Living as a Hunter-Gatherer

Shari Hughson

This part of Dave’s and my story of living through evolution seems to fascinate people the most!  We walked away from it all in 2007, to live as our ancestors did. The first thing we did was build the shell of an Earthship home, to avoid the number one killer in survival situations, hypothermia.  We then started to live as hunter-gatherers for our food and water needs, and we did this for close to two years.

We made all our own tools, weapons, and traps.  We built fire by ‘rubbing sticks together’, using bow drill and hand drill techniques.  But, we didn’t go completely bush, we had a few safety items. We had clothing and footwear from Mountain Equipment Coop, Columbia and Patagonia, but we often went naked, especially during a glacier river crossing or during very dirty tasks.  I also had three critical survival items with me at all times: a great bush knife (Dave loves his Fallkniven, A1 Model), flint and steel fire starter from Light My Fire (just in case) , and parachute cord, the most versatile item for climbing, safety and building items in the bush.

Building a raft to cross a raging glacier river. using parachute cord to lash it together.

We spent every waking moment dealing with food.  First, we had to find it, get it, dry or smoke it, protect it from wildlife and pests, store it, then re-hydrate it, make it palatable, and eat it. Critical elements included getting enough food for winter months and making sure we had enough calories and a good mix of nutrients.  It was a constant challenge to balance the energy we spent getting the food, with the energy the food gave us to survive. We became lean and strong bush people, but surprisingly, I never reached ‘fashion model’ skinny – which tells me how unrealistic that shape is!

The primary foods we ate were from the two ‘P’ food groups found in the bush: protein and plants.

Protein:  Fish, rabbit, grouse, and insects were critical and easy to get.  Larger game like deer and moose were very occasional items and a lot of work, but provided weeks of food.  

Plants:  Berries, flowers, leaves, seeds, rhizomes and roots from a wide range of water and earth plants.

Drying Salmon and stocking up for the winter. We often made use of garbage we found in the bush such as bags, cans, and an old tarp.

Eating the same foods over and over again definitely becomes monotonous! The first few months we thought a lot about our favourite foods.  Oddly for me, my fixation was cheese, dark chocolate, peanut butter and mustard…sour, sweet, oily, & salty! We talked about food often, in great detail, until one day we no longer needed to, we no longer had cravings, we had adjusted. It wasn’t the only thing that amazed us about the human ability to adapt and acclimatize to our environment, such as seasons, temperature, being dirty, and nothing hygienic, became normal and comfortable.

We eventually had a rhythm to our daily life, but it was never a pattern, never a habit, or we wouldn’t have survived.  We gained a mental map of our surroundings. Where the different plants flourished, what game trails to follow, and the behavior and patterns of the animals we encountered.  Bears became our greatest ally, their trails made travel easier for us, their food sources became ours, their patterns showed us the best times to access each food source, and of course, they were also a constant risk.  My one concession to fear was bear spray, which thankfully I never had to use even though I was bluff charged a few times, and stood trembling and breathless afterwards.

Big female grizzly bear coming straight toward us after we had watched her mate and fight a young male.

There were many threats and possibilities of danger and harm from river crossings, uneven terrain, poisonous or rotten food, fire, animals and weather.  We were hyper aware and our five senses became heightened, but especially to sounds and smell as compared to city life. I could smell a bear long before we ever heard or saw one, so I was our early warning signal.  We also developed a type of sixth sense that helped guide many decisions that saved our lives a number of times. We felt more connected to nature and in rhythm with our surroundings than ever before. We were living on the edge and it was glorious and challenging all at the same time!  

There are so many stories from living as hunter-gatherers it’s hard to choose which one to tell next. Send me your questions and I’ll write a post for you!