Surviving the Extremes... of Everyday Life

So I have been reading this book, in between the crazy blurs of my life that I call work, other work, and then various trips with people I love, called Surviving the Extremes. Basically, it is written by a doctor who decides to go out and practice medicine in like the Amazon and on Mt. Everest and just studying how the body works and needs to accomplish to survive in these really extreme places around the world.
I have to admit that I didn't think that the book was going to be this interesting, but Dr. Kamler breaks everything down medically and explains how things like drowning, heat stroke, nitrogen narcosis, and other potential hazardous things that can happen to you when you are in these extreme environments. I that if you are an adventurer and are outdoors a lot more than the average person you should have a better understanding of your body and how it works and what is going to happen when you get into trouble.

So a few things that I have learned:
1. It is good to be fat if you are stranded in the ocean, but really bad if you are stuck in the desert.

2. Fish are actually purely protein so while it is good to catch and eat them for food, it is also a good idea to try and eat a bird for the fats and carbs.

3.  Sometimes no matter how prepared you are it might all come down to just having the right things at the right time in the right place.

4. No matter how cold the air is always get out of the water. The water might feel warmer, but you are expending heat and energy to stay above it.

5. The ideal temperature for human body chemistry is at 82 degrees and it only takes 4 degrees to disrupt body functions.

6.  When you drown it is because the aveoli in your lungs have the lining washed off when the water comes in and they can't inflate.

7. Oxygen in diving tanks is mixed with nitrogen, hydrogen, or helium because breathing pure oxygen under the pressure of the deep ocean for an extended period of time can kill you.

8. You can drink urine or salt water to help keep your fluids up, but only in very very minute quantities because they are extremely toxic in the human body in large or extended doses. 

It is always a good idea to be safe and to be as prepared as you can mentally for bad circumstances or situations. This is a good book to get acquainted with some of those things and is also just a really good read and while my life hasn't been that extreme, I definitely have been busy. So here is to being back and hopefully loads of good climbs this summer. Now go love some rocks.