Sunday, October 17, 2021

The Top Ten Wilderness Survival Skills...Number Two©

 

 


This is the second in a series of eleven articles on the top ten wilderness survival skills, things you should know before you go into the wilderness.  To read the previous article go HERE – Author’s Note

 

The Number Two, Top Ten Wilderness Survival Skill: Awareness

 


The number two, top ten wilderness survival skill on my list consists of being aware and practicing three awareness habits, two which require some skills and some prior knowledge.  The good habits that made up my number one, top ten wilderness survival skill, were all habits that you should practice BEFORE you go into the wilderness.  The habits that are part of number two, are habits you should follow while you are IN the wilderness!  


An example of “Mackerel Sky”, cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds, which are a sign of rain to come within the next six to twelve hours, photograph by the Author.

 

Weather and other hazards...

 

You should always be aware of the changing weather and the various hazards of the wilderness around you.  You should learn how to forecast the weather by the watching the cloud patterns and before you enter any wilderness you should learn about and know how to avoid any of the hazards that you might find there.

 

Weather can change quickly and go from warm and sunny, to cold and rainy, and that can be chilling!  Don’t forget that wind and wet can quickly chill you and KILL YOU!  During the spring or fall, and even during the summer, when wet clothes might not freeze, they can still overcool you and cause hypothermia, and during the winter, wet clothes are surely a killer. 

 

Also, every wilderness has its own hazards, which could include avalanches, poisonous snakes, riptides, etc.  Be aware of them and take steps to avoid them or areas and situations which would put you at risk of encountering them in an up close and all together unpleasant way!

 

Estimating the time till local sunset, graphic by the Author.  For more read “Estimating The Time Till Sunset©”, HERE.


When is sunset?

 

It is important to be able to estimate how many minutes of day light are remaining before the sun goes down behind the local or apparent horizon.  Knowing how to estimate how long until the Sun goes down is important, not only because the time of sunset varies throughout the year, but also because the amount of daylight you have remaining, depends mostly on the terrain that you are in, wooded, hilly or flat.  This is a well-known tip and is a must know for anyone who spends time in the woods, I have used it often over the years.  Oh, and here is a pro-tip, you should always begin to setup camp when there are still at least two hours of daylight remaining in the day.1

 

The science behind estimating the time remaining until the local sunset, is that only the Earth moves, or rotates, the Sun stays still and does not move across the sky, it only appears to move or set.  Since, the Earth rotates through 360° in every 24-hour period, this apparent movement equals 15° per hour.  Additionally, your hands and fingers are remarkably accurate measuring tools, and when you hold your hand at arm’s length, your four fingers together measure about 6o or about 60 minutes of time2 and therefore each finger equals about 15 minutes.

 

To calculate the amount of daylight remaining until sunset, hold your hands at arm’s length away from your body, and count how many fingers fit between the bottom of the Sun and the edge of the local horizon, be it a hill, ridge, or the top edge of a forest.  Dr. R. W. Oeslager wrote that you should allow 10 minutes of daylight remaining for each finger, other experts calculate approximately 15 minutes per finger3.  I believe that the reason for Dr. Oelslager estimated 10 minutes per finger, was that he was primarily writing for Boy Scouts, who as young adults would have had smaller fingers and arms than an adult would.  Since each person's finger-size varies, to make sure that this tip produces accurate results for you, experiment at home with a watch, to see if you have 10- or 15-minute fingers.  My fingers give a particularly good estimate of time, at 15 minutes per finger.

 

From Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, Figure 351


This technique will give you a good estimate of the time remaining until local sunset, particularly if you are near the equator.  However, nearer the poles, you might have more time before sun goes down, below the local horizon, than you would estimate if you were closer to the equator. 

 

The same 30 feet, or 9 meters of trail.  Notice how different the trail looks, looking forward (the picture on the left was taken from “a” while looking towards “b”), compared to when you are looking backwards (the picture on the right was taken at “b” while looking towards “a”).  Graphics and photographs by the Author.


Don’t forget to look behind you...

 

Be aware and pay attention to distinctive trees, rocks, and other terrain features that are along your path as you travel through the wilderness.  You should always be aware of and pay close attention to the landmarks you pass by, on your way to “there”, wherever there is, since these landmarks will be important clues to look for, on your way back.  Memorize where distinctive landmarks are, relative to where your starting point or camp is, so that you can find your way back again.

 

Another thing that you should always do is to look back along the trail as you travel, so that you will know what your return path will look like.  As you can see in the pictures above, it always looks different.

 

For more on finding your way read, “There and Back Again...Finding Your Way©”, HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Top Ten Wilderness Survival Skills...Number Three©”, where we will talk about having a good survival attitude.

 

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!

 

 

Notes

 

1 You should always set up or start back to camp, or if you are misplaced, start building a shelter and a fire, before what woodsman call the “big dark”, when there are eight fingers or about two hours of daylight remaining.  This is like Emerson Hough’s First Strict Camp Rule for hunters (from Out Of Doors, 1915) who were out during the late fall or winter, which states, “…start home at half past two or three in the afternoon”.  By returning to or building you camp, while you still have two hours of daylight remaining, you will reduce your chance of having an accidental overnight adventure or injuring yourself as you make an overnight trek through the wilderness.

 

2 From “Measuring The Sky”, April 19, 2009, Brian Ventrudo.

 

3 From “Calculating Sunset Time With Your Fingers” and “Let Your Fingers Tell Time”, by Susan Newquist.

 

 

Sources

 

Farmers' Almanac Staff, “Mackerel Sky – Weather Lore That’s A Bit Fishy”, Updated, September 20, 2021, [Almanac Publishing Co., © 2021], https://www.farmersalmanac.com/what-is-a-mackerel-sky-26275, accessed October 12, 2021

 

“Calculating Sunset Time With Your Fingers”, http://awesci.com/calculating-sunset-time-with-your-fingers/, accessed 11/27/18

 

Galindo, Sagay; “Breakdown: Why a Mackerel Sky can mean changing weather”, January 12, 2021, [© 2002-2021 Gray Television, Inc.], https://www.actionnews5.com/2021/01/12/breakdown-why-mackerel-sky-can-mean-changing-weather/, accessed October 12, 2021

 

Hough, Emerson; Out Of Doors, (D. Appleton and Company, New York, New York [1915]) p. 269 - 282, reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadnZNQ1xrsbkS3T4VJlC_uZQ8t4yj2UNH5POGbNio-1SDyFM8TAqUfl7ciDY5CuNZxvnnE0Pcxf1j6Thu_zOs5kz8rgR9MOtsbTxVgRVa3bwaKo0-D5YX2T4JaBO_z6G8vgwFNgLiJ9XCfBVnn9K4qR7ZFa0faNe3zmvfWDfmEo049sqXQlw697XIHDWNblRJj9niiabZoBB7aQHl82tf4y03cpU2hMdLVADF-7P2pvJKsZbLDnJN8ncLZ9IftMudapmn8E, accessed 11/8/18

 

Newquist, Susan; “Let Your Fingers Tell Time”, July 31, 2000, https://www.backpacker.com/skills/let-your-fingers-tell-time, accessed 11/27/18

 

Oelslager, Dr. Robert W.; Bushcraft, Scouting & Woodlore: Notes, Vol. I, [Privately Published]

 

Old Farmer’s Almanac; “What Does The Saying "Mare’s Tails And Mackeral...”, [©2021 Yankee Publishing Inc.], https://www.almanac.com/fact/what-does-the-saying-mares-tails-and, accessed October 12, 2021

 

Ventrudo, Brian; “Measuring The Sky”, April 19, 2009, https://oneminuteastronomer.com/860/measuring-sky/, accessed 11/27/18

 

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