STUFF NEEDED TO SURVIVE
Definitive items to carry...



Lost in the woods? Spending the night? Here's a list of 17 items you might wish you had in your pack, recommended by an experienced SAR ranger. Have this stuff already? If not, get out your wallet for these info-ads:
Click here: Backpacker Magazine - Ultimate Survival Kit

SAVING A LIFE - YOUR OWN!
Using wit and skill to survive...



Here's a demonstration of something that's been around for a long time but not used much anymore. It's called THINKING!!! Did it save this pilot's life...or a wing and a prayer?

At any rate - YIKES!!!

Fasten your seat belt and tune this in: http://www.chilloutzone.de/files/08102703.html
(Note: "X" out the overlaying ads before clicking the Play button)

Click here: On a wing and a prayer .

HUMPHREYS PEAK ARIZONA
3 false summits?

It seemed more like 4. This was the first of 42 hps I've scored that needed a repeat try. The scheduled AZ08 "managed hikes" for our day was in a bad weather scenario. Monsoon stuff. Yo! I opted out at the 11,400 ft. marker since I wanted pics on top, having missed photo ops on Wheeler a week before - not a Cedar Point Amusement Park experience. None of our late-start team (745A) made it. The leader and determined 'Ruth' got partway into the saddle when she, spooked by close-by thunder, decided against being electrocuted far from Seattle.

To become psyched and prepared, I like doing research prior to attempting any iffy goal, but I failed doing my best homework on this one. None of the popular hp guide books made mention of multiple false summits and rock scrambling over a gnarly basalt rockslide, a resultant characteristic of this one-time-volcano state high point, with summit non-trails at times.

The second attempt went much better on a better day. Great views for pictures all the way and on summit, but a tad too much sunny-Sunday traffic, amounting to mostly capless twen-tish hikers (NAU?) in t-shirts, shorts, sneakers, maybe a water bottle. They roared past us coming and going. And dogs, dogs, dogs. What's w/the dogs on these western peaks, anyway? Stepping narrowly aside for hikers/pooches broke our own momentum. The trail was challenging enough.

Distance: aprx 9 mi rt. Total time: 10 1/2 hrs incl 45min on top. Not bad for 2 old guys, me and Tucson Bob climbin' with his new "On Sale" $20 Walmart boots, original-issue Air Force cotton OD pants, WWII canteen/web belt, and curtain rod hiking pole. No wonder others couldn't wait to pass. Both coming and going.

Note: Bob's curtain rod did come in handy for draping our bedsheet summit banner w/felt marker lettering. Coo-wel, right? And, I confess to afterward leaving it rolled up in the log box for other's use. So, sue me! Otherwise, there's no summit marker there but several trail signs below. Huh? What's w/the USFS anyway? They sound like incomp dolts to us, speaking for The Trek Stop staff. Why make enjoying the outdoor experience almost as complicated as brain surgery?

Please put the friggin' engraved, rustic, wooden Humphreys Peak summit marker BACK!!! Jeeeze.... And, after that, get a life - like turning back ill-equipped hikers from doing that mountain at all in uncertain weather.

Links: Google Humphreys Peak AZ for lots of info. And, don't miss the important parts.

WHEELER PEAK, NM
Go short. No, go long....

On our road trip to AZ08, Flagstaff, one of our goals was Wheeler. We researched trail info, read trip reports, and learned there were 2 popular routes: Williams Lake Trail, short (7 rt) but steep w/scree, and Bull-of-the-Woods (16 rt), over twice as long but gradual. When we contacted both HP Club NM liaisons for advice, one told us to "go long"; the other advised "go short." Well...back to square one. Once in the area, Taos and Ski Valley, local hikers seemed to lean more toward "short." So we did.

It was steep and there was scree but both were doable. Threatening clouds appeared about 2/3s the way, not to mention temp drop, poor visibility, wind, and sleet. I wound up solo, struggling with and cursing at the scree. Once in the saddle, I forgot - go left or right? I remembered...right. The ridge was akin to a dragon's back as I made my over it's humps, looking for the hump that would be Wheeler. The wind and sleet were getting serious and, as I was about to settle for the 3rd hump, return, and claim I made it, two hikers in shorts and cotton jerseys appeared out of the cloud. Which way to Wheeler? I asked the lead man. This way, he pointed as he roared by, disappearing into the white curtain which was hiding the 360 view I would never get from up here.

At the summit plaque I asked the rear power hiker to take 3 quick shots of me. He said his hands were too frozen but took the camera and clicked 3 off - the only pics I was to get on top. Then it was time to get down...NOW! We 3 headed out together. The 2 had come up long and now wore ponchos. I needed to find the scree in the saddle, but spied another nicely defined down trail after the 2nd hump. The lead guy told me it looked like a good trail. I took it, knowing better. Soon the sleet was masking this path and I had no idea where I was going except down. Where was the scree and the ascent drainage trail to return on? I slipped once on the sleet and again on wet grass. I had talkie contact w/Diane who was now back at the lake. I reported being lost. She said she was cold and was going to the car. No, I told her, not yet because I'm friggin' lost. As I dropped lower, the sleet let up and visibility improved. I glimpsed the trail and headed for it. The left drainage would have resulted in a bushwhack.

The summit pics came back from processing. Two of the 3 shots were blurred. One worked. (See here). I got a better shot of a marmot. How I hate to hand my camera to a stranger but couldn't take the time setting up my Leki hike pole/monopod in that environ.

Recommendation: Bite the bullet - just go short on Wheeler but choose a better day.

GOING THAT EXTRA FEW FEET
Ultra rad and totally heroic...

Making split decisions that can save your life...or that of another. This is the stuff of Hollywood action films and Spider-Man fanasty. Wesley Autrey, Harlem construction worker, was the right guy to turn up in a wrong window but perform an heroic act without the benefit of dwelling on "Should I or shouldn't I?" for long.

Hopefully, you've caught this remarkable story from one news source or other. The leading question from his action has been, "What would you have done?" Would you, everyday Joe or Joan, have the "right stuff" - the definitive, perhaps latent, capability of coming to grips should your Wesley Autrey moment suddenly rear to stare you down? Hey, ya make your rad move and hope it's the right one. Many of us will never find out if we share Wesley's selflessness and survive the deed to hear the word "hero."

Try this video. Hope it works: http://us.video.aol.com/?pmmsid=1804630 AOL News pic & video.

MAN VS. WILD
Featuring Bear Grylls...

...The Discovery Channel's latest addition to their Survival Zone.

We watch and read all survival-related topics but would probably die anyway in a life/death circumstance, having learned nothing.

Would panic be our most formidable nemesis or just plain dumb, like we didn't pack the RIGHT STUFF? And, if we did, would we know how to glean the max benefit from all that extra pack paraphernalia that only further stressed our knee joints?

Could Bear Grylls be the one to teach us how... or lull us into complacency? Could we survive, toooo? We'll be tuning in. Check your local cable TV schedule and/or Copy/Paste into your browser: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/survival/
survival.html?clik=www_wh_2
Do the jigsaw puzzles (Copy/Paste):
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/
puzzles/puzzles.html?clik=fsmain_feat4

HAWAII SHAKIN' VACATION
Surviving that & all the rest of it....

Sure, we could tell our friends that chunks of Big Island buildings were falling all around barely missing us while the Pacific swirled around our feet. Naahhh...we were having a big buffet breakfast at our hotel in Kauai before departing to the airport and Maui, the last stop on our 4-island trip. On the bus we heard about the October 15th, 707AM, 6.6 quake, it's epicenter about 15 miles from the Sheraton where we stayed 3 days earlier (we later learned it sustained minimal damage). We felt nothing, knew nothing until 2 hours after the rumble. HI Earthquake '06 Survivor t-shirts were already being silk screened.

Unknown was if we could land per schedule in Maui, seis-ing in with 3.2 which caused some power outages there. But, we alit ok - the airport had electricity, there were no cracks in the runway nor reports of a big wave headed for our tour group. But, the 2nd night there, at 230AM, we were awakened by a hotel alarm that sent a few hundred guests outside in their pjs. Another quake? If it was a tsunami, why were so many of these early risers tending toward the beach lemming-style? For the next 20 minutes, much speculation ensued until one of the big hotel's 3 graveyard-shift personnel appeared to announce a false fire alarm. Was it really a drill or just somebody's post-quake jitter?

Our "Road to Hana" event was changed to an in/out rather than the usual circuit drive owing to landslides. On the "passable" section, our very capable HI native van driver was sometimes required to stop for big errant rocks and throw them off the winding, undulating, narrow road before continuing. All the while, it was raining hard. This island route already had a rustic reputation. Afterwards, the driver issued everyone who rode with her a "survival" certificate. I inquired about endorsements for today's trek. The next day, we also got certificates for surviving a ride to the Haleakala crater. (Say, did we make a wrong turn somewhere and somehow wind up in The Amazing Race?).

We took off and landed 10 times, counting our Kauai helicopter ride, and de-shoed 5 times. All our commercial legs seemed bumpier than usual. We came too close to missing our flight out of Denver; our LA seats were given away. We luckily got others, but apart. The airports are generally a bucket of worms: The Security Checks, hurry up and wait, lines, crowds, baggage, eateries w/inflated prices, squirmy/squealy kids + strollers, callers screaming into cell phones, and a red-eye w/o blankets, pillows, or audio for the "free" movie. Jet lag. And, clueless tourists, too many, shuffling about, hoping to survive it all, maybe even get some-where.

Will we return? Naahhh.... T-shirts? Go here:
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/Hawaii/?click=true&CMP=KNC-G-PP-DOM&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=Places+-+Domestic+Basic&ovcrn=sr2DP1go40529go513pi1ai450+Hawaii+t-shirts&ovtac=PPC&SR=sr2DP1go40529go513pi1ai450

"I SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE" RETURNS
The Discovery Channel offers 4 new episodes

This is "Survival Weekend" on the Discovery Channel. Presented are survival-related accounts, how-to survive, and the network is kicking off their 2nd "I Shouldn't Be Alive" package. On ISBA, an Aussie and an environmentalist decide to get a must-see view from Mt. Bowen, the high point of Hinchinbrook Island off the Queensland coast, when things go terribly wrong (Hint: From our previous posts - yes, rocks move unexpectantly) in "Trapped Under a Boulder." This closely parallels Aron Ralston's near-death ordeal when pinned by an errant rock. If you missed this first episode, it'll probably be rerun by April.

Other series titles are 'Ice Cave Survivor,' 'Shipwrecked,' and 'Alaskan Avalanche.' Get info, enter Sweepstakes, share your close-call stories (everybody's got one, aye?):
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/alive/alive.html?dcitc=w99-530-ah-0001

SURVIVING SURVIVOR FROM AN EASYCHAIR
Are you a fan of this avant-garde reality series?

We've watched them all and are fanatical about tuning in Thursday nights even when we're on the road. When checking into a room, a working TV with CBS is our first priority - a king-size free of bed bugs is second. When looking for a topic of conversation with strangers, we like bringing up "Survivor" and found the responses break down into 2 Columns: A firm "No" or an enthusiastic "Yes!" We get mostly Column 1.

Most 'Nos' believe that CBS manipulates the contestants. Yes, 'tis true. CBS might dress 'em up or dictate how they string along the beach for max camera angle or edit the hell out of the interaction and dialogue but, waddaya want? You might learn some valuable survival tips from disoriented, unprepared people.

And, yes, CBS pays very close attention to the T&A element - string bikinis, cleavage, tight pecs, and bulging ceps are of the essence. But what you also get to see is humanity bordering on Neanderthal - people eating people - who, all the gnarly, grueling while are driven by the bottom line: Big Bucks for Outwitting, Outplaying, Outlasting. If you're a Column 1...hey, Lighten Up, Tune In, Get Hooked.

Survivor 12: The current 9th-day contingent in Panama, Exile Island, includes a former astronaut, a yoga instructor, a former Navy jet pilot, and 2 trekster-type gals, one of whom is a Marathon Des Sables completer.

Wanda Shirk, AKA: Wacky Wanda, sent home early in Palau, writes a weekly column offering her deep insight into the 'game' with good people-observations. Reality Shack - Articles or PlatypusBen The #1 Place for TV!.

COULD YOU SURVIVE? TTT TV Tip on New Series -

If you haven't stumbled across it yet, check out "I Shouldn't Be Alive" which premiered on The Discovery Channel on October 28th. True stories about people whose physical endurance and will to live kept them alive under the harshest of circumstances with titles like "Lost in the Snow" and "Escape from the Amazon." Watch Friday, 9PM, (EST) or check your local TV/cable schedule. Just surviving an episode from your recliner can be traumatic.
Discovery Channel :: I Shouldn't Be Alive :: New Series