Last week we talked about some general winter survival tips, so this
week I thought a brief introduction to the “Four Horseman of Wilderness Death” was in order. The four horsemen, from right to left, are Windchill, holding a bow in his hand, Hypothermia, swinging
a sword, Dehydration, holding scales, and Panic, shown as a decaying body1.
Hypothermia,
windchill and dehydration...
The first three horsemen, Hypothermia, Windchill and Dehydration work
as a team, and you defy them at your peril.
They’ll gang up on you and kill you fast! Windchill cools you and makes it easier for
his brother Hypothermia to cut you down.
And Windchill, with his wind blowing on you, helps his buddy Dehydration,
to dry you out. Remember when you are
dehydrated, it’s harder for your body to regulate its temperature, and that’s
when Hypothermia moves in for the kill!
Windchill
The first horseman, Windchill is a thief, armed with the wind, his bow.
The first thing to do in any survival situation is to take shelter from Windchill’s
wind, and your first line of defense is your clothes. Dress for the worst weather you will face. Layer your clothing, so you can take off and
on insulating layers as you warm up or cool down. If it’s windy or wet, wear a
windproof/waterproof outer layer. And always
bring a knit hat and wear it if you start to get cold!
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Also, always carry a heavy trash bag, or two, when you travel in the
wilderness. If you get caught out in the
wet or the wind you can make a quick shelter by cutting or tearing a hole about
four inches (10 cm) from one of the bottom corners of the bag and pull it over
you, sticking your face out of the hole.
If you are more than petite, sit inside the second bag and pull the top
one down over it. A shelter like this
will protect you from Windchill, even if you are wet, by stopping him from
stealing your body heat with evaporation and convection.
Hypothermia
Normal human body temperature is 98.6o F (37o C)
and if your temperature falls below 98.6o (37o C) you
will begin to shiver and as your core temperature continues to drop your
shivering will become more intense and your ability to perform complex tasks will
become impaired. At 92o F (33o
C) you will no longer be able to save yourself, at 87o F (30o
C) and you will become unconscious, and at 75oF (24o C)
it is too late for anything except candles and flowers.
Every year many people die of hypothermia, which used to be known as exposure
or freezing to death. But it isn’t just
a winter or a northern problem, in fact, according to the CDC the top ten
states are Alaska, Illinois, Alabama, Arizona, Virginia, North and South
Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee2. Factors that increase your risk for
hypothermia are severe winter cold, such as in Alaska and Illinois, shifting
weather systems with rapid changes in temperature, typical of Virginia and the
Carolinas, and high elevation, with plummeting overnight temperatures, found in
New Mexico and Arizona.
To
beat Hypothermia:
1) Dress
for the worst weather conditions you MIGHT encounter.
2) Know when it is time to stop and seek shelter.
3) Be able to build a fire and keep it going.
Dehydration
Dehydration,
the third horseman, will creep up on you slowly and by the time you notice you are
thirsty you’re already 1% dehydrated. For
a 150 pound (68 kg) person, this means you have already lost about 1-½ pounds
(.7 kg), or almost a quart (almost a liter) of water!
As
survival expert Peter Kummerfeldt says, “When you're dehydrated, your
ability to function efficiently degrades rapidly. Then you make mistakes”, and in survival
situations, mistakes kill.
So,
always bring water with you when you venture into the wilderness and know how
to find and disinfect more when you need it.
Try to limit your sweat, don’t ration your water. Too many victims of dehydration have been
found with water in their canteens, so if you are thirsty, drink!
Panic
Panic,
the last big bad, is the deadliest of the horseman, because he is one who lives
in your head! Panic whispers about
loneliness, pain, cold, thirst, hunger, fatigue, boredom, and fear in your head
until you become irrational, lose control, and attempt to escape by running! Panicking only makes things worse and running
will lead either to your death or to you finding yourself exhausted and in a much
situation than before.
Staying
calm and conquering Panic is 90% of survival.
Conquering Panic is simple, but it isn’t easy! To keep Panic away remember these four
things:
1) Fear is normal, just don’t give into it.
2) Recognize dangers and dangerous situations and
then plan to avoid them.
3) Subdue your fears by keeping mentally and
physically busy.
4) Think positively, pray, be realistic and don’t
let your imagination run away with you.
I
hope that you never meet the Four Horseman of Wilderness Death in person, but
if you do, remember how to defeat them.
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 In
Dürer's wood print, four horsemen are from right to left; the Epidemic holding
a bow in his hand, War holding a sword in his hand, Famine holding scales in
his hand, and Death, which is depicted as a decaying body.
2 Keith
McCafferty, Field & Stream, January 2000 and Don Colburn, “Hypothermia's
Top Ten May Include Your State”, Washington Post, January 1, 1996
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