Outdoor reading - accidents and mortality
I enjoy reading books and magazine and web articles about
backcountry accidents and death, and I hope that I gain insight about how to avoid becoming a
backcountry statistic from them. For instance, I read the blog
Hiker Hell and the
NPS Morning Report regularly, I've read the 3 books entitled
Death in {Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite} (not all by the same authors), and I've read several books about wildlife attacks both in North America and elsewhere. While some of this interest is probably common morbid fascination, there are other reasons. Clearly I'm not alone in my interest in the more morbid aspects of
backcountry, otherwise such books would not be publishable.
Books on animal attacks are interesting both from a perspective of avoiding or surviving such attacks and because I'm interested in animal behavior. My education is as a biologist and even though I haven't worked in biology for 25 years, I still maintain my interest. I'm most inclined to read books on bear and large cats, and I can rationalize my interest as avoiding such attacks although this breaks down for tigers or African lions.
Death in Yellowstone has historic interest as well as sociological and legal interest as it offers a brief view of how the
NPS has evolved attitudes toward visitor safety. It also offers some history on the
NPS's changing views on animal and resource preservation as opposed to visitor accessibility and generally allowed behavior in parks. Now few parks allow hunting, tree cutting, or mineral collection but this was not always true. The book also warns me and others about behavior that I wouldn't necessarily consider foolish. I've talked to parents of small children who told me that the book caused them to control their children much more carefully than normally, the hot pools are attractive to children who are too young to understand the dangers. And while I am aware of rock and animal dangers from caves and rock overhangs, I wouldn't otherwise have thought about noxious gases (Chapter 5).
Both
Death in the Grand Canyon and
Death in Yosemite are more explicitly concerned with how to avoid serious injury and death as is the blog Hiker Hell. These state mistakes hikers make and situations to avoid to reduce risk. I may not follow all of their suggestions, I continue to hike alone, but they provide common sense information about what to avoid and what to do. The
NPS Morning Report rarely provides me with information I can use about parks but reads like a litany of human folly. The deaths are usually due to suicide, vehicle accidents, and drowning flavored with drug and alcohol abuse. I'm not immune to these but they are often not
backcountry related and are more standard "civilized" risks.
Labels: Books
Outdoor reading - survival
During the summer I buy books on outdoor topics, during the winter I read them. Since I'm not getting out this winter and don't have other topics in mind, I will discuss some topics on backcountry books.
I've been reading more books and articles on survival topics this last year than usual. Possibly the well reported incidents locally (PNW) have piqued my interest or perhaps my increasing age and declining health have made me more aware of my personal risks. Not that I expect to be in a survival situation, I hope to
avoid such situations, but I am aware that even in everyday activities I may find myself in a precarious situation.
Most of the books have been about an individual's personal survival stories, interesting but not highly applicable to situations I expect to encounter. I can learn some things from these books, such as to carry appropriate equipment and don't fly in small planes over mountains, but the day to day struggle isn't likely to be similar to what I would encounter. Other books, such as those by Tom Brown, are more specialized than I would usually need and require more time and practice than I'm willing to spend.
One book I read recently is
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, the subtitle is "Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why". To oversimplify, the premise of the book is psychological factors most strongly influence ability to survive life-threatening situations. I hasten to add that he doesn't imply having a positive attitude is the only thing needed or that one needs a positive attitude, just an appropriate turn of mind. I won't elaborate, I think this is a good book to read both for the survival knowledge and as interesting reading. The majority of the book consists of annotated survival stories, both of those who survived and who didn't, with a final chapter with some advice to increase ones chances of survival. Gonzales includes stories from from non-outdoor disasters, such as the September 11, 2001 planes and other plane crashes and how people coped without emergency gear.
I've blogged before about trying to develop a balanced approach to carrying emergency items with me when hiking. I tend to be the type to take 'everything' and that isn't working when hiking, my pack weighs too much, see
http://feralhiker.blogspot.com/2008/02/reducing-my-daypack-load.html. I carry lots of equipment in my car and often multiple backup options, like 3 flashlights plus extra batteries. It only took a couple of situations, such as being stuck for a couple of hours on Snoqualmie Pass, with no idea of how long the wait would be and unable to go either direction, before I decided that I would carry lots of stuff including food and blankets in my car but that isn't an option for hiking.
Anyway, I am rethinking what is most useful for me to carry when hiking. I haven't taken my cell phone much of the time since cell coverage in the northern Cascades and many backcountry locations is poor. However, coverage is getting better and even if I can't complete a call, my phone might be trackable by GPS through the cell phone company. I'm also putting together a small emergency kit for my waist pack and making sure I carry a compass, emergency food, and a light vinyl poncho always.
Labels: Books
