Survival Lore and Advice..

[Shotgun]

Actually clean clothes are far less important than dry clothes, I know a few guys who have gone 6 weeks without a shower or a change of clothes, as long as they kept them dry they were good.

local conditions also affect the whole 3's rules, 80's on a south pacific island, you may never really need shelter. -80 in fairbanks alaska, well you may need it first. and you may never find anything to burn either.



Water is the same, humid, cool conditions, your body may last a week, in the gobi desert at altitude, you might last day, again it all depends.


Making rules like this are often detrimental to the well being of the person involved. sometimes you have to move. Sometimes you should move.

I would say more people end up walking out of situation, or at least inproving their odds, by moving than do who sit still. Sometimes waiting is the best Idea. plane crash victims often have this dilemma. If the plane is on a preset flight plan, (often they are not if you in the bush) then sitting in the wreckage maybe a good idea. But it may not be either, I have seen several crash sites in my day that were not found till the snow flew or the leaves left the trees. If i go down in may, i am not waiting till november for a rescue.

It may be, that moving to a hill top will make your rescue much easier, it may be that the effort involved is not wise to expend. Again it all depends. I was around when a search team went looking for a group of fishermen who had been thought to have lost in a storm as their boat was found upside down and empty. One of the group climbed a small hill top and found an open area and when a search place flew by, he was able to gain their attention. The storm had blown the boat nearly 25 miles away from where they were, and it was there that the search efforts were taking place, only because they were able to gain some height were they found.


I would say the Rules are:

Make no rash decisions.

Use your surroundings to dictate your response.

Prioritize your efforts based on the conditions you face.

Take an inventory of all available assets.

Although rescue may be your best option, do not place all your hopes on immediate rescue.

and lastly, Don't panic, I have tried panic and it did not work.

I agree with you but I don't think the "rules" apply to us. What I mean is that the "rules" apply to those who have no inckling (sp?) to survival. You bet your ass that people who have their heads in survival mode are looking around and seeing what's up. For instance, "make no rash decisions" or "use your surroundings to dictate your response" means nothing to someone who knows nothing.

 

[kr1]

I agree with you but I don't think the "rules" apply to us. What I mean is that the "rules" apply to those who have no inckling (sp?) to survival. You bet your ass that people who have their heads in survival mode are looking around and seeing what's up. For instance, "make no rash decisions" or "use your surroundings to dictate your response" means nothing to someone who knows nothing.

S.T.O.P.

Sit down, relax, catch your breath, take stock of your situation.
Think, use your brain. How did you get into this, can you easily reverse the process.
Observe. Look around are you missing something obvious.
Plan. Come up with a reasonable course of action based upon the previous three items.

 

[Shotgun]

S.T.O.P.

Sit down, relax, catch your breath, take stock of your situation.
Think, use your brain. How did you get into this, can you easily reverse the process.
Observe. Look around are you missing something obvious.
Plan. Come up with a reasonable course of action based upon the previous three items.

I guess my point is most urbanites will go:
S My situation is F'd up
T I don't know I'm lost.
O I'm surrounded by trees that all look the same.
P What the heck do I do now? I guess I'll just go THATAWAY.

 

[upnorth]

I like my cheap polar fleece vest. Cost next to nothing, weighs nothing, warm, camo and reversable to blaze orange for high visibility. In a green forest or white winter snows, you can see blaze orange. I also always have a Swiss Army Knife , SAK, whatever, attached to my key ring. Which model is your choice, I have the locking blade Rucksack, basicly identical to the Hunter. It also has a small saw. My view is that I go nowhere without my keys, whether hunting, fishing or in the city. So it is ALWAYS with me whether I think about it or not. The police around here dont look hard at SAKs, particularly if you are an outdoor type.

Ya its Frank alright. Nanook, Nanook dont be a naughty Eskimo!

 

[GibsonFan]

Ya its Frank alright. Nanook, Nanook dont be a naughty Eskimo!

You bastids, I haven't been able to get that song out of my skull since I read this yesterday! For some reason it's making me think about t*****s and beer...

 

[fedaykincmndr]

The best place to store water is in the body, to elaborate on your water conservation remark. Conserve sweat, not water.

About the clothing being dry and/or clean, it is necessary to wash your clothing even if it's with just water. The sweat and bacteria on your body can rot clothing on you even it it's been kept dry. If water is plentiful use it to wash your clothing or you may have to find some!

I myself try to adhere to desert water discipline even when I have plenty. Conserve moisture, keep your body covered, and store the water IN your body. That's just something I do to keep myself in that discipline so if I ever were to find myself without much water it'd be second nature to me.

Always have a knife or some sort of blade on you and 2 forms of fire.

 

[snare]

Personally I never coat myself with anything that makes me smell edible when I am in bear country. I only wash and brush my teeth with plain water and never rub anything on me that a bear might mistake as a condiment or meat flavoring.

FWIW,
KR

They make it in unscented too. It's a good, simple, versatile soap.

P.S. I'm moving to Montana soon

...can anyone guess what my employment is going to be?

 

[Codger_64]

A mental toss flycoon? I don't know about that pigmy pony stuff though. You could end up with kids named Dweezil and Moon Unit.

 

[mewolf1]

P.S. I'm moving to Montana soon

...can anyone guess what my employment is going to be?

Don't forget your Zircon encrusted tweezers.:thumbup:

 

[braddy]

Yes, but you may not want to.

Not so much a correction, just a clarification: you can technically survive 3 minutes without air--but you'll be pretty much finished after two minutes, and even non-functioning after a few seconds. You can go 3 days without water, but dangerously dehydrated to the point of immobility after 18 hours. Similarly, you can go 3 hours without shelter or fire, but if you're wet, cold, and in the wind, you might last only 30 minutes. And so on.

In other words, don't figure you have 3 days before you need to obtain water! You'll be dropping by day 2.

The rule of threes is easy to remember, and helps you remember how to prioritize...but they're certainly not a testimony to the limits of human endurance. I would almost divide those by 3 to indicate how much time you might have left to respond!

From my experience your numbers are more related to a person surviving on his own, some of the other numbers are based on what the rescurers can keep alive, once they find it.

 

[snodog]

I agree with staying put to a certain degree. Assuming the conditions you are in include people who are aware of your missing status. In my own case I would be pretty much good and #ucked...In a situation where you are a family and have the shelter of a car then I would elect to stay in the car on a road in hopes of a passing vehicle and high hopes that it isnt the proverbial serial killer. If you are in the middle of a woods because hiking sounded like a fun retreat and nobody has any idea (or doesn't care) of your whereabouts then I would try and think hard about finding a way to civilization...depending on where in the continental US that is civilization aint always civilized but regardless, too many variables to mention just staying put as a safety net and a must do. In certain instances, getting off ones dead ass and allowing blood to circulate (especially in a cold climate) may be enough to stay alive...but then again burning calories and working up a good sweat can also kill...it all depends

 

[fedaykincmndr]

SLLS ("seals) is also a good way of getting your bearing since kr1 is throwin around acronyms ...

Stop
Look
Listen
Smell

I like to do this every once in awhile while I 'm hiking to get used to unfamiliar terrain. It helps get your body and mind used to what's around you so that if anything is out of place; smoke, a trail you missed, sounds of a road or machinery, movement in the tree line, etc. About 2-10 minutes is more than enough depending on what you want to know about where you're at, and I suppose how fast you want to get going.