Amazingly, at least in my mind, it has been 22 years since Christopher McCandless slowly starved to death, all alone in an abandoned school bus, in the Alaskan wilderness. Many of you may have read about his story in the Jon Krakauer book, Into the Wild, or saw the movie of the same title. Amazingly, he still remains to this day the subject of active, even fervent, discussions amongst those in the outdoors community. There is just something about McCandless’ story that touches something so visceral in so many. The debate generally falls into two main camps. The first tends to argue that his death was almost inevitable due to his selfish personality and reckless lack of preparedness. The second tends to praise him for his free spirit and trust in the bounty of Nature, and views his death as an unfortunate accident. For what it’s worth, my opinion tends to reflect those of the […]
Read more →After spending forty-eight days on the run after gunning down two Pennsylvania State Troopers, Eric Frein, an apparent “expert survivalist,” was finally arrested by U.S. Marshalls on October 30 at an abandoned airplane hanger in northeastern Pennsylvania. Since then, law enforcement and media alike have been working hard to determine how Frein not only committed the crime, but how he was able to remain on the run for so long. In as much, I continued to be interviewed this week by various journalists from such news organizations as The Morning Call, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and CNN who asked for some insight into Frein’s survival abilities. In fact, on Thursday, I was privileged to be interviewed live by CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin on her show Newsroom. You can watch it for yourself as part of her report, “100+ Items Found at Frein’s Hideout.” You can also read the transcript: BALDWIN: If you do not need a passport to access […]
Read more →Going into it’s eleventh day, the manhunt continues for Eric Frein, the self-styled survivalist who ambushed two Pennsylvania State Troopers, killing one and injuring another, then apparently slipped into the mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania to escape. In addition to the swarm of state and federal law enforcement officers intensely searching for Frein, there is a swarm of media in the vicinity intensely searching for any information that may help the general public better understand, not just the mind of this killer, but for how long he may be able to avoid arrest. As a result, my telephone has been repeatedly ringing almost everyday for a week as journalists from across the state and country ask for my “expert” opinion about the manhunt, in particular, what skills it takes a “survivalist” to successfully hide and evade. I detest the term survivalist. Before I explain, though, let me make two points clear, just as […]
Read more →Bees, yellow jackets, hornets and other insects that bite or sting have been in the back of my mind all Summer. So as the season wanes, I thought that I would finally share with you a few thoughts and pieces of information that you might find helpful when you are out on your next outdoor adventure. This way, you will be better prepared to keep yourself, and others, safe. Now, don’t get me wrong, I haven’t been thinking of them because I am particularly fearful of insects, I’m not. In fact, I am fascinated by bees and love to closely watch them flit from one wildflower in my backyard to another. In turn, considering the huge number of folks who play outside, few are actually stung, and even fewer suffer any life-threatening effects. However, I must admit that even that one isolated sting or bite can suddenly have a huge impact on your […]
Read more →Anyone who regularly reads my blogs knows already that I am not a fan of “reality” television, particularly those focusing on wilderness survival. After all, reality television is not reality. At best, it’s entertainment, plain and simple. At worst, it can get someone, who attempts to replicate what they have “learned” while watching it, hurt, even killed. Sadly, this has already occurred in at least a few instances over the years because viewers sometimes don’t appreciate how reckless the so-called expert is being, or that the scenario presented has in fact been manipulated for effect. Happily, though, there are exceptions. When created and presented in the proper spirit, television programs can be a wonderful supplement to actual hands-on learning, particularly from a qualified instructor. For example, I must admit that I respect Les Stroud of Survivorman, and I especially like watching Animal Planet’s I Shouldn’t be Alive series, which provides a pretty fair account and analysis of […]
Read more →I just spent a very nice morning with a group of wonderfully energetic children from Tender Care Learning Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The goal of the workshop was to provide them an introduction to camping and safety. Aged between 7 and 10 years old, the kids learned about the parts of a tent and how to set it up. Then, they all spent some time crawling in and out … which I think they all thought was the best part of the program! Then we talked about what to do should they every become lost in the woods. First and foremost, they learned about the importance of carrying a whistle and how to properly blow it. They I should them how to use a plastic trash bag as shelter. Hopefully, they will never need to use these skills, but should they ever become separated from there family, they’ll be better prepared.
Read more →The Summer is a particularly wonderful time to head out on to the water in a kayak or canoe, but it brings up a safety issue that confuses many … What do I do if I hear thunder, or, worse, see lighting? To start, get off of the water at the first sound of thunder or lightning. Even if the storm looks to be far away, lightening can still be a real life threat. After all, by the simple nature of your activity, you are most likely going to be the highest point around and as the National Weather Service reports the “vast majority of lightning injuries and deaths” that occur on boats involve small ones “with NO cabin.” Also, while I’ve read studies that indicate that most lightning strikes occur within a 3-5 mile range, I’ve also read others that indicate that it is not unusual for lightning to travel 10-20 miles […]
Read more →In any kind of wilderness medical training course, whether it is geared towards the lay provider or the professional one, I have often found that students are most interested in, and most focused on, learning how to treat dramatic injuries. So topics that include broken extremities, wild animal attacks, tension pneumothorax, dysentery, and cholera, amongst a long list of others, tend to get the most attention and session time. Not that I am inadvertently casting stones … Heck, my favorite lesson lately was about the field-expedient amputation and disarticulation. But the simple fact of the matter is that in a wilderness setting, it is the “boring” injuries and illnesses that are the most common. For this reasons, then, most of my time and effort is spent continuing to learn about and refresh my skills concerning the basics. Since research consistently shows that in the out of doors sprains and strains are […]
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True North is very pleased to announce that it was featured yesterday in a two part story on KDKA News. After spending two days with reporter, David Highfield, and cameraman, Ian Smith, a few weeks ago (about which you can read in a previous blog, “True North prepares for Television“), the story finally aired in a two part series. The first, during the 5:00 hour, showed David tagging along with a group of students during a “Basic Wilderness Survival” course as he learned about survival training. Then, in the second piece which aired at 11:00, David worked to demonstrate some of his new found skills … including starting a fire as it rained! Anyway, you can just watch for yourself by clicking on the following two links: 1. Teaser (that ran throughout the day leading up to broadcasts) 2. Broadcast (David’s article includes the two video links) Thank you, David and Ian, […]
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