Alone In The Forest

 

In 1916, Horace Kephart wrote “The man who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any weather, is the most independent fellow on earth. He can follow his bent, obey the whim of the hour, do what he pleases whenever he pleases, without deference to anybody, or care for any beast of burden, or obedience to the course of any current. He is footloose and free. Where neither horse nor boat can go, he can go, seeing country that no other kind of traveler ever sees. And it is just these otherwise inaccessible places that have the strongest lure for anyone who delights in new discovery, in unspoiled nature, and in the charms of primitive society. The man with the knapsack is never lost. No matter whither he may stray, his food and shelter are right with him, and home is wherever he may choose to stop. There is no anxiety about the morrow, or the day after. Somewhere he will come out - and one place is as good as another. No panic-stricken horse, or wrecked canoe, can leave him naked in the wilderness.”

“A camper should know for himself how to outfit, how to select and make a camp, how to wield an axe and make proper fires, how to cook, wash, mend, how to travel without losing his course, or what to do when he has lost it; how to trail, hunt, shoot, fish, dress game, manage boat or canoe, and how to extemporize such makeshifts as may be needed in wilderness faring. And he should know these things as he does the way to his mouth. Then is he truly a woodsman, sure to do promptly the right thing at the right time, whatever befalls. Such a man has an honest pride in his own resourcefulness, a sense of reserve force, a doughty self-reliance that is good to feel. His is the confidence of the lone sailorman, who whistles as he puts his tiny bark out to sea.”

With a few basic supplies a man should be confident in the wilderness, able to live comfortably if not well; and should by some misfortune he lose all of his gear, he should still be able to persevere without undue discomfort. Many books on wilderness survival focus on primitive skills and on staying alive in the short-term, three to four days, until a search and rescue team finds you. While this is fine for the day-hiker who wanders off the trail or the hunter who loses his way while in pursuit of game; in the remote Canadian wilderness, many days hike from civilization, help is seldom on the way. Yet, when you find that you are truly on your own, there is little need for trepidation and dread. You can survive for many days alone in the forest; if you keep your head you will certainly find your way out in time.