Mine is from 1998; showing its age.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been distributing a little orange book called You Alone in the Maine Woods for Maine outdoor enthusiasts since 1972, and updating it over the years as necessary. They pack a lot of useful information in 67 pages, illustrations, survival tips, etc. The book is small and light enough that it’s easy to toss in your day pack, tackle box, vehicle survival kit or jacket pocket.
Being specific to Maine, there are some topics covered that may not apply to someone lost in a forest elsewhere, but many of the principles are the same.
There are helpful hints inside, like:
- you can use two spent shotgun shells, one stuffed inside the other, to make a match carrying case
- loggers, as they cut their way into the forest, cut trees away from the direction their coming from, so if you come upon a remote road, see which way the cut trees are pointing and go in the opposite direction
- maintain mental control: some people have been lost in the Maine woods without food or fire for over a week and survive, while others have been lost in less than one day – and died
- 25% of heat loss is through an uncovered head – wear a hat
- don’t pay much attention to shots being fired around dark, but pay close attention to shots being fired after dark
Then there are the obvious topics covered: water safety, treating hypothermia, ground to air codes, clothing, map and compass, shelter building, and so on. You can download the book for free right here (.pdf).
If you’re like me, and you want a paper copy for your personal survival kit, you can get a copy for FREE by ordering one from the Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife on this page. Of course, nothing is “free.” The book is paid for with Maine hunting/fishing license revenue, meaning I and a bunch of others are paying for them. So before you order one, please check the .pdf to make sure you want it.
I’ll end this post with an example illustration from the book.
– Ranger Man
BTW: Thanks to Rourke for helping me get the sidebar ads to show up in a random order.
8 comments
I always carried one of these with me when I was out hiking years ago. A handy little book for people who might want to venture into the Maine woods.
Cool little book. I live in a state where the weather changes constantly. I hv gone fishing at mid day with temps in the 70s wearing shorts and a t shirt and got stuck there. By dark it was around 25 degrees and starting to spit light snow. We denned up on the back of a log jam and built a fire behind a log used for a wind break and waited for our ride. Seems like less these days, but growing up they were all the time finding some idiot from the city who came out to hunt, got lost, paniced and got even more lost(running thru the woods? Why do they do that? What are they running from SQUIRRELS?) anyway, typicly when they are found, they will have all the stuff they needed to get thru a cold night in thier back pack and they were too stupid to sit down and build a fire and a shelter and wait for day break when they could see to find thier way out. Today, we have GPS and all manner of fancy ‘save me’ gadgets that work well enough I guess but not as well as whit and knowledge. Those are two things that will never fail you and the batteries dont run down on.
There is a $1.35 shipping Charge…Just so you know
I still have mine (two copies actually) from when I received my hunting certificates for both rifle and archery. Interesting read – most is intuitive but I view such basic information a great refresher. Moreso if you’re on the brink of a panic attack.
One thing the book doesn’t mention…is that you can also use the book’s pages as tinder for a fire, rolling papers, or TP.
Was watching CBS 10:00 am when the words ” CHAOS IS COMING ” flashed across the the TV screen . Want to know if anybody else seen it
Nah, didnt see it. Knew it tho:) They didnt have to tell us that, that is why we are here, because we already know. I think its funny all of things that are going on and people STILL CANT SEE IT! The handwriting is on the wall folks and it says get ready:)
I love my little orange book.
The illustration is reminiscent of the old school (1960’s) Boy Scout Handbook I keep in my hunting pack. That’s pretty cool that they have those for you guys, I wish VA would do something similar, but if they have I have never even heard of it.