Silver Falls State Park:
Ecola State Park:
Those of you who are familiar with Oregon know that this state has no lack of natural beauty and magnificent scenery to enjoy the outdoors in. But one thing is for sure: despite the rugged topography of this northwestern part of the state, the human population here is dense compared to the areas east of the Cascades and to other western states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. As I mentioned in my book, Bug Out, Oregon has comparatively few large roadless areas for a western state, but some of those remaining areas that do exist are quite inaccessible and could work as bug-out locations for those prepared to deal with the steep terrain and wet conditions. Another thing about these dense coniferous forests that was evident even on the relatively short hikes I had time to do, is that game is abundant, evidenced by numerous trails and fresh elk tracks and droppings. Lots of edible plants abound as well, as these forests are incredible green and lush from all the rainfall they receive.
My interview on AM Northwest, a regional morning show on Portland's ABC station: KATU Channel 2, involved a brief discussion of some of the topics of my book, Getting Out Alive: 13 Deadly Scenarios and How Others Survived
. There's never enough time in an interview to go into depth about the subject matter of a book - much less in an interview of just over 5 minutes in length. But the two hosts asked some good questions, particularly the very first question, with regard to the Canadian woman who recently survived 7 weeks stranded in a van in a remote Nevada wilderness. Again, there wasn't enough time to respond with everything I would have liked to talk about, but the point is that most of the scenarios in my book involve people going out for a day or weekend outing and getting into a situation that could become a matter of life or death because they simply did not take into account the possibility that something could happen to delay their return. This happens with automobiles, boats, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and any other kind of vehicle that can transport a person rapidly into a remote area, much farther than they would normally be able to travel under human power alone. The technology then fails them in one way or another - either mechanically or by getting stuck somehow, and then people who only planned to be out for a short time are faced with what could be an ordeal of much longer duration - such as this woman's 7-week stranding that few would have survived. The lesson here is prepardness. If you are always in a state of prepardness wherever you go and whatever you do, you are much less likely to find yourself in one of these situations. This means having adequate shelter, clothing, food and water to last much longer than your planned adventure. This is why when I ride my dual sport motorcycle into the woods, paddle a kayak off the coast, or sail away from land on a larger boat, I always have extra supplies for those unexpected delays. I learned this the hard way many years ago when I first started sea kayaking and paddled 12 miles to a barrier island for an overnight trip. A strong weather system moved into the area, whipping up seas that made my return impossible, and keeping me stormbound on the island for 4 more days. I had only taken food for one night, but it was a good island for foraging, so I made out okay until the weather broke and I was able to leave - but it was a lesson I never forgot.
Here is the interview for those who are interested:
, Oregon has some truly spectacular big wilderness areas, particularly in parts of the Cascade Range and for example, the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. But any short hike I can do near the coast or in the old-growth forests will be a welcome break from working behind a keyboard; and from the heat and humidity that has already arrived to mark the beginning of another sweltering Mississippi summer. 
will feature a chapter on motorcycles and the key considerations you must take into account if you were to choose the two-wheeled option for bugging-out. Needless to say, researching this book has been interesting. One story I've been following for a few months is Doug Wothke's winter bike building project, in which he converted a stock Harley Davidson 1200 Custom Sportster to a capable dual-sport motorcycle he calls the "Dirtster," (and XL GS). 
