Wilderness Survival

Using the Forest to Fight the Forest: Survival 101

by Isaih Favela

For Rick Gentry, it was just an ordinary day hiking in the Galena Creek Regional Park south of Reno, Nevada. Gentry never would have thought of saying goodbye to his loved ones, but it was to be his last day alive. He was found buried underneath several feet of snow from a strong winter storm months after his call to Search and Rescue was made (Renda). No one would have expected a fate like this for a man who was supposedly accustomed to hiking the trails in the Sierra Nevada mountain region. However, do not let this one man’s fate deter your idea of venturing into the outdoors. There are numerous ways of prevention and protection that will ensure you do not share the same fate as Gentry.

The Sierra Nevada range, between the borders on California and Nevada, contains Northern Nevada’s largest water supply: Lake Tahoe. This lake lies in the midst of a large Temperate Forest region and is a Mecca for tourists from all over the world, attracting people throughout the year. Like all expanses of Temperate Forest, Tahoe provides warm summer days while having cold snow-filled winters. During the summer, this mountain region purveys recreational fun by land and water. Whether you choose to spend your day by tanning on the beach or exploring the various trails, “80% of [the] area is designated as public lands,” and offers endless sights to see (Nevada). Throughout the winter, numerous people come to enjoy the snow and slopes. As these people travel into Reno’s outback, it is important to be aware of the surrounding dangers as well. This land filled with natural recreation can also have the potential to be hazardous, as any forest region can be. Enjoying a day of amusement in a region such as this, people find themselves to be foreigners in nature when they end up lost, injured, and or helpless.

Search and Rescue

Forests, like the Sierra Mountains, have magnificent landscapes that are great getaways from the fast pace of the city life, but one should never be blind to the dangers within the beauty. Many people travel into these regions expecting a tranquil day away and find themselves in what can be a life or death situation. Many times these situations occur because people are ignorant of the odds of something going awry, unaware of all possible scenarios that could happen if things made a turn for the worst. I had the chance to sit down and talk to Washoe County’s Search and Rescue Sergeant William Devin and wilderness expert Ed Burgess. We discussed some of the situations people face here in the Northern Nevada region. According to Washoe County’s Search and Rescue, out of the “70 to 100 calls per year” that they get, about 30 of them are people calling in because they are either lost and or injured in the wilderness. Many times they may not even be truly injured, but simply exhausted and panicking as the daylight fades behind the mountain horizon. Sgt. Devine and Burgess addressed the biggest enemy that gets you into these situations. Surprisingly enough, they both implicated that your worst enemy is yourself. For starters, many people travel into the wilderness completely unprepared, thinking they do not need much to survive a “simple” hike up a mountain. In addition, people rely too much on their own abilities, trusting in their own capabilities of getting themselves out of situations when things go wrong. It is your pride in proving yourself capable of being a “mountain man/woman” that ends up hurting you the most.

Instead of giving me a 101 tutorial on how to be an expert mountaineer, both Sgt. Devin and Burgess spoke on what to do to prevent these situations from happening, as well as what you should do if you find yourself lost. Above all, they emphasized preparing for any type of situation one might get oneself into while out in the forest, for this is the utmost important aspect of survival. Sgt. Devine recommended basic necessities like food, water, proper clothing (layers are highly recommended), signaling mechanisms, and above all, shelter. In the case that you find yourself stranded in the forest, Sgt. Devine advised to call Search and Rescue and to “stay where you are at.” In addition, it is important to inform a friend of your whereabouts and expected time of return prior to your voyage. It is critical to let somebody know this information because in the case that you do go missing and cannot contact Search & Rescue, your friend will be the first one to realize that your absence signifies something is wrong. The reason for staying put is because when people try to find their way back to safety, it unintentionally makes the search and rescue more difficult. Especially in times of harsh weather and after people have started to panic, they slowly lose their motor skills and become disoriented. Not knowing where they are, they could potentially be traveling in the completely opposite direction that the search team is coming from. Making a comparison between drinking alcohol to surviving in the forest, Sgt Devine mentioned how you are bound to not make the right choices when you are not completely cognizant. On the other hand, one thing you could do to help your chances of being found is try to make a signal. Sgt. Devine talked about how the Search and Rescues’ helicopter can see flashlights from miles away. In addition the “international 3-signal,” whether it is three smoke signals or three piles of hay, could potentially help guide the search teams to your location.

Overall, my interview with Search and Rescue’s Sgt. Devine and Burgess informed me on how to be prepared and how to be found. They showed me photographs of several different missions they have had over the years, as well as how dangerous they can be. The most vital part of information they provided me with was to stay in the vicinity in which I got lost in as I wait to be found. But as they repeatedly drilled this concept in my head, I finally questioned their advice. What if rescue was not going to come, then what do I do? Sgt. Devine said, “If someone will miss you, stay with your car [or current location].” On the other hand, if you cannot make a call to be rescued and no one will find your absence strange, he said, “go for it” and look for your salvation. But always remember, the key to survival is preparation. Having something when you do not need it is better than needing something when you do not have it.

Preparation

The biggest dynamics for survival in the forest are preparation and prevention. An obvious thing to be aware of in circumstances where you are going to expose yourself to nature is the terrain and weather which you are going to encounter. The preparations you make should revolve around these two main factors. While choosing the proper attire, you should always be prepared for the unexpected. No one ever wishes for bad weather and sudden storms while they are out, but preparing for it makes a trip much more pleasant when it actually happens. Layers of clothing are recommended. It is much easier to take off a windbreaker than manage to stay warm without one. One thing that Sgt Devine pointed out was to never wear cotton. When cotton becomes wet, it makes you lose your body heat “14 times faster” than normal in cold climates. Instead, you can use other clothing material ideal for outdoor activities such as “wool, fiberpile, polarguard and Quallofil,” which are great insulators even when wet (Hook). Proper footwear is also important. Wearing shoes suitable for being outdoors may seem like an obvious thing to do, but people always think they are fine with running shoes. Though any shoe is better than no shoe, shoes that provide support to your feet as well as your ankles are more ideal. Being specific like this in your preparation can make the difference; by being selective of your shoes, you just saved yourself a sprained ankle while hiking. You always want to make sure that you are staying hydrated, so bring as much water as you can hold within your backpack. If possible, bring a source of food. Foods with high protein, such as nuts and dried meats, have the nutritional properties to keep you going or give you boosts of energy. Means of starting a fire and a signaling device are other items you should take on your trip (Sgt. Devine & Burgess). A fire itself has the potential to be both a signal and a way to keep warm. Lastly, any personal necessities, like medication, need to be packed for your voyage into the wilderness. If you know you have allergic reactions to certain things, always be prepared as if you know you are going to be surrounded by it. *Fun Fact: There are no pharmacies in center of the Tahoe National Forest*

Survival Necessities

Forests do not have the ideal climates for people to be laying out tanning between the shadows of 30ft tall Pine Trees. On average, like Lake Tahoe, the temperatures in forest regions are fairly cold year round and can even get snowfall throughout the year. Unlike Lake Tahoe, there will not always be a large evident source of water one can use. Lost and hungry, there will not be a giant yellow M to direct you to a food source. Surviving in this type region all depends on how well you are able to provide the essentials of living for yourself. Wilderness expert Ed Burgess came up with “The Rule of Three’s” for survival, involving shelter, water, and food.

Shelter—Three Hours. In regions that face colder climates, such as the Sierra Mountains, you can only survive without a shelter for about three hours. After this short time span, the cold weather begins to affect one’s abilities to function properly. Not being completely aware of your surroundings could potentially diminish your chances of survival. For this reason, proper shelter from the elements is such a crucial thing to have. The first line of protection from the weather is your clothing. Ricky Gentry, the routine hiker from the Sierra Mountains, died by the forces of the cold weather and not having proper shelter. Thinking it was just going to be an ordinary hike up the trail, he was not properly dressed for the snowfall that was to come while he was on his hike. The purpose of proper clothing is to insulate your body heat, which has the potential to fall extremely quickly in freezing temperatures. In the case that you do not have these essentials, your ingenuity is your greatest power. For example, you could use “natural vegetation in the area as insulation” (Brown Emergency). Though you might think filling your pants with pine needles to be uncomfortable, stuffing the clothing you have with any type of shrubs or nearby fibers you can find can make all the difference.

Packing a shelter, such as a small tent or even just a space blanket, and bringing the proper attire for any situation you might come across on throughout your trip is ideal. Shelter is an essential to have, even on day trips in the forest, because of its multipurpose functions. This shelter, whether you brought one or make one with your hands, should fulfill two requirements: the ability to “block the elements and insulate for warmth” (Klosowski). Using what nature has to offer, you can potentially create your own shelter that fulfills these requirements. Utilizing branches and any foliage you can find, you can construct yourself your own hut. Though it is nothing like a being tucked in your warm bed, it may give you more time to survive against nature’s forces.

Water—Three Days. Humans can only survive without water for three days before their body ceases to work at a “surviving level” (Burgess). As symptoms of dehydration start to kick in, you can begin to experience “rapid heartbeat, lethargy, [and] diarrhea.” As you come to the final stage of dehydration, your body enters a moment of shock where there is a drastic “drop in blood pressure” (Bryant). By the time your body has entered this state, only urgent medical care can prevent you from dying. For this reason, water is the next thing to find on your checklist for survival. The first thing people think of when trying to find water is to look for a stream, pond, lake, and any other body of water. In the case that you are able to come across a larger body of water, you are advised to only drink water that is “clear and running.” The reason it is suggested to drink solely running water is because still water, such as that of a pond, has the potential to be tainted by manmade toxins or other harmful things such as “heartworm, salmonellosis, and hepatitis.” *Fun Fact: Snow is not a good source of water because your body must use a lot of energy to melt the snow, and it decreases your body temperature at ingestion.*

If you are not able to come across an evident source of water as such this, you can resort to other skillful ways of retrieving water. Plants, like humans, need water to survive, and it is possible to extract water from some of them. The Thistle, or “survival celery,” is a plant you can peel and chew on. Much like celery, it releases water when you chew on the fiber-full center.

The old saying, the early bird gets the worm, can be applied to water as well. Dew can be collected if you rise early enough by wiping the moisture off the landscape with anything that could potentially retain the liquid, such as a cloth or “a handful of dried, nontoxic, grasses” (Brown At). For example, by wiping the ground- especially grassy ground- with a clean cloth and wringing the dew collected, you would be surprised with how much water you could collect.

Many times, you do not have to be the one to find the water for yourself. All organisms need water to survive, one way or another. Animals and insects both need water, and it is possible to use them as a key indicator of a water source. Insects that breed in water, such as mosquitoes and flies, “tend to stay within around 400 feet of water.” Circling around the region in which you find these pests, you have a chance of finding a source of water. Animals also have the potential of leading you to watering holes. Animals, which graze of the land, “usually head to water near dawn and dusk” (Klosowski). As you are led to a source of water, keep in mind to stay away from still water. If it is a last resort type of situation, attempt to bring the water to a boil beforehand or filter it through raw material such as bark, sand, and charcoal. The point is to find a source of water to stay alive, not to drink yourself to death by ingesting some sort of parasite.

If you have the time, there is also a way to create your own cup of water out in the wilderness. If you have the necessary rudimentary tools, creating a solar water still is another option for retrieving water. For this to work, you have to have some sort of plastic sheet you can use as well as a container to hold the water you will be collecting. To create the still, you must dig a hole in the ground and place the container in the middle of the hole. After that, you must place anything containing moister, such as vegetation, around the container. When you have a sufficient amount of moisturized material in the hole, cover the hole with the plastic sheet. Use anything you can to weight down the edges of the plastic sheet to make sure it is evenly spread out. Then place something to weigh down the plastic directly over the container. As the sun heats up the water found inside the moisture-filled objects, condensation will occur on the underside of the plastic and run down to the center. Slowly but surely, the condensation will fill up the container with safe drinking water.

Food—Three Weeks. Many people have the misconception that food is one of the first priorities when stranded alone, but in reality a “healthy body may sustain itself for up to three weeks” without eating (Burgess). In the case that you find yourself hungry and helpless, make sure you keep it your priority to find shelter and water before you go off scavenging for food. Though it might not be like your supermarket in Reno, you can find various ways to sustain yourself with what the forest has to provide. Eating the local vegetation may not be the best tasting option, but if it means surviving, eating some greens will not kill you… if you know which ones are safe to eat, that is. Some indicators of plants that are poisonous at ingestion include “milky sap, mushrooms, clear/shiny leaves, umbrella shaped flowers, leaves in groups of 3, [and] bitter or soap taste” (Survive Nature). The “Universal Edibility Test” involves placing a small piece of a plant against your lip and waiting eight hours to see in the plant causes a poisonous reaction. Cattail is one type of plant that is very much edible as well as nutritious for you. Most of the cattail can be used: the base is “like celery, the root and tuber can make flour, and the pollen is very healthy.” Other edible plants that can provide you with nutrients to help you push through and survive include local nuts, such as that of the “acorn from [the] oak,” and “the base” of grass (Klosowski).

Out Door Survival Tips

Now knowing what the essentials of surviving in the forest are, you may also do other things that can help you survive the solitude in the wilderness. In bettering your circumstances, you could start a fire for comfort and to make your shelter warmer. Starting a fire can be done by using eyeglasses, a water bottle, or a piece of ice and “focus the sun’s rays” to a bundle of kindling material. In order to make a fire using eyeglasses you have to spit on the lens in order to refract the light properly into one focal point. *Fun Fact: “Doritos” make great kindling.* It is also possible to start a fire by using the “friction” between a stick being plowed against a log to ignite a fire. Though this is the most thought of option because it is promoted in today’s media, this is the hardest and most time consuming method.

Forests are not teeming with wildlife as they once were because of hunting and the removal of animals’ natural habitats, but it is still possible to run into rather large and dangerous predators. As your Flight or Fight instincts kick in, be aware that is not the correct way to deal with a predator. The best way to get out of an altercation with a hazardous wild animal is to slowly walk away from it. Remember, animals are just as scared of us as we are of them. Try not to provoke them; only fight if you are forced into a situation where you have to defend yourself. *Fun Fact: Bears are naturals at climbing trees; don’t think climbing a pine tree when you are being chased is a good idea.*

Only after you settled yourself and increased your chances of survival by providing yourself with the essentials, should you then attempt to find your way to salvation. Using basic tracking methods, you can now start making the voyage to find the direction you believe deliverance to be. The first step of orienting yourself is to know what direction you face. Remember the sun always “sets in the west and rises in the east” and the “Big Dipper” can help you find the North Star. Attempt traveling in the direction you believe your salvation lies, “follow a water source downstream, or head toward a clearing where you can better signal for help” (Klosowski). Try signaling by using the international 3-signal, leave a trail, or anything else you can potentially think of to signal anyone. As you continue looking for salvation and trying to make contact with anyone, mentally map the area. Do not waste time in searching areas you know that lead to nothing, but remember any major landmarks or places you can find necessities such as food.

The world’s natural beauty has been increasingly ignored as people immerse themselves into today’s developing technology. Unlike people who were accustomed to living off the land, like Nevada’s Natives the Washoe and Paiute Indians, people now find themselves strangers to the land that they live on. As people venture out into this now foreign land, the biggest key to survival is preparation. Whether it be preparing with supplies or knowing everything about your region and what the land has to provide, the important aspect is to be able to supply yourself with the necessities of survival: shelter, water, and food.

Living in Reno, we have such easy access to the adventure and beauty that lies within the forests of Tahoe. Even though most people have their lives established in offices and casinos here in Reno, we must not forget to enjoy of the natural marvel that lies in our back yards. Venturing out into the rural land of the Sierra Nevada, we must scroll back in time and learn how it is that our ancestors were able to survive and thrive off solely the land.

Works Cited

Brown, Tom Jr. “At home in the Wilderness Part II: Water.” Wild Wood Survival. Walter Muma 26 June 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014

Brown, Tom Jr. “Emergency Insulation.” Wild Wood Survival. Walter Muma 26 June 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2014

Bryant, Charles W. “How long can you go without food and water?” How Stuff Works (2008). Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

Burgess, Ed. Personal Interview. 10 Nov. 2014.

Hook, Craig. “Keeping the Heat in – A Guide to Insulation.” Wild Wood Survival. Walter Muma 26 June 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014

Klosowski, Thorin. The Wilderness Survival Skills Everyone Should Know. Life Hacker, 1 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Nevada, Commission on Tourism. Tahoe South. Carson City, Nevada: Commission on Tourism, 2012. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

Renda, Matthew. “Law enforcement finds dead body of missing Sierra hiker.” Tahoe Daily Tribune 9 Feb. 2011, North Lake Tahoe

Bonanza. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

Survive Nature: Techniques for staying alive in every natural environment. SurviveNature.com, 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

William, Devine. Personal Interview. 10 Nov. 2014