Sentenced to 25 years hard labour by Stalin's secret police, a man named Slavomir Rawicz and six companions escaped from their Siberian prison camp during an arctic blizzard with meagre clothing and one metal cup. Without maps or a compass, they traipsed 4,000 miles over a one-year period, crossing the Gobi Desert, going as long as 12 days without water.

"They crossed the Himalayan Mountains into India," writes search and rescue veteran Glen Stedham in Bush Basics (Orca $16.95). "It is remarkable, not that three died on the journey, but that four survived."

Hypothermia. Measuring distances. Triangulation. Water purification. Avalanches. Bears. Stedham has compiled a common-sense guide to backwoods survival.

Cook downwind from your tent. Don't wear clothing with food smells. "By following these suggestions you have little reason to expect bear visitors."

[BCBW 1997]