American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 159 Natural Seafood Temporary Holding Tank!
On the second day after arriving, Lin Yu'an had already begun to gain a foothold on this frozen land.

Protein comes from mussels along the coast, carbohydrates from broadleaf cattail roots by the lake, and vitamins from rock cranberries, Labrador tea, and spruce needles.

But his challenges have only just begun!
Today's task was completed very well. It's completely dark now, so we can only wait for the low tide tomorrow morning to continue our beachcombing!

On the morning of the third day, I went to check the lasso traps, but I was unlucky today and found nothing; the traps were not triggered.

As the day's low point approached, Lin Yu'an set off again.

This time, he wasn't satisfied with the small success of the first day, so he put on his hiking backpack.

Explore further along the coastline towards a massive, rugged black rock headland that stretches into the sea.

He pointed to the GoPro on his chest and carefully walked on the mudflats after the tide receded, explaining: "Generally speaking, the more complex the terrain and the faster the current, the more diverse and numerous the marine life will be."

"Because flowing water can bring them more food and oxygen."

He quickly confirmed his judgment: not only were there more mussels here than yesterday, but they were also generally larger.

Besides mussels, he made another new discovery.

On the side of a huge reef, in an area well protected by the seawater, he found some cone-shaped shellfish clinging tightly to it.

“Limpey.” He pointed his camera at the little creatures.

"This thing is attached very tightly. You need to use a knife to quickly and forcefully pry it between its shell and the rock."

He took out his Damascus hunting knife, precisely inserted the sharp tip into the tiny gap between the limpet and the rock, and then with a sharp twist of his wrist, a limpet, slightly larger than a coin, fell off with a crisp "snap".

He used the tip of his knife to pick out the orange-yellow, abalone-like muscle inside, rinsed it in seawater to remove the sand, and put it directly into his mouth.

An extremely rich, slightly chewy sweetness, mixed with the saltiness of the sea, instantly filled his mouth.

"A fantastic source of protein, it tastes a lot like raw scallop adductor muscle, and it's a highly effective energy supplement."

In another, deeper crevice of rocks covered with dark green seaweed, he found several large conches.

He broke off a slender but strong willow branch from the shore, sharpened one end, and gently inserted the branch into the crevice, precisely piercing the muscles of the conch's foot that it used to move.

The conch felt pain and its suckers instantly released. With a gentle hook, he pulled out a whole conch!

During the short two-hour window of opportunity, he collected nearly 20 kilograms of large mussels, dozens of limpets, and a small handful of conch.

After collecting a large number of shellfish, how to preserve them for a long time became a new problem.

Lin Yu-an did not choose to cook them all at once; instead, he decided to build a "live seafood holding tank" for himself to hold more mussels.

He had to hurry and store a large number of mussels before the coastline froze over.

Carrying his heavy harvest, he searched carefully along the shore near his shelter and finally found the perfect spot.

A large tidal pool, about three or four square meters in area and with a relatively flat bottom, is naturally enclosed by three huge reefs.

Pointing to the tidal pool, he explained his plan in detail to the camera: "Look here, this pool will be completely submerged by fresh seawater at high tide."

"But at low tide, due to the terrain, the bottom of the pool can still maintain a water level of nearly half a meter. It is a perfect natural temporary holding pool."

He pointed to the wide opening in the pool that faced the sea: "But it has a fatal flaw."

“This gap is too big. At low tide, the current will create a strong current here, enough to wash all the goods I put in back into the sea! So we need to make some modifications to it.”

He put down his backpack and began another project.

He moved some medium-sized stones of various shapes from a higher point on the shore, and like building a wall, he first laid the largest, most stable foundation stone at the gap, embedding it deeply into the gravel.

Then, smaller stones are stacked on top, interlocking and closely spaced.

He laid the stones with utmost care, constantly rearranging their positions to find the optimal interlocking angle, and using smaller stones and pebbles from the beach to fill all the large gaps completely.

Finally, a sturdy, simple stone dam, with only a few small gaps at the bottom for the flow of seawater, was completed, effectively preventing shellfish from escaping.

"This stone dam ensures that the water in the pool will not completely drain away at low tide, and the water level can be maintained at a safe depth."

"At the same time, it can also prevent the inventory we put in from being washed away by the water flow."

After doing all this, he released most of the live mussels and conches he had collected that day into the natural tidal pool that he had modified.

He watched as the shellfish found new attachment points at the bottom of the pool and began to move slowly, a satisfied smile spreading across his face, and an unprecedented sense of peace welling up inside him.

"My seafood bank is officially open for business today!"

“Every day when the tide rises, fresh seawater brings them oxygen and microorganisms; every day when the tide recedes, they remain safely here, waiting for me to use them.” “Now, the worry about food is basically solved.”

"This means that I can free up my most precious energy each day from foraging for food and devote it to the more important task of building shelters."

"But before that, I still want to walk along the coastline again to see if this generous sea has any other surprises in store for me."

Lin Yu-an continued his exploration southward along the coastline, wanting to thoroughly survey all the usable resources on this rocky coast before reaching the more remote spruce forest.

The coastline here is full of primitive and rugged beauty.

The massive, black reefs, sculpted by the waves for countless years, stand like silent giants, guarding this land.

The sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent, and Lin Yu'an's mood became exceptionally lightened because the "food problem" had been solved.

He walked slowly, carefully examining everything near the tidal line.

Just as he rounded a sea-eroded rock, a deep blue color that seemed out of place in its surroundings suddenly caught his eye.

The color stood out starkly against the backdrop of a tangled mass of whitish driftwood washed ashore by the waves, amidst the dark brown seaweed.

"Hmm?" Lin Yu'an's curiosity was piqued.

He strode forward, squatted down, and used his hands to clear away the pile of messy marine debris.

As the driftwood and seaweed were removed, the true blue color was revealed: a thick rope!

Its color has changed from a bright blue to a deep navy blue due to prolonged soaking and sun exposure.

"Oh? Look what we've found." Lin Yu'an's tone revealed a hint of treasure-hunting surprise.

He grabbed one end of the rope and pulled it outward with all his might.

The rope was heavy and half-buried in sand and driftwood. It took him some effort to pull it out intact from the pile of debris.

This is a piece of nylon rope used on boats, about three or four centimeters in diameter, and it looks like the kind used to secure large fishing boats or docks.

It had been drifting in the sea for who knows how long, with some small shells attached to its surface, but when Lin Yu'an brushed away these attachments with his hand, the exposed fibrous body showed no signs of decay.

He gripped both ends of the rope with both hands and tried with all his might to break it, but the rope remained taut and unmoving, demonstrating amazing resilience! This made him even more satisfied with the rope's strength.

Finally, he found a severely worn section and repeatedly cut and severed the fibers with the tip of his knife before finally cutting off the entire rope.

He carefully examined the internal fibers of the cross-section and found that they were still tightly packed and maintained considerable strength.

"This is amazing! It's simply... a gift from the ocean!"

A bright smile appeared on Lin Yu'an's face; he knew all too well the value of this thing!

"This piece of cable that washed ashore is about two meters long. Although it is worn and soaked, it is more precious to me than finding a box of gold!"

He knew that this thick rope was made of countless finer nylon fibers twisted together. By patiently disassembling it, he could obtain a large quantity of tough, durable, and waterproof thin rope.

These thin ropes, whether used to bind the shelter's frame or to create trap triggers, are a million times more reliable than the plant fibers he used! They also minimize the need for tripwires!

This is an industrial product of the civilized world, the rarest and most powerful item in the wilderness!
At noon, the sun reached its highest point, but the sky remained overcast.

Lin Yu'an brought with him his two most important gains of the day: a "seafood holding tank" that was beginning to take shape and a piece of priceless discarded cable.

They returned to the simple temporary shelter, completely satisfied.

Instead of starting a fire to cook, he treated the wet cable like a precious treasure, first rinsing it clean with fresh water.

Then I laid it flat on a dry rock to dry. I plan to disassemble it more carefully tomorrow.

After doing all this, the hunger pangs in his stomach belatedly reminded him that it was already afternoon.

After a busy morning, he decided to treat himself to a hearty lunch with the freshest harvest of the day.

This also allows them to accumulate enough energy for the afternoon's mission: to find a site to build a permanent shelter.

He walked to the small makeshift shelter and skillfully used a magnesium rod and the back of his hunting knife to ignite a small patch of birch bark and broadleaf cattail spikes.

Soon a bright and warm campfire flickered in the stone stove.

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.

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(End of this chapter)