Run downhill if you’re being chased by a bear. Apparently bears have bad knees.
Snowballs make good toilet paper.
Look before you put your hand on a rock, their could be a sleeping rattler there.
Obey “no trespassing” signs when you’re in hillbilly country
Seek or build shelter (even if it is simply leaning pine branches against a tree).
The sun ALWAYS rises in the east and sets in the west.
Rivers flow downhill.
That pint of everclear will only make you think you’re warm.
Body heat is the best heat.
Choose straws if someone in your party must be used as food.
Long car trips - pack a what if bag just in case. Winter or summer. Same rule for day hikes from home, a trail head or a mid wilderness camp site.
Leaves of three, leave them be.
Leaves of four, eat some more.
Move away from the light, not towards it. (or is it the other way around?)
Call Rambo if you want to survive X 3
Emergency crews are trained at finding GPS coordinates if you have no f’n clue where you are (I’ve used this!)
The big dipper looks like a boiling pot of water.
Moss grows on the north face of rocks, trees, etc. Also, snow doesn’t melt as fast on the north face of a slope.
Only YOU can prevent forest fires.
Don’t panic! Keep your head and wits about you.
I’ve done both summer (NOLs) and winter survival training (Navajo Trails, Alaska Mountaineering), but I always fall back to the Boy Scout Motto - Always be prepared. Unfortunately, the story of James Kim rings very true in this regard. When I watch “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” episodes, the situations these people find themselves in often relate to naivete and lack of preparedness. As insane as this sounds, I travel with waterproof matches and mirror/compass wherever I go.
The most important thing in any survival situation is simply having the will to survive…don’t give up, and don’t panic. Its amazing what you can get through if you just hold to those two tenets…
Spot
From the book “Deep Survival” by Laurence Gonzales (one of my favorite books and one I have reread after hearing the recent tragic news), here are 12 common steps shared by many survivors: Percieve, believe Stay calm Think\analyze\plan Take correct, decisive action Celebrate your successes Count your blessings Play See the beauty Believe that you will succeed Surrender Do whatever is necesarry Never give up
He explains each of those bullet points in greater detail.
Another study he points to is that psychologists who study survival say that people who are rule followers don’t do as well as those who are of independant mind and spirit.
It is a book well worth reading.
Not to jack this thread but has anyone read Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild.” Excellent read.
Some people are just plain stupid when it comes to dealing with mother nature. I guess this makes sense when most of our population resides in the citites.
That book put me in a depressed funk for at least a week after finishing it. I still think about that boy, and his family, from time to time.
Stay dry. Even water that feels warm can induce hypothermia.
Do not ration water…your body will do that for you.
In other words, if you are thirsty drink until you aren’t anymore. Don’t drink a sip of water now, and plan on taking another sip in an hour. Your body is a better carrier for the water than whatever you have.
The bear thing is not entirely correct. It more has to do with biomechanical structure. Balck bears tend to have shorter front legs, and as such are less stable running downwhill. Take that strategy with a grizzly or kodiak (or polar bear though you won’t have hills anyhow) and you will be bear food.
Check out an obscure book called “Cold Burial” about a Canadian adventurer who, along with another man, starve to death in a cabin in the Yukon. Very detailed first-hand account of death by starvation.
This is going to sound really gross because it is but, I read a backcountry ski boot that suggested putting plastic bags over your feet. Your feet will sweat until they are totally emerged in sweat, then they will stop. After that your body uses the energy it would have used to sweat to keep the water (and your feet which are in the water) at body temperature. Oh, you should also pee alot because your body uses large amount of energy to keep the urine in your bladder at body temperature.
Bears also have very poor eyesight. They smell you well before they see you. I don’t know how this helps. Just keep downwind I guess.
That book costs over $10! I’m not paying that.
Endurance is also a great tale of survival. I like the kid who stowed away on board. Bet he didn’t know what he was signing up for.
Rule of 3: You can survive for three hours without shelter You can survive for three days without water You can survive for three weeks without food
.
3 seconds without blood
3 minutes without air
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
3 months without hope
.