Todd and I went to a Wilderness Survival Class last night. Todd felt like it was a good idea to go, seeing as I had gotten lost on a paved road trail that went around in a circle. We learned lots of really good and interesting things. The first thing I learned was that I am really the one in control of my mindset. If I choose to give up in a survival situation I will likely not make it. If I choose however to accept that it wont be comfortable but believe that I can survive and I will make it, that will more likely happen for me.
Here are a couple Wilderness Survival Tips and Tricks:
The rule of 3 - You cant live more than 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter (depending on conditions), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.
Shelter
The most important thing to acquire is shelter NOT food. There is a law that says when two things meet at two different temperatures the larger object will cause the smaller object to change temperature. So, when you have a 150 lb person and an enormous Earth, the Earths temperature will win out. We look at all our resources if we have been stranded with a car take the headliner out, the filler in the seats, the carpeting, use any bits for string or rope, use the hood, everything possible. You will want to pile up brush and get yourself as far from the ground as possible. Use a large stick and hit the Y of a tree branch and pull off large branches with some of the leaves and small branches still intact. Gather large sticks and form a little A-Frame or a lean-to. Then take your leafy branches to form the roof. You want as little air space as possible to keep warm.
Next you will want to make a fire. If you are stranded with your car you can use some of the gas from your hoses and your battery to start a fire. Using two wires, attach them to your battery when you touch the wires together sparks will start to fly. Have a little gas and some kindling ready to light. You can also take your tire off the rim using your tire iron and burn some of the rubber. This will burn a very long time and cause a black smoke, that could potentially cause someone to see you.
Once you have your fire started you want to direct the heat into your shelter. You can take some sticks and make a little half circle around the other side of the fire. So, it’s the sticks, the fire and your shelter in that order. Then take some reflective surface, like the lining underneath your hood, and reflect it back towards the shelter. This will keep you very warm.
Water
If you are stranded with your car, jump on the roof and create an indentation. This will cause any rain water to be caught. If you have a little plastic bag you could tie it to some vegetation with a couple rocks in the bottom of it, with a little spittle, condensation will begin to build up, it will drop down towards the rocks and then you will have water. You can compact snow and ad a little water put it in a big black trash bag, or something off your engine and then very shortly you'll have water. If there is a water source around you, use that and bring the water to a rolling boil to cleanse it. You need one 8-10 oz cup of water to survive daily.
Food
"A grub" as Timon from The Lion King said. I learned last night that I would be ok with eating a grub. All you have to do is cut off the pink head and either eat them raw or cook them. They are 75 calories a piece. All you need to survive is 400 Calories a day. Eating about 5 of these guys will help to sustain your life. You can find these guys on a rotted tree trunk under the bark. Don’t eat the hairy ones they are poisonous.
If you are in the desert snakes and other critters are available to eat, just cut off the head split down the belly and clean, cook and eat. Fish are also good; to easily catch these guys you can make a little channel in the water for them to go through. Take some pointed sticks line them up in a curve toward the shore and block the exit. Hit them with a large stick and cut off the head, gut them, bury them in the hot coals with the skin on for a few hours and eat. Frogs, birds and other creatures are available also, cut off the head and clean out the organs. Then just cook them skin, feathers and all and after they are cooked the outside of the animal will peel off. This should sustain life, not comfortably but well enough until you are rescued.
Snow
Snow is a really good insulator, if you are in the woods and there is a lot of snow set up your shelter near a tree. There is usually a ring around the base of the tree and you can pile up the snow with limbs etc, compacting as you go this will really keep the heat in. Remember sleep off the ground.
You can also build a very easy dome igloo out of snow. Start by compacting very tightly a small dome. Take something like a ski to cut a block out of where the entrance will be. Crawl inside and scrape out the rest of the snow with your hands leaving a small one foot shelf towards the back of the igloo. This is where you will sleep, off the ground. Poke a hole through the ceiling of the roof with your ski and leave it there. This will ventilate the dome. Use a couple blocks of snow to cover the entrance of the dome. According to our instructor you can get really warm in these shelters.
These are just a couple suggestions to keep you safe. Our instructor suggests carrying an emergency pack with you in the car. Also, some things that travel with him at all times are:
Light My Fire metal match
A portion of duct tape
Vaseline – use to keep a fire going almost like a candle
Dryer lint – use for starting a fire
Pocket Knife
I hope this helps, if you want to learn more go to your local outdoor store, they may be offering classes.
Copyright 2008 Ashley Clark AKA Kyra Clark. All Rights Reserved.
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