When I was in the military and involved with search and rescue training, I often saw messages or reports pertaining to survivors and non-survivors. These cases were both civilians and military personnel. I was amazed while reading both types of correspondence. (We received this information to hopefully improve our survival training program). I read about people who had lots of gear, plenty of food and water, and they still did not make it. Or, on the other side of the coin, those who survived with little more than literally the shirt on their backs. Why the difference? Well, survival is not that simple. There were many factors that contributed in both cases. There are many variables to consider when reading about survival situations. Nonetheless, in most of the reports I read the difference was usually survival psychology.

 Take the case of the civilian pilot in Alaska that experienced aircraft problems and put his plane down on a frozen lake. The temperature was about minus twenty. When rescuers arrived at the site they were able to determine what happen easily. The pilot, now dead, had left a note. When the rescuer team arrived, they found two cigarette butts, a .38 caliber pistol in the pilot's right hand, and blood not yet frozen on the side of his head. He had not even left the cockpit of the aircraft. Why? Why would a man take his life without a fight? I suggest he gave in to panic. He was not prepared mentally to face the situation.

 So, why do some people and others do not? I propose it is frame of mind. One, the non-survivor, will give up before the battle even starts. The other, a survivor, is determined to live. Of course pure determination may not keep you alive, but it sure adds to the odds. Lets discuss the steps you can take to stay alive when you realize you are in a survival situation.

 Panic is a real killer. When you actually realize you are going to have to survive, keep you head about yourself. Stop. Find a place that offers you temporary shelter and think things out. Do not go stomping around in the woods looking for your way out. Stop. Consider the who, what, when, and where of your situation. Who knows where you are? Did you, as I always recommend, tell someone about your trip? This should always be done, even if you know the area very well. Tell a any person (a boss, friend, wife, husband, etc.) the what, when and where of your trip. Also, make sure if you change your trip in any way to call or contact the person you informed. Many rescues are started each year because of a change in plans and no notification.

 If you have handled the who, what, when and where of your trip, rescue should be fast.

 1. Get your thoughts organized. Keep as calm and as relaxed as possible.

 2. Keep busy. An active mind is less likely to dwell on the situation as hopeless.

 3. Find a shelter and start a fire. Yep, even if you don't need either, psychological needs most of the time. They comfort you.

 4. Now comes the difficult part, waiting for rescue. You noticed, I hope, I wrote waiting for rescue. Yep, I meant it. Let them find you. Nothing is more frustrating to search and rescue crews than looking for a person meandering somewhere in the woods. Stay where you are. Once you realize you are lost and have establish a survival camp stay there. Wondering blind in the bush just uses up energy that you cannot afford to lose. Stay put.

 Well, now you are in a more prolonged survival situation what's next? Well, first stay off of your pity pot. Don't dwell on how rough you have it. Don't play the "poor little me" mind game with yourself. Make things happen.

 You should always have a survival kit with you. These kits can be purchased commercially or made up at home. The kit I carry is very small (I use an old metal Band Aid box), but I have given great thought to the contents. It is just exactly what I need to survive:

  1. A good quality penknife

  2. Condoms for water storage, unlubricated.

 3. Wooden matches in a water proof container

  4. Flint and steel and a metal match.

  5. Water purification tables.

 6. A long strip of heavy-duty aluminum foil folded up to cook with.

  7. Fishing kit, i.e., hooks, sinkers, and some line. Nothing fancy. It can also be used to set snares or many other uses if you are landlocked and not near the water.

 8. A small commercial first aid kit (with instructions).

 9. One small pack of gum and one of hard candy for emergency energy.

 10. A small survival pamphlet or book--keep it small and light.

 What about food? Let's be honest here. Aren't most North Americans just a little overweight? Now, I am not saying a sudden starvation diet is healthy, but most of us could go a couple of days without food with no medical affects. And, why do most people immediately think of food when they think of survival? Keep in mind that most folks are rescued before serious hunger develops. It is psychological. If you think about it, it makes sense. Imagine a nice shelter, a warm fire, and a full stomach. Comforting isn't it?

 Survival is never easy. If things can go wrong they usually will. I know people can survive in temperatures as low as minus thirty and as high as 110 degrees. How do I know? I have done it during training. The key is to stay active, concentrate on the tasks at hand, build up your successes while down playing your failures, and to face each obstacle with determination to overcome. Survival psychology is simple, when you think about it before you need it. I believe with the right psychological approach to any survival situation, you too can survive. Gary L. Benton USAF - Retired

  Be sure to visit Gary at www.redneck.00freehost.com and sign up for Bubba's Redneck E-zine. Bubba has a new look and new location so check it out.

 Assumptions can be misleading, and sometimes just plain wrong. For instance, hunters are primarily concerned with firearms safety education and providing hunting opportunities for youth — not harvesting game as is often believed. That’s just one of the significant findings in a recent hunter behavior and attitude study commissioned by the National Wild Turkey Federation.

 The study, Behavioral, Attitudinal, and Demographic Characteristics of Spring Turkey Hunters in the U.S., was unveiled to a diverse group of writers, editors and communications professionals at a special presentation during the Outdoor Writers Association of America 2003 Conference in Columbia, Mo. Mark Damian Duda, Executive Director of Responsive Management and principal researcher for the study, noted that many of the results of the study were revealing.

 “The study reinforced some of our ideas about what motivates and interests hunters, but it also showed that hunters are strongly motivated to hunt for reasons that aren’t as obvious. For instance, most hunters said that they hunted primarily for recreation and to spend time with family and friends. Harvesting turkeys wasn’t a top reason to hunt for most respondents.”

 The top reasons for “liking” to spring turkey hunt were for the challenge (42%) or to feel close to nature (37%).

 Another interesting — but not necessarily surprising — finding was that protecting or enhancing habitat for other wildlife besides wild turkeys (78%) ranked high on hunters’ lists of priorities.

  The study results paint an interesting picture of the spring turkey hunter. A short list of other study findings reveals that:

  Turkey hunters are dedicated conservationists who want to share the outdoors with others. An overwhelming majority of turkey hunters rated the following state wildlife agency programs/efforts as very important:

 * Firearm use and safety (89%);

  * Providing wild turkey hunting opportunities for youth (81%);

 * Conservation projects, such as protecting or enhancing habitat for other wildlife besides wild turkeys (78%);

  * Protecting or enhancing habitat for wild turkeys (75%);

 * Providing wild turkey hunting opportunities for disabled hunters (73%).

 Turkey hunting is addictive. A majority (58%) of turkey hunters had hunted each spring for the past five years, the only exception being in the western region of the country.

 Most turkey hunters said that their level of turkey hunting has increased (36%) or remained about the same (49%) over the past five years.

 Some of the findings were especially revealing and shed some much needed light on what the future of hunting may be.

 “One surprising finding was that the largest percentage of respondents (39%) said they were self-taught turkey hunters, or taught by a friend (26%), as opposed to other types of hunting in which they were typically introduced by their father,” said Tammy Bristow Sapp, NWTF’s vice-president of communications. “In fact, turkey hunters may be experiencing a role reversal where grown children are introducing their fathers to the sport.”

 Many of the findings in the study point the way to a bright future for spring turkey hunting and for passing on hunting traditions.

 “Based on the study, spring turkey hunting appears to be the next big thing in hunting,” said Sapp. “The study shows that most spring turkey hunters have hunted turkeys for fewer than 12 years, a short time relative to how long most hunters have been hunting in general. This, and the fact that most hunters are spring turkey hunting an average of 7.6 days every year, suggests a young, dedicated hunting movement with lots of growth potential for the future.”

 The study compiled results from a telephone survey conducted by Responsive Management, Inc., of Harrisonburg, Va., whose research has been featured on CNN and in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on the front page of USA Today.

 The telephone survey polled 1,410 spring turkey hunters identified in 9 states including California, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Hunters surveyed in 8 of the 9 states were taken from the hunting community in general and were identified through hunting license records, except in California, where NWTF member database records were used because state license records were not available.

 The NWTF also has commissioned an economic impact study to compliment the behavioral and attitudinal study. Results from the second study conducted by Rob Southwick and the staff at Southwick Associates, a fish and wildlife economics and business consulting firm, should be available by late summer 2003.

  “By combining the two studies, we’ll have a detailed view on who a spring turkey hunter is, what their wants and needs are, and what they bring to the table as an economic and political force,” said Duda. “I commend the NWTF for being farsighted and going after this type of data. These studies will support conservation and hunting heritage efforts for many years to come.”

 Highlights from the attitudinal/behavioral study can be viewed by visiting the NWTF website at www.nwtf.org and visiting the NWTF newsroom. Details from the study are available by contacting James Powell or Jonathan Harling at 1-800-THE-NWTF.

 My Grandson William and I were planning on going up the Liard River to the bottom of Devils Canyon in the first week in August. However his mother had some plans for the family starting the 12th of August so we decided to go in July, even if I wasn't quite ready. I had just built a new river boat and the paint was hardly dry. Some of the steel reinforcing hadn't been put on the bottom, however I did have 2 angle iron keels running down the bottom about 16 inches apart. My outboard jet motor was in need of some servicing, which should have been done before we embarked on a 120-mile river trip, however with the date quickly coming we decided to leave on August the 20th instead.

 On our way to Ft.Nelson we spent our first night at the old runway beside the Alaska Highway at Beaton River. This was a little break-in experience for William, myself and Zoi our golden lab dog to make sure we had most of our supplies. Anything that was missing we planned on getting in Ft. Nelson. Next morning we were up early with the excitement of our trip keeping us from sleeping. As we passed the Sikanni Chief River, we noticed that the water was very high from recent rain, all this water would be running into the Nelson River, bringing with it sand and logs from upstream.

 When we arrived in Ft. Nelson we decided to do a little visiting before going to the boat launch site. This took the best part of the morning. We also went down behind the airport to check the condition of the Nelson River. Lucky the high water from all the rains further south hadn't arrived here yet; everything was go for our trip. After having a lunch at a Sub Sandwich shop in town we headed to the Husky Bulk Station to fill all our fuel pails with gas, and then to the Overwaite Grocery Store for some last minute supplies. Now we were ready to drive the 50 or so miles to the world' s longest Bailey Bridge on the Nelson River where we would launch our boat.

 After an hours drive, first west on the Alaska Highway to the junction north to Ft. Liard in the Northwest Territories, then 35 miles north to the Bailey bridge across the Nelson River, we had to cross the Nelson river and go a further 3 miles before turning back on a side road. This is the location where an ice bridge is used in the winter for hauling logs and was where we would launch our boat.

 While William set up our tent and got ready for our evening meal, I put the outboard jet motor on our boat and undid all the tie downs. Next I backed the trailer into the river and floated the boat off. After securely tying the boat up and covering it in case we had a rain during the night we had a good dinner and went to bed, eager to start our boat trip in the morning.

 Next morning after breakfast we loaded our camping gear, and made sure we had 10 gallons of gas mixed for our motor we were away. Going downstream in the Nelson river was very easy with the high water which was starting to arrive from the rains they where having further south. At 10 AM we decided to stop for a drink of juice and mix oil in another pail of gas.

 As we were sitting on the beach in the warm sun our friend Jim Hart passed over in his piper aircraft as he checked for the location of radio-collared fish. Jim has a contract with the B.C. Government to keep track of radio collared fish and wildlife. He keeps track of wolves and elk, monitoring the actions of the wolves in relation to the elk herd. They are also trying to find out how the native fish move around in the Nelson, Liard water shed.

 Once we had our juice finished and our gas mixed, we were off. Next stop was Nelson Forks. Nelson Forks is no longer there. It was a trading town at the mouth of the Nelson River, used by the fur trader 150 years ago. As we made our way down stream on the Nelson River we passed a cow moose with calves standing knee deep in water watching us in wonder, also a black bear was busy turning over logs, and stones looking for breakfast. Wild animals in this area are not used to people and they just watch with curiosity as our boat goes by. The shores of the river are scarred by ice flows. As the spring thaw moves those large pieces of ice down stream they are forced onto the shore cutting the trees and gouging deep scares into the riverbanks.

  By lunch time we had passed the junction of the Nelson and Liard River. We entered the much cleaner water of the Liard River but from now on we had to go upstream, which slowed us down considerably. Our forward speed was noticeably slower as we battled the oncoming current. By now we had used all our mixed gas and it was time to stop for lunch and mix some more gas. Stopping on a large sand bar we spent an hour exploring the beach, having lunch and getting our fuel ready for the next leg of our journey.

 The Liard at this point was spreading out into several channels, some of them navigatable and others too shallow or plugged with logs. In this area a person has to be very careful to pick the right channel, usually the channel with the biggest current is also the deepest. As we changed fuel tanks we were passing the mouth of the Beaver River. This is a very turbulent area of the Liard, with many whirlpools and scary looking currents. The Beaver River flows into the Liard from the north and brings water from a large area of the Yukon. I have a trapper friend who has been living up the Beaver in the Yukon for the last 15 years or so, spending most of the year on his trap line.

 As we approached the mouth of the Scatter River our last fuel tank was getting low, so it was time again to explore the beach, while mixing gas and having our afternoon lunch. Again we saw signs of both Black and Grizzly Bear, along with many Elk signs. At this point we are starting to get into the Liard Canyon. This is an area where both Elk and Buffalo have been reintroduced to the wilds and it is quite possible to see them wandering along the riverbanks.

 As we travel upstream on the Liard the banks are getting much higher and the river is starting to run straighter with only one channel. As the current speeds up we slow down and looking over the back of the boat I notice water squirting out of the grease relief fitting on the jet. This indicates to me that the seal has gone below the bearing. Nothing I can do now but pump more grease into it and hope it lasts.

 As we approached the mouth of the Toad River, which enters from the south we had to change fuel tanks and pump more grease into the leg, which is now blowing the grease out as fast as I can pump it in. We are only 1 ½ miles from our cabin and I'm hoping the water will lubricate the bearing until we get to the cabin where I have some tools and a new seal for the leg.

 Suddenly the motor slows down then speeds up, before completely dieing. Now instead of going up stream at 10 miles per hour we are going down stream the same speed. Quickly I grab the rewind rope and give a pull to no avail. The engine is seized and will not budge. Lucky for us it is downstream to where we can get help.

 * Tune in next month to see how Trapper Ken and William along with Zoi get out of this mess.

 If you would like to spend some time on a real working trapline, summer or winter, send Trapper Ken an e-mail at Info@TrapperKen.com or visit his web site at WWW.TRAPPERKEN.COM for more information. He is available most times of the year for Trapline Adventures. Visit the world renowned Liard Hot Springs or photograph the Northern Lights from the best place on earth.

 Be sure and visit our, Trapline Store and purchase a lovely Natural Birch Wood Round c/w an acrylic painting of either a bird or wild flower. These beautiful wall plaques are hand painted by Beverly Moore and suitable for gifts of all occasions. These items are available only from TrapperKen.com.

 Visit our store often, as we will be adding new items as the fall goes by. If you are interested in purchasing tanned furs please advice us soon, as they should be ordered before the trapping season, to ensure next spring delivery. We will have available the following hides in limited quantities. Wolf, Wolverine, Beaver and Martin. E-mail us at Info@TrapperKen.com for information.