I’m heading to Utah in a few weeks. For those who’ve talked to me for more than 10 minutes, you know that Utah is my Mecca. So needless to say, I’m super excited. I plan on driving about 2,000 miles around southern Utah over nine days. One of my stops is the amazingly beautiful, Reflection Canyon. If you have not seen pictures of this place, do yourself a favor and Google it now. Here’s the kicker — getting to Reflection Canyon requires driving down a very rough and unpatrolled “road” for about two hours. From there, you have to hike in complete wilderness (no paths, signs or guides of any kind) for 10 miles. Needless to say, there is no cell coverage and no water access of any kind the whole time. Despite me being overly prepared with tools and skill sets, I am concerned about the inability to call […]
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True North is extremely pleased to announce that we have been included as one of the top ten wilderness survival schools featured in the Spring 2016 issue of Survivor’s Edge. As outlined in its article, Masters of Survival, the folks at Survivor’s Edge write, “Here are ten well highly regarded schools that will teach you what you need to know to survive and live off of the land.” We’re not exactly sure if we are comfortable being described, even indirectly, as a “master” since it’s extremely humbling to see our name alongside so many other nationally known and well respected survival schools from all around the United States in their list. Still, if this attention in any way reflects how hard we continue to work to provide you the finest training in wilderness survival, emergency medicine, and land navigation so that you are best prepared to protect yourself, and others, in an emergency anywhere, anytime, then that’s fine […]
Read more →Last Friday, CNN news anchor, Brooke Baldwin, again interviewed True North’s own Erik Kulick on her program Newsroom. This time, she wanted to ask about his thoughts concerning the rescue of Louis Jordan, the sailor who was rescued one day earlier, approximately 200 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, after apparently spending 66 days lost at sea in a sailboat. Given that this admittedly inexperienced sailor showed none of the expected hallmarks of a castaway, like severe sunburn, blisters, profound dehydration, and weight loss — not too mention that both of Jordan’s shoulders appeared remarkably normal considering that he stated to the U.S. Coast Guard that he had broken his shoulder early on in a storm — the media grew skeptical as the story developed. So Brooke spoke to Erik to ask his opinion about Jordan’s account. Just below, then, is a transcript of their talk. And if you like, you can watch […]
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 →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.
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Last Sunday, True North ran a training program for the folks at Venture Outdoors, a non-profit organization based in Pittsburgh whose mission is to make outdoor activities, like hiking, climbing, and paddling, more accessible to people of all ages and experience levels. As such, its staff and volunteer trip leaders need to know, not just how to run a smooth program, but how to deal with the unexpected. So last week’s program was designed to help them better prepare for outdoor medical emergencies. Today, we received a really nice thank you note from them: “Thank you for arranging a fantastic training for VO staff and volunteer leaders. The real-time emergency response with actual EMS made the scenario incredibly realistic. We look forward to setting up more outings with you in the future!“ But the simple truth is that this event wouldn’t have been such a success had it not been for […]
Read more →I spent a really enjoyable evening around a campfire this past Friday evening with roughly 150 Indian Guides and their fathers at YMCA Camp Kon-O-Kwee Spencer. Conveniently located in Frombell, Pennsylvania, about an hours drive north of Pittsburgh, the camp provided a wonderful setting to help kick off their weekend. The theme of their weekend was “Wilderness Survival” so the group had asked me to show them the basics of making a fire and to introduce them to wilderness survival. The YMCA Indian Guides program is designed to foster companionship between a father and his son through such shared activities as campouts, monthly meetings, community outings, and competitions. This particular group hails from the Wexford, Pennsylvania area, and the ages of the children is between 5 and 8 years old. Right on time at 8:30 that evening, a long stream of kids and parents marched single file through the dark […]
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