Nikki van Schyndel spent 18 months living primitively in the coastal wilderness of British Columbia

I asked Nikki for some wilderness living lessons from her primitive adventure. Unlike other people that have attempted to have a long term wilderness survival experience, Nikki chose an ideal location. The West Coast is one of the best wild places for primitive living within the US and Canada because the temperature fluctuations aren’t extreme and there is a high concentration of wildlife and seafood. She embarked in a row boat with her cat and now best friend Micah Fay.

Wilderness Living Lessons:

What psychological strategies did you use to stay for that long? Did you have a specific goal?

I set a goal of a year and a half and that’s what I was going to do.  That’s basically it. The fact I’m a bit stubborn maybe helped, but it was much more deeper than that. I felt compelled to do this, by something I couldn’t explain. It was a need to live the primitive lifestyle, testing myself or to just experience it was at the bottom of the list.  So for me, I couldn’t leave early.

If the thought of “What the heck am i doing out here?  or “I want to go home” ever entered my mind, I would focus on the beauty around me and that was everywhere, in the raindrop or whale tail.  I would focus on the immediate experience, those things rare and exceptional and how blessed and fortunate I was to be experiencing such a thing, even when I was sleeping in a pool of water.  I knew the worst of experiences were leading me somewhere bigger and better.

If I could find happiness and love or at least contentment in those situations, I felt I could navigate anywhere, with anyone.

If you were to give advice to anyone attempting to do what you did what would it be?

What were the main lessons from your adventure?

The mindset and intuitive abilities is what sets apart a true survivalist

What were your 3 main sources of calories out there? How did you forage them?

Have you applied to be in a reality survival TV show? Why?

I’ve turned down a lot of opportunities, more than I’ve actually applied for or been on.  I’ve never gone out looking for a show to be on, if that’s what you mean.  I’ve had a lot of production companies contact me, but have only accepted being featured in one show for Nat Geo and a few other documentaries that I knew had integrity and could be trusted to portray the story in the best light.

I’m not going to be a part of an unauthentic, fake experience, lacking integrity or one just looking for some drama.  I want to star in a “real” reality show that teaches something new, shares the truth of survival, the wisdom of indigenous skills and knowledge, together with the real magic and mystery of nature, and I haven’t found it yet.

Would you consider doing another wilderness living experience with a 6 – 8 person group?

She wrote Becoming Wild as a way to share her adventure with friends, family, and the world.