Survival and camping skills manuals have hundreds of tips

By Allen Macartney

What makes one person feel relaxed and thrive in the outdoors, while another feels threatened and deeply uncomfortable? Sometimes it’s just a bit of know-how.

Two recent books, The Ultimate Survival Manual (from Outdoor Life) and The Total Outdoorsman Skills and Tools (from Field & Stream) offer literally hundreds of ideas to expand your outdoor knowledge. Well illustrated with colourful photographs and artwork, these books will not only inspire your imagination but expand your outdoor skills and enjoyment of nature.

Paired up, these books make nice companion volumes – dealing with a similar topic (outdoor living) but touching on different subjects. THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL MANUAL

This book offers more than 300 (333 to be exact) survival skills that go well beyond most survival manuals. Although it starts with the outdoor essentials (building a shelter, fire-making, water purification and self-rescue techniques), it provides crucial information for anyone caught in a real life-and-death situation: how to trap geese, squirrel and rabbit, and then skin and cook them over a fire. It has tips on how to survive natural disasters like forest fire, tornado, lightning strikes and floods. The book comes alive with real-life stores of people who have used these techniques and lived to tell the tale. THE TOTAL OUTDOORSMAN SKILLS AND TOOLS

This book is aimed at developing outdoor skills in people who love to camp, hunt and fish. It too offers more than 300 tips in a near-identical format to The Ultimate Survival Manual with lots of colour photographs and artwork. It too features real-life stories. Topics include: • Give your knife a spa treatment • Re-waterproof a rain shell • Pack lunch in a water bottle • Supercharge a lure with a nail • Improvise a pair of snowshoes • Remove a fish hook • Trail a dog to follow a game trail

These books provide a ton of camping and outdoor-living tips to expand your skills at fast-forward speed . Φ

It is with enthusiasm that the Quebec Federation of Canoeing and Kayaking in partnership with Action Plein Air Haute-Gatineau launches the 20th edition of the Upper Gatineau Whitewater Festival.

The festival was founded in 1997 with the mission of protecting and preserving the Gatineau River which at the time was under threat of hydro-electric development. Twenty years later the River is still free-flowing but the threat has never completely disappeared.

Come and join in the fun on the Gatineau River on August 26, 27 and 28. Rafting will be available for all levels of paddling experience. For intermediates and experts, bring your canoe or kayak. We’ll shuttle everyone to the river and make sure that you have a memorable, fun-filled weekend. At the same time you will be helping to preserve the Gatineau. For more information: Quebec Federation of canoeing and kayakingPhone: (514) 252-3001 Email: info@canotkayak.qc.ca

We are happy to announce that registration for this years beach volleyball tournament is now open! As always, the proceeds from this event will go directly towards the funding of registration fees, programming, and sports equipment for deserving families in the community. WHAT?

KidSport Ottawa’s 6th Annual Beach Volleyball TournamentWhere? Britannia Beach WHEN?

Saturday, August 20th, 2016 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (with a complimentary breakfast on the beach from 8:00-10:30 am!)

To register, visit the following link: www.kidsportcanada.ca/ontario/ ottawa/calendar/6th-annual-beachvolleyball