If you are taking a scuba trip, you will want to pack plenty of air tanks for you and those traveling with you for the number of hours you wish to be under water. While you may be able to last three days without water, you will start to feel the effects of dehydration after only 12 hours or so. Your brain is made up of 70% water and will not think clearly without plenty of water. If you are getting water from ponds or streams, boil before drinking, or use water purification tablets or straw.
Even though your stomach may be growling of hunger, your body can last much longer without food than without water or shelter.
It is interesting to note that survival can be broken down into RULES OF THREE. These rules of three can be instrumental in providing a checklist or packing list for things to take on your next trip.
You can last 3 MINUTES without air.
If you are taking a scuba trip, you will want to pack plenty of air tanks for you and those traveling with you for the number of hours you wish to be under water. If not, plan on how you will be provided with the amount of air you will need.
You can last 3 HOURS without shelter.
If you’re hiking (or lost) and the sun is about to set, you want to make sure you have a good shelter to protect you from the cold. Be extremely careful if you are going to use fire to heat the shelter, as most natural shelter materials are flammable! If you are hiking in a dessert, you’ll want a shelter to provide shade.
Use everything you can think of for insulation. A large pile of fresh pine sprigs is not only a springy mattress, but is good insulation from the ground.
You can last 3 DAYS without water.
While you may be able to last three days without water, you will start to feel the effects of dehydration after only 12 hours or so. Your brain is made up of 70% water and will not think clearly without plenty of water. Will you have to take water purifying items?
You must drink plenty of water even if you do not feel thirsty. In most areas, just continue to walk downhill and you will eventually find water. If you are getting water from ponds or streams, boil before drinking, or use water purification tablets or straw.
You can last 3 WEEKS without food.
Many people make food their priority. Even though your stomach may be growling of hunger, your body can last much longer without food than without water or shelter. Only after taking care of those needs first, should you worry about food.
With that being said, if you find yourself in an unplanned situation where you need to rely on your surroundings for food, as a general rule, avoid plant life unless you know for a fact that something is edible. Stay away from mushrooms and any plant that has a milky sap. Common edible plants include cattail roots, acorns, clover, dandelions, almost all grasses that are seed bearing and the inner bark of trees such as Poplar, Willows, Birches and Conifers.
The easiest rule to remember is that if it walks, swims, crawls, or slithers … thump it, and muck it on down! Use the knife, hooks and line, make a spear, make snares with the 80lb test cord. Use your imagination!
You can last 3 MONTHS without companionship.
, if you are alone for 3 months or longer you will either go insane or you will develop a relationship with God.. Like Tom Hanks in the movie, “Castaway”, you will have to invent your own Wilson, or you will turn to God for companionship. Human beings were designed to interact with others, so if you are going to live on your own for longer than 3 months, consider bringing a companion along or plan on having someone “show up” for a weekend or two to help you get through the loneliness.
When faced with survival situations, these rules of three can provide any camper with the proper frame of mind. I hope that you will be able to benefit from these rules and memorize them.
I learned these Rules of Three from Rodney East, a fellow Pathfinder Director. A portion of this content was also taken from the FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL.
