Wilderness survival : staying alive until help arrives

69 Pages·2016·1.15 MB·English

by  Swedo

Wilderness Survival
Wilderness Survival
STAYING ALIVE UNTIL HELP ARRIVES
Third Edition
Suzanne Swedo
FALCONGUIDES
GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT
HELENA, MONTANA
For Rex
An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your
Mind are registered trademarks of Rowman & Littlefield.
Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright © 2016 by Rowman & Littlefield Illustrations by Todd Telander
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
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who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available Library of
Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available ISBN 978-1-4930-1734-8
(paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4930-1735-5 (e-book)
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
The author and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents
happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities
described in this book.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Using This Book
1 Before You Go
2 The Ten or More Essentials
3 How Not to Get Lost
4 If You Get Lost
5 Survival Priorities and First Aid
6 Shelter from Cold and Heat
7 Starting an Emergency Fire
8 Water Emergencies
9 Food Emergencies
Conclusion
Appendix: Checklists
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Ron Hood for reviewing the manuscript and for striking the
spark, to Brad Childs at the Wilderness Institute, Melinda Goodwater and
Singaman Lama of Goodwater’s Adventures, Jim Lowery of Earth Skills, and
Steve Tabor of Desert Survivors. I appreciate help from the National Outings
Program of the Sierra Club and to the organizers of the Angeles Chapter of the
Basic Mountaineering Training and Wilderness Training Course. Thanks to
Kylie Chappell at the Yosemite Conservancy. For assistance in the field, special
thanks to John Alder-son, Betty Berenson, Craig Deutsche, Laura Lathrop,
Fumiaki Nakamura, and Rex Raymer.
Introduction
Most backcountry travelers set out into the wilderness for recreation, love of
nature, or self-discovery and to experience the sense of freedom that comes from
breaking out of the technological and social cocoon that feeds and shelters them
—and separates them from the natural world. That freedom has a price,
however. Wilderness, by definition, is a place without easy access to the
facilities and services established to keep people out of trouble or rescue them
when they get into it. In the wilderness you are on your own and expected to be
both mentally and materially self-sufficient.
Most wilderness areas in North America are under the jurisdiction of some
public agency—such as the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Service,
Parks Canada, or the Bureau of Land Management—that is equipped to help
people in emergencies. These agencies recognize that accidents can happen to
even the most skilled and experienced outdoorspeople. Still, such agencies are
usually understaffed and underfunded and already busy enough protecting the
wilderness from destruction by visitors rather than the other way around. Many
national parks, for example, which formerly conducted helicopter rescues for
free, are now forced to charge victims for the service, and a very expensive
service it is.
Electronic devices like cell phones, GPS, or personal locator beacons to
summon help in emergencies can be valuable under certain circumstances, but
should never be thought of as substitutes for careful planning, preparation, and
know-how. They may strain to the limit the resources of search-and-rescue
organizations, many of which are staffed by volunteers. They can and sometimes
do fail, can be dropped, broken or drowned. They depend on batteries. Most
depend to some degree or other on an unobstructed patch of sky to reach
satellites or cell phone coverage. If you find yourself at the bottom of a shaded
gully, you might be out of luck. Remember too that if you do manage to get an
SOS out, you will still have to keep yourself alive and safe until help can reach
you, possibly a period of hours or even days if you’re in a remote area.
That is not to say that electronic devices have no place at all in the
backcountry; they can be handy and fun, but they should never be used as
substitutes for personal responsibility.