Video by Cameron McKirdy
Watch Survival Bros cook up and epic feast! We added only the finest ingredients, including: steak, bison, bacon, beans, corn, tomatoes, three types of peppers (jalapenos, serranos, habanero), onions, brown sugar, and more. Just check out the HD video montage, and try not to drool on my website. This is a survivalist meal all the way. We prepared enough for several suppers, and froze some for later. I hope you guys and gals are eating good. Best wishes.
Cameron McKirdy produced this in 2011 during the tsunami wave scare! This shows how he prepared for an emergency in real time. If you haven’t created a bug-out-bag for this sort of thing, now is the time. What do you think of the video? Let’s hope the big one doesn’t hit this helpless coastal town.
Dear Survival Journal,
What a week! I’ve been everywhere, and I got there by bike or foot. I often laugh at slobs in cars. If only they could remember how to walk. Vehicles are for lazy people. I’m glad I bike. I have two bicycles operational right now. I get them tuned up every once in awhile, but they are still way cheaper to own than a car.
I was taking my friend’s dog for a walk this morning, when he started eating poop! No dog, you are suppose to go #2, not eat it. Puppies. I was trying to get him to stop, and get back in the house when I stepped in dog crap with my Vibram toe shoes on. The mutt missed a pile. I was dreading this day. I knew I’d step in poo, or crush a giant slug on accident one day. I’m rethinking wearing Vibrams outdoors now. Gross times ten! I will spare you further details, but I was not a happy camper. Luckily I had a change of shoes nearby. Now I’m trying to forget that happened.
I ate so good yesterday. I wasn’t feeling myself, so I made sure to take all my vitamins, and refuel with superfoods. I made two power smoothies with raw whey, raw rice protein, maca, raw chocolate, spinach, blueberries, and vanilla hemp milk. I also trekked to the store for spring water, which I promptly pounded. I had a buzz off all the different superfoods, and vitamins. I would have felt even better if I juiced. Maybe today.
I’ve been hustling so hard, they are about to name a street after me. I’m not rich, but I get money. I’m starting to think rich people are the lower class. They look down on the poor, and use them. I’m so happy to be blue collar, and not some spoiled, weakling that has never earned his kill. I’m on the streets, and in the woods, working on my skills, and my body. Rich people don’t work. They shop. Shop for things that make them smell good, or look better, when they are actually scum. My DNA thanks me for not being pampered. Poor people are much stronger than the rich. If I ever made it big, I’d give my wealth away.
It’s getting so cold out at night! I’m still in a tent. I really don’t care where I sleep anymore. The other night I had to wear clothes, and my jacket, while in my sleeping bag, just to make it through the night. However, it’s kind of fun, and challenging to find a new place to crash every night. When I’m couch surfing, I feel like it’s too easy. Like I’m royalty or something. I don’t know when I will get an apartment again. I could survive an Oregon winter in the wilderness. My home is the Wild Wild West.
More soon. Time to make paper, and turn it into food and silver. It’s a great day to get outside, in the wild, where I belong. Forget technology.
Unbelievable footage of a car being launched at Cameron McKirdy!
Survival Bros is hungry and focused. We promise to bring you quality reviews of the products we actually use. This blog looks at the Jetboil Zip cooking system.
At $74.95 the Jetboil stove is not cheap. It’s nicer than the ones you can get at Big 5, and other smaller sporting goods stores. Survival Bros invested in the Zip because it’s compact, efficient, and light weight. Not including the pot support and fuel stand, it weighs just 12 ounces. The system can be packed up, and self contained. Even a small fuel tank can store inside the cup securely.
It takes just over 2 minutes to boil 16 ounces of water, depending on how cold it is, and how much fuel you have. That means you can prepare freeze dried and dehydrated Mountain House meals at camp in minutes. The 0.8 liter cup is insulated too. These guys thought of it all. The lid strains liquid, and the bottom cup can measure, or be a bowl. Also included is a tripod stand to avoid spilling.
The entire Jetboil Zip cooking system is perfect for weekend backpacking trips into the outdoors. I’ve used it several times to make hot coffee, cook, and boil sketchy water for safety. It’s extremely convenient.
Survival Bros highly recommends this stove for short trips, and light cooking. I’d love to have the bigger size to cook even more hot food. Until then I’m keeping the Zip, and stocking up on Jetboil fuel. I actually bought mine off eBay for about $20 less than retail. It pays to plan ahead, and price around. Have a Jetboil? Tell us what you think of it.
I finally painted my Mongoose mountain bike flat black. This blog covers how I painted it, and other preparations I’ve done to my End of the World transportation.
First I stripped my bike bare. I took off the back fender/rack, and the seat. I had to remove a LED light attached to my seat post. I also removed a bunch of stickers, and residue. Most came off after using Goof Off, lacquer thinner, and a flat razor blade. Once the surface was clean, I blasted it flat black with Rust-olium Universal all-surface spray paint. It’s an awesome product. You can shoot at any angle. It sticks to metal, plastic, wood, whatever, but costs almost $10 a can.
Next I rattle canned the frame. I did one side, then the other, and finally the bottom. I did two coats, so it took a few hours to paint it all and allow for drying. I painted the wheels and tires quickly also. Then I put it all back together.
To get an even coat I removed the cables, but had a problem getting them back on tight. The guys at Prom Bike Shop in Seaside OR helped adjust them. They know me so it was a free fix. I buy stuff there all the time, and trust them with all my repairs. This is the third time I’ve resurrected this bike, but she is looking good now. Good luck seeing me on this stealth flat black beast.
Painting my bike was easy. The hard part was not painting myself or the driveway. Now I can put some smaller packs on this bike, but I have another bicycle that can haul more. Hopefully I can get a trailer before the Apocalypse happens. This bike needs a light, plastic front fender soon. It will have a first aid kit, and emergency food onboard. There’s a bright light and black bell on the front as well for safety.
I also plan to make a motorized bicycle in the near future. I enjoy designing rat bikes that look like something out of the Mad Max movie. You gotta go flat black. It looks sick.
– Cameron McKirdy
It’s Cameron. I’m checking in from the road. I’ve lost track of how many days straight I’ve been camping. Right now I’m blogging this from the top bunk in a friend’s RV.
My Dad and I left the Oregon Coast two days ago. We threw all our gear in the truck, including two bikes, and golf clubs. We almost brought the cataraft, but we have a full plate. Did I mention my father loves buffets? You know we went to Izzy’s Pizza already.
On day one we hiked 4 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail near the popular attraction Three Fingered Jack. It’s in the Cascade Range in Oregon. The forest there was scorched in the 2003 wildfire. It’s a beautiful wasteland. Dusty, but boasting epic views of mountains all around.
I would have taken pictures on our first hike, but my iPhone 4S got wet and fried the day we left. It was in a case, but soaked up just enough dew from inside my tent to fail. I should have put down a tarp. My bad. $300 later, I finally got a new 32 GB Apple iPhone today at Verizon wireless. I had to have a camera on our trip.
Tomorrow we will leave Redmond and enter the forest surrounding Mount Jefferson to begin backpacking. We’re squeezing in a round of golf at Eagle Crest also. They have the best real grass, outdoor mini-golf course. I’m gonna get a hole-in-one.
I’ve been to Whole Foods, REI, Dick’s, and other outfitters, so my backpack is loaded. I have plenty of food for three days on the PCT, plus of course my sleeping bag, tent, and the rest of the camping essentials. This week I picked up a Kelty sleeping mat, and a Jetboil stove. Now it’s time to rest. Thanks for following the Survival Bros blog. More from my trip soon. It’s almost 1 AM where I’m at. Night.
Update: I tried to be lazy today. It was 95 plus degrees in Redmond and Bend today. My first priority was to stay hydrated. I chugged more than a liter of coconut water this morning, plus a Dutch Bros coffee my dad brought back.
We ended up golfing The Greens at Redmond today. It’s well maintained and challenging. We played 9 holes and walked. It was hot! I thought about following my ball into the water hazard. I only lost one.
After golf I went out on the town in Redmond. I sifted at the Goodwill thrift store and found a Zen Garden, a great bicycle fender, and a book on juicing vegetables and fruit!
Then I found a huge antique mall! I could look at collectables all day. I checked out silver and copper coins, old toys, and priced other oddities. I found a Buddy Lee doll, and a hand painted sign offering pony stud service by Champ. I took a quick photo.
The weather is wild in the Bend area. You can see snow on the mountain peaks, but it’s sweltering. It’s dusk now. My buddy’s dog and I have been looking out the window at the flashes of lightening. The thunder is tremendous. Growling like my belly after a workout. And the lights are flickering. There was another bolt! It’s the Wild West out here.
I still have to pack my backpack for our 3 day hike starting tomorrow. Right now my gear is scattered around the RV. I will get to it after I stretch more. I feel ready to charge The Mount Jefferson wilderness, but there will be more challenges ahead. Really our trip is just about to start. More soon.
Cameron gives you a channel update and shows you Fort Stevens in Oregon
Survival Bros by Cameron McKirdy 