Jbylake...

My guess is that it was your choice in using the term "survivalist" that caught people sideways. It usually implies that someone intentionally sets out to "overcome" the environment or "threat" as opposed to "being prepared" for worst-case scenarios. You don't need survival training to have a "survival" mentality. Surviving an adverse event on a backpacking trip is, as so many people have mentioned, all about being mentally prepared. It doesn't hurt to work through "worst case scenarios" and practice skills like route finding, water finding, fire building, shelter building, and general panic control. Also, I believe OM and Lori both mentioned having a "Plan B" or "bailout plan", which is such simple and yet profound advice. Also, taking a Wilderness First Responder or even Wilderness EMT course sure is a great way to learn how things can go south fast, but also learn what to do about it. There are probably many many people, however, who never bother to think through the worst case scenarios, and they are the ones the SAR groups end up looking for.

MNS (who is headed back up to AK - to live - in a couple of weeks)