Wilderness Survival Training For Fun

By Celia Hall


People need wilderness survival training when they venture out of urban environments and away from electrical appliances. Cockroaches and ants seem to have survived on Earth for much longer than human beings but logic dictates that people need training to survive when removed from their computers, refrigerators and wardrobes for any length of time. Without training they may they may shrivel and die in a wilderness.

A true wilderness area is unaffected by man. It does not have roads, electric power cables running overhead or small pieces of pink tissue paper left on the ground. The drone of airplanes is never heard. It follows that there are very few wilderness areas left on the face of the planet.

There are TV shows that purport to show a latter day Robinson Crusoe in action. Almost always the eager viewer will detect the footsteps of a man Friday. The shadow of a cameraman might intrude upon an image. It might suddenly be explained that one contestant was helicoptered out of an area due to ill health. Protective gear conforms to health and safety regulations.

Strictly speaking a twenty-first century wilderness might best be defined as a place part of the Earth where human beings do not have access to a renewable supply of tools, provisions or man made things. Such a definition would exclude those remote communities who appear on documentaries wearing colorful clothes manufactured in sweatshops and carrying plastic containers.

Survival is not a show put on for entertainment. It is about staying alive whatever the circumstances. If a plastic container comes in useful the true survivor will not be shy to use it. Marooned on a wild island survivors will use whatever comes to hand without compunction in order to stay alive. Far from attempting to survive on natural resources they will signal passing ships and aircraft for help.

Antelope survive in the wild despite the presence of vicious killers who live with them in the bush, intent on killing as they prowl in packs throughout the night. Human beings will even go out of their way to protect the predators hoping to watch them kill. Yet the gentle defenseless antelope survive against the odds. Their large ears, shining eyes and alert postures illustrate the attributes that account for the miracle. They have flight and eternal vigilance.

Instinct is a vital instrument encoded into the genes of wild animals but human beings have something that has enabled them to go beyond both prey and predator to dominate the planet. They have a sign system that allows them to communicate in writing. On the east coast of Africa many ships have been wrecked. Mysteriously, some parties survived and others disappeared. One can only surmise that those who controlled the unpredictable through an effective sign system were the ultimate survivors.

Various groups, from school children to astronauts can benefit from wilderness survival training. Training can be fun and it can bring people face to face with the world from which we have come which is as unpredictable as the future. One may learn about how to get moisture from intestines but the most important part of a course will be about attitudes and general principles. One can never be sure about specific challenges in survival situations but principles always apply.




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