The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self

Easter describes the physically grueling task of packing and transporting the remains of the caribou over a challenging five-mile trek back to camp. He was assigned the heaviest load, including the caribou’s head and a hindquarter, resulting in a pack weighing between 90 and 110 pounds. The difficulty of shouldering such weight was compounded by the varied terrain the group had to navigate, including uphill climbs and potentially slippery conditions due to incoming snow.

Throughout the journey, Easter reflected on the intense physical strain and the necessity of finding a rhythm in his breathing and steps to cope with the pain and exhaustion. This experience prompted him to consider the physicality of ancient humans, who were habituated to such strenuous activities as part of their daily survival. He contrasts this with the relatively sedentary lifestyle of modern humans, noting the disparity in physical fitness and endurance.

Easter discusses the evolution of human fitness from the era of hunter-gatherers to the advent of farming and the Industrial Revolution, leading to the modern day, when physical activity is often compartmentalized into gym workouts. He touches on the concept that traditional hunter-gatherer activities provided not only physical exercise but also cognitive stimulation, something that is often lacking in modern workout routines.