by G. Rouse The first time I was put in a survival situation, I remember it was like my mind began to spin like a rolodex trying to find a familiar point. We live our lives in a modern society where we know many points of reference and can almost always find help. There’s cell phones, street signs, people, buildings, and all kinds of landmarks. But in an emergency, what if you can’t find a familiar point of reference or there’s no help to be found. Research shows whenever an individual is

by G. E. Rouse L ooking back on the first emergency situations I ever dealt with, I was always amazed at how the brain would start to racing no matter what you did. We live our lives in a modern society where we know many points of reference and can almost always find help. There’s cell phones, street signs, people, buildings, and all kinds of landmarks. But in an emergency, what if you can’t find a familiar point of reference or there’s no help to be found. Research shows whenever an

My daughter, Jerah, is a voracious reader. And by voracious I mean she spends nearly all of her waking moments reading (she reads at the dinner table, in the bathroom, while walking, while she is supposed to be doing her schoolwork…). I asked her to collect 13 books she really liked reading so I could share them with my readers. So here they are — 13 books Jerah highly recommends. The Incredible Journey , by Sheila Burnford. "Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. A

Photo: “Wild Girl” Becky Lerner Both the white and blue flowers in the photo above are camas. The white one will kill you, but the blue one is food. The native people of the Portland area considered blue camas root a staple. It took three days of cooking in underground fire pits to make it edible. The bulb is said to taste like a sugary, sweet potato. From May 24 through May 30, local “Wild Girl” Becky Lerner will be eating an entirely wild diet as she forages from sidewalks, parks, wildernes

I’m not going to lie, when I first heard that we were having a girl, a small tinge of disappointment hit me; I’d really been hoping for a boy. I know, turn me in for the jerk-of-the-year award. It wasn’t that I didn’t want a girl, it was just that I didn’t know how I would relate to, or help raise a sex that preferred tea parties to a rugby match. It was easy to imagine how I would bring up a boy. Strict discipline mixed with love and honor, lessons of wilderness survival, famous battles, e

First of all, I'd like to shout out a big thank you to literary agent Brendan Deneen for judging 300 entries. Brendan, you rock! Without further ado, I give you the winners: 10 HONORABLE MENTIONS Submission of one chapter & a synopsis, if you have one #10 Retrieving a priceless sword buried in a mysterious sculpture garden is 14 year old Emma Walker's answer to her family's financial problems, but when she pulls it from the earth where it lay buried for decades, the sword sends her ba

Published authors are known to have haunted these parts over the past few years. These are the ones I know about: SUSAN ALCORN: Camino Chronicle: Walking to Santiago — Susan, known to cavort around the backcountry with Ralph Alcorn, another THD regular, recounts her hike across historic Spain. From a reader’s review: “This highly personal account is interwoven with a sketch of the bloodstained history of the Camino from the beheading of St. James and his miraculous appearance to lead t

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will offer a wilderness survival and land navigation clinic as part of DFG's Advanced Hunter Education Program. The two-day, overnight clinic will be held on June 20 and 21 at the Crystal Basin, South Fork Group Camp in the El Dorado National Forest.

Glendale, AZ: - It’s time to get outdoors and Cabela’s is offering tips, tricks and ideas to get you and your family going. Every Thursday night for 13 weeks, experts will be presenting topics that will inspire and motivate. The classes are free, start at 7pm and will be held in the store’s air-conditioned conference room. Classes include: May 7 Hiking in and Around Phoenix May 14 Take this Tent and Pitch It May 21 Hey Mom, I’m Hungry May 28 Families that Fish Together, Stay Together June

Today we're thrilled to have 5 fabulous Blaze Authors in the lair! Tawny Weber, Kira Sinclair, Jillian Burns, Marie Donovan and Jennifer LaBrecque all have new releases out this month. Please join me in giving them a hearty Bandit welcome! Each author answered four quick questions to get us rolling today and don't forget to check out the blurbs of their new releases following their answers :-) Tawny Weber What's the hottest thing one of your heroes every said to your heroine? "What