Wilderness Survival Stories

The silence in the deep woods is not always empty. Sometimes, it’s listening. The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2,650-mile journey through the last great wildlands of the American West. Thousands walk it, seeking solitude and adventure. But they are not always alone. For decades, a steady drumbeat of testimony has emerged from these remote spaces—chilling, firsthand accounts of encounters with something that should not exist. This is not a book of folklore. It is a sober presentation of testimony from the people who know this wilderness best: seasoned thru-hikers, Forest Service employees, ...

"True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are." Social scientist Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, has sparked a global conversation about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives - experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame, and empathy. In Braving the Wilderness, Brown redefines what it means to truly belong in an age of increased polarization.

When a deadly plague reaches the small fish camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. But the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to “the heartbeat of the ocean...the pulse of the sea”.

A summer hike, a lakeside swim, a night in a camper… these moments of peace can become nightmares in a heartbeat. The line between the human world and the wild is vanishing. In this gripping collection of true, meticulously researched accounts, you will confront the terrifying reality of what happens when that line is crossed. From the dense forests of National Parks to the deceptive quiet of a suburban backyard, these stories reveal the chilling truth: a predator can be anywhere. Inside, you will discover: Heart-Pounding Encounters: Witness the split-second decisions that mean life or ...

Only four men survived the plane crash. The pilot. A politician. A cop... and the criminal he was shackled to. On an icy night in October 1984, a commuter plane carrying nine passengers crashed in the remote wilderness of northern Alberta. Four survived: the rookie pilot, a prominent politician, a cop, and the criminal he was escorting to face charges. As the men fight through the night to stay alive, the dividing lines of power, wealth, and status are erased, and each man is forced to confront the precious and limited nature of his existence.

You’re not on top of the food chain. Not out here. Mauled delivers 15 gut-wrenching accounts of humans hunted, cornered, and torn apart by nature’s most savage predators. Bears. Lions. Wolves. Hyenas. These aren’t stories with happy endings—they’re warnings. If you think you're prepared, think again. When it happens, it happens fast.

This true-life wilderness survival epic recounts 17-year-old Alex Messenger's near-lethal encounter with a grizzly bear during a canoe trip in the Canadian tundra. The story follows Alex and his five companions as they paddle north through harrowing rapids and stunning terrain. Twenty-nine days into the trip, while out hiking alone, Alex is attacked by a barren-ground grizzly. Left for dead, he wakes to find that his summer adventure has become a struggle to stay alive.

Twelve-year-old Donn Fendler steps away from his Boy Scout troop for only a minute, but in the foggy mountains of Maine, a minute is all it takes. After hours of trying to find his way back, a nervous and tired Donn falls down an embankment, making it impossible for him to be found. One sleepless night goes by, followed by a second...and before Donn knows it, almost two weeks have passed, leaving him starving, scared, and delirious.

Entropy is a law of nature, the one predicting that "things fall apart." Spend enough time outdoors and it will eventually happen to you. When it does, who will pick up the pieces? Who will glue them back together? Professional search and rescue volunteers leave work, home, and their cozy beds to rescue people on the worst day of their lives. They buy their own gear, pay their own gas, and ask nothing more than to make a contribution to the lives of strangers who they'll probably never meet again.

Many people dream of escaping modern life, but most will never act on it. This is the remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own.

A luxurious dream expedition into the Alaskan wilderness becomes a blood-soaked nightmare when a terrifying legend awakens. The Borealis Express, a pinnacle of opulence, embarks on its inaugural journey through Alaska’s most remote and myth-steeped landscapes. For essay contest winner Quinn Mallory and the other elite passengers, it promises unparalleled luxury and breathtaking views of untouched nature. But the wild heart of Alaska holds ancient secrets, and some paths are best left untrodden. When a deliberate act of sabotage leaves the magnificent train a mangled wreck and its ...

Can't get enough of survival stories? This one deserves a top spot in your pile! THE I ESCAPED SERIES DOESN'T JUST HOOK READERS -- IT CREATES THEM. What we do differently: We drop you straight into the most intense moment from page one, then backtrack to show how our characters got there - all while weaving in real survival facts that make you feel like you're right there with them. "A suspenseful survival series based on famous historical events. Verdict: excellent." - School Library Journal Thirteen-year-old Carlos loves adventure, but when an ordinary backyard chore goes wrong, he and ...

How far would you go to save someone you resent? Sullen teenager Sam is trapped on a forced march up a mountain with Cal, the father he barely knows—a man more comfortable with past ghosts than with his own son. An argument on the trail leaves their raw emotional wounds exposed, with cruel words that can never be taken back. But when a sudden, brutal blizzard engulfs the peak and a catastrophic fall leaves Cal broken and helpless, their simmering conflict becomes a desperate fight for life. In a terrifying reversal of roles, Sam must become the rescuer. Battling blinding snow, relentless ...

Nature doesn’t care how prepared you are. Stretching over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian Trail is a test of endurance, willpower, and survival. But for some hikers, the true challenge wasn’t the mountains — it was the sudden fever, the twisted ankle, the blood loss, the vanishing companion. In Medical Mysteries – Appalachian Trail, you'll find 20 true stories of medical emergencies, disappearances, infections, injuries, and unexplained deaths that occurred on America’s most iconic trail. A hiker survives 26 days lost in the woods before dying just miles from ...

LEILA: I didn’t come to the mountains to get rescued. I came to prove I belonged—on the trail, on the team, in the field. Instead, I triggered a rockslide, blacked out in a ravine… and woke up in the arms of a man who looks like survival wrapped in flannel and scars. Connor is all silent strength and sharpened edges, a mountain man who clearly didn’t want company—until I crash-landed in his world. Now I’m stuck in his cabin, wrapped in his blankets, watching him fix everything but the storm between us. CONNOR: I built this cabin to escape people. No noise. No questions. No ...

Thirteen-year-old Juniper is full of excitement when she’s offered the chance to visit her aunt and uncle in Alaska and take part in a hunt in the Tongass National Forest. Juniper has plenty of experience hunting mule deer at home in Colorado, and she's sure she’ll be ready for whatever Alaska can throw at her. But Southeast Alaska isn’t quite what Juniper expected.

He came to conquer the wilderness. He found something wilder. Before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt was a hunter, explorer, and relentless force of nature. But nothing in his journals — or his nightmares — prepared him for what he would find in the darkest corners of the American frontier. Bigfoot – Teddy Roosevelt is a ferocious blend of historical fiction and horror, plunging you into an untamed landscape where man is not the apex predator. Roosevelt’s hunting expedition starts with grandeur and bravado — but turns into a desperate fight for survival when his party is ...

Newbery Award-winner Gary Paulsen's best-known book comes to audio in this breathless, heart-gripping drama about a boy pitted against the wilderness with only a hatchet and a will to live. On his way to visit his recently divorced father in the Canadian mountains, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is the only survivor when the single-engine plane crashes. His body battered, his clothes in shreds, Brian must now stay alive in the boundless Canadian wilderness.

Elizabeth and Nathaniel Bonner have settled into their life together at the edge of the New-York wilderness in the winter of 1794. But soon after Elizabeth gives birth to healthy twins, Nathaniel learns that his father has been arrested in British Canada. Forced to leave Hidden Wolf Mountain to help his father in Montreal, Nathaniel himself is imprisoned and in danger of being hanged as a spy.

🔥 Revised & Reloaded – May18th 2025 Update This version of Book 3 has been fully edited and tightened to deliver the sharpest, cleanest read yet. Previous reviews refer to the original edition. The Hunted Become the Hunters... But What They Find Might Be Worse. Dr. Elise Holloway and the broken remnants of her team survived the horrors of Site Sierra, but escape is only the beginning. Hunted by the ruthless Kestrel organization and stalked by unseen forces within the ancient forests, their only hope lies with Dr. Aris Thorne—a brilliant, perhaps unstable, scientist hiding secrets ...