Last November, Ron Hutter, an experienced hiker and former Boy Scout, set out on a 20 minute hike intended only to pass the time before meeting a friend for lunch. As such, he left his backpack in his vehicle. Not long after starting out, though, he realized that he had somehow missed the trail and was lost. He spent the next four days and three nights fighting to survive. Towards the end of that first day, Hutter took stock of his meager supplies, which included just 10 ounces of water. At this point he remembered, as he explained in an interview after his rescue on Tucson News, a “survival technique.” That is, to stay hydrated, he would have to start drinking his own urine. Is Drinking Urine Really a Survival Technique? One of the most common questions that I am asked during my survival courses and lectures: “Is it okay during a survival situation to drink […]
Read more →Lately, I’ve been thinking about fear, a lot. Initially, a client asked me a few weeks ago during a survival course how to best conquer it during a wilderness emergency, but I’ve continued to reflect on the topic for a mix of reasons, some practical, mostly personal. To be clear, I am not sure that it is possible, or even justified, to recommend to anyone some specific, or “best,” way to deal with fear. After all, it is so situational, dependent on many factors, like personality, background, and events. Besides, it seems to me so presumptuous to offer some catch-all answer. For what it’s worth, from my experience, I don’t think that it’s even possible to conquer fear, rather only to manage it. Even then, it’s still hard, feels messy, and tends to leave one second-guessing the events for a long time afterwards. Personally, I take much from the writings of Persian jurist and […]
Read more →At True North, our instructors teach our clients that when dealing with an emergency, a response that is simple and quick is usually best. That’s because in an emergency, a survivor is almost always handicapped in some way by limited resources, whether it be gear, energy, or time. So a survivor often must make the most of these limited resources by making good decisions as quickly as possible, and taking action as automatically, almost robotically, as possible. One survival skill, then, that should reflect this is tying knots. Why is knowing such a skill so well so important? Because this ability can help you to hit all seven of your survival priorities. So with the right knot, or set of knots, the survivor can more effectively and efficiently build a shelter for the night; create a bow to make a fire by friction; or make a litter to haul an injured […]
Read more →As I sat on the beach last week during my vacation, I managed to relax and have fun. One of the many highlights of my days, then, was listening to the waves crash as I read with great interest my newest book. Of course, being a wilderness survival instructor, I tend to read non-fiction accounts of survival. After all, reading offers a great way to help learn from others about what it it takes to deal with adversity, often when you may most feel like giving up. This book was unique, however, in that it’s main focus is on the only official canine POW of World War II. No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog, and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage and Survival in WWII, written by Robert Weintraub, describes almost incredible accounts of heroism, fortitude, and devotion between dog and human alike. Born in Shanghai, China in 1936, Judy, an English Pointer, was […]
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