Off the Land

I am absolutely fascinated by survival stories. I read Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, twice, (it's being made into a movie, which my bro-in-law told me about, thus spawning this entry) and would stare at the photos of Chris McCandless wondering how and why anyone would want to do what he did, ultimately dying because of his choices. Or Carl McCunn who's grave error resulted in him having to choose between starvation or suicide, and ultimately choosing the quicker of the two. I watch I Shouldn't Be Alive and just cringe as people make poor mistakes only to realize, in hindsight if the are so fortunate to survive the experience, how detrimental those choices were. I can watch or read about people who choose to climb Mt. Everest, knowing full well the statistics on how many people die each year to achieve their ultimate high, and knowing they may be one of those people. I wonder why they do it.

I don't want to see how long I can survive on my wits alone in the wilderness. I don't want to climb a mountain, to stand atop it for a moment before beginning the trek back down. But I want to read about those that do. I want to flip through my book or have my eyes riveted to the TV screen as I try and gain understanding of the people that thrive to survive in extreme conditions. They will pay a ton of money to climb Everest, or they will throw every penny they have away to go and eat berries and live with the bears, in a place where money, time, human contact doesn't matter. Speaking of bears, there was that other guy, Timothy Treadwell, who studied bears in Alaska and ultimately he and his girlfriend got eaten by them. Totally captivating.

Sorry, but I don't want any part of that. I want to eat a meal cooked in a kitchen. Take a shower. Sleep in a bed that is not damp from dew. I am not into roughing it, though I can handle about a night or two, max, of camping. I love the outdoors, but to me the ultimate is to spend a day outside only to shower and dress for dinner and drinks in a comfortable setting and then sleep in a fluffy bed with clean sheets. So what drives these other types to do what they do? What is proven at the end? That they are better than people like me? They can live off of the land, eating berries and killing/cleaning/cooking their own game. They can climb the highest mountain in the world, some without oxygen and come down missing fingers or toes, $20,000 poorer, but proud as can be of their achievement. And I am not mocking the desire... it is so captivating to me, that I will be first in line to buy your book or watch your Made-for-TV movie. Sign me up... but just for that part.