THE ABC'S OF DESERT SURVIVAL

Chapter Two--The Survival Kit

By Marjorie Woodruff Ph.D.

Copyrighted: all rights reserved.

A survival kit is like a life preserver. Most of the time it is but a bulky inconvenience that gets in the way. When the time comes to use it, it suddenly is the most valuable object you own.

A survival kit should always be placed in the car when planning an outing in the desert. A smaller, more compact kit should be included to carry when walking away from the car. Hikers and backpackers should consider a survival kit as much a part of their pack as drinking water.

The car kit

The following list would comprise a good emergency survival kit for a car:

Flashlight and batteries: These can be used for night travel and for signaling searchers. Check the batteries periodically and replace them when they grow weak.
Blankets: Nights in the desert get extremely cold. A blanket can also be torn into strips and anchored on the ground to signal searchers.
Can opener: Often this is included on a good knife. Imagine being stranded in the desert with emergency canned goods and no way to open them.
Compass: A compass can often help a lost party find the way home.
Non-perishable food: Survival bars which are sold to runners and bikers are good emergency food items.
Coins or phone card. If case someone does make it out to help, there may be nothing around but a pay phone. Most pay phones now do accept emergency calls without money, but there are still some of the old style around.
Fire starter: A fire can keep the party warm at night and can be used to signal searchers. Fire starters include candles, waxed paper, waxed string, or a commercial starter tablet or gel.
First-aid kit: An minor injury left untreated can rapidly become a major problem. At least one member of the party should be trained in first aid.
Knife: Useful for shaving wood for fire tinder, cutting bandages for first aid, cutting up sheets or cloth to make strips with which to signal searchers, etc.
Insect repellent: Usually the desert is free of biting bugs, but in the right season (or the wrong one!) insects can drive one mad.
Lighter: A back-up way to start a fire (sand renders this useless!)
Lip salve: Lips exposed to arid desert air crack painfully.
Waterproof matches. For starting signal fires. Matches can be waterproofed easily by coating the head in clear nail polish. The polish will burn off when the match is struck. Paper matches are fairly useless for a survival kit. You may purchase commercially packed waterproof matches, but avoid those which need to strike on the box. What happens if the box gets wet?
Needle and thread: Torn clothing provides less protection from sun, cold, and unfriendly plants.
Pencil and paper: If the party or someone in the party decides to walk out to find help, notes describing these plans should be left at obvious landmarks. This will help searchers find them just in case they don't make it out.
Prescription medications: If someone in the party needs prescription drugs, extra should be included for the desert trek.
Safety pins: Useful for repairing torn clothing.
Toilet paper: Useful to anchor on the ground as a signal to searchers, or for the usual purpose.
Whistle: It is much easier on the throat to whistle for help rather than yell. Yelling dries out the throat and makes one thirsty, and a whistle is heard over a longer distance than a voice.
Sunglasses: Constant exposure to the unfiltered desert sun an result in temporary blindness. If no sunglasses are available, blacken the area around the eyes with mud or grease.
Electrolyte replacement: Salt depletion is a problem in the desert. However salt supplements should only be used when there is adequate water. Powdered electrolyte are a better substitute.
Newspaper: A newspaper can be spread on the ground and weighted with rocks to signal to searchers, or used to start emergency fires. Or you can read the editorials out loud and wait for a rescuer to come along and disagree with you.
Sun screen: Sunburn is painful and injurious to the skin. Apply sun screen before the need for it is apparent.
Duct Tape: Wrap up burst hoses in the car, repair broken gear, put on your blisters, etc. etc.
Sheet: A sheet with a message such as HELP painted on it can be anchored on the ground with rocks.
WATER If nothing else is carried, extra water should always be placed in the vehicle. Water is the single most important survival item in the desert. With adequate water, one can wait safely for days for help to arrive. Without water, survival time in the desert can be limited to hours.

The hiker survival kit

A small survival kit should be carried by any party on foot, even if they plan to only be gone an hour. Rarely does anyone plan on getting lost or injured, and a survival kit is cheap insurance.

Obviously a kit be carried in the pack must be compact and light, or it will probably be left in the car. The first component of the hiker survival kit is the ten essentials.

THE TEN ESSENTIALS

Most hikers feel that these items should always be carried by every member of the party:

Extra clothing: If the weather changes suddenly, the hiker does not have a vehicle to use for shelter. Avoid cotton because when it gets wet it stays wet-- and cold!
Extra food: On any trip without mishap, there should be some food left over.
Sunglasses, sunblock, hat with a brim. lip salve: As mentioned above, exposure to sun can cause eye discomfort, pain, and temporary blindness. Sunburn is unhealthy and uncomfortable.
Knife: A small folding knife is sufficient. Bowie monsters are appropriate for hunters, fisherpersons, and assassins.
Waterproofed matches and fire starter: Chances are if one needs a fire most, it will be cold, wet, and windy. Fire ribbon, candle stubs, or fuel tablets will aid in starting a fire under adverse conditions.
First aid kit: See detailed list below.
Flashlight and extra batteries: A small hand-held light is adequate.
Map and compass: To aid in finding your way back.
Whistle and/or mirror: To signal searchers.
Large plastic bags, tarp, or emergency space blanket: To build a shelter or signal searchers.

In the desert, this list should be titled "the Eleven Essentials" and the eleventh is water. During the mild seasons of the year, a hiker should carry at least two quarts of water. During the hotter seasons, an extra quart should be added. In the extreme heat of the summer, it can be physically impossible for a hiker to carry enough water to stay alive. During the summer, the hiker should stay home and read a good book.

The first aid kit

It is my belief that every person should take a basic first aid course. At the very least, someone in the party should have first aid. If this is not possible, a first aid book should be included in the kit.

THE CAR KIT

First aid guide book
Sterile gauze pads
Roll of sterile gauze bandages
Ammonia inhalants
Water purification tablets
Salt tablets
Thermometer
First aid cream
Triangular bandage
Adhesive compresses (band-aids)
Tweezers
Comb (for removing cholla )
Needle (for opening blisters, removing splinters)
Lip salve
Pain killers: aspirin and non-aspirin
Scissors
Safety pins
Vaseline gauze (for second and third degree burns)
Adhesive tape
Wire splint
Elastic bandage
Antihistamine (for allergic reaction to bee stings)

THE HIKER FIRST AID KIT

Obviously the hiker's kit must be lighter and more compact. The list below is a minimum first aid kit for the day hiker:

Adhesive compresses
Gauze pads
Adhesive tape
Electrolyte replacement powder
Strong aspirin pain killer
Strong non-aspirin pain killer
Needle (for opening blisters, removing splinters)
Small first aid booklet.

Items that are also useful:

Moleskin or molefoam (for blisters)
Water purification tablets
Elastic bandage
First aid cream (a small bottle of rubbing alcohol will do)
Triangular bandage
Gauze bandage
Wire splint
Extractor snake bite kit. (Cut-and-suck method of treating snakebite does vastly more damage than the snake. Treatment of snakebite will be covered in more detail in the lesson on desert animals.)

The car repair kit

Most people carry a spare tire, but how many carry a spare fan belt? Yet the vehicle can be driven much further with a flat tire than with no fan belt. If the vehicle is the only way out of the desert, it is wise to provide the means to repair minor mishaps.

VITAL ITEMS

Tire iron and two jacks. If the vehicle becomes badly stuck, two jacks may be required to dig out.
Two spare tires: Sharp desert rocks and high speeds are death on tires.
Fan belt.
Set of open-end wrenches, screwdriver, and pliers.
Five gallon gas can--full.
Pair jumper cables.

ALSO NICE TO HAVE ALONG

Tow rope or tow chain.
Sand mats (carpet with thick backing): If badly stuck, it may be necessary to dig a ramp to drive out on, and sand mats will provide extra traction.
Tire pump
Spark plug wrench.
Tire repair kit.
Box of fuses.
Extra spark plugs, points, condenser.
Can of radiator stop leak.
Roll of black plastic tape.
Siphon hose.
Fire extinguisher
Box of screws, nuts, bolts.
Flares.
Work gloves.
Shovel.
Radiator and heater hoses.
Oil.
Ax.

The Cellular Phone

Many laypersons assume that a cell phone is the ultimate in survival tools. Simply make your phone call and wait in comfort to be flown out.

Almost one third of rescues at this writing are summoned by cell phone. However, keep a few things in mind:

Cell phones do not work in all parts of the backcountry. If you depend on your phone for survival and you can't get a call through or the battery is dead, you can't even use it to start a fire (unless you have two of them to rub together...). If your call does go through, can you describe to Search and Rescue where you are? And if you can why don't you walk out by yourself?

Cell phones may give you a false sense of security. There are many horror tales of people who got in over their heads only because they had a phone and figured they would call for help as soon as something went wrong. It is much better to depend on yourself and be prepared to get yourself out of trouble. Even if your cell phone call does get through, it may be hours before Search and Rescue can come to your aid, so you need something to snuggle up in besides the cell phone case.

Cell phones are misused shamefully. Many are the stories of hikers who call for rescue because their feet are cold, or they have a blister, or they think it will get dark before they get back to the car. Since Search and Rescue cannot afford to ignore what might be a legitimate survival situation, they often run out to find that the caller is in fine shape: just a little tired. While on this wild hiker chase, they may miss a call for a genuine rescue where lives are at stake.

In the good old days, backcountry users were proud of their independence and their ability to handle themselves in any situation. Now the prevailing trend seems to be to call for rescue at the slightest provocation. Cell phones seem to me to promote this latter attitude at detriment to enjoyment of the wilderness.

I am often required to carry a cell phone when leading professionally, but I have never had the occasion to use one. Nor do I consider it my first line of defense in survival.

Chapter Three Please

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