I have always been drawn to the land and solitude in the woods. My home life was chaotic and I escaped to the woods often as a child which started my love of them.

Please forgive my nostalgia....
When I was about 14 years old, I ran away from home for the first time. I walked 15 or more miles off the Navy Base and into some woods that were pretty sparse. I had only a few dollars. I bought a coke, some seltzer water (*gag*- I didn't know the difference back then lol), a box of gummy garfields and a package of KitKat candy bars.
I didn't have any time to set up camp my first night out, so I slept high on the branch of a tree. The next day I built a lean-to with saplings and something I call "fan plants" (they look like a fan, have pointy ends and make a great wind barrier when tied together). I built a small fire pit but didn't use it because I was afraid it would be seen from the road. I tied a rope to my coke and set it in a tiny stream to keep it cool... and toward the end, in desperation, I peeled and ate a small round cactus It reminded me of Kiwi fruit. It was the best 10 days of my life even though I was close-ish to an Oyster Bar, Popeyes Chicken, and some other restaurant that taunted me with smells when the wind was right I went home only because I felt guilty. To buy myself some time, I wrote my mom a letter, telling her not to forget I had to go to the Library that afternoon... I later learned my boyfriend at the time searched those woods thoroughly as did my dad, but my lean-to was so camoflauged they never saw me.

Now-a-days my hubby owns a country home (which is where I live when I have my kids) with over 83 acres of deep, thick woods that are part of a mountain range in West Virginia. I often go exploring, trying to find caves and other hidden treasures. But I want more.
I've been trying to study mushrooms for the last couple years... I'd like to learn how to set animal traps and build a natural smoke "house". More still, I want to learn how to make USABLE pottery as Native Americans had. I looked up Kilns, but the ones I found don't burn hot enough to make the crafts anything but decorative... I also learned the Native Americans didn't use Kilns but I couldn't learn more.
And what about "tubers"- roots from trees and plants. I've eaten one out of curiosity once- it was growing partially above ground and I at first mistook it for a mushroom. It tasted okay, but are they nutritious?

How about it? Any survivalists out there? Any tips, links, books you can recommend?