Ah,
Aren't a good pair of hiking boots the best Dave?
Right gear and you feel like you could survive anything.
Speaking of surviving anything...
I thought my friends from out of country would like this...
there is a new reality show [I know I know...eeech...so what...but...]
this show is called "Alone" on the history channel.
It is a bunch of people who "think" or "say" they are professional wilderness survivors....they are dropped off alone in a specific geographical area..with no contact with anything or anyone or each other...there is a prize for the last man standing who doesn't drop out...they all do not know if the others are still in the running or if there is anyone left in the contest other than themselves even.
And guess where they are dropped off...
The north end of Vancouver Island....here...where I live.
It is hilarious watching these guys...mainly americans and city-dwellers who think they know how to survive and deal with solitude or the terrain or the climate or the wildlife.
The weather on the island here isn't consistent ...the mainland-facing side of Van. Isle is drier [california-esque almost due to the island mountains catching most of the rain before it gets to us] and most of the population lives on the mainland- facing side of the island. The rest of the island is wilderness with a few small communities and is very much a rainforest.
So the show doesn't depict the "whole" of the island in respect...but rather 3/4 to perhaps 7/8ths of the island's climate and wildlife.
I think you guys would like the show...
I hate to say it but it is a good primer ...
for understanding how to be prepared for our off-road country..
and have a healthy respect for it...
and get a laugh watching some Ego-steak turn to Humble-pie right quick.