I. General Knowledge
Among these, mental resilience is the key to overcoming adversity. Modern science has long proven the tremendous power of the mind, and its importance goes without saying.
1. Do Not Provoke Wild Animals
For example, in Botswana’s Chobe National Park in Africa, many animals roam freely. One day, a veterinarian and his assistant were chasing a baby elephant on motorcycles along a forest path. The mother elephant, who had been watching nearby, feared for her calf’s safety and charged, impaling the vet with her tusks. The assistant barely escaped with his life. In another case, a tailor was sewing when an elephant passed by and put its trunk through an open window. The tailor pricked the elephant’s trunk with a needle. Months later, the same elephant returned to the street, sucked up water at a fountain, and drenched the tailor who had teased it.
We also should not attempt to capture or feed young wolves, tigers, leopards, lions, or other wild predators, as they have an extraordinary sense of smell and may track you down for revenge.
2. Master Survival Skills
For instance, during World War II, British woman Julia survived a plane crash in the tropical jungles of North Africa. She endured months in the wild before being rescued. Her survival strategies included carefully selecting edible food, making a hammock to sleep in, marking her path to maintain direction, or following streams downstream. She also kept a fire going to cook, stay warm, provide light, and ward off animals.
Another example is Lydia, who survived a near-fatal ordeal in the Arctic in July 1994. Her survival tactics involved using maps, a compass, and terrain features to navigate, rationing food instead of eating it all at once, and carrying a survival kit (about the size of a metal cigarette box that holds 20 cigarettes) during outdoor expeditions.
3. Never Be Careless
For example, French female explorer Nicole Verdot once ventured alone into the jungle and even caught venomous snakes barehanded, but she also found herself in trouble due to carelessness. One night, while tracking a large monitor lizard in the bushes of Australia’s wilderness, the lizard suddenly disappeared into the undergrowth. She followed closely, only to have the ground collapse beneath her. She fell onto rocks several meters below and nearly lost consciousness. With sheer determination, she crawled back to her tent several kilometers away, but broke all her left ribs. (Source: Xingzhe Wenyu http://bbs.xzwyu.com)
Additionally, a botanist in the 1950s was conducting research in Lijiapo, Wuyishan, Fujian. While climbing, a tree as thick as a bowl snapped (it was rotten), causing him to tumble down the gully. At the critical moment, he managed to grab hold of a sandalwood tree and narrowly escaped death.
Another classic example occurred in November 1942 when a German submarine sank the ship “Banolom.” A 22-year-old Chinese crew member named Pan clung to a wooden plank and survived. After climbing onto a life raft, he found some food, but it ran out after a month. He then began collecting rainwater and fishing for food. When he caught a seabird, he momentarily forgot about collecting water or preparing food in his relief from loneliness. Eventually, he suffered from unbearable thirst, was forced to eat raw fish, suck fish juices, and even drink his own urine. Most painfully, he developed sores all over his body—his skin wrinkled, scabbed, and oozed pus. Eventually, a light rain saved him, and he was rescued after drifting at sea for 133 days.
Are you really safe inside a tent or sleeping bag? Not necessarily. It was reported that a villager woke up in the middle of the night to find something beside him. When he opened his eyes, he was terrified to see a leopard sleeping next to him. He quietly got up, set a trap with an iron chain, and when the leopard moved, it was caught. Villagers arrived to help cage the animal, and it was later released into the wild at the village chief’s urging.
In March 1978, on the night of March 10, Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura was awakened from his sleep by the growling of a polar bear. The bear was less than 10 meters away, but Uemura had carelessly not kept his rifle nearby or loaded it. Resistance was impossible, so his only option was to play dead. He lay still in his sleeping bag as the bear knocked over a dog food bowl and bit into a plastic bucket full of seal oil. Then he heard the bear’s footsteps approaching the tent. Suddenly, the bear’s paw pressed against Uemura’s temple. He held his breath as the bear roared, sniffed his body, and suddenly flipped him over. A small stove fell from its shelf and hit his leg, but he dared not make a sound. His mouth and nose were buried in the snow, and he could barely breathe. Time passed agonizingly slowly… After what felt like an endless minute, the bear finally left the tent. Uemura felt grateful to have survived what felt like a year-long minute. But he let his guard down again, moving before the bear had truly left. The bear returned, and Uemura couldn’t return to his previous position. Trembling with fear as the bear approached, a miracle happened—the bear, likely full from the dog food and seal oil, stopped at the tent, roared loudly, shaking the tent with its deafening growl. After venting its dominance, the bear finally left.
4. Pre-Trip Preparation
(1) Gather Travel Information
Outdoor adventures are physically demanding. Without good health, enthusiasm alone is not enough—you may face life-threatening situations. Therefore, before and during your adventure, assess your health status and follow relevant guidelines for medical checkups.
Gather as much information as possible about your destination. For example, understand the habits and characteristics of local people, their attitudes toward outsiders (hostile or friendly), cultural customs and taboos, as well as basic conditions of the area (river flow, waterfalls, rapids, mountain heights and slopes, vegetation, temperature and temperature variations, day and night length, tides, wind direction and speed, etc.).
(2) Make an Equipment Checklist
Based on the duration of your trip, prepare maps, food, water, medicine, clothing, emergency supplies, and special gear.
Clothing should be seasonally appropriate, loose-fitting for ease of movement, easy to wash, and have good moisture absorption and breathability. Wear cloth-soled, rubber-soled, or hiking shoes. Bring rain gear, utensils, sun hats, goggles, sunglasses, etc.
Choose dehydrated foods like biscuits and instant noodles. Wash and disinfect fruits, then pack them in food bags. Ensure utensils are hygienic and convenient—bring covered cups, kettles, and extra food bags.
(3) Develop an Action Plan
Leave room for flexibility in your plan. Consider countermeasures for various extreme scenarios such as blocked routes, vehicle breakdowns, lack of water or food, unusual weather, harsh road conditions, or disease outbreaks. Create a relaxed schedule for your adventure and coordinate with local authorities.
(4) Clarify Roles and Responsibilities
This is especially important for team expeditions. Assign specific roles such as medic, translator, cook, driver, gear manager, guide, etc.
(5) The Power of the Mind is Limitless
Good training and extensive knowledge bring confidence. Confidence helps people overcome fear and anxiety, extreme cold and heat, injury and pain, hunger and fatigue, boredom and irritation, despair and loneliness.
5. Emergency Supplies
There is a wide variety of emergency supplies, and the following are just some of the main ones:
(1) Lighting and Ignition
For example, matches—waterproof matches are preferable, but their bulkiness can be an issue; if using regular matches, wrap the heads in melted candle wax to ensure safety; to save space, you can cut off the rear half of the matches. There are also candles, which should be shaved into strips for easy placement; candles made of beef or sheep tallow can be eaten in emergencies, but be mindful of storage issues in hot weather. Then there are flint stones, which still work even in damp conditions; miniature flashlights can also be used for lighting, and should be equipped with high-power, long-life lithium batteries. Magnifying glasses can be used to focus sunlight for starting fires or tasks like removing splinters and threading needles. Beta lights are useful for reading maps at night or for fishing. Signal lights (panels): carry red and green mini-flashing signal light heads and pen-sized discharge bodies, as well as strips made of fluorescent materials.
(2) Daily Necessities
For instance, needles and thread, for sewing and removing splinters; prepare different sizes of needles, including at least one large one, and choose tough, wear-resistant thread wound around the needles. Fishhooks and fishing line, for fishing and bird-catching; small hooks can catch both large and small fish, while large hooks are only suitable for larger fish; fishing line should be as long as possible to aid in bird-catching (but be mindful of legal restrictions). A compass, for navigation, should have clear markings, be compact, preferably liquid-filled with no leaks or bubbles, and have a freely rotating needle. Snare wire, for setting traps, should be fine copper wire about 60–90 cm long. Saw blades—the handles at either end can be replaced with wooden stops, and the blade should be coated in oil to prevent rusting. Knives, such as folding knives or crescent-shaped machetes; sleeping bags—if the environment is damp, opt for synthetic fabric vacuum cotton sleeping bags; if staying dry, go for down sleeping bags; of course, breathable material camping bags are also an option. Backpacks—choose sturdy, comfortable, load-bearing, wear-resistant models with a frame, liners, waterproofing, and secure zippers. When packing, follow the principle of placing urgent items on top, heavier items on the bottom, and avoid overpacking. Stoves and cookware should go in side pockets, and food should maintain a balanced nutrition.
(3) First Aid and Medical Supplies
First aid and medical supplies include diagnostic tools like thermometers and blood pressure monitors; preventive items such as bleach powder, potassium permanganate, alcohol, iodine tincture, mosquito coils, and pest repellents; treatment supplies like adhesive tape, bandages, multi-use tweezers, and tourniquets; as well as medications such as antipyretics, analgesics, sedatives, antibiotics, antihistamines, blood sugar reducers, antispasmodics, central nervous system stimulants, cooling and heatstroke relief medications, digestive aids, anti-rheumatic drugs, topical medications, and antimalarials; a survival box (bag)—all first aid and medical supplies should be stored in this box and secured to a belt; also place solidified fuel, food, survival kits, and signal boxes in an aluminum lunchbox.
(4) Transportation and Communication
Ensure that vehicles are in good condition, with special modifications and reinforcements to handle extreme environments. Equip them with accessories like fuel tanks and water tanks, as well as repair tools; carry a mobile phone, radio, or miniature TV. Report your location, completed tasks, and plans for the next day to headquarters every evening. Listen to the weather forecast and check the time every morning. If communication is lost, immediately execute the emergency plan; strive to be equipped with a GPS global positioning system before departure.