Black Bear
The black bear usually tries to avoid humans and is meant to be less aggressive than the bad-tempered grizzly—but that doesn’t mean it won’t attack if it feels threatened or is desperate for food. Black bears have big claws on their hind legs and forelegs, small rounded ears, and thick black fur, although there are also different colors of bear across the country, from jet black to light brown and even to white.
Identifying Berries
Huckleberry: Small and blue with a sharp taste . . . popular with bears!
Raspberry: Bright red and delicious
Soapberry: Not so tasty, as the name suggests, though it won’t kill ya!
Baneberry: Bright red, oval shaped, grows close to the ground. Eat too many and you’re a goner. . . .
How to Build a Fire with a Magnifying Glass
1. Gather tinder: grass, leaves, twigs, paper, or anything plant-based as long as it’s very dry.
2. Build a nest out of the material and lay it on the ground.
3. Take your magnifying glass and angle it toward the sun until you make a small focused point of light.
4. Hold the magnifying glass in place until the tinder smokes and a flame develops.
5. Blow lightly on the tinder nest to nurture the flame, and add larger twigs and wood to create a bigger fire.
How to Build a Fish Trap
1. Gather rocks and make two curved fences in the water, facing upstream, from either side of the shoreline.
2. Leave a gap about eighteen inches wide in the middle.
3. Find bait to attract the fish. Throw it in and wait for the fish to bite.
4. Drop the final rock into the gap in the wall, trapping the fish. Then use a net to scoop it out of the water.
5. Have yourself a nice meal!
How to Set Traps
Skeet says all you need to catch yourself some dinner is three strong twigs, a post, a lever, and a trigger. . . .
1. Carve the post so one end looks like the chisel part of a flathead screwdriver, and carve a smooth facet into the middle to create a flat surface.
2. The lever stick is the diagonal part of the figure four. One end should be carved to look like a chisel, and farther up, there should be a notch.
3. The trigger stick should be a little longer than the others, with a spiked tip for the bait. There should be two notches on the upper end of the stick.
4. Arrange the sticks in a figure-four formation, with a rock resting on the tip of the lever, and wait.
Using Medicinal Plants for Teatment
There are plants you can use for various treatments, and there are ones you should avoid. . . .
Larkspur: Grows two to four feet high and has blue and purple flowers. Toxic to humans, especially the seeds. Avoid.
Bitterroot: Low-growing flower with pink or purple petals. The roots are consumed by Shoshone and Flathead Indians as a delicacy. Some say they can stop bear attacks!
Oregon Grape Roots: Evergreen shrub with yellow flowers and dark blue-black berries. Used to treat upset stomach and inflamed skin.
Indian Paintbrush: Native to western America. The red flowers of the paintbrush are edible and sweet, and were eaten by some Native American tribes. However, avoid the roots and leaves, as these can be deadly!
Aurora Borealis: Northern Lights
I can’t believe we finally saw the northern lights (and worked out what Dad was talking about when he mentioned aurora borealis.)! The whole thing was like a giant light show in the sky, with green and blue wisps snaking across the horizon. Dad reckons it’s something to do with the sun’s solar wind sending particles hurtling into the Earth’s atmosphere at a funny angle. They normally happen much farther north—but I’m glad they made their way south this time!
Don’t miss the Wilder boys’ next adventure, coming soon!
BRANDON WALLACE Trekking solo across the most remote corners of Wyoming and Montana as a young man, Brandon learned the hard way how to survive in the harshest conditions nature could throw at him. Having spent the subsequent two decades as a trail leader, passing on his knowledge to a generation of budding adventurers, he turned his hand to fictionalizing his experiences, and Wilder Boys was born.
ALADDIN
SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK
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authors.simonandschuster.com/Brandon-Wallace
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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This Aladdin hardcover edition May 2015
Text copyright © 2015 by Hothouse Fiction
Jacket illustration copyright © 2015 by Thomas Flintham
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Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki
Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia
Interior illustrations by Jon Howard
Library of Congress Control Number 2014956672
ISBN 978-1-4814-3264-1 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-3265-8 (eBook)
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