American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 157 "Four-Shaped" Cable Trap

Lin Yu'an picked up a mussel that was still a little hot, broke the shell open a bit more, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

The intense sweetness, mixed with the salty aroma of the sea, exploded on his taste buds in an instant.

There is no complicated cooking; only the most original and pure salty and savory flavor of the food.

He scooped up another spoonful of the milky white seaweed soup and drank it.

The broth becomes somewhat viscous due to the gelatinous substance of the seaweed, resulting in a smooth and incredibly delicious flavor.

"Um……"

He let out a satisfied sigh. This was the first hot meal he had eaten since arriving in this land, and the warm heat made him feel infinitely satisfied!

He concluded to the camera, "This is the first gift the Labrador coastline gave me!"

“Protein, vitamins, minerals... all the nutrients I need most right now are in this pot.”

"However, blue mussels are very low in calories and have almost zero fat content, so they can only be used as a staple food."

"I also need to get fatty foods as soon as possible, such as fish or land mammals. Fat is the ultimate fuel to fight the cold here."

After a short rest, the more important task is to build a shelter that will allow him to safely spend the entire winter.

After enjoying a delicious protein feast made up of mussels and seaweed, but lacking in fat, Lin Yu'an's energy was greatly replenished.

As he gazed upon the expansive coastline before him, a grander plan rapidly took shape in his mind.

"I managed to get my first meal, but that's far from enough. Building a shelter that can withstand the harsh winter will require at least ten days of intense physical exertion."

"If I have to spend two precious hours every day in a slump to rush around for the next meal, my energy and time will be severely fragmented, and my efficiency will be very low."

He pointed to the vast coastline where the tide was slowly rising.

"So, before I officially start building the house, I need to build a food restaurant first! To ensure that I can store up to 5-10 days' worth of food at a time."

"I will use the next two to three days to continue to take advantage of the low tide each day to frantically collect resources from the intertidal zone and build up a living food reserve that can last me at least a week."

"Moreover, this restaurant must include both ocean and land components to ensure that even if one source fails, I still have a backup option."

"Taking advantage of the high tide preventing us from entering the intertidal zone, I'll use this time to go inland into the forests and set up the first batch of traps for my land-based hunting grounds."

"Only in this way can I concentrate on the construction in the days to come. An army marches on its stomach."

Having clarified his goal, Lin Yu'an began another survival task for the day.

He took out the roll of professional annealed steel wire and the Damascus hunting knife from his backpack and walked towards the depths of the coniferous forest behind the shelter.

His goal was to find traces of small mammals.

Instead of wandering aimlessly in the woods, he entered a "tracking mode" like a seasoned detective.

He slowed his pace, bent down, and his eyes, like radar, carefully searched for any trace on the ground.

Soon, under a patch of low, densely leafed bushes, in a muddy area, he found the clue he was looking for.

“Found it!” He crouched down, facing the camera, and pointed to the asymmetrical footprints on the ground.

“Look, these are typical snowshoe hare footprints. Its hind feet are huge, almost twice the size of its forefeet, like it’s wearing a pair of snow boots.”

"That's why it's called a snowshoe hare. Its huge feet give it an unparalleled advantage when running in deep snow."

He picked up a few round, black, bean-sized droppings: "They're very fresh, which means they just passed through here this morning."

Most importantly, there was a narrow path, only a dozen centimeters wide, that had been squeezed out of the bushes ahead of the footprints.

"Snowshoe hares have a very fixed habit: they are natural-born directionally challenged and like to travel back and forth between foraging grounds and burrows along the exact same route through dense bushes."

"These paths, repeatedly trampled and gnawed out by them, are called 'rabbit highways,' which are the best places for us to set traps."

Instead of making a move right there, he continued cautiously along the "rabbit highway," searching for the perfect spot.

Finally, we stopped at a narrow gate naturally formed by two dense, almost huddled spruce branches.

"This is it." He gestured with his hand.

"This spot is narrow enough, less than twenty centimeters wide. When a rabbit passes by, it has almost no choice but to squeeze through the middle."

"Furthermore, judging from the marks on the ground, this is the intersection of several highways. Setting a trap here would greatly increase the success rate!"

Next, it was time to showcase his trap-making skills.

He first used the back of his Damascus hunting knife to clean up the ground around the narrow doorway, but without causing extensive damage.

Then, he cut a piece of wire about 60 centimeters long from the roll of annealed steel wire.

Instead of using it directly as a lasso, he first used his gloved hands to repeatedly and gently straighten and flatten the wire to eliminate the memory it had developed when it was curled.

This seemingly redundant step allows the lasso to tighten more smoothly and more lethally when triggered.

Then, he began to make the most crucial "lock".

He carefully wrapped the tripwire around one end several times, forming a small loop about half a centimeter in diameter.

Next, he threaded the other end of the tripwire through the small loop, thus creating a slipknot that could slide freely and tighten as it was pulled. He then adjusted the diameter of the slipknot to be about the size of a fist.

"This size is based on the head and neck size of the snowshoe hare."

"It's too big. A rabbit might just walk right through it, or it might get caught in the noose, giving it a chance to struggle."

"It's too small; its head can't fit in. The perfect, deadly trap is one that can just snag its neck and strangle it as it struggles."

After the lasso is made, the next step is to create the trap's power system and trigger mechanism.

He chose a very flexible birch branch located above the "narrow gate".

He pulled the branch down forcefully, bending it into a taut bow shape.

Then, he meticulously crafted a “4”-shaped trigger mechanism on the ground using a hunting knife, consisting of three small wooden sticks.

He first whittled a vertical post with a sharp end and firmly planted it in the ground.

Then, he shaved a horizontal bar with a groove at one end.

Finally, there is a slanted support rod with both ends cut into wedge shapes.

He used ingenious grooves and angles to interlock the three wooden sticks together.

This puts the entire structure in an extremely unstable, volatile state of equilibrium.

He used a tripwire to connect the bent birch branch to the pillar that triggered the mechanism.

Finally, he carefully tied the wire loop he had just made to the horizontal bar that triggered the mechanism.

It was then suspended directly above the "Rabbit Highway," about four fingers off the ground.

He also broke off a few small branches with leaves from the side and cleverly inserted them on both sides of the lasso, further narrowing the passage.

This creates a visual "guide," forcing the rabbit to pass only directly under the deadly noose.

He took a few steps back, looked at his work that almost blended into its surroundings, and said with satisfaction, "Alright, a classic 'elastic cable trap' is complete."

"Its working principle is very simple." He pointed to the camera and demonstrated with a long tree branch.

"When a rabbit runs by, its chest or head will gently touch this crossbar that acts as a tripwire."

He gently pushed the crossbar with a branch.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out! The entire 4-shaped mechanism collapsed instantly!

The birch branch, bent under the weight, suddenly snapped back to its original position. The immense elasticity, transmitted through the fishing line, instantly tightened the lasso!

And with a "whoosh," the long branch used as a mock prey was hoisted high into the air!
"Do you see that?" Lin Yu'an pointed to the tree branch swaying in the air.

"That's it. This ensures the prey dies quickly, minimizing its suffering."

Over the next hour, he set up three more carefully disguised traps in the same area using the same method.

A "passive food acquisition system" that operates 24 hours a day on land has begun to work quietly for him.

There might be a surprise waiting for him here tomorrow morning!
After setting up four almost imperceptible elastic rope traps, it was already past 2 p.m.

With several precious hours remaining before nightfall, Lin Yu'an did not choose to rest at the campsite.

He must make the most of every minute and second. Before winter arrives, he must become a master of time management and allocate his time and energy to the maximum!
His exploration is not over yet; he needs to find more food sources.

Lin Yu'an checked the battery level of the GoPro on his chest, his tone filled with anticipation: "Alright, everyone, the land-based 'waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump' system has started working."

"Now, I'm going to tour my territory and see what generous gifts this land has prepared for us. Food is always the first priority."

"Although my main goal today is plant resource exploration, in the wilderness, you never know what you'll encounter around the next corner."

He patted the bow on his back: "I carry it both to deal with potential dangers and to not miss any fleeting opportunities."

Lin Yu'an did not venture into the dense forest with its complex terrain and limited visibility. Instead, he chose to slowly move forward along the shoreline of the vast freshwater lake.

This is a very wise strategy because the shoreline is where aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems meet, and the diversity of species is usually at its highest.

In early November, the chill in Labrador was already penetrating to the bone.

The shallow waters by the lake had frozen into a layer of ice several centimeters thick, which made a "crunching" sound when stepped on, due to the low temperature at night.

The birch leaves on the shore had long since fallen, leaving only bare white branches swaying in the cold wind.

His sixth sense gave him the courage to explore; as he walked, he carefully observed everything around him.
Soon, as he rounded a headland strewn with huge rocks and came to a sheltered, very flat lake bay, he stopped.

Suddenly, a vast wetland opened up before us, where a stream flowing from the inland converged into a large lake, forming a large expanse of shallows.

On that mudflat covered with frost, there grew a large patch of withered, yet still tenacious, plants!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Brothers and sisters, you can try this lasso trap at home~)

(Like me, I might use this trap to get [monthly votes])
(End of this chapter)