Lost and Alone? Your Essential Guide to Wilderness Survival

Ever wondered how long you could survive without shelter, water, or food? The Rule of Threes provides a helpful framework, but survival goes beyond these basic timeframes. In a real-life emergency, you’ll need a plan to address a wider range of challenges. The 7 Survival Priorities offer a more comprehensive approach, guiding you to make critical decisions and take essential actions to stay alive. By understanding both the rule of threes and the 7 Survival Priorities, you can be better prepared to handle emergencies, make informed choices if injured, and navigate the dangers posed by the environment.

The Rule of Threes

The Rule of Threes is a widely used survival guideline to help prioritise threats in an emergency. It outlines approximate timeframes, not guarantees:

• About 3 minutes without air, or in icy water
• About 3 hours without adequate shelter in harsh conditions
• About 3 days without water
• About 3 weeks without food

While air is usually available, and food shortages are uncomfortable rather than immediately dangerous, lack of water becomes critical much sooner. In hot or exposed conditions, dehydration can become life-threatening within a short period, while cooler conditions may allow longer survival.

These are general estimates. Actual survival time varies widely depending on weather, terrain, clothing, activity level, health, and available resources. The purpose of the rule is to help identify and address the most immediate threat first, not to suggest fixed limits.

The 7 Survival Priorities

In a survival situation, staying calm and prioritising your actions is critical. These 7 survival priorities serve as a general guideline to help you direct your efforts:

1. Positive Mental Attitude: Maintaining a hopeful and resourceful mindset is essential for making clear decisions and staying motivated.
2. First Aid: Address any life-threatening injuries or medical emergencies immediately.
3. Shelter: Find or build a shelter to protect yourself from the elements and conserve energy.
4. Water: Locate and secure a clean water source. Dehydration is a serious threat, and prioritising water intake is crucial.
5. Warmth: Stay warm and dry to prevent hypothermia. A fire can provide warmth and serve other purposes like drying clothes and signaling for help.
6. Signaling: Once you have addressed your basic needs, try to attract attention using a whistle, mirror, signal fire, or large ground symbols.
7. Food: Food is less urgent than other priorities in most short-term situations. Your energy is better spent on staying put, building shelter, finding water, and signaling for help. Foraging for food should be a last resort. If you must find sustenance, prioritise learning safe foraging practices specific to your region before venturing out. Many online resources and field guides can equip you with the knowledge to identify edible plants.

The specific order of these priorities may vary depending on the circumstances. Use your common sense and adapt these guidelines to your situation. The rule of threes (3 hours for shelter, 3 days for water, 3 weeks for food) provides a general timeframe to consider, but remember that individual factors can influence your survival window.

1. Positive Mental Attitude

It only takes 3 seconds to make a poor decision. In a survival situation, your mental state is just as important as your physical well-being. Fear and panic can cloud your judgment and lead to poor decisions. Remember, staying calm gives you the space to think clearly and assess your situation. Take a deep breath, focus on the present, and prioritise your actions. A positive mental attitude is your anchor in a storm, helping you stay focused and resourceful during a crisis.

2. First Aid: Prioritise Care

If you or someone in your group is injured, providing first aid becomes your top priority. Focus on stabilising critical issues like Airway, Breathing, Circulation, and severe bleeding. Wilderness first aid training is highly recommended as it equips you with the skills to handle emergencies in remote locations. However, even without formal training, use common sense to assess the situation. Address life-threatening injuries first and deal with minor issues later.

3. Shelter: Building Your Refuge

Shelter is crucial for protecting yourself from the elements. In cold and wet conditions, prioritise finding or building a shelter to shield yourself from wind, rain, and cold ground. This will help prevent hypothermia. Conversely, in scorching heat, seek shade to avoid overheating. Focus on building a simple but effective emergency shelter using available materials like branches, leaves, or even your clothing. Remember, the goal is to create a barrier against the elements and retain your body heat.

4. Water: Your Body’s Lifeline

Water is one of the most critical survival needs, but decisions around water must still balance risk.

Dehydration rapidly affects physical performance and decision making, particularly in hot or dry conditions. Conserving energy, seeking shade, and reducing exertion can significantly reduce water loss while you work to locate a safer source.

Drinking untreated water should never be the first option. Whenever possible, collect water from clearer, flowing sources and purify it using boiling, filtration, or chemical treatment. Boiling remains the most reliable way to make water microbiologically safe.

In extreme, life-threatening situations where dehydration is imminent and no treatment options are available, the risks of untreated water may be outweighed by the immediate risk of severe dehydration. This is a last resort decision, not standard advice.

In cold environments, do not eat snow directly, as it lowers core body temperature. Melt snow first using a fire or body heat if possible.

Finding Water Sources: Beyond natural sources like streams and springs, you can also collect rainwater or morning dew from leaves. If you absolutely must drink untreated water, look for clear, moving water rather than stagnant water sources, as moving water is less likely to be stagnant and harbor contaminants. Remember, boiling is always the safest way to purify water.

5. Warmth: Stay Dry

Maintaining your body temperature is critical for survival. Here’s a two-pronged approach:

• Stay Dry: Wet clothing conducts heat away from your body much faster, so prioritise drying yourself whenever possible. Find shelter or build a fire to dry your clothes.
• Firecraft: A fire provides warmth, light, and a sense of security. If you have the tools and know-how, build a fire. Fire can also be used for drying clothes, purifying water, and cooking food. Practice fire starting methods before you find yourself in a survival situation. There are various fire starting techniques using natural materials or lighters/matches from your survival kit.

Remember, staying warm and dry is crucial for conserving energy and improving your chances of survival.

6. Signaling for Help: Get Seen, Get Found

While not as critical as shelter or first aid, being prepared to signal for help can significantly improve your chances of rescue. Ensure your survival kit includes essential signaling tools like a whistle, signal mirror, satellite communicator, or a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). There are various ways to attract attention:

• Signal Fires: If you know how to build a fire safely, a controlled signal fire can be a large and visible distress signal.
• Signal Mirror: Reflecting sunlight with a mirror can be a highly effective way to signal aircraft.
• Whistle: Carrying a whistle and blowing three short blasts is a universally recognised distress call.
• Ground Signals: Large SOS symbols or similar markings made from branches or stones can be visible from the air.

If possible, try to reach higher ground for better visibility, especially if attempting to send an emergency text message with your phone. Remember, yelling for help should be a last resort. It can expend valuable energy and has a limited range. Reserve your energy for using effective signaling methods. By being prepared and using these techniques effectively, you can significantly increase your chances of being found in a survival situation.

7. Food: Essential for Long-Term Survival

Our bodies can endure short periods without food thanks to stored fat reserves. However, food becomes crucial for survival in long-term situations.

Focus on Rescue: In most short-term survival scenarios, finding food is not a primary concern. Your energy is better spent on staying put, building shelter, finding water, and signaling for help.

Long-Term Planning: If you anticipate being lost for weeks or months, prioritise learning safe foraging practices specific to your region before venturing out. Many online resources and field guides can equip you with the knowledge to identify edible plants. Remember, never consume anything you cannot confidently identify, as some plants, berries, and mushrooms can be toxic or even deadly.

Conserve Calories: Focus on finding and rescuing yourself, not searching extensively for food. This will help you preserve your energy reserves.

Use these rules as a guide

The survival Rule of Threes and the Seven Survival Priorities are valuable tools to help you make informed decisions and take action in an emergency situation. This knowledge is also crucial for planning hikes and building survival kits that address your specific needs. Remember, common sense is key. Adapt these guidelines to your unique circumstances and act accordingly.

References

1.  Colin Towell (2011). Essential Survival Skills. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7566-7338-3.
2. “Wilderness Survival Rules of 3 – Air, Shelter, Water & Food”.