Surviving in the woods, has very little to do with low impact.
I can go through the heaviest stuff, and not leave a bit of a clue as to the fact that I was there. We trained in the military for that, but for a different reason. You don't want to leave a trail for the enemy to follow you.

A lot of that, if not all of it will apply to a backpacker/hiker. I'd be willing to challenge all but the most experinced SAR/Former Military, etc..to find me, by following my trail/tracks.

That being said, I was refering to survival skills in case of an emergency on the trail. Many think that "planning" will keep you good and safe from anything. It will, if planning includes knowing how to find food, water, shelter, orienteering, etc..etc..but I get the feeling that a few think that all of this is unecessary.

Let me give you an idea of what can really go wrong. I've experienced many things gone awry, but this one is directly related to backpacking/hiking.

I got permission from land owners to hike a trail that had for years been used primarily to herd sheep, by an Amish group.
Part of the property belonged to a friend, and part by the Amish.

I first took the time to let my friend know, as well as the Amish know, where I'd be, and how long. It could be done in a day or so, but I told them to give me 3 days, as I wanted to take my time, and camp along the way.

I was hiking (in the Clark Range mountains) in Tennesse, on a path that varied from 2 to 4 feet wide. Should have been so easy a child could do it, if he/she could handle some fairly steep grades. Other than that, an untrained monkey could have handled it. Until...as I was traveling through an easy section, nearly 4 feet wide, I took a step, and my whole world went upside down. Later I would find out that a very large rock had fell out of the ground, under the trail, and I essentially stepped on a "bridge" with about 4 inches of dirt to support me. I never knew what hit me, and I went head over hills down the side of a mountain. I sustained numerous injuries, most obvious, broke off two front teeth (now sporting caps) a broken nose, a couple of bad and bleeding cuts, (later, after x-ray's) seven total broken ribs, and a badly sprained ankle.

The worse part was, that I knew that no one would be looking for me for at least 2 more days.

Fortunately there was a cold running spring, and materials for cover ( I lost most of my meager suppplies with my pack, up the hill). I managed to cauterise one of the worse cuts (still have the scars to prove it), and to keep a long story short, was able to withstand the elements, keep myself warm, hydrated, and fed with some candy bars, granola bars, lighters, for fire, and a knife, all of which survived in the cargo compartments of some BDU's I was wearing. I kept the swelling down in my ankle, by alternating it in and out of a cold creek. This story goes on ad nauseam, but aside from being in great pain, my friends came looking for me and found me. Next part of journey was to a hospital. But this was a three day adventure that I didn't enjoy, but was easily survivable, even though I had "planned" the trip. So if anyone ever thinks that "planning" can get them out of any situation, or that planning would keep them away from dangerous situations, they might rethink. This was a trip that a brand new to the lifestyle, hiker should have had no trouble with. Oh, I forgot to mention that the place was ripe with snakes, both rattler's and copperheads.

So I don't argue with those who think that hiking over a well worn path doesn't post dangers. I does no good.

As for the survivalist part, as in the guy's hunkered down in a bunker, well I do a little of that myself. However, I'm not in it for armeggedon, the Mayan calender, a great civil war, or total economic collapse (although the last, economic collapse, could possibly happen). I actually stock a walled off section of the basement with enough stuff to last about 2 weeks. This is because I live in an area where tornado's are common, and this is my greatest concern. We had an F4 last spring that missed my sister's house my a couple of hundred yards, hit a housing subdivison which caused terrible damage, crosse an interstate, tore out a wooded area, hit several more homes, destroying them, and some barns and other structures. One woman was found several day's later by a farmer surveying dead livestock on his property. She had her car lifted and thrown, killing her. No one was looking for her, as she was from out of town, lived alone, and wasn't missed. So, I have enough stuff to get me by in case I'm shut in my shelter, until rescue arrives. BTW which took the people in the subdivision a while because so many homes were it, it took rescue/fire/police, quite a while to search all the homes for injured, trapped or dead people, and to mark them cleared.

But I'm getting away from backpacking/hiking emergency survival. But even the most "testy" person, might want to be able to have the materials to start a fire that might leave a trace in the wilderness, if they were too injured to move too far, and needed the expertise to survive until help came.

That was what I was getting at. Heck, if people want to go so natural as to take off on a 50K hike with nothing more than their underwear for clothing and shelter, and baggies on their feet for footwear, more power to them, and their "planning", and so forth. Yes, this thread did go a bit south, I think because people envisioned me as being a "Rambo" type, but I was particularly intersted in "emergency" situations that can happen when you would very least expect it, in the most hospitable trails or woods that you can experience. And that was all.

J.