Good Reading

I just finished this book from the library. Lost In the Wild is comprised of two accounts of actual search and rescue operations in the north woods of Minnesota.
A solo hiker heads out on a 'short' route in October, makes a handful of poor decisions, and barely survives.
A scout guide working at Northern Tier gets lost after an accident.

I won't tell you more, but I felt the writing was excellent and the two stories were sooo easy to relate to. One is a great example of how small mistakes snowball into real trouble, kind of like how hypothermia can sneak up on you. The other shows how everything can go bad in just an instant, like breaking your leg.

The two stories are interleaved, a chapter at a time, through the book but they are not related. I didn't like that so I just read one of the stories straight through, and then the other, by reading alternating chapters in the book.

I would highly recommend reading Lost In the Wild this winter and consider asking your scouts to read it as well. Just don't let the moms of your 2013 Philmont or Norther Tier crew members read it. :-)

Using the stories as discussion topics in high adventure preparation could be very useful - maybe give a situation and then ask what the 'lost' person should do and what the rest of the crew should do. Compare that to what actually occurred.

I feel that scenarios are a great way to help prepare for outdoors adventures. These two stories are just real-life reinforcement that things can and do go wrong. You could have everyone on your crew come up with a situation to present and the crew works them out - hey, sounds like Dungeons and Dragons! But, instead of "You hit the ogre with your +5 broadsword and he smashes your head for -22 damage", it's more like "You leap across the creek with your +2 hiking boots but twist your ankle for -8 damage." Ouch!

Any other good books that pertain to Scouting out there?
Scout On