A Guide to
Canadian
Wilderness
Survival
Bruce Zawalsky
Boreal Wilderness
Institute
Copyright ©2017 Bruce Zawalsky
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means without the express written permission of the author, except
by a reviewer who may quote brief passages.
Published in conjunction with The Boreal Wilderness Institute by:
Liard Books
RR 2, Site 11, Comp. 44
Gunn, Alberta
T0E 1A0
For bulk orders, book clubs or classroom orders, please contact the pub-
lisher at the above address for volume purchase discounts (minimum
number 10 copies). Individual Canadian and overseas book orders can be
placed at boreal.net/books and www.liardbooks.com.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Zawalsky, Bruce, author
A guide to Canadian wilderness survival / Bruce Zawalsky.
ISBN 978-1-894713-56-6 (paperback)
1. Wilderness survival--Canada--Handbooks, manuals,
etc. 2. Outdoor life--Canada--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Title.
GV200.5.Z39 2016 796.50971 C2016-905849-2
Contributors: John Caldwell, James Hawley and Mors L. Kochanski
Print History: 1st Edition
1 3 5 7 9 11 12 10 8 6 4 2
Bruce Zawalsky
Contents
Foreword By Mors Kochanski - xvi
Introduction Modern Wilderness Survival - 1
Part 1: The Science of Survival - 9
Chapter 1 Introduction to Survival - 11
Chapter 2 Physiology of Survival - 41
Chapter 3 Psychology of Survival - 83
Part 2: Learning the Right Skills - 103
Chapter 4 Clothing & Sleeping Bags - 105
Chapter 5 Fire Lighting - 137
Chapter 6 Shelter Building - 199
Chapter 7 Emergency Signals - 255
Chapter 8 Wilderness Survival Equipment - 277
Part 3: The Path to Survival - 313
Chapter 9 Dealing with Nature - 315
Chapter 10 Preparing to Survive - 349
Chapter 11 Learning from Others - 367
Afterword The Wilderness Awaits - 383
xiv
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Self-Study Review - 390
Answers - 392
Appendix A Reading List - 394
Appendix B Wilderness First Aid Kits - 397
Appendix C Example Survival Kits - 401
Appendix D Sharpening Survival Tools - 407
Appendix E 15-Minute Saw - 410
Appendix F 15-Minute Snowshoes - 413
Appendix G Basic Route Card - 415
Appendix H Taking Survival Training - 416
Appendix I Web Resources - 419
Metric Conversion Table - 420
Endnotes - 421
Author’s Biography - 432
xv
Introduction: Canadian Wilderness Survival
Modern Wilderness Survival
“It will never happen to me”
We can survive in the wilder-
ness only by discarding old wives’
tales, truly understanding the sci-
ence of survival and using of our
brains. This requires us to practice
minimum investment for maximum
return and to control the psycho-
logical factors of our emotions,
fears and our often unrealistic ex-
pectations of life in the wilderness.
Welcome to Canadian Wilderness
Survival.
The purpose of this book is to
help you prepare to mitigate or
avoid a life-threatening survival
situation. It provides a realistic ap-
proach to wilderness survival by
teaching lifesaving sur-
vival skills as well as “My comfort depends on what I
what critical survival can do for myself and how much
items you need to carry.
I wrote this book for I know about using the bush
two reasons: first, it is materials around me.”
1
a thorough standalone — Mors L. Kochanski
1
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Part 1
The
Science
of
Survival
9
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Chapter One
Introduction to Survival
“Facing the Survival Environment”
Every time we
travel in, through MTPs
or over the wil- (Main Teaching Points)
derness, we must 1. Principles of Modern Wilderness Survival
assume there is 2. The Survival Environment
a chance of being 3. The Canadian Survival Environment
stranded. Statis- 4. Wilderness Offers No Guarantees
tically there is a
greater chance
the more often we travel into the wilderness.
If we can think of a survival incident or situation as a
challenge that will eventually occur instead of simply hoping
that it will never happen to us, we can better prepare our-
selves to travel, work or live in the Canadian wilderness.
The wilderness is neither for us
nor against us. It is just another
component of the survival environ-
ment that we face when unexpect-
edly stranded. In this chapter we
will look at what we may face in the
survival environment and how we
can learn to survive these obstacles
while stranded in the Canadian Approaching Rain
Wilderness.
11
Chapter Two Canadian Wilderness Survival
Physiology of Survival
“Elementary Survival”
Survival in the wilder-
ness is rarely an accident. MTPs
It’s a matter of physical (Main Teaching Points)
rules, which individuals 1. Air and Altitude
either ignore or attempt 2. Body Fluid Balance
to break. The suffering 3. Constant Body Temperature
caused by a lack of un- 4. Decent Sleep
derstanding of the phys- 5. Feed or Fast
ical rules creates or gov- 6. Medium- and Long-Term Survival
erns many of the worst 7. Vision
survival situations. These 8. Fitness
same simple rules are
broken repeatedly. We must have an understanding of how
our bodies work and how they react to the environment if we
want to survive in the wilderness.
Understanding survival physiology is elementary and as
simple as ABC. In this chapter, we will discuss air, body flu-
ids and constant body temperature first. These three factors
are vital to our short-term survival. To survive, our bodies
must have oxygen, balanced fluids and a constant tempera-
ture. Without these, we will quickly die.
We will then cover the five other factors and how they can
help to mitigate damage to our bodies in a survival situation
41
Chapter Three Canadian Wilderness Survival
Psychology of Survival
“Building the Will to Live”
How we prepare our
minds for a survival sit- MTPs
uation is as important as (Main Teaching Points)
how we prepare our route 1. The Survival Mindset
card or where we pack 2. Creating a Positive Mindset
critical items of equip- 3. Survival Immediate Actions
ment. The psychology of 4. Before You Go
survival is a complicated
area, but also an area of-
ten left out of survival texts and instruction. If we do not deal
with it, group dissidence often becomes extreme or the group
simply fails to look at all its options and makes increasingly
critical errors, compounding mistakes.
On numerous occasions poor weather, sickness or the
drive for success has clouded my own or my companions’
judgment. I have constantly struggled with the decision of
whether to push on in spite of the conditions or to stop short
of the objective. Usually, the only factor pushing me to con-
tinue was my ego and my stubborn resistance to quitting.
The critical differ-
ence between a cold, “I thought you’d rather have a live
wet group that sets donkey than a dead lion.”1
up camp and a similar
group that decides to — Ernest Shackleton to his wife
83
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Part 2
Learning
the
Right
Skills
103
Chapter Four Canadian Wilderness Survival
Clothing & Sleeping Bags
“Dressing to Survive”
Clothing is one of the
most underrated tools for MTPs
surviving in the wilder- (Main Teaching Points)
ness and the first Criti- 1. Basics of Wilderness Clothing
cal Item. Survival situa- 2. Layering of Clothing
tions rarely happen when 3. Sleeping Bags and Bivy Bags
expected. Dressing for the 4. Insulated Mattresses
worst conditions possible
every time you venture out
is the best bet for your survival.
The basic rule of thumb for cold weather
survival is to dress in loose-layered gar-
ments made of quality materials that dry
quickly. Following this basic rule helps pre-
pare us for a survival situation. Clothing is
normally your number-one priority when
choosing your equipment. Even when un-
conscious it works to keep you alive and, if
brightly coloured, to be rescued quicker.
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”
— Norwegian Proverb
105
Chapter Five Canadian Wilderness Survival
Fire Lighting
“The Great Equalizer”
Fire is the great equal-
izer. It provides us with MTPs
warmth, gives us the abil- (Main Teaching Points)
ity to dry our clothing 1. Properties of Fire
and makes up for many 2. Principles of Fire Lighting
of the mistakes we may 3. Fire Lighting Equipment
have made in terms of 4. Lighting a Fire
equipment selection or 5. Cooking Over a Fire
travel choices. Its second 6. Fire Safety
most important ability is
that it is a great morale
lifter to the lone survivor
and to groups in less-than-
ideal situations.
The ability to make a fire
in a cold or wet survival en-
vironment is a fundamen-
tal survival skill. Therefore,
anyone wishing to survive
comfortably in the Canadian
wilderness must take fire
lighting gear with them at all times, understand type and
amount of wood to collect for a proper fire and have devel-
oped the ability to light a fire in cold or wet conditions.
137
Chapter Six Canadian Wilderness Survival
Shelter Building
“The Great Civilizer”
Shelter is the great civi-
lizer. It is a creation that al- MTPs
lows us to not just survive, (Main Teaching Points)
but to survive comfortably. 1. Shelter Considerations
It provides protection from 2. Siting of Shelters
the wind, rain, snow, sun, 3. Tool Requirements
insects, animals or even 4. Improvised Shelters
other humans. It is a struc- 5. Survival Shelters
ture or area that helps to in- 6. Raised Beds and Bough Beds
sulate you from the survival 7. Snow Shelters
environment. A well-built
shelter provides a microclimate that can be made warm and
dry in a harsh environment.
199
Chapter Seven Canadian Wilderness Survival
Emergency Signals
“Becoming a Giant”
First thing we need to un-
derstand to get rescued quicker MTPs
is that real Search and Rescue (Main Teaching Points)
is not like TV, you do not get 1. Principles of Signalling
rescued at the end of the epi- 2. Basic Signalling
sode. It takes time to initiate a 3. Modern Signalling Devices
Search and Rescue (SAR) oper-
ation. It takes time, energy and
many people to conduct a proper Search and Rescue to come
out and actually find you. You are a very small object in the
vast northern wilderness. The more remote your location, the
longer it will take to get the Search and Rescue started.
You need to understand that search is very hard and
rescue is relativity easy. Certain technical rescues may be
dangerous if you have trapped yourself in a very bad or hard-
to reach location, but those are rare and normally are only
“Survival often depends on others, and therefore you must
be able to signal your location.”1
— Xavier Maniguet
255
Chapter Eight Canadian Wilderness Survival
Wilderness Survival Equipment
“Carrying the Proper Equipment”
What we carry into the
wilderness represents the MTPs
physical items we can use (Main Teaching Points)
to supplement the natural 1. Survival Kits vs. Critical Items
materials and resources we 2. 15 Critical Items
find in the survival environ- 3. Building a Real Survival Kit
ment. The harsher the envi-
ronment and or the more injured or exhausted you or your
group are, the more need you have of these critical items.
Choosing what possessions to take with you into the wil-
derness may mean the difference between life and death.
When choosing survival tools and equipment, I always think
how resistant is this piece of equipment to damage and what
is its chance of failure in poor conditions?
In the face of a survival situation, you need to have ro-
bust, reliable and redundant tools and equipment. Critical
items such as fire lighting gear require redundancy due to
“There is no reason why a person cannot live comfortable
in the northern forest with a few simple,
well-chosen possessions...”1
— Mors L. Kochanski
277
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Part 3
The
Path
to
Survival
313
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Chapter Nine
Dealing with Nature
“Safely Living in the Wilderness”
We may have to deal
with a number of hazards MTPs
as we move through or are (Main Teaching Points)
stranded in the wilder- 1. Dealing with Fauna
ness. These include fauna, 2. Weather Hazards
weather and various travel- 3. Summer Hazards
related hazards. Many of 4. Winter Hazards
these factors will relate to 5. Should I Travel Homeward
why we become stranded in
a wilderness survival situation.
The survival environment has various factors that are re-
active and many that are beyond our control. Often these
hazards are only encountered as we travel or may be the
reason we wisely decide not to travel, deciding instead to set
up camp and await rescue.
This is not a backpacking, wilderness travel or wildlife
awareness book, it is a survival book. Instead of covering
every aspect of wilderness travel or wildlife awareness in this
chapter, I will cover only the most important aspects that
really relate to the most likely wilderness survival situations
or how to avoid them. This means that, if you need to learn
more, and I believe you do if you are travelling in Canada’s
315
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Chapter Ten
Preparing to Survive
“Before You Go”
Every time we travel,
planning and preparation MTPs
should be paramount in (Main Teaching Points)
our thinking. Time and time 1. Preparation and Planning
again, survival situations 2. How to Pack and Prepare
have been avoided or miti-
gated by proper planning and good equipment selection. The
reverse is also true: countless individuals and groups have
entered the wilderness unprepared and ill-equipped.
It is up to us as wilderness travelers to prepare in ad-
vance. No one will do this for us even in national parks and
other more regulated wilderness areas. Let’s face the reality:
those who prepare survive. You cannot know why you may
get lost, but proper preparation should limit this from occur-
ring.
“Any of a multitude of unforeseeable occurrences or circum-
stances can induce a sense of being lost even in the most
experienced bush walkers.”1
— Mors L. Kochanski
349
Canadian Wilderness Survival
Chapter Eleven
Learning from Others
“Analysis of Survival Situations”
Part of the process of
learning about modern MTPs
wilderness survival is to (Main Teaching Points)
make the most of other 1. Short-Term Survival Situations
people's mistakes, chal- 2. Medium-Term Survival Situations
lenges and victories. If we 3. Long-Term Survival Situations
want to survive, we can-
not afford to simply make the same mistakes other people
have made again and again.
We need learn from what happens to people in real sur-
vival situations when they are stranded. Don’t bother trying
to learn from how people react in books, movies or to get
better TV ratings. Very little of what makes it through to a TV
audience is actually the useful skills you need.
To properly analyze a survival situation, you must look at
what factors came into play in the situation. Break it down
into four areas: the situation, the problems, the results and
any mitigative actions.
In each survival situation, look closely at what problems
were encountered. Look at how the Survival Environment;
the environment, resources, human factor, time and the un-
known affected the situation. How were these factors signifi-
367
Bruce Zawalsky
The Author: Bruce Zawalsky, CD
Bruce teaches professional instruc-
tor-led field safety training in modern
wilderness survival, bushcraft, naviga-
tion, wildlife and bear awareness for
field workers and the general public. He
has worked full-time for over 23 years
as a professional wilderness survival
instructor while running his own com-
pany, the Boreal Wilderness Institute.
He guided his first backpacking group
in the Rocky Mountains in 1981. Since
then, he has developed his skills in
navigation, survival, wilderness travel,
teaching, leading groups and team
building at the University of Alberta,
Augustana University College, PADI
College, the Nordic Ski Institute, and
through over 34 years of military service in the Loyal Edmonton Regi-
ment.
In 1989 as part of a small six-person group in three canoes, he com-
pleted a 92 day 3,600 km canoe expedition between Rocky Mountain
House, Alberta and Thunder Bay, Ontario. This canoe expedition in-
volved over 60 portages and 200 km of upstream river paddling, lining
and poling. This trip was the highlight of his Outdoor Education train-
ing at the University of Alberta and gave him a real long-term attitude
about wilderness travel.
Bruce studied with Mors Kochanski and developed his teaching
skills through years of instruction and practice. He is a true believer in
building synergy in the outdoor education community. He has cooper-
ated with, shared knowledge, and learned from hundreds of other in-
structors and outdoor enthusiasts. His writing, speaking and teaching
expertise has allowed him to easily pass on his wealth of knowledge
about modern wilderness survival, wilderness navigation, wildlife
awareness and wilderness travel to a wide audience.
432
