T

he wilderness may be a dangerous place at times, but we
tend to play up the hazard in our minds. One of the most beneficial
characteristics you can have in a survival situation is confidence. If you
believe you can make it through the bad times and you’re not intimidated
by the forces of nature, you will increase your chances of survival.
To see yourself to safety, you must play both offense and defense.
On the offensive end are proactive measures such as signaling, finding
water, making fire, building a shelter, and finding food. The defensive end
includes protecting yourself from the many hazards inherent to the wild.
In other words, it doesn’t matter how much water is available to drink if
you get bitten by a poisonous cape cobra while lapping it up.
The thing to remember about the dangers of the wild (from animals
to creepy crawlies to weather) is that they are not, by their nature, malevolent
forces trying to do you in. To the contrary, they are just there, doing what they
do. Your actions will determine whether these elements affect you negatively.
For example: you are rushing through the boreal forest and not pay-
ing attention to where you’re going, only to run headlong into a hornets’
nest or trip and snap your ankle in a hole. Now you’re in some serious
trouble, which you could have avoided had you simply slowed down and
paid closer attention. The potential for danger was always there, but your
actions determined how it affected you.

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