Extreme Wilderness Survival Craze

**corndog-44** · 12-12-2007, 09:36 PM

Some who enjoy extreme wilderness survival repudiate the stereotypical "adrenaline junkie" tag. The practitioners would claim they enjoy developing their physical and/or mental skills, seek mastery of inhospitable environments, look to escape from the mundane rigors of day-to-day existence, or simply love the wilderness environment in which this activity takes place. The claim of these practitioners is that they do these things not to escape life, but to prevent life escaping them—even though accidents in these activity could be fatal. Many participants also don't think of their activities as either extreme or sports at all. To the most passionate purists, the sport label doesn't fit because they aren't competing to win anything. Worse, the extreme label has frequently been blamed for stereotyping participants in these activities as stupid, reckless, and even suicidal.

**Sarge47** · 12-12-2007, 09:56 PM

In his book: "The Complete Book of Outdoor Survival" J. Wayne Fears says it this way:

"Few people go into the backcountry expecting to become lost, stranded, or injured. That it-will-never-happen-to-me attitude gets untold numbers of people into trouble each year. All too often they are found dead near snowbound cars, in desert sands, in mountain passes,near aircraft, and in the woods near their homes. They are struck by lightning, killed by heat, and drowned by flash floods. Sometimes they die simply because they lack the will to live."

I think that nails it!

**FVR** · 12-12-2007, 10:05 PM

Society has turned the "man" the "Warrior" into nothing but office bound, pen pushing, buy your meat at the store, computer, cell phone, blue tooth ??, Ipod, etc. using geeks who have cravings.

It's not pc to kill your own food anymore, anyway the prof. hunters are making it a wall hanging business rather than food. Tech., although no matter how great it is, loses meaning. Yeh, when is the last time you wrote a letter? In handwriting? and put a stamp on it and mailed it?

So these guys who go to the gym everyday to get the workout that use to be had by good hard work, want a challenge. The see Les and Bear on tv, watch it every Friday night no matter what, and think, "hey, I can do that."

So they spend most of their liquid income on all the gadgets, and take to the woods.

What is really funny is that ask those who religiously go tromping through the woods, who have been true "outdoorsman" for many more years than Les or Bear have been on tv, "do you crave survival?"

Most will say no, because to be in survival mode is to be dire straits, to may have had an accident that may result in death.

Those of us who have half a brain, who have spent time in various environments doing various things, who work everyday with our hands and backs, realize that one little screw-up, can mean death.

But Johny Bozo won't listen and will run a higher chance of injury and death.

**Rick** · 12-12-2007, 10:16 PM

FVR - You touched a spot in my heart. My grandfather used to hand hew railroad ties with a broad ax and an adz. Cut the trees himself with an ax, loaded them in the wagon and my father drove the team up to the house where they were hewn. He was tough as nails, lived to be 99 had the best sense of humor of any man I ever knew and chewed tobacco his whole life. How long would most folks last making a living like that?

**Sarge47** · 12-12-2007, 10:22 PM

I think this post could also apply to my "defining survival" thread as you nailed the definition very well.

**FVR** · 12-12-2007, 10:25 PM

No short cuts. Todays society is all about short cuts and we all play the game. I love hard work, the harder the better. My wife thinks I'm nuts, she's worried that I can't last but, I will last.

I'll bet that both your father and grandfather had awsome handshakes. I mean the handshake wear you grab, shake, with a good grip and squeeze. Not a hand breaking squeeze of trying to prove something, just a good handshake with eye contact.

Good handshake is the sign of a hard worker. You can tell if the guy shaking is trying to show his strength (idiot) or just generally strong.

I remember when I was 15, my neighbor an older man, a boat builder. He built boats, duckboats our of cedar, by hand. I remember to this day, when he shook my hand. Automatic respect.

If you ever go to shake a hand, and you miss, STOP! Look the guy in the eyd, grab his hand again and say, "now this is a handshake."

No limp wristed, wimpy arse hand grabbing here.

**Sarge47** · 12-12-2007, 10:32 PM

It's interesting what a handshake says about a person. I don't care for the "limp-wristed" shake, or where the person barely takes your hand. (If he doesn't let go and simply wants to hold it you may have a problem.

) When I was in the insurance buisness and entered the home I'd always shake hands with the people I was meeting. Once or twice I was surprised by a good, solid handshake from a female. Never really expected it I guess. Still, I was impressed like FVR says.

**FVR** · 12-12-2007, 10:36 PM

But remember, polite etiquette, never extend your hand to a woman first. Always let her extend her hand first, then it's okay to take it.

Survival, comes in many forms.

**trax** · 12-13-2007, 03:47 PM

I think it's even worse than "shortcuts". It's something Rick alluded to earlier..."someone else do it for me" seems to be the prevalent attitude these days, and my God if someone should have to take responsibility for their own actions!

**Beo** · 12-13-2007, 03:56 PM

I agree with FVR, although I work in the city I get out into the forests with as little as I can take and spend as much time as possible, that keeps me in shape. Today is all about a me first society, saying what others say you should, and rush around all over the place from point A to point B. Their lives pass by without them even noticing the wonderful wide world we live in. And lets see how long those prof. hunters last if its just for food
It all just makes me sick.