THE SCOUTING GUIDE TO SURVIVAL

A Licensed Product of the Boy Scouts of America

More than 200 Essential Skills for Staying Warm, Building a Shelter, and Signaling for Help
J. Wayne Fears 

Prepared. For Life.®
In The Scouting Guide to Survival (November 6, 2018), current Scouts, Scout alumni, and readers interested in the outdoors are provided with time-tested advice on emergency preparedness. Some practical tips include: 

  • THE SCOUTING GUIDE TO SURVIVALHow to build a fire 
  • How to purify water 
  • How to signal for help 
  • How to build simple shelters
  • How to survive in different environments
  • How to practice survival first aid
  • And so much more!

Since 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The BSA is committed to training youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities.

J. Wayne Fears grew up in the outdoors, as his father was a trapper. He earned the BSA rank of Eagle Scout at the age fourteen. As an adult scouter, he served for two years as the advisor to an Explorer Post that specialized in wilderness survival. He has taught wilderness survival to Boy Scout troops and BSA leaders and has served many years as a wilderness survival merit badge counselor. He received survival training both from the Army and Air Force. This is his third book on survival. He is one of America’s most prolific outdoor writers with thirty-four books and over 6200 magazine articles published. In 2012 he was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors National Hall of Fame. He resides in Tater Knob, Alabama.

To request an excerpt or to arrange an interview with the author, please contact:
Ronnie Alvarado / (212) 643-6816 x 274 / [email protected]

The Scouting Guide to Survival: More than 200 Essential Skills for 
Staying Warm, Building a Shelter, and Signaling for Help
by J. Wayne Fears
Skyhorse Publishing paperback, also available as an e-book | On Sale: November 6, 2018
ISBN 978-1-5107-3774-7| $16.99

REDISCOVER THE BAKER TENT

Base camp looked as inviting as a five star resort. We were fishing the headwaters of a Blue Ridge Mountains creek and each day we left the comfort of the tent camp to fight the tangles of brush to fish a little known rushing creek that offered fishing adventures few in today’s world know. At the end of each day of fishing we returned to our camp which consisted of a large baker-style tent located in a post card setting on a high hill overlooking the creek. The big white tent offered roomy sleeping comfort for two with room for gear storage. The front awning served as a protected area for cooking and simply lounging. Our campfire, the heart of the camp, was located just in front of the awning and it was there many fish were cooked; stories were told and on cool evenings a reflector fire was built to keep the interior of the tent warm. The camp would not have been the same with any other style tent; the almost forgotten baker tent was perfect for this trip, as it has been for countless other backcountry adventures.

The Name

If you want to start a heated campfire debate with a group of seasoned backcountry adventurers then offer an opinion as to when the first baker tent was used or where it got its name. I have seen shouting matches among friends that went on into the night when these subjects were debated.

Baker Tentsmiths Baker Tentsmiths[/caption]First about the name and how it came about. According to my research, the name “baker tent” was most likely given to the tent sometime back in the 1800’s. Many logging and survey camps back in those early days used the “Yankee baker oven”, reflector oven as it is called today, to cook meals for hungry work crews and since the tents they used had the same profile soon the tents were called “baker tents”. The name stuck and today most still call this style tent the baker tent.

Not everyone agrees with this as there are writings that state that the name “baker tent” came from World War I, where cooks and bakers used a large lean-to style tent to prepare meals for the troops. It is said that the troops came to call the tents “baker tents” as it was where much of the baking was done. I could not find any verification of that.

However even today the modified lean-to style tent is not called baker tent by everyone. Some campers refer to it as the “campfire tent” because it is ideal for building a fire at its front to reflect warmth into the tents interior. The same fire can be a pleasure to sit by after a full day afield and the same fire is convenient for cooking. The late, well known, wilderness canoe adventurer and writer Bill Mason used and wrote about the tent in his excellent book Song of the Paddle calling it the “campfire tent”. Because of that the tent still has a following that calls it the “campfire tent”. Since Mason made some modifications to the basic baker tent design you can find some references to the tent as the “Mason tent”.

Read More

KNIVES CHOSEN BY OUTDOORSMEN WHO DEPENDED UPON THEM

One’s favorite knife, like firearms and other outdoor gear, can be a heated debate around any campfire where several real woodsmen gather. What one woodsman likes may not be what you like, and vice versa. The best knife makes for an interesting discussion.

During my half century of being in the company of outdoorsmen who depended on knives daily and spending many hours researching those who came before them, I came up with a list of some of the better known outdoorsmen and the knife they considered their favorites. As you read down this list you will quickly see that there is no one knife that fits all.

NessmuckGeorge Washington Sears, aka Nessmuck 1821- 1890. Nessmuck best known as being America’s first outdoor writer. He wrote for Forest & Stream magazine and was the author of the book Woodcraft & Camping which is still in print today. He is famous for his “trinity of cutting tools” which consisted of a small double-bit hatchet, a belt knife which he designed and a moose-style pocket knife with spey and clip blades.

Ben LillyBen Lilly 1856 – 1936. Lilly was a woods wanderer from an early age. He became best known as a hunter of large predators in the southwestern US and northern Mexico. His favorite knife was a large S-shaped double edge bowie knife he made for “sticking big cats and bears.” His camp knife was a more traditional Green River style blade with an antler handle.

Teddy RooseveltTeddy Roosevelt 1858 – 1919. Roosevelt is best known as the hero of San Juan Hill and the 26th President of the U.S. However Roosevelt was a seasoned outdoorsman and wrote several books on hunting and the outdoor life. During his cowboy days in the Dakota Territory and his early big game hunts his knife choice was a large silver inlayed Bowie knife made by Tiffany & Co. in 1884. In 1907 it seems he switched to a Marble’s knife designed by Roosevelt’s friend and fellow big game hunter Dall DeWeese.

Read More

MY AUTUMN RIDE

There are people we meet on our journey through this life that we never forget. For me Jacob Nowland is one of those people. He is a mountain man, buck skinner, horseman, singer and poet. Jacob, like me, is getting along in years and he sent me this poem he wrote that puts meaningful words to his autumn of life. – J. Wayne Fears
 

MY Autumn Ride
by Jacob M. Nowland

The night makes way for mornin’ light

The day has just begun

At the pasture’s gate I anticipate

Some warmth from the rising sun

The breeze is cool, there ain’t no dew

There’s autumn in the air 

My favorite time of year is here

As I whistle for the mare.

She comes to me as if she knows

 And she knows a thing or two

Read More