I Will Survive!

The Average Survival Situation. —A few years ago in the Arizona desert an older couple made a wrong turn in their car and got turned around on a road near the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. —Their car got stuck in blow sand and the wife decided to walk to the interstate – that was in view. —She was found less than three days later within one mile of the road.—Dead from hyperthermia and dehydration. —Her husband, who had stayed with the car was found alive but was too far gone to save. —A survival kit and a little preparation could have kept them alive.

Typical SAR Victim:
Improperly Clothed.
Lack of Rest.
Lack of Adequate Water
Hyper or Hypothermia.
Too ambitiousPoor
Physical conditional or lack of motivation.
Inadequate or improper food.
Little to no planning.
An itinerary that is confusing or unknown to others.
Inability to recognize environmental, physical, or mental threat.
No preparation for adverse weather.
Lack of compass or lack of familiarity of terrain.
“It can’t happen to me!”

What Will KILL you:
Anxiety and fear.
Pain and Injury.
Illness
Thirst and hunger
Wetness
Fatigue and Sleep depravation.
Boredom
Loneliness
Complacency and the desire for comfort.
Stubbornness.
Promises
Get-home-itis.

Make sure when preparing a Survival Kit that it is:
Relevant to the environment.
Lightweight and Portable.
Waterproof.
Durable and Dependable.
Complementary to your physical fitness and expertise levels.
Able to meet a wide variety of reasons – the basics.
Comprised of multiple use components.
Panic proofed.
Comprised of components that can be easily purchased or made.
Affordable yet effective.
Field tested – use it or lose it.
Simple.

Survival Kit Components:
 Two Good Freezer Bags. Tincture of Iodine. Space Blanket. Roll of Dental Floss (non waxed – without the case). Colored Surveyor’s tape. Pea-less brightly colored whistle.  Wax coated matches.  Disposable butane lighter.  Magnesium block fire-starter  6 or so Cotton Balls soaked in P.J. A compass and a small back up compass. Small first aid kit. Credit Card sized Fresnel lens. Flashlight with AA batteries and Extra Batteries. Carbon Steel knife with a lanyard.  Clear Plastic Drinking Tube. Heavy Duty Space Blanket. Collapsible one to two gallon water container Two 55 gallon trash bags – heavier the better.  Wool or synthetic watch cap. Homemade first aid kit. 100 feet of 550 cord. Signal Mirror. 7.5 minute topographical map of the area you are going to. Two Candy or nutrition bars Medications or eye glasses. Bandanna or two.

Some Additional Considerations: —Sanitation supplies (sanitary napkins, T.P.).—Water Bottle wrapped in duct tape.—100 dollars in 20’s.—Insect Stuff.—Single Candle.—Fishing kit —Trapping wire

Our Example Survival Situation.
—Claire decides to do a little Geo Caching near Waller Texas. A simple 20 minute drive or so from the campus.—She grabs her LIFE program Survival kit that she won and added to and heads for the door with her GPS.—After getting one Geo Cache she decides to get another Geo Cache that was not planned. —She drives to within walking distance of the Geo Cache and walks 3 miles into the woods to find her cache. —After finding her cache with the sun starting to go down she turns to head out – and badly sprains her ankle. —She checks her cell phone – no bars.

The 72 Hour Clock Starts.
—In this case Claire can drag herself from her location within 72 hours. So rescue, although it would be nice, is not necessary – but she needs to live. —Temp tonight will be 42 tonight.—She left word at home where should would be – but with darkness approaching – she will likely not be found for up to 24 hours. —What does Claire need to do?—Maintain Body Temperature —Get water.—Signal for help.—Claire Busts out her kit – let’s see what she can do with this stuff!

Rock On! To First Aid.
—The first and more important thing in a Survival Situation is the Rock On attitude!—Positive Attitude does more to save lives than anything else. —What is in your head will save you more than what is in your kit!—However, having a kit can ease your mind. —First Aid:—The knife allows her to get a walking stick, and a splint stick.—Her first aid kit allows her to get a little pain relief (Ibuprophen)—Duct Tape from her water bottle allows her to support her ankle with or without her splint stick.

Fire.
—Unless Claire really got sweaty before she went down – she needs to get fire more than water at this point. —The human body can live 3 days without water in ideal circumstances. She will get hypothermic without fire or shelter. —Fire:—Her knife allows her to get wood, squaw wood, and tinder. —Although standing dead is her best bet at this point.—Her lighter, PJ Cotton Ball, Matches, or Mag block all can help het get fire.—She needs, however, to not get sweaty gathering wood. Wet makes her colder and can kill her.

Shelter – Portable and Not.
—If it is getting dark – she has a flashlight and extra batteries. —She should also have this at hand for signaling – as well as the whistle.—If she gets cold as she is gathering firewood – she has the 55 gallon trash bags to make a sort of pancho. —This does not ‘breathe’ however and she needs to move slowly and deliberately. —She also has the wool hat and the space blanket should she get really cold. —The head releases the most heat – the hat should be on all night. —Her bandanna can go over her neck or face to retain more heat.—Her knife allows her to cut pine bows and limbs to start a debris shelter style hut.—Her 55o cord will help secure this.

Through the night.
—Claire may have a cold night – but she will live.—She will need 5 times more wood than she thinks she needs – and if she can’t hobble fast enough – will need to collect more before the night is over.—She uses both tarps, her spare shirt, and her trash bags to retain heat. —Her knife will allow her to feel a little more safety against the ‘boogie man’ noises.—She also knows she is in control – without her knowledge and kit – she would likely die tonight. —Her nutrition bars will begin to be rationed to make her feel a little more energy.

In the morning and water.
—Claire checks her map (her GPS batteries died in the night) and knows a stream is near her (within 100 yards), Gladdish Creek. —She uses her compass at first light (using her back up to remove confusion) to navigate to the water. —She fills her 1 gallon container and water bottle and uses her iodine to purify both (5 drops per quart – or 10 if it is icky).—She also uses a bandanna to filter the solid debris. —She uses her 550 cord and knife to make a carrying strap. Know some simple knots!

Signaling. —Claire uses her knife and cuts green bows on her fire and her whistle when she thinks she hears traffic (the road is three miles away) and keeps her signaling mirror handy. —With smoke rolling, and her whistle blasting – she feels proactive. —Party On!—She sees an airplane overhead and attempts to signal him. —She thinks she gets some beams of light on the plane – but does not seem to see recognition from the pilot.—Party on!

Improvement and a Plan. —As the day wears on Claire is improving her shelter, adding to her firewood, and making a plan. —She is not confident that she will be found today so she will make the long walk out tomorrow. —A little plant recognition could help supplement her caloric intake. Without it – she is depending on her energy bars. —She stays under shelter and rests when she can. It will be almost 80 today and she does not want to get heat exhaustion or sweat too much toward night fall. —She rigs her space blanket to shield the suns rays during the day using the 550 cord and the knife. —As night begins to fall – Claire makes another trip to the stream, fills up all of her water, and her ziplock bags and hunkers down for the night. —Her fire is good, her shelter is good, she has a plan and her ankle is beginning to get a bit stronger.
Rescued. —She hears voices calling for her faintly around nightfall. She adds the lightest and hottest burning tinder to the fire, grabs her flash light, and begins to blast on her whistle. —Three blasts at a time and three flashes at a time in the direction of the voices. —Within minutes she is found by her husband who found her car (with SAR help) because of her note at home and is carried out. —Because of a little planning, a little know how, and her ROCK ON attitude – she has only a sprained ankle and a SWEET story to tell!