Great article here by Laurence Gonzales (author of Deep Survival).

-Blast

I picked up this issue of NG while I was flying last week, but I havent read it yet. Thanks for the link!!

Garrett

Famous last words: "Don't worry, it's just like training."

Thanks Blast, this was very cool, it spelled out some things I'd suspected instinctively by analyzing my own screw ups, but never bothered to put into words. This is why the "gifted amature" can sometimes survive where the "trained professional" doesn't. It isn't that the pro's "stuff" wasn't "right" enough, but that it was too "right".

I like the story about the wilderness firefighter who set his watch alarm to go off every hour when he was fighting a fire, so that he could stop what he was doing and evaluate his surroundings. Also the story the author told about being in survival school and watching his instructor "amble" along and evaluate his surroundings. I feel this is very important in everyday life, not just in a survival situation.

"...situational awareness..."

Best to keep aware all of the time too, not once every hour. Things can go bad a little faster than that...