by Les Stroud
There may be instances, for example, in which you have to move at least a short distance to escape an immediate hazard, such as a rockfall or an avalanche. Barring that, however, the choice to stay or go is never an easy one. There are pros and cons to each.
Should You Stay or Should You Go?
MANY PEOPLE—PARTICULARLY THOSE who have attended survival classes—have had it drummed into their heads by their instructors that they should stay put no matter what the circumstances. Unfortunately, this is not always the best advice.
You may find yourself in a spot that offers you ample food and water, protection from the elements, and even wood for a fire. But at the same time, you’re in a remote location and nobody is going to come looking for you, so there’s only one hope of seeing home again: you’ve got to make it out on your own.
Here are some crucial questions to ask yourself before moving on:
Do you know which way safety lies and how to get there?
If not, do you run the risk of getting even more lost?
How far will you have to travel to reach safety?
Are you or any of your travel partners injured, and do you have the physical strength to walk out?
Do you have enough supplies to make it to your destination?
Does anybody know where you are, and is there a chance they’ll come looking for you?
If so, how long before they even start looking?
Are you on a well-used trail that might have other travelers and potential rescuers heading your way?
Which is more dangerous: where you are now, or where you have to travel?
Does the current location offer necessity-of-life benefits such as water, shelter, fire/fuel, and food?
Are you now with a vehicle or other large object that may be seen easily from the air?
In many situations, staying in one place is the best thing you can do. After all, there’s no guarantee that there’s anywhere better just around the bend. As a general rule, if you don’t have any idea where to go or how you will provide for yourself along the way, then staying put makes sense. Most studies show that people walk in circles when they are lost, due to the unfamiliar terrain and land features in their way. As a result, they become even more lost and make it harder for searchers to find them.
Here are some reasons to stay:
You’re injured and run the risk of getting more hurt while on the move.
Moving may take you into more dangerous territory.
You’re with a large vehicle, which not only offers shelter but is a lot easier to spot (especially from the sky) than you would be walking alone through the bush.
You can build a better camp, create a signal fire, and maybe even start hunting and scavenging for food.
Some individuals (friends, family, or official personnel) were informed of your route and destination. Chances are they’ll begin searching for you shortly after you don’t show up at your destination or return home. If you head o? down a different path, you may miss them—and rescue—completely.
Your chances of being rescued are better if you left behind a trip or flight plan. Within the first 24 to 72 hours, there’s a high probability of rescuers finding you alive. After five or six days, they are more likely to find bodies.
Yet as good an idea as staying put may seem, there are times when moving is the best option. On one occasion I was searching for a place to teach a survival course in a swampy part of Algonquin Provincial Park, a well-known Ontario park. I was at the peak of my teaching days and starting to get overconfident. I headed out into the bush, off the established trails, without telling anyone where I was going. Even my wife was not expecting to hear back from me for at least three days.
After finding the perfect spot to teach—in a swamp a few miles into the bush—I started my hike back to my hidden and waiting canoe. Not more than 30 feet (9 m) away, a beautiful cow moose was grazing in the setting sun. I decided to try out my moose call and see how she would respond. I cupped my hands in front of my mouth and made the sound of a female moose.
It was the rutting season, and during this “season of love,” the bull moose may be the most dangerous animal on the continent. These creatures have been known to attack and destroy tractor-trailer trucks. So I didn’t make a bull sound for fear of bringing an angry male around.
This gentle cow moose just looked up once and then went back to eating. So I made the call again. This time, no response at all. I shrugged and turned to continue on my merry way. That’s when more than half a ton of angry male moose, his truck-destroying antlers pointed at me, came charging out of the bush beside the female. Clearly, he was not amused.
I ran for all I was worth through the thick boreal forest. Several hundred yards later I spotted a partially fallen tree and scrambled up, out of reach of the bull. He stayed below the tree grunting, snorting, and stomping, all the while trampling down the small trees in the area.
I suddenly remembered (and this is the point of the story) that nobody knew where I was, and nobody was expecting me anytime soon. If I didn’t do something quickly in the failing fall sunlight, I would be there for the night…or longer. I realized I had to move.
After several minutes, I climbed down and hit the ground running, and with the bull moose still giving chase, eventually wound my way back to the lakeshore, where I slipped quietly into the water (fully clothed) and swam as stealthily as possible back to my canoe. To this day, that experience remains the most frightening and dangerous situation I have ever faced in the wilderness.
Planning and Preparing for Survival Travel
SURVIVAL TRAVEL IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT from any other kind of wilderness travel. For that reason, it is imperative that you take the time to prepare for the journey that lies before you. Leave only when you’re completely ready to do so.
Before you head out, set up some kind of sign that tells anyone who’s looking for you or comes upon your camp that a) you were there, b) how long ago you left, and c) which direction you went. You can leave a note, leave a marker pointing in your direction of travel, or conspicuously mark your trail. Orange surveyor’s tape is the best for marking, if you have it. If you’re writing a note, the more details you can include, the better, such as the status of your supplies and your health.
If possible, before you go, build up a stock of food and water, and pack any protective clothing you think you’ll need. Make at least a couple of tinder-balls to take with you and store them in a dry, protected place for the journey. If possible, also bring signaling gear.
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Real-World Survivors
Life-or-Death Decisions
When it comes to getting out of a survival situation alive, the toughest choice facing any of us is the one between staying put in the hopes of being rescued or venturing out for help. Often, it’s a life-or-death decision.
This was the dire predicament facing Thomas and Tamitha Garner, a suburban couple from Salt Lake City, when they found themselves stranded in a snowstorm in a secluded part of southwestern Utah. A sudden winter storm paralyzed their vehicle, cutting them off from civilization and virtually all hope of immediate rescue. Stuck in the snow-blanketed mountains for 12 agonizing days, the Garners struggled to survive in their pickup truck, with two boxes of granola bars, some frozen bottled water, a can of spray deodorant, some carburetor cleaner, a lighter, and Medusa, the family dog.
Dressed only in jeans and light coats, they kept warm by starting the truck from time to time. For nine frigid days and nights, Thomas and Tamitha carefully rationed the granola bars and water, but eventually, when they were reduced to eating Medusa’s remaining kibble, they knew they had to make a choice: stay where they were and hope rescue teams would find them in time or leave the cold comfort of the truck to set out in search of help.
Thomas, a former Eagle Scout, got to work. Recalling an episode of “I Shouldn’t Be Alive: The Science of Survival,” in which I fashioned a set of makeshift snowshoes from seatbelts and foam car-
seat padding, he created boots using the truck’s seat cushions and a few bungee cords. With his wife in sneakers behind him and Medusa in tow, he blazed a trail through snow well over two feet deep. When night fell, all three huddled around a fire, which they made by lighting carburetor cleaner. When the fire waned, they kept it going with spray deodorant.
The couple and their dog continued hiking—despite dehydration, exhaustion, and frostbite—for an astonishing three days and nights, covering 15 miles (24 km) in deep snow. When in doubt, Tamitha repeated her mantra, “One more day and I’ll be home.” On the 12th day of their ordeal, the couple spotted a bright yellow snowplow in the distance and flagged it down.
Because of their resourcefulness and sound decision-making, the Garners—and Medusa—made it out alive. At that critical moment when they were forced to choose, they weighed their options carefully and chose well.
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Travel Considerations
ONCE YOU MAKE THE DECISION TO HIT THE TRAIL, there are many factors you need to consider.
Weather and Climate
How will short-term weather conditions affect you? This is a vital consideration. If a violent storm is brewing in the distance, stay put, at least for the time being. Most big weather—especially violent weather—comes and goes fairly quickly. Traveling all day in the rain with poor rain gear is a sure recipe for hypothermia.
Carrying Gear
When you’re on the move, you’ll likely need a way to carry the things that will help keep you alive on the journey (hopefully your survival kit is one of them). The less equipment you have to carry in your hands, the better off you’ll be. You’re going to need your hands to protect you from falling, to move obstacles from your path, and to mark your trail. If you’re fortunate enough to have a backpack, great. But what if you don’t?
With a few raw materials and a little time and effort, you can construct a makeshift carry bag. All you need is a blanket or similar item and some rope. Make your carrier sturdy so that you can travel as fast and as far as possible. It would be tragic to arrive at your destination after a grueling day of wilderness travel to find that you’d lost your lighter because it fell out of your makeshift bag.
Making a Makeshift Carry Bag
1. To construct a makeshift carry bag, lay all your equipment out on a blanket or similar ground cover.
2. Roll up and tie as shown.
3. Using this roll-up method, you can carry your supplies on your shoulder and have your hands relatively free.
Carrying People
You may find yourself in an emergency where you need to carry an injured person. Injured travelers pose a real challenge, one that is nearly impossible for a single able-bodied person to handle. Transporting another person is much more manageable when two or more are doing the carrying.
If you need to carry small children, you can put them in a backpack frame or makeshift carry bag. For larger children or adults, you can make a chair or stretcher out of poles. A rough stretcher can be carried by two people, although it is an exhausting task. If you are the sole able-bodied person, your only option for transporting your injured partner is to make a sledge that can be dragged. This type of device is a stretcher with crossed front handles that point (or curve) upward, allowing the carrier to pull without having to crouch too low. See “Survival First Aid,” Chapter 13, for more advice on coping with injuries.
Rate of Travel
THE STAKES OF SURVIVAL TRAVEL ARE HIGH, so you can’t afford to make any mistakes. Know that your rate of travel will be considerably slower than normal. Move deliberately, carefully, and at a medium pace; it is not a race. Most important, know where you are headed!
Set realistic travel goals for yourself. Pick a destination that you’re pretty sure you can reach without exhausting yourself. It can be demoralizing to set a goal and then not attain it. The faster you go, the greater the risk that you’ll hurt yourself and the more likely you’ll bypass a route or trail that may lead you to safety. You may even miss the cave that could provide shelter for the night, or the cabin tucked in the woods. Go at a reasonable pace and the world will open up in front of your eyes; you’ll begin to see the possibilities before you, possibilities that may make all the difference to your survival.
Real-World Survivors
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STROUD’S TIP
While you’re traveling, look backward often to see where you’ve come from so that you can recognize that view if you have to return. Few people do this, but it’s well worth the mere seconds it takes.
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If you’re traveling in pairs and one of you becomes injured, fashioning a stretcher with crossed handles will allow you to walk upright as you pull the stretcher.
Traveling at Night
Traveling at night is a risky undertaking and one I don’t generally recommend. The greatest—and most obvious—danger here is that you can’t see where you are putting your feet, so you risk stepping on a poisonous snake, or falling and injuring yourself. Furthermore, unless you know the area like the back of your hand, your ability to see in the dark—a fork in the trail or a possible shelter—is almost nil. And most predators are more active at night than during the day, so you may be exposing yourself to the possibility of attack. Finally, traveling at night may force you to sleep during the day, which is the time when rescuers (if there are any) will be looking for you.
On the rare occasion when you absolutely must keep moving at night, it can be safe to travel on certain flat-water rivers or lakes. However, I would recommend this only if you are proficient at canoeing.
The main exception to the “don’t travel at night” rule is when you are in the desert, where daytime temperatures may be too high to allow a safe journey. Nighttime travel in the desert can be glorious; when the temperature drops, the heavens open up above you, and you can use the stars or a full moon for navigation.
I have traveled at night in the Amazon jungle. As I stepped outside of an old, abandoned native hut in the failing light, I looked up to see a large jaguar staring back at me. I knew it would take me a while to follow the dense jungle trail back to my destination, a tiny Waorani village, but I weighed the risks and took my chances. Using the light from my video camera to guide me and with the jaguar on my heels the entire way, I finally made it back to the village (which, incidentally, was surrounded by a chain-link fence…to keep out jaguars!). I learned the next morning that my stalker had been a male jaguar weighing more than 200 pounds.
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STROUD’S TIP
When traveling, take particularly good care of your feet. If you have extra socks, change them regularly, and avoid walking in wet footgear.
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Traveling by Water
Whether it be a swamp, river, lake, or stream, traveling by water may be the best route to safety if your only other alternative is to hack through dense and tangled bush. As you may suspect, however, water travel comes with its own set of risks. That body of water may seem calm and peaceful now, but what will you do if you encounter rapids or if a wind storm kicks up while you’re in the middle of the lake? You also need to consider the possibility that the water may be home to dangerous creatures such as (depending on where you are) alligators, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, polar bears, walrus, sea lions, sharks, or elephants. And then there’s the additional responsibility of waterproofing your gear.
When it comes to exactly how you travel by water, there are few options. Clearly, it’s best if you have your own vessel, like a boat or canoe. Barring that, you’re limited to making something, which usually means a raft. And as romantic as Huck Finn may have made it seem, making a raft—and traveling with it—is not easy to do. If this is your only option for safe travel, or you are convinced that making your way down a certain watercourse will lead you more quickly to safety, then it will be worth the effort. Just be sure to test your creation before loading it and setting out; never trust your survival to a flimsy raft.
If
you can’t swim or have little boating experience, stay as close to the shore as possible. When approaching bends in a river, keep to the inside edge where the current is less forceful. Swift-moving rivers can pose a variety of hazards, including snags (submerged trees and other foliage that can grab your vessel), sweepers (overhanging limbs and trees), rapids (portage around them; don’t attempt to run them), and waterfalls.
If you’re following a river on foot and come to an impasse that forces you to take to the water with no vessel, there are a couple of last-ditch ways to float downstream, but these are extremely dangerous. You could try to hang onto some sort of inflatable waterproof container (such as your trusty orange garbage bags), or if you have something buoyant like a food container, try to build something atop it. Cattails are also quite buoyant, and travelers have been known to construct floats from them.
Making Rafts
Rafts can be hard to make in survival situations. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to tie up a raft that can transport you some distance.
Make a simple raft platform by collecting logs of a uniform size and tying them together in any of the three ways shown.
Construct a rudder pole on your raft, if possible. This way, you’ll be able to steer yourself away from obstacles.