Outdoor Survival Pt. 2
- by Leon Harms
Prioritizing Needs in a Survival Situation
We can define four basic human needs for survival in the wilderness: warmth, water, sleep and food. The survivor challenge is to put these needs in a priority list. The prioritizing of tasks will, of course, depend on what circumstances you are dealing with.
Treat any life threatening emergencies first. Apply first aid if needed then stop and think. Next try to relax. If you are lost and alone in the wilder-ness sit down and stay put until the fear, anger, and or frustration has gone from your system. Panic clouds our judgments and makes travel dangerous and unsafe. Take the time to collect your thoughts. Your mind is your greatest survival tool! Remain positive and stay calm, this is a real survivor challenge but you do have the ability control fear and panic and the ability to survive.
When you are calmer then ask yourself these questions. What particular situation are you facing and what assets do you have? What is your best hope of rescue? How can you increase your chances of being rescued? What do you have with you that can help you in this situation?
In deciding on an action plan a good rule of thumb to remember is called the rule of three:
A human can live for:
- Three minutes with-out air
- Three hours with-out shelter (in hostile weather)
- Three days with-out water
- Three weeks with-out food
Create your plan of action
- Figure out what order you will do things in. Be sure that you do not over-complicate things. If you are lost in the early spring or late fall, or are at a higher altitude, keeping warm and dry should be your number one priority.
- Check your survival kit and inventory your pockets and back pack. Be sure that you know what you have and how to use everything that is in your “survival kit”. If you have food or water then it is time to commence a rationing regiment. A slow caloric is needed to maintain body heat. Save any candy until your lowest point. Sugar can not only give a much needed energy boost but will also raise the spirits. Next take a mental inventory, try to remember what you always thought you would do if you got lost. What wilderness survival skills have you learned?
- Find shelter to maintain body temperature and to provide a safe place to sleep. Staying dry is crucial to staying warm. Look around and decide where to stay. If the probability of rescue is high stay close to your present location and build location aids in an open area so the searchers can see you. Look for natural cover first in a dry protected spot. Valley floors should be avoided as cooler moist air settles in these locations. Find natural insulators and insulate your body from the ground first then from the air. Building of a fire should be carefully considered. Fires take a lot of energy to build and maintain and should not be considered as a first priority unless you are wet and need to dry your clothing.
- Locate a water source. Water collecting methods from natural features such as springs and creeks should first be explored as these are the cleanest sources of water. Next natural collection of precipitation should be explored. Snow melt and rain water trapped in natural holes should be treated for purification. Boiling water for at least three minutes may be the best choice. Building a solar still or finding water holding plants should be your last choice as these methods require a large amount of effort for the amount of water yielded. Water transportation and storage is your next concern.
- Food procurement should be your last concern. Finding food from plants and animals is one of the hardest skills to master in the wilderness. The harvesting of edible plants must be engaged in with caution. Many plants in the wild are toxic and closely resemble non-toxic varieties. Trapping animals using primitive snares and deadfalls concisely takes practice and skill. Tracking, stocking and hunting require knowledge and tools. Food harvesting and preparation, and the cooking of these foods also take a great deal of knowledge. It is important that food procurement provides more caloric energy than is required to produce that food.
copyright © Leon Harms - All Rights reserved