Table of Contents
Praise
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Foreword
WHY A SURVIVAL KIT?
Chapter 1 - SURVIVAL SITUATIONS: HOW DO THEY START?
Chapter 2 - SURVIVAL VS. PRIMITIVE LIVING, OR “LIVING OFF THE LAND”
The Modern Survival Scenario
Primitive Living
Differences
Chapter 3 - SURVIVAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER PRIOR TRAINING
Chapter 4 - WHY FEAR SUCKS
Chapter 5 - DEALING WITH THE SURVIVAL SCENARIO: ATTITUDE, ADAPTATION, AND AWARENESS
Attitude
Cultivating Rational Insanity andthe Art of “Party On”... Understandingthe ...
The Essence of “Party On”
Adaptation
Awareness
Chapter 6 - REDUCING THE THREAT OF THE SURVIVAL SITUATION: THE SEVEN Ps
Chapter 7 - WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY ALIVE: COMMON POWERFUL PERSONALITY PATTERNS ...
Common personality traits of survivors
Calm and Collected
Improvise and Adapt
Make Decisions
Endure Hardship
Figure out the Thoughts of Others
Hope for the Bestand Prepare for the Worst
Maintain a Sense of Humor
Chapter 8 - THE MOST COMMON WAY TO PUSH UP DAISIES IN THE OUTDOORS
Hypothermia
Hyperthermia
When It’s Cold
When It’s Hot
Signs and Symptoms of Hyperthermia
How to Screw Up a Cell Membrane
Chapter 9 - HOW YOUR BODY LOSES AND GAINS HEAT: THE PHYSICS OF FREEZING YOUR ...
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
Evaporation
Respiration
Cold Temperatures
Hot Temperatures
Chapter 10 - YOUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE
Cold Weather
Hot Weather
The Layering System
Properties of Clothing Materials
Short- and Long-Term Heat Production Methods
Water
Deadly Dehydration
Exotic Methods
Four Factors for Faster Hydration : Hydratingquickly for maximal efficiency at ...
Four Factors foraccelerated maximalhydration
Adequate Volume
Temperature
Minimal Salts, Carbohydrates, and Sugars
Carbonation
Hauntingly Hideous Hyponatremia
Precious Stuff
Chapter 11 - ABOUT YOUR RESCUERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR SAVING GRACE
Technology: The double-edged sword
Chapter 12 - HELPING RESCUERS BRING YOU BACK ALIVE: LEAVING RESCUERS A 5-W ...
WHERE you will be going
WHEN you will return
WHAT vehicle you’re driving(or whatever means of transportation you’re using)
WHO is in your party
WHY you’re taking the trip
The tin-foil tip-off
Chapter 13 - WHAT IS A SURVIVAL KIT?
Making Your Own Kitas Opposed to Purchasing One
Factors to Consider Before Creatingor Purchasing Your Survival Kit
Preparing Your Kit:13 Tantalizing, Tried-and-True Tips to FollowBefore Creating ...
Prepare Your Kit to Be:
Relevant to the Environment
Lightweight and Portable
Waterproof
Durable and Dependable
Physical Fitness and Expertise
Variety of Conditions
Multiple-Use Components
Calorie-Conserving Components
Panic Proofed
Easily Purchased or Made
Affordable Yet Effective
Field Tested
Simple
Chapter 14 - SURVIVAL KIT COMPONENTS
My Survival Kit Container
Survival Kit Priorities
Explaining My Kit Components
Two heavy-duty freezer bags(one gallon and one quart):Courageous, cheap ...
Tincture of Iodine 2%:How not to barf up a lung from the faucet to the field.
One condom (nonlubricated):The private, passionate, pleasuresof purchasing ...
Regular space blanket(bronze and silver sided):How to use that shiny thing ...
One roll of dental floss:Four out of five dentists agree that you can ...
Colored surveyor’s tape (3 or 4 feet):An opportunity to play Hanseland Gretel ...
Pea-less, brightly colored plastic whistle:When being a blow hard pays off.
Paraffin-coated, strike-anywhere kitchenmatches in a brightly colored match ...
Disposable butane lighter(brightly colored, nonopaque,adjustable flame, ...
Magnesium-block fire starterwith hacksaw blade striker:Getting the most from ...
Six to eight cotton balls saturated with petroleumjelly in a brightly colored ...
Credit-card-sized magnifyinglens in brightly colored sheath:A sound alternative ...
Flashlight and lanyard with twoAA batteries (brightly colored):Improvised light ...
Two spare AA batterieswith date of purchase:Extra juice means a lot more use.
Extra carbon-steel knife with sheath:Cutting-edge technology fromthe Stone Age ...
8- to 9-inch overall length
Fixed, full-tang blade
Comfortable, easy-to-hold, oval handle
Wide sharpening bevel
Straight-pointed tip
Carbon-steel blade
Practice, practice, practice
Clear plastic drinking tube (3 feet long):The more you suck, the better things seem.
Collapsible, 1- to 2-Gallon water container:Properly picking premium ...
Two 55-gallon barrel liners or threelarge-capacity leaf bags (store rolledup in ...
Heavy-duty space blanket(brightly colored):More fun with physics through ...
Wool or syntheticstocking cap (brightly colored):Functional fashion for the ...
Cotton bandana (brightly colored):A multiuse joy no gang member should be without.
100 feet of 550-pound-testparachute cord (white color forsummer, olive or black ...
Three-by-five-inchglass, sightablesignal mirror withbrightly ...
How to Signal for Rescue
Homemade first-aid kit:Bandaging the boo-boos while soothing the scrapes.
Uncle Peppy’s patented power pack stack:You’re weak, weary, and worried but ...
How much?
7.5-minutetopographical map and compass:Finding out for certain if you’re ...
Two candy or nutrition bars:A little glucose rush for thatfinal push to save ...
Chapter 15 - SUMMARY
Chapter 16 - THE AMAZING“THE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOSARE REALLY COOL BUT I’MTOO ...
If it’s COLD outside
If it’s HOT outside
The Gotta-Have-It Stuff
Must-Have Conceptsfor a Short-Term Survival Kit
Survival Kit Components in Cody’s Kit
Choosing the Right Instructor
Praise (and otherwise) for
98.6 Degrees:
The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive!
"98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! doesn’t just tell you how to survive in the wilderness. It smacks you in the face and insists that you’re going to survive!”
—Alan Dean Foster, New York Times best-selling author
“Cody Lundin is the Pied Piper of outdoor survival skills, a man
you’d willingly and cheerfully follow into the woods. In his book, he teaches you how to survive with a precious few tools and most importantly, your wits. His words and wisdom are consciousness-raising and potentially lifesaving. His approach is fun, at times radical, and always eye-opening, so the lessons will sink into even the thickest skull. Heed his advice, for the Piper knows his stuff.”
—Tom Shealey, former executive editor of Backpacker magazine
“My enthusiasm, when recently asked to review a new ‘how-to-survive book’ wasn’t exactly overwhelming! That is until I began to read 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! As I progressed through the book, my enthusiasm rapidly grew with each turned page. Finally, a book that ‘tells it like it is’ with no fancy wrappings. As a lifelong survival instructor I have cringed at the ‘BS’ that is regurgitated in the popular outdoor press and in the many cookie-cutter books that are published on the subject. 98.6 is a breath of fresh air and a hard-hitting, no-nonsense book filled with practical information—reading it might literally save your life!”
—Peter Kummerfeldt, owner, OutdoorSafe Inc.; member, Wilderness Medical
Society; and former Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE)
training director for the U.S. Air Force Academy
“Earthy, philosophical, life-affirming, and pragmatic, 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! offers far more than practical insights and a tool list for wilderness survival. Staying alive begins with a full understanding of the complex human body/mind survival mechanisms, which Cody Lundin decodes in practical language fortified with rally mantras like ’Remember, your life is worth the fight!’ and ‘Party On!’ Detailing the essential mindset, how to preserve your health, and the safest ways to get home from the worst kind of wilderness crisis, Cody Lundin relies upon our most human attributes—intellect, instinct, and physiology. 98.6 is a life-affirming celebration and a must read—it’s your key to backcountry survival when the road or trail ends unexpectedly and a life-threatening predicament ensues.”
—Moses Ludel, author of Jeep Owner’s Bible
and past board member for the national TREAD LIGHTLY! program
“This is not your father’s survival manual. Cody’s unique and somewhat irreverent approach serves to capture your attention, and his practical survival tips could save your life.”
—Doug Ritter, editor, Equipped to Survive
“We can’t endorse your book, mostly for stylistic reasons ... the whole gonzo attitude ... the routine profanity, the plainly sexist illustrations, and the religious stuff ... would make it problematic for NOLS to have our name supporting this book. Our endorsement just isn’t even a question.”
National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
“98.6 is a welcome addition to the world of survival manuals. Cody has gone direct to the core of survival (that many authors of the subject either neglect or relegate to a paragraph—at most a chapter) and has devoted his entire manuscript to staying alive. Unlike other books on survival that devote their contents to skills, tricks, and gadgetry that overwhelm the reader, Cody (1) drives home the basics that kill most people placed in a survival situation, (2) goes on to tell you how to prevent them, and (3) tells you how to achieve the best chance of rescue. Although this book is directed toward the novice, it has loads of information (and presentation quality) that will benefit many of today’s survival instructors. Regardless of who the reader is, he/she will come away with an understanding of how to stay alive in the wilderness.”
—John McPherson, author of Naked into the Wilderness,
Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills
“Since 1961, I’ve taught people about the outdoors and how to live and survive, especially in winter. From polar regions to the desert and jungles, I’ve lived off the land, survived, and returned. When it comes to teaching survival, there are talkers and there are doers. Encapsulated within Cody’s book is the essence of doing it—coming back alive—no bullshit, no gimmicks, no untried theories. It’s attitude that counts and Cody’s got it! If death stares me in the face, I want Cody by my side. If he can’t be there, give me his book. Get the attitude also, study with Cody!”
—Dr. James C. Halfpenny, president of A Naturalist’s World; fellow of the
Explorer’s Club; and author of Winter: An Ecological Handbook
and A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America
“Sorry, but Anglo-Saxon vulgarisms give evidence of lack of imagination and limited vocabulary, and are not to be taken seriously.”
—Col. Jeff Cooper (retired), editor-at-large, Guns & Ammo magazine
“Survival Knowledge Explained: Get a handle on the problems you could encounter when straying off the beaten path. Stack the deck in your favor by carrying a few essentials (the kit) that can contribute to your comfort, and tell someone when and where to look for you when you are overdue. Drink enough water, get enough sleep, and realize the importance of not letting your body temperature rise or drop from its norm of 98.6, and there is a good chance you will survive long enough (without having to eat) to be rescued even if it takes a month. The rationale behind this—and more—is very well laid out in 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! It is one of the few refreshing survival manuals that presents a truly modern and updated approach to survival knowledge. How many manuals today delve as much into the importance of sleep and clothing in survival? The psychological aspects of survival as presented by Lundin make more sense than virtually any other survival manual that I have read so far. 98.6 is an outstanding modern survival manual.”
—Mors Kochanski, wilderness living skills instructor and author of the
Canadian bestseller Bush Craft: Wilderness Living and Survival Skills
“Cody does it again! With his rapid-fire, no-holds-barred teaching style, Cody shows you how to live the good life in the wild outdoors. Party On, Dudes! This is not another silly rip-off of how not to do it. Cody has the time-tested skills and knowledge that it takes to get it right. He knows from firsthand experience acquired in the field where it really counts and explains things clearly and accurately, with a showman’s timing and scholar’s attention to detail. 98.6 is the one book every outdoor traveler needs to memorize!”
—David Wescott, former president, Boulder Outdoor Survival
School and author of Camping in the Old Style
“98.6 is a must for anyone who’s serious about staying alive. We provide a complimentary copy to all of our clients purchasing specialty SUVs.”
—Evan Pownall, CEO, Performance Autos Unlimited
“In this book Cody has succinctly and ‘in your facedly’ blown away the often-written extraneous ‘BS’ and filler info concerning one’s absolute, basic physiological, psychological, and material needs in a short-term survival situation. Then he clearly presents the necessary planning and means for being truly prepared. If R. Crumb’s late-60s underground comic character Mr. Natural had read this book, then found himself in a real survival situation, I’ll bet he’d wisely expound, ‘I found the right tool for the job!‘ Now YOU have too! Plan ahead, keep your wits, and Party On!”
—Jim Riggs, primitive living skills instructor
and author of Blue Mountain Buckskin
“I’ve read or skimmed just about every ‘survival’ book written since I first
started wandering around in the boonies as a pre-teen Boy Scout, and I can‘t
think of anything more boring than yawning and snoring over yet another
‘How to Survive in the Woods with Nothing More than a GPS and Cell Phone‘
by Eddie Expert who copied every chapter from the U.S. Air Force Survival
Manual. Anyway, What’s this I see? Illustrations by Russ Miller? Actual
‘humor’ applied to such a ‘serious’ subject? Irreverence in the face of catastrophe
? Poo-pooing the ‘experts’? Trying to separate the bull
from the bullshit?
Son, how dare you flaunt your idiosyncratic ideas and creative approach to
such a tried-and-true dull subject. What will all those Rangers, S&R folks,
Sheriff’s Posses, and other ‘experts’ think of such a callous approach to keeping
one’s ass alive? How dare you expect people who venture into the boonies
to be responsible for themselves. Don’t you know we live in a ‘Great Cry-Baby
Society’ where everyone else is responsible for you and your screw-ups? How
dare you expect folks to think for themselves and get themselves out of their
own predicaments. Don’t you know that thousands of law-school graduates
need money and will sue your ass for expecting people to keep their own asses
alive? And, to be honest, since I am a bonafide ‘expert’ on survival myself, I
really don’t need this book ... but—maybe I’ll just keep this here copy tucked
into my survival blanket. I could always use some new ideas, bring it out for a
few chuckles under the desert stars. Let’s see here ... hmm ... hell, this is pretty
good writing. It is refreshingly different from the other ‘sleeping-pill survival
books’ I’ve been forced to read and review. Ya know, maybe I’ll order a few
more copies for my friends. Hell, maybe I’ll even send a few to my enemies.”
—Dave Ganci, Rogue Senior, Coyote Face, Ghengis Khan admirer,
Cheap Beer ‘Expert’, bona-fide Desert Rat, and author of The Basic
Essentials of Desert Survival and Desert Hiking
“This book is HOT ... and, yes, this book is COOL! Mr. Lundin has anchored his survival treatise in the ultimate reality world of those things that push your thermostat too high or too low. Boiling it down to basics, he combines psychology, soul, and sound technique to keep your temperature in the ‘live another day’ zone. Pay attention mountain, desert, and forest travelers, and you, too, can emerge truly COOL from the most trying of tests ... survival, with your wits, in a hostile environment.”