Surviving the High Desert: Thriving on Wild Plants Part 1 (Minimal Gear Including a Pick Mattock)

Рет қаралды 31,669

Жыл бұрын

In this video I am taking on a new challenge. Can I survive in a formidable location I have never been before with only a knife and canteen (and cup)? I also had to use a pick. This was due to the fact that I had a camera equipment failure, which cost me a day. I ran out of time to finish, digging the pit with a stick. This high desert location is a new spot to me. To thrive, I need to find a sustainable water source, create a warm shelter, and locate wild plants that will sustain me for my survival foraging trip. In addition, I will need to cook any wild plants to an edible state for consumption. Watch Part 1 of this video to see if I am successful.
Please subscribe and watch for Part 2 to see how the desert helped me thrive during my challenge.
Disclaimer: As always, please remember to do your own extensive research before using any plans for consumption or medicine. Do not rely on any of my videos for positive identification. If you find written sources from credentialed authors, you can develop the knowledge and confidence to safely engage in foraging. I am an amateur ethnobotanist myself, so everyone can forage safely and confidently if they are willing to put in the time to develop an “expertise” derived from expert sources.

Пікірлер: 90

@lalaalalala Жыл бұрын

excited for this! survival challenges with only wild edibles are the best

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Yes, I agree. Thanks for watching.

@sandygap1 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video! So little is available concerning high desert survival and bushcraft.

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback!

@BCVS777 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! Very useful information! I bet you froze your butt off! 😂

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

That is funny! I did get a few cold spots along one side of my body as I would shift positions in the night. Remained very warm on the mattress side though! :)

@frankblangeard8865 9 ай бұрын

Since matches were not part of your survival kit it would have been helpful to show us how you got that fire started. I hike in the high desert of Oregon and Washington and there is no agave or large prickly pear cactus. Next time you want to try surviving in the high desert let me choose the location 😜.

@josephwilson4178 8 ай бұрын

Clearly there were some tools 14:14 you can see the pick axe

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

@TakeMeToYourLida 7 ай бұрын

It seems like you know some advanced techniques but there are some basics I’d add. For one, create tongs from a stick bent in half to gather the prickly pear and burn off the needles and glochids from the pads while the fire is still going. You can use the pads as canteens if you split them carefully, so that method could also allow you to insert the chokes into the pads to cook.

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback! Tongs are a great idea. When considering the tradeoff of time expenditure in making tongs versus the limited utility in their application, I did not figure it was worth the effort. However, you bring up a good point. For a video, it would have been a good idea to make tongs!

@suzumes6738 Жыл бұрын

I just saw "~~~ edibles, surviving the high. ~~". This isn't what I wanted, but am glad to have watched it regardless.

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Haha! Sorry to disappoint.

@natejosich Жыл бұрын

That’s amazing totally wanna try pit roasted agave hearts. Thank you!

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Hopefully you can at some point. Absolutely incredible flavor.

@serenahartwell Жыл бұрын

Great video, I'm learning so much about the high desert!

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the feedback!

@sheilam4964 Жыл бұрын

Looking forward to part 2 so we can see the outcome of what you started in part 1.

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback! Hopefully, I can get it published in the next few days.

@DanHickman1996 7 ай бұрын

That pick AX came in handy.

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, it did! Unfortunately I had already filmed a significant part of the video when I experienced a video equipment failure. As a result I had to use up a whole day to go back into town and get some replacement video equipment. As a result, I ran out of time to finish digging the pit with a stick.

@davidbrand5326 4 ай бұрын

Good informative video!!👍👍

@johnnypalughi1192 7 ай бұрын

Great show, man! Thanks.

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and for your kind words!

@flymanhorse 8 ай бұрын

Great video! Also love the fact that you honor the tradional ways 🙏

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback and thanks for watching!

@peacefulscrimp5183 8 ай бұрын

Great video 👍

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@HitTheDirt 9 ай бұрын

It was really exciting when i found your channel. I hope you are well and decide to continue KZfaq. Your content is quality and I added one of your videos to my interesting by others playlist. #veryinteresting

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Great! Thanks so much for watching!

@maigematthews5620 22 күн бұрын

From what you’ve learned, what edible plants would be the most hardiest to grow? And I mean the once that are easy… nurse them to seedlings and just set it and forget.

@russelrogers2540 Жыл бұрын

Don't believe there is agave in the high desert of Oregon. I believe you are in the southwestern part of the US. Looking forward to part 2.

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. You are right about agave. I was in Arizona.

@Yosef9438 9 ай бұрын

Great shot at 0:40. Miss your content. Hope you are well.

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment. I have released another video. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I am doing great! Thanks for asking!

@josephwilson4178 8 ай бұрын

I was wondering why you didn’t show how you started the fire….. and then I spotted your pick axe lol. Still a good video though

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Haha! Thanks for watching! Unfortunately I had already filmed a significant part of the video when I experienced a video equipment failure. As a result I had to use up a whole day to go back into town and get some replacement video equipment. As a result, I ran out of time to finish digging the pit with a stick. As far as the fire is concerned, I used a botany magnifying glass to start the fire. You can find that in Part 2 of the video at about the 6 minute mark. Due to editing decisions, I put that part of the story in Part 2. In hindsight, I should have edited it so that it was in Part 1.

@dudeman_1970 7 ай бұрын

You can make tea from the high desert juniper too

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I have not tried that yet. I will have to at some point in the future.

@hipolitogomez 8 ай бұрын

Hi my friend l like yours videos and you very nice men l.like you ❤❤

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@johncole3010 8 ай бұрын

I think if I didn’t have a bivy, a head net would be required so I could sleep. Your bed idea does look comfortable,

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Haha! Thanks for watching! The bed was very comfortable; however, I did not use quite enough pine needles on top of me so I did get slightly cold.

@kirkha100 Жыл бұрын

Awesome. Gonna try this with yucca baccata fruit and cane cholla buds. I’m thinking I’ll need to separate the food from the prickly pear to prevent spines and glochids from getting on the food. I’m wondering if the flower stock of the yucca can be treated the same way. Is the agave Parryii? We don’t have them here- Jemez Mts., N.M. although I am growing some pups in the yard. Our prickly pear is very aggressive. Been bit twice by centipedes. Yeow. Wolfberry is setting fruit now. Not ready yet. Love this video. Showing me the way. Thanks.

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences. I have been fortunate to not have had any painful encounters with centipedes. Those glochids can certainly be a real nuisance. I personally am not a fan. 😀

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Yes, it was parryi (chrysantha tastes very similar). That is a great idea to grow the agave. I enjoy trying to grow some of the native plants too. I have had some success, but many failures too. So far I have had success with approximately 5-6 species of Lomatium and Cymopterus. I have also had success with about 5 species of Allium and one species of Pediomelum.

@kirkha100 Жыл бұрын

@@rockymountainedibles3593 we have a cymopteris. Very ephemeral with rabbits, hares, and cattle. I’m looking for a protected area to gather and plant seed. We’re upper Sonoran, around 6,000 ft. Oneseed juniper, Piñion, occasional outlier Ponderosa. I’m also starting a native plants garden. Trying Prosopis Glandulosa for a ground meal or flour. With climate change I’ve watched range extending North and up in elevation. Had some die off, but they’ve gotten through the winter. One part mesquite, three parts wheat flour makes a strange and quite delicious tortilla. Been eating samaras of Siberian Elm(Ulmus Pumila)- quite mild and tasty when young. I’m trying to figure out how to process seeds of four wing saltbush. Dunmire and Tierney’s “ Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province” says you can make an atole. Lotta seed case though. Scorch and abrade off, and winnow? Mill whole? Anyway, real glad I found you. High desert is the landscape in my heart. Thanks.

@hostilesavage4299 8 ай бұрын

The yucca stalk is not eatable bozo... Yucca roots create soap...

@hostilesavage4299 8 ай бұрын

And to eat prickly pear... Just stab a stick thru one end of the pear and grab a handful of whatever dry weeds or grass is available and simply brush off the small cactus needles that you can barely see... Peel the skin and enjoy... Ndee secrets to desert survival... A lot more can be done in the high and low desert than this clowns video will teach you...

@Addicted2outdoors Жыл бұрын

Wow, great video. Did you really sleep in that Pine Duff?

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Yes, I did. For the most part, I remained very warm.

@eugenia7118 6 ай бұрын

I always thought the rule of thumb was to Never drink water until it’s boiled or filtered? No matter how clean it appears

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! That was always my approach since I was a kid (more than 30 years). After doing research on the topic and talking with a number of other outdoor enthusiasts I came to realize that some select water sources are safe without taking extra precautions. Generally, speaking if a person finds the source of a spring that person can have a fairly high degree of confidence that the source is safe for consumption. I continue to be quite careful about this and so far I have not had any issues. But, perhaps caution is the better part of valor.

@Jvilla3478 7 ай бұрын

I know a painful back when I see it because I also have one. Thanks for the hard work even though

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@John3.36 Жыл бұрын

Can you do a fire without any tools for demonstration? Stick rubbing or something?

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Check out the video I just released "Surviving and Thriving in the Utah Desert". I do a friction fire in that video.

@qparxiii 3 ай бұрын

I don't believe the authenticity of this video... in Southern California inland empire, it gets so hot that before noon, that all of society banishes you from the fringes of all human dignity for looking like zombie apocalypse, hills have eyes, Sla from the Goonies, and Quato from Total Recall without incessant air-conditioning ... I'll be using this channel as my sermon against all lies lies lies yeah!!! Thanks

@brittongodman7769 8 ай бұрын

Nice video and very informative. I did see, however, that in one of the frames showing the fire pit, your pick - axe shows up in the background.............

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Unfortunately I had already filmed a significant part of the video when I experienced a video equipment failure. As a result I had to use up a whole day to go back into town and get some replacement video equipment. As a result, I ran out of time to finish digging the pit with a stick.

@jhenderson3037 7 ай бұрын

water and wind

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@SandiKay 6 ай бұрын

you are there in the spring time based on the yarrow?

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, I was there in the spring and I love yarrow!

@TaylorsAuthenticTraditions 7 ай бұрын

With what method was your fire started?

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I used a botany magnifying glass. You can see that in part 2 at the 6 minute mark.

@caseykelso1 7 ай бұрын

What about southern Nevada?

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Great idea! I will have to consider that in the future. Thanks for watching!

@desertodavid 7 ай бұрын

Is this like an unboxing let's see what we got here video? Sorry but I'm losing how much patience these days

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback! Video editing is a difficult proposition. Hopefully I will improve as I get more experience.

@jimksa67 7 ай бұрын

Recluse spiders can kill you Bro! Ask me how I know! :)

@rockymountainedibles3593 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yeah, spiders make for interesting bed fellows. I hope to not encounter a recluse. :)

@jaypete3500 3 ай бұрын

Lol

@sasankajayasekara2051 Жыл бұрын

14:11 What traditional equipment is that? lol

@rockymountainedibles3593 Жыл бұрын

Haha. You are right. I unfortunately had a camera equipment failure. Because of this, I had to use up an entire day to go back into town to find some replacement equipment. As a result, I ran out of time to dig the whole fire pit with just the stick. My original plan was to use the stick. My wife wrote the descriptions for the video. I didn’t communicate with her that the original plan didn’t work out. I need to go in and fix the description. I can assure you that the above mentioned addition to my tool kit is not primitive or traditional. I must also mention that I have completed my penance for such a transgression. In the future, I will only use my teeth or fingernails to dig the pit. 😂

@sasankajayasekara2051 Жыл бұрын

@@rockymountainedibles3593 Hi, I can understand how hard to do a video like this and how time-consuming it is. Anyway, your videos are very informative. Thanks.