Survival Weekend
By Jamie Hale
This article originally appeared in Wilderness Way Volume 14, Issue 4
Imagine spending the night outside when it’s 13 degrees the wind is blowing at 20 M.P.H. and it’s snowing. In addition, you have no tent, sleeping bag, or blanket. That probably sounds scary to most people, but to a few people it’s challenging and exciting. More than likely, the people that would find this scenario exciting would be people who have acquired basic survival skills (or at least think they have). I had a chance to experience a cold night outdoors (exactly as mentioned above) and much more survival-related stuff at Nature Reliance School’s Survival Weekend (near Cave Run Lake in KY).
Survival weekend began with an introduction to basic survival skills and needs. The instructor discussed the basic survival needs including 1- shelter 2- food 3- water 4- heat. Arguably, shelter and heat could be placed in the same category. Not exactly the same thing but they are related. We also discussed the Rule of Threes.
The Rule of Threes says you can live:
3 minutes without air,
3 hours without shelter,
3 days with out water and
3 weeks without food.
The Rule of Threes is good to know and serves as a good general guideline. The application of these rules depends on various factors. How fast you need to build a shelter depends on the weather, your clothing and whether you have a fire or not. Water needs depend on food supply, perspiration and current hydration levels. Food contains water and in some cases large amounts of water.
Water content of foods
Food Water (%)
Almonds 7
Apples 85
Apricots 85
Bananas 76
Bean sprouts 92
Beef, raw burger 54
Bread, whole wheat 35
Broccoli 91
Butter 20
Cabbage, raw 92
Cantaloupe 91
Carrots, raw 88
Cauliflower, raw 91
Celery 94
Cheese, American 37
Cherries, raw 80
Chicken, boiled 71
Coconut, dried 7
Collards, boiled 91
Corn, sweet fresh 74
Cucumbers, raw 96
Eggs, raw whole 74
Eggplants, raw 92
Fruit cocktail 80
Grapefruit, raw 88
Grapes 82
Ham, smoked, cooked 54
Honey 15
Jams, preserves 30
Kale 87
Lettuce, head 96
Margarine 20
Molasses 25
Olives 80
Oranges 86
Papayas, raw 89
Parsley, raw 86
295
Peaches, raw 90
Peanuts, shelled Trace
Peanut butter Trace
Pears, raw 82
Peas, raw 81
Pecans 7
Peppers, green 94
Pickles, dill 93
Pineapple, raw 85
Plums, raw 87
Pork chops, boiled 45
Potatoes, raw 85
Pumpkin, canned 90
Radishes, raw 95
Raspberries 81
Rhubarbs, boiled 90
Sauerkraut, canned 93
Spinach, raw 92
Squash, boiled 96
Strawberries, raw 90
Tomatoes, raw 93
Turkey, roasted 62
Veal, broiled 60
Walnuts 4
Water cress, raw 90
Watermelon 93
(The above chart was referenced from the Survival Acres
website at http://survivalacres.com/information/water_content.html.)
Most people can last longer than three weeks without food. An obese subject studied by Stuart and Fleming (1973) successfully fasted for 382 days. He entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest “total” fast (United Nations University). Other authors have reported successful fasts in obese subjects of 100-300 days. In general, survival time in lean subjects is less than 80 days. Newspaper reports indicate that in 1981 a Northern Ireland Fester died of starvation in 45 days. The decreased survival time was probably due to a previous gunshot wound to the hip. The body’s attempt to fight off illness increases calorie expenditure, thus speeding up the starvation process. The primary determinant of survival time during starvation is bodyfat level.
After discussing survival skills and concerns we talked about knives. Most of this information was new to me. The instructor pointed out the strength and weaknesses of various knives. Everyone in the group had a knife while some people had more than one knife. We looked at everyone’s knives and then sharpened them. It is a good thing because my knife was dull and would have provided no benefits the following day.
Day one concluded with a lesson in cordage. This was something new to me. I did not think I would enjoy this but surprisingly I found it very interesting. By the time I had finished the tedious process I had a sturdy rope. I did not think I could turn Milkweed into a functional rope, but surprise-surprise.
On day two we ventured into the forest. The first goal of the day was to find a campsite. Once we found our camp location we began cleaning off the site where our shelters would be built. Everyone worked well together and the site was ready for shelter construction relatively fast. We built seven debris huts in about 4 hrs. I really enjoyed the process. I had not worked in a team situation like this in sometime. I think the group worked very well as a team. No one complained and everyone contributed an equal amount. This type of work would probably be challenging for a sedentary individual or for anyone unaccustomed to physical labor.
I had always wondered if I could start a fire with a bow-and-drill. After we completed the debris huts it was time to construct and use a bow-and-drill. I had a hard time getting the bow constructed. It took patience something I usually lack. After a brief struggle the bow-and-drill was complete. I was not successful with starting a fire although I probably did not try long enough. It will take a fair amount of practice before I can start a fire with this apparatus. For now I will stick with the flint, lighter or matches.
Nighttime was approaching and it was becoming increasingly cold, and windy. The snowfall was also increasing. A little before 5 P.M. we started a fire in the center of camp. We used the cross ditch method to get the fire started. The cross-ditch method is conducted by scratching a cross about 3 inches deep and 1 foot in size in the ground. Next, put a wad of tinder in the middle of the cross and build a kindling pyramid above the tinder. The ditch allows air to sweep under the fire lay to provide a draft. I was excited when I seen him digging the cross-ditch (this is something I had been reading about). We had a nice fire for approximately 20 consecutive hours. Everyone in the group help maintain the fire throughout the night. We sat around the campfire cooked and discussed cool stuff (combat sports, starvation, why people think we are crazy) for a few hours. Once bedtime rolled around I decided I was going to sleep outside. The majority of the group ended up sleeping outside before the night was over. I went inside the debris hut earlier and found it to immobilizing to sleep in. If there had been no fire there would have been no option. Before I went to sleep I had to stick to tradition and do some reading. As I read I thought this is the life laying out under the stars in the snow while reading a classic (John Stuart Mill On Liberty). I had to stop reading after about 30 minutes because the snow was getting my book wet. I finished reading prepared my bed (10 inches of cattails laid on ground) and began snoozing (kind of snoozing). I probably never slept for more than 20-25 minutes consecutively.
Day three began with a discussion on water purification. We discussed different methods and we purified some water with a water filter from the creek. We discussed designing homemade water purifiers, and purifying water with iodine.
Sometimes in a survival situation obvious sources of water are not available. It is important to be able to collect water from other sources. Some of these sources include water in or on plants, dew on rocks, snow and solar stills (various types). Both topics were covered in depth. Solar stills are one of my favorite survival topics. Even though in some conditions their practicality is questionable. If you are sweating profusely while building the still you will probably lose more water than you will gain.
The final topic covered was animal tracking and hunting. This is definitely my weakest area when it comes to survival skills. Maybe I should have listened to my father more when I was young. That’s another story.
The snow on the ground created a good condition for animal tracking. We saw tracks from various animals including raccoons, deer, bobcats and coyotes. Constructing snares was also discussed. This was a hard topic hard for me. It took me longer than anyone else in the group to build the snare. At this point if I had to depend on using a snare for food I would be dead.
Survival Weekend was a big success. I was exposed to novel situations and learned some valuable skills. I look forward to similar outings. Maybe next time my skills will be improved and I will enjoy the experience even more.
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