The Woodsman's Journal Online

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Lost, Starvation and Losing Weight©

Author’s note -- I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

Because I got sick of my doctor yammering on about high triglycerides, I put myself on a low carb diet, 100 net carbs or less per day. It’s been four and half months and I’ve lost 20 pounds (9 kgs) eating essentially a higher protein and fat, lower calorie diet. This diet got me thinking about being lost in the wilderness, starvation and losing weight.

Everyone thinks that the biggest problem you’ll have if you are lost in the wilderness, is starvation. Statistically if one becomes lost in the wild parts of North America, it is likely that at most you’ll only miss a couple of meals, since across the American National Park system, 85% of lost individuals are found within 12 hours, and 97% are located within 24 hours.

If you are JUST “misplaced” it’s unlikely that you’re going to starve to death, however if you’re “lost”, that’s a different story entirely (for the difference between “misplaced” and “lost” read “You Are Never Lost, Only Misplaced…©” HERE, “You Are Only As Lost As You Think You Are ©, HERE and “Being Bewildered and Bending the Map ©”, HERE).

If you are truly “lost”, if it’s been more than three days, if the search has been called off, or no one knows you are missing, then starving to death is a possibility in the wilderness, depending on the season and your skill at foraging. For example Geraldine Largay became lost in the Maine forest, she survived for at least 26 days before dying of starvation and exposure (for more read “Should I Stay, or Should I Go, and the 72-Hour Rule©” HERE). And Christopher McCandless died in August 1992, in the Alaska wilderness after surviving for 113 days, mostly upon squirrels, birds, roots and possibly, poisonous, seeds.

It was estimated by the AMA in 1963 that you could survive for nine to ten weeks without having anything to eat. Without eating, your body first starts out burning stored carbohydrates and sugars, before switching to using stored fat deposits, these typically will last for approximately five to six weeks (for more living off your spare tire read “Burning Calories for Heat ©, HERE). After that, your body will begin to eat its own muscle mass. The amount of body weight that can be lost and survived is high, with some survivors having lost up to 60% of their original body weight.

For example, Ralph Flores and Helen Klaben, who survived a plane crash in the Yukon wilderness in February 1963. They had four cans of sardines, two cans of tuna fish, two cans of fruit cocktail, part of a bottle of vitamins, enough food for two people to eat two meals a day for ten days, before their food was gone. Over their 49-day ordeal, Ralph dropped from 178 pounds (80 kgs) to 120 pounds (54 kgs), about 33% of his pre-accident weight, and Helen lost 40 pounds (18 kgs), 29% of her normal weight, dropping to a weight of 100 pounds (45 kgs). Just like wild animals living in the wilderness, survivors who lack food cannibalize their fat stores to survive, particularly during cold weather when the body needs to work harder just to maintain 98.6^o F.

During the first 72 hours of being “misplaced”, the most probable cause of death isn’t malnutrition, but rather hypothermia and dying of exposure. Even after 72 hours, not keeping a temperature of 98.6^o F (37^o C) is the true wilderness killer.

One of the things that helped Ralph Flores and Helen Klaben to survive the below-freezing Yukon winter temperatures, and no food was their limited movement due to injuries, the fact that at the time of the crash they were a little bit overweight and that they both drank a lot of water.

The Victoria Advocate, as part of its 10 Commandments for Wilderness Survival, had some particularly good suggestions for surviving a limited food emergency, see below.

I hope that you are never in a situation where you must survive a low or no food emergency, but if you do, I hope this article helps. Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Surviving on Short Rations” for more on being lost in the wilderness, losing weight and surviving on short rations.

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

CP; “Face World Publicity Glare”, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, March 27, 1963, page 1, https://books.google.com/books?id=STRgAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Saskatoon+Star-Phoenix+March+27,+1963&article_id=7273,3746548&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0g9nrwKCTAxXMEmIAHWshNuwQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=Saskatoon%20Star-Phoenix%20March%2027%2C%201963&f=false, accessed March 12, 2026

Hamblin, Dara Jane and Jarvis, Wilbur; “Girl Behind a frozen Scream”, LIFE April 12, 1963, https://books.google.com/books?id=VkkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=%22Ralph+flores%22+yukon+journal&source=bl&ots=35ZUM4iatv&sig=ACfU3U1BmH4xLcRk1ULyfoyS1OmitfnbHQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjV_u2NhqrqAhVCYTUKHXvDDmMQ6AEwCHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ralph%20flores%22%20yukon%20journal&f=false, accessed March 14, 2026

Oates, Bob; “10 Commandments for Wilderness Survival”, The Victoria Advocate, July 20, 1976, page 9, https://books.google.com/books?id=DBlZAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA102&dq=10+commandments+of+wilderness+survival&article_id=6901,3794394&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjcw8Db6puTAxWpvokEHXK6O5MQ6AF6BAgLEAM#v=onepage&q=10%20commandments%20of%20wilderness%20survival&f=false, accessed March 12, 2026

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/how-backcountry-search-and-rescue-works/, accessed March 14, 2026

Rare Historical Photos; “Into the Wild: The Real Story of Chris McCandless Through Rare Photos”, https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/chris-mccandless-photos/, accessed March 14, 2026

Unknown; “Severe weather leads to minimal losses”, McCook Daily Gazette, February 9, 1996, page 11, https://books.google.com/books?id=fdcgAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=wilderness+survival+starvation+calories&article_id=4649,3491634&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOt6qF3J-TAxWTlYkEHbwQHmE4ChDoAXoECAgQAw#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed March 14, 2026

Unknown; “Hey, I'm Alive”, The Whitehorse Star, March 1963, https://www.whitehorsestar.com/History/hey-im-alivepart-2#:~:text=In%20Whitehorse%20hospital%20it%20was,California%2C%20and%20his%20six%20children, accessed March 14, 2026

UPI; St. Joseph Gazette, March 29, 1963, page 10,

https://books.google.com/books?id=JVxiAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA10&dq=%22interesting+facts+about+body%22&article_id=959,4733292&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQ_fTUqZKNAxWqvokEHUaOAIoQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=%22interesting%20facts%20about%20body%22&f=false, accessed March 12, 2026

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Would You Have Survived?©

Most of you will never have to worry about surviving a crashed helicopter in an active war zone. But I believe that many of the lessons that the author of “A Story of Survival” learned, can help you in any crash survival situation.

Immediately after a plane crash, prioritize evacuating the aircraft instantly without personal belongings to avoid fire, smoke, and debris. Move at least 500 feet (150 meters) upwind from the wreckage. Assess yourself and others for injuries, administer first aid, and signal for help if possible.

First, Get Away:

The first 90 seconds after the crash are critical since most deaths occur during post-crash fires that can spread quickly after impact. Immediately exit the aircraft wreckage and try to move any survivors away from the wreckage, upwind. You don’t want to survive the crash just to die in the burning wreckage, and while not every crash turns into an inferno, it happens often enough to be cautious. So get everyone far enough away so that they aren’t caught in the explosion or by the flames.

Second, Assess and Tend Injuries:

In an aircraft crash, injuries pile up quickly. Use the ‘cABCDE’ checklist, to assess any injuries. The lower case ‘c’ for critical bleeding comes first because a patient with catastrophic or uncontrolled bleeding can bleed out in minutes and often die faster than they would die from a blocked airway. The first four items on this check list are critical care items that can lead to death in minutes and are easy to spot. Items ‘D’ and ‘E’ are longer term injuries, like neurological disabilities and exposure or environmental injuries, which can be harder to spot.

As you check the victim, using both hands, and starting at the top of the victim’s head, working your way down to their toes, looking for spinal cord, traumatic brain injuries and other neurological issues. Keep the patient as motionless as possible while you are assessing them until you are certain no spinal cord injury exists. Always try to keep the victim’s head aligned with the midline of their body.

If you find bleeding at any point, stop and, whenever possible, expose the skin, preferably by removing clothes, not cutting them. If you must cut away the victim’s clothing, tape it back together afterwards to retain warmth. Whenever possible, leave footwear on the victim’s feet, since once it is removed it will be difficult to replace because of swelling. Additionally, if there are fractures of the foot or ankle, the shoe or boot will serve as a splint.

Triage your patients into three classes, ‘now’, for the life-threatening injuries; ‘later’ for broken bones and lacerations; and ‘last’, for everyone else. And always remember, as a care giver, you cannot treat and care for your patients if you are suffering from life-threatening injuries yourself. So, if you have ‘now’ injuries, like life threatening hemorrhage, treat yourself first. Then, treat the head injury, the possible heart attack and, last, the hysterical woman with a broken arm.

Third Inventory:

S.T.O.P and see what you have and what can be salvaged from the wreck. What is there in the environment immediately around you that you can use to help you survive.

Fourth Signal for Help:

Generally you should stay near the wreck, while you wait for rescue, because wrecks are easier to spot from the air than survivors. Whatever you can do to help rescuers find you, you need to do, even if that means moving to a nearby clearing so that you are more visible.

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource!

To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Martin, Thomas E.; “A Story of Survival”, United States Army Aviation Digest, May 1978, Vol. 24 Issue 5, page 22 to 23, https://archive.org/details/sim_united-states-army-aviation-digest_1978-05_24_5/page/22/mode/2up, accessed March 7, 2026

Rafowell; “Signal Mirror Flash Seen from Airplane”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt-_zjGKY2c, accessed March 7, 2026

Watson, Tom; “Effective Ways to Signal Help During Wilderness Emergencies”, March 4, 2025, https://www.actionhub.com/outdoors/effective-ways-to-signal-help-during-wilderness-emergencies/, accessed March 7, 2026

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Life Gets Lifey

I hate to do this to you two weeks in a row, but sometimes life gets lifey, and you article just isn’t ready. Don’t forget that there are plenty of other articles at https://thewoodsmansjournalonline.blogspot.com/, just pick one!

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Out Sick!

Unfortunately, I have been sick this week and haven’t been able to prepare the quality article that you deserve, so I’m postponing your article for a week.

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Severe Bleeding, STOP the Bleed – How Much Blood Can You Lose? Part Six©

Author’s note – If you do not like gore, be warned due to the subject matter, some of the photos in this article are graphic, in fact they are purposefully gory, because emergency scenes are gruesome and you must be prepared for it.

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

You’re a first responder at an accident scene; there is blood everywhere. How much blood can you lose and how much blood has the victim lost? Both are good questions and something that emergency first aid providers need to know to deliver critical care.

The human body contains approximately 5 of blood, about equal to a twelfth of the body’s weight. The National Institutes of Health, state that a 154-pound (70 kg) man has between 5 and 6 liters of blood in his body, while a smaller woman has between 4 and 5 liters in her body.

The American College of Surgeons’ divides bleeding into four classes:

· A class I hemorrhage, or a “minor blood loss” is any up to 15% of the body’s total blood volume, or 750 cubic centimeters/milliliters. A hemorrhage 10% is 500 cubic centimeters/milliliters, or half of a liter.

· A class II hemorrhage, considered to be a “moderate blood loss”, is any loss between 15 to 30% of the body’s total blood volume, or about 750 to 1500 cubic centimeters/milliliters. This amount of bleeding causes the victim to develop tachycardia, a heart rate over 100 beats per minute. Additionally, the victim’s body reacts to this level of blood loss by narrowing the blood vessels in the limbs, reducing the blood flow and increasing the blood pressure. The victim’s skin will become pale and cold to the touch.

· Class III hemorrhage, or “severe blood loss” involves losing between 30 to 40% of the body’s total blood volume, 1,500 to 2,000 cubic centimeters/milliliters.

The victim’s skin will be cold, clammy, or sweaty, and their skin will be pale or ashen, particularly on the extremities, as the body diverts the remaining blood away from the skin to the brain and heart. The victim’s blood pressure will drop rapidly; their heartbeats will increase to over 120 beats per minute. They will become confused if conscious and the victim will go into hypovolemic shock, due to the reduced blood flow interrupting the adequate delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the body’s organs. The early effects of shock are reversible, but they can quickly become irreversible, causing organ failure and death. At this level of bleeding, blood transfusion are a necessity.

· Class IV bleeding, or a “life-threatening blood loss”, is a loss of more than 40% of the body’s total blood volume, this is more than 2,000 cubic centimeters/milliliters. At this point, the victim will be ashen, grey, or cyanotic (bluish in color). Their heartrate will be greater than 140 beats per minute and their pulse will be very weak or absent, and they are likely to be lethargic, comatose, or unconscious.

· A blood loss of 50% or more of the body’s total blood volume, bleeding of 2,500 cubic centimeters/milliliters or more is typically fatal.

For first responders, judging blood loss by the amount of blood on the ground or on the victim can be misleading, but estimating the amount blood lost by the victim’s symptoms will allow you to guess what class of hemorrhage you are dealing with, and what care your victim requires.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Holland, Kimberly; “How Much Blood Can You Lose Without Severe Side Effects?”, February 26, 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/how-much-blood-can-you-lose, accessed February 14, 2026

Holland, Kimberly; “Bleeding to Death: What Does It Feel Like, How Long Does It Take, and Am I at Risk?”, July 28, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/bleeding-to-death?utm_source=ReadNext, accessed February 14, 2026

Marrone, M.; Bellantuono, L.; Stellacci, A.; Misceo, F.; Silvestre, M.; Zotti, F.; Dell'Erba, A.; Bellotti, R.; “Haemorrhage and Survival Times: Medical-Legal Evaluation of the Time of Death and Relative Evidence”, Diagnostics (Basel), Feb 15, 2023; Vol. 13, No. 4, page 732, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9955172/, accessed February 14, 2026

Sunday, February 8, 2026

To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

You’re the first responder at a mass casualty event, a serious accident, or any other situation where there is severe bleeding. You don’t have a commercially made tourniquet; do you know how to make an improvised tourniquet to stop the bleeding?

Improvising a limb tourniquet...

To improvise a tourniquet, you need a strap, cloth or flexible material, a rigid object, some padding material, and some way of securing the windlass and keeping it from unwinding.

· Any strong, flexible material that is at least two inches (5 cm) wide, such as a cravat made from a folded triangular bandage, any folded strip of clothing, or strap can be used as a tourniquet. A wide tourniquet protects the tissues beneath the tourniquet as it is tightened and generally causes less pain and damage to the underlying tissues. Do not use wire, shoestrings, or other narrow materials to improvise a tourniquet, since when the tourniquet is tightened, a narrow tourniquet may result in pain or serious damage to the nerves and blood vessels. A 41 inch long band is typically long enough to be wrapped around a person’s waist and could be used to make an improvised inguinal junction (groin) tourniquet.

· Find a rigid object to be used for a windlass. It can be anything that is sturdy and long enough to tighten the tourniquet band and then be secured. It should be between 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long. This rigid object could be a pair of EMT scissors, a weapons cleaning rod, or a stick or branch that is ¼ to 1 inch (6 to 25 mm) thick,

· Any soft, smooth material that can be used to pad the limb and protect the skin from being pinched and twisted when the tourniquet is tightened. The casualty’s shirt sleeve or trouser leg could be used as padding.

· You will need something that can be used to secure the windlass once the tourniquet has been tightened. If the material used for the tourniquet is long enough, the ends or tails of the band can be used to secure the windlass. You could use a carabiner, keyring or other ring, slipped onto the tourniquet band before it is tied and twisted tight. You could also tie another strip of cloth around the limb near the tourniquet band to secure the windless.

Disclaimer: All content and media on The Woodsman’s Journal Online is created and published for informational/educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice. Use of the information on this site is AT YOUR OWN RISK, intended solely for self-help, in times of emergency, when medical help is not available, and does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always consult with a medical professional for proper diagnosis and treatment of injuries.

, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

Sources

Brookside Associates, LLC; “2-23. Gather Materials for Making an Improvised Tourniquet”, [© Brookside Associates, LLC, 2023], https://brooksidepress.org/TCCC/?page_id=152, accessed February 7, 2026

Kerr, W.; Hubbard, B.; Anderson, B.; Montgomery, HR; Glassberg, E.; King, DR; Hardin, RD Jr.; Knight, RM; Cunningham, CW; “Improvised Inguinal Junctional Tourniquets: Recommendations From the Special Operations Combat Medical Skills Sustainment Course”, Journal of Special Operations Medicine, Summer 2019, Vol. 19, No. 2, pages 128 to 133, https://jsomonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20192128Kerr.pdf, accessed January 17, 2026

Salchner, Hannah, MD, Et al.; “Arterial Occlusion Effectiveness of Space Blanket‒Improvised Tourniquets for the Remote Setting”, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2023; Vol. 34, No. 3., pages 269 to 276, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1080603223000431?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=9bf1180be96941bb, accessed January 17, 2026

Stewart, Sarah K.; Duchesne, Juan C.; Mansoor, A Khan; “Improvised tourniquets: Obsolete or obligatory?”, Journal of Trauma Acute Care Surgical, Jan. 2015; Vol. 78, No. 1, page 178 to 183,

https://dasfoam.org/ftp/Improvised-Tourniquets.pdf, accessed January 17, 2026

TCCC; “Skill Card 9: Improvised Limb Tourniquet”

https://tccc.org.ua/en/guide/skill-card-improvised-limb-tourniquet-cpp?keyword=improvise%20limb%20tourniquet, accessed January 17, 2026

About Me

I live near Buffalo, New York and have more than 25 years of experience in the outdoors. I enjoy being in the wilderness, paddling a canoe or exploring the woods, when I am not researching survival, woodcraft, camping skills or life on the Old Northwest Frontier of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am a published author and I have been a guide for Birchbark Expeditions and an Outdoor Skills trainer for the Boy Scouts since 2014. I am also a martial artist, having studied several different combat arts over the past 30 years. Currently, I am the author of The Woodsman’s Journal Online and BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.

The Woodsman's Journal Online

Pages

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Lost, Starvation and Losing Weight©

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Would You Have Survived?©

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Life Gets Lifey

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Out Sick!

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Severe Bleeding, STOP the Bleed – How Much Blood Can You Lose? Part Six©

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Severe Bleeding, STOP the Bleed – Improvised Tourniquets Part Five©

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