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Pittsburgh-Area Snakebite Victim Already Back Camping

On August 8, 2013 / General, News / Comments Off

I have been diligently working these last few weeks on an article about first aid treatment for venomous snakebites that I will be submitting to an outdoors magazine in the next few days. In it, my goal is to underscore many of the same points that I already have in several blog posts this last several weeks. One important point, then, is to try to help dispel many myths and misconceptions concerning snakebites, not just when it comes to first aid, but also about how supposedly “deadly” they are. The fact of matter is that while snakebites are certainly a serious medical emergency, not very many people actually die. Consider, for example, what happened this past Sunday on the Yough River Trail in Fayette County, about 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. A woman was gathering firewood when she thought that a bee stung her hand. Instead, she found a copperhead […]

Wilderness Isn’t Always What You Think

On August 3, 2013 / General / Comments Off

If your were to ask someone what is “wilderness,” then they most likely would give you a definition that includes such features as mountains, rivers, and trees located miles and miles from the nearest town. But “wilderness” has a far wider scope that surprises most people. Wilderness is typically defined as one or more hours from definitive medical care — that is, a hospital Emergency Department. While this definition certainly fits remote arctic, desert, and ocean environments, among others, it also applies to more urban settings as well. Wilderness, then, can also apply to a “resource poor” environment. This could be some typical third-world city, like Port-au-Prince, Haiti; a medical emergency on an airplane flying at 30,000 feet; or even an American city that has been overwhelmed by a natural disaster. As a consequence, “wilderness” could even apply to that ED in that same overwhelmed city. If the hospital has […]

Paracord – The Wonder Tool!

On July 30, 2013 / Equipment, General / Comments Off

In my opinion, every survival kit should include at least a 50′ hank of parachute cord. As it is exceedingly strong and exceedingly versatile, parachute cord has, almost quite literally, a 1,001 uses. In terms of wilderness survival it ties together all seven survival priorities. Among other things, it can be used, then, to: form a ridge line for my shelter and tie down the ends; fashion a bow string for a primitive fire; construct a litter to evacuate a patient; and sew a ripped jacket. It can even be used to make a fishing lure! To show you how, I have provided the following video. I thought it a good one so decided to pass it along. Moving on … What is parachute cord? Parachute cord was originally developed during World War II solely for use as the suspension lines in a parachute. However, because the nylon cord is strong, […]

A Real World Lesson in Survival

On July 29, 2013 / General, News / Comments Off

Last week, I relayed the story of Heather Barnes, a college student studying marine biology, who had just survived 16 hours treading water in the blazing sun, all the while being stung by jellyfish, after being swept out to sea off the coast of Honduras. Her story is a good one. Certainly because it ended happily, but also because she offers us many good lessons for the time when we might need to fight for our lives. What are the lessons? It is helpful mix of what to do, but, maybe more importantly, what NOT to do. For such a smart woman, she did several really dumb things that created her problem in the first place. But, then again, we all could have probably made the same mistakes, and I’m not so sure that I could have lasted as long as she did to make it back to shore. Anyway, […]

Knife Review – Fallkniven F1

On July 28, 2013 / Equipment / Comments Off

Anyone who has taken one of my wilderness survival courses, or has spent time with me in the backcountry, knows full well that I have a penchant for equipment that is of Swedish origin. There are probably several reasons, but the overriding one is simply that I love equipment that is well crafted and built to endure. Sweden, then, is lucky enough to be home to many such products. In as much, my primary survival knife is the F1, manufactured by Fallkniven, a company based in — Yes, you guessed it — Sweden. With a total length of just over 8 inches (the same size and length as my folding knife), the F1 certainly doesn’t fit the image of the typical “survival knife,” but, trust me, looks can be deceiving. It is an extremely versatile knife that can be used, not just for slicing, but chopping, prying, and pounding. Which […]

Hydration – The Real Value of Sports Drinks

On July 28, 2013 / Equipment, General / Comments Off

It is again summertime, and if you are like me or many of my wonderful friends, you are spending as much time outdoors enjoying it as fully as possible. But it has been warm, and over the last month or so, even very hot and humid. Not that I am complaining mind you, after all summer should be just that, summer. Still, it helps to remind us of the importance of being properly hydrated. This is something of which we as a nation are certainly well aware thanks to the marketing efforts of large multinational corporations that manufacture electrolyte drinks. The problem, though, is that by and large their messages are misleading and their products not necessarily as helpful as advertised. The real value of taking a wilderness medicine or survival course, isn’t so much learning to deal with a problem as it is to prevent the problem in the first place. […]

Adventure Race Results – Congratulations Becca!

On July 27, 2013 / Adventures, News / Comments Off

Congratulations to a great friend of True North, Becca Mix, who competed today in the Friends of the Riverfront “Pittsburgh Triathlon & Adventure Race,” which started and ended this morning on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. To write that her performance was outstanding would be an understatement. The “Adventure Race” portion, which was comprised of 122 racers, included three stages: first a 2 mile paddle up the Allegheny River and back, followed by a 20K bike ride up and back along the HOV lane of Interstate 279, and ending with a 5K run. It was definitely a challenging race. So how did Becca do? She finished 11th overall at 1:28:22 … “Overall” meaning men AND women! She was 2nd of all the women. Moreover, Becca finished 1st in her age group! True North had been considering recruiting Becca for Team True North, the adventure racing team that it sponsors, but […]

Wilderness First Aid – Snakebite

On July 23, 2013 / General, News / Comments Off

Despite common belief, death caused from the bite of a venomous snake in the United States is exceedingly rare. The Wilderness Medical Society reports that, of the roughly 45,000 snakebites that are reported each year, about 8,000 are confirmed venomous, and of this number only around 10 actually result in death (typically because the victim was very young, very old, or suffered already from an underlying medical condition, like an allergy). In point of fact, more people die each year from bee stings and from taking “selfies” — by literally walking off cliffs or into traffic to get the perfect angle — than they do from snakebites. Still, a venomous snakebite, in particular that of the most common one, a pit viper, is still nothing to belittle, as the injury, even if it means the low probability of death, may still be intensely life altering. In particular, the high potential […]

Survival Lesson – Learning from Other People’s Mistakes

On July 22, 2013 / Equipment, General / Comments Off

In almost anything in life, there are many ways to learn and improve, but probably one of the most effective and lasting ways is through trial and error. There is nothing like the proverbial 2×4 being cracked against your head to keep you from making the same mistake twice. The same is true when it comes to wilderness survival, but the problem is that sometimes that mistake that you make might literally be your last. That’s why it is especially helpful (and far less painful or embarrassing) to learn from someone else’s mistake. So, one great resource that I encourage to check out is the National Park Service Preventive Search and Rescue “Lessons form the Field.” With a very similar approach to how the NTSB studies plane crashes to help make the airline industry more safe, so does the NPS PSAR. Their blog is a collection of actual accidents that have occurred […]

Allegheny River Sojourn 2013

On July 21, 2013 / Adventures, Photos / Comments Off

As I sit here relaxing on a Sunday morning, cradling a hot mug of strong coffee in my hand, I cannot help but fondly reflect on one of the most terrific programs in which I have been involved in a long time. I spent three days, from Thursday of last week through Saturday, paddling along the Allegheny River with six amazing kids from the North Side and seven terrific instructors. The program was the “Allegheny River Sojourn and Program for Urban Youth.” Envisioned and developed by Melissa and David Rohm of Paddle Without Pollution (PWP) the goal of the program was to introduce a group of urban youth to the beauty and wonders of the outdoors. As they paddled their canoes and kayaks, they not only saw scores of Bald Eagles, but they learned about the important role of watersheds, they leaned about plant identification, they saw bear bear tracks and scat […]