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Survival Situation in Alaska
Posted by Brian Richardson on Mar 05 2006
What are the first 3 most important things in a survival situation for me is not precisely how I’m choosing to answer your original posting.
Part of this is that I have a great deal of backcountry familiarity, benefit from awareness including putting skills into practice, understanding self-reliance, and also hold nationally recognized instructing certifications in wilderness survival that encompass numerous environments. In other words - what’s fitting for me is more than likely less than significantly suitable for countless others that are seeking the paramount info and may read this.
My other rationale is that I feel a back to fundamentals approach is the wavelength that even the modern-day survivalist needs to reflect on… not all the GPS, and SAT phone bologna. True - high techs “can” be fantastic implements! I use both GPS and SAT phones for my outfitting business as well as when I’m toolin’ around on individual outings. That said… in truly back to basics calamitous survival-type emergencies – those are luxuries that consume our thinking, often justify our taking risks that we should be judging in better view/health, and will not be steadfast in all circumstances. If you really don’t consider this to be the case - you’re living in that waterproof bag or box.
The BIG 3 – (& a back to nuts and bolts approach)
*these are posted in no certain hierarchy
1. The first order of the wilderness survival basics (whether you are in Alaska or not) is to recognize that you can indeed be faced with a survival situation. Anticipate a potential survival situation, and always keep in the back of your mind that it can happen to you at any time. As several related in their posts (two thumbs up!!!) people who go into the wilderness when both psychologically and physically prepared to survive are more probable to do so. In an urgent survival situation one must be able to make sensible, quick decisions (deal with the big picture, don’t sweat the small stuff, but be attentive to detail). In a less pressing scenario don’t get ruffled, afraid, or fatigued if at all possible (use your brain, be safety conscious, improvise, and remain level-headed.)
2. The next sequence involves the how-to(s) and the variety of equipment we take with us on our wilderness venture or may have (at times lack thereof) at the juncture of a survival situation. Here all points to survival training (professionally educated or by your own know-how) plus the equipment (you are hopefully wearing and useful stuff you brought along – optimistically may still possess).
This second component more or less branches into assessing the situation with effects like clothing & equipment inventory, constructing or finding shelter, location near good quality hydration, how to make a spark & build in addition to situate fire around good resources, dealing with hunger, applying first aid to injuries, getting warm in the cold, getting dry if wet, combating fatigue (mental/physical), working around possible losses in physical &/or mental abilities, and lastly… believe it or not - making desperate conclusions initiated from boredom, fear factors, laziness, reacting like you must do something, or feeling alone.
3. My third that I’ll relate is most key before your outing into the wilderness… Try as completely and competently as possible to be familiar with your location (wide-ranging & detailed) --- realize and prepare for seasonal trends --- and absolutely make every attempt to check weather forecasts and identified hazards. This goes hand in hand with being on familiar terms with your own boundaries as well as your equipments limitations.
My logic here is to emphasize self reliance “in the instance” in order to survive vs. all the gadgetry or modern day equipment and the notion that telling people (including appropriate agencies) ahead of time where you are going to be. Tho’ all good measures and extremely “wilderness approved” practices… addressing survival from these two standpoints may perhaps all amount to too little to late.
High tech like GPS, SAT phones, locater beacons (of numerous sorts from avalanche snow safety to aircraft, land, and marine based transmitters) --- State of the art first aid practices, materials, substances, etc. --- Advanced clothing like survival suits, dry suits, avalung, Nomex Arctic gear, Gore-Tex and other laminate semi-permeables, etc --- Imagine all the survival applications of modern tents, sleeping bags and mats --- ON & ON… all are fabulous for enduring modern day survival situations with a plan, when used properly, in a mode that lends itself to the users (ie. Not justifying greater risks, obviously knowing how to use them, limitations, fixes, improvisation, and so on). Fact of the matter is you may find yourself in a survival situation where you do not have even one of these luxuries because you did not have any along or lost all of the above.
Brian Richardson
http://www.northernrim.com
PS - Nobody has said 100% DEET yet!!!! So for surviving Alaska’s buggy locales in one piece… bring on the bug juice!
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