Wilderness Survival
The Harsh Wilderness…
The chirping of the forest was calming and peaceful. Nick could hear the trees taking deep breaths with their branches swaying. He could hear animals in the undergrowth.
His stomach reminded him again of his hunger with another loud sound. Nick had to find food and there was only so much daylight left for him. He glanced down at his watch he
managed to scrounge from a river upstream.
Darkness is approaching
It read 6:43. Nick figured he had about an hour left until he had to head back to his makeshift home. He picked himself up from the ground and, in doing so, rustled more leaves around that was on the ground. Picking up his rifle that was left on the forest floor, Nick started walking slowly around the trees. He
hoped to find something, anything, to fulfill his hunger he faced. If he didn’t tonight…well, it wouldn’t be the first time. Shaking the thoughts away and trying to think more
optimistically, he kept trekking through the woods as quietly as he could. Nick began to find some luck, however, when he came across a set of deer tracks 15 minutes into his
search. They looked fresh and they pointed towards the right of where he was currently going. Nick took out his compass from his pocket and let it sit still in his palm for a
moment. The deer seemed to be going Southwest. That was the direction where Nick found a pack of wolves once. He was pretty sure there was a den near there where they stayed.
Nick began to weigh the pros and cons of what he should do when his stomach rumbled with hunger again. The decision was made for him. He walked alongside the tracks
carefully making sure not to lose them in the thick leaf infested mud.
Follow the stream
It didn’t prove to be too difficult as Nick was able to follow them to a small stream. He had seen it before and
had gone there to get water at times when he was hunting in these parts of the woods. Following the tracks further, Nick saw that they seemed to go straight into the stream and
he saw some faint tracks on the other side of the stream. He really didn’t want to get his feet wet, but he didn’t have much time to look for other food. Nick walked to the edge of
the stream and started to walk to the other side. Once he made it across he glanced down at his shoes and felt a bit of cold water start to seep into his socks he had on. He looked at
his watch and the time read 7:08. He still had some time left. Nick trailed the tracks and he hoped it wouldn’t be much longer until he found the deer. The tracks seemed to be a bit
fresher than the last ones but that could just be due to the water making its hooves wet. Suddenly he heard a noise ahead of him of what sounded like a stick being stepped on. He
had been careful to not make that mistake and now it seemed as if someone else had. Creeping closer, Nick gripped his rifle tighter against him to keep it from hitting any stray
branches. His legs started to ache a bit from having to slowly move back and forth instead of having a full range of motion. It reminded him of a door hinge that became rusty and
needed oil to move properly. If only he had something like that for his legs. Nevertheless, his hunger urged him to sneak closer to where the noise came from.
Oh, deer…
Through the thick of the bushes, Nick was well hidden, but so was whatever was there. He tried to get a good look but couldn’t see much. He could hear it a little bit, but only the
small noises of rustling leave it was probably stirring up. He slowly inched forward trying to keep his footsteps to a minimum. Finally, he saw it. The deer was a good sized one with
the classic brown pelt. It had some antlers that Nick could see himself crafting into knives. He needed some after he broke one filleting a fish. Nick watched the deer bow his head and
much on some of the grass that was on the ground. He took his rifle and prepared to shoot it. He aimed it steadily and peered down the sights. Taking a silent breath he pulled the
trigger. The loud noise seemed to shake the entire forest as birds flew away from their perches and the deer collapsed. Nick quickly went over to it and saw that it was still alive,
but barely. He didn’t quite like this part, but he needed to do it in order to take the deer home. He pulled out an arrowhead that he always kept as a backup for a knife and plunged
it into the deer’s neck. Finally, the deer stopped moving and he pulled the arrowhead out. Dripping with blood the arrowhead was not a sight to see. Nick wiped it on the grass
making it stain red. He picked up the deer and found it very heavy to carry. It almost felt like his dog’s food bag that he picked up from the store.
Missing home…
Nick felt a bit depressed after this thought. He missed his dog and his family. After the car wreck that stranded him out in the wilderness 4 months ago, he had to adapt quickly to survive. It’s not like he didn’t like it,
he was actually having fun, but he couldn’t say that he didn’t miss his old life. Nick made it back to his makeshift home which was a small cave underground. It wasn’t that big, but it was enough for Nick to feel safe during the night. With the wolves, coyotes, and other
predators all around Nick had to be careful. He laid the deer down near the entrance of his cave and decided to take a break. Nick grabbed his water bottle that he happened to have
with him when the accident occurred. He was lucky that he decided to bring some water
with him on his trip to Alaska. He didn’t have anyone out here with him, but he somehow managed. Nick smiled as he thought of the Boy Scouts lessons he had when he was a little
boy. They taught him how to tie certain knots in ropes and how to make a campfire. They
did help out here, but he had to learn some things on his own. Like how to navigate the wilderness in the safest way possible. It started to get dark after he was done with his
break.
Dinner time…
Nick began to cut the deer in order to cook it and eat. He was starving and he
regretted taking a break instead of just cutting the deer when he got home. He felt weak and he thought his bones would snap at the slightest increase in wind power. Nick was
finished slicing half of the deer when it truly was dark outside. He made a quick campfire
near the entrance of his cave and it gave him a light source to continue cutting and slicing the deer for its meat. After cutting the deer completely he put the meat on some sticks he
sharpened with his arrowhead and put them over the campfire. Waiting for it to cook was
agony for him, but he pulled through and got the reward of eating it after it was done. Feeling full, Nick was starting to get tired and wondered if he should put the fire out or
leave it to keep away any insects biting him. He figured it would be safer to just put it out
and he did so. Nick then went farther back into his cave after putting the deer meat in a bag he had with him and laid on the stone floor. It hurt after laying there even for 5
minutes, but Nick was so tired that he drifted into sleep before
he noticed it. Tomorrow would hopefully bring him something that would give him more hope for being found in the wilderness. Nick could only hope.
to be continued……….
P/S please write in the comment if you want to read more of the story.