For those interested in wilderness survival, National Geographic will be airing a new show sometime this month (September) called ‘Alone in the Wild’. It will cover the exploits of Ed Wardle, a self-shooting documentary producer/director who is dropped off alone for 50 days in the Canadian Yukon.

What I found really interesting is that according to National Geographic, Ed does not bring years of wilderness survival expertise to the show but instead is only an experienced outdoorsman seeking to test himself in the wilds. This will be very interesting to see how he fares compared to Discovery Channel’s Les Stroud (Survivorman) who has some obvious skill in survival.

One thing that I did notice right away in watching some of the online video clips is the amount of gear that he brought with him — it looks like he’s got a 65 pound pack full of gear, another large duffel with food, some guns, and a canoe among other things. So for you disappointed purists out there, give the guy a break, he is after all doing a show on being alone in the wild, not showcasing his survival prowess.

In any event it will be interesting to watch and I look forward to seeing it when it airs. Despite the gear, 50 days in a ’survival’ setting is still a difficult task and I have great respect for him. After all, the longest I’ve been out in the wild in a survival situation (I only had a knife, a wool blanket, and a firestarter) was for a week and even that was pretty difficult.

Related posts:

1. The Weekly Tactical Touch-Point: Cheap Hennessy Hammock Edition
2. Dual Survival
3. The Fantastic Four – 4 Essential Wild Edible Plants that May Just Save Your Life

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