i'd be a saber tooth tiger turd. one gout attack and i am easy pickings.

you time machine me naked back 200k years. spread ketchup on me.

Actually, as it turns out, one of the best ways to not be eaten is to put hot sauce on yourself.

in my case, the word "deadmeat" comes to mind.

Do you magically gain any immunities that "modern man" would have had back then? Lord knows what was around in those days that has died off.

I was thinking a tropical island would be among the easier places. No big predators (now, but back then?). Coconuts (were there coconuts widespread 200K years ago?). Ocean means food. Climate usually moderate. Fresh water unreliable, though.

He must do well, he's still got plenty of body fat in the pics.

If I can have a numbers of years to prepare I would have a some chance. Right now me feet are soft and so is the rest of me. Just the sunburn would kill me in short order.

I have never tried to make a fire, never tried to make a weapon.

I would want to work up to a real good tan, go barefoot for years to toughen my feet, and learn some survival skills.

If I was transported back right now I would not last long.

When you lose enough weight running after the antelope and away from the dingos, the gout will go away too (probably).

Hmm, good point. Let's say you're no more or less vulnerable to microbes than you are today.

Sunburn is interesting - modern man evolved for various climates, so you have to pick one you can handle. The fair-skinned might want to head for Northern climes, or heavily forested areas. The darker-skinned have more leeway to go South. I can work up a quasi-black man tan pretty quickly (family from Southern China) so if I was careful the first week, I'd be fine in the sunburn department.

I think the feet would just toughen up with calluses and scar tissue, painfully. I bet after a couple weeks, if we were still alive, soft feet would not be an issue in most terrain.

Very interesting.

Every survival school I have been through in the military and civilian world (jungle survival school in the Philippines, SEER School, Outward Bound, NOLS, Desert Survival School, etc.) has assumed a based level of tools and clothing.

Your proposal is vastly more interesting since the baseline is zero.

Water is the first need, always.

I give myself, with access to water, five days to get my world figured out.

and on this point-
yes portland/ PNW as I am a fair skined ginger-

not built for the desert

Because you've had that training, in what sounds like diverse parts of the world, I'd be particularly interested in your choice(s).

Buck naked, no KaBar, no lighter, no nothing.

(Sorry Lube, your wiggle out attempt fails. The natives strip you naked, ritually abuse you, and dump you in the wild minus chieftan's daughter or any other aids.)

Is there a Hooters restaurant somewhere in this fantasy that I can hide in?

Interesting question. If it were my 20-year-ago self, I'd have no problem anywhere reasonably warm, or even hot. I darken up quickly and I was in pretty damned good physical condition--though I didn't have much in the way of fat reserves to get me through any "lean times".

Nowadays I could probably go a week or so without eating much ( ;) ) but I have too many other nagging small issues that would end things for me PDQ. Still recovering from a busted foot, bad back, and general decrepitude. At least my celiac disease wouldn't be an issue. Avoiding bread and other wheat products doesn't seem like it would be hard for a guy dumped naked in the wilderness. :D

I'm a ginger and have lived in the desert my whole life (AZ), and spent much time over in the REAL desert (Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, etc.). I typically burn pretty bad a few times at the start of hot season here in AZ, then it turns to a light tan. Growing up in AZ, living a very active outdoor life (and being too stupid to use sunscreen...), I'm sure I'll eventually get skin cancer, but at least I've had fun.

What really gets me is that I'm a fairly light-skinned ginger (not as light as most), yet my mother had black hair/not too pale skin, and my dad looks damn-near Mexican (very dark). Explain those genetics to me :mad:

Oh, and to the original question posted...I've had training. I'd do well enough, as long as I had a water source, as Seahawk mentioned. But as to personal preference...keep me away from the cold!

:) first one to even mention water.......I've had similar training and experience, outside a desert, extreme arctic climate or middle of mid lat winter I know I could survive. The most important point is keeping your head. The vast majority would be dead with in 5 to 14 days.

Madagascar

Thats funny

What is the critical link is not a knife, it is rope, para-cord, etc. Rope, thread, cord re the ties that bind.

I had a nice drive to a meeting this afternoon and I was thinking of your problem set.

I can't think of a survival situation that did not involve para-cord, so much so that I always carried some in my SV-2 when I was flying, always carry some in my car, etc.

In JAST (I think that was the school) they taught us how to make crude rope out of certain plants.

Water, food and clothing. The first one requires proximity; working the next two.

I hate you, BTW.:D

What did the milkman look like?