What keeps you safe in the wilderness?

I thought this video was very insightful.

Miriam Lancewood is a true expert in wilderness living, not just camping...

Here is the transcript for those who cannot watch videos. It's very short:

Peter and I lived for seven years in a wilderness of New Zealand nomadically. We were always on the move. We had no satellite phone, no cell phone, no emergency beacon. And in all those years, I never had one accident or injury. Now, why is that?

Because we had time. I think scheduled time, as in a planning, is the most deadly thing you can have. Because on the Sunday evening you want to get back to the car park because Monday morning you have to be back at work, for example, and then people cross that flooded river and they drown. Or they go through the rain, through that storm, they get too cold, hypothermia, and die. Or they don't give their body rest because they can't afford a rest day, and they get an injury, or an accident, because the body is exhausted. So the most important thing is to be very very flexible time-wise and don't promise other people to be back in 5 days or 6 days, you know, give it a little bit more leeway. If you stay warm and dry, and sometimes have the patience to stay in your tent, you will be safe. Remember the number three rule. You can go 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. You will not starve overnight. So, give yourself time. Make sure you have water to drink, and make sure you're dry--and you will live.

Many people don't truly see what's around them. They look at the trail immediately in front of them, maybe at a bird in a tree that they hear - but they don't look near + far, in front + to the side + behind.  They don't pay attention to the sky - where the sun is, what the sky looks like above and in the four directions in the distance.  Many people don't pick a point to head for (like a mountain top, or a tall dead tree, something easy to find again if they lose view of it temporarily), and they don't do it every time they are moving in the wilderness. Even when they're on a clear trail. So many people just go any which way, so of course they don't know how to get back to where they came from..

It's stunning to me how many people have no clue where north is. To me I'm always subconsciously aware of compass directions.
It's equally stunning to me how many people don't look to see what the view behind them is. I mean, when you want to go back, it's nice to know what going back will look like.

Too many people in the wilderness think of themselves as the center of the universe where everything revolves around them, when in fact they are motes moving through an infinite universe and it is each person's responsibility to understand where their place is in that universe by paying attention to their surroundings as they go.

Wilderness First Responder courses have saved me many thousands in medical bills for back and front country situations by helping address minor injuries and illnesses as well as better knowing when to get advanced care. It provides a problem solving framework and practice using it. I have also met great people on every course or refresher I’ve taken.

A couple of good adages to remember for any outdoor adventure, be it hiking, camping, biking, boating, etc.  "Prepare for the worst and the best will take care of itself."  And "the time to fix a problem is RIGHT NOW."

Lif Strand wrote:when you want to go back, it's nice to know what going back will look like

Very true, that's why one of the most important rule is to look back about every 15 minutes so you know what it'll looks like in case you need to go back. What you see in one direction differs vastly from what you'll see from the opposite direction.

I love Miriam’s attitude of “slow down”. I think we can learn a lot from that outside of the wilderness, too—in gardening, natural building, weaving, or just managing our own energy levels. If it is worth doing anything, it is worth doing it well and sometimes we need to do less, slow down, and not be rushing on to the next thing. If you take good care of one plant, that can be worth more than taking lousy care of a thousand seeds or plants. Attend to their needs, and they might make a thousand new seeds! Many a plant variety has been saved from extinction by one seed.

In Paul’s latest sleaze podcast there is something about how in the bootcamp or any good community or “gardening gardeners” program, there is an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity—of time, food, etc. And so ordinary chores turn into art projects, like Harry’s recent project. For our indigenous ancestors, it seems like everything was an art project. Making clothing, housing, pottery, baskets, so much! It’s clear they wanted to do something meaningful with their time on earth.

M Ljin wrote:Here is the transcript for those who cannot watch videos. It's very short:

Peter and I lived for seven years in a wilderness of New Zealand nomadically. We were always on the move. We had no satellite phone, no cell phone, no emergency beacon. And in all those years, I never had one accident or injury. Now, why is that?

Because we had time. I think scheduled time, as in a planning, is the most deadly thing you can have. Because on the Sunday evening you want to get back to the car park because Monday morning you have to be back at work, for example, and then people cross that flooded river and they drown. Or they go through the rain, through that storm, they get too cold, hypothermia, and die. Or they don't give their body rest because they can't afford a rest day, and they get an injury, or an accident, because the body is exhausted. So the most important thing is to be very very flexible time-wise and don't promise other people to be back in 5 days or 6 days, you know, give it a little bit more leeway. If you stay warm and dry, and sometimes have the patience to stay in your tent, you will be safe. Remember the number three rule. You can go 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. You will not starve overnight. So, give yourself time. Make sure you have water to drink, and make sure you're dry--and you will live.

Totally agree, it's the same here in Italy's Alps, during this winter almost every weekend accidents happen, often fatal, to off-piste skiers and ski mountaineers who tackle routes without regard for the danger of avalanches, because they book weekends months in advance, pay and have to go at any cost, because then they have to return to work the following Monday morning.

I am not sure I agree with her regarding time. Things just happen even if you are not in a hurry and have the most time ever.

Granted I am not outside like she was, but I hike 4-7 miles a day for health reasons and do so EVERYDAY. I started out on just the best days and quickly realized that was not going to work. With the mindset that I am going everyday means I have hiked in some crazy weather. But my miles per year also went way up doing so because doing 5 miles a day every day is 35 miles per week, while doing 5 miles per day 4 days a week is only 20 miles. Blizzard, rain, gales, heat, etc... I go every day.

I am retired so I am not in a hurry but my last injury was last fall. It was raining and I slipped and fell. I was on a huge band of bedrock except for this tiny root that I did not see and it was slick with rain. I crumpled pretty hard and felt it, worst yet it was getting late and I was two miles out. I tentatively, painfully made it out. Thankfully this place has good cell service and I live within site of a US Coast Guard Station so I knew help was available if I needed it, but that injury had to do with observation not being in a rush.

But while I agree with her time is a huge reason some people get hurt, it is not the only thing that keeps you safe. The two things I think that injuries people is:

1. Rushing to get something done
2. Using the wrong tool for the job

But one thing not mentioned was other safety factors. I hike every day, but whether along a road or deep in the forest, I carry a firearm. I don't flaunt it. I don't discuss it, but I carry one, and several times I have been very grateful I have had it. It is not a guarantee, but it is a tool I always have on me.

(PS: Shout out to a local US Coast Guard Station who saved three fishermen's lives as their fishing vessel sank last week. Always glad to know those guys are well-trained, on-call 24/7 and are humble about all the lives they save).

Pretty sure I encountered her a couple years ago on another channel a couple years ago.

great video and terrific advice. We learned the rule of three a little differently...three days without water, three weeks without food, and three hours without shelter depending on conditions. Extra layers, (sometimes for a friend!) extra water, some salt and a couple of crackers if someone gets imbalanced because of the heat...can make the difference.

Lin Frost wrote: We learned the rule of three a little differently...three days without water, three weeks without food, and three hours without shelter depending on conditions.  

Ecosystem is everything. Many times it's "tourists" that get into trouble, because they simply don't understand how different/erratic/dangerous simply "going for a little walk" can be if the location has hazards they aren't used to.

So yes - different time-lines for different places. The Grand Canyon kills people most years because you can't hike for three hours without water, let alone three days! (at least at certain times of year) Winter where I live, the dampness can cause hypothermia at above freezing temperatures. But if I were to travel to the mountains to hike,  I'd have trouble for the first 3-5 days due to the change in elevation affecting my breathing, as my body is totally adapted to sea level.

Hi Jay,

I have hiked the Grand Canyon extensively; it is amazing the people I bumped into during those travels.  There are warning signs all over the place …that get ignored. One vision that is still with me is the couple with the 10 year old that was going into heat stroke.   It was 100 degree+ weather. They had minimum water.  I encouraged them to get him to lay down in a nearby stream to lower his core temp.  They refused because the stream “ might have bacteria” as opposed to the heat that I was 100% certain was harming him.  I gave my best advice and moved on.  Hours later I was able to contact a ranger. I have no idea as to the outcome.  

Excellent comments above.

An additional observation:

When I'm moving through a completely familiar landscape, like aspen parkland or the Rocky Mountains, I know how to move efficiently through that landscape. I know where to step, where the hazards are, how slippery the rocks are and when they will roll,  you name it -- it's like muscle memory, a conditioned response from many long miles on these trails. I don't even think about it.

When I go with friends in coastal rainforest, on a goat-path hike or cross-country, I am a stranger in a strange land. I watch them move and hop like gazelles while I plod along inefficiently, stepping in holes and wet spots covered in moss, slipping on roots and dislodging stones, and generally being a clumsy ox. I am much more at risk of injury because I am clueless and trying to keep up.

EDIT: The lesson for me, as a walker, is that every landscape has a cadence, a rhythm. It takes a while to align your head and feet and body to the natural heartbeat of the land, if that makes sense.

What keeps you safe in a wilderness?  Observation and awareness.

Watch out for snakes and other wildlife.

Know how to build a fire and make a debris shelter.

Know what plants you can eat.