Dr. Kamler notes, and I agree, that there are four forces at work in
the struggle for survival. Knowledge—well, you’ve got a good start by read
ing this book. Conditioning—an oftenoverlooked aspect of preparation
for wilderness adventure. Luck—my dad would have called it “dumb” luck;
hopefully you’ve got some! And the single most important force of all: the
will to live. Without it, people have perished beside packs of supplies. With
it, others in similar situations have survived seemingly impossible ordeals.
To this list I would add survival kit. Certain gear can make a huge differ
ence in your struggle to survive.
Snowmobiler Chris Traverse certainly had most of these forces when
he got lost on his way home from a fishing trip in northern Manitoba in
March 2008. To reach safety, he had to endure five days of walking through
waistdeep snow without supplies. I was humbled when Chris credited Sur
vivorman with helping him survive.
Stories like Chris’s are a large part of what led me to write this book
and to make sure that, like my TV show, there is nothing phony about
my work. The field of wilderness survival is cluttered enough with infor
mation. I stick to triedandtrue methods, providing the background and
explaining the skills that I know can help you to survive. The skills are ones
that anyone can easily learn and use, and that should work anywhere, any
time. I also provide essential checklists, which you’ll find at the end of the
book; photocopy these and use them to plan your next adventure. Prepa
ration is everything.
Yet no matter how prepared you may be, you should never lose sight
of the fact that a survival situation is an emergency. It may seem fun on a
survivalskills weekend when you’re fully fed, guided by an instructor, and
surrounded by a group of likeminded students, all smiles and dirty faces.
But in a reallife ordeal, “fun” is not part of the equation.
Survival is not about smelling the pines and feeling the breeze on
your weathered and tanned face. Survival is not fun. It’s not pretty. It’s
never comfortable. It may involve eating gross things, enduring pain and
deprivation, and battling fatigue and loneliness. It may involve danger. It’s
about life or death. If you want to learn how to survive, read on. . . .
V (^) |Survive!