Across Death Valley with no food and water

Thomas Coyne, the founder of the Survival Training School of California, has set out to cross Death Valley with nothing but the clothing on his back and a minimal list of gear. No food. No water. The details of his planned trek are outlined in this press release.

He started at the Badwater Basin of Death Valley, Calif., on Aug. 31 and intends to end his trip about 200 km away at the Mt. Whitney Portals. Temperatures can rise as high as 48 C in some of the areas he plans to cross.

This isn't his first attempt to survive using just his skills in extremely harsh conditions. According to the release, last year Coyne "hiked 100 miles across the entire Sierra Nevada Mountain Range- bringing no food, water, sleeping bags or tents. He and his sole partner in that hike lived off the land on that journey as well; foraging wild edibles, drinking from streams, and building primitive shelters the entire time."

Updates will be posted on the school's YouTube channel if anyone wants to follow along.

Amazing.

Storms, damage, rebuilding and the Darwin Awards

Ever get stuck with the uneasy feeling that despite our ability to create devices like iPods and build steel buildings and overpasses, we are completely at the mercy of natural events?

CNN Money is reporting that damage from Hurricane Irene could be in the billions. The storm resulted in at least 35 deaths and has left more than 5 million people without power along the eastern coast of the U.S., according to media reports.

Today the CBC is reporting on the storm hitting the east coast of Canada. I felt compelled to add a link to their story because of the image of the father and daughter scampering up the rocks away from the pounding waves. I am not a parent and try not to judge the decisions of people who make and manage to keep alive little people. But seriously? A storm has resulted in the deaths of more than 35 people and as it approaches you decide to take the kid down to get a closer look?

Now for some good news closer to home.

About a week ago a tornado touched down in Goderich, resulting in the death of one man, ripping the roofs off buildings, and uprooting trees in the city square. Several of my family members - who are all okay - live in Goderich. It is where my mother grew up, is an extremely pretty place and it would be a real shame if the damage meant that some of the older buildings had to be torn down. Today the London Free Press is reporting that many of the historic buildings can be restored. Hoping they get the funds and support they need.

Back to the father of that young lady on the rocks. Trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the storm arrived without warning (outside of days of news coverage, stormy skies and every fisherman in the area strapping down every bit of gear on their boats - or taking them out of the water).

Hoping you are dry, safe and inside. If you have some time to surf the Internet, please let me suggest the this website.

What happens if a hurricane hits New York City?

UPDATE: For the first time in history residents in parts of New York City are being ordered to evacuate, according to CNN.

Hurricane Irene is moving closer to the east coast. As parts of New York state are being evacuated,  residents in New York City are being advised to brace for the real possibility they could be in the storm's path.

Not counting the potential for injuries and loss of life if the hurricane - estimated to be 600 miles wide  -  passes close to New York City, the damage could run in the billions, if you use the cost comparison chart published by The New York Times.

The U.S. Government website has a large list of links on  tracking the storm, what to stock inside your home, and preparing your pets. Tips on that last item include making sure you have enough pet food, a place to stash them inside your emergency shelter, or a safe place to leave them if you need to evacuate and can't take them along.

If you're looking for interesting historical information, The Wall Street Journal has posted a story about with some fairly detailed destructions of the damage caused  by hurricanes that hit in and around Long Island in 1985 and 1938.

Last but not least, if you are stocked up with food and water and your pets are secured, you can spend some time taking an interactive Web-based course through emergency management group FEMA.

Hoping everyone has somewhere secure to bunk down, and plenty of food, water and medical supplies.

 

The Brown Recluse Spider

Dear readers, consider this post a bit of a promise.

A recent story about a fantastic weekend spent in and around High Park and building a debris hut mentioned the presence of Brown Recluse spiders and Black Widows in Ontario. The information garnered a few comments, more specifically questioning whether there was evidence the Black Widow or the Brown Recluse made their homes in or had been spotted in our fair province. So far entomologists who have contacted me agree the Black Widow has been spotted, but the Brown Recluse has not.

I will be speaking with my instructor Skeet Sutherland next week to add his opinion to the mix and hope to add information from a few different people.  Hopefully I can also find some photos.

Looking forward to learning more about spiders. In the meantime I would invite any readers to weigh in.

Many thanks in advance.

Emily (Who thinks spiders are amazing but gets the shivers when she thinks of any eight legged creature bigger than a dime) Mathieu.

Added note: Mulling over the future spider post and hoping/ planning to include explanations on where these spiders do make their natural home in North America and how they could have ended up in and around Ontario. Hitchhiking was one suggested option and I am sure there are other personal stories that belong in that mix. I also wanted to add that clearly the province is a large, ecologically diverse place but sometimes in short article information that is important in terms of clarifying people's positions or depth of knowledge gets left out. Hoping to do a better job with the next round of spider information and looking forward to adding that detail and expanding on everyone's positions.

Goderich

I have been following the story of a tornado touching down in Goderich, but it didn't really sink in until I saw the photos.

The Star sent Colin McConnell to capture the damage. His jaw-dropping photos can be seen on the front page of the Star's website.

One man is dead and there were several injuries. My grandmother and two sets of aunts and uncles live in Goderich (everyone is fine). My mother, her sisters and brother and a cluster of my many cousins grew up hanging out in the town square. Two of my cousins pointed out that the destruction of their hometown would be a good fit for the blog.

Wendy and Jen, you are 100 per cent right. Thank you. This storm hit with little to no warning and is a good reminder why it is important to have an escape plan in place and lots of food and water in case the power gets shut down.

Hope everyone is doing as well as they can and the cleanup doesn't take too long.

 

Debris huts, spiders and getting dirty in High Park

Short story I wrote about building a debris hut with a team of 15 people in High Park. Part of an extremely fun three-day workshop with the founder of Sticks and Stones Wilderness School and organized through the P.I.N.E. Project.

Highly recommend taking this course or any of the ones offered through P.I.N.E. I have signed up for a week-long course with Sticks and Stones in September.

I am still terrified of being hurt and alone in a remote location but have to admit that knowing what I could do to keep busy - not to mention stay warm - is a big comfort.

 

 

The soon to be amazing adventures of Aly Ostrowski

Next Monday, the Star is running a story about a three-day course I took with a group called Sticks and Stones Wilderness School, part of the adult programs offered through Toronto's P.I.N.E. Project. 

The story focuses on our lesson on how to build a debris hut or shelter created out of sticks and leaves, but we also created our own bow drill kits and discussed how to find food and water in remote areas.

If you click on this link you can check out an awkward-looking photo of me using a bow-drill kit.

I am hooked and plan to head to a week-long course in early September offered by Sticks and Stones. If you don't have a week, check out what P.I.N.E offers in the way of adult workshops.

That lengthy explanation is really just a set-up for a conversation I just had with a super nice lady named Aly Ostrowski, 26, who was along for the three-day weekend and is preparing to leave for Wilderness Awareness School.

I had contacted her to ask for some photos she took and she rather casually mentioned in an email that she is about to leave for the program mentioned above and suggested I check it out.

I went to the website expecting to read about a week-long course or, at best, a month-long one. Thanks, Ostrowski, for short-circuiting my brain a little bit.

Here is a short description of what she has signed up for on the website.

"At Anake Outdoor School you experience 9 months of in-depth training in a powerful set of nature awareness and wilderness survival skills. You are guided through field studies focused on:

• primitive wilderness survival skills
• wild edible plant preparations
• principles of leadership
• nature-based mentoring skills
• wildlife tracking techniques
• bird language studies "

Amazing.

Ostrowski, who took psychology and peace conflict studies at McMaster University and recently graduated from teachers college, said her education had already brought her in contact with people with knowledge of indigenous skills and the environment.

But it was her work at the P.I.N.E summer camps this year ("best thing that ever happened" to her) that was the tipping point that pushed her in the direction of the course. She jokes that after her summer some of her family members actually became concerned about her growing infatuation with primitive skills.

When she emerges from the program, she hopes to use her expanded knowledge to teach.  

"This is a totally new chapter of my life,” said Ostrowski, when I asked her how she feels about her upcoming adventure.

“I had taken some courses with (Skeet Sutherland from Sticks and Stones and other instructors) and P.I.N.E. really helped, but I still feel like I am in kindergarten with all of this.”

She admits she is excited for the adventure side of the course, but more because she feels “drawn to a safe and intelligent and conscious community.”

“We don’t do this because we fear collapse. We do this because it is a way of life we believe in," she said.

(Dear beloved bosses) I love my job but have to admit the idea of cutting loose from computers, city streets and smog for nine months and going through what will certainly be a totally transformative experience sounds like paradise.

Dear Ostrowski, thanks for the chat, good luck and hope you send stories when you get back. Wild.

Another terrifying bear story

Despite zero black bear sightings at our cottage, I remain preoccupied with stories related to tips to avoid encounters or how to deal with attacks.

Here is a sad but incredibly interesting story from the Daily Mail that details the death of a 17-year-old boy who was mauled by a polar bear on a trip with BSES Expeditions in the Arctic.

The paper is reporting that "on August 5, the starving polar bear attacked a camp of 13 young explorers as they slept on the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway." The group had failed to use a lookout as they slept, despite warnings to do so, according to the story.

The reporting is incredibly detailed in describing what could be failed safety measures at the campsite -- as well as problems with flares and rifles carried by the group -- including a tripwire that was improperly anchored to the ground.

The Times Live reported today that the bear may have suffered from severe tooth pain and that, in addition to starvation, could have contributed to its aggressive behaviour.

Woman survives fall from cliff and days in woods with broken leg

The details of her story are still coming out, but I think Pamela Salant may be one of the toughest or luckiest women alive.

The 28-year-old was hiking in Mount Hood National Forest when she fell off a 50-foot cliff, seriously injuring her back and breaking her leg in two places, CNN is reporting.

During the three days she waited for rescue, she tied off a deep cut on her leg with her own underwear, tried to eat a few insects, meditated to remain calm, and covered herself with moss for warmth, according to the report. Her boyfriend told CNN she was scared but "determined" to survive.

She is recovering in an Oregon hospital and is expected to share more details about her story next week.

Paper bears, snakes, spiders and quality time with my family

(A paper bear head my sister and brother made together and slapped on the window of my sleeping cabin with sound effects. We are all in our 30s.)

I am back from a week at the cottage, and after being exposed to more nature in six days than I have almost all year, I am still in a bit of shock. I promise to get back to skills soon enough but wanted to share some photos and a few stories first.

We didn't see any real-life bears - in my mind that is a good thing as we are hoping they have all moved in-land at this point - but my sister and brother were happy to create a fake bear head and try to scare the life out of me while I tried to take a mid-morning nap.

The head above was slapped onto the screen window of my sleeping cabin while they scratched the window with a branch. To their disappointment I was reading and facing the window at the time.

We also missed out on the regular presence of a metre-long fox snake we have dubbed Cleopatra, though she was nice enough to shed a skin for our dog to try to eat.

To make up for it, there were numerous sightings of a similarly sized water snake we named "Big Carl" in the channel we swim in. We believe Carl lives under the dock. Thankfully you can see his large head poking out of the water as he swims, at least most of the time.

One wee green garter snake on the rocks, dozens of little fish, several sleek brown animals we think are minks, dragonflies on the water, loons, deer flies  and a dive-bombing bird in my sister's cabin and the outdoor experience was complete. At least until we left the island and hit the marina. (CORRECTION: I had described the insects as black flies - they were deer flies - but my mother informed me the cottage is "thank heavens" black fly free)

 

 

Behold a photo of the largest spider I have ever seen outside of a wildlife exhibit.

If you look closely, the back of the spider (not sure if the male or female fufills this role) is covered in what we believe are eggs or about to be hatched babies. Dozens and dozens of babies. 

I can get pretty sick of concrete and cars, but the idea of waking up with this anywhere near my face (in my hair, my shoe or sleeping bag) does make me appreciate the city a bit more.

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of just leaving you with a case of the shivers, I will conclude with a shot of a postcard we have hanging in the main cabin. Once I get the name of the photographer, I plan to add it to the post. I may also have to ship everyone involved in its creation a case of beer.

Makes me happy every time I see it. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and remembers not to feed the bears. Or do anything else to tick them off.