Just in Case (51 page)

This may seem like an extensive list, but all of this will fit into a couple of large pockets in a field jacket or in a daypack. None of it is expensive or hard to locate. If you are dressed in layers to accommodate changing weather conditions, you should be able to manage to wait for rescue for several days if necessary in relative comfort.

For longer hikes to more remote locations, a larger pack will provide space for more equipment. You could then include:

• Mess kit

• Folding camp grill

• Tube tent

• Small emergency hand saw

• Fish hook and nylon filament

• First-aid kit

• Sleeping bag

Always carry a cell phone, but be aware that we still have a lot of dead areas where cell phones will not work.

One final thought: Never set out on any excursion without telling someone where you will be and when you plan to return home. No one will come looking for you if they don’t know you are missing.

The same rules apply to travel by car. Leave an itinerary, and don’t vary from it without informing your contact person. Your car should be in top shape and equipped with an emergency kit (see page 88).

WHAT TO DO

Now suppose the worst did happen. What should you do first? What steps must you take immediately to ensure your survival and eventual rescue?

Stop! Before you let panic overtake your common sense, take a deep breath. Do not make a move until you have thought it through. Look around. Are you in immediate danger, for instance from rising water, or can you take some time to assess your situation? If you have prepared well, someone will know when to expect you and will launch a search when you don’t arrive. Your only job is to remain safe and protected from the elements until then.

Look around. Take stock of your supplies and equipment. What do have with you that will assist you in your predicament? If you have carried an emergency pack with you, you will have everything you need to meet your needs for a few days. If not, you will need to get creative.

Next, prioritize. What is your most pressing need? How can you meet it? We tend to think of needs in the triad of food, clothing, and shelter, but in a survival situation the hierarchy of needs is actually shelter, communication, and water.

The priority is shelter for a couple of reasons. You must maintain a body temperature at or near 98.6°F. If you get too hot (hyper-thermia) or too cold (hypothermia), you will die. Extreme heat or cold will sap the energy from you very quickly so you must seek shelter as soon as possible while you wait for help. Do not put this step off, thinking that help will arrive momentarily. It may, in which case you can appreciate the practice in setting up a shelter. If it doesn’t, you will be that much further ahead of the game if you have a warm place to spend the night.

If you are with your vehicle, stay there. It is an excellent shelter and will be much easier to spot than a single person trudging through the woods. If you are not with your car, improvise. Shelter can be as simple as a clearing under the branches of a large tree. You should avoid sitting on the bare ground. Remember that garbage bag? It will provide a dry place to sit or, lying across some branches, protect you from rain. Sitting on a layer of branches or a pile of dry leaves will insulate you from the damp and cold. More branches can form a windbreak. Try to mark the outside of the shelter with something such as an anchored bag or an extra piece of clothing (or that bandana) so a potential rescuer will not pass you by. A large X made with sticks or stamped in the snow will also signal help.

A small shelter is easier to keep warm than a large one. You can always curl up in a ball and cover yourself with your space blanket or, if you don’t have one, dried leaves and branches.

Avoid moving too far from your shelter. Search parties look for lost people in a grid pattern. You don’t want to move into an area that has already been searched. We teach our kids to “hug a tree” if they’re lost so they don’t go wandering around, deeper and deeper in the woods. Adults should heed the same advice. If you happen to be lost with a party, keep together. There really is strength in numbers. Stay within earshot of each other at all times.

Once you have improvised a shelter, your next priority must be communication. A flashlight and a whistle are invaluable here; both can be used to signal your location much more effectively than yelling. Blow your whistle every couple of minutes. At night the flashlight becomes useful. Go to the highest point practical and flash it in the SOS pattern: three short flashes, three long, then three short.

If you are stranded for any length of time, you will want a fire for warmth, cooking, boiling water, and/or signaling. The four things necessary for starting and maintaining a fire are spark, tinder, fuel, and oxygen. If you have carried waterproof matches with you, you need only find dry tinder to get started. Possibilities are:

• Small, dry twigs

• Dry leaves

• Dead plant heads (cattails are excellent)

• Pocket lint

• Shavings from dead wood

• Pine needles

• Cotton cloth

• Paper (remember that notepad?)

Pick the spot for your fire carefully. You’ll benefit most from the heat if you sit between the fire and some sort of backing, such as a large rock, a downed tree, or a snowbank. Try to find a spot that is sheltered from the wind. Look for access to water or sand in the event that your fire starts to get away from you. Circle your fire pit with stones or a sand berm to keep the fire contained.

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL RESDURCES

•
How to StayAlivein the Woods,
by Bradford Angier

•
SAS Survival Handbook: How to StayAlivein the Wildin Any Climate on Land or at Sea,
by John Lofty Wiseman

•
US Army Survival Manual FM 21-76

•
Wilderness Survival,
by Gregory Davenport

Prior to starting a fire, gather enough dry wood to keep the blaze going. Start with very small pieces of wood and work up to larger. If you place a teepee of small branches over your tinder, you should have enough oxygen to keep the fire going. When those pieces are burning well, add larger branches until you have a fire large enough to suit. Don’t rush this process. Many a good fire has been smothered by the addition of too much fuel too quickly.

Once you have your fire going, keep it going. This will mean having a good supply of the driest wood you can find piled close by.

If you want to use your fire to signal your location, add a supply of wet wood. Wet or pitchy wood will smolder rather than burn and create a lot of smoke. It won’t keep you warm, but it will serve to mark your location.

Once you have shelter and fire, your next consideration will be water. You court illness by drinking untreated water, however. A water bottle with a good-quality water filter will allow you to drink water from a stream or pond. If you have a pot or even a metal cup you can boil drinking water, but it will be a laborious process to get enough. You should consume at least two quarts a day (more if it is very hot) and a greater amount is preferable in a stressful situation. If you gather water from rainfall or melt snow, it does not need to be boiled before drinking. Don’t ration water. Drink what you need, then search for more. Dehydration will sap your strength and put your survival in question.

Finding food does not need to be a consideration for several days. You may be uncomfortable, but you won’t starve. As long as your water needs are met, you can remain healthy. Gathering wild edibles is possible in most locations, but that is a skill you need to practice in a nonemergency situation (see page 171). Unless you are positive about plant identification, it is better to go hungry for a few days than to take a chance with a questionable food.

Obviously, this is not a complete wilderness survival guide. Rather, it is meant to get you thinking about what your needs might be so you can adequately plan before you set out. Consult any of the excellent guides listed above for more comprehensive information.

CHAPTER 17 FOOD FROM SCRATCH

It is certainly possible to purchase all your storage food, neatly canned or dried and packaged, but doing so will cost you a considerable amount of money. Learning the various methods of preserving the bounty of your garden or the produce you purchase locally and in season will go a long way toward ensuring your food supply during the long, cold days of winter. Learning to make your own staples, such as bread, cheese, and yogurt, is another way of ensuring your fresh food supply. Not only will you be confident in your ability to put cheese and bread on the table even during a time of crisis, but you’ll earn the great gratitude of anyone who happens to be sitting here — homemade cheese and fresh home-baked bread are among the world’s most delicious treats!

CANNING

I
F YOU LEARN
to can produce when it is in season you will save a lot more than money. When you buy strawberries in Massachusetts in January, you are, in essence, gulping oil. It takes oil to plow the land, fertilize the soil, harvest the crop, treat for storage, package, store, and then transport those berries to your local market. Next, you use your car to go to the market, where you pick up the berries, return home with them, and then complain that they are expensive and tasteless. Buy them from a local farmers’ market in season and preserve them for winter’s use and you can enjoy a taste of summer without contributing to global warming, and you’ll keep more of your hard-earned money in your own community. It’s a win-win-win situation.

I know some people are afraid of canning. They worry about botulism and exploding canners and all sorts of calamities. But if you follow the directions, are careful about cleanliness, and exercise reasonable common sense, home canning is perfectly safe.

The most important issue in canning is knowing which foods can be safely canned in a water bath and which require a pressure canner. In general, high-acid foods such as most fruits and tomatoes can be canned in a water bath. Vegetables and meats need the higher temperatures achieved in a pressure canner to be safely canned.

I would suggest three books as excellent choices for novice canners:
The Ball Blue Book, The Busy Person’s Guide to Preserving Food,
and
The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.
All list the ways foods can be safely preserved and have clear, accurate directions that demystify the whole array of food preservation, from canning to dehydrating to pickling. What follows is only a primer, but it will give you an idea of what equipment you will need and how the processes work.

CANNING PRECAUTIONS

All around us are invisible microorganisms. Beneficial yeasts, molds, and bacteria make our bread rise, our cheese tasty, and our yogurt firm up. Other microorganisms can

BASIC CANNING EQUIPMENT

•
Water-bath canner or pressure canner

•
Large bowls

•
Timer

•
Wide-mouthed funnel

•
Jar lifter

•
Heavy towels or something to protect your countertops

•
Measuring cups and spoons

•
Pot holders

•
Scrub brush

•
Strainers (at least two)

•
Squeezo strainer (not a necessity until you use one — then you can’t do without it again)

•
Sharp paring knives

•
Teakettle

•
Ladle

•
Chop stick or non metal spatula

•
Pint or quart canning jars and lids

•
An experienced friend to help you the first few times

CANNED FDDD SAFETY

Look closely at canned food, whether home-canned or store-bought, before using it. A can that bulges, spurts liquid when you open it, or contains food with an off odor or discoloration is a sign that you should discard both the food and the container in a place where children and animals cannot get at them. A wasted can of tomato sauce is a small price to pay for protection from illness.

make us very ill. Learning how to eliminate these pathogens is the key to understanding the canning process. These are the rules that really matter.