Learn about survival and live

After reading the past two parts to this series and columns about survival in past years, readers are sure to realize passing along information about survival skills are important to me. This is true, of course, as survival information may save a life.

We have discussed the first step in learning survival skills as being the ability to stay put. This means stop and don’t wander or meander from this spot. There is an entire program devoted to this idea for children called “Hug a tree.”

Children can get a special, good feeling when hugging something, so hugging a tree isn’t out of the question to make them feel more secure when lost. Plus, and perhaps the largest piece of the survival puzzle, this makes a youth stay put.

An important piece of survival equipment is a whistle. I carry a plastic whistle for my own survival and to demonstrate the usefulness of this item. Anytime, but especially on a windy day, have a group of people stand in one spot while another person walks away from their position.

At 50 paces the person is to stop and yell “Hello” and then blow the whistle. The group at the initial position waves when the word is heard and again when the whistle’s signal is heard.

The person is then to walk another 50 paces and perform the same yell and blow the whistle. The lesson is to demonstrate the fact about the whistle being heard at a greater distance than a person yelling. Plus a person will become tired of yelling and even not able to yell after some time, but blowing the whistle will not put much stress on a person’s voice.

If a family decides to make sure each family member has a whistle, be sure and perform the above demonstration until the yelling is not heard, but the whistle continues to come through loud and clear. Also make sure the whistle is carried on the person whenever they step outside the campsite. Strict adherence to the rule about the whistle is to be used only when there is an emergency, such as when lost is important. This is a tool capable of saving a life and is not to be used as a toy.

Another tool for the entire family to have in their backpack is a two-way radio. The rage these days is for everyone to own and use a cell phone of some type. However, cell phones don’t work everywhere, especially in the mountains where cell towers are not always common.

An example is when Garnet and I were camping recently at Conconully State Park, west of Omak. There was no cell or Wi-Fi reception at the park. I could write my stories in our camping trailer at Site 59, but could not send them to the CBH.

A check around the small town found Wi-Fi reception at the local Sit‘n Bull Saloon. My stories during our time at the park were partially written and sent from this place of business, with me drinking only coffee, but still there was no cell phone reception. The Motorola two-way radios were pulled from my backpack and used to communicate during our stay.

These radios are inexpensive enough these days for every member of the family to have one. Teach each how to use them and demonstrate their use during the whistle demonstration.

Of course these have their limitations, also. They are generally a line-of-sight device, meaning two radios must be within sight of each other to work. One situated on a meadow and another on the side of a mountain may be fine, as long as there is nothing between them.

However, if one on a meadow and the other down the side of a valley and out of sight, the radios may not be able to communicate with each other. This is why each person in the family should have a whistle and a radio.

This column has been mainly devoted to our youth, but remember adults who are not accustomed to being in the Great Outdoors may not have the survival skills of your 8-year-old, who has heard you discussing survival for years. This is the reason to have a heart-to-heart talk around the first-night campfire about these important things.

It is also notable to realize going on a two-hour hike around Swan Lake does not require the survival equipment necessary for a five-day trek in the high Cascade Mountains. The first hike would require each person to have only the whistle, radio and a bottle of water, but as leader of the group, my pack would also contain a first aid, a flashlight, rope or paracord and several other items. My tendency is to pack way more than needed, even for a two-hour hike.

The second hike would require a more extensive list of backpack items, of course, because it would require spending the night in the woods.

Keep these three survival column and read them to your group whenever you are camping. Repeat several times about the requirement for the lost person to stop and stay put.

“After all,” tell them, “adhering to these basic ideas may save a life.”