Weekend reading: How to Stay Alive in the Woods
Urbanisation and general technological advancements have meant that we live much easier lives than past generations. But if we were to find ourselves stranded in the bush, how many of us would have the outdoor savvy to survive? How to Stay Alive in the Woods by wilderness survivalist Bradford Angier details all the things you need to do in order to endure a misadventure in the bush.
Bradford and his wife Vena were living in busy Boston in 1947, but dreamed of a life in seclusion with nature, eventually moving to Hudson’s Hope in Canada. They went about the task of repairing an old cabin with just a few tools and a couple of how-to books, and began to live off the land, hunting and gathering wild food. Bradford began to pen survival books, while Vena’s artistic hand sketched illustrations to accompany the prose. The twosome authored more than 35 tomes, including the likes of Home in Your Pack: The Modern Handbook of Backpacking (1965), Free for the Eating (100 Wild Plants, 300 Ways to Use Them) (1967) and Camping-on-the-go Cookery (1983).
In How to Stay Alive in the Woods, Bradford advises on everything from how to build a shelter and making clothing to catching game without a gun and sourcing vitamin C from plants (to ward off scurvy, of course). Pack this tidy tome on your next solo camping trip, and absorb his knowledge while you’re waiting for fish to bite.