Category: Training

Ermahgerd, Mah Wife is Amerzing!

7/25/2016

As writers, or artists, or hell, just as people, being around folks who love and accept who we are and what we do is a vital component. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about higher education that one of the benefits of it was being around a posse of people who are all striving towards to the same goals. Now don't confuse what I'm saying here, I'm NOT saying to surround yourself with "Yes" people, or in other words, people who will tell you what you want to hear. That doesn't help anything and can actually make things worse. I'm saying you want to surround yourself with people who support your goals and will help you reach them.

One of those people in my life, is my wife. From the beginning, she's supported my goals as a writer, as a hunter, and as a person. Just last night, she sent me a pic of a dude holding a smoke bomb, one of those regular small ones from the fireworks store. She said, hey, before you go out hunting next time, take some of these with you, you could use them as a survival signal.

The comment by itself is sweet and caring, but there is a deeper message going on. One, other than the outside message of, "hey, I love you and I would like you to have every possible tool in your toolkit to make it back home alive," she's supporting my fascination of survival and survival ideology. She supported me going for an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction when the smarter idea might have been to pursue a different degree for the "real world." (I'm being a little sarcastic here with my choice of words, I totally believe that my higher education has already paid dividends for my skill and my writing career and I think you should pursue whatever education and training you want.) She gives me the time I need to complete my writing projects, and supports my other endeavors. She does so realistically and keeps me grounded in reality, but gives me the time and motivation to pursue things. In short, she's awesome. Find awesome people and make them a part of your life. You won't regret it. Now assemble your team of awesome.

Coming soon:
- Updates on my recent foray into the Wilderness Athlete 28 Day Challenge
- Scouting for elk 2016
- Barnes & Noble book signings

Getting Strong Now!

6/27/2016

For most of my adult life, I’ve been overweight and out of shape. Every now and then I get a bug up my ass to do something about, and I do. It doesn’t last, want to know why? It’s because I’m generally getting in shape for a specific reason due to my chosen profession. In the Air Force, we are expected to maintain a certain standard and have to pass an annual physical fitness test which involves running for 1.5 miles, sit-ups, push-ups, and a measurement of your abdominal circumference. All of these items are tallied up and you have meet a certain minimum. My test happens to take place in October, and almost every year, I decide to take a break. Each year, I tell myself that I’ll only take a week or two off, but that week or two ends up stretching until February or March. During that off time, I typically destroy all the progress I made throughout the previous year and I have to start over from scratch.

Well, fuck that shit.

This year is going to be different. (I know, you’re probably rolling your eyes and saying, yeah right, and I don’t blame you.) This year I’m going to keep up the workout routine and there will be no time off. This year, I’m going to focus on strength training and general fitness throughout the winter months so that when February rolls around, I’m not a big ball of dough. Why? Because I can’t afford to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m getting older and it’s getting harder and harder to bounce back. I know I’m not that old, but a couple of years ago my metabolism decided to give me the finger and walk off.

This is all fine and dandy, but it brings me to my next problem. I like to eat. I like tasty, tasty foods that taste good in my tummy. It’s a mental thing for sure, and I can do OKAY at eating healthy MOST of the time; however when I fall off the wagon, I fall into a big old pile of cheese, meat, and deep fried goodness. Because of all shenanery, my weight loss has been slow going. Over the past two months, I’ve lost about eight pounds (not too bad, but not where I need to be). So what amI going to do about it? I’m going to invest in a jumpstart program of protein powder and supplements and I’ve narrowed my choices down to two different things.

Now you might be rolling your eyes again and saying, what the hell Cody? Just put in the work and make it happen. Good talk, but I think there is something to be said about forking over some hard-earned cash for some product, and I know that I stick to the product program that I’ll lose weight. I’m not looking for a full-time thing, I’m looking for a springboard. The two programs are the Wilderness Athlete 28 Day Challenge, and the Mountain Ops Get in Elk Shape.

Wilderness Athlete says, “The 28 Day Challenge is about providing people with solid nutrition,” said Mark Paulsen, the Founder of Wilderness Athlete and the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the University of New Mexico. “Exercising is extremely important when you want to lose weight but eating the proper diet is crucial for Muscle Management. Our 28 Day Challenge promotes a healthy diet by providing supplements and meal replacement products that offer sound nutrition. Combine these products with exercise and people can quickly lose weight.” It’s 200 dollars.

Mountain Ops says, “Any weight you put on in the off-season will work against you once you step foot into your hunting unit. Most hunters want to lose weight, and some want to put on muscle or do both. The Elk Shape Combo is designed to aid in your nutritional needs.” It’s 215 dollars.

They are both pretty similar, so I’m wondering if any of you out there in Googlewebs land have tried any of these products or have any experience with them? Either one I choose, I’ll be doing a review and a progress report of how things are going. Mainly I’m looking to jumpstart the weight loss and get into a healthier style of living. I’ve been working out since January this year, but it’s been slow going. I need to get in shape and stay in shape not only for my job but for my own health and to be an example for my two girls. Train hard now so you don't suck when it matters. That's what I need to do.

Active Shooters: Make a Plan

6/20/2016

I generally try and steer away from political hot topics, mainly because I don’t want to get bogged down in the muck and the mire of the moronic comments and such (because let’s face it, the Internet is chock full of stupidity which seems to quadruple when something goes viral). However, in the wake of the recent tragedy of the Orlando nightclub shooting, I think this post may be appropriate. I’m not writing this to point fingers, do he/she said this, or why didn’t they do such and such, this is merely education.

Mass shootings, murders, and general assholery is a major problem these days. I’m not going to get into the reasons why (because as I mentioned above, I don’t want to go down that road of ridiculousness). I want to give you some tools that you can use to help survive certain situations should they arise around you. In the Air Force, we’re trained to respond to active shooters with Run, Hide, Fight. I’ve seen a similar mantra tossed around in different circles, but they all seem to use the same concept.

First, if an active shooter is around you, run. Plain and simple Try and get as far away from the douchebag as fast as you can. Help others around you, but get away. Don’t get cornered in an office or another part of the building if you can help it. This isn’t the time to be a hero; it’s the time to save your skin and others if possible. Run. Run fast. Your life depends on it.

Second, if you can’t run, then hide. Barricade yourself in a room, lock the doors and be as quiet as possible. Do everything you can to separate yourself from the shooter or shooters. Be aware that bullets go through drywall and doors easily, so know the difference between cover vs. concealment. A shooter can spray a room from the outside and it can be deadly. Also, silence any electronic devices you may have on you. Nothing will ruin a hiding spot quicker than a phone ringing or vibrating. It’s a very distinct sound and can draw the shooter’s attention.

Finally, if all else fails, and there are no other options, you must fight. Find anything you can to use as a weapon and be as violent as possible when you attack. If you’re in the final part of this Run, Hide, Fight process, there are no other options, so you must give it your all. A pen can make an effective weapon or a fire extinguisher. Use numbers in your favor and attack en masse. You might be saying, well if I go to attack and expose myself, I might get hurt or killed. True. You might get killed. But if you do nothing, you might get killed anyway. As I said, fight is the last option. Below I’ve linked an interesting article on using a tactical pen. I've also linked a video that explains these steps in a little more depth.

Everyone is different and reacts differently to high-stress, life-threatening situations. You never truly know how you will react until you find yourself in said situation. Reading a blog post on the subject isn’t going to be the end-all-be-all of surviving a bad situation. However, you can perhaps increase your odds if you think about it, make a mental game-plan, and train. Train for self-defense. Train for disarming attackers. I’m not a fan of using violence to solve problems; however, I do truly believe that sometimes violence is the only answer.

http://survival-mastery.com/skills/defence/how-to-use-a-tactical-pen.html

Quick Tip Survival: Dandelions & Mallow

5/16/2016

If you find yourself out in the wilds, or even just want to eat organic, healthy foods that Mother Nature provides, take a close look at the dandelion. The dandelion is abundant in many parts of the world and the entire plant can be eaten! The leaves can be added to salads (although I would recommend getting them early, otherwise they can be bitter); the roots can be chopped up, ground up, or even eaten raw (I’ve heard that the roots can be ground up and used as a coffee substitute); the flowers themselves can be used in tea, eaten, or even made into wine. Some of the health benefits of dandelions are that they are high in Vitamin A, C, and K. They are also heavy with antioxidants and can help draw toxins from the body.

Next up is the mallow plant. It’s another common plant that gets a bad rap as a weed. It can eaten and used as an anti-inflammatory. This plant is rich with Vitamins A, C and high in calcium, magnesium and potassium. Careful though, this plant has been used as a laxative, so don’t go eating a bunch (unless that’s your goal). All parts of the plant can be eaten, and if you know what you are doing (look up directions) you can make a true marshmallow.
I’ve personally used both of these plants in green smoothies and they work great! I’ve also utilized dandelion root to treat infections, and it seemed to do the trick. I chewed the roots up to release all the wonderful goodness, and then placed them on the affected area for a couple of hours. When I removed the bandage, the area didn’t look nearly as angry as before. Could have been a coincidence, or it could have been the dandelion root helping draw some of those toxins out. Either way, both dandelion and mallow can be found in a lot of different places throughout the year. One word of caution, be careful where you harvest these plants. Make sure it is in an area void of pollution and chemicals. If you are unsure whether or not the area is treated with chemicals, just pass on by.

Quick Tip Survival: Transpiration Bag

4/18/2016

If you find yourself out in the wilds trying to survive and you just can't seem to find any water, worry not! You can use a transpiration bag with little effort on your part. Now I know you packed clear plastic bags in your in your survival/bug-out kit because I mentioned their use in an earlier blog post. Grab one of those divine chalices and find a plant (the larger the better, because they will have the most water. Do NOT use this method on poisonous plants...just don't...I think it will cause you to lose your mind, shit your pants, and possibly die, only to be reborn as some ungodly creature that scours the night preying on unsuspecting humans. But in all seriousness, don't use this on toxic or poisonous plants. If you're unsure, then move along until you are sure).

Once you've selected the plant that gets to endow it's life-giving liquid unto you, then wrap that bag around the greens, at least 3/4 of the way into the bag. Tie the top end off with some cord real tight so it won't fall. You'll also want to use a small rock to keep the corner low so the moisture will collect. Then you wait and let the sun do it's work. The plant inside will go through its magical process and within a few hours, SHAZAM! you've got water. The amount of water you collect will depend on a lot of factors like sun, cloud cover, type and size of plant, etc...but it should produce enough to keep you alive.

To collect the water you can open up the corner with the rock and drain it into a container. You might want to filter it because sometimes there can be debris or "other" things in there (free protein if you aren't opposed to eating creepy crawlies). You can also place a tube in the bag and use it as a straw if that's your thing. Anyway, that's a quick tip for survival. Make sure you put some clear plastic bags in your survival gear and you can get some water.

Survival Training

6/2/2015

If you follow my blog or have read any of my earlier posts on survival training, you’ve probably heard me talk about training. Training in the skills you need to know is essential, because when the shit hits the fan is definitely not the time to try and become the master of wilderness survival. Get out there and practice in a safe environment when your life isn’t on the line. Get some professional hands-on training from skilled professionals.

I decided to put my money where my mouth is and get some professional training. I was trained by the military to survive in the wilderness, but that was over 14 years ago. I most certainly have lost some skills, and I know I’m weak on primitive fire-making and medicinal herbs. Therefore, when I saw that holistic survival professional, Luke McLaughlin was putting on a weekend class in Utah, I jumped on the chance to attend.

Luke McLaughlin was on the television show, Naked and Afraid where he had to survive 21 days in the wild with nothing but his skills, a partner, and one survival item. His episode landed him in the country of Namibia located in southwest Africa. His emphasis isn’t just on survival, but re-wilding and the survival of the earth. You can learn more about him here at his website: http://www.holisticsurvivalschool.com

The training was supposed to take place over a weekend in the West Desert of Utah. I knew it wasn’t going to be an arduous ordeal where we’d be surviving on nothing; rather it was an educational opportunity to meet some new people, get back in touch with nature, and learn some primitive survival skills. Luke would be touching on two of the items I really wanted to learn more about (fire-making skills and herbal/edible plants), so I was stoked.

To set the scene, it had been raining off and on for the last two weeks leading up to the training. The weather forecast called for a medium chance of showers, and cooler temperatures and they weren’t joking. We got out to the site and started to set-up, and it rained off and on the entire day. The temperature dropped to the 40’s and we found ourselves sitting by the fire and socializing for the majority of the first night.

Snow dropped on us and the temperature dropped even further during the night, making for a restless sleep. I had packed for chill and rain, but obviously not for the kind of cold snap that occurred. The next day, it was sprinkling off and on, and we started talking about plants. Instead of just diving right into different plants that could be found in and around the mountainous areas of Utah, Luke broke it down into what kind of plants could be used medicinally based upon the type of issue occurring with your skin/body, and the taste/smell of the plant. It was almost a basic usage that would work the majority of the time and was great because you might not know what kind of plant it is, but based on some characteristics, you can surmise what it can do to help you. I would suggest attending his training for that knowledge alone.

It was shortly after that block that the rain started to pour down on us. We broke for lunch to see what would happen, but it was apparent that it didn’t have any intention of stopping any time soon. We had a couple folks in the group who were scheduled to fly out the next morning, and we didn’t want to get stuck up in the mountains and have them miss their flight. The road to get up to the site was narrow and muddy, and the rain was just making it worse. We finally decided to call it quits and reschedule for another time. Oddly enough, we made it down the mountain fine, but the car I was in got stuck in the mud on a dirt road near a field. We got out, but it took a lot of persistence and mud baths.

The reschedule day was very nice with it being sunny and cool enough to be comfortable. This is when we went hard into primitive fire-making skills. Luke taught us some different wood combinations that work well together, and some to avoid. He broke down the steps and theory behind making a “nest” to put the coal into, as well as how to properly hand drill and bow drill. First things first, as Luke said at the class, DO NOT RELY ON PRIMITIVE METHODS to start a fire. They should be used as a last resort. That’s why it’s imperative that you have a couple different methods of making a fire with you. Everything has to be just right when using a primitive method. The materials and weather were ideal, and it took me 1.5 hours to get a fire going with a bow drill. Granted, it was my second attempt in my lifetime to try and do this (the first attempt was an utter failure) and there were a lot of hiccups and training moments. However, it was very elating to get that fire going finally. From now on, whenever I go camping, I’ll be practicing to try and get better.

We finished up with more herbals and reinforced some of the knowledge that was taught on the first day. All in all, it was great training and I would recommend taking a class from Luke if you get a chance. He has a laid back teaching method, but is still very thorough. It’s obvious he knows what he’s talking about because he’s had to rely on his skill in real-life situations. Plus, he’s just an all-around cool guy with some fun stories. If you see him, asking what the bonus C stands for in his C’s of survival, probably one of my favorite and something I’ll take with me camping/hunting from now on.

The Reality of Fighting for Writers

2/16/2015

If Hollywood has taught us anything about fighting, it's that you can fight for hours, take tons of damage, or do amazing acrobatic feats with gravity defying flying kicks. While admittedly, that makes for great visual action, it is a fairly unrealistic portrayal of how fighting actually works (unless you're some sort of superhuman). I want to break it down for authors who strive to create realistic fight scenes and avoid the Hollywood cliches.

You might be asking yourself, well, C.R. Langille, who are you and what makes you an expert? Great question. While I may not be an "expert" perse, I've practiced different fighting arts for over 17 years. I was a Wing Chun Kung Fu practitioner for over 9 years, I've been grappling for 2 1/2 years, I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and fought in what they called heavy combat for a over 6 years. In other words, I'm familiar with what it feels like to don a full suit of armor and fight folks at combat speed and strength, both in single combat and in group settings. Does it make me an expert, no, but I know my way around a fight and I know what it takes to fight.

The first thing I want to touch on, is the gas tank. Not for your car, but for your body. It takes an incredible amount of energy to fight, both physically and mentally. There are factors to consider that you can control, and others that you can't. For example, breathing is probably one of the most important factors of a fight. If you don't continue to breathe, you run out of energy quicker. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. I have seen amazing athletes gas out because of breathing when they fight, where as I've seen somewhat out of shape folks continue forward. Why is this? It's because the art of breathing while fighting takes practice. It's something that early on you have to make a conscious effort to do until it is just second nature. The key, is relaxation. Sounds counter-intuitive, but the more relaxed your fighter is, the longer they will maintain gas in the tank. Don't believe me? Shadow box for one minute straight. Really focus on breathing, staying loose. You know you're there if you can keep up a conversation. Then, give yourself a bit to cool down and try it again, but go ahead and tense up when you throw your strikes. If you did it right, then you'll see the difference. You might ask, but if I'm relaxed, my strikes won't hit with power. Wrong again. It's hard to explain how or why this works, but if you watch highly skilled fighters compete, it almost looks effortless. You can hit faster, harder, and save more energy when you relax. This doesn't mean that you can go on forever, but you will be able to fight on longer.

This is after a couple of rounds of grappling. I get tired just looking at the picture sometimes.

So what does that all mean for writing about fight scenes? If you want to add some realism, keep all of the above in mind. Is your protagonist someone who has never fought before? If so, keep the above in mind. How long are they going to be able to fight before they can't breathe anymore? Granted, most fights don't last very long, but your fighter might not last more than a minute if they are tense and hold their breath. Want to know what it feels like? Go for a run, and try not to breathe while you're at it. When you run out of gas, your mind starts to cry out for you to stop, and the simplest of actions become labor intensive. Your mind will trick you into giving up sooner and you start to listen. If they are practiced, then show that in your writing. In the first major fight, have them think about staying relaxed, or how they kept their breathing in check.

Breathing and relaxation are all things that you can control, albeit with practice. There are factors that are going to be out of your control during a fight, things like adrenaline dump. Have you ever watched a professional fight, and near the end of the first round, or in the second round one of the fighters just seems to lose the energy to do anything? More than likely this is adrenaline dump. When the body knows something crazy is about to happen, it dumps a bunch of adrenaline through your system, basically your body dumps a ton of adrenaline into your system in a response to the upcoming battle. However, if the battle lasts more than a minute or so, then that adrenaline can sometimes lose its desired effect and leave you exhausted. I’m sure there is a better, medical explanation for this, but that’s the C.R. Langille diagnosis in a nutshell.

So what does this mean for your writing? This factors into larger battles more than anything. Your protagonist might be ramping up mentally before the battle, so much so that the body will dump adrenaline too soon. This means that soon after the battle begins, your main character will have an adrenaline dump and lose energy.

Another point, is fighting in armor. Armor restricts your mobility while offering protection. Armor is heavy. Even lighter armor is going to wear on the body after awhile, especially if your character is wearing it all day long. It takes an amount of physical conditioning to wear that throughout the day and not have negative side effects later on. If your character is wearing a helmet, it might restrict visibility or dampen hearing ability. Finally, it's hot. So there is a hydration issue, as well as the threat of heat stroke depending on the locale. Hell, depending on the locale there is the issue of freezing to death. Think about it, you get into a heated battle in the snowy wastes and win the day; however, you worked up a big sweat. Next thing you know, your cold and shivering, and then you're sleeping the long sleep.

Armor from my SCA days.

So what does this mean for your writing? Don't have your protagonist in full plate armor doing acrobatics. They also shouldn't be able to have full peripheral vision if they are wearing a full faced helmet. Take into consideration the stresses of wearing armor all day, or what the environment is doing to your character in that armor. I think sometimes we forget the details and just go with it; however, if you add that level of realism into your writing, it will get the reader thinking about it.

Modern armor: just as uncomfortable.

Finally, let's talk about getting hurt. When you fight, you get hurt. You are going to feel it the next day. Muscles get strained, bruises may appear, or there could be things internally that start happening. The body can take a lot of punishment before it shuts down, but that doesn't mean we don't feel that punishment. You may or may not feel things during the fight. I don't know how many times I've grappled, sparred, or whatnot and woke up the next day feeling like a dump truck hit me. It gets worse with age, but it happens at every level. My jaw was sore whenever I ate food or talked for three days after taking a couple hits to the face during a sparring session: the other guy was even wearing boxing gloves. I've had my elbows click and be sore for months after getting armbarred during grappling. While fighting in armor for the SCA, I took a shot to the leg with a "sword" that left a bruise that didn't go away for two weeks, and that was with the armor on.

Bottom line, if your characters end up fighting, just take a moment later to talk about how their body held up. Did they get injured? Well then don't forget about that later on when you have them trying to spring up a mountainside. Keep it fun, keep the action going and don't bog the narrative down with details, but keep it real as well. Your readers will appreciate it. Now go write.

The Waves of Hunting

10/14/2014

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I wanted to give an update on my recent hunting adventures. I didn’t draw any tags for deer this year, so I focused all my efforts on elk. I had a cow elk tag for the muzzleloader season, and then an over-the-counter bull tag. The cow tag I drew was for the same region I hunted and killed the bull elk last year. Due to the recent addition to the family, and the fact that I already knew the area, I didn’t go scouting this year. I figured the cow hunt would act as scouting for the bull hunt which would occur two weeks later.

My buddy and I arrived to the camp site early enough this year to get in an evening hunt, so we loaded up and headed straight back to the same spot I harvested the bull last year. We set up, hunkered down, and waited. From each direction we could hear bull elk bugling challenge calls. We even heard the occasional bark from a cow elk nearby. It gave us hope, but alas, nothing came out. We hiked up to the spot where we field dressed the bull from last year and founds pieces of bone, but I thought we would have found a lot more than just little pieces. After a little searching, we found the spine about 30 yards off.

The next morning, we got up early and drove out to the spot again hoping to catch a cow moving through the area. As we turned the corner to the open glade we like to hunt, my headlamps caught a couple cow skirting through the trees. Unfortunately, it was still too dark to shoot, plus they were gone pretty quickly. We didn’t have any more luck that morning, but we made a plan to head back that evening, set up in the trees, and see if the cow would come back. It was a sound plan, and there were a lot of elk sign in the area; however, there were just too many people out there. There were a lot of other hunters roaming around, driving back and forth along the roads on their ATVs. I think the increased activity spooked the elk and they decided to stay put.

We came back the next morning to see if we could catch them on the move again, but same story, nothing. I decided to hike back to our camp site by following a creek. I thought perhaps I could get lucky and catch a cow having a drink of water. Plus, we had heard more bugling in that direction. It was a good plan, but there were a couple of flaws and warning flags that should have stopped me. The first was the presence of a storm. There were heavy clouds in the distance, and it had already sprinkled a little water on us that morning. The second was the fact that I had never hiked that region before, and didn’t know what to expect. The third was the fact that I didn’t have everything I needed to stay dry in my daypack. The combination of these things should have warned me to try again another time, but I was stubborn and took off anyway. While I was rewarded by some awesome scenery, the error of my choice was about to become apparent.

After an hour and a half of hiking, it started to rain. It was light rain, but it doesn’t take much to get cold. Even more dangerous than the rain, was the thunder and lightning that was danger close. I kept plugging along hoping I would pop out at the camp site, but I had no real clue on how far away it was. I also didn’t know if I could hike the whole way back, if there would be impassable terrain, or what to expect. All rookie mistakes that I knew I was making, but still decided to go forward and hike. Stupid.

I searched my pack for a poncho once the rain intensified, but found that it wasn’t in my pack. I realized then that it must be in one of my other survival packs, and that I had forgotten to transfer it. My wife had even told me to pack my rain coat before I left, and I forgot to get that as well. I was paying for it then, because the rain started to pour down in droves. I was at a crossroads, and needed to decide quickly whether or not I would make a shelter and wait it out, or keep moving along. There was a bend in the creek up ahead, and I gave it up until that point to see if I could see the camper, or not. Luckily, when I rounded the bend, I saw the camper. I made it back to the camp soaked, but alive. This just goes to show, that if you think something is stupid, maybe you should listen to your instinct.

The rain kept up, and we made a decision to come down off the mountain before the dirt roads got ugly. It was a good choice because it continued to storm all day.

Fast forward to the bull hunt two weeks later. I was optimistic because we had heard the bulls calling all during the cow hunt and I knew they were still up there. Another bonus was the fact that due to state regulations, I could still fill my cow tag during my bull hunt, so it was game on. Just like last time, we arrived early enough to get an evening hunt in, so my brother and I headed back up to the spot. We set up in some cover and started with the cow calls and spraying cow estrus in the air. Nothing came to check us out, so after a while, we got up and moved. As we came out of the trees, I saw a cow elk no more than 20 yards away moving the same direction as we were. I stopped and shouldered my rifle, but by then it had disappeared into the trees.

The next morning, we came out to the same spot and hoped to find it again. We heard shots in the distance, so hopefully someone got lucky, but we didn’t see anything. That afternoon, we went for a hike to look for a new area, but didn’t see much sign, so when evening hit, I went to the same area. The place I like to hunt is full of sign, and I’ve seen elk every time I’ve gone up there. It’s an area nestled between two dirt roads, so I think a lot of hunters don’t give it much thought and overlook it. The real trouble started when I got back to camp.

Apparently, the batteries in the camper I rented refused to charge on the generator. We ran the generator for hours, and nothing. By the time I got back from hunting that evening, my camping compatriots were scrambling to fix the damn thing. The batteries had run so low that nothing would turn on, and when we tried the generator, the LP gas detector would fault and alarm every 30 seconds with an annoying beep. We checked the breakers, the fuse box, everything we could think of, but no joy. After a trip to town for some tools, trying to charge the batteries with my truck (which worked, but not well enough), and looking into every possible scenario we could think of, we called it quits. While I had packed for warmth, I could tell that my camping compatriots had not and were cold. The thought of sleeping in a camper in the high Uintah Mountains in October wasn’t sitting well with them. So we packed up and came home early.

No meat this year. I think it’s the hunting gods balancing things out. Last year I had a successful hunt, so this year was my bad year. Perhaps it goes in waves. The question is how big are the waves? I can only hope and wait for next year. Regardless of actually harvesting meat, it was still a success in the fact that I was able to spend time outdoors in the mountains with friends and family. That kind of success is priceless and always worth it.

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Standing By

8/10/2014

Sorry for the delay folks, but I've been busy helping my wife take care of our new baby girl! I'll get back to blogging as soon as possible. But while you're waiting, please stop by and vote for what you'd like to see in my bonus post on survival. I'll pick the top three voted items and give you my take on the subjects. You can vote here.

Survival Mini-Series: The Will to Survive

7/16/2014

First off, thanks for hanging in there and being patient while life took over. I know it’s been a long time since I last posted, and I apologize. I saved this topic for last, because I think it’s one of the most important aspects to surviving a bad situation. Without the will to survive/live, the rest of your plan or training won’t amount to jack or shit. In this post, I’ll talk about what the will to survive is, how to foster a healthy mental attitude to grow your own will to survive, and share some stories that are good examples of this phenomenon.

According to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, “The will to survive is the will to stay in one’s body and keep the body healthy and alive.” In other words, it’s the mental strength to endure despite tough odds and crap situations. It’s this will to keep on living that will help get you through the survival situation. You have to have a reason to keep on keepin’ on, or else you’ll give up, and then it’s game over.

There was an entire module of training in my Air Force survival on this very topic. Plus in the survival manual they hand out to flyers deploying to a hostile environment, there is a section dedicated to it as well. It’s a real thing, and there are steps you can take to help strengthen your own will to survive.

First and foremost, know that the will to survive is a mental muscle that ties in with physical conditions (it can also tie into spiritual factors if you are religious/spiritual). There are certain things you can do to help prepare and exercise this mental muscle, like prepare. Remember the Boy Scout motto of be prepared? You have to know your own limitations before you find yourself in a survival situation, and the best way to find those limitations, are to practice, exercise, and implement. You need to practice survival techniques. I’ve mentioned this before in other posts, but if you only rely on theory, you’re going to be hurting when it comes to time to try it for real. Practice building primitive shelters. Practice building fires with different materials in different weather patterns. Gathering and purifying water, or foraging for food. These are skills that you will need to survive, and if you know deep down that you can rely on your own skills to procure and produce these things, it will take some of the stress off and give you the confidence you need to make it out there mentally.

The next part is exercise. You do not want to be in poor health when you find yourself in a survival situation. It’s only going to get worse as the days go on, and if you aren’t in the good health beforehand, it’s going to make things tougher. That stress and hurt is going to wear on you physically. Once the physical stress sets in, it starts eating away at your mental strength and keeping that will to survive gets harder to maintain. So eat right and exercise, and it will pay dividends if you find yourself in the suck.

The final part of this equation is implementation. Having a strong will to survive is an active process. While the first two steps are physical factors that feed into the will to survive, this step is all mental. If you find yourself in a bad situation and you have to survive, there are things you have to actively do to keep your mental strength where it needs to be. You need to focus on the reasons you have to stay alive. While all of these may not apply, hopefully you can find one or two that work. Focus on your family, friends, loved ones, your faith in a higher power (if you are spiritual/religious), or even get stubborn and get to the point that you won’t let Mother Nature kill you. Heck, maybe your will to survive is fed by fears that your family and friends will find your stash of porn on your computer. Maybe you have dogs at home that need you to survive and you’re their only hope. Perhaps you just need to see the results of the next World Cup before you pass on. Whatever it is that keeps you wanting to live, grab a hold of it and don’t let go. Keep that idea in the forefront of your mind and don’t let it waver. If you with others, you all need to work together to keep one another up and willing to fight on.

It’s going to suck. Survival isn’t fun. If you’re having fun surviving, then you’re camping. So you need to do everything humanly possible to endure that suck. Because once the will to survive goes, it doesn’t matter if you have a freshwater natural spring and a pizza joint right next to your survival location, you won’t make it. I’ve started watching television program called Naked and Afraid. It puts two survival experts together in a harsh environment without any clothes and only one survival tool apiece to help them. The pair then has to survive for 21 days. It becomes obvious when the participants lose their will to survive. They become depressed, they panic, and they usually end up tapping out and going home.

An amazing story of survival goes to hiker, Aron Ralston who fell down a slot canyon in eastern Utah and got his arm trapped by a heavy boulder. Ralston spent five days pinned by the boulder until he decided that he needed to initiate his own rescue. Through an incredible will to survive, Ralston used a pocketknife to cut his own trapped arm off at the elbow and hike out to safety.

Another amazing story of survival is the story of Steven Callahan. In 1982 Callahan set sail alone in a sailboat from the Canary Islands. During a bad storm, his boat sank and he found himself having to survive in a small inflatable life raft. Most of his supplies were gone, and he spent 76 days adrift in the Caribbean. He survived by keeping his mind occupied. Callahan divided his mind into two people, a captain and a crewmember, and accounts from his logbook show the two personalities. It kept him mentally alive and willing to survive.

So how does this apply to writing? Simple, it’s this aspect of survival that you can really get deep into a character’s POV and let it shine. This will turn your reactive character into an active character that people can connect with. Focus on their will to survive and show the reader why they want to live. What’s driving their will to keep on fighting? Is it family? Vengeance perhaps? Who knows, but take the opportunity to show off some mad characterizations skills.

Don’t forget to vote on what you want me to cover in the bonus blog post. You can vote here! I’ll pick the top three topics and share some wisdom. If you don’t see a topic listed in the poll, go ahead and vote other and shoot me a message on what you’d like to know about.

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