Five Survival Myths

Many readers email me about the survival skills that show up in movies or so-called reality shows. Being involved in educating others over the past 25 years, I thought I’d mention a few myths & misconceptions that have crept into the field of survival.

1)  Can you really get water from a cactus?

There’s a reason you don’t find cactus juice at the grocery store. It’s a noxious substance full of alkaloids that can push a heat-stressed individual into heat-stroke. The few times I’ve tried this  method, to glean its supposed usefulness, has seen me nauseous. Carry water with you in the desert or hole up like a cowboy during the heat of the day until you can locate water. A person sitting in the shade in 90 degree F weather will expend six-quarts of water over 24-hours so there’s no substitute for being prepared in the wilds.

2) If the world falls apart, I can just grab my rifle and bug-out-bag and retreat to the wilds for a few years until society re-establishes itself, right?

Living off the land in a solo fashion is brutal. There’s a reason our ancestors lived in tribes- it takes a lot of people on the land to provide sustenance. It is far better to have some supplies on hand at home and then augment your pantry with any wild game, fish, or edible plants that you might be versed in obtaining. Even better than that is to have a like-minded group of family and friends that you can work together with to ride out such a disaster. I wish life in the wilds were like the romanticism found in the movie Dances With Wolves but it’s more like the harsh reality of the film, The Snow Walker.

3) I saw this reality-show where the guy was lost and rubbed two-sticks together to start a fire. Is that possible?

None of us would be here today if our ancestors hadn’t mastered the fine art of friction firemaking but this is a skill to practice on camping trips and backyard outings. Modern survival is about being prepared and carrying at least three firestarters (Stormproof matches, spark-rod, and lighter) with you at all times when in the backcountry. I teach primitive firemaking skills to show my students how to perform the method but find that, even under the best of conditions, it is a challenge and not reliable for most people. This is not the method I want to use if I am lost, injured, or stranded in the wilds with the sun going down! I've worked as a consultant on several reality shows and, with the exception of Survivorman, these shows are heavily-scripted. On one program, there was a crew of 12 people accompanying us, including two staff whose sole job was to drag around coolers filled with double-shot espressos and sandwiches while filming scenes of the host living off the land. That was my last involvement with "reality-TV." There's nothing romantic or fun about real survival- it's only adventure in retrospect.

4) My buddy said that if you’re thirsty, you should put a pebble under your tongue and that will help you stay hydrated. Does that really work?

This simply stimulates the saliva glands which can help get rid of cottonmouth (which in turn helps briefly with your mental attitude) but you’re not actually adding water to your body, only redistributing existing fluids. In the intense heat of the Southwest, I sometimes consume 2-3 gallons of water per day so this is not a viable method for staying hydrated.

5) I have a three-month supply of food, ammo, water, and supplies laid in, just in case there’s a disaster. Is this enough to weather out the crisis?

 There are no cookie-cutter answers. It all depends on your region, time of year, weather, family size, budget, and other variables. Having supplies ahead of time is critical but, in the end, it’s people working together and the power of community that often saves the day. Look at present-day examples from around the country and you will see that it is human goodwill that makes life possible after a disaster in addition to well-thought out supplies. All this being said, the six key areas to plan for when preparing your home are: food, water (and water purification), medical supplies, security, hygiene, and alternative power.

Peter Kummerfeldt: A True Master of Survival

In November, I had the great fortune of working once again with master survival instructor Peter Kummerfeldt at a Wilderness Medicine Society conference in Tucson. In addition to being someone who was clearly born to teach, Peter has some of the most extensive global survival experience of anyone I know of in the field. He is the real deal. When he speaks about the intense heat and varied wildlife in Africa, or building an igloo in northern Alaska when it was -30, or trekking in the jungle for days with only his machete, you know he's really done it. Peter spent 30 years as an Air-Force Survival instructor and then later as a professional hunting guide in the Rockies. Prior to that, he grew up in Kenya and currently offers his own photo-safari trips to various regions of Africa.

 

One of my favorite quotes from his lecture on survival was: "Forget that old saying, 'You will rise to the occasion during a crisis.' That's absurd. However, you will settle to the level of your training." Time and again, Peter has always stressed that having the proper gear is not enough- you have to know how to use it and try it out under non-survival conditions.

One of Peter's hands-on survival classes in the Rocky Mountains.

I am always humbled being in Peter's presence and was honored to co-teach several desert survival workshops with him. If you have a chance, take his one-day survival class which he offers around the country and pick up a copy of his outstanding manual, Surviving a Wilderness Emergency which is one of the best books on the market today. It covers how to prepare for outdoor trips and shows exactly what field-tested gear should go into a quality survival kit. Peter's website also has volumes of comprehensive articles ranging from lightning safety to the latest research on hypothermia, international travel security, and more. We will be hosting a 2-day non-overnight survival course with Peter on October 3-4 in Flagstaff.

Quote from Master Woodsman Horace Kephart

 

 “A camper should know for himself how to outfit, how to select and make a camp, how to wield an axe and make proper fires, how to cook, wash, mend, how to travel without losing his course, or what to do when he has lost it; how to trail, hunt, shoot, fish, dress game, manage boat or canoe, and how to extemporize such makeshifts as may be needed in wilderness faring. And he should know these things as he does the way to his mouth. Then is he truly a woodsman, sure to do promptly the right thing at the right time, whatever befalls. Such a man has an honest pride in his own resourcefulness, a sense of reserve force, a doughty self-reliance that is good to feel. His is the confidence of the lone sailorman, who whistles as he puts his tiny bark out to sea.”
Master Woodsman Horace Kephart (1862-1931)