National Geographic Adventure's #1 wilderness survival school located in Catawba

Mountain Shepherd student John Hull during the
April 1-4, 2010 Hidden Pursuit training.

[This is the introduction to a four-part eyewitness report that will be published over the next two weeks. To be notified when each article is published, subscribe above. Your email address will be kept confidential.]

Adventure travel is fun, but many times opens the traveler up to additional risks. Threats do not only come from the increasing natural disasters that we've seen recently. Anti-American sentiment is on the rise in some countries—and the possibility exists that someone might want to hold you for ransom to make a few extra bucks, since “all” Americans are supposedly rich...

And even those whose adventure doesn't even take them out of the country or even more than a few hours from home are not exempt from potential survival scenarios. You never know when YOU might be a victim of a situation that requires you to have the level-headedness and skills to survive until help can get to you.

Could one of the following scenarios happen to you?

1...You're riding in a bus in South America when suddenly the driver swerves to avoid a rock slide or another vehicle and your bus plummets off the side of the steep mountain roadway.

2...You're out backpacking on the Appalachian Trail less than an hour from home. You look up to check your next landmark and, as your foot steps down into the deep leaves on the trail, you step on a rock or limb under the leaves. Your foot flies out from under you and you suddenly find yourself on the ground, unable to move your leg. Your cell phone doesn't have a signal. You can't stand, let alone walk.

3...You're walking around some city or village in the Middle-East or Africa, when suddenly a van screeches to a stop beside you and masked gunman jump out and force you in the vehicle.

4...You're camping in the back country of Shenandoah National Park and come upon someone who is lost and in a survival situation. They're hypothermic and have some injuries from a fall.

5...You're in Haiti and a massive earthquake levels most of the city. You're trapped under tons of rubble in a small pocket of air, and your leg is pinned down. How do you make sure that you are not a part of the fatality statistics?

6...You're on a commercial airline flight. You've been enjoying the in-flight movie and the fine airline cuisine. Suddenly the plane feels like it's hit some strong turbulence. Everything else is a blur as you hear the captain's voice directing the flight crew to prepare for an emergency landing. You look across the aisle to try to see out the window and notice black smoke. As the angle of the plane sharpens you see a vast expanse of ocean looming in front of you...

7...You're driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's dusk. Suddenly several deer run out in front of you. You swerve to miss them and lose control of the car. It careens through the guardrail and over the edge of a steep incline where it rolls end to end a few times, landing in dense foliage. You were knocked out, but soon regain consciousness. It's dark. Cold. You're hurting all over and can feel something wet and sticky coming from the cuts on your head.

8...You're in your living room watching TV one evening. Suddenly the power goes out. You get up and look outside and realize that your entire neighborhood is without power. You reach for your cellphone and it doesn't even turn on. You pick up the home phone...nothing. No dial tone. You stumble around to find a flashlight. Outside your neighbors are gathering in the street so you join them. Hours later you hear rumors filtering in to your neighborhood that the blackout is widespread. Many people's cars won't start...No one knows what the cause is. Is it a terrorist attack? Trees on major power lines like the 2003 incident involving approximately 55 million people in Ontario and eight U.S. states? A high-altitude EMP? By the next evening there is still no power and still no news. You're remain without electricity two days later. Stores are closed. Food supplies low. People are beginning to panic.

What would you do? Are you prepared?

We're not all born with survival skills pre-programmed into our brains. The will to survive may not be enough to assure survival. The time to learn basic survival skills is BEFORE you need them. And when your life may literally be on the line, you don't want to settle for half-rate survival training.

Enter Mountain Shepherd Wilderness Survival School. Rated as National Geographic Adventure's top wilderness survival school, in a top 5 that included NOLS and three others, Mountain Shepherd's mission is all about empowering you...empowering you to survive in whatever situation you may find yourself facing. And their philosophy extends beyond helping yourself. “Always be prepared to help others when entering the wilderness,” is repeated throughout the training.

I had the opportunity to enroll in and experience Mountain Shepherd's 4-day Hidden Pursuit course last week (despite my newly broken foot), and the training was phenomenal! Join me for the next two weeks as I share a Special Eyewitness Report on Mountain Shepherd's programs, including interviews with other students, so you can decide for yourself if one of their unique programs is right for you.