Porcupine for dinner and other adventures of a wilderness survivalist

Frédéric Dion isn't just out for a hike, he's on a well documented survival adventure. It's what he does for a living — extreme adventures and motivational speaking.

More than a week ago, he was dropped off by helicopter north of Ross River, Yukon, while blindfolded. Without a map or compass, and not much more than a pack raft and some fishing line, he's on a mission to find his way to a northern community.

The 39-year-old has a few cameras along to record his adventure and a satellite phone. He calls in his trip reports daily and they're transcribed, in French, on his blog, along with his location.

A few days into this trip, he reported finding food was more challenging than he expected. He went days without anything to eat. "The first 24 hours without food are the worst," Dion said. 

On his blog, he said this particular survival trip is harder than those he'd done in Quebec. 

After four days, he reported killing a porcupine, the first food he's eaten since being dropped off.

His luck changed when he stumbled upon a wilderness hunting lodge, he reported. Dion was invited to dinner, spent the night in a bed and for the first time, discovered his location. He had crossed into the Northwest Territories. 

"After studying the topography maps of the area, I estimate I am about 200 kilometres from the Mackenzie River," Dion blogged. 

To do a survival trip like this requires serious preparation, according to André-François Bourbeau, a professor at l'Université du Québec in Chicoutimi. Bourbeau has done similar survival expeditions and was the organizer of Dion's trip.

"First of all it's about being in good physical shape," Bourbeau told Radio-Canada's Phare Ouest, noting that Dion has a lot of experience and is in top shape — like having run 33 marathons within a two-month period. But Bourbeau notes a survival trip is also about mental preparation.

"He's use to solitude, he's crossed the Antarctic," said Bourbeau, adding that this kind of trip isn't for just anyone. 

"It was Fred himself who asked me to drop him in the most difficult part of the Yukon," 

Bourbeau said he chose a spot on the Yukon/NWT border knowing Dion would be forced to make a decision about which direction to take. 

​Meanwhile, having left the hunting lodge, Dion reports he is trying to keep warm in wet weather. Having forgotten a jacket in Quebec, he says he's made a make-shift rain coat out of garbage bags and gaffer tape. "It's easy to dry and very light," he blogged, "but it's not very warm." 

Dion continues toward the Mackenzie River in a pack raft. Based on his direction, it appears his final destination may be the village of Tulita, N.W.T.