going to be stuck for a few days alone in a cabin. But there’s wood, and I
can melt snow and drink water, so I’ll be all right.
Focus on the tasks at hand and follow your plan, but also stay flexible
enough to revise your plan if it isn’t working, You may need to improvise.
Adaptability and ingenuity are keys to survival.
When it comes to improvising in the wilderness, you need to look at
the world anew. Don’t think of objects in your surroundings in the tradi
tional way but in terms of how they will help you on your journey to safety.
That tree may be a rotting birch, but peel the bark off and you’ve got your
self one terrific roof shingle for a shelter.
On one occasion, my sister Laura and I were paddling a canoe on a
pristine lake in northern Ontario. I prefer paddling close to shore, where
all the action is: beaver houses, animal tracks, birds. We came to this one
particularly dense section of forest. To me, it seemed enchanted, and
I imagined an inspiring time walking through it and breathing in its
smells. My daydream was interrupted by my sister, who mentioned how
intimidating she found the thought of being left alone in such a dark and
imposinglooking forest. The difference between us, of course, was our
knowledge and experience. I already had a fair bit of survival knowledge,
had spent time in such forests, and viewed them as a second home.
After three days of survival instruction, Laura had grown immeasur
ably in her comfort level with such places.
There’s also some benefit to talking out loud, whether to yourself, to
nearby animals, or to the trees and the rocks. Verbalizing your predicament
can help clear your head and put you on the road to survival. Remember
the movie Cast Away? Tom Hanks’s character, Chuck Noland, turned a
simple volleyball into his companion, “Wilson,” with whom he could talk,
share his emotions, and even work out plans.
Here are the mental keys to surviving:
Maintain the will to live.
Confront and manage the situation.
Acquire knowledge.
Adapt and use ingenuity.
Go with the flow of nature.(^44) | Survive!