One final comment that I'm adding as a separate post since I reached the size limit in my post above: for anyone who is looking for additional information concerning backcountry ailments and injuries, I highly recommend the book Deep Survival, by Laurence Gonzales. In addition to drawing from his own experience, the author analyzed countless reports of backcountry injuries in writing the book. One of the biggest takeaways that I got from Deep Survival is the idea that injuries in the backcountry are rarely the result of a single factor, but rather usually the result of multiple factors- and those factors are often seemingly inconsequential when evaluated on an individual basis. If you can learn to recognize and address various factors as they crop up, then you can generally reduce most of the risk of injury.
Deep Survival -- an informative read of when things go wrong in the wilderness and how the survivors make it out alive. It shines upon the personalities and characteristics that tend to have the highest survival rate by analyzing the craziest stories of people that have lived and also sometimes died. Such a good read in fact that it's the only book that could hold my attention for the last 4 years. ^((I don't really like to read))
In the dessert, no hat. Ugh; sigh.
A massive component of survival is psychology - as was well documented in Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why Paperback,by Laurence Gonzales. And what our hat-less survival LARPER is failing to recreate is this critical component, one that even trained 'survival' experts can often not manage when they are finally, and actually, in a dangerous situation and not merely waiting for Mom to pick him up in the morning a few minutes walk from where she dropped him off in the day before.
Moreover, we have no idea how many times he just packed up and went home when it got too hot or he stubbed his toe.
It is very easy to 'survive' in the desert when one's survival is not at risk.
At the end of the day, if he had any shoes on, he'd probably would have been better off. Accidents like this happen because of a cascading series of (usually) small, bad decisions - a theory expanded on in the Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival. He left late, he went alone, he summited when the weather worsened, he lost his way, he lost his shoes. It wasn't just the shoes.
The US Gov't calls it Positive Mental Attitude.
I recommend the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez.
I recommend it to any body in yo outdoor, adventure, or adrenaline pursuits.
Is about why people survive horrible circumstances and is extremely thought provoking. Not exactly what you asked for but based on what you are interested in I thought you might like it.
I agree on all points!
By the way - Deep Survival isn't really about "survival" in the traditional sense. It goes beyond that. He analyzes mindsets, talks about neural pathways and what is going on in people's psyche in moments of crisis. It's absolutely fascinating. It's not about wilderness, it's about how humans survive any situation.
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
I went into it not expecting him to explain exactly why people survive and give me a perfect plan to how to prepare for a disaster, as many people expected from the book, and I was blown away. Just a very interesting read for anyone remotely interested in the human mind during high stress situations.
Deep Survival Know how you react to stressful situations is number one on your survival to do list.
Learn about yourself as you learn how to survive.
https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152 That's an interesting book on survival situations. Some people just freeze when panic sets in.
Some of these rules are also from my experience with SAR:
When hiking (or other outdoor recreation) always have a whistle on you. So many people who get lost in the woods are actually close enough to other people that they could be heard if they had a whistle. Screaming uses a lot more energy and people might not interpret it as cries for help.
People on day outings/day hikes are less likely to be prepared in the event of an unexpected situation (like bad weather or getting lost) because they assume they can just walk out and go home. Bring enough stuff with you that if you had to spend a night somewhere (even though it would suck), you could survive.
Keep basic survival stuff in your car at all times. There's just no reason not to and if you break down, you'll be glad. Have a blanket, firestarter kit, headlamp/flashlight, paracord, painters tarp, and first aid kit.
Assume your cellphone won't work. People are too reliant on cellphones and forgo basic safety steps because they assume they can use the map on their phone, call for help, use the flashlight, use the compass, look something up, etc.
Don't drive to unknown places without at least half a tank.
Be loud and make eye contact, if possible, when someones giving you the creeps. "Why are you following me?" loudly or "What are you doing?" can throw an attacker off. Many of them instinctively don't want to draw attention to themselves.
If someone tries to get you into a car, fight like hell. I'd rather them find my body in a parking lot then never know what happened to me.
Don't drink and swim.
If there's someone you can trust this with, share your phone location with them in an ongoing way (like find my friends) and give their phone number to one of your family members. If they're worried you are missing, they can call that person and have them check out your phones location. (If you don't feel comfortable just giving that family member access to your location all the time)
Recognize behavioral red flags in the people around you and take them seriously. A significant other that seems paranoid and controlling, a coworker who seems fixated on getting back at your company.. etc. If someone freaks you out, listen to your gut.
Don't engage in road rage, public confrontations, etc. You never know if the stranger you're arguing with is as sane as you are. Call 911, back off, or deescalate the situation as best you can if you find yourself in an angry confrontation with a stranger.
When you're drunk, stay with the group. If your drunk friend insists on going off alone, agree on a time that you'll call them and if they don't pick up you'll call the cops for a welfare check.
If you're having a mental health crisis, do not go off alone. So many disappearences happen after a person in a mental health crisis wanders off or leaves alone. When you're alone and dealing with a mental health crisis, you are more likely to harm/kill yourself, to experience an accident, and to become a victim of someone nefarious. (I know that most people in crisis lack the ability to think rationally... definitely no blame here. It's just something to remember if you have the wherewithal to practice)
I really recommend the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. for some interesting survival reading.
Edit: Uh, I'm sorry this is so long. I just started back on my meds for ADHD and sometimes this happens.
Here's a good book to read:
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why | - | - | 4.5/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
I always thought this was a legend but I did hear about it when I was a kid in the early 80's.
If anyone is as interested in these stories as I am there is a great book on the topic : https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152
^The linked tweet was tweeted by @TuurDemeester on Apr 15, 2018 01:46:19 UTC (89 Retweets | 368 Favorites)
All this Twitter joking and memeing may actually play a significant role in helping Bitcoin investors survive periods of heavy Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt. (src: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393326152/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Y4Q0AbEGD2QEH )
^^• Beep boop I'm a bot • Find out more about me at /r/tweettranscriberbot/ •
>Tuur Demeester @TuurDemeester
>All this Twitter joking and memeing may actually play a significant role in helping Bitcoin investors survive periods of heavy Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt. (src: www.amazon.com )
>��️ 89 ❤️ 367 ~ �� 14/4/2018 �� 22:46
Tweet Image: Image
^Original-Tweet ^| ^Source ^| ^Feedback ^| ^There's ^a ^tweet ^ergo ^i ^exist.
Deep Survival: Who lives, who dies, and why talks about the psychological and physical side of mountaineering and occasionally plane crash survivor stories; very casual read.
These are the two that come to mind. Deep survival focuses on frame of mind, and bushcraft focuses on skills. It's a good balance.
Edit: the art of the rifle if this doesn't motivate you to learn about shooting, nothing will.
Deep Survival - awesome book! https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why.
> There is a gnawing at my gut. A constant, persistent pulling that takes immense amounts of energy to hide and ignore. The feeling that what I am doing is wrong vibrates inside of me. Never ending, all encompassing. It is all I can do to put on the fake smile and pretend like everything is fine just to pay my bills and survive.
That gnawing is telling you that you are living a life, to which death would genuinely be preferable. You can either start to listen to your intuition, and adopt a life which yes, might be scary and painful, but is actually worth living; or you can stay where you are, perhaps physically safe and comfortable, but dead inside. A coward's life is ultimately no life at all.
The reality that you must accept is that you are eventually going to die, without question; as am I. The choice that you are, however, permitted to make, is whether or not that death will be experienced with shame, regret, and dishonour...or something else. It's up to you.
you need to read this book: DEEP SURVIVAL It's incredible. read it.
If you want a list of survival books that are good - let me know. I use to teach it, and have a weakness for the stories..
also - if you ever want to get into this realm -- TOM BROWN Jr. Survival School
Have you read Deep Survival?