13. HYPOTHERMIA
Avoid Hypothermia
Hypothermia sneaks up on its victim. Cool weather, wind and wet clothing lead to hypothermia.
Hypothermia, a lowering of the core temperature of the body, can be a killer. It can strike in any season and in almost any climate. All that is needed is a mild air temperature—30 to 50°F, wetness, rain, sweat, a creek dunking, a slight wind and a tired person.
Hypothermia attacks a person in two steps. The first is when your body begins to lose heat faster than it produces it. At this point, you are aware of feeling cold, and the shivering begins.
The second step is when the cold reaches the brain, depriving you of good judgment. It is at this point that confusion will take over decision making. This is the reason almost no one recognizes that he or she has hypothermia. In the second step, your internal temperature slides downward. Without treatment, this slide leads to stupor, collapse and death. Each year many people become lost due to confusion brought on by early stages of hypothermia.
There are several ways to avoid hypothermia:
1. Stay dry. When clothing gets wet it may lose 90 percent of its insulating value. Even sweating can bring on hypothermia.
2. Beware of the wind chill. A slight breeze carries heat away from bare skin faster than still air. It turns wet clothing into a refrigerator due to evaporation.
3. Understand cold. Most hypothermia cases develop in air temperatures that are considered mild, wind chill temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Most people do not believe such temperatures can be dangerous.
4. Terminate exposure.When you cannot stay warm and dry in existing weather conditions, either get a fire going at a natural shelter out of the wind or set up your tube tent and get into the emergency bag. Get out of the wind and dampness, and get warm, as fast as possible.
5. Never ignore shivering. Persistent or violent shivering is clear warning that you are in the early stages of hypothermia.
When hypothermia symptoms are noticed, treatment should begin immediately. First get the victim out of the weather and remove his wet clothing. If the victim is only mildly impaired, give him warm drinks and get him into dry clothing and a tube tent and emergency bag.
Wind Chill Chart
If the victim is semiconscious or worse, he does not have the capability of regaining his body temperature without outside help. Keep him awake, give him warm drinks and, if possible, get him into a warm bath. If possible, strip the victim and put him into an emergency bag with another person. Skin-to-skin contact is an effective treatment.
Initial symptoms of hypothermia, the loss of core body temperature, include mood changes, lassitude, irritability and poor judgment.
As the body core temperature drops, here is how hypothermia affects you:
98.6° to 96°
Uncontrolled shivering, ability to perform complex tasks impaired.
95° to 91°
Violent shivering, difficulty in speaking.
90° to 86°
Shivering decreases, muscles begin to stiffen—lose coordination. Mind becomes dull; in some cases, amnesia occurs.
85° to 81°
Victim becomes irrational, drifts into stupor. Pulse and respiration are slowed. Muscular rigidity continues.
80° to 78°
Unconsciousness. Reflexes cease to function and heartbeat becomes erratic.
Below 78°
Total failure of cardiac and respiration systems. Death occurs.
In a survival situation, every effort should be made to avoid hypothermia. That means getting a warm camp set up before you get wet and cold. Don’t put off getting a survival camp established. Delay can be deadly.
Avoid hypothermia at all cost!
14. FEAR
Dealing with Fear
Panic, a state of sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, results in irrational behavior and poorly considered hasty decisions.
Most people think, “Survival training is something I won’t need.” But each year, scores of hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts find themselves suddenly lost or stranded in North America’s backcountry, often not too far from home.
One of the first reactions to being lost or stranded is fear. It is fear that causes many people to panic soon after they realize that they are in a potential survival situation. It is fear that makes people run and discard their equipment.
Here is what research has shown us that most people fear in a survival situation:
Ridicule or Embarrassment — Those I have interviewed soon after rescue said this was the first fear they experienced. This is especially a major fear of experienced outdoorsmen who want to maintain their “Daniel Boone” image. Put ego aside and get into survival mode.
Punishment — It is this fear that causes many lost children and senior citizens to hide soon after they realize they are lost. Coupled with this concern is the fear of being late. Most of us live our daily lives as slaves to a clock, and when we aren’t where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there, we face some form of punishment. This fear of punishment is present in every survival situation.
Being Alone — Many people, including outdoorsmen, have never been truly alone. To them this is a strange and suddenly frightening experience. I once led a small search team for an experienced worldwide hunter. While he was only lost for a few hours, this man was in shock, as he had never been alone except in a room or other such circumstance. The few hours he spent lost, alone, caused him to end his hunting career.
Animals — Many people have hidden fears of wild animals and sounds in the woods. The fear of wild animals is mentioned by many formerly lost or stranded people, especially children. Most people forget under the stress of survival that wild animals prefer to avoid people and, with a few rare exceptions, wild animals of North America don’t attack people.
Discomfort — We are so accustomed to comfort that the idea that we may get cold, hungry, thirsty, have to sleep on the hard ground, etc., can cause people to panic. In order to survive, you must accept some discomfort and remember that this short period of discomfort is necessary for you to live the rest of your life. This should motivate you to try hard to build a comfortable survival camp while awaiting rescue. Discomfort can be tolerated until help arrives.
The Unknown — We all live in a fairly predictable day-to-day world. We know daily, hourly, what we can expect to happen. When we find ourselves suddenly in a survival situation, this comfort of knowing is quickly converted into the fear of the unknown—what should I do now, will anyone look for me, will I die? All these unknowns rush through the mind and cloud common sense. This fear is a normal reaction, but the quicker you overcome it and put your survival training to work the better. Mentally accept, “Yes, there are many unknowns, but I can’t worry about them now as I have a camp to make and signals to prepare. I am going to have a great adventure story to tell when this is all over.”
Darkness — One of the most common fears, even though many will not admit it, is the fear of darkness in the woods. I have seen some otherwise brave men admit, privately, that they fear a dark night in the woods. It always amazes me that these same people are not afraid of a dark street in a large city where danger is always nearby but become almost paralyzed with fear in the woods at night. There is little to hurt anyone in the woods at night, if they stay in one location. To panic and start walking or, worst yet, running in dark woods can lead to serious falls or getting a stick in your eye. There is little in the woods at night that will harm you. Just stay in your survival camp and get a good night’s sleep.
Controlling Fear
We all have some, or all, of these fears when we find ourselves in a survival emergency. However, those who get control of their fears quickly and move on with the task of being found are the ones that come out of the situation in good shape. Here is how you can cope and live with fear during your survival experience:
1. Don’t run away from fear, admit and accept it as being a normal reactio
n.
2. Even when you are afraid, act to accomplish those necessities of selecting a campsite, setting up signals, constructing a shelter, getting a fire going and preparing to sleep comfortably. Be enthusiastic.
3. Accept the mindset that “this has happened to me and I am going to make it through in good shape.” Hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
4. Stay busy. Idleness leads to negative thinking and hopelessness.
5. Practice your religion.
6. Keep a positive attitude.
15. WILL TO LIVE
There have been countless numbers of people who were lost or stranded for weeks without food, fire or shelter. When they were found, they were in good shape. On the other hand there have been cases where people were lost just a day or so, and they perished. The difference between these people was that the ones who made it through in good condition did so because they had a strong WILL TO LIVE. They never gave up on the hope of being found. They made the best of a bad situation. They didn’t panic. They stayed put. They made the best of the resources at hand; and they had, or quickly developed, a positive mental attitude. In today’s terminology, they kept their cool. You have to value life in order to take charge of your mind and the situation in which you find yourself. Give up your value of life and you will not last long.
Once you get over the first shock wave that you are lost or stranded, put a high value on your life and capitalize on your WILL TO LIVE. You will be amazed at what it will get you through.
16. MISSING PERSON
When a Member of Your Group Is Missing
Resist the temptation to start a search for a missing person. If professional help is nearby, let them put their experience to work.
Have you been on an outing when you suddenly realized you were lost or stranded and/or unable to return to camp or your vehicle? If not, get ready, because if you go into the backcountry enough, chances are, it will happen eventually. As a wildlife professional, I have spent considerable time looking for missing outdoorsmen. Most of the time, they are simply turned around in the woods and are easily found.
However, some are injured and unable to move, often due to a fall from a tree stand or a slippery rock or log. Once, a guide who worked for me fell into an abandoned well.
Unfortunately, some outdoor enthusiasts are brought out dead as a result of heart attacks, falls or hypothermia. Often the cause of death is brought on by the stress of being lost.
While many outdoor people are learning what to do if they should become lost or stranded, few know what to do if their buddy does not make it back to the car or camp when he is supposed to. Every group, whether it is an outing club or just two friends, should plan ahead for that moment when one of them is missing. This is just as important whether you are exploring your own back forty or are traveling in a remote wilderness.
It should be a policy that every member of the group let the others know specifically where they are going and when they plan to return. All members of the group should agree to sit tight once they realize they are lost. This should be stressed over and over again. Every member of the group should carry a compass (that they know how to use), a GPS, a map of the area, a cell phone or two-way radio, a belt knife and a survival kit.
When you plan to enter a wilderness area, always let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return.
Know the medical condition of your companions. If a member of your group has a heart problem, seizures or other medical problem, make sure a buddy hunts with him. An unconscious person needs to be found quickly, but is extremely difficult to find.
Each member of your group needs to know how to locate the nearest conservation officer, forest ranger or sheriff’s office. In most counties in the United States, the local sheriff is responsible for search and rescue. In Canada, the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer is usually responsible for searches. Everyone should carry the phone numbers of these officials. Delay in getting trained search and rescue help can be deadly.
Always be aware of how your fellow companions are dressed, what type of boots they wear and the state of mind they are in. This information is extremely valuable to search officials.
The most crucial time during a missing-buddy crisis is when you first realize he or she is late coming into camp and you get no answers to your signals. Don’t panic. The first rule is to stay calm and THINK. In most cases, lost or stranded situations are merely a sobering two- or three-hour adventure.
Signaling is an important part of the early search, as rescued people often say that while they were lost or stranded they thought no one would bother to look for them. Select a logical point, such as where he was last seen, the logging road or field nearest his “most likely” area, camp or his vehicle if he drove in, and blow an automobile horn or police whistle. Either of these signals is an indication to the missing person that someone is looking for him. If he is nearby, he can walk to the sound. For this reason, it is crucial that the signaling be done from one spot and not done as you move around.
Blow the horn or whistle in bursts of three so that it is obviously a signal and not some unrelated noise. Pause between bursts of three and listen carefully for a reply. If the missing person has a whistle, you may hear a response immediately. If you are getting no response to your initial signaling and feel that your buddy may be in trouble, seek out a forest ranger, conservation officer or sheriff’s department official to get trained search and rescue people on the scene as soon as possible. If you leave to obtain professional help, leave someone at the signal point.While one person goes for help, another should always stay to continue signaling and listening if possible.
Attempting to set up your own search is generally a bad idea since most untrained people with the best of intentions usually do more harm than good. They destroy valuable clues and often become lost or hurt themselves. Searching for missing people is a skill best left to those trained to do it.
When searching for a lost group member, appoint a group leader to coordinate the search and oversee the best use of resources.
However, in some specific circumstances, such as when help is hours away or when the tract of land is not large and it is known almost exactly where the missing person is likely to be, fellow outdoorsmen might conduct a limited search. In those exceptional cases, follow these guidelines:
1. Get the entire group together to plan your search. To help identify clues, find out what each member knows, such as when and where the missing buddy was last seen, did he file a trip plan, what brand of cigarettes he smokes, what type of sole does he have on his boots and their size, where he is most likely hunting and so on.
2. Establish someone in the group as leader of the search, and have everyone do as he says.
3. Leave someone at the original spot to continue signaling.
4. If a specific hunting spot is known, two hunters should begin the search with a thorough examination of the immediate area in case there was a health problem or injury. Take care not to destroy any signs. It is important that only one or two do this, as a larger group will destroy clues that might be helpful if a professional search is needed.
5. Look for signs such as tracks or, in the case of hunters, blood trail markers for an indication of the missing person’s direction of travel.
6. Due to the excitement of the moment, searchers often get lost themselves, so mark the trail you take in so you can follow it out.
7. Consider what sounds the missing person can hear, farm, railroad, highway, mill whistle, etc., and send someone to that location. Rather than sit still, many lost people will try to walk to sounds such as these.
8. If there are roads around the area, a vehicle should patrol these roads regularly, but do not blow the horn as you travel.
9. If there is a long opening in the area such as a railroad, gas line or electric line rightof-way or large fields, have someone watch these areas with binoculars.
10. Plan a signal or specific time for calli
ng off the search. If the missing person has not been found within a short time, turn the search over to professionals.
If you and your outdoor companions have prepared for the day one of you is missing, chances are you will never be faced with a tragedy.
The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-Term Survival Page 6