Excellent. A tight, readable resource that may literally keep you alive, and the author does his readers a generous service by writing in a witty style that helps you remember his key ideas.
Recommend reading this book with Fernando "Ferfal" Aguirre's excellent book Surviving the Economic Collapse as well as Gavin de Becker's wonderful book The Gift of Fear.
"Ultimately, this book enables you and those you love to become more self-reliant during times of change--any change."
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The only (minor) criticism I have is the book would benefit from a "for further reading" section. The author quite obviously knows his subject deeply: with any topic he touches on he could easily point readers to additional helpful resources. There's a lot of crap out there in this genre, the author knows it and warns readers about it, but he could go even further and point us to the right things to read.
Finally, a quick thought on the value of reading widely and eclectically. I just got done reading quite a good history of Fox Company in the Korean War and, fascinatingly, many of the ideas discussed in this book showed up as specific problems soldiers faced in that book. The idea here is you can groove certain learnings and thoughts by virtue of lucky coincidences, just by reading a few things at the same time and staying alert to those coincidences. I sometimes wonder if eclectic reading actually produces good luck! It sure seems to.
[Feel free to just skim the bolded parts below.]
Notes:
11 "I am an instructor who is convinced that learning doesn't have to be a drag and that a knowledgeable teacher with a fresh, passionate delivery can even make learning fun!"
12 "Since well-oiled memory patterns are vital when assessing and dealing with high stress situations like those in a true survival scenario, I present material in a very visual nature." Brief comment here on how language is relatively new to humanity and we respond better to images or symbols. "This deep response to symbolism is alive and well in the human psyche and is a very effective means for relaying information quickly and simply."
12 "A true survival scenario will tax you beyond belief on all levels of your humanity, and one of the first things to go down the toilet will be your fine and complex motor skills--cognitive, physical, and otherwise. Overall, you'll be reduced to basic gross-motor-movement activities and simple 'thought pictures.'" [This is a great example of the amazing coincidences that happen when you read widely and eclectically: I just got done with The Last Stand of Fox Company and there were various examples of the men there experiencing hypocognition due to cold weather conditions and hunger, and they had to stay meta-aware of this, repeating instructions, reviewing what they decided, checking in frequently, etc. Otherwise they died.]
13 On arrogance, ignorance and lack of preparation; on the importance of a personal survival kit. "Ultimately, this book enables you and those you love to become more self-reliant during times of change--any change."
Chapter 1: Survival Situations: How Do They Start?
19 On recognizing danger signs early "so corrective action can be taken."
19 "Day hikes are notorious for compromising lives because they lull people into a sense of complacency in regard to properly preparing for a trip."
20 See photo below of the "enemies to your survival" and note in particular the nuances of comfort seeking as well as stubbornness (ego) that are subtle killers:
Chapter 2: Survival vs. Primitive Living
22 The modern survival scenario: your main goals are to regulate core body temperature and get rescued as soon as possible; the average survival scenario lasts for 72 hours or 3 days.
23 The author tells a story about how a friend who was a renowned primitive skills instructor who could start a fire with sticks in twenty seconds, but then burned out an entire book of matches to light a fire; the idea here is that you need to practice with realistic modern circumstances, the circumstances you will actually be in: "In other words, discover the magic of making fire by friction after you perfect using matches." A samurai wouldn't use a knife, he would use a modern weapon.
24 On how food is a key difference between a primitive situation and a modern survival situation because you won't need any food for the latter. Thus there is no point in learning how to trap and catch food.
Chapter 3: Survival Psychology and the Importance of Proper Prior Training
25 "Your psychology creates your physiology."
25 "People who die in survival situations experience psychological death long before their physical bodies check out."
26 "The increased proficiency developed through practice cuts down on the reaction time needed to perform a skill, using a lot less energy."
29: The 11 essentials:
1. A positive attitude
2. Fuel to burn: food
3. Adequate hydration: water
4. Ability to stay warm and dry: clothing
5. Ability to get dry: shelter
6. Ability to get warm: fire
7. Know where you are going: navigation
8. Know the environment: weather
9. Ability to attract help: signaling for rescue
10. Ability to provide help: first-aid kit
11. Ability to obtain physiological and psychological repair: adequate sleep
30-31 Discussion here of sleep and its importance, its impact on our moods and metabolism, etc. Note the insight here of sleep inertia, which is when you wake up feeling worse after a nap than how you felt before, "is easily dealt with by walking around for 5 or 10 minutes after awakening."
32 Good discussion here on how the training has to be repetitious and based on simple gross motor skills that are easy to learn and practice, because of the physiology of how freaked out people react and because of limits to what people under stress/duress can be expected to accomplish.
Chapter 4: Why Fear Sucks
33ff On the various physiological results of stress and fear: dilated pupils, increased breathing and sweating, digestion stops, etc., and how this protects you in the very short-term but is incredibly dangerous in the longer term, deteriorating performance. At a heart rate of 145 or higher complex motor skills suffer, although gross motor skills are relatively unaffected, thus keep your outdoor skills and gear simple in design.
34ff The sympathetic nervous system "total body takeover" (like what would happen if a bear starts attacking you) causing extreme failure of the body's visual, cognitive, and motor control systems. Also the natural balance between your sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system goes out the window: your PNS tends to shut down.
36 Note during a survival situation it is a continuous roller coaster of sympathetic nervous system spikes and parasympathetic paybacks in the form of fatigue, mental and psychological exhaustion, etc.
36-7 Fear impairs your metabolic processes (like regulating core temperature), thus hypothermia can happen much more quickly. Fear impairs our circulation, (which is how your body feeds itself), again, this is terrible for both hot and cold climates. Fear also impairs your judgment, and "Poor judgment calls, without a doubt, are the hallmark of every single outdoor fatality."
39 See photo for physical and psychological symptoms of fear. [One way to think about this chart is to just decide not to have these things, if you feel your heart rate increasing use your mind to slow it down, if you have feelings of restlessness or you're not sleeping well, learn to be less restless, learn to sleep well, etc.]
40 On controlling fear in yourself: train/practice, don't run from fear, stay aware, stay constructively busy, don't let your imagination run wild, adapt to your surroundings, discipline yourself to think positively, use breathing exercises, use humor, etc.
41 On controlling fear in others: set a good example, maintain discipline, exercise positive leadership, stay alert for signs of fear in others and deal with them (also know how the people in your group react to and deal with stress), cultivate teamwork and mutual support early on.
Chapter 5: Dealing with the Survival Scenario: Attitude, Adaptation, and Awareness
43ff Cultivating a positive attitude; on the author's "party on" mindset; discussion of the Donner party and their journey in 1846 on the Oregon Trail; on little Patty Reed who survived, despite opting to be one of the later rescue parties, and then went on to live to age 93. [Note there is a quite watchable documentary on the Donner Party by Ric Burns put out by PBS, see the link here at Amazon.]
47 On cultivating adaptation/adaptability: to use less, to find multiple uses for things that you have, etc.
48 On a coyote-like sense of awareness, paying attention to your surroundings.
Chapter 6: Reducing the Threat of the Survival Situation: The Seven Ps
50 "Proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance." On knowing the nature of the trail, the weather conditions, travel times, fauna issues, etc. Also having an appropriate equipment list and an emergency backup plan and a realistic activity timeline.
51 On being physically fit, mentally and emotionally fit, having the right materials and equipment, thinking ahead about possible dangerous scenarios, also knowing the tendencies and reactions of the other people in your group in times of stress. Also on spiritual preparation. "I have been fortunate enough to witness 'atheists' praying during a compromised wilderness scenario, and it is a profound site indeed."
Chapter 7: What It Takes to Stay Alive: Powerful Personality Patterns for Peak Survival Performance
52 Common personality traits of survivors:
The ability to keep calm and collected
The ability to improvise and adapt
The ability to make decisions
The ability to endure hardships
The ability to figure out the thoughts of others [Interesting!]
The ability to hope for the best and prepare for the worst
The ability to maintain a sense of humor
53 On the acronym "STOPA": stop, think, observe, plan, act; on the idea of stopping your body "to allow greater clarity to surface."
55 Brief one-page section here on breath control and deep breathing, techniques you can use to gather clarity and calmness in a chaotic situation and even control physical pain. Also shallow breathing leads to a waste of the body's resources.
56 Insights here on burning too much time and mental effort on decisions that don't matter that much.
56 Also on how the desire for comfort can cause you to make irrational decisions.
58 A few different levels on thinking about the thoughts of others: you want to think about how people will think of you as a survivor, what will they expect you to do? Put yourself in your rescuers' shoes. And then on paying attention to members of your party: their tendencies, their symptoms (hypothermia, dehydration, etc.).
Chapter 8: The Most Common Way to Push Up Daisies in the Outdoors
60 Exposure, hypothermia/hyperthermia; on how older people sweat less and have a reduced vasoconstriction response and thus are more subject to temperature changes and exposure risk.
63 On how the scalp and neck do not constrict blood flow under cold conditions; thus the head and neck can lose (and gain) heat like crazy. Also when the temperature drops, blood vessels in the skin will alternate between dilation and constriction, this is the body's attempt to limit damage from the cold, in severe cold this process stops and the blood vessels constrict.
66 Useful chart here on signs and symptoms of both hypothermia and hyperthermia; note that a "sign" is a condition you see in someone else, while a "symptom" is a condition you tell someone else. Also know the psychological signs and symptoms including decreased awareness, apathy, loss of fine motor skills, stumbling, lack of awareness, slurred speech (for hypothermia); and disorientation, rapid pulse, shallow breathing, delirium, lack of awareness, nausea or vomiting, cramps, cool, pale skin (for hyperthermia).
67 "Being able to recognize the signs and symptoms of exposure in yourself and others is mandatory, as these are the body's warning signs that things are getting out of whack on a cellular level. The majority of people who die from exposure have ample early warnings that they flat out ignored."
Chapter 9: How Your Body Loses and Gains Heat: The Physics of Freezing Your Fanny or Baking Your Bones
69 Conduction: "anytime you touch something that's less than 92°F (33°C) (your approximate normal skin temperature), you lose heat through conduction. If the object touched is more than 92°F (33°C) your body gains heat."
69 "Substances vary in their thermal conductivity quite radically. Water has twenty-five times the conductivity of air, while muscle possesses nearly twice the tissue conductivity of fat."
70 Convection: wind chill, sitting in front of a fan, etc. Also the body's radiant heat produces a boundary layer of slowly moving molecules against our skin which is equivalent to a constant 3 mile per hour wind [interesting!].
70-1 Some 40% of the heat loss from a naked human body stems from convection, if you have wet clothing or are in a strong wind it goes much higher.
71 On radiation: for example from a fire, from a fellow human being, basically infrared energy from something else; note that 45% of the heat loss from a nude body comes from radiation; Note also that radiation emitted from the sun can warm you directly or indirectly (via other sun-warmed things), also note that the sun's radiation is absorbed to a greater extent by dark-colored clothing and skin.
72ff On evaporation, which the human body does through sweating, causing evaporative cooling.
74 On respiration, where you lose both heat and water vapor through the act of breathing; note that respiration at high altitude and in cold weather can rival sweat as a cooling factor; typically respiration is a minor part of heat loss compared to all the other forms with this one exception.
74 "In summary, walking around in cold temperatures without insulated footwear or lying on non-insulated ground (conduction) while wearing sweaty cotton clothing (evaporation) in the wind (convection) without the ability to make a fire (radiation) can kill you."
75 In cold weather 1. produce heat 2. decrease heat loss 3. do not become exhausted/work at 60% to burn fat rather than glycogen 4. reduce vasoconstriction (avoid tight clothing, avoid drugs that vasoconstrict like nicotine) 5. stay hydrated 6. stay aware
76 In hot weather: 1. reduce heat gain 2. increase heat loss 3. avoid becoming exhausted/60% rule 4. reverse internal and external constriction, 5. stay hydrated 6. stay aware.
76 "Once you are familiar with how your body loses and gains heat, it's easy to understand how an innocent little day hike, through the compounded result of basic physics, can turn into a life-threatening state of affairs."
Chapter 10: Your First Line of Defense
77ff On regulating core body temperature; layered clothing and water are two key things you need.
78 Interesting factoid here: "the critical temperature for retaining manual dexterity" is 54F."
80 Factoids about sweat: 50% of the body's total sweat production is from the face and scalp alone; every drop of sweat that rolls off your body and hits the ground has been wasted because it didn't cool your body through evaporation; thus sweating in a high humidity/high heat environment is even more dangerous.
82 On clothing layers: base layers (used against the skin, should be wicking fabrics); insulation layers (middle layers that can be added or subtracted depending on conditions); environmental layers (protect against outdoor elements, should be lightweight, loose fitting and water resistant, not necessarily waterproof).
83 "...your clothing needs to keep you warm, cool, out of the sun, away from bugs, and to be quick drying, durable, and non-restrictive." See also the idea of "running cool": wearing slightly less clothing than required to limit sweating because of the dangers of sweating in very cold weather; see also "insensible perspiration," the natural loss of moisture through the skin; other benefits of running cool: your clothes remain clean longer, you'll achieve a lower metabolic rate, you'll save precious energy and water.
84ff A basic discussion here of the various types of fabrics for outdoor clothing.
84-5 Cotton: which is hydrophilic, thus it sucks at wicking wetness away from the skin, and thus feels cold once wet, losing 90% of its insulating properties, thus an ideal clothing for heat but not good for cold.
85 Polypropylene: hydrophobic, meaning it is good at wicking wetness away from the skin, it's relatively cheap and easy to care for, smells bad quickly, and melts easily, like if you're near a campfire. "...polypropylene should only be worn when energy loss is not critical."
85 Wool: a poor conductor, it readily absorbs moisture but suspends water vapor within the fiber itself; it doesn't melt, it's inherently flame retardant; unfortunately it's also a bulky fabric so it requires more space in your pack. (Also note in the section here on socks, the author suggests carrying two extra pairs of wool socks kept dry in a freezer bag in your pack).
87 Polyester: good insulator, it is hydrophobic, thus it absorbs a fair amount of water without making you feel cold; much more compact than wool; and it comes in "obnoxious colors perfect for being found."
87 Nylon: repels wind and water; can be made waterproof with coatings (at the expense of breathability); extremely compact and lightweight, a tough compact fabric.
88 Down: has a "legendary" high weight to warmth ratio; unfortunately it is hydrophilic and sucks even more than cotton in cold, wet environments; also nearly impossible to dry in the backcountry.
88 Also see the idea of improvising insulation from the natural world by using leaves, pine needles, plant fibers, dry grass, etc.
88ff Interesting section here about acclimation: the author talks about what he did living in Arizona, dealing with extremes of heat and cold living in a yurt. On the acclimation potential of human body through repeated exposure to hot and cold environments: you sweat more actively, you develop subcutaneous fat deposits in response to cold. Also exercising and hot and cold environments helps with the acclimation process. [I think you can also add certain habits like reduce your dependency on AC and heat, practice exposure to discomfort in this way, etc. It makes you less fragile to the climate on many levels.]
89 [More on this fragility of modernity] "A few generations past, people spent 90 percent of their life outdoors and 10 percent indoors. Today, the exact opposite is true. Most of us 'modern' folks have robbed ourselves of the experience of acclimation for whatever reason. Instead, we put on extra clothing early in the season and take it off late when the season's passed. We saunter from climate-controlled shelters to climate-controlled vehicles to climate-controlled work areas to climate-controlled shopping centers, worshiping the almighty god called 'room temperature.' The body never has a chance to acclimate to temperature variation because it never needs to."
90 "Acclimation is like weight training; you either use it or lose it."
91ff Short-term and long-term heat production methods; short-term: eating more food, particularly carbohydrates and simple sugars, muscular activity and non-shivering thermogenesis. No also diet-induced thermogenesis which you can drive by eating smaller more frequent meals.
92 Useful comment here about metabolic water, which is water created by catabolism of glycogen in the body, and provides 26-30% of a sedentary person's daily water requirement. Also on the idea of exercising at 60% of your VO2 max which burns fat instead of using up glycogen reserves.
93-5 Long term heat production: eating more is the simplest one, but also repeated exposure to cold increases the amount of mitochondria within your cells and increases the amount of fat your body burns while conserving carbohydrates. The author makes some interesting comments here about his process for acclimating to cold weather, something he trains at: "If you wish to experiment with temperature acclimation, please do it in the safety of your own backyard and don't be stupid about it."
95ff Comments here on water and how the water content of a human declines as we age. Also in hot, dry conditions we feel like we're not sweating, so we underestimate our water loss. Interesting also that in a desert situation you can lose up to a gallon of water an hour by sweating depending on the air temperature. This is about 8 pounds worth of water!
97 Another interesting insight here where if you exercise in the heat without fluid intake, it is actually not a good form of acclimatization because it reduces your sensitivity to your sweat rate/core temperature relationship, so you actually increase your risk for heat illness and hyperthermia without realizing it. Further, it causes you to get tired sooner so it affects your training, and then this reduces any physiological adaptation anyway.
97 Note also that many people will mistake thirst for hunger pangs and they will eat, also lack of hydration is a key trigger of daytime fatigue.
98 On dehydration being deadly in both hot and cold weather because it makes your blood sludgier, and it doesn't let you regulate your temperature properly, then you can't lose heat or circulate needed heat.
98 On judgment loss and cognition loss due to dehydration.
99-100 Interesting thoughts the author offers here on building "solar stills" which he teaches in his survival school; in general he argues that you lose much more water in the form of sweat building the still than the still actually provides.
100 Thirst is not an indicator of when or how much to drink: if you're thirsty "you're already a quart to a quart and a half low" on fluids.
102ff Insights on hydrating quickly:
* Drinking very large amount of water, like a quart or two quarts, pushes water past the pyloric sphincter into the small intestine and this causes a more rapid absorption of water in a shorter amount of time.
* Minding the temperature of the water you drink: warm water in cold weather helps with your body temperature, cool water in a hot weather scenario is also beneficial, however, extremely cold water can be hard on your stomach and maybe even make you vomit if you drink a lot of it, and drinking cold water or eating snow can contribute to hypothermia.
* Limit the salts, carbohydrates and sugars in your fluids: this means it is absorbed more easily by the body, liquids with stuff in them require more digestion. Also sugary liquids can become sticky and attract insects so they're not so great for hiking.
* Carbonation: it's interesting here that the author suggests drinking a carbonated liquid because it helps shoot it past the stomach's pyloric sphincter and into the open arms of your water-absorbing large intestine. He suggests adding aspirin free Alka-Seltzer tablets to give water a quick carbonation.
105 A CYA section here on hyponatremia: interesting also that hyponatremia symptoms mimic dehydration symptoms: nausea, cramps, disorientation, confusion, even seizures or coma.
Chapter 11: About Your Rescuers: An Introduction to Your Saving Grace
107ff Discussion here on the mostly volunteer search and rescue people nationwide, typically run by local communities or by county; on the importance of telling people where you went; on the importance of being visible to searchers.
110 On the importance of the first 72 hours, after which the successful search rate plummets to "a depressing 3 percent."
110ff On the downsides of using technology like a personal locator beacon or your cell phone, these are battery operated and fickle devices. They may displace the discipline of carrying other more important gear, "sacrificing preparedness upon the altar of the great god technology."
Chapter 12: Helping Rescuers bring You Back Alive: Leaving Rescuers a 5-W Game Plan from Day Hikes to Epic Backcountry Bonanzas
113ff "Get in the habit of leaving an itinerary regarding your whereabouts with two people you trust, before each and every outing." The author tells heavy story here about a man who went for a day hike on a business trip and fell off of a cliff and never returned, and his wife had to go through grief twice: once when he was missing and never found, and then years later when somebody found his decomposed remains. "A simple note left with hotel lobby might have spared his life or at least eliminated years of unnecessary pain and suffering for his wife and family. Think about it. If it's time for you to meet your maker, that's one thing, but be courteous enough to give the people who love you a break by allowing them to mourn only once."
114 "If you don't tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, no one will know you're missing. As an added slap in the face, if folks eventually do figure out you're missing, they'll have no idea where to search for you."
114ff The author recommends leaving a photocopy of a map with your destination and route of entry, ideally with a topographical map, because search and rescue will be using the same maps probably. "Simply tell two people where you're going and make sure they understand their role should you fail to return as scheduled." Also details about the vehicle you're driving or whatever transportation you are using.
117 Another interesting idea of using aluminum foil placed on soft ground and firmly stepping on it so you have a clear boot or shoe imprint for rescuers to find, leave it on the dashboard of your car.
Chapter 13: What Is a Survival Kit?
119 the author is a fan of creating your own Survival Kit rather than purchasing one. You get to customize it to your own needs, you'll know precisely what's in it, you'll know how to use the components, you can replace things that wear out more easily, you'll be more certain about the quality of the various components in it.
123 Interesting one-paragraph sidebar here on modernity and urban life which has made us far less self-reliant, made us borderline slaves to a system and unable to handle real problems when luxuries get cut off, like during a civil emergency or an extended power outage. These are the same kind of insights that Ferfal shared in his book.
123ff A survival kit should be:
* Relevant to the environment encountered (the author here talks about Arizona and how there's both hot and cold weather, a wide range of climates, etc.,)
* Lightweight and portable (the author's kit weighs around 4 lb)
* Waterproof (especially for matches)
* Durable and dependable
* Complementary to the physical fitness and expertise levels of the user
* Able to meet a wide variety of conditions
* Comprised of multiple-use components (the author cites here a cutting blade and fire, and warns against gadgets, especially cheap ones)
* Comprised of calorie-conserving components (in case your survival situation becomes longer term)
* Panic-proofed: containing components that can be utilized if you are injured
* Comprised of components that can be easily purchased or made (use gear that's widely available, also if you have a good piece of homemade gear you're going to know how to use it well)
* Affordable yet effective
* Field tested
* Simple
See photos below from the book's color plates: I particularly like the Vaseline-saturated cotton ball as a fire starter idea!!
128-9 Calorie conserving concepts: "Energy can be intelligently conserved to last several days or be ignorantly wasted in a few hours depending on your state of mind, body shelter, and activity level." The author advises staying comfortable, slowing down and working at 60% of max output, prioritizing tasks in your mind, avoiding sweating, staying dry, avoiding panic, taking rest breaks and staying hydrated.
Chapter 14: Survival Kit Components
133 See photo below for the author's survival kit components. Some of the notable elements are a condom, which can be used to store a shocking amount of water, a whistle, dental floss (multi-use), ziplock bags (containers, especially lightweight, collapsible containers, are incredibly valuable in the wilderness), s sighting signal mirror, colored surveyor's tape (to leave on trees or branches to avoid getting lost, or to help others locate you--note that you can even write information about your situation on the tape before you hang it up). The entire list weighs four pounds, the italicized items can all fit in a pouch the size of an eyeglass case.
138 Lengthy discussion here on water purifying in the field. On iodine: it kills almost all pathogens except cryptosporidium. Lengthy discussion here on avoiding turbid or cloudy water because the suspended particulates bond with disinfectants like iodine and chlorine, in fact the author argues that chlorine/sodium hypochlorite 5.25% is not a good field water disinfectant. The more turbid the water the more iodine you're going to need, you may need to let the water sit for a while or strain it through a piece of clothing like a bandanna. Also iodine and other halogen disinfectants work more slowly when it's cold, taking up to 2-3 hours or longer; in normal conditions with mostly clear water the author will add 5 or up to 10 drops per quart and then let it sit for 30 minutes.
149 A brightly colored plastic whistle, preferably pea-less, gives you the ability to make tremendous noise without wasting very much energy, much louder than a human voice.
150ff Extended discussion here on matches: on "strike anywhere" matches (two color heads) versus "safety" or "strike on the box" matches (one color, and can only be lit using the striker on the box of matches); the latter are "unacceptable in survival situations" and the former are a greater fire risk. Note that matches degrade over time. Also the author goes through an explanation on how to coat your matches with paraffin wax so they have a longer burn time and create a larger flame, and also it makes the matches themselves much more water repellent.
155ff On your "match safe": you want to have the matches packed well, not too tightly so that you can't get them out without using fine motor skills, but also not loosely so that they rattle around on each other and wear off their heads.
156 The author cites specifically the "Storm Match" made by REI.
157 On the pros and cons of a basic disposable butane lighter: they can break but you can produce flame with one easy movement. Also even after the butane is gone you can still make sparks from the striker wheel. Butane lighters do not work well in extreme cold. Pros and cons of a Zippo brand lighter (these are not child proof, thus you can set the lighter down and it will continue to burn); pros and cons of a Bic lighter (easy to use and dependable but not adjustable); the author carries a no-brand disposable lighter with an adjustable flame option.
161 "I recommend you carry on or around your person three different methods for lighting fire in three different locations." Strike anywhere matches in a waterproof safe, a lighter, and a magnesium block with a striking insert.
161 On magnesium block fire starters, how to use them.
166ff On homemade tinder: using 6-8 cotton balls saturated with petroleum jelly. This is a really creative idea!
168ff A credit card-size plastic magnifying lens, a "fresnel lens"
172ff On knives: "...what is the best knife to carry in the bush? My answer is whatever you're most proficient in using that accomplishes the greatest number of tasks for your bioregion... The more bells and whistles you have protruding from your knife, the more specialized (or useless) it becomes." The author is not a fan of folding knives because the pin that anchors the blade to the handle often fails in the field. He prefers a fixed full-tang blade knife, where the metal runs the entire length of the handle.
175 On batoning a knife, place the knife on material you wish to cut and strike the back of the blade with a baton like a wooden mallet. You'll be able to cut through "amazingly large chunks of material."
177 Interesting insight here on cutting a small tree with a knife: tapping the end into the tree with a wooden baton, and cutting it down can-opener fashion.
177 On carbon steel knives which are a little softer than stainless steel, making sharpening easier and more pleasant but you'll need to sharpen them more frequently. Also carbon steel can be used to strike sparks off of a sharp edge of a stone.
178-80 On a three foot long clear plastic drinking tube, or stretchy surgical tubing, used to get at water even in desert conditions in cracks and crevices of rock formations; see also a collapsible 1-2 gallon water container.
180ff 55 gallon barrel liners or large capacity plastic leaf bags; stored rolled up, these serve as emergency shelter, but they can also serve as water collectors, a ground tarp, shade, or a rain suit.
181 "I lived in a pine forest for two years in a brush shelter." [Note that this is a throwaway comment as the author describes the advantages of a plastic liner compared to thatching materials which had to be constructed at a certain pitch to shed rainwater. I can't help but notice the clear competence difference between this author's advice and the pseudo-advice found in books like Tim Ferriss' terrible, no-good book The 4-Hour Chef.]
185 On carrying 100 feet of 550-pound test parachute cord.
187ff On a signalling mirror: "routinely visible from 30 to 40 miles away" (!) (see photo below). The author recommends glass, far better than acrylic, with a reflective mesh center with a sighting hole. Detailed instructions for how to use one are on page 190.
191ff On first aid kits: on the idea that you can't cover all first aid needs in the wilderness; concentrate on items for cuts, lacerations, soft tissue trauma, antibiotics, etc.
194ff The "caffeine stack": "Hundreds of compromising scenarios in the backcountry stem from physical exhaustion and lack of mental alertness." On "fatigue management tools" like caffeine and ephedrine. "Combining caffeine with ephedrine results in a completely different stimulant effect than taking one or the other separately." Lots of CYA warnings and cautions here. [Note also the update at the end of the book on page 215, as the FDA has since banned all supplements containing ephedrine and so the author suggests two Sudafed plus 1 Vivarin (caffeine) tablet.]
198ff On topographical maps and on learning how to read them: "after a while the map takes on a three-dimensional image of the land you're walking upon." On learning to use a compass and map together; on paying attention when you're in the bush: to terrain features, to where the sun is in relation to the horizon, looking over your shoulder so you'll know how things should look on your way back, etc.
201ff On food and fasting: on knowing what a fasting experience is like just in case you're in a two or three day survival situation; bringing some Snickers bars just for the psychological aspects. Note also carbs are better than proteins or fats in a short-term survival situation, particularly in water-scarce situations, because protein metabolism requires more water. [See Mark Sisson's book Two Meals a Day for a starter work on fasting, see also Arthur De Vany's wonderful book The New Evolution Diet. I can't recommend enough experimenting with intermittent fasting.]
208 "The wilderness is not for you or against you, she just is and it's your job as a survival to adapt to her."