How To Survive In The Wilderness

In military training, and with most expeditions, the equipment with which you train will be specific to a particular environment-marines operating in the jungles of Belize will not pack a set of cold-weather clothing, for example; and Sir Ranulph Fiennes won't practice putting up his jungle hammock before venturing into the Arctic! Jumpstart Liberty Review However, the standard practice of being equipped and trained for a specific environment can prove to be a major challenge for some expeditions. During my career as a survival instructor, for example, I have been fortunate enough to have worked on two of Sir Richard Branson's global circumnavigation balloon challenges with Per Lindstrand and the late Steve Fossett. For these expeditions, the responsibility for selecting the survival equipment and training the pilots was a unique, if daunting, task. The balloon would be flying at up to 30,000 ft (9,000 m) and would potentially cross every type of environment: temperate, desert, tropical rain forest, jungle, and open ocean. While it would have taken some very strong winds to blow the balloon into the polar regions, we did fly-after a brief and unplanned excursion into China-across the Himalayas.

The more you understand how and why something works, the more prepared you will be to adapt and improvise should it be damaged or lost.

We also had to train for the worst-case scenario, which would be a fire in the balloon capsule. A capsule fire would leave the three pilots no option but to bail out, potentially from a great height, breathing from an oxygen cylinder, at night, and anywhere in the world, whether over land or sea. The chances of them landing in the same vicinity as each other under such circumstances would be slim to non-existent, so each pilot would need not only the necessary equipment to address the priorities of survival in each environment, but also the knowledge to be able to use it confidently and alone. We addressed this challenge by providing each pilot with survival packs devised for specific environments, a single-man liferaft (which provides shelter that's just as good in a desert as it is at sea) and realistic training with the equipment contained in each pack. As the balloon moved from one environment to another, the packs were rotated accordingly, and the pilots re-briefed on their survival priorities for each environment.

As you read this book and plan to put the skills and techniques covered here into practice, you will typically be equipping yourself for just one particular type of environment-but it's important that you fully understand that one environment. Make sure you research not only what the environment has to offer you as a traveller-so that you can better appreciate it-but also what it offers you as a survivor: there is sometimes a very thin line between being in awe of the beauty of an environment and being at its mercy. The more you understand both the appeal and dangers of an environment, the better informed you will be to select the right equipment and understand how best to utilize it should the need arise.

There is a thin line between being in awe of an envy and being at its mercy between environment.

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Remember, no matter how good your survival equipment, or how extensive your knowledge and skills, never underestimate the power of nature. If things aren't going as planned, never hesitate to stop and re-assess your situation and priorities, and never be afraid to turn back and try again later-the challenge will always be there tomorrow. Finally, always remember that the most effective method of dealing with a survival situation is to avoid getting into it in the first place.