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The Adventure Challenge
Let’s think outside the box here with a bit of survival and science fiction. H.G. Wells, or alternative sci-fi. Maybe an older version of the modern day adventure race.
I am going to ask that we limit responses to people over the age of 21 with significant field time. You are in the prime of your life. You are approached and an interesting proposition is made. No, not that one. A time machine has been invented, and in 30 days, a volunteer is going to be sent back to 1700, to assist with the initial exploration of North America. The continent is largely unexplored, and Daniel Boone has not yet been born yet. The mission is to explore the new nation, and keep a record of your travels. Our volunteer will cross the North American continent from the east coast to the west, alone, and report the results. He must start from an existing 1700 East Coast port city, and must finish at a designated location on the Pacific coast of California, Oregon, or Washington. The explorer will take a digital camera, digital recorder, and a PDA to record the journey. A return time machine will meet him at his declared destination and will wait for 30 days from your predetermined arrival date. If he has not arrived by then, he will be presumed dead and the machine autopiloted back. The journey must be completed solo. If you accept the challenge, you will be allowed to take as much modern gear as you can personally carry, underneath period dress or in appropriate period baggage, at least till you leave civilization. You will not be allowed to stagger out of the time machine and cache hundreds of pounds of your gear. Assume a maximum of 100 lbs. At least you will not arrive naked, and have to go steal clothes from a punk, biker, or male stripper, so be thankful. You must be able to carry it yourself, but you will be given some gold so that you can purchase any items locally that you need during your travels. You will be walking, except when you need to cross water obstacles. For the successful completion of your journey, you will receive ten million dollars. Can this be accomplished successfully? Do you accept the challenge? Where do you start? What route do you take? Where do you plan to finish? How long do you think it will take you? What is in your field gear? What modern items are critical, and what items from the period will work for you? What are your priorities? How will you carry it? What firearms will you take? How much ammo, accessories, etc.? What edged tools do you take? What navigational aids do you take? What do you think your odds are of successfully completing this journey? What do you do in the 30 days before you leave? Let’s think this one through as stated first, we can do branches and sequels later. Thoughts? TR |
No resupply
Just to add on a bit, it was you walk out with 100 lbs of equipment.
Weight? Oz's turn into pounds and pounds into tons. Every item selected will be judged against the number of tasks it can help you with vs it's weight. The mountain men of the early 1800s very very good at making do with limited goods. A good book on Indian sign language?:D |
Lacking the requisite field time, I post here only to express my appreciation for creativity of this thread and my eagerness to read what I hope will be well thought-out and interesting responses.
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Pete:
You are dead on the money. 100 lbs. is the maximum weight, and let me assure those of you short on rucking experience that you do not want to hump that very far or very fast. Flexibility is one of the the keys to both survival and weight reduction. I agree, the mountain men were excellent examples, especially those who travelled far and wide. The ability to communicate could be very important, as would small trade items. In answer to a PM question, yes, you could take maps and a GPS, if you can keep it powered. You might want a compass as well, just in case.:D TR |
Is the 100lb's all you can take for the whole trip, or is it 100lb's of modern equipment? Once you got to the 1700's could you pick up some more gear from that time? Would you be able to get a horse, or have to hump the whole way? Trying to set the ground rules.
I think I would leave the GPS at home. :D LMFAO But a PDA with maps for the entire country in it and light weight solar rechargers would work. Plus within the 30 day's before I left I would learn how to figure out my location on the earth by using the stars (not sure what it's called) just like the sailor's used to. That way I would be able to use the maps on the PDA. |
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I do not personally think that you would want to hump more than 100 pounds for 3,000 miles, but if you want to try it, sure. Quote:
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I look forward to your input. TR |
I love the idea of a GPS in 1700. :rolleyes: When was the first constellation launched? Somebody needs to think a little harder. Nice challenge though. I favor the mountain man equipment approach and the Corps of Discovery route. Harder to get lost that way, after all they didn't have a clue either. Being a lazy b*****d, I'd much rather follow (paddle) the water routes than walk the entire distance. Blast match, 'hawk & bowie, quality boots, compass, water bottle, cook pot, tarp, long bow & arrows, quality pack, fishing gear, multivitamins, small med kit, trade goods, and a "one over the world" blood chit style map. Most of the items have already been discussed in detail in the various survival threads. Oh - 18 months, Boston (or maybe New York) to Astoria. It shouldn't take that long but I'm lazy and the fishing might be decent enroute.
ETA: Forgot to include my G-shock - wouldn't want to lose track of the pick-up time. :D |
This is off the top of my head I'll think about it some more and add to it at a later time
M-4 w/ ACOG 400 rds of lemas Glock19 (3 x mags’ 1 box of 50) 95 rd 2 x Compass Pvs 15’s w/ head mount Light weight solar panels Rechargeable AA’s X 20 with recharger (plugs into solar panel) PDA loaded with map data (detailed map data covering the entire United States. Down to 1:50,000), survival data (extreme detail on edible plants, medicinal plants, building structures, snares, location of water, basically any survival tip you would need for each different region of the United States), CLOTHING Mountaineering boots (broken in) 7 pr heavy duty socks 2 x hiking pants 2 x wic away t- shirts 1 x silk weight top bottom 1 x fleece pullover 1 x shell top and bottom 1 x fleece pants 1 x pullover down jacket 2 x fleece gloves 1 pr trigger finger mittens SURVIVAL GEAR Lightweight axe Small saw 4 cigarette lighters fire starting kit gerber hunting knife survival book small map book of the US 2 x camel backs Poncho 2man ten 6 bunji cords 150ft 550 cord survival fishing kit |
1) This may be a little out there, but is there anything to the idea of carrying a man-portable UAV? I think you could drastically increase the amount of ground surveyed and decrease the amount of foot mileage.
2) In the same vein, maybe I've seen too much Star Trek, but is anyone considering the temporal ethics factor? By that I mean, are we taking precautions not to pollute the timeline by introducing modern technology to the people of the period (being seen with it, losing it, discarding it, having it stolen, etc)? Carrying a laptop and a tricked out M-4 might not be allowed by the time travel commission. ;) For that matter, what about human terrain issues? Are you going to be allowed to interact with locals? To trade? Or is this strictly a covert survey? EDIT: I reread TR's originally post and the Time Travel Commission does allow the gear and interaction, but I wonder if they wouldn't place other "temporal rules of engagement" on you as well to protect the timeline from pollution. |
What specific regions or objects need surveyed on this mission?
I am assuming there is something of great importance to be recorded since this is a trip back in time with an abundance of information that is available currently. Are you interested in photographic evidence? Climate observations? Accurate census information? Flora/fauna? Recoverable items? Samples? Readings? Time line change? If this is simply nature walk with a daily log of events through extremely difficult terrain among known indigenous peoples and more abundant wildlife. Count me in with 100% probability of completion in 300 days. Start in the Spring. I believe passing out of settled areas into displaced natives would be difficult so a complete history on continental U.S. natives is essential. I would prefer a path away from the Great Lakes region, tough crowd up there then and now. A solid grasp of sign language would be critical. .308 with 300rnds + 20GA with 300rnds Hatchet 2 ea, Camp knife 20ea I will post my extended kit list and route plan after further information on mission tasks. |
Can dogs be purchased/ bartered for to assist in hunting?
I would estimate about a 2 year expedition. Just so you don't have to hurry and if a harsh winter hits you can stop for a while. It could be done without any modern equipment but It may possibly take longer then expected. The most important thing to take with you would be knowledge. Knowledge of tool making, bow hunting, tanning, cordage making, flora and fauna, and friendly peoples along your route. |
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Kirafu Extended Mission Ruck w/ XTL and a lot of various pockets for the outside.
Kirafu 20̊ Slickbag ¾ size foam sleeping pad 3 compasses 4 season 2 person tent MSR Water purifier X3 MSR water purifier filters for above purifiers x24 MSR Blacklite Camp pot set Backpack fishing pole and various tackle Emergency blanket Surefire L7 1 Glock 17 w/ 3 mags +100 additional 9mm LeMas rnds. Surefire X300 w/ 20 CR123 rechargeable batteries NVG monocular CR123 rechargeable compatible Solar panel recharging panels (and hook ups for the above batteries) 1 M16A4 w/ 3 mags +300 additional 5.56 LeMas rnds. Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x 56 scope with Larue mount Field rifle/pistol cleaning kit Leatherman Harsey/Reeve Pacific knife Reeve Skinner knife Harsey T-3 Light weight camp axe Field sharpening kit Magnesium stick x2 Bic lighters x10 100 waterproof matches Small saw Poncho and Liner Tevas/ river shoes Mountaineering boots x2 Socks of various weights x8 Silk weight long underwear Fleece pants Sweat wicking t-shirt x3 Silk weight long underwear top Fleece top Hard shell top and bottom Down jacket Glove liners Winter weight snowboarding gloves Heavyweight mittens Leather gloves Laminated Hard copies of the following topics: maps 1:24,000 scale and all the other topics Max-Tab said. Various plastic bags First aid kit 300 ft 550 cord 100 ft of multipurpose nylon rope Sewing kit Salt, pepper, BIG bottle of Tabasco sauce Multivitamins, antibiotics, and Motrin Casio Pathfinder and G-shok Sunglasses x2 camelback Naglene bottle x2 Lots of Gold to barter with (on top of what is already given) That should cover it. I might come back later and edit the list. I plain to travel across the middle to lower states i.e. North Carolina, Tennessee, Northern Arkansas, Oklahoma, Northern New Mexico, Northern Arizona, and out by Los Angeles. Time 2 years Is it possible? Yes. Could a modern day person be successful in the trip? Doubtful, it would take a very hardened and lucky individual to be successful in the trip. It be would an incredibly difficult journey to be done solo. Oh, BTW when I told my wife about the scenario. She said she would take her phone, Ipod, debit card, and camera.......:D |
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Why a tent?
I would ask "Why a tent?"
A small 6x7 tarp of fire retardent material would weigh a lot less. 2 short 3' or 4' poles poles could be cut before heading out into the grasslands. I'd go for 6 light weight aluminium nail stakes, though. Hate whacking ground anchors. 1700 is an interesting time. The Spanish had a good handle on Mexico and the Southwest US and FL. Lots of missions scattered about. The French in NO and the British along the east coast. The French were working up towards the Great Lakes. Other than that? Natives. They would have had limited, if any, exposure to European equipment, much less, what you would be carrying. Simple things would seem like magic. Could pass as a "medicine man" and get extra help? While the backwoodsmen pushed over the Apps in the 1700s, the "mountainman" we think of was really a short period in our history from about the 1820s to around 1845s. |
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