98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive Read online

  Table of Contents

  Praise

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Foreword

  WHY A SURVIVAL KIT?

  Chapter 1 - SURVIVAL SITUATIONS: HOW DO THEY START?

  Chapter 2 - SURVIVAL VS. PRIMITIVE LIVING, OR “LIVING OFF THE LAND”

  The Modern Survival Scenario

  Primitive Living

  Differences

  Chapter 3 - SURVIVAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER PRIOR TRAINING

  Chapter 4 - WHY FEAR SUCKS

  Chapter 5 - DEALING WITH THE SURVIVAL SCENARIO: ATTITUDE, ADAPTATION, AND AWARENESS

  Attitude

  Cultivating Rational Insanity andthe Art of “Party On”... Understandingthe ...

  The Essence of “Party On”

  Adaptation

  Awareness

  Chapter 6 - REDUCING THE THREAT OF THE SURVIVAL SITUATION: THE SEVEN Ps

  Chapter 7 - WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY ALIVE: COMMON POWERFUL PERSONALITY PATTERNS ...

  Common personality traits of survivors

  Calm and Collected

  Improvise and Adapt

  Make Decisions

  Endure Hardship

  Figure out the Thoughts of Others

  Hope for the Bestand Prepare for the Worst

  Maintain a Sense of Humor

  Chapter 8 - THE MOST COMMON WAY TO PUSH UP DAISIES IN THE OUTDOORS

  Hypothermia

  Hyperthermia

  When It’s Cold

  When It’s Hot

  Signs and Symptoms of Hyperthermia

  How to Screw Up a Cell Membrane

  Chapter 9 - HOW YOUR BODY LOSES AND GAINS HEAT: THE PHYSICS OF FREEZING YOUR ...

  Conduction

  Convection

  Radiation

  Evaporation

  Respiration

  Cold Temperatures

  Hot Temperatures

  Chapter 10 - YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE

  Cold Weather

  Hot Weather

  The Layering System

  Properties of Clothing Materials

  Short- and Long-Term Heat Production Methods

  Water

  Deadly Dehydration

  Exotic Methods

  Four Factors for Faster Hydration : Hydratingquickly for maximal efficiency at ...

  Four Factors foraccelerated maximalhydration

  Adequate Volume

  Temperature

  Minimal Salts, Carbohydrates, and Sugars

  Carbonation

  Hauntingly Hideous Hyponatremia

  Precious Stuff

  Chapter 11 - ABOUT YOUR RESCUERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR SAVING GRACE

  Technology: The double-edged sword

  Chapter 12 - HELPING RESCUERS BRING YOU BACK ALIVE: LEAVING RESCUERS A 5-W ...

  WHERE you will be going

  WHEN you will return

  WHAT vehicle you’re driving(or whatever means of transportation you’re using)

  WHO is in your party

  WHY you’re taking the trip

  The tin-foil tip-off

  Chapter 13 - WHAT IS A SURVIVAL KIT?

  Making Your Own Kitas Opposed to Purchasing One

  Factors to Consider Before Creatingor Purchasing Your Survival Kit

  Preparing Your Kit:13 Tantalizing, Tried-and-True Tips to FollowBefore Creating ...

  Prepare Your Kit to Be:

  Relevant to the Environment

  Lightweight and Portable

  Waterproof

  Durable and Dependable

  Physical Fitness and Expertise

  Variety of Conditions

  Multiple-Use Components

  Calorie-Conserving Components

  Panic Proofed

  Easily Purchased or Made

  Affordable Yet Effective

  Field Tested

  Simple

  Chapter 14 - SURVIVAL KIT COMPONENTS

  My Survival Kit Container

  Survival Kit Priorities

  Explaining My Kit Components

  Two heavy-duty freezer bags(one gallon and one quart):Courageous, cheap ...

  Tincture of Iodine 2%:How not to barf up a lung from the faucet to the field.

  One condom (nonlubricated):The private, passionate, pleasuresof purchasing ...

  Regular space blanket(bronze and silver sided):How to use that shiny thing ...

  One roll of dental floss:Four out of five dentists agree that you can ...

  Colored surveyor’s tape (3 or 4 feet):An opportunity to play Hanseland Gretel ...

  Pea-less, brightly colored plastic whistle:When being a blow hard pays off.

  Paraffin-coated, strike-anywhere kitchenmatches in a brightly colored match ...

  Disposable butane lighter(brightly colored, nonopaque,adjustable flame, ...

  Magnesium-block fire starterwith hacksaw blade striker:Getting the most from ...

  Six to eight cotton balls saturated with petroleumjelly in a brightly colored ...

  Credit-card-sized magnifyinglens in brightly colored sheath:A sound alternative ...

  Flashlight and lanyard with twoAA batteries (brightly colored):Improvised light ...

  Two spare AA batterieswith date of purchase:Extra juice means a lot more use.

  Extra carbon-steel knife with sheath:Cutting-edge technology fromthe Stone Age ...

  8- to 9-inch overall length

  Fixed, full-tang blade

  Comfortable, easy-to-hold, oval handle

  Wide sharpening bevel

  Straight-pointed tip

  Carbon-steel blade

  Practice, practice, practice

  Clear plastic drinking tube (3 feet long):The more you suck, the better things seem.

  Collapsible, 1- to 2-Gallon water container:Properly picking premium ...

  Two 55-gallon barrel liners or threelarge-capacity leaf bags (store rolledup in ...

  Heavy-duty space blanket(brightly colored):More fun with physics through ...

  Wool or syntheticstocking cap (brightly colored):Functional fashion for the ...

  Cotton bandana (brightly colored):A multiuse joy no gang member should be without.

  100 feet of 550-pound-testparachute cord (white color forsummer, olive or black ...

  Three-by-five-inchglass, sightablesignal mirror withbrightly ...

  How to Signal for Rescue

  Homemade first-aid kit:Bandaging the boo-boos while soothing the scrapes.

  Uncle Peppy’s patented power pack stack:You’re weak, weary, and worried but ...

  How much?

  7.5-minutetopographical map and compass:Finding out for certain if you’re ...

  Two candy or nutrition bars:A little glucose rush for thatfinal push to save ...

  Chapter 15 - SUMMARY

  Chapter 16 - THE AMAZING“THE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOSARE REALLY COOL BUT I’MTOO ...

  If it’s COLD outside

  If it’s HOT outside

  The Gotta-Have-It Stuff

  Must-Have Conceptsfor a Short-Term Survival Kit

  Survival Kit Components in Cody’s Kit

  Choosing the Right Instructor

  Praise (and otherwise) for

  98.6 Degrees:

  The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!

  "98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! doesn’t just tell you how to survive in the wilderness. It smacks you in the face and insists that you’re going to survive!”

  —Alan Dean Foster, New York Times best-selling author

  “Cody Lundin is the Pied Piper of outdoor survival skills, a man
you’d willingly and cheerfully follow into the woods. In his book, he teaches you how to survive with a precious few tools and most importantly, your wits. His words and wisdom are consciousness-raising and potentially lifesaving. His approach is fun, at times radical, and always eye-opening, so the lessons will sink into even the thickest skull. Heed his advice, for the Piper knows his stuff.”

  —Tom Shealey, former executive editor of Backpacker magazine

  “My enthusiasm, when recently asked to review a new ‘how-to-survive book’ wasn’t exactly overwhelming! That is until I began to read 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! As I progressed through the book, my enthusiasm rapidly grew with each turned page. Finally, a book that ‘tells it like it is’ with no fancy wrappings. As a lifelong survival instructor I have cringed at the ‘BS’ that is regurgitated in the popular outdoor press and in the many cookie-cutter books that are published on the subject. 98.6 is a breath of fresh air and a hard-hitting, no-nonsense book filled with practical information—reading it might literally save your life!”

  —Peter Kummerfeldt, owner, OutdoorSafe Inc.; member, Wilderness Medical

  Society; and former Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE)

  training director for the U.S. Air Force Academy

  “Earthy, philosophical, life-affirming, and pragmatic, 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! offers far more than practical insights and a tool list for wilderness survival. Staying alive begins with a full understanding of the complex human body/mind survival mechanisms, which Cody Lundin decodes in practical language fortified with rally mantras like ’Remember, your life is worth the fight!’ and ‘Party On!’ Detailing the essential mindset, how to preserve your health, and the safest ways to get home from the worst kind of wilderness crisis, Cody Lundin relies upon our most human attributes—intellect, instinct, and physiology. 98.6 is a life-affirming celebration and a must read—it’s your key to backcountry survival when the road or trail ends unexpectedly and a life-threatening predicament ensues.”

  —Moses Ludel, author of Jeep Owner’s Bible

  and past board member for the national TREAD LIGHTLY! program

  “This is not your father’s survival manual. Cody’s unique and somewhat irreverent approach serves to capture your attention, and his practical survival tips could save your life.”

  —Doug Ritter, editor, Equipped to Survive

  “We can’t endorse your book, mostly for stylistic reasons ... the whole gonzo attitude ... the routine profanity, the plainly sexist illustrations, and the religious stuff ... would make it problematic for NOLS to have our name supporting this book. Our endorsement just isn’t even a question.”

  —John Gookin, curriculum manager,

  National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

  “98.6 is a welcome addition to the world of survival manuals. Cody has gone direct to the core of survival (that many authors of the subject either neglect or relegate to a paragraph—at most a chapter) and has devoted his entire manuscript to staying alive. Unlike other books on survival that devote their contents to skills, tricks, and gadgetry that overwhelm the reader, Cody (1) drives home the basics that kill most people placed in a survival situation, (2) goes on to tell you how to prevent them, and (3) tells you how to achieve the best chance of rescue. Although this book is directed toward the novice, it has loads of information (and presentation quality) that will benefit many of today’s survival instructors. Regardless of who the reader is, he/she will come away with an understanding of how to stay alive in the wilderness.”

  —John McPherson, author of Naked into the Wilderness,

  Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills

  “Since 1961, I’ve taught people about the outdoors and how to live and survive, especially in winter. From polar regions to the desert and jungles, I’ve lived off the land, survived, and returned. When it comes to teaching survival, there are talkers and there are doers. Encapsulated within Cody’s book is the essence of doing it—coming back alive—no bullshit, no gimmicks, no untried theories. It’s attitude that counts and Cody’s got it! If death stares me in the face, I want Cody by my side. If he can’t be there, give me his book. Get the attitude also, study with Cody!”

  —Dr. James C. Halfpenny, president of A Naturalist’s World; fellow of the

  Explorer’s Club; and author of Winter: An Ecological Handbook

  and A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America

  “Sorry, but Anglo-Saxon vulgarisms give evidence of lack of imagination and limited vocabulary, and are not to be taken seriously.”

  —Col. Jeff Cooper (retired), editor-at-large, Guns & Ammo magazine

  “Survival Knowledge Explained: Get a handle on the problems you could encounter when straying off the beaten path. Stack the deck in your favor by carrying a few essentials (the kit) that can contribute to your comfort, and tell someone when and where to look for you when you are overdue. Drink enough water, get enough sleep, and realize the importance of not letting your body temperature rise or drop from its norm of 98.6, and there is a good chance you will survive long enough (without having to eat) to be rescued even if it takes a month. The rationale behind this—and more—is very well laid out in 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! It is one of the few refreshing survival manuals that presents a truly modern and updated approach to survival knowledge. How many manuals today delve as much into the importance of sleep and clothing in survival? The psychological aspects of survival as presented by Lundin make more sense than virtually any other survival manual that I have read so far. 98.6 is an outstanding modern survival manual.”

  —Mors Kochanski, wilderness living skills instructor and author of the

  Canadian bestseller Bush Craft: Wilderness Living and Survival Skills

  “Cody does it again! With his rapid-fire, no-holds-barred teaching style, Cody shows you how to live the good life in the wild outdoors. Party On, Dudes! This is not another silly rip-off of how not to do it. Cody has the time-tested skills and knowledge that it takes to get it right. He knows from firsthand experience acquired in the field where it really counts and explains things clearly and accurately, with a showman’s timing and scholar’s attention to detail. 98.6 is the one book every outdoor traveler needs to memorize!”

  —David Wescott, former president, Boulder Outdoor Survival

  School and author of Camping in the Old Style

  “98.6 is a must for anyone who’s serious about staying alive. We provide a complimentary copy to all of our clients purchasing specialty SUVs.”

  —Evan Pownall, CEO, Performance Autos Unlimited

  “In this book Cody has succinctly and ‘in your facedly’ blown away the often-written extraneous ‘BS’ and filler info concerning one’s absolute, basic physiological, psychological, and material needs in a short-term survival situation. Then he clearly presents the necessary planning and means for being truly prepared. If R. Crumb’s late-60s underground comic character Mr. Natural had read this book, then found himself in a real survival situation, I’ll bet he’d wisely expound, ‘I found the right tool for the job!‘ Now YOU have too! Plan ahead, keep your wits, and Party On!”

  —Jim Riggs, primitive living skills instructor

  and author of Blue Mountain Buckskin

  “I’ve read or skimmed just about every ‘survival’ book written since I first

  started wandering around in the boonies as a pre-teen Boy Scout, and I can‘t

  think of anything more boring than yawning and snoring over yet another

  ‘How to Survive in the Woods with Nothing More than a GPS and Cell Phone‘

  by Eddie Expert who copied every chapter from the U.S. Air Force Survival

  Manual. Anyway, What’s this I see? Illustrations by Russ Miller? Actual

  ‘humor’ applied to such a ‘serious’ subject? Irreverence in the face of catastrophe

  ? Poo-pooing the ‘experts’? Trying to separate the bull
from the bullshit?

  Son, how dare you flaunt your idiosyncratic ideas and creative approach to

  such a tried-and-true dull subject. What will all those Rangers, S&R folks,

  Sheriff’s Posses, and other ‘experts’ think of such a callous approach to keeping

  one’s ass alive? How dare you expect people who venture into the boonies

  to be responsible for themselves. Don’t you know we live in a ‘Great Cry-Baby

  Society’ where everyone else is responsible for you and your screw-ups? How

  dare you expect folks to think for themselves and get themselves out of their

  own predicaments. Don’t you know that thousands of law-school graduates

  need money and will sue your ass for expecting people to keep their own asses

  alive? And, to be honest, since I am a bonafide ‘expert’ on survival myself, I

  really don’t need this book ... but—maybe I’ll just keep this here copy tucked

  into my survival blanket. I could always use some new ideas, bring it out for a

  few chuckles under the desert stars. Let’s see here ... hmm ... hell, this is pretty

  good writing. It is refreshingly different from the other ‘sleeping-pill survival

  books’ I’ve been forced to read and review. Ya know, maybe I’ll order a few

  more copies for my friends. Hell, maybe I’ll even send a few to my enemies.”

  —Dave Ganci, Rogue Senior, Coyote Face, Ghengis Khan admirer,

  Cheap Beer ‘Expert’, bona-fide Desert Rat, and author of The Basic

  Essentials of Desert Survival and Desert Hiking

  “This book is HOT ... and, yes, this book is COOL! Mr. Lundin has anchored his survival treatise in the ultimate reality world of those things that push your thermostat too high or too low. Boiling it down to basics, he combines psychology, soul, and sound technique to keep your temperature in the ‘live another day’ zone. Pay attention mountain, desert, and forest travelers, and you, too, can emerge truly COOL from the most trying of tests ... survival, with your wits, in a hostile environment.”