In many States “……self-defense is permitted when it is reasonably necessary to prevent imminent bodily harm.”

 

• “The consequences of an arrest, criminal charge, or conviction can be devastating. That is particularly true when the crime involves the lawful exercise of your Second Amendment rights.”

 

• You “absolutely…..need a criminal defense lawyer if” you “acted in self-defense”.

 
If you have questions, or need their legal assistance you can contact the O’Mara Law Group at:    https://www.omaralawgroup.com/contact/

If you want to know more, we’ve previously covered several aspects of this issue in some of our previous blogs related to new gun ownership:
 
Back to Basics - What Beginners Need to Know About Handguns (2 Jan 2021)
 
4 Rules for Handling a Firearm - How to Keep Yourself, and Those Around You, Safe (27 March 2020)
 
The Unprecedented Surge in US Gun Sales During The Covid-19 Pandemic (3 June 2020)

​In addition, our main Shooting page lists several resources to assist you in navigating these treacherous waters to include:

• Legal Information
  • Handgunlaw.us
  • NRA-ILA Guide To The Interstate Transportation Of Firearms
  • National Association For Gun Rights (NAGR)
  • USA Carry - Concealed Carry Resources
  • USA Carry - Concealed Maps

 

• 2nd Amendment Rights Organizations
  • National Rifle Association (NRA)
  • Gun Owners of America (GOA)
  • US Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)
  • Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL)
  • Commonwealth Second Amendment (Comm2A) 

​Finally, here’s a good app that you might want to have on your phone to help keep track of all the various laws and regulations from each of the 50 US States:
 
CCW – Concealed Carry 50 State
iOS - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ccw-concealed-carry-50-state/id443321291
Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ryan.ccw&hl=en

​If you want to read the details of the actual United States Constitution and Bill of Rights here are the links to the National Archives website:
 
America's Founding Documents
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs
 
The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
 
The Bill of Rights: A Transcription
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript

For the sake of clarity, just so there is no doubt, as stated in our Legal Disclaimer:

​Our previous post on the “10 Essentials” got us thinking. Since what to take with you on your outings into the wild is always a hot topic, we decided to look into the issue a little further – searching for significant “real world” examples based on actual data – not just anecdotal history.  Based on the fact that we like to get out there, we decided to investigate the opposite end of the spectrum from a day-hike that we covered in our “10 Essentials” blog and look into:

In our opinion one great source of information related to the gear that you need to survive in the outback for months is the History Channel’s TV series “Alone”. If you haven’t seen it, Alone follows the daily self-documented activities of 10 individuals (seven paired teams in season 4) as they survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival gear. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may voluntarily quit at any time, or can be removed if they fail a medical check-in. The contestant who remains in the wild the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000.

​Some other people may quibble, but to us, an analysis of the 10 essential items that the Alone competitors took with them into the wild is a great window on what gear you really need – regardless of what all of the internet wisdom and sales people tell you that you need.
 
Over the 9 Seasons of Alone there have been 94 people that spent a total of 3,669 days in the outback (an average of 39 days per person – with the shortest being 6 hours for someone that was scared off by a bear encounter and the longest being 100 days) – so that’s a lot of great data to pour over.
 
To analyze their gear the first thing to look at is where the Alone competitors had to try to survive during each season - since these locations and filming dates were significant because the climate and weather conditions that they were trying to survive fundamentally impacted the gear that they needed (as it will on all of your adventures). 

​The locations that have been given for each season of Alone are as follows:

• Season 1: Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Fall 2014)
  • Oceanic to Subpolar Oceanic - Köppen Climate Region Cfb to Cfc
• Season 2: Vancouver Island, Quatsino Territory, British Columbia (Fall 2015)
  • Oceanic to Subpolar Oceanic - Köppen Climate Region Cfb to Cfc
• Season 3: Nahuel Huapi National Park, Patagonia, Argentina (Spring 2016)
  • Temperate oceanic/subtropical highland climate - Köppen Climate Region Cfb
• Season 4: Vancouver Island, Quatsino Territory, British Columbia (Fall 2016)
  • Oceanic to Subpolar Oceanic - Köppen Climate Region Cfb to Cfc
• Season 5: Zuunkharaa, Selenge, Mongolia - Northern Mongolia (Fall 2017)
  • Monsoon-influenced subarctic climate - Köppen Climate Region Dwc
• Season 6: Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada (Fall 2018)
  • Continental Subarctic Climate - Köppen Climate Region Dfc
• Season 7: Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada (Fall 2019)
  • Continental Subarctic Climate - Köppen Climate Region Dfc
• Season 8: Chilko Lake, British Columbia (Fall 2020)
  • Continental Mediterranean Climate - Köppen Climate Region Dsb
• Season 9: Big River, Labrador, Canada - Northeastern Labrador – Artic (Fall 2021)
  • Tundra Climate - Köppen Climate Region ET

​Here is a world map showing the Köppen–Geiger climate classification to help you better visualize the climate that the competitors had to survive in:

The winners and the number of days that they lasted in the wild are as follows:

• Season 1: Alan Kay survived for 56 days
• Season 2: David McIntyre survived for 66 days
• Season 3: Zachary Fowler survived for 87 days
• Season 4: Jim and Ted Baird survived for 75 days
  • This season had 7 teams of 2 people each that started 10 miles apart from each other
  • Fixed blade knives, ferro rods and sleeping bags were given to each competitor and did not count against their 10 items
• Season 5: Sam Larson survived for 60 days
• Season 6: Jordan Jonas survived for 77 days
• Season 7: Roland Welker survived for 100 days
  • In this season the winnings of $1M were to be evenly divided  between any competitor that lasted 100 days; only Roland lasted that long.
  • Roland’s closest competitor was Callie Russell who made it 89 days before being medically extracted because she had frostbite on her toes.
• Season 8: Clay Hayes survived for 74 days
• Season 9: Juan Pablo Quiñonez survived for 78 days

​​To start their adventures the competitors select their gear for their time in the wilderness. To make it a level playing field the TV producers have developed a “Participant Gear List” as the basis for this selection. Here’s the listing from Season #9 that the competitors got to choose their gear from:

Clothing/Apparel/Personal Effects
Note: These items are allowed for all competitors and do not count towards their 10 special items, but competitors may not exceed the approved quota for each item:

• 1 pair of high-leg hunting boots
• 1 pair waterproof Arctic winter boots
• 1 T-shirt
• 1 fleece/wool shirt
• 2 wool, fleece or cotton sweaters
• 6 pairs wool socks
• 2 hats
• 2 buffs or neck gaiter
• 1 shemagh or scarf
• 4 pairs of gloves
• 2 pairs of underwear/briefs
• 1 insulated parka-style jacket
• 2 pair of outdoor pants/bibs
• 1 pair of fully insulated or waterproof winter pants/bibs
• 1 waterproof un-insulated shell/Jacket
• 2 pairs of thermal underwear
• 1 pair of gaiters
• 1 leather belt
• 1 toothbrush
• 1 pair of eyeglasses
• 1 personal photograph

 
Additionally, each participant is given a satellite phone (for either dire emergency use or to call to say that they are quitting), life jacket, medical kit, camera batteries and a tarp to stop the rain from damaging the camera equipment.

10 Items Selection List
Notes: Participants are allowed to select 10 items from the following gear list.

• Participants are responsible for sourcing and purchasing their 10 items.
• Participants may only choose up to 2 Food items.
• No duplicate items can be taken from the following list.
• Any loops of string attached to any tool, weapon or used as a neck loop will be deducted from the participants 80m of paracord, cotton cord or trapping wire allowance.

 

• Shelter
  • 12x12 ground cloth/tarp
  • 8-mm climbing rope - 10M
  • 550 Paracord - 80m
  • 3-mm cotton cord - 40m

 

• Bedding
  • 1 multi-seasonal sleeping bag
  • 1 bivi bag
  • 1 sleeping pad
  • 1 hammock

 

• Cooking
  • 1 large pot - 2 quarts
  • 1 steel frying pan
  • 1 flint or ferro rod set with standard-sized striker
  • 1 enamel bowl for eating
  • 1 spoon
  • 1 canteen/water bottle

 

• Hygiene
  • 1 standard size bar of soap
  • 1 8-oz tube of toothpaste
  • 1 face flannel
  • 1 40-mm roll dental floss
  • 1 small bottle bio shower soap
  • 1 shaving razor
  • 1 towel
  • 1 comb

 

• Hunting
  • 1 300-yd roll of a single-filament fishing line up to max of 20 lbs weight test + 35 assorted barbless hooks
  • 1 Primitive Bow Recurve or longbow + 9x Arrows
  • 1 small-gauge gill net
  • 1 slingshot/catapult + 30 steel ball bearings + 1 replacement band
  • 1 net foraging bag
  • 2 lbs of 20, 21 or 22-gauge stainless steel and/or brass trapping (snare) wire
  • 3 lbs of one solid block of salt

 

• Food (2 items max)
  • 2 lbs of beef jerky
  • 2 lbs of dried pulses/legumes/lentils mix
  • 2 lbs of biltong
  • 2 lbs of hard tack military biscuits
  • 2 lbs of chocolate
  • 2 lbs of pemmican
  • 2 lbs of GORP
  • 2 lbs of flour
  • 2/3 lbs rice / 2/3 lb sugar / 2/3 lb of salt

 

• Tools
  • 1 pocket knife
  • 1 hunting knife
  • 1 Leatherman multitool or similar
  • 1 sharpening stone
  • 1 roll of duct tape or 1 roll of electrical tape
  • 1 small shovel
  • 1 small sewing kit
  • 1 carabiner
  • 1 LED flashlight
  • 1 pair of ice spikes
  • 1 scotch-eyed auger
  • 1 adze
  • 1 2-handed draw knife
  • 1 hatchet
  • 1 saw
  • 1 axe

Prohibited Items
Note: This list is not exhaustive, any item not listed in the preceding lists inclusive above are prohibited items; this list serves as an illustration.

• Fuel, lighters or matches
• Bug spray/mosquito repellant
• Sunscreen/chapstick
• Sunglasses or prescription transition lens eyeglasses
• Goggles
• Beauty products
• Map
• Compass
• Unapproved technology
• Professional snares
• Firearms of any kind
• Ammunition
• Explosives or gunpowder
• Animal poison
• Professional fishing rods
• Fishing lures, flies, bait kits
• Fishing traps
• Food/beverage
• Decoys
• Animal calls
• Tree stands
• Professional bows/crossbows
• Scopes of any kind
• Tents or shelters
• Stoves, pressure cookers or other cooking appliances
• Hydration packs
• Fire pits
• Electric or propane lanterns
• Inflatable boats
• Filtration, purification devices, iodine tablets
• Coolers or food storage boxes

​The tables below show all of the 10 items of gear that the competitors selected on a season-by-season, person-by-person basis; color coded to identify which gear was most commonly taken and which gear was least common selected (click on any data table to enlarge it): ​

Season 1: Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Fall 2014)

Season 2: Vancouver Island, Quatsino Territory, British Columbia (Fall 2015)

Season 3: Nahuel Huapi National Park, Patagonia, Argentina (Spring 2016)

Season 4: Vancouver Island, Quatsino Territory, British Columbia (Fall 2016)

Season 5: Zuunkharaa, Selenge, Mongolia - Northern Mongolia (Fall 2017)Season 5: 

Season 6: Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada (Fall 2018)Season 6: 

Season 7: Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada (Fall 2019)Season 7: 

Season 8: Chilko Lake, British Columbia (Fall 2020)Season 8: 

Season 9: Big River, Labrador, Canada - Northeastern Labrador – Artic (Fall 2021)Season 9: 

​So that you can see all of the selections in one place, here’s the listing of all the gear from all 9 seasons shown side-by-side in the rank order of how often the gear was taken:

Here you can see all of the gear selections relative to the other options based on their averages over all 9 seasons:

Here you can see how quickly the variability in the gear selections dropped off once the top 6 items were selected - and even more so after the top 11 items:

Here you can see how often the top 11 gear items were selected on average across all 9 seasons:

Well quite a bit. First off, if you get a chance to choose which gear to take with you into the wild – here are the top 11 items that will help you survive if you’ll be out there for a while:
 

1. Sleeping bag
   • It is imperative that you are able to be warm when needed and to get quality sleep – since without these your ability to perform your daily tasks will deteriorate.
2. 2-quart cooking pot
   • This versatile piece of gear can be used to haul water, boil water to eliminate any parasites (like giardia, shigella and campylobacter), drink from and cook your meals.
3. Ferro rod
   • Since fire is critical for warmth, water purification, meal preparation, nighttime protection from animals and your morale – having an easy way to start a fire is critical.
4. Fishing line and hooks
   • If you are going to be “living off the land” you need protein and fat – fish give you both – so you need a way to catch them; passively if possible using a trotline.
5. Axe
   • Being able to clear the land for a living space, obtain fire wood on a daily basis, and make all sorts of wilderness “furniture” and artifacts requires the ability to chop down and shape the forest around you.
6. Saw
   • As many of the Alone competitors discovered an axe and a saw both cut wood, but they excel at significantly different functions and require different levels of energy. A saw is a much more efficient cutting tool - especially when cutting down standing dead trees or fallen trees and branches less than 6 inches in diameter. A saw is also better for most construction projects since the ends are smoother.
7. Knife
   • A knife is irreplaceable for so many tasks and, in our opinion, for pure cutting they are far superior to any blade on a multitool; especially when you need leverage and strength. For tasks like cutting through wood or rope, gutting fish or dressing game you need a knife.
8. Bow and arrows
   • If you are staying in the wilderness past 21 days you are going to need a substantial amount of food – and that means larger animals. The most efficient way to hunt these animals is using a bow – but you have to be judicious with your shots since losing an arrow can be very costly.
9. Paracord
   • The ability to tie off items, lash together two logs, support a tarp, hang a bear bag, make a clothesline to dry off wet items, and a thousand other reasons requires some type of cordage. Paracord is strong and durable and weather resistant.
10. Trapping wire
    • Like with fishing, if you are going to be “living off the land” you need protein and fat - and a way to obtain it; passively if possible. Although small game is not as substantial as larger game (one 18-ounce Wild Rabbit has ~583 calories, with ~108 grams of protein, fewer than 12 grams of fat and no carbohydrates), and doesn’t have the fat found in fish, having the ability to trap them without expending the effort to “hunt” them is a great way to augment your food supplies.
11. Multitool
    1. In our opinion multitools are a mixed bag – they can do lots of tasks – but don’t do any of them that well; and they can’t replace a good camping knife. A multitool might come with pliers, a wire cutter, scissors, tweezers, a screwdriver, and several other functions, helping you cut down significantly on how much gear you carry, while a camping knife provides you with a single strong, sturdy blade. 

​Of course we also need to keep in mind the significant factors that influenced the Alone participant’s “10 items” gear choices:
 

• The climate where the participants were located:
  • Seasons 1 - 4 were in Temperate climates - Köppen Climate Region C
  • Seasons 5 - 8 were in Continental climates -  Köppen Climate Region D
  • Season 9 was in a Polar climate - Köppen Climate Region E
• Time of year was early fall transitioning into winter
• Their living locations all had proximity to water
• They were living in a fixed location versus traveling through the wilderness
• Clothes were not included in the 10 items since they were specified for each competitor to level the playing field

In Season 1 nine people took knives and one person took a multitool, but by Season 9 all ten people took multitools and two people also took knives. Clearly showing the value that people place on the versatility of their multitools.

Over the 9 seasons on average 8.6 people took axes and 8.4 took saws - a clear indication of the recognition that both are valuable and have advantages and disadvantages depending on their use.

​Fishing with a line and hooks is consistently preferred as the method for fishing over gill nets. Note that for Season 8 the rules were modified due to local regulation prohibiting the use of gill nets until 45 days into the season.

​Two participants tried to use a slingshot in Season 1 and another tried in Season 3 - but since they were not successful - no participant has brought a slingshot since them. Conversely the use of Bows/Arrows and Trapping Wire have grown virtually every season to where in Season 9 all 10 participants selected both of these items as part of their gear.

​Tarps and Emergency Rations were popular selections up through Season 4 - but since then have declined in usage - probably based on their perceived limited usefulness when compared to other items. Paracord has increased in popularity - but is still only selected about 80% of the time. An interesting fact given the number of survival sites that say you “must” carry paracord with you.

We are not the only people intrigued by what we can learn from the History Channel’s Alone TV show. A couple of other websites have taken their shot at analyzing the Alone gear too – here’s one that we liked the best:

A look at the gear from every winner and runner-up of the TV show Alone
https://theprepared.com/blog/alone-winner-gear-analysis/  

​It’s something to think about before you head out on your next wilderness adventure.