I recently moved to Denver, Colorado and I want to start going /out/ more. I go on hikes and go shooting in the mountains, but I want to get into camping, bushcraft, and shit.
However, it seems a bit more challenging than other parts of the country. We don't have an abundance of materials to work with. For example, if I want to build a lean-to, I don't have any grass/ferns/tree branches to use as thatching. Basically we have pine trees(whose branches often start higher than I am tall), some aspen and then... sandy dirt and rocks.
All the cool bushcraft and survival shit I see on the Intertubes mostly takes place in lush, green places. Any resources/advice would be great!
>>645408
You are out west now.
This is actually high desert.
DO NOT FUCK WITH LIVING TREES OF ANY KIND.
The rules are very different out here.
>>645415
Ummm that's the whole point of this post.
>>645416
There is no way to pursue your old hobby here.
You can pick some sage to make a sage stick bit not much more than that.
Even collecting dead firewood is frowned upon in many areas.
Rock-tarp leant to.
>>645408
survivalism isn't really that important here, you're never more than a few miles from a road. If you get lost you just wander downhill until you hit the highway. Also there's cell reception pretty much everywhere now. On the rare chance you get stuck somewhere with a broken ankle and no cell service, either S&R is gonna find you or you'll die. Whatever.
I've lived 30 years in these mountains, and more than a couple of them homeless in these mountains. I can tell you how to survive in almost any situation out here. But don't be thinking you're going to live off the land or some bullshit. The water is poison and there's no food for most of the year. Learn how to build a snow cave that won't collapse on you or suffocate you. Practice until you're good at it. It rains almost every day in the summer. bring a tent or learn to shelter under large low pines. You can stay pretty dry under a pine tree but then the lightning might get ya.
if you're above timberline there's usually rocks you can get under both to stay dry and to keep from getting electrocuted. Building fires is a waste of time if you live in the woods. If you're freezing you need to get to town, and if you're hungry it's usually easier to eat your meat raw.
clothes and blankets usually make the difference between life and death. This shit isn't a game, you can freeze to death in our mountains any day of the year. It's best to just have a tent and a good bag and not bother with the boy-scout crap that will probably just get you killed. If you insist on going primitive, remember even the Natives didn't live in our mountains most of the year, and keep some freaking dry supplies close at hand for when things go south.
>>645420
Continuing, you might have days where a magnifying glass or even a polished metal bowl-like thing can be used for cooking and fire. All of the plains make it easy to spot water souces( tree patches are the waypoint). Food will probably be the biggest concern as everything either flys or burrows, so pack traps or materials. Like wire and springy plastics(wood would dry out) a slingshot for animals you see up close and extra water packs and tools. It's up to you next friend! Hope I helped!
Just for clarification, you gentlemen are basically saying that camping here in the Rockies consists of packing in EVERYTHING, including propane, and 1/2 gallon water multiplied by the number of days?
At least now I have a reason to be a gearfag, right?
Well shit. I am quite disappointed.
>>645431
you can go light if you like, but understand if something goes wrong you're going to be walking back however far you've come, and you'll be freezing, wet, and possibly injured when it happens.
I camp out all the time, but I bring a tent and a bag and a propane torch at the very least. Most days you'll need them.
>>645431
regarding shelter, there's lots of places higher up where you can easily collect pine branches and build a shelter. It won't keep you warm or dry though.
firewood- you can find and burn firewood in most of our NF and BLM, assuming there's no fire ban. But if there's no fire ban you can be pretty sure the wood you collect is going to be soaked.
hunting and fishing is fine, but you're not going to survive on what you catch. Rabbit starvation is real, and you don't get it just from rabbits.
water is your biggest problem. Giardia will fuck you up, and it IS everywhere.
>>645431
Depending on where you go, yes.
There are places if you get a days hike out where gathering firewood is no big deal.
There are also many small streams but you will need to filter or tablets because of the la guardia .
Camping is different out here but holy fuck is it cool.
The views are insane and you can get soooo fucking far away from other people.
Back east it only seems like you are alone because of all the trees.
Out here you can see 50 miles on a clear day from a mountain top.
>>645434
>Rabbit starvation is real
You would have to be out inna bush for over a month before that even started to become a concern.
>>645438
I've spent entire summers out in the woods here. You'll start craving snacks and fat like you wouldn't believe. And you will starve. There's food all around but it's not going to make you fat, that's for damn sure. Diarrhea is the biggest concern, but there's ways around that if you don't mind the taste of iodine. Probably best to live near a town with lots of water faucets and dumpsters if you're going to try to live in the wilderness.
After starvation and water, lightning was the next big problem. That and the ever-present possibility of twisting an ankle or sliding off a mountain side. Mostly the boredom and the constant wetness will probably end any dreams of being a mountain man though.
golden
>>645439
You got hungry and craved carbs.
Thats not rabbit fever anon, quit being a little drama queen
>>645442
I lost 50 lbs of muscle in two months.
sure I craved carbs. I craved anything that wasn't lean meat.
>>645419
Land of the free indeed.
>>645431
I know, you should move
>>645408
I'm from Alberta. farther north. I spend most of my camping time in the foothills. Yeah it's challenging. I usually can't relate to most stuff on here because if I did stuff like hammock camping I'd be having issues with cougars, bears, wolves or maybe something else. One guy in BC was killed by a bear sleeping in the open last year. Also winter is very tough here. It's a mild one this year though.
ray mears did a spot on rocky mountain episode. I think it'd be a good primer. One personal tip is plan for it dipping below freezing overnight at all times of the year. We've had snow in august up here in the mountains. It's regularly below freezing over night on my trips in summer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPcvavuQJZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g03QH28JOSo
> I recently moved to Denver
Thanks for the overcrowding and high rent. Now please go back to where you came from.
>>645826
No U
Unless you are a mudfaced injun you have no room to complain.
>>645826
Go back to /r/denver, faggot.
>>645419
what the fuck are you talking about?
nobody cares about collecting dead firewood, just be careful you don't start a wildfire or get caught lighting up in a ban zone.
as for fucking with living things, yeah don't really do that. theres usually plenty of deadwood to use, though, and building a lean-to or small one person hut shelter from wood just lying about is pretty easy. however just using a tarp is even easier.
and if all else, nobody cares about aspens, those things are weeds anyway.
>>645433
I figured this was just standard practice for going /out/ . I guess other parts of the country people just walk into the bush with a water bottle, dreams, and sunglasses for a few days?
camping in the rockies I usually bring at least enough food/water, a tent, fresh clothes, and sleeping bag.
>>645408
>>645415 Pretty much this. Don't fuck with the trees, Don't cut the trees. Don't mark the trees. We don't have enough trees to go around, literally. If you want to do bushcraft, you're in the wrong place. If you want to hike epic mountains and do other outdoors stuff, you're in the right place.
Leave no trace. Please. PLEASE.
BTW- what part of Denver are you in?
pic unrelated
>>645856
pic forgot
>>645826
very noticed how people that stay in the same state they are up in are usually shit?
I never have any interest in locals, show me the people who moved here because they did well elsewhere and can now afford their dream house
Also, you can pretty much camp anywhere in the nat'l forests, with some rules:
Don't build a fucking firepit, there are thousands of them already. Check the relevant websites to see if there is a burn ban, that shit is no joke.
>>645856
>BTW- what part of Denver are you in?
Englewood
The best thing to do is pack your shit and move the fuck back from where ever you came, fuck this state is getting so fucking crowded and you outta state transplant fuck sticks are the fucking worst in ever aspect imaginable
>>645926
>outta state transplants
These people are way better than the local yokel hicks that are the natives.
Generally better educated and smarter in general.
>>645929
There are a fair fair of retards here, but outta staters are worse
>>645929
Educated in faggotry like feminism, social justice, sex hormones for children etc. No thanks you filthy Californian degenerate.
>>645978
Yes the SJW are pretty lame, but they are much more rare than you think.
What is more telling is your redneck response to them.
Are you afraid they will start teaching evolution to your children?
>>645984
Liberals don't believe in evolution because its not compatible with everyone being exactly the same but I wouldn't expect a darkbrain like you to comprende
>>646013
>Liberals don't believe in evolution
I am not a fan of liberals but I have never met one that did not believe in evolution
>>646018
They believe that gender and race are social constructs. They deny the meaning of DNA and chromosomes.
>>646018
>these animals evolved differently for 80,000 years and we will ignore skull shape, skin color, hair, smell, bone structure etc to pretend they are the same
>>646025
I dont think you understand speciation
>>646030
I dont have a major in gender studies m8. Back when I went to college people did it to learn something useful
>>645439
>not packing a few cans of fatty food or lard for preparation and cooking
It's like you aren't even a true /out/ist
>>646043
surely you took a biology class right?
pretty important to have a well rounded stem education imo
>>646055
I read The Bell Curve. It's all explained in there
>>646187
You are only proving my point!
Native coloradoans are sub par to a large extent.
>>646030
Daily reminder that species is a social construct.
But actually, while species is a useful way of grouping organisms evolution is an ongoing process that rarely produces the clean categorizations that we rely on to understand the world. You and I both have some neanderthal DNA, but I don't think anybody is arguing that Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens are the same in every way. If you really want a mindfuck, think about the classification of bacterial species in terms of the definition of speciation that I suspect you have in mind.
>>645984
I was supremely disappointed that my biology professor had to preface for an hour how he was going to teach us evolution, and to pls not sue the school. Colorado has a large religious population, and unfortunately half the state is Kansas Tier garbage people.
That being said, Calitards exist and general Coloradans are pretty chill anyway [spoiler]#blazeit [/spoiler]. Transplants dont seem to assimilate or understand that social garbage issues aren't really important.
>>646200
even if we had nothing but redneck tards, you cant beat pic related
>>646614
>cant beat pic related
I have to agree.
The rockies from norther NM up through colorado are the big reason I stay in this region.
Lately I am curious about a small town near Pueblo called Rye.
It has a weird weather bubble around it and its nice and warm year round.
>>645918
go home
>>646224
Bro. Nice cuttyrainbrown
Hank Patterson would be proud, faggot.
>>646053
I was 18, unemployed and homeless when I first started camping out in Colorado. I had this idea I was going to live off the land.
I'm just advising OP that it isn't actually possible for more than a week or two. I'm not sure how deep into the bushcraft he thinks he's going.
>>645421
Underrated post.
>>648893
thanks, it's just the basics we try to teach our kids up in Leadville. The weather is one of our biggest dangers. Driving is another constant killer.
>>645408
>I want to get into camping, bushcraft, and shit.
You sound like you have more money than the average 4channer. Instead of trying a thatch lean-to, why not a good tent and a solar panel array and make a comfortable place with innacity luxuries innawoods?
>>645421
>cell reception pretty much everywhere now
au contraire mon frère
Mountains have a way of blocking those waves and I have gone days in Wyoming with zero bars.
I'm sure the Denver area is better, but still...
Also, why is the water poison? Guardia? Mining waste? I drink mountain water all the time with no troubles.
>>645419
>Even collecting dead firewood is frowned upon in many areas.
ufuckingwotm8
>>645421
>with the boy-scout crap
What crap is that? I don't remember getting taught any crazy cold weather shit because we never saw temps below maybe 40 degrees.
>>649380
The boy scout crap is what you see here daily where you pretend you are an outdoorsman on the internet and think you are going to live under a lean to with spruce branch blankets eating hardtack flavored with gathered faggotberries.
>>649424
I was in the BSA for 7 years and they always stressed proper gear and supplies, was that a rarity?
>>649451
Boy scouts are more concerned nowadays with different kinds of gear, like condoms and lube to help all the Gay scoutmasters fit in
>>649511
>hurr durr scoutmasters are gay rapists
>>649514
I didn't say it was rape, but were you raped? You seem defensive. The scoutmasters groom the kids under the new bsa tolerance merit badge skills list.You aren't required to do gay sex unless you want that merit badge to qualify to become an eagle scout.
>>649349
>Mountains have a way of blocking those waves
we've got towers on pretty much every ridgeline now.
>Guardia?
yes, but we spell it a bit different here.
>I drink mountain water all the time with no troubles.
you better knock on wood.
>>649739
There are still huge gaps in service.
From blackhawk to almost nederland there are only a few spots where you can get a text. Used to drive me nuts , my cabin was in the middle of a giant dead zone and i had to get a landline.
Lots of the western slope is like this.
>>649644
No, I just wanted a real answer not unfounded memes.
>>649821
>he doesn't believe priests sex up little boys
>>649822
I meant where it's common enough to actually warrant it. There's not near the amount of molestation people like to say there is in the BSA.
>>649835
BSA is a very religious conservative organization.
Far right conservatives are far more likely to molest children than any other demographic.
>>649941
>BSA is a very religious conservative organization.
No, LDS troops are incredibly religious. There's just a lot of them because it's their official youth program. My troop had zero religious ties and we as the scouts weren't even asked about chapel service, we'd just go if we were so inclined. The only required religious bit in the BSA is that to get your Eagle you need to believe in some sort of creator, of which you can just lie about since it's a yes or no question.
>>649944
Many parts of the country are much different.
I would never let a catholic priest or a scoutmaster be alone with my child. Just not worth the risk imo.
>>649948
>scoutmaster be alone with my child
Just an FYI, that hasn't been allowed in years and a scoutmaster can get in really deep shit if he's found alone with a scout.
>>649952
>a scoutmaster can get in really deep
This is what I am afraid of.
No way you can tell me that late at night on a camping trip, a perverted scoutmaster could not get into position to do his thing.
>>649968
Maybe if they waited all night for the scout to maybe sleepily wander to the latrine or a nearby bush. Seriously, it is absolutely beat into your head at leader training to not be alone with any scout unless they're you're own child. You're also taught to watch like a hawk for any other leaders doing this and getting caught is an almost guaranteed way to get black listed from the BSA. I'm not saying it can't or doesn't happen, but there's been a lot of measures put into place to make sure it happens as little as possible.
>>649971
All that works about as well as TSA screening.
Where there is smoke there is fire.
Camping molestation happens and no amount of HR training will fix it.
The only real solution is not to pack your kid off with a load of chiristian perverts.
>>649974
The molestation is picking up steam now that tolerance of deviants is required by law and the scouts abandoned things like honor and dignity.
Scouts actually get in trouble if they complain about unwanted sexual advances. They get called bigoted and homophobic because they don't love sucking cock and licking mens assholes.
The newest merit badge is earned by getting pozzed up by a group of men representing all the colours of the rainbow
Speaking of gays and boy scouts, the scout Master saw the "bear" , went into a cave with him, turns out it was too much to handle so he screamed and help eventually arrived. Thanks to his willingness to take on the "bear" none of the kids got hurt. It was a selfless act he claimed
https://youtu.be/bMHsEeWR1fc
http://abcnews.go.com/US/boy-scout-leader-injured-jersey-bear-attack/story?id=35877415
>>649997
Out of the closet homosexual men are far less likely to molest a child than a catholic priest.
>>650187
Both groups are pedohiles at heart and in practice
>>650187
#notallmuslims
>>650187
>people who openly like the smell of asshole and crave to have large internal organ damaging items repeatedly shoved up their ass while they gorge on gloryhole pozzed cocks would never have sex with someone under 18. They aren't perverts you know
>>650697
Yes that is right actually.
Pedophilia is much more rare in the gay community.
Read a book
>>650780
>Islam is a religion of Peace
Look dude gay fags will stick their cock in any shit filled hole. You are obviously a pedophile enabler and truly a bad person.
Wow, this thread went fast in an ugly direction.
Is there any groups in Colorado specifically for bushcraft, or atleast camping?
>>653360
Not bushcraft, no. Most people who live here and actually respect the mountains are about leave no trace.
Camping? I dunno about groups per se, but just camping here has such a low barrier to entry that you can literally just drive up into the nat'l forest and camp at any reasonable established site.
Please don't make any new campsites or firepits, we literally have thousands already.
>>645408
Hey OP, colorado takes leave no trace pretty seriously. Don't fuck with trees unless you know you can fuck with em.
That being said, there's lots of rocks to sleep under.
>>645856
basically be able to carry a gallon or two of water, filter it/boil it/iodine it(lots of other uses for this stuff liquid), have small collapsible container to burn things in/on/cook with, multiple fire starters, clothes, way to clean/dry/wring said clothes, shelter(imagine a prairie without a tree or shrub for miles)
TARPS, rope and such to use said tarps, collapsible walking sticks both to walk and to use said tarp for water collecting/shelter/etc
Good knife and stone for said knife, slingshot and extra tubing/handle/ammo(guns, while superior/ tend to make people nervous/even with hunting license/permission of land owners)
Remember people, EVERYONE KNOWS SOMEONE FIRED @ such and such a time and general area. While slingshot will allow cheap rabbit/rodent/squirrel meals. Alaskan hawks/foxes/wolves LIVE on those little vermin.
COOK everything well.
>>646224
defining difference between species is wether they can
1) MATE
2) PRODUCE OFFSPRING
3) SAID OFFSPRING CAN THEMSELVES PROCREATE
4) Repeat the above at least 1-3 more times
Polar Bears and Grizzlies are so similar in biology they can mate viable offspring that can survive and breed indefinitely.
Now a beaver and a shark CANNOT naturally mate, nor produce viable offspring. Maybe someone in a lab can artificially create one, but those things will not be able to reproduce with either themselves or others.
MULES AND LIGERS people.
>>649822
those guys have moved on to pastors/setting up said pastors for their fun(like that fuck in minnesota stealing a pastors clothing)
murder cases grow cold, rape cases grow hotter til people forget their species/GOD.
