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Wilderness Survival: A Snapshot
The sun is setting quickly, and from where you’re positioned, that is really not a good thing. The minuscule amount of remaining natural light and the heat that it brought was barely enough to keep you comfortable as it was, and now, with that fading, your atmosphere is getting grim. There’s very little left to do other than stoke the small fire next to your bed, feeding it one little log at a time in a feeble attempt to conserve the damp collection of wood you spent so many calories retrieving during the day.
As you cozy up in your down bag, the sonic waves of the wind thrashing the tightly secured vinyl-coated polyester tarp almost outweigh the sound of the actual waves coming from the ocean nearby. The thought of the ocean reminds you of a certain thought that you’ve been trying to keep buried but crawls its way to the surface of your mind, like a hairy-tailed mole, peaking out of its home in the ground after feasting on dirt and worms. That thought being: the ocean was what carried the boat that carried you here. It is your only true way back to civilization, to easily accessible food, warmth and people… ah, people.
What a welcome sound the voice of another human would be, but you’ve chosen to forgo that. You’ve chosen to be out here instead, risking your life, challenging yourself, and pushing your mental and physical limits, but when all of those thoughts are gone, what remains is the overwhelming realization that you are completely and utterly alone. The hunger nips at your stomach, bouncing off the walls of your ribcage, and you kick your feet up, bringing them closer to the fire, but as you do so, the searing pain in your left ankle swiftly reminds you of the root flare you caught your hiking boot on earlier that day. As you silently begin to worry, you wonder how you will regain your strength, how you will persevere and how you will make it another day surviving the wild..
Who is Dr. Tan?
This situation may sound unrealistic or even insane, but to competitors like Dr. Teimojin Tan from History Channel’s Alone, this is an ordinary day in the wilderness. Participating for the large sum of well-earned prize money is an incentive to some, but even more important to many is the challenge of self-discovering whether they have what it takes, based on knowledge and survival tactics, to last in the wilderness alone for this outdoor Canada survival competition.
The difference for someone like Dr. Tan of Montreal, Quebec, is that he possesses a very specific and useful set of skills. One that’s ideal for someone attempting to survive unassisted in the wilderness for a prolonged period of time. Not only is he a doctor and a former soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, but he is also an active survivalist and survival instructor to those looking to learn about outdoor survival tactics and techniques.
Oh, and like we mentioned a second ago, he went toe to toe with some incredibly talented outdoor survivalists to compete in season 9 of Alone, one of the most grueling and objectively best outdoor shows currently airing on television. The show typically involves participants who are highly skilled in hunting, bushcraft, foraging, and primitive wilderness skills, but something it has not often involved until the latest season was a contestant with an extensive medical background and a specialization in wilderness medical training.
Social Media for Wilderness Survival
A quick visit to his Instagram page @survival.doctors will lead you to a series of informative lessons on real-world medical emergency scenarios. From a makeshift tourniquet to how to best pack your wilderness first aid kit, the educational posts on improvised field medical solutions are some of the more interesting medical-related videos floating around. His specific brand of survival education is so captivating because the different types of injuries and ailments exemplified are all plausible and imaginable, especially to amateur outdoors enthusiasts.
Why Train with Survival Doctors?
His teachings in outdoor medical and survival tactics go much further than Instagram. In 2020, he founded the organization ‘Survival Doctors’ in order to train and educate interested participants to better prepare them for survival situations that may occur on a backcountry ski trip, a solo canoeing expedition, or even a short hike through a quiet section of forest just outside of the city. Ultimately, if you can become prepared for a bad situation, shouldn’t you? ‘Survival Doctors’ offers a comprehensive selection of useful outdoor survival tactics and medical skills courses in Canada and the US. The courses are offered throughout the year to cover differing climates and locations and to better prepare beginner outdoors people and seasoned guides for the challenge of surviving the wild.
Survival Course Ontario 2022
This October, Dr. Tan and seven other military veterans from Great Ape Empire, a super fantastic outdoors store in Wiarton, Ontario, run by and supporting veterans, offer an incredible outdoor survival program in Ontario. Over the course of six days, this group of highly trained and experienced professionals will teach critical medical skills such as wound dressing, how to treat spinal injuries in the field, management of hypothermia, psychological first aid, and so much more.
The program also includes training in survival areas like making shelters, foraging, trapping, fire making and more. Reading through the list of qualifications from the instructors is wild. Learning fire-making from Veteran and trained paratrooper James Milton Mailman and tactical combat casualty care from Veteran advocate Christopher Wayne Stoyles, you will be in incredibly capable hands. The course also includes your very own trauma kit as well as a copy of Juan Pablo Quinonez’s Thrive: Long-Term Wilderness Survival Guide and many more perks.
Sign-up
For prospective guides or those already working as outdoor guides of any sort, we at GuidED can’t think of a better opportunity than this to get the chance to learn some of the most important outdoor Canada survival skills to assist yourself and others in extreme scenarios. If you want to become a guide, this is a chance to learn in the presence of an amazingly skilled group of individuals who not only have a passion for outdoor living and wilderness survival but who have spent their lives doing so professionally. Every participant will also receive a specialized outdoor survival kit!
We are committed to connecting new and existing GuidED guides with opportunities such as this to improve your experience both running tours and trips with us and in your personal life. We believe that no amount of experience is too much when it comes to outdoor living and survival. Visit Survival Doctors to learn more about this fascinating and life-changing program, and sign up to discover what the GuidED ADVENTURE APP can offer you!