Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter.

Survival School Search

Whether you sail, hike or ski, you’ll enjoy nature more by being prepared. When selecting a wilderness-skills course, consider these factors.

By Laurel Kallenbach for Experience Life

Length and level of training. One- or two-day courses offer an outdoor-preparedness overview, whereas longer courses (four days to three weeks) delve deeper so you can hone real skills.
Physical challenge. At minimum, you must be able to hike a few miles a day with a light pack. For rigorous or high-altitude trips, train in advance for several months. Courses that simulate emergency hardships (hunger, thirst, extreme temperatures) require physical and mental prep.
Terrain and conditions. Most courses teach skills that focus on deserts, mountains, woodlands or extreme weather conditions. Consider a course that supports your favorite activities (winter safety for skiers, summer survival for backpackers).
Cost. Outfitters charge $100 to $200 per day. Budget for extras such as a knife, compass or metal drinking container, but don’t count on a lot of additional gear.

Laurel Kallenbach is a freelance writer and editor from Boulder, Colo. She is a regular contributor to Experience Life.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more, to subscribe, and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter.

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Into the Wild

Build your outdoor survival skills – and reconnect with nature – on an educational wilderness adventure.

By Laurel Kallenbach for Experience Life

Sheri Webb moves stealthily through northern California’s Mount Shasta Wilderness, taking care not to step on twigs or crackling leaves. She pauses every few minutes to pick miner’s lettuce for food or to scrutinize a print on the ground. Is it a deer trail? Will it lead to a spring where she can drink?

For 36 hours last spring, Webb and her boyfriend, Frank Sturniolo, made themselves at home in this pristine forest, with only a knife, a flint, a canteen and a cup. It was the culmination of a six-day outdoor survival course called The Edge — a course that the outfitter, Lifesong Wilderness Adventures, patterned after the TV series Man vs. Wild. Their goal: Survive without the trappings of civilization. No cell phone, no Starbucks, no running water.

“When I hike, I normally tromp mindlessly through the woods,” admits Webb, 32, a nurse from San Diego. “In the hospital ER, survival is about speed. The Edge course slowed me down and taught me details like finding where clean water trickles out of the ground.”

After four days in a primitive tent camp learning wilderness skills, their instructors left Webb and Sturniolo to fend for themselves. The night temperature became Webb’s nemesis. “Even with a roaring fire, one side of me always froze,” she recalls. “And we didn’t pile enough pine needles in our bed to insulate us from the ground, so we were ice cubes.”

At 2 a.m., a shivering Webb yelled for help. “The instructors didn’t come because they wanted me to feel cold, hunger and panic, so if I was really lost, I’d know this was discomfort, not life or death,” she says. In the end, she was grateful she stuck it out. “The experience was scary, but empowering. It boosted my self-confidence outdoors.”

Outside the Comfort Zone
Wilderness skills courses are more popular than ever, in part because of TV survival shows and films such as Into the Wild. While most people won’t be marooned on a deserted island, many want to develop the kinds of skills and courage needed to feel at home in the wild.

“People want to be more self-reliant and learn to find edible plants, read the weather, track animals, and make their own tools and shelters,” says Tony Nester, the director of Ancient Pathways, a desert survival school in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Embarking on a wilderness survival adventure is no laid-back vacation, though. These demanding getaways teach skills that will keep you alive in extreme conditions in the desert, the mountains or in 10 feet of snow. Courses range from one-day outdoor classes that cover emergency preparedness to 28-day simulations of a wilderness worst-case scenario. Some survival-trip outfitters offer tent camping and prepared meals; others teach you to forage and sleep in dirt-and-leaf beds. Some excursions involve moderate activity; others are so physically and mentally grueling that they require a doctor’s permission.

When selecting a trip, take stock of your personal appetite for adventure, and keep in mind that wilderness travel always carries a risk of injury or death, even when monitored by experienced instructors.

Touching Nature
Why bother with old-fashioned survival skills like making and using a bow-drill to start a fire when we have modern-day conveniences (lighters, high-tech matches) at our fingertips? Tom Brown Jr., founder of the legendary Tracker School, argues that discovering outdoor skills brings us closer to nature — and ourselves.

“Primitive wilderness training gives us the knowledge to survive in any place with what we find in nature, and it gets us in touch with our ancestral roots,” says Brown, who was taught by an Apache elder. He passes on the wisdom to students who learn stalking, nature observation, edible plant identification and Native American earth philosophy in his classes in the New Jersey Pine Barrens and in Boulder Creek, Calif.

“Tracking and awareness open people’s minds and hearts to the wilderness — even the one in your backyard,” Brown says. “People begin to read animal tracks like a book. They see more wildlife and biosystems than ever before. They develop a commitment to Mother Earth.”

Without wilderness knowledge, we are aliens on our own planet, Brown maintains. “If you’re lost, you’re like a scuba diver without oxygen,” he says. By contrast, those who complete his workshops feel at home in the bush, even without fancy gadgets. “Living off the land awakens the adventure in people and inspires them to seek new horizons.”

True Grit
At age 27, Jimmy Ngo, a tech-support manager from Firestone, Colo., was burned out. “I’d lose my temper when people complained their email didn’t work,” he says. “I didn’t so much need a survival school as some perspective.” He found both during the Boulder Outdoor Survival School’s (BOSS’s) seven-day, ultrarigorous Field Course.

During the two-day “impact” phase in the dry Utah backcountry, Ngo and his group had no food or water other than what they scavenged. They carried only a knife as they hiked 20 to 30 miles in the heat, and they shivered from cold at night. “We didn’t find water for a long time, and I was losing it,” he explains. “I silently cursed the instructors because I wanted to quit. Then I thought, ‘Why am I blaming them? I willingly put myself in this situation, and if I do quit, I’m still going to have to walk out of here.’ Eventually I convinced myself I’d be OK if I just kept pushing forward.”

Ngo made it to the spot where a backpack with food, water, a poncho and a wool blanket waited. The rest of the course involved rigorous hiking and twice-daily oatmeal or grain meals, but now Ngo concentrated on mastering skills that would ease the hardship he’d just experienced. Over the week, he lost 30 pounds from the physical effort (not an uncommon occurrence, according to BOSS instructors), but he gained a new appreciation for his tenacity.

“I was humbled by how little I knew about keeping myself alive in a survival situation,” Ngo admits. “Getting back to basics made me realize we don’t need a lot of stuff in the wilderness to survive. I learned to focus on staying warm and dry and on finding food and water.”

Now, Ngo thinks he’s more patient — especially with those pesky email problems. “The experience also taught me not to overdo things: not to overeat, not to overcompensate, not to get upset over little things,” he adds. In the years since, he’s enrolled in first-aid training and completed other BOSS courses, including star navigation.

Why endure an ordeal like Ngo’s? “Fear comes from not knowing,” says Jeff Sanders, BOSS’s Utah field director. “When you freak out, things go badly. However, if experience teaches you that you can live a long time without food — and some time without water — then you don’t have to panic.”

Loving the Wilderness
The more you know about your place in nature, the less gear you need to carry with you to be safe — and even comfortable — in the wild. During his winter courses in Montana, Wilderness Arts Institute educator David Cronenwett challenges students to start a fire in 10 minutes with just one match and foraged wood. They can warm their hands at the group “backup” fire between trial runs. “It’s good to practice outdoor skills in the field, not just in your yard where conditions are less extreme,” he says.

Ultimately, the goal of instructors like Cronenwett is to help students respect nature, not fear it. Though a wilderness survival course might seem to focus on lost-in-the-woods, “man vs. wild” scenarios, it actually enhances the outdoor experience by helping you connect with nature, rather than facing off against it.

“The more you realize how much we humans depend on the land and landscape around us, the more you come to see that people aren’t separate from the rest of nature,” says Ancient Pathways’ Tony Nester. “We’re all part of that whole.”

Laurel Kallenbach is a freelance writer and editor from Boulder, Colo. She is a regular contributor to Experience Life.

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The Right Ride

Longing to slide into the stirrups on an equi-adventure? Answer these questions to help you pick the horse trip of your dreams.

By Laurel Kallenbach for Experience Life

What type of rider are you? Most outfitters distinguish between beginner, intermediate and advanced trips so that you’ll be riding with peers of similar abilities. Family trips welcome all abilities. To brush up your skills, try guest ranches, whose instructors help you practice on the trail.
Do you want to gallop around the globe? Choose from Highland ponies in Scotland, Arabians in Morocco or Tennessee Walking Horses in the Appalachians. Consider all types of terrain — mountains, savannahs, beaches — and don’t limit yourself to summer. Think snow riding or driving a horse-drawn sleigh.
What do you want to do when you’re not in the saddle? Some people want to ride all day. Others prefer blending horse adventures with fishing, cooking classes, wine tasting, cultural sight-seeing, hiking or kayaking.
Where will you rest your head? Sleep under the stars like a cowboy, travel from inn to inn on horseback, or pick a home base such as a ranch house or wilderness lodge and make day trips from there.
What’s your budget? Prices for equi-adventures range from less than $100 to thousands, depending on where you go, length of stay and accommodations (the cheapest options are half-day rides during a vacation). Keep in mind that most packages do not include airfare to your destination, or additional expenses such as on-your-own meals, gratuities or optional activities.

Laurel Kallenbach lives and writes in Boulder, Colo.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more, to subscribe, and to sign up for the Experience Lifenewsletter.

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Ride Away

Looking for an exhilarating way your whole family can explore the great outdoors together? Consider an unforgettably fun horseback-riding adventure.

By Laurel Kallenbach, for Experience Life

Coyotes howl in the distance as Jeff Moore and his daughter, Jill, eat cowboy grub by the campfire in California’s eastern Sierras. Nearby, horses nicker and munch hay. The Moores’ annual father-daughter horseback adventure — a four-day camping trip driving more than 100 horses 100 miles across the valley — lets them get away from daily routines and enjoy the freedom of wide-open spaces.

“I love horses and being outside with my dad,” says Jill, 18. “It’s fun getting dirty and riding fast to round up riderless horses that try to break away.”

The horse drives give the Moores, who live in Coto de Caza, Calif., a chance to bond. “There are no cell phones, laptops or TVs on this trip,” says Jeff, 52, a managing director for a commercial-real-estate brokerage firm. “I’m in beautiful country, riding a horse next to my daughter, having genuine conversations because we’re not distracted or busy.”

The two have saddled up every summer for the past 10 years, through 100-degree heat, rain, lightning, hail and even snow. “I used to think Jill would outgrow these horse trips,” says Jeff, “but she’s always excited to go and even invites other friends and families.” Wranglers from the Bishop, Calif.–based outfitter Frontier Pack Train match riders with a horse suited to their ability, so all ages can enjoy riding together.

Although Jill is heading off to college this fall, she intends to return next summer for the horse drive. “It’s a family tradition,” she says, “and it keeps us close.”

Equestrian treks — a.k.a. equi-adventures — are attracting both seasoned riders and first-timers. Less touristy than other getaways, horseback adventures take you through quiet countryside and challenging wilderness trails that are often inaccessible by vehicle or by foot, and they let you explore breathtaking landscapes in a unique, intimate way.

“Horseback riding can be such a rush — or really peaceful,” says Darley Newman, the host and producer of Equitrekking, a PBS travel series that takes viewers on horseback adventures around the world. “You get the physical challenge of riding different kinds of horses in the style of the place you’re visiting.”

You can gallop in Guatemala, canter in Canada, amble in Alaska or trot in Turkey. And you can choose rustic camping or opt for luxurious accommodations at a lodge or at inns along the trail. Either way, you’ll get plenty of fresh air and exercise — horseback riding works the inner thighs, hamstrings, calves and core abdominal muscles. (For equi-adventure planning tips, see “The Right Ride,” below.)

Never been on a horse? Not a problem. On some trips, wranglers coach beginners so they can improve while they ride on their vacation. If you’re a novice — or ride infrequently — start small before committing to a full-scale horseback excursion. “Incorporate one short ride into your vacation and see how it goes,” Newman suggests. “If you’re in Hawaii, spend one morning exploring part of the island on horseback. In wine country, take a bike tour one day, then ride a horse through a vineyard the next.”

Equi-adventures let you slow down and relive an era when horses were our primary mode of transportation. That historical appeal drew Trudy Campbell, an office administrator in Mississauga, Ontario, to sign up for a six-day trip through Wyoming’s Grand Tetons in a covered wagon train, organized by Hidden Trails, an outfitter in Vancouver, B.C.

“I hadn’t been on a horse in years, so I was wary, but I was so intrigued by stories of the Old West that I thought I’d try this trip,” says Campbell, 59. “The first day, the wranglers gave us basic riding instruction, then we got on our horses and away we went! The first thing we did was cross a flooded stream where the water was fast; I learned to trust my horse very quickly.”

Campbell’s vacation suited her skills. For half the day she rode a horse; in the afternoons, she traveled by covered wagon, which was also her night’s lodging. (The seats folded into bunks.) “Every morning I got up, stepped out of the wagon and — wow! — there were those incredible mountains.”

Riding in the wagons let Campbell rest enough that she eventually was able to spend one full day in the saddle, a feat that left her spirits buoyed and her legs a bit rubbery. “I had to learn to walk again when I got off the horse,” she jokes.

Besides spotting bear, elk and beaver, and reveling in the scenery, Campbell relived a cushier version of pioneer life — complete with cowboy songs and poetry. “The food was awesome, so other than sore butt muscles, there was no suffering on this trip.”

There’s no more empowering adventure than one with a horse, says Bayard Fox, owner of Equitours, based in Dubois, Wyo. “Horses are dynamic; it’s exhilarating working in partnership with these animals,” he says. “They’re completely with you — even if you’re riding in Africa when the lions are giving chase or when a zebra challenges you to a race. And you can feel the horse’s excitement and pleasure when you’re taking an exhilarating gallop on a beach.”

Many animal lovers sign on to an equitrek to spend time exploring the horse-human relationship. Outfitters usually pair each rider with a single horse for the entire trip, so you can request the type of personality that makes you comfortable: spirited or steady. On some riding trips, Fox says, you feed, saddle and groom your horse, too.

It’s a good idea to practice your riding skills before joining a trek — especially one rated as intermediate or advanced, which often requires riders to be on the horse for at least six hours a day, every day. (Horse ranches often offer this kind of training.) “If you’re in shape, you shouldn’t be the least bit sore after covering 10 to 20 miles a day in the saddle,” says Fox.

For her 70th birthday, Sally Schoettgen of Columbia, Calif., invited three girlfriends on an eight-day Equitours trip in southern Spain, where they rode purebred Andalusian horses from inn to inn. “Don’t let my age scare you!” Schoettgen quipped on the company’s questionnaire, which assesses riders’ skill and endurance. At home, she rides in the mountains three times a week, so she was in great condition for a cultural horse trek through villages in the Spanish Sierra Nevadas.

Astride a white Andalusian named Adra, Schoettgen followed ancient bridle paths through fig and almond farms and explored spectacular gorges. “We trotted and cantered a lot,” she recalls, “but it was thrilling when Adra and I could really run fast through the beautiful meadows.”

At day’s end, she and her friends arrived at a small village inn (their luggage came by van). “Our Spanish hosts treated us like family and prepared lovely dinners featuring the region’s best foods and wines,” she recalls.

“Having a hotel room waiting is a touch of luxury at the end of the trail,” Schoettgen says of the tour’s inn-to-inn format. “We could clean up, relax and get a good night’s sleep, which made it possible for us to ride six days in a row.”

During the week, the group covered a lot of territory and visited villages whose cobblestone streets were so steep and narrow that the riders had to lead their horses. “It was the perfect physical adventure,” Schoettgen recalls. “Instead of being just a spectator, I was an actual participant.”

Laurel Kallenbach lives and writes in Boulder, Colo.

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Endangered Places to See Now

By Laurel Kallenbach for Experience Life

Thinking about visiting an area hard-hit by global warming? Far-flung or nearby, many landscapes are in flux. Here are some important U.S. locations. For more ideas, read Frommer’s 500 Places to See Before They Disappear by Holly Hughes (Wiley, 2009).

Death Valley, Calif.: The vegetation that holds the desert soil and dunes in place is being threatened by heat and drought.

The Redwoods, Calif.: The giant, 2,000-year-old trees are at risk from forest fires.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore, N.C.: Severe storms and rising sea levels have caused beach erosion and loss of flora and fauna.

Nachusa Grasslands, Ill.: One of the last surviving prairies, this area is being protected from encroaching development.

Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Keys: This low-lying island is threatened by rising seas, reef bleaching and hurricanes.

The Everglades, Fla.: The marshy landscape and bird species are threatened by dwindling water, pollution and urban development.

Glacier National Park, Mont.: The namesake glaciers are melting and could be gone by 2030.

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska: Rising sea tides and glacial melting are changing the face of these mountains.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter.

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