Craig Caudill - Extreme Wilderness Survival: Essential Knowledge to Survive Any Outdoor Situation Short-Term or Long-Term, With or Without Gear and Alone or With Others

FOUNDER AND CHIEF INSTRUCTOR OF NATURE RELIANCE SCHOOL

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TO MY WIFE, WHO HAS SUPPORTED AND ENCOURAGED ME LIKE NO OTHER

Various studies have proven as irrefutable fact that being in the wilderness is healthy, and not only from a purely physical perspective, either. Many people have found incredible growth in mind, body and spirit by wilderness travel. Challenges and rewards await those who endeavor to spend more time hiking, hunting and otherwise enjoying a rural, wooded environment.

I must also note that there are numerous stories of people perishing, being injured or becoming sick in these same types of environments. My goal for you is to spend more time outside and gain the benefits while avoiding the pitfalls that so many ignore and pay dearly for.

I have spent the better part of four decades outdoors. I am a wilderness scientist of sorts, constantly studying the effects of wilderness experiences on my own mind-set, skills, tactics and gear. I have spent several weeks in the wilderness with nothing more than a knife, living off the land. Each year, I teach outdoor pursuits to hundreds of people of varying skill and age levels and I have experienced much that needs to be shared.

In this book, you will have the opportunity to gather insight into what it takes to comfortably make it in the outdoors. I will help you strengthen your mind-set first. It is absolutely critical to your survival. Use this book at home or in the woods as a resource to build your skills and ability to work with others. I will also detail the systems of carry for modern and primitive gear that will make your wilderness stay more comfortable.

You will learn from my experiences, and those of others, as I share survival stories from the real world. I will then break each story down and determine what went right and what went wrong. In this manner, you can keep yourself and those you care for out of danger. I will also discuss the many aspects of wilderness survival, including primitive and modern methodology for personal safety, shelter, water and food.

At my Nature Reliance School, our motto has always been, Where practical meets natural. This book is an extension of that. You will learn what works from old-school primitive means when there is no equipment available alongside more modern methods and gear. My goal is for everyone in the world to be more self-reliant. It brings you power, it brings you comfort and it makes you more prepared.

Another favorite mind-set of my school community is, Come on, join in, lets learn together. I thank you for joining me in that endeavor. I am most honored and humbled you have chosen this book to help you.

Survival and survival training are two different things altogether. One is real life, the other is preparation for real life. During any survival-related event, stress will be the inevitable companion. What you will need to do in survival training and preparation is develop systems of study so that you can control and minimize the stress as much as possible. These systems of study will assist you in thinking clearly and making appropriate decisions while under stress. Consider your mind a filing cabinet and survival skills a folder in that cabinet. When you experience anything new (such as a survival situation), your mind goes through the folders looking for answers on what to do. If your mind finds something that relates to the situation, it will use information in that folder to direct the mind and body to do something. If it doesnt, it finds the closest resemblance to the experience and acts that out. What you want to do with these systems is prepare your mind before you ever experience an event to break it down and apply information from the correct folder. This will help you as you move forward in the book to develop the right system of study first. Develop and strengthen your mind, then move on to the skills, tactics and gear you need to complete this survival training folder. This will enable you to carry around information wherever you may go.

KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID.

ANONYMOUS

Alaska can make or break an outdoorsperson in the same amount of time it takes to brush your teeth. Mount Foraker in Alaska rises 17,400 feet (5,303 m) into the air alongside the other wonderful mountain monuments of the Central Range within Denali National Park. It is there that three climbers were making their attempt at a new route to the peak. Shortly before the summit was made, a very strong storm brought in high winds and blinding snow. This was incredibly problematic, since the ice conditions made it such that proper safety equipment could not be attached to the mountain. The three climbers, simply roped to one another, made their way as best they could. A decision was made to abort the summit attempt. However, an avalanche struck and threw them down the mountain.

When one of the climbers awoke, he discovered that one of his best friends was dead and the other friend was presumed so. Upon further searching, the presumption proved true, and this climber now found himself with a fractured foot, nearly 800 feet (244 m) from where the slide had begun.

He immediately gathered himself, found a small shelter, got into one of his teammates sleeping bags and fell asleep. Upon waking he melted some snow for hydration and cooked some food. All of this took nearly 36 hours to complete. Upon setting out on his descent, the climber discovered many other obstacles and areas nearly impossible to move across or over. However, after six days of incredible mental and physical fortitude, he made his way to safety.