I have to start out by saying that I got busted bigtime by several survivor instructors for thinking this is anything like a semi-decent idea. Then again some folks in the scene didn’t think it was THAT stupid. I’ll bounce it off you folks to see what you think. I like discussions—no need for flaming—even if I’m not an expert and they are.
Whew!
This is hot stuff, you see.
My basic idea is this: depending on where you’re outdoors most there might be a kind of emergency you’re far more likely to get into and so you should spend most of your training/prep time avoiding or being ready for that kind of emergency.
Does that seem so crazy?
Survival skills are based on the Rule of 3’s. … You can last 3 hours without heat (body core temp). 3 days without water. 3 weeks without food.
So… I’m outdoors in Michigan and in settled places 99% of the time.
What are the main things I need to worry about?
I note that I’m also within 5 miles of a decent road 90% of the time when I’m out and about even in boonieland Michihoots.
My main personal glitch where I run afoul, and have done so, is that I get lost in the short-range. Obviously I know what county I’m in and even what township, what general vicinity within a couple miles—and those miles almost always include several roads, usually a major one at that.
My other main glitch is that I bite off more than I can chew. I set out canoeing for 2 hours on a stretch that will really take me 4. I’ve done this a few times, too.
The flipside of this is that I simply will very likely never have to forage for food or get meat to solve an outdoor emergency. It will be very very unlikely that I’ll even truly need water. Here in Michigan, if I walked in daylight hours in any consistent direction for a few hours I’d find someone.
That knocks out 2 of the 3 Three’s. And leaves 3 hours without Heat. That means shelter and/or fire. …Or it means being somewhat dressed for the weather and having, say, 5 hours in your pocket.
Basically my hunch is that if I stayed fit for hiking and worked on remembering to bring a compass and a map with me on outings. And also a headlamp. That I’m set. I could walk out or even crawl out of most any likely Lower Michigan scenario in a few hours. Really, it seems that I could get out of any natural but semi-populated non-mountainous area (considering the crawl factor mostly).
This is blasphemy, by the way.
Now, I like learning how to make fires and lean-to’s as much as anyone. We should be able to whip these things up. Not to mention knowing your edibles and having some fish/game skills. But 99% of the time you won’t need these skills in general outdoor emergencies.
You may well find walking-out skills to be handy. Your most constant and pressing other needs may well be to make sure you have decent clothing for the potentials…and a map and compass. But don’t listen to me!
Of course, I’m not really talking about survival situations when I’m talking about likely events. I’m suggesting that rather minor emergencies are what are likely—and we should practice, prep and do our best to avoid them. Of course, we should be ready for the worst as well.
…But in lower Michigan I want to get into the habit of triple checking that I’ve brought my compass and map with me. That’s my big skill. Sure, I’ll bring my magnesium spark striker, too.
I’m not saying to neglect your fire-building and lean-to action: my hunch is that in 25 sessions you’ll have it hard-wired. (I heard an instructor say that about cord-making and it rang true to me about skills in general—do something a couple dozen times and it’s yours. Any less and the “rusty” factor will bite hard. …”Dang, this worked the last time I tried it!”) A weekend course plus, say, a few homebrew outings should do the trick. Minimally. Very minimally. But, who knows, maybe there are some course instructors out there who would say they can get you hard-wired in one weekend. That would be a handy weekend to put in, then, for the lifelong outdoor buff. Like taking a CPR course, right?
So take this all for what it’s worth. I’ll put my flameproof suit on now.
