...and how did you make your tent stakes?
MrTwigg's "pointy stick " reference pretty much summed it up, but I can elaborate a little bit.
I found several green saplings of a diameter that would fit well with the peg loops of my shelter. Using my
Corona pruning saw, I cut them to length at about 9". I cut enough to stake out the cardinal points of my shelter - ten. Then I sharpened them with my my EDC knife; a Benchmade Griptillian.
Using a MKI MOD 0 log, I pounded them into the soft earth until I thought they were deep enough to hold the shelter down. The forecast did not predict any high winds, but there are only a few things worse than having you shelter come down in the middle of the night.
As I was making the stakes, we joked about how they were "100% organic, American made, adjustable, renewable" tent pegs.
Using the same tools, I also made the front and back poles for my shelter out of a 2" diameter stick.
Ahhhhh? if it was just camping why was it called a “survival” camp trip???
what makes this different?
It was a camping trip where we worked on "survival skills"; fire making, shelter building, natural cordage, and others. If we had practiced chess or the Irish River Dance, the trip would have been called something else. Nobody showed up with just a space blanket and a knife vowing to, "shiver through the night and dig for grubs". I didn't see anyone with just a double-bit axe either.
One of the first things I said to Boghog1 on Sunday morning was, "Looks like fulfilled the first rule of survival!"
I experimented with "under-bagging" where you bring a sleeping bag rated for higher temperatures than is expected and use other equipment / skills to make up the difference. Bringing a smaller bag you can save weight and space.
The temperature was predicted to be in the upper teens on Saturday night. I have no idea what the actual temperature was that night, but I had ice in the bottom of my insulated cup in the morning.
I used two 40*F bags and a USGI poncho liner. To supplement heat, I placed a canteen of hot water in the bottom of my bag and kept a candle lantern burning through the night. I slept pretty well and didn't get cold.
We took time to get to know each other standing around "nature's television" and discussed the pros and cons of different gear.
There was a discussion between the terms; "primitive living skills" and "practical survival skills". I'm not sure we ever came to an exact definition of each, or even agreed on the concept, but the discussion was lively and intelligent.
I think I'm more of a field craft / practical-skills survivalist than a primitive-living survivalist. If I need a fire NOW, I'd rather reach for my ferro-rod and cotton balls/Vaseline than hunt for the materials necessary for a bow drill. If I need a shelter NOW, I'd rather dig out my tarp than spend the time building a debris shelter. I'm not trying to say that those other skills are unimportant, but with the type of back-country roving / rambling I do, I find that my choices better fulfill my requirements.