She only hit me after I told her she would have to dig five more holes if we were to get enough water to make tea for two in five hours. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

and yes, books are good sources but thinking one can go from reading a technique to actually using it successfully with no prior practice is a stretch. Practice and exploring a technique in your own part of the world is essential. About once every year I like to make a friction fire with desert materials, yucca stalks are very good. If one does not practice but only reads of a technique, it may not work in the wild as well as one might build up their mind. There is the very useful and then there is the useless. I have yet to find a person out there who finds that the solar still is a viable option out of the very experienced desert rats I know from the Sonoran to the Mohave deserts. One fellow is 70 years old and he can do just about anything technique wise and still practices in the deserts. I have learned a lot from him over the years as well.