I was casually surfing through the internet visiting survival websites and blogs when I came across this site;

Wilderness Survival Skills

by Dino Labiste

The fear of the unknown can be a very scary experience. It can make a strong man panic, a brave woman act irresponsibly without thinking and a mature teenager cry. But to feel fear is normal and necessary. It is nature's way of giving us that extra charge of energy. Our adrenal glands release a mixture of chemicals commonly known as adrenaline. The release of adrenaline draws blood into the major muscle groups in anticipation of the "flight or fight" reaction. We can use that extra shot of energy to get us out of harm's way, if we have the willpower to control our actions. Everyone feels adrenaline. The only difference is the way we react to it. We control it or it controls us. Fear and excitement often share the same symptoms because they are one and the same. The only difference is our perception of the event. If we perceive a pleasant outcome, we feel excited. If we perceive an unpleasant one. we feel apprehension. This is why two people doing exactly the same thing can have completely opposite reactions to a situation. Imagine two people about to go backpacking for the first time. One may be excited about the adventure and the other scared of the wilderness.
The wilderness can be frightening if we got lost, our supplies run low or our gear disappears. How do we find food and water, how do we make fire, how do we find our way back and how do we stay warm at night? What about those wild animals out there and the weird sounds at night? It's the fear of the unknown that can creep into our mind before the adventure begins.
Knowledge and experience are the first step to overcoming fear. Self-assurance can be established by the knowledge of survival skills and understanding your relationship with the plants, animals, the land and the weather around you. Practice and experience will give you the basis to test your skills to have more confidence in handling difficult situations. You can overcome obstacles that you may face with knowledge, practice, common sense and the will to survive.
Twenty five years ago, I proposed to a group of friends a backpacking opportunity to hike into the wilderness with minimal backpacking gear. No sleeping bags, tents, matches or food were allowed on the trip. We would gather and forage as we traveled. A lot of friends backed down from the trip when food could not be taken. The fear of not filling their belly was too frightening, much less, the idea of no sleeping bag or matches. Our reaction to any situation depends not on the situation itself, but purely on our individual perception of it. So, in order to get a group together, certain amenities were allowed. A metal cup or container could be taken for boiling water. A wool blanket (or hides and fur), plastic trash bags, a water container, a knife and/or a plastic tarp could be packed. You could bring everything mentioned or just bring a few items. The idea was to travel as light as possible.
The final group for the wilderness adventure consisted of 4 men, including myself, and 1 woman. Everyone already had backpacking or camping experiences. Two of the guys were hunters and the other fellow had just acquired his hunting license. Three of the people in the group had fishing licenses. The fear of being in the wilderness was foreign to everyone in the group. The adrenaline rush was from experiencing wilderness survival skills.

I wanted a location that was not familiar to everyone and the area had to have a source of water. The adventure was not to simulate a survival situation, but to gain confidence in being in the wilderness without bringing any food and carrying a lot of modern backpacking gear. Can you get by with the knowledge of wilderness survival skills?