Posts Tagged ‘survival’

Survival Bros Rafting The Nehalem River – An Unexpected Journey

Posted: December 31, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Parks, SB Tips, Sports
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This was a wild trip.  My Dad and I had been scouting the river, and planning the ride down the Nehalem river for months.  He read all he could find on the dangers, and decided to try floating from a higher point at Spruce Run.  After pumping the 14 foot cataraft up, we got it loaded on the trailer, and headed south past Cannon Beach on Highway 101.  Our friend Steve tagged along.  He knows the Nehalem well, and has been fishing for Steelhead on it for years.  We used his rig to shuttle us back to the trailer, and drag the raft up a steep bank at Beaver Slide after traveling 13.3 miles.

This journey didn’t go exactly as planned.  We unhooked the raft too soon, and it fell off the trailer when we were backing it up to the water.  After that mishap, we picked it up by hand, and got her wet.  It was a smooth ride at first, but early into the excursion we lost an oar lock.  Thankfully, Pops was wise enough to have an extra on hand.  Without the oar lock, we would have lost an oar and been screwed.  I had a great time chatting with the boys, and relaxing.  We were also trying to locate a lost dog, that had a $2500 reward for information resulting in his rescue.  No luck on that.  We did however see a coyote, fish, and a bald eagle. 

cataraft on river

Hauling the massive raft on the custom trailer

The Nehalem got rougher, and more dangerous as we got lower on the river.  The water was freezing, and we were wet.  I had a wetsuit, booties, and gloves to stay warm.  On a quick stop I used the spring water I collected to make Mountain House spaghetti with my Jetboil Zip camping stove.  Steve and I warmed our hands on the hot bag as the food cooked.  Near the end of our unexpected journey we ran into more trouble.  We got hung up on a boulder, and spun around.  Then at Salmonberry Drop we got blasted by a 7 foot wave, and my camera went out.  You gotta watch the video in 720p HD.  It was a hell of an adventure.  We got out alive, but not without a little suffering.  We won’t be rafting the Nehalem again soon.

Here’s a fun video I made of the first time my Dad and I rafted the lower part of the Nehalem River. 

Tillamook Head Hiker’s Cabins – Backpacking From Cannon Beach To Seaside

Posted: December 27, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Product Reviews, SB Tips, Sports, Survival Bros Challenges
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By Cameron McKirdy

Season’s greetings!  On Christmas Eve my Dad and I hiked from Indian Beach in Ecola State Park to the Hiker’s Camp on Tillamook Head.  We checked out the abandoned World War 2 bunkers, and the viewpoints too.  Pops split, leaving me to spend the night by myself.  In this HD video I show you the trail, my gear, and my fire.  I also cooked up some Goulash thanks to my new flameless cookwear system by Trekmates.  Enjoy the video.  After a two hour nap, I decided to back to Seaside in the dark night.  It was crazy.  I used a glow stick, and my Coast HP14 flashlight to luminate the path.  A recent storm kicked tons of massive trees down.  I had to climb over many, with my 40 pound pack on.  I booked it from the cabins, and got back to Seaside in just over 2 hours, covering 4 gnarly miles of ground.  It was an intense op.  I lost the trail briefly once, slightly rolled an ankle, and nearly slipped down a steep bank.  It was one of the most rewarding, and challenging adventures of my life.  Next, I plan to raft the Nehalem river this weekend.  Thanks for visiting Survival Bros.  I’d appreciate your comments, and likes.  %^).

Indian Beach photo P1000380

List Of 8 Things To Do When The Power Goes Out

Posted: November 26, 2012 in SB Tips
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When the power goes out, it’s important to get a light source, and make sure everyone there is OK. Once your secure, with emergency food, water, and shelter, you can do these things to pass time.

1. Talk with those around you or via phone
2. Play games, cards, board games, etc.
3. Take a hot shower in case warm water runs out
4. Cook more food to store energy in your body, and other containers
5. Work on preps, like checking the power of your batteries, or bottling extra water
6. Read a good book or new magazine
7. Play handheld video games, or DVDs on a laptop
8. Go outside, assuming it’s not dangerous

–Produced by Cameron McKirdy

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MAKING EPIC SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH BACON – SURVIVAL BROS STYLE

Posted: November 16, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Health & Nutrition, SB Tips
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OMG!  We created a legendary sauce with bacon ends and bits, Hot Jimmy Dean sausage, ground beef, fire roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, Newman’s Own organic tomato sauce, and an egg.  I added red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, and freshly ground black pepper.  It doesn’t get any better.  Unless you pick up a loaf of soft, buttery, garlic bread, which we did.  There was no room for a salad on my plate.  This was an EXTREME dinner.  In fact, we made enough for a few extra meals.  Thumb up the HD video montage, and please subscribe to Survival Bros on Youtube.  Thanks for watching.  You’re awesome!

– Cameron McKirdy

http://www.youtube.com/user/survivalbros

GREAT EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS QUOTES FROM SURVIVAL BROS

Posted: October 29, 2012 in Comedy and Art, SB Tips
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“Chance favours the prepared mind.” – Louis Pasteur

“Be prepared.” – Boy Scout Motto

And don’t forget the Boy Scout Law.

A Scout is:

  • Trustworthy,
  • Loyal,
  • Helpful,
  • Friendly,
  • Courteous,
  • Kind,
  • Obedient,
  • Cheerful,
  • Thrifty,
  • Brave,
  • Clean,
  • and Reverent.

“We cannot stop natural disasters, but we can arm ourselves with knowledge; so many lives wouldn’t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.” – Petra Nemcova

”Prepare your hearts for Death’s cold hand! prepare
Your souls for flight, your bodies for the earth;
Prepare your arms for glorious victory;
Prepare your eyes to meet a holy God!
Prepare, prepare!” – William Blake

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

“In fair weather prepare for foul.” – Thomas Fuller

“The only thing that counts is if you know how to prepare your ingredients. Even if with the best and freshest ingredients in the world, if your dish is tasteless or burnt; it’s ruined.” – Martin Yan

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Fort Stevens State Park Mushroom Foray in Oregon

Posted: October 27, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Health & Nutrition, Parks, SB Tips
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It’s mushroom season!!! My friends and I recently went to Fort Stevens for a talk about wild mushrooms, followed by a hunt around Coffenbury Lake. It’s early yet, so we didn’t find much, but we learned a lot. I hope you get into fungi! I can’t wait to go shroom hunting again this weekend. At the park we found a mushroom called “Pine Spikes.” They are edible, but not very tasty. More soon from Survival Bros! Peace and love.

– Cameron McKirdy

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Friends Find Geocache Treasure Box Hiking Saddle Mountain

Posted: October 7, 2012 in Adventures, Comedy and Art, Health & Nutrition, Parks, SB Tips, Sports, Survival Bros Challenges
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What’s good? Yesterday my peeps and I smashed Saddle Mountain. I’ve hiked the beast before. I’m local. This is what we discovered, including hidden treasure via geocache. Keep reading.

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Saddle Mountain photo by Cameron McKirdy

The park was popping. Crawling with life. We took our sweet time getting higher. I tracked our progress with the Nike+ GPS running app on my iPhone. Along the way, we found all sorts of shortcuts, and obscure trails. On one path we paused, only to spot a large ammo can hidden behind stacked rocks, under a rock formation.

Inside the treasure box was tons of toys, a logbook to sign, and even a riddle! We each left something in the box, and took a gift home. I got sticky hands!!! We didn’t even know there was a geocache on Saddle Mountain, but we found it. As for the riddle, we decided to listen to the Audio CD clues together, when we can find treasure again.

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It felt great being blasted by the sun. Even though it was pretty windy, it was still warm. In total we hiked 5 miles. That’s from the parking lot, to the summit and back, with minor detours. According to the Nike+ GPS app we did it in 5 hours. I told ya we enjoyed the trip. Tourists would have gone faster, and missed more. More shenanigans soon from Survival Bros. Keep it real today.

– Cameron McKirdy
Survival Bros President

Flat Black Survival Mountain Bike – New Photos

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Comedy and Art, Sports, Uncategorized
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Here’s recent pictures of the flat black Survival Bros mountain bike. Radar can’t see it. Like? I think I will do a high-visibility bicycle next for safety. Nerd alert.

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Old Mongoose includes: light on handlebar, cable lock, rear cargo tail with bungie cords, reflectors, comfortable seat, front disc break, and shocks

Stop Wasting Time Watching Football on TV

Posted: September 1, 2012 in Health & Nutrition, SB Tips, Sports, Uncategorized
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By Cameron McKirdy
It’s Superbowl Sunday. Go nuts. Forget all your worries, sit back with a cold one, and watch TV. Soak up all the bread and circuses. This is what people are passionate about. Men playing with their balls.

Watching 3 plus hours of sports has to have some benefit right? I’m trying really hard to figure out what though. It seems all this energy is wasted. Why watch people compete anyways? Is it entertaining? Maybe we want to know who the loser is. I think it’s the viewers.

I’ve boughten into sports hype before. It’s something to do. And if you go to a game, you feel cool because you are a part it. But isn’t it all just a giant, intentional distraction? What should we be focused on instead? Community? Country? Family? Spending time doing almost anything other than watching sports on TV seems wise.

The viewers are on the bottom of the sports pyramid scheme. You pay to watch. Then there’s the athletes and sports reporters. They get paid OK for acting out a role. At the top of the sports pyramid is the Owner. He constructed the team, and gets paid to stage the show. The few control the many.

All anyone is talking about on Facebook, and twitter is college, and pro football. And if it’s not that, then there’s another league to follow. There’s always something completely manufactured to buy into, and consume. I say there isn’t a point to sports. There’s a point to being healthy, and fit, but watching sports games all the time is stupid. And if you have a fantasy football team, you may be special.

America, World, the time has come to put down the remote, and stop rooting for your favorite team. Instead, work together on real issues. Sports are ALL hype. See it, and don’t buy in. You deserve better. Your brain needs real knowledge. You can’t learn a damn thing watching college football or any other sport, besides maybe mixed martial arts. That’s badass, and MMA training could save your life. Team sports are lame. I want to see who is the best individual athlete. That’s why boxing, golf, track, cycling, and even chess are more interesting to me.

In conclusion, sports are used against you, to distract you from real issues. We’ve turned into a Nation of bandwagon fanatics, drunk on cheap food and savage entertainment. Walk away. Save yourself from becoming a look-alike, cookie-cutter, die-hard supporter. It’s all manufactured entertainment. You can enrich your mind with more. Dream bigger.

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Jetboil Zip Cooking System Product Review

Posted: August 29, 2012 in Health & Nutrition, Product Reviews, SB Tips
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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.

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