Welcome to the Wilderness
of SpiritWalker's Apachería
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Survival On Land
Immediate Action
General
- In extreme weather (hot or cold), do not use the vehicle as a shelter. The aircraft or
automobile will become an oven or an icebox that will jeopardize your survival. Stay
near the vehicle, as it will be most likely spotted by search and rescue first.
- Check injuries. Give first aid. Make the injured comfortable. Be careful when
removing the injured from any vehicle. Always assume that the injured have back
injuries and move them as little as possible. Immobilize fractures as soon as possible.
- Get out of the wind and rain. Throw up a temporary shelter. If you need a fire, start
it at once. In cold weather, drink warm liquids immediately.
- Set out a signal as soon as possible. If you have an emergency radio, begin
transmitting a mayday call. Keep all signals as close as possible to your shelter and keep
the radio handy at all times.
- Relax and rest until you are over the initial shock of the situation. Leave extensive
preparations and planning until later.
- Organize the camp. Appoint individuals to specific duties (keep everyone busy to
reduce stress). Pool all food and equipment in charge of one person. Prepare a shelter to
protect yourself from rain, hot sun, snow, wind, cold, or insects. Collect all possible fuel.
Try to have at least a day’s stock of fuel on hand. Look for a water supply. Look for
animal and plant food.
- Make sure all ground signals are in plain view and can be recognized from the air.
- Start a log book. Include date and cause of incident; probable location; roster of
personnel; inventory of food, water, and equipment; weather conditions; and other
pertinent data.
- Determine your position by the best means available, and include this position in
your log book and radio transmissions.
- Do not leave your vehicle, unless you know that you are within easy walking distance
of help. If you travel, leave a note giving your planned route. Stick to your plan so
rescuers can locate you.
Remember: You are the key person in the rescue! Help the search parties to
find you, and follow their instructions when they sight you. They can use all the
assistance you can give. Don’t take chances which might result in injury. You will be
easier to rescue if you are in one piece.
The following procedures will speed up your rescue:
- Conserve power on all electronic equipment. Use your radio sparingly.
- Sweep the horizon with a mirror at frequent intervals. Air rescue can see a mirror
flash before you can see them.
- Make sure to maintain a clear ground signal at all times. Keep a fire burning at
night.
Arctic
In winter:
- Protection from cold is your immediate and constant concern. Keep dry, avoid
snow blindness, check constantly for frostbite.
- To stay dry, keep snow out of your boots, gloves, and clothing; avoid open water.
Overexertion causes perspiration which will freeze inside your clothing. Always remove
outer clothing when working or moving; when you stop, throw your outer garments over
your shoulders or replace them to avoid chilling. If you have shelter at night, remove
your underclothes and air them, or let them get cold and beat the frost out with a stick.
Keep hands and feet dry.
- Collect wood, gasoline, oil, heather, brush, or peat for fuel. Build a fire at a safe
distance from the vehicle and get under shelter.
- If the aircraft is flyable or the vehicle is operational (either stuck or out of gas, etc.),
drain the oil; insulate the wheels from ice with boughs or canvas; leave brakes off;
remove the battery and protect it from freezing.
- If you are in a glacier area, be on your guard against falling into crevasses when
reconnoitering. Rope the party together, preferably three people to a rope. As you walk,
probe the snow in front of you with a pole to detect crevasses covered by thin snow.
- Be careful not to make a shelter beneath a cliff or at the foot of a high mountain.
These places are perfect sites for avalanches.
In the summer, protect yourself from insects. Keep dry.
Desert
Water will be your biggest problem. Do not waste it. Keep your head and the back of
your neck covered, and get into shade as soon as possible to reduce sweating and loss of
body water (this is NO TIME to get a tan). Travel only at night.
Tropics
- Take shelter from rain, sun, and insects. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes and other
insect pests are the immediate dangers of the tropics - protect yourself against bites.
- Do not travel without carefully blazing or making your route carefully. Use a
compass. Know what direction you are going.
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Water Procurement
Finding Water
The first place to look is in valley bottoms where water naturally drains. If there is no obvious stream or pool, look for patches of green vegetation and try digging there - plants need water to survive. There may be water just below the surface which will build up in the hole. However, do not waste water (sweat), while digging for water - you may dehydrate yourself further without gaining enough water to compensate for the loss. Even digging in gullies and dry stream beds may reveal a spring beneath the surface,
especially in gravelly areas. You should dig in the outer bends of the stream beds where
water may have embedded itself in the soil. In mountains look for water trapped in
crevices.
On the coast, digging above the high water line, especially where there are sand dunes, has a good chance of producing about 2 inches of fresh water that filters down and floats on the heavier salt water. It may be brackish but is still drinkable. Where cliffs fall into the sea, look for lush growth of vegetation, even ferns and mosses, in a fault in the rock formation and you may find a soak or spring.
WARNING
Be suspicious of any pool with no green vegetation growing around it, or animal
bones present. It is likely to be polluted by chemicals in the ground close to the surface.
Check the edge for minerals which might indicate alkaline conditions. ALWAYS BOIL
WATER FROM POOLS. In deserts there are lakes with no outlets; these become salt
lakes. Their water MUST be distilled before drinking.
Dew and Rain Collection
Despite the acid rain produced by industrialized countries, which can cause a buildup of pollution in the soil, rainwater everywhere is drinkable. Use as large a catchment area as possible, running the water off into containers of every kind. A hole dug in the ground and lined with anything that will hold water efficiently, can be used but should be kept covered afterwards. If you have no impermeable sheeting (like plastic), metal sheets or bark can be used to catch water. If you have any doubt about the water you have collected, boil it.
In climates where it is very hot during the day and cold at night, heavy dew can be
expected. When it condenses on metal objects it can be sponged or licked off.
You can use clothing to soak up water and then wring it out. One way is to tie clean
cloths around the legs and ankles and walk through wet vegetation. These can be sucked
or wrung out.
Animals As Signs of Water
- Mammals
- Most animals require water regularly. Grazing animals are usually never
far from water - though some kinds travel thousands of miles to avoid the dry season - as
they need to drink at dawn and dusk. Converging game trails often lead to water; follow
them downhill. Carnivores (meat eaters) can go for a long period between waterings.
They get moisture from the animals on which they prey so are not a positive indication of
local water.
- Birds
- Grain eaters, such as finches and pigeons, are never far from water.
They drink at dawn and dusk. When they fly straight and low they are heading for water.
When returning from water they are loaded with it and fly from tree to tree, resting
frequently. Water birds, such as cranes and gulls, can travel long
distances without stopping to feed or drink so do not necessarily
indicate water nearby. Hawks, eagles and other birds of prey also get
liquids from their victims so cannot be taken as a sign of local
water.
- Reptiles
- Not an indicator of water. They collect dew and get moisture from prey,
so they can go a long time without water.
- Insects
- Good indicators, especially bees: they fly at most 4 miles from their
nests or hives, but have no regualr watering times. Ants are dependent upon water. A
column of ants marching up a tree is going to a small reservoir of trapped water. Such
reservoirs are found even in arid areas. Most flies keep within 100 yards of water. Also
look for large colonies of butterflies.
- Humans
- Human tracks will usually lead to a well, a bore hole, or soak. It may be
covered over with scrub or rocks to reduce evaporation. Replace the
cover.
WARNING
RATION YOUR SWEAT NOT YOUR WATER! If you have to ration water,
take it in sips. After going a long time without water, don’t guzzle when you do find it.
Take only sips at first. Large gulps will make a dehydrated person vomit, losing even
more of the valuable liquid.
Plant Bags
Tree and plant roots draw moisture from the ground, but a tree may
take it from a water table 50 feet or more below the surface, too deep
to dig down to reach. Don’t try, let the tree pump it up for you.
Tie a plastic bag around a leafy branch. Evaporation from the leaves
will produce condensation in the bag. Choose bushy branches. Keep
the mouth of the bag at the top with a corner hanging low to collect
condensed evaporation.
Placing a plastic tent over any vegetation will collect moisture by evaporation which will
condense on the plastic as it cools. Choose healthy vegetation. Suspend the tent from
the apex or support with a padded stick. Avoid letting the foliage touch the sides of the
tent or it will divert water droplets which should collect in plastic-lined channels at the
bottom.
Even cut vegetation will produce some condensation as it warms up when placed in a
large plastic bag. Keep the foliage off the bottom with stones so that water collects
below it, and keep the foliage from touching the plastic. In the desert, turn the bag
upside down and bury it halfway in the sand. Don’t allow the water to wash back over
the bush, as it may contaminate the water.
Solar Still
Did a hole in the ground approximately 3 feet across and 18 inches deep. Place a
collecting can in the center, then cover the hole with a sheet of plastic. Anchor the
plastic around the hole with dirt or stones. Place a small stone, or a piece of material
filled with dirt and tied up into a bag, in the center of the plastic so that the plastic forms
a cone. You may also place small, green vegetation in the hole to produce even more
water. The sun’s heat raises the temperature of the air and soil below and vapor is
produced. As the air becomes saturated, water condenses on the underside of the plastic,
running down into the container. This is especially effective in desert regions and
elsewhere when it is hot during the day and cold at night. The plastic cools more quickly
than the air, causing heavy condensation. This kind of still should collect at least 1 pint
of water per 24-hour period. You may also want to place a siphon of some sort in the
container so that the water can be removed without disturbing the still.
A solar still can be used to distill pure water from poisonous or contaminated
liquids.
WARNING
NEVER drink urine or sea water - NEVER! However, both can
produce drinking water if distilled. Sea water will also provide you
with a residue of salt.
Water From Ice and Snow
Melt ice rather than snow - it produces a greater volume faster for less heat: twice as
much for half the heat. If forced to heat snow, place a little in the pot and melt that first,
gradually adding more to it. If you put a lot of snow into the pot, the lower level will
melt and then be soaked up into the absorbent snow above it, leaving a hollow beneath
which will make the pot burn. Lower layers of snow are more granular than that on the
surface and will yield more water.
Sea ice is salt - no use for drinking - until it has aged or is distilled after melting. The more recently frozen, the saltier it will be. New sea ice is rough in contour and
milky-white in color. Old ice is bluish and has rounded edges, caused by
weathering. Good water can be obtained from this blue ice - the bluer
and smoother the better - because the salt tends to settle to the
bottom. But beware of even old ice that has been exposed to salt
spray.
Water From Plants
- Water Collectors
- Cup-shaped plants and cavities between the leaves of bromeliads (many
of which are parasitic on the branches of tropical trees) often collect a reservoir of water.
Bamboo often holds water in its hollow joints. Old and yellow stems are more likely to
be water bearing. Shake them - if you can hear water sloshing around, cut a notch at the
bottom of each joint and pour the water out.
- Vines
- Vines with rough bark and shoots about 2 inches thick can be a useful
source of water. But you must learn by experience which are the water-bearing vines,
because not all have drinkable water and some have a poisonous sap. The poisonous
ones yield a sticky, milky sap when cut. You will know not to try that type again -
otherwise it is a matter of trial and error and worth trying any species.
Some vines cause a skin irritation upon contact with your lips, so it is better to let the
liquid drip into your mouth rather than put your mouth to the stem. It is more preferable
to collect the water in a container instead.
To collect water from a vine, select a particular stem and trace it upwards. Reach as high
as possible and cut the vine at an angle. Cut off the same stem close to the ground. DO
NOT cut the bottom of the vine first as this will cause the liquid to run up the vine
through capillary action. Hold the cut piece up and let the water drip from it into your
mouth or into a container. When it ceases to drip, cut a section from the bottom and go
on repeating this until the vine is drained.
- Roots
- In Australia, the Water Tree, Desert Oak, and Bloodwood have their
roots near the surface. Pry these roots out from the ground and cut them up into 12 inch
pieces. Remove the bark. Suck out the moisture, or shave to a pulp and squeeze over the
mouth.
It is not easy to find some of the most useful desert roots unless you have been shown by
someone with experience. Australian Aborigines can identify a tiny twig which grows
from a football-like bulbous root, which can be a lifesaver - but unless you have been
shown how to find them, it is not worth expending your energy and resources
looking.
- Palms
- The Buri, Coconut, and Nipa palms all contain a sugary fluid which is
very drinkable. To start it flowing, bend a flowering stalk downwards and cut off its tip.
If a thin slice is cut off the stalk every 12 hours, the flow will be renewed, making it
possible to collect up to a quart each day. Nipa palms shoot from the base so that you
can work from ground level, on grown trees of other species you may have to climb up
them to reach a flowering stalk.
Coconut milk has considerable water content, but from ripe nuts it is a powerful laxative;
drinking too much would make you lose more fluid.
- Cacti
- Both the fruit and bodies of cacti store water, but not all cacti produce
liquid safe to drink - the Saguaro, the giant multi-fingered cactus of Arizona, is very
poisonous. Take care to avoid contact with cactus spines, they can be very difficult to
remove, especially the very fine hair-like ones, and can cause festering sores if they stay
in the skin. The Barrel cactus can reach a height of 4 feet and is the best source of water, however, it
requires considerable effort to cut through its tough, spine-covered outer skin. The best
method is to cut off the top and chop out pieces from the inside to suck on or roll in a
piece of cloth and wring out the water. You may also smash the pulp within the plant
and scoop out the watery sap, which varies from tasteless in some plants to bitter in
others. An average-sized, 3 foot high, Barrel cactus will yield about 2 pints of milky
juice and this is an exception to the rule to avoid milky-sapped plants.
Water From Animals
Animal eyes contain water which can be extracted by sucking them.
All fish contain a drinkable fluid. Large fish, in particular, having a reservoir of fresh
water along the spine. Tap it by gutting the fish and, keeping the fish flat, remove the
backbone, being careful not to spill the liquid, and then drink it.
If you need water that badly, you should be careful not to suck up the other fish juices in
the flesh, for they are rich in protein and will use up water in digestion.
Desert animals can also be a source of moisture. In times of drought in Northwestern
Australia, Aborigines dig in dry clay pans for the desert frogs that burrow in the clay to
keep cool and survive. They store water in their bodies and it can be squeezed out of
them.
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