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Survival

REMAIN ALIVE OR CONTINUE TO EXIST

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humanity started here

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... now we are here

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Can you imagine life without technology?

For the majority of poeple in this world, technology is everything.

More than that everything around us we look at is somehow related

to the technology or due to the wonders of technology. Te way we

talk, work, travel, and do things has been changed. We are a com-

pletly dependent on it, but what if it all disappeared? Could you

survive, without any help or guidience?

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We humans are remarkable. By any objective bio-

logical measure, we are probably the most remark-

able species o all. What other creature communi-

cates so extensively, creates such vast communities

to live in, carves the planets landscapes to such an

extent? What other species has come to dominate

the planet - and managed to master survival in vir-

tually every habitat? From searing deserts to rozenpoles and steamy jungles, we have made a lie or

ourselves in every corner o the world.

Our current age could be called the age o explosive

human expansion, which in turn is spawning envi-

ronmental and ecological problems - rom habitat

loss to the extinction o species - not just mention

climate change. But i we regard our species as just

a plague upon the planet - a species running amok

- were danger o overlooking a biological truth: we

humans have impressive skills and abilities. Indeed,

we are without doubt the most adaptable and most

powerul species that evolution has ever created.

Given the speed and eciency with which weve spread our

wings and colonized the planet, its understandable that were

an arrogant species - constantly nudging ourselves orward,

sweeping competitors aside, assuming were the boss. We still

excude an air o control and hubris - we have mastered nature

The world is our oyster. Or is it? Have we reached a crossroads

on this apparent path towards human domination o the

planet? I suspect we have.

Brian Leith, Executive Producer, Human Planet

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Te question o why we have spread so sucessully

and so rapidly around the world is probably unan-

swerable. Within the deepest questions o biology

- caught somewhere between selsh genes and arm-

warming philosophy. Te meaning o lie always

seems to be something lie go orth and multiply,and this inner drive seems to run through the core

o all living things. In that sense we are, like all

living things, unremarkable - simply ullling our

deepest genetic imperatives like any other creature.

Tink or a moment about the nature o those

obstacles, the diculties weve had to overcome to

survive and thrive in the most demanding parts o

our world.

ake deserts. Like all living things humans are

about 70% water. How on Earth have we managed

to survive in the one place where water is virtually

absent? Presumably we were driven to these desper-

ate places by wars or amines, or drastic changes in

our home environment ... But how did we manage

to carve a lie there? How did we nd water in the

desert, let alone all the precious resources, such asood and shelter, that we need?

Rainorests may appear to be biologically rich - ull

o plants and animals to sustain us, as well as con-

stant warmth and generous rainall. Surely lie here

must be easy? But in act the oppersite is truth. Lie

in the jungle is tough - and to prosper requires great

skill and knowledge.

How on Earth can you make a living in the Arctic,where all water is locked away as ice, where you

cant grow any plants, where prey animals are almost

impossible to track down and where temperatures

plummet to a lie-destroying deep reeze? We can

see rom the event today that the human species

have made a living in virtually every habitat to be

ound in the world - some o them extremely brut

How do we nd ood on a desolate mountaintop?

How do we create shelter and clothing in reezing

Artcic? Where can we nd reuge rom storms,

res and oods? Tese are stories about surprisingconnections, remarkable interactions and asinatin

relationships between our own species and all othe

aspects o nature in its widest sense.

We have specially created and designed our new

habitat - towns and cities - we have tried to invite

nature in on our terms: neat and orderly, clipped

and domesticated. We have attempted to create a

world around us where we bring in the helpul bitwe do want and leave out the unrult bits we dont

A ne intention. Except, it hasnt worked out that

way. One thing is or sure is that i we get the urb

habitat wrong now, we stand to loose everything.

Its in our greatest aggregations that we ace to wo

possible outcomes, whether its rom earthquake,

ood, disease or amine.

Tis is your chance to change your outlook onhumanity, you can learn how to survive in 2013.

We can learn to become hunter gatherers.

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Te Clothing and Personal Kit

Good clothing is the most important part o equip-

ment you could own. No single garment will do

all jobs - you need a versatile system o layers thatcan be arranged to suit all weathers. Your clothing

will need to cope with hot dry conditions as well as

cold, wind and wet. Surviving all conditions means

tough natural bres such as wool and cotton will be

more useul than the synthetic alternatives. You will

need a good waterproo jacket preerably a breath-

able abric such as Goretex which reduces condensa-

tion. It needs to be large enough to be worn over all

o your other layers, and reach just above your knee.British Army lightweight trousers are cheap and

corortable, they quick dry. Your most important

piece o clothing is your shell (outermost) jacket. It

needs to be windproo, light and comortable. Insu-

lative layers are needed rom pile jorseys, conbined

with a wolly hat, mits or winter and as many pairs

o wollen and waterproo Goretex socks as possible.

Footwear or all terrain needs to give good ankle

support and grip in the sole.

Good Advice

1. Use insulative layers to trap in body warmth can be re-

moved during hot weather.

2. Wool or Pile mittens should be attached to each other, run-

ning though each sleeve.

3. The Snowsled Jacket must be used in hot weather as a

shirt, and in cold weather as a shell over in insultaive layers.

4. Wear Goretex socks over ordinary socks to keep them dry.

Gaiters are used to protect the lower trouser rom moisture

and thorns i necessary.

In choosing you kit you should balance strength

and versatility with compactness and lightness o

weight. Tere is plenty o scope or choice. Youshould only carry what you need, and not an item

more. Over time asses what you have been carrying

and discard things that you dont use - except o

course emergency equipment (whistle and a rst

aid kit). I you do get into trouble the international

recognised emergency signal is six whistle blasts or

torch ashes in quick succession, repeated ater a

minute interval. Te reply is three blasts or ashes

repeated ater a minute interval.

You Will Need:

Sleeping-bag with ull length zip

Thermarest Sleeping Mat

A Large Rucksack

Lightweight wash kit

Silva Compass

Ordanance Survey Map

Petzl Mega head-torch with halogen bulb

Coleman 442 Peak stove and lead-ree uel

Large Survival Bag

Loud Strong Whistle

Waterproo Matched or Magnesium Fire-Starter

Small First Aid Kit

Knie, Fork and Spoon

Tin-Opener

Coleman Outtter Stainless Cook Set

Emergency ration that does not need rehydrating

Waterbottle 2.2L

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Te Pursuit of Food

I there is one thing that sets us apart rom our

earliest ancestors it is the way we nd our ood.

For them lie and ood gathering were totallyintergrated. o live ully dependent upon natures

bounty is an eye-opening experience; you cannot let

any opportunity o ood pass you by. For your long

term well-being you need to gather wiselt to avoid

starving season. Spring is a interesting time or the

keen gatherer. Te rst break o the amine are the

green tops o the edible root plants, this leads us

to the heart o Spring and the arrival o the early

salad plants. By the end o spring there is a plethorao naive young animals to all easy prey, this is the

reality o nature.

Te possibilities o nding ood in the wild are

much greater than most people imagine. Te risk o

eating something poisonous is not a serious threat i

you take care to learn your recognition.

Although oods are reely available, they are not

ree. People have a responsability to give back their

care and assistance. Gather plants in a sustainableway; or instance collect leaves in ones and twos

and rom many wide scattered plants, so as not to

impair plant growth. I it is possible plant seeds or

every plant you dig up.

Summer is naturally thought as a easy season to live,

ruits and seeds are plentiul. O course, summer

has its own problems - thorns, stinging plants and

biting insects, all small inconveniences. Summer is

the most orgiving o all the seasons.

Our rivers today are dirty, poisoned and barren, not

a patch on what they once where. We no longer

celebrate the return o the Salmon. Fishing remains

one o the ew ancient pastimes still carried out

both or ood and or sport. raditional methods o

shing, using just their eyes to watch and impro-

vised hooks rom thorns; these methods are the

oundations o shing itsel.

Having caught a sh, you will need to kill it with

a rm blow to the back or its head. It is easiest to

llet a sh 6-12 hours ater it has been killed.

I you have caught plenty o meat and sh it can

be stored or use in later season. Tere are two

principal techniques: sun drying or smoke drying.

Once meat is dried the surace is no longer exposed

to bacteria and y larvae. Dried meats can be stored

well over long periods o time.

Rich in vitamins and minerals, cooked greens are

a healthy-giving addition to any summer east. Asalways, pick resh young tender leaves just as you

would at a market and wash them beore cooking.

Over cooking destroys most o the goodness o the

plants. By ar the best way o cooking is steaming.

Succulent ruits o the Summer can be nibbled

straight rom the bush.

Cooking is a skill o great importance , because

ood and moral are closely linked. Outdoor cooking

books can be easily ound in every hiking store.

Autumn is the time or preparation and gatherering

It is the last chance to perserve some medicinal

herbs . It is in the winter months when we must

hunt animals.

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The Golden Rule o Food Gatherering: Only eat those things

you have positively identied as edible. Avoide eld testing,

is not worth the risk.

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Fire

A re is essential. It dries our cloths, provides

warmth, cooks our ood puries our water, provides

light and drives away biting insects. Being able to

start and look ater a re is a skill we must master,

and it is not easy. Its easy to ail, even with the right

equipment. It is a skill you must practice untill you

can make re in any situation and circumstance.

When starting and managing a re, you mush

search out the driest kindling and uel available.

Tis should preerably be dead wood snagged in the

branches above ground. When lighting your reremember, build upwards or a blaze ame. Ighting

a re is the start. Your re is a versatile tool which

you can adapt and change to suit a wide variety o

situations.

Tere are three vital ingredients to re: uel, oxygen

and heat. For ecient burning there must be an

unrestricting supply o each. Te average wood

re consists o airly random lattice o uel. I theuel is damp or too large to catch re, the re will

smoulder or go out.

iders are in many ways the most important part o

any re, or they create the initial ame and enable

it to grow. A large-sized tinder bundle, soccer-ball

size, will start even damp kindling burning. A wide

knowledge o what can be used or tider and how to

use it is a essential o successul re-lighting. I you

are wise you will ll your pockets with good tinder

whenever you come across it.

What you need to build a re:

Extra - ne kindling

Very dry twigs 30cm long and matchstick-thin, they should

catch light rom a match alone.

Fine Kindling

Thicker than a match but thinner than a pencil. Brittle dry and

gather plenty.

Kindling

Battle-dry wood o pencil thickness. This really gets the re

cracking, gather plenty. Broken into pieces a hand-width long,

this kindling is the best uel to use when you need to control

the heat o a cooking re.

Small Fuel

Thicker than a pencil but not thicker than your thumb, this ue

is the beginnings o the re proper.

Main Fuel

Sticks thicker than your thumb which you can break over

your knee. For most trail res this is the largest uel needed.

Anything larger counts as large uel and is more appropiate

to xed camp use or special re lays.

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Building a Fire

1.Choose a suitable re site and gather all o the necessary

uel. Use small uel to build a platorm about 30cm sq. This w

protect your tinder rom the damp ground and burn quickly

the res heart.

2. Place a graperuit sized bundle o teased brous tinder o

the platorm.

3. Take two ull handuls o extra-ne kindling and position

them against the tinder with their tops overlapping directly

above the tinder.

4. Light the tider. As the fames rise, position the kindling in

the fames rom the timber bundle. When fames burn throu

above the kindling, add the next size up, and continue this

until you are burning main uel.

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Shelter

A well constructed shelter soon becomes a sanctuary

and a home. With well insultated walls that trap

your warmth and deaden the sound o the wind,natural shelters can oten ofer a better nights sleep

than the most sophisticated hike tent. Knowing

how to construct a shelter is a undamental skill

o outdoors living. I you can put a roo over your

head you are one step closer being at home in the

wilderness and towards the condence that comes

with it.

Te spring weather can present almost any combi-nation o conditions: rom the winds o March, to

the warmer weather and rains o late April. Versatil-

ity, always an essential quality, is especially necessary

or locating a shelter. It may be that you nd some

natural protection rom the elements - perhaps a

clif overhang or a large sheltering tree. You will

need to employ some common sense to determine

the suitability o such a place. Is the ground wet?

Will the wind blow through all night?

More oten that not, you will be building a shelter

rom scratch. Tis allows you to tailor construc-

tion precisely to your needs. Start my searching

or a good location, a place that will provide all

the materials you need as close to hand as possible.

Te ground should be as at as you can nd and it

should be well drained. Avoid building your shelter

underneath overhanging dead branches. I you are

likely to be staying in your location or several days,it would be wise to be reasonably close to a reliable

source o water.

Tere are many diferent types o shelter, but or

sped and eciency ew can equal these simple biv-

ouacs. In a good location they can be built without

a knie . Tey are small and well insulated to help

retain your bodyheat, and they will keep out even

the worst weather. I they are well built they arestronger and cosier reuge than most modern hike

tent. Tey bloke out the sound o the noisiest gale,

letting you sleep.

Remeber to keep the Bivouacs size as small as

comort will allow. Check your measure inside the

shelter as you build it. Given a good location and

bad lighting you can build a solo kennel in about

two hours. wo people can build the two-personkennel in hal that time.

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What you will need:

One or two long, straight and strong ridgepoles, plus one or

two short major supports. Many slim pieces o dead wood or

the walls. Dead leaves, humus or turs or the thatching, plus

light brushwood.

One-person Kennel

1.Construct a strong tripod ramework. Forked supports o

the two short legs will save a need or cordage.

2. Measure up the height and the width o the shelter with

your body. It should provide just enough room to turn over

with all o your bedding.

3. Using the dead branches, wall the sides o the shelter.

These raters should be as close together as possible, and th

ends must not protrude more than 4cm above the ridge-po

4. Thatch with an arms depth o leaves or humus. Anchor

down with a covering o light brushwood. Dont leave raters

protruding rom the top o the shelter or rain will run inside.

wo-person Kennel

1.Construct a tripod rom two long poles and one short po

Again try to avoid the need or cordage

2. Wall as or the one-person kennel. Close o some o the

gap between ridge-poles with cross-battens. Thatch and n

as beore.

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Water

We cannot live without water. Te oceans, rivers,

springs and brooks all speak the same language:

the language o lie. Native peoples the world overreverve water. Aboriginal children are taught to

memorise the location o water holes in their tribal

territory. Water is an elemental orce, a neutral but

powerul inuence which can bring both lie and

destruction. Like all elemental orces it must be

understood, and we must move in tune with it.

As anyone will tell you who has walked through

arid desert lands will tell you, water can dictate the

course o your journey.

Within our bodies water is responsible or the

host o vital unctions: removing waste, supplying

energy, the regulation o body temperature and

mental acuteness. During spring there is usually no

shortage o water, so you need concentrate on how

to make it pure. While there as still some springs

o pure water, it is best to suspect all water has

been contaminated. Stagnant, smelly puddles areunimpressive sources o water, yet they can be made

potable when necessary. On the other hand, clear,

cool, ast-running, oxygen-rich streams that are ap-

parently sae to drink may be host to potent bugs.

A host o modern water-puriying systems are avail-

able or the traveller to remote places. Te impor-

tant thing to remember is to ollow the instructions

or use precisely.

Tere are basically three operations involved ingathering water saely. First, always search or the

purest available water source, the reshest and

healthiest looking water with no obvious traces o

contamination. Generally, the urther water travels

rom its source the greater the level o contamina-

tion. Having collected the purest water you can

nd, you need to remove any suspended matter

by straining the water through a bandanna, some

other item o tightly woven clothing or a millbank

bag (see opposite page). When it has been done you

must boil the water thoroughly. Te majority o

waterborne problems are destroyed below boiling

point; but or your saety you should always boil

water uriously or at least ve minutes. You should

increase the boiling time at higher altitudes, where

water boils at a lower temperature.

Boiling water can become a unpleasent chore,which in turn can lead to a sloppy camp routine

and resulting upset stomachs. A disciplined routine

with your water supply is the sign o good outdoors

skills. Always take advantage o reliable sources o

water. You should remember to boil sucient water

or the ollowing day; bottle it and set it in the open

to cool. Tis is one o those occasions when a large

billycan with a lid is really valuable.

o cross an arid stretch o wild country, you need to

be cunning and resourceul with regard to water. It

is amazing how many tragic cases o atal dehydra-

tion are attributable to wrong decision-making in

this respect. Te basic principle is to avoid moving

about when the sun is at its hottest. Some impor-

tant rules are: is you have not water, dont eat; i you

have some water in your bottle, drink it. Keep as

much as your skin covered as possible to reduce loss

o moisture. Sucking on stones helps.

o help you search or water there are a ew indica-

tor to look out or. Grain-eating birds need water

and are never ar away rom it. But the most im-

portant sign are water-loving plants, such as hearts

tongue ern , horsetails and mosses.

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Te Millbank Bag

A simple lter bag used by the British Army or decades, th

millbank bag remains an eective way to remove suspended

matter rom your water. First soak the bag in the water, then

ll it to the brim. Suspend the bag rom a branch and allow

the rst ew inches o the water content to pass through the

lter beore collecting the ltrate. I necessary, lter the wat

again. Sterilise the water chemically or by boiling beore con

sumption. The bag can be fushed out, dried and re-used. Yo

can also use it as a lter bag or brewing wild coee drinks.

Digging or Water

Water in moist areas or at the base o runos can oten be

reached by digging a hole and allowing the water to seep in

it. This water can be pure but is best ltered and boiled.

Good places to search or water are at the base o

clifs or among natural declivities on gently slopping

hillsides. On the coastline you can nd trickling

rom sea clifs; or dig or it behind sand dunes above

the tide line. Narrow shady canyons and rock clets

are also good areas to search.

Falling these mehods you can squeeze the moisture

rom damp mud using your bandanna. I you are

on a long trip and expect to have diculty nding

plentiul supplies o water during the day, choose

a shady camp site. In the morning make the efort

to rise early so that you can mop up dew with your

bandanna and squeeze it out into a receptical.

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