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Old 07-16-2017, 08:17 AM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
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I was just thinking about how much time I spend outside compared to other family members and friends that we know. It's a LOT more. I find that men usually spend more time outside than women, and that older generations are outside more than the younger ones. It's almost as if our young people are deliberately kept indoors by gaming and movie watching. Tech tends to keep you inside. Being urban rather than rural tends to keep you inside. Fewer people nowadays engage in outdoor activities, such as gardening, hiking, camping, lawn maintenance or snow removal. Even exercise is often done in a gym, rather than outside in the sunshine and fresh air.

How much does weather play a factor? Do you need air conditioning in the warmer weather? Would you spend time outside in the snow? Would you swim in anything except a pool? Do you go outside after dark? Do you ever walk barefoot outside? Do you think people can survive SHTF by staying indoors?
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Old 07-16-2017, 09:37 AM
Status: "Wishing all the best of health and peace!" (set 11 days ago)
 
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I think weather is a big factor and also whether one lives in an apt. vs. a house with a garden/yard.

As for air conditioning I only use at home when it's around 90 degrees F (or at least 85 degrees F if the humidity is very high). Otherwise, I prefer using a fan as I like warm weather over cold weather.

Being that I have some circulation issues in my fingers/toes in very cold weather, I won't go out in the snow unless I have to.

I am not a big swimmer in general although I do prefer a pool to the beach. But I rarely go to either one.

I don't walk barefoot even indoors as it is painful to do so because I have plantar fascitiis. But I do have a cousin who walks barefoot everywhere (meaning he rarely wears shoes). He lives overseas in a climate that is generally warmer although it does occasionally snow in the winter there.
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Old 07-16-2017, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne
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I dislike extremely hot weather (anything over 90) but I don't let that keep me inside. I find I can deal better with hot weather if I expose myself to it. I think that is the problem with a lot of people who hate extremes of weather, especially cold. They spend all their time hiding from it and become unadaptable.

As for outdoor activities. I find there is definitely a trend towards urbanites being biased towards indoors, but only inasmuch as they have less outdoor obligations (yard maintenence). All other things being equal, urban people spend as much time recreating and almost as many people, percentage-wise in urban areas work outside in trades, utilities, etc. as rural people. Plenty of rural folks go from their TV room to their truck to their indoor job and back again.

But I think rural folks do still have the edge in terms of outdoor lifestyle, just not as much as we think based on the trends of the past.
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Old 07-16-2017, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
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As this is the SS&P forum, perhaps we should look at this more in terms of a crisis, or SHTF scenario. A lot of people have a "bug-out bag" and claim that they will head for the hills or the woods, and "live off the land". I wonder how realistic this is, once they have become acclimated to being indoors all or most of the time?

How many of us are comfortable out in the wild? Even people who hike, camp, or fish are more familiar with the outdoors. Do you think this will play a role in who survives and who doesn't, if the SHTF?
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Old 07-16-2017, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Where the mountains touch the sky
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I'm outside more than inside, even though my day job is inside. Just came in for lunch and to check the status of a wildfire. I've been planning on going into that area to harvest wild raspberries, don't want to get stuck in a bad place.
The fire is under control, so heading out for those raspberries, maybe gooseberries, if they're ripe, check on other wild edibles in that area, and maybe catch some fish in the small stream there.

Good black bear hunting in that area in about a month, lots of deer and gamebirds too, and only about 20 minutes drive from my work house.
In a couple weeks the lowbush huckleberries at the cabin will be ripe too. Just about time to start harvesting cattail pollen as well. (makes a great flatbread). The roots are ready to be dug, dried, then can be ground to make a very good flour.

Time to harvest nettles to dry for tea, (best natural cure I've found for inflammation and treating gout or arthritis), and the stalks to dry for natural cordage, and wild rose leaves for teas, rosehips for jelly.

Upland bird, elk, pronghorn antelope, black bear and both whitetail and mule deer season open the first of September.

All that is just a sample of the wild stuff I harvest every year, in addition to garden truck, and my livestock.

Yeah, I hate the hot weather, so I work early mornings until it gets up to 85 or so, and too hot to work, then I come in, take a nap, and when it starts cooling down, I go back out for another 6 house or so until it gets too dark to safely work, even with lanterns and a headlamp.

Lots of people in my area are similar to some degree, some do more, some less. It's a frontier lifestyle holdover for the natives whose families pioneered this area. Some of the newcomers have come to live the same way. We can take cold much better than heat, so for 10 months of the year when the temperature is below 60, (sometimes far below), we do fine. Unless it's below -40, then it gets dangerous if you aren't prepared.

There are those here that are urban, or consider an outdoor experience to be a half hour "hike" on an improved trail, where they can picnic at a forest service campground with fresh water spigots and outhouses, where they can sip wine and eat stinky foot cheese, then go back to the craft beer bar to talk about their intense "wilderness" experience.

A lot of people here are ready and able to handle just about any emergency, because we do it every day.
The rest, well, they have a crisis if the internet goes down.

Life here in Montana is always a struggle for survival outside city limits. With all the grizzlies, wolves cougars, etc., you're on the menu every time you leave developed areas, and those areas are usually within a short distance of your front door.

Yeah I could do very well if I had to live in the wilds without modern conveniences, I know because I already live like that.
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Old 07-19-2017, 02:40 PM
 
Location: Western Colorado
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I'm outside more than inside. Now when it's over 100 degrees with hot wind and dust I am pretty much inside. Middle of winter I am out. The colder and more snow the better I like it. I have relatives that never go out, younger kids stay in addicted to their machines. I've got to have fresh air.
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Old 07-19-2017, 07:12 PM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jim9251 View Post
I'm outside more than inside. Now when it's over 100 degrees with hot wind and dust I am pretty much inside. Middle of winter I am out. The colder and more snow the better I like it. I have relatives that never go out, younger kids stay in addicted to their machines. I've got to have fresh air.
I love the cold and snow as well. 100 degrees? OOF! Would not be happy with that, either! In the July heat, I'm usually out on the lake in a small fishing boat, which is much cooler. At least I'm still outdoors. Can't think of anything worse than being indoors with the A/C on. You're right about the fresh air! To say nothing of the natural views!
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Old 07-20-2017, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Des Moines Metro
5,103 posts, read 8,577,534 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah View Post
How much does weather play a factor? Do you need air conditioning in the warmer weather? Would you spend time outside in the snow? Would you swim in anything except a pool? Do you go outside after dark? Do you ever walk barefoot outside? Do you think people can survive SHTF by staying indoors?
Unless one is an albino or has some other condition where too much sunlight can be a problem, I think one should spend as much time outside as possible, in all weather conditions. Sure, garden, walk, hike, play sports, camp!

I don't know if being a fan of outdoor living will make a giant difference in some SHTF scenarios, but I know that kids who've gone camping with parents and have been taught outdoor skills have a lot more confidence with new situations than the ones I've met who hung out in the house with their computers.
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Old 07-20-2017, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Backwoods of Maine
7,488 posts, read 10,460,988 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meemur View Post
I don't know if being a fan of outdoor living will make a giant difference in some SHTF scenarios, but I know that kids who've gone camping with parents and have been taught outdoor skills have a lot more confidence with new situations than the ones I've met who hung out in the house with their computers.
Agreed about the kids who've gone camping, with parents or scouts.

That said, some of the biggest babies I have observed during power outages have been adults!
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Old 07-20-2017, 04:13 PM
 
Location: Des Moines Metro
5,103 posts, read 8,577,534 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah View Post
That said, some of the biggest babies I have observed during power outages have been adults!
True!

Quick story: I was living in Columbus, Ohio the fall that Hurricane Ike reformed and came inland. We were hit with high enough winds in the metro to knock out power for almost a week, right in the middle of the city!

The first night, I wandered quietly around my dark neighborhood, checking on neighbors and chatting with one about activating an informal "block watch." The neighbors used to tailgating at football games or camping, had chairs, grills, and coolers set up in a back or side yard. Many were playing cards by lantern light. All was well in those houses.

In other houses, however, fights were breaking out. One lady was screaming at her husband about going to some relative's house, while dragging a bunch of suitcases out to the car. In another, an adult male on a porch was drunk and whining about the heat and no TV or computers. In another one, the teens were in a shouting fight with their parents.

Over the next couple of days, the non-outdoors people packed up and left. The people who stayed were all used to doing things outside and pretty much took the power outage in stride. They figured out things to do with their kids: one family built several large cardboard playhouses and decorated them with drawings. Another organized a capture the flag game . . . life went on.

I learned a lot of things from that event, but having some camping equipment and knowing how to use it was key. None of these families were hard-core survivalists. But still, they knew what to do and didn't freak out or allow their kids to fall apart.
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