As a boy growing up, one of my favorite kinds of books to read was survival stories like Gary Paulson’s Hatchet. Or any Gary Paulson book for that matter.
Times may have changed but boys haven’t, and come to find out, there are plenty of girls who love a good survival story too.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Could we survive if…?”
What if I told you that you and your kids could answer that question for yourselves?
Not only is it possible, it’s not even that hard. Let me explain…
An exciting way to explore that question and get kids into the outdoors at the same time is with your very own survival camping trip.
Now, before you throw out the idea based on your lack of experience or time, consider the numerous value you’ll discover along the way.
Survival Camping Unlocks the Imagination and Knowledge You Forgot You Had
Use your imagination, make up a story on how you guys got into this predicament.
You could create a, “What would we do if we survived a plane crash?” or something of that nature.
I’ve had so much fun building forts and the like with my kids. It’s a great opportunity to teach them about structural strength, prevailing winds, rain runoff, and southern exposure to name just a few.
Keep your trips fairly short. Just a couple of days can be perfect.
You Don’t Have to be an Expert to Start
There’s so much freedom in this kind of excursion. You can make it as simple or complicated as your kids (or yourself) are ready for.
For instance, if you have an area to camp near a body of water for a couple of days, you can aim to have at least one of your meals a day from the lake. Of course, you should always have some backup food. It’s supposed to be fun.
Try bringing a pan, a little oil, some seasoning, and maybe a little bacon for breakfast. And, of course, every plane crash has coffee.
If your state stays fairly warm in the fall, a little small game hunting can be a fun way for a kid to feel like they’re contributing to the situation.
Snaring is also a good option, and rabbits are usually fairly accommodating. If this sounds like an exciting option you can get Mia’s Rabbit Snaring Guide for free right now just by subscribing below.
Fine Tune the Most Important Survival Skills
Another exciting aspect of survival camping is, of course, FIRE. There are a couple of simple and really cool ways to create fire. One is with a stick and bow, and the other is flint and steel.
Flint and steel fire starters can be purchased for under $10 and are simple to learn to use. They make you look like a mountain man or woman to your kids. I highly recommend every family own one.
The second option only requires a bit of string, a shoelace will work, and a few sticks. This method takes a little more work, but when it works it pretty much marks you as a superior woodsman!
Fire is critical to a happy successful trip. Master fire and you have mastered the #1 survival skill since cavemen.
Next is a shelter. Shelter is another area where you can go as crazy as you want from bringing a tent, to building it completely from materials found in your surroundings.
A happy medium here is to bring a length of 550 cord and a tarp that’s big enough to adequately provide the shelter you need. Not a tent, but still really cool.
You may need a second tarp, pine bows, or other material to keep your sleeping bags separated from the moisture in the ground.
A good night’s sleep is critical to having the best time possible.
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
Be prepared, check the weather, know the temperatures you’ll be dealing with, and if there are any pesky bugs you’ll need to repel.
Get your kiddos a backpack and pack your gear in. It adds to the fun.
Get out there with plenty of time to build a camp. Rushing is stressful and you want to be able to take your time and work through the challenges together.
Once evening comes, the only thing left to do is share stories by the fire, maybe add a little cocoa, a marshmallow or two, and you’re off to bed – survivors of your first day.
Determination Becomes Your Superpower
Challenges that stretch us as parents are good for kids to observe. That’s where they’re going to learn how to react under pressure, how to process a situation they’ve never experienced before and overcome it.
So often we think a hero has all the answers and that’s wildly unrealistic. A real hero just doesn’t give up until they find a way. It’s their determination, not their superpower, that makes them heroic.
And this is a chance for your kid to see yours!
Survival Camping Teaches us Skills We Need Every Day
Survival camping trips are about more than just a good time. You and your kids alike will learn to think outside the box, solve problems, think critically about your location, needs, and goals.
These skills are crazy useful in everyday life and, unfortunately, are getting pretty rare.
An old fashioned survival camping trip is a good reminder of how good we have it. There are others in our world where this kind of survival is a way of life.
It also teaches us that no matter how bad things get, if we use some ingenuity, we can find or create solutions. We are never stuck except in our own minds.
Give a survival camping trip a try. It’s a lot of fun and you’ll learn a lot about each other and yourself. It’s a chance to grow, learn new skills and brush up on old ones.
There’s no wrong way to do a survival camping trip. You can do it anywhere from the back yard, the back 40, or the middle of nowhere.
It’s the, “road less traveled by,” that makes all the difference.
~ Joel
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Another great article Joel. I read it to the family tonight and we had some great discussion about planning a survival camping trip. Perfect timing with this article too as it’ll be warm enough to try this out here in AZ soon!
My favorite part was about hero’s. I reiterated this point to my kids. Learning from failures is one of the key things I want them to learn.
You have a talent brother! Keep up the good work!