But there is little doubt that Franck loves his work as a survivalism instructor. Franck has founded a school-Backtrackers-in which he takes people into the woodlands of Axton, Virginia, for seven or eight weekend-long classes and teaches them to live off the land. He and his students track game, build shelters, start fires, and scout out nature's resources.

"This is the true basis of humanity," Franck said; survivalists retreat to the dawn of civilization, performing the same simple tasks as our ancient ancestors, just to stay alive.

Franck seems an unlikely candidate for roughing it. His father was the CEO of Tultex Corp., a major clothing manufacturing firm in Martinsville. After graduating from Hampden-Sydney, he went into the Army National Guard, returning home after basic training to a 16-year job as a chemical engineer with Tultex.

His developing interest in aviation led to a private pilot's license in 1983; he eventually resigned from Tultex and moved to Greensboro to become a commercial flight instructor.

In Greensboro (where he still lives with his wife and two daughters), he met Tom Brown, author of The Tracker and a "survivalism guru." A latent interest sprang to life, like a bow-spun spark in pine straw; Franck signed up for the first of the 18 survival-skill seminars he would take over the next 12 years. In nature, Franck has discovered connectedness, and surprising depths, to his own being.

Will Franck tries out a leafy twig shelter (right), stirs a spark into flame (below), and tests his balance on a log (above center).

"I found there's a lot more to me than I ever figured," he said. "And now that I've found this much, why should I stop learning about myself?"