Never give up - until you die!

Lord Robert Baden-Powell

“We are pilgrims, master:

For that last blue mountain covered in snow

Or maybe to the other side of the raging sea.

These words, taken from J. E. Flecker's book A Golden Journey to Samarkand, are carved on the memorial clock tower of the Special Forces headquarters in Herford.

I dedicate this book to all the Scouts of the world - each of the 28 million. You are part of a global army of good and one of the most powerful and most peaceful youth movements of all time. You have something to be proud of. But pride requires modesty and dedication from the Scout. Remember that your strength lies in the skills you acquire, the support you give to your friends, and the adventures that fill your life.

As the leader of Scouts in the UK, I never tire of admiring the fortitude that is inherent in Scouts around the world. May this power never run out!

Bear Grylls, UK scout leader

More than a hundred years ago, a lieutenant general in the British army organized a week-long camp for twenty boys on Brownsea Island, located off the southern coast of England. His name was Robert Baden-Powell. He named his guys "scouts" (scouts) after military intelligence officers, who, in his words, "were selected for their intelligence and courage, so that during the fighting they would go ahead of the army and find out where the enemy was." And Baden-Powell taught scouts what he himself had mastered during his impressive military career, - the ability to observe, navigate and survive in nature, as well as build shelters.

Baden-Powell could not have imagined how powerful the scouting movement would become today. Or maybe he imagined. After all, "mind and courage" will never go out of fashion, and this book is dedicated to them. Intelligence and courage are the beating heart of Scouting.

Much has changed in the past hundred years. Cities grew, technology improved. But the natural world remained the same. The stars that help us navigate have remained in their places; the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west; the animals leave the same footprints as before, and the fire burns just as brightly. Our scouting duty is to understand and protect nature and all living creatures in it, to be able to withstand the elements and to have the courage to follow where the spirit of adventure given by the Lord calls us, wherever it takes us.

I have written many books about how to survive in the wild and about various fascinating places on Earth. In these books, I used my experience gained in expeditions and campaigns in which I happened to participate. But I wrote almost nothing about the skills that I received during my service in the special forces. Much of this book is about skills that I still use to this day. The reason is simple. There is practically no difference between the knowledge and skills that are taught in the special forces troops and those that are used by the scouts. And I tried in this guide to summarize this knowledge and adapt many of the techniques that are used to train special forces soldiers to train scouts. Mastering these skills and acquiring knowledge will help them become highly trained professionals who will make up the elite of the scouting movement.

The motto of the Scouts is “Be prepared!”, and life, at its core, requires constant readiness to overcome difficulties. The Scout trains and prepares for new adventures, learns to work in a team, understand nature and masters the skills that will help him survive in any conditions, in a word, he is preparing for this and also for another life. We find peace in our souls through faith, and faith gives us the courage to go beyond the comforts of existence. For everything that a person strives for is precisely achieved by going beyond this comfort, by the desire to take risks; go to your dream, overcoming difficulties; love, overcoming pain; to hope, brushing aside doubts, and to live boldly, despite fear. In my life, I realized that the main thing is to be together, because together we become stronger. And the main thing in the life of a scout and a pathfinder is to rejoice, fight, dream and go forward, taking with you on hikes those you love.

So, go ahead, friends! Life is an adventure that you must rush into without any fear.

God bless you.

Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy (honorary)

Bear Grylls, UK Scout leader

Trouble awaits only those who are poorly prepared.

Roald Amundsen, polar explorer

It is very dangerous to underestimate climatic conditions. They can destroy you anywhere - you don't have to go to the Sahara or Antarctica for this. Respect the weather, learn to understand it - and you will always be able to survive.

To understand how a killer combination of factors - wind, rain, cold, heat and sun - can affect you, you need to know how the human body reacts to temperature. Humans are "homothermal" beings. This means that their body temperature is constant. It is supported by various mechanisms. For example, if we are hot, we sweat - this is how our body cools down; if we are cold, then we tremble - this is a reflex reaction that makes the muscles move. In this case, heat is released, which warms us.

Thanks to the mechanisms of maintaining a constant temperature, we do not freeze in the cold and do not die from overheating. Our body consists of an inner hot core (which houses the vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, liver and kidneys) surrounded by a colder protective shell (muscles, skin and fat). The core temperature usually stays around 36.8 °C. Even in very cold climates, this temperature should not change more than two degrees in either direction. If the temperature of the core rises above 42.7°C or falls below 28.8°C, then in the first case the person will die from overheating, and in the second from hypothermia.

But even with smaller temperature contrasts, too high or, conversely, too low a temperature has a very harmful effect on our body. Frostbite and hypothermia in the open air in freezing weather or passing out from dehydration in extreme heat is much easier than you think. Below, I will talk about how to deal with these problems if you encounter them. But it is better to try to avoid them - that is why you need to know exactly how to protect yourself from cold or heat. And by protection, I mean not only tents and sleeping bags, but also clothes and shoes. For they are your first line of defense against the vagaries of the weather.

“The feet make the soldier,” goes the old saying. It really is. Ask any soldier who fought in southern Afghanistan about this. The main battles were fought in the green zone - along the banks of the rivers, covered with lush vegetation and fertile soils. The ground here was so swampy that the feet of the soldiers did not dry out for hours, and sometimes for days, regardless of the quality of the shoes. And when, finally, they managed to dry their feet, the skin cracked and hurt. The cracks got infected. If the same thing happens to you, your trip will turn into torture.

Bear Grylls

Live in wild nature. Survival guide

Never give up - until you die!

Lord Robert Baden-Powell

“We are pilgrims, master:

For that last blue mountain covered in snow

Or maybe to the other side of the raging sea.

These words, taken from J. E. Flecker's book A Golden Journey to Samarkand, are carved on the memorial clock tower of the Special Forces headquarters in Herford.

I dedicate this book to all the Scouts of the world - each of the 28 million. You are part of a global army of good and one of the most powerful and most peaceful youth movements of all time. You have something to be proud of. But pride requires modesty and dedication from the Scout. Remember that your strength lies in the skills you acquire, the support you give to your friends, and the adventures that fill your life.

As the leader of Scouts in the UK, I never tire of admiring the fortitude that is inherent in Scouts around the world. May this power never run out!

Bear Grylls, UK Scout leader

Introduction

More than a hundred years ago, a lieutenant general in the British army organized a week-long camp for twenty boys on Brownsea Island, located off the southern coast of England. His name was Robert Baden-Powell. He named his guys "scouts" (scouts) after military intelligence officers, who, in his words, "were selected for their intelligence and courage, so that during the fighting they would go ahead of the army and find out where the enemy was." And Baden-Powell taught the Scouts what he himself had mastered during his impressive military career - the ability to observe, navigate and survive in nature, as well as build shelters.

Baden-Powell could not have imagined how powerful the scouting movement would become today. Or maybe he imagined. After all, "mind and courage" will never go out of fashion, and this book is dedicated to them. Intelligence and courage are the beating heart of Scouting.

Much has changed in the past hundred years. Cities grew, technology improved. But the natural world remained the same. The stars that help us navigate have remained in their places; the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west; the animals leave the same footprints as before, and the fire burns just as brightly. Our scouting duty is to understand and protect nature and all living creatures in it, to be able to withstand the elements and to have the courage to follow where the spirit of adventure given by the Lord calls us, wherever it takes us.

I have written many books about how to survive in the wild and about various fascinating places on Earth. In these books, I used my experience gained in expeditions and campaigns in which I happened to participate. But I wrote almost nothing about the skills that I received during my service in the special forces. Much of this book is about skills that I still use to this day. The reason is simple. There is practically no difference between the knowledge and skills that are taught in the special forces troops and those that are used by the scouts. And I tried in this guide to summarize this knowledge and adapt many of the techniques that are used to train special forces soldiers to train scouts. Mastering these skills and acquiring knowledge will help them become highly trained professionals who will make up the elite of the scouting movement.

The motto of the Scouts is “Be prepared!”, and life, at its core, requires constant readiness to overcome difficulties. The Scout trains and prepares for new adventures, learns to work in a team, understand nature and masters the skills that will help him survive in any conditions, in a word, he is preparing for this and also for another life. We find peace in our souls through faith, and faith gives us the courage to go beyond the comforts of existence. For everything that a person strives for is precisely achieved by going beyond this comfort, by the desire to take risks; go to your dream, overcoming difficulties; love, overcoming pain; to hope, brushing aside doubts, and to live boldly, despite fear. In my life, I realized that the main thing is to be together, because together we become stronger. And the main thing in the life of a scout and a pathfinder is to rejoice, fight, dream and go forward, taking with you on hikes those you love.

So, go ahead, friends! Life is an adventure that you must rush into without any fear.

God bless you.

Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy (honorary)

Bear Grylls, UK Scout leader

EQUIPMENT

What equipment do professionals use? What You Really Need and What You Don't

Trouble awaits only those who are poorly prepared.

Roald Amundsen, polar explorer

Protection from wind, rain, cold and sun - the "deadly" weather factors

It is very dangerous to underestimate climatic conditions. They can destroy you anywhere - you don't have to go to the Sahara or Antarctica for this. Respect the weather, learn to understand it - and you will always be able to survive.

To understand how a killer combination of factors - wind, rain, cold, heat and sun - can affect you, you need to know how the human body reacts to temperature. Humans are "homothermal" beings. This means that their body temperature is constant. It is supported by various mechanisms. For example, if we are hot, we sweat - this is how our body cools down; if we are cold, then we tremble - this is a reflex reaction that makes the muscles move. In this case, heat is released, which warms us.

Thanks to the mechanisms of maintaining a constant temperature, we do not freeze in the cold and do not die from overheating. Our body consists of an inner hot core (which houses the vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, liver and kidneys) surrounded by a colder protective shell (muscles, skin and fat). The core temperature usually stays around 36.8 °C. Even in very cold climates, this temperature should not change more than two degrees in either direction. If the temperature of the core rises above 42.7°C or falls below 28.8°C, then in the first case the person will die from overheating, and in the second from hypothermia.

But even with smaller temperature contrasts, too high or, conversely, too low a temperature has a very harmful effect on our body. Frostbite and hypothermia in the open air in freezing weather or passing out from dehydration in extreme heat is much easier than you think. Below, I will talk about how to deal with these problems if you encounter them. But it is better to try to avoid them - that is why you need to know exactly how to protect yourself from cold or heat. And by protection, I mean not only tents and sleeping bags, but also clothes and shoes. For they are your first line of defense against the vagaries of the weather.

http://www.litmir.net

“Life in the wild. Survival Instructions: Centerpolygraph; Moscow; 2013

ISBN 978-5-227-04419-8

annotation

The book of the famous British traveler, TV presenter and writer Bear Grylls is the result of a wealth of experience he gained during expeditions and trips in various parts of the world. He wandered through the jungle and swamps, made his way through dusty deserts and bare rocks, spent the night in tents and on trees, in caves, in huts and under open sky, always collected, cold-blooded, not losing his sense of humor, ready for the most unexpected obstacles. His Life in the Wild is an excellent one-stop guide for those who want to know what to pack and wear when they travel, how to organize a short stay and a long stay camp, how to master the art of handling fire, mining water where there is not a single source, arrange a reliable shelter and much, much more. The author devoted a special section to the ability to provide first aid. The book is provided with explanatory pictures.

Bear Grylls

Life in the wild. Survival guide

Never give up - until you die!

Lord Robert Baden-Powell
“We are pilgrims, master:

For that last blue mountain covered in snow

Or maybe to the other side of the raging sea.

These words, taken from J. E. Flecker's book A Golden Journey to Samarkand, are carved on the memorial clock tower of the Special Forces headquarters in Herford.
I dedicate this book to all the Scouts of the world - each of the 28 million. You are part of a global army of good and one of the most powerful and most peaceful youth movements of all time. You have something to be proud of. But pride requires modesty and dedication from the Scout. Remember that your strength lies in the skills you acquire, the support you give to your friends, and the adventures that fill your life.

As the leader of Scouts in the UK, I never tire of admiring the fortitude that is inherent in Scouts around the world. May this power never run out!

Introduction

More than a hundred years ago, a lieutenant general in the British army organized a week-long camp for twenty boys on Brownsea Island, located off the southern coast of England. His name was Robert Baden-Powell. He named his guys "scouts" (scouts) after military intelligence officers, who, in his words, "were selected for their intelligence and courage, so that during the fighting they would go ahead of the army and find out where the enemy was." And Baden-Powell taught the Scouts what he himself had mastered during his impressive military career - the ability to observe, navigate and survive in nature, as well as build shelters.

Baden-Powell could not have imagined how powerful the scouting movement would become today. Or maybe he imagined. After all, "mind and courage" will never go out of fashion, and this book is dedicated to them. Intelligence and courage are the beating heart of Scouting.

Much has changed in the past hundred years. Cities grew, technology improved. But the natural world remained the same. The stars that help us navigate have remained in their places; the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west; the animals leave the same footprints as before, and the fire burns just as brightly. Our scouting duty is to understand and protect nature and all living creatures in it, to be able to withstand the elements and to have the courage to follow where the spirit of adventure given by the Lord calls us, wherever it takes us.

I have written many books about how to survive in the wild and about various fascinating places on Earth. In these books, I used my experience gained in expeditions and campaigns in which I happened to participate. But I wrote almost nothing about the skills that I received during my service in the special forces. Much of this book is about skills that I still use to this day. The reason is simple. There is practically no difference between the knowledge and skills that are taught in the special forces troops and those that are used by the scouts. And I tried in this guide to summarize this knowledge and adapt many of the techniques that are used to train special forces soldiers to train scouts. Mastering these skills and acquiring knowledge will help them become highly trained professionals who will make up the elite of the scouting movement.

The motto of the Scouts is “Be prepared!”, and life, at its core, requires constant readiness to overcome difficulties. The Scout trains and prepares for new adventures, learns to work in a team, understand nature and masters the skills that will help him survive in any conditions, in a word, he is preparing for this and also for another life. We find peace in our souls through faith, and faith gives us the courage to go beyond the comforts of existence. For everything that a person strives for is precisely achieved by going beyond this comfort, by the desire to take risks; go to your dream, overcoming difficulties; love, overcoming pain; to hope, brushing aside doubts, and to live boldly, despite fear. In my life, I realized that the main thing is to be together, because together we become stronger. And the main thing in the life of a scout and a pathfinder is to rejoice, fight, dream and go forward, taking with you on hikes those you love.

So, go ahead, friends! Life is an adventure that you must rush into without any fear.

God bless you.
Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy (honorary)

Bear Grylls, UK Scout leader

Bear Grylls

Life in the wild. Survival guide

Never give up - until you die!

Lord Robert Baden-Powell

“We are pilgrims, master:

For that last blue mountain covered in snow

Or maybe to the other side of the raging sea.

These words, taken from J. E. Flecker's book A Golden Journey to Samarkand, are carved on the memorial clock tower of the Special Forces headquarters in Herford.

I dedicate this book to all the Scouts of the world - each of the 28 million. You are part of a global army of good and one of the most powerful and most peaceful youth movements of all time. You have something to be proud of. But pride requires modesty and dedication from the Scout. Remember that your strength lies in the skills you acquire, the support you give to your friends, and the adventures that fill your life.

As the leader of Scouts in the UK, I never tire of admiring the fortitude that is inherent in Scouts around the world. May this power never run out!

Introduction

More than a hundred years ago, a lieutenant general in the British army organized a week-long camp for twenty boys on Brownsea Island, located off the southern coast of England. His name was Robert Baden-Powell. He named his guys "scouts" (scouts) after military intelligence officers, who, in his words, "were selected for their intelligence and courage, so that during the fighting they would go ahead of the army and find out where the enemy was." And Baden-Powell taught the Scouts what he himself had mastered during his impressive military career - the ability to observe, navigate and survive in nature, as well as build shelters.

Baden-Powell could not have imagined how powerful the scouting movement would become today. Or maybe he imagined. After all, "mind and courage" will never go out of fashion, and this book is dedicated to them. Intelligence and courage are the beating heart of Scouting.

Much has changed in the past hundred years. Cities grew, technology improved. But the natural world remained the same. The stars that help us navigate have remained in their places; the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west; the animals leave the same footprints as before, and the fire burns just as brightly. Our scouting duty is to understand and protect nature and all living creatures in it, to be able to withstand the elements and to have the courage to follow where the spirit of adventure given by the Lord calls us, wherever it takes us.

I have written many books about how to survive in the wild and about various fascinating places on Earth. In these books, I used my experience gained in expeditions and campaigns in which I happened to participate. But I wrote almost nothing about the skills that I received during my service in the special forces. Much of this book is about skills that I still use to this day. The reason is simple. There is practically no difference between the knowledge and skills that are taught in the special forces troops and those that are used by the scouts. And I tried in this guide to summarize this knowledge and adapt many of the techniques that are used to train special forces soldiers to train scouts. Mastering these skills and acquiring knowledge will help them become highly trained professionals who will make up the elite of the scouting movement.

The motto of the Scouts is “Be prepared!”, and life, at its core, requires constant readiness to overcome difficulties. The Scout trains and prepares for new adventures, learns to work in a team, understand nature and masters the skills that will help him survive in any conditions, in a word, he is preparing for this and also for another life. We find peace in our souls through faith, and faith gives us the courage to go beyond the comforts of existence. For everything that a person strives for is precisely achieved by going beyond this comfort, by the desire to take risks; go to your dream, overcoming difficulties; love, overcoming pain; to hope, brushing aside doubts, and to live boldly, despite fear. In my life, I realized that the main thing is to be together, because together we become stronger. And the main thing in the life of a scout and a pathfinder is to rejoice, fight, dream and go forward, taking with you on hikes those you love.

So, go ahead, friends! Life is an adventure that you must rush into without any fear.

God bless you.

Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy (honorary)

Bear Grylls, UK Scout leader

EQUIPMENT

What equipment do professionals use? What You Really Need and What You Don't

Trouble awaits only those who are poorly prepared.

Roald Amundsen, polar explorer

Protection from wind, rain, cold and sun - the "deadly" weather factors

It is very dangerous to underestimate climatic conditions. They can destroy you anywhere - you don't have to go to the Sahara or Antarctica for this. Respect the weather, learn to understand it - and you will always be able to survive.

To understand how a killer combination of factors - wind, rain, cold, heat and sun - can affect you, you need to know how the human body reacts to temperature. Humans are "homothermal" beings. This means that their body temperature is constant. It is supported by various mechanisms. For example, if we are hot, we sweat - this is how our body cools down; if we are cold, then we tremble - this is a reflex reaction that makes the muscles move. In this case, heat is released, which warms us.

Thanks to the mechanisms of maintaining a constant temperature, we do not freeze in the cold and do not die from overheating. Our body consists of a hot inner core (which houses the vital organs: brain, heart, lungs, liver and kidneys) surrounded by a colder protective shell.