Trail Safe: Averting Threatening Human Behavior in the Outdoors

For the first time ever on GORP, we have published an entire book online: author and adventurer Michael Bane's Trail Safe: Averting Threatening Human Behavior in the Outdoors. The first book of its kind, Trail Safe tackles as its subject the somewhat terrifying perception that crime in the backcountry is on the rise. Bane, a critically acclaimed sports journalist, seminar speaker, and extreme sports enthusiast, provides readers with safety tips that go beyond waterproof matches, flashlights, and duct tape in this nearly psychological preparation guide for any outdoor adventure. Bane offers practical advice for approaching your own defense strategy and backs up those recommendations with concrete examples and a liberal sprinkling of personal anecdotes that will keep you entertained.

With Bane's assistance, you will learn to utilize the following tools for self-defense in the outdoors:

The three-pronged self-defense mechanism comprising intuition, awareness, and fear

The nuts and bolts of risk assessment and planning

A six-step self-defense strategy that will allow you to concretely determine your reactions to a violent encounter, should it occur

Bane imparts these tools against the lushly landscaped background of his own amazing outdoor adventures. He communicates his remarkable lessons through his experiences as an underwater cave diver, a whitewater kayaker, a seasoned backpacker, a mountain bicyclist, and even a participant in police and SWAT team training simulations.

You'll find that these same tools you master for personal safety can also provide you with a framework to break out of the comfort zones of everyday life and significantly enhance your exploration of the natural world.