Swamp Survival: Essential Skills to Navigate, Escape, and Stay Alive
When people plan about outdoor adventures, swamp survival usually isn’t at the top of the list. But sometimes the weather turns, the trail floods, and you’ve got two choices—push forward or turn back.. I found myself in exactly this situation at Wood Buffalo National Park. Heavy rain had turned what should have been a normal […]
Dangerous Wildlife: How to Survive an Unexpected Encounter
I’ve spent many years exploring Canada’s wilderness and come face-to-face with animals that can kill you. Polar bears can be found in the Northwest Territories – those are the scary ones. Grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, mountain lions on Vancouver Island. Out there, handling dangerous wildlife encounters isn’t some optional skill […]
Survival Knots 101: Learning Essential Knots for Wilderness Emergencies
My introduction to rope work began at the fire station. Back then, I viewed knot practice as just another drill requirement. The instructor made us repeat the same eight survival knots until our hands moved automatically. I grumbled about the repetition, but those sessions proved invaluable during my first real emergency call. The training proved […]
Bushcraft Trapping Secrets: How to Catch Wild Food When Survival Gets Real
When the chips are down and your survival depends on finding food in the wild, bushcraft trapping becomes one of the most crucial skills you can master. My own experience with trapping started with a humbling lesson. I once learned to set a rabbit snare, but it caught nothing. That failure taught me that trapping […]
The Hard Truth About Survival Lighters: What Actually Matters
I’ve been in enough situations where fire meant the difference between comfort and misery—sometimes even survival—to know that most advice about survival lighters is complete nonsense. After years of testing gear in real-world conditions, from rain-soaked camping trips to emergency situations, I’ve learned that the most expensive tactical gear often fails when you need it […]
Choosing the Perfect Water Filtration System That Could Save Your Life
When I’m out backpacking in the woods, finding water is usually the least of my worries. The problem is finding water you can safely drink. I’ve hiked with plenty of folks who see a beautiful stream and want to fill their bottles directly from it. Bad idea. That crystal-clear water can hide all sorts of […]
How Boreal Footwear Saved My Feet in the Extreme Cold
Having spent many years in extreme environments, I’ve learned that footwear is absolutely critical to survival. My evolution began with traditional heavy leather hiking boots—veritable monsters weighing nearly two pounds each—before discovering boreal footwear and transitioning to their much lighter modern options with superior insulation. Their specialized Arctic series revolutionized my approach to extreme environments. […]
Top 10 Powerful Fire Starters for Wilderness Survival
The Primal Spark of Survival A Fire-Starting Challenge in the Wild I remember the time I guided a group of German tourists on an overnight canoe trip up the Yukon River in Canada. It had been raining all day, and by the time we reached our campsite, everything was damp. The cold crept in as […]
10 Wild Medicines: Secrets from Nature’s Pharmacy
Life in the wilderness demonstrates that the natural world can provide various resources when one knows where to look. Through documented experiences and historical knowledge, certain wild medicinal plants for survival have emerged as notable natural remedies. These plants have served as valuable resources for generations of survivalists during critical situations in the outdoors. Many […]