Could You Survive...You Need Shelter Now!

 

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!

 

You’re miles from your base camp on an open hillside.  The wind is kicking up and there are dark clouds gusting in from the west of you, heading your way.  It’s already started to rain.

 

You need shelter, NOW!  What are you going to do?

A)            Look for an area close to water and fuel.

B)     Seek out a site that is large enough and level enough for you to lie down comfortably, with available materials nearby for constructing a shelter.

C)     Look for a cave on the mountainside.

D)            Make do with the available terrain and seek protection immediately.

 

The storm is blowing in fast and bringing rain with it and the ‘Rule of Three’ should be your guide as to which of the four options to choose.  Since you can survive for only three hours without shelter from the elements and fire, and of these two, fire takes a back seat to shelter; if the rain is coming down hard, your fire is dead anyways. 

 

It is all about staying 98.6^oF (37^o C), and to do this you need to keep your first layer of protection, your clothes dry, or you risk hypothermia.  

Rain and wind can be a killer, water conducts heat 25 times faster than air, combine that with wind and wind-chill and you have a problem (for more on the effect of wind and wet, read “Being Wet Kills, Fast!©”, HERE and “Hypothermia, It Can Happen Any Time, Anywhere ©” HERE). 

 

Hypothermia means “low heat” and it can happen anytime your core body heat is lost faster than you can replace it.  It strikes anytime, anywhere, indoors, or out, even in relatively warm 50^oF (10^oC) temperatures!  Hypothermia is common in the winter, however, according to Princeton University, it occurs most often during the spring and fall.

 

Since you are on a hillside, looking for water means descending towards a valley and lower elevations, that can take time, and if the storm is coming in fast you might not have time. 

 

Do you remember seeing a cave or rock shelter, or easily gathered fuel wood nearby?  If the answer is ‘no’ to both questions, then you could get caught by the storm while you search.  The hillside you are on is open, with no shelter for the wind or rain, stopping here means getting soaked.  Getting drenched by the storm means getting wet and chilled, and that increases your chances of hypothermia by 25 times.

 

The best answer is ‘B’, unless you know there is a cave or a rock shelter nearby, if so, then ‘C’ becomes the best answer.  Both answers, A’ and ‘D’, are not good choices.

 

If you answered ‘B’, your survival score is 75%.  There are no higher scores in wilderness survival because survival is never an assured thing.  If you chose ‘A’ or ‘C’  then your survival score is 50%, since you could get soaked descending to find water, searching for fuel, or looking for a rock shelter, and getting wet risks hypothermia and death.  Choosing ‘D’ means getting soaked and being exposed to the full force of the wind, if you chose this answer, your survival score is 25%.  But just like there is no guaranteed success, there is no assured failure either.  Much of life, or death for that matter, comes down to luck, either good or bad.  That is why in scenario ‘D’, searchers will either find your dead, scavenged corpse or, if you’re lucky, then they’ll find you suffering from hypothermia in time to save you.

 

I hope that if you are ever in a situation like this, that this will help you make the right choice.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Emergency Shelter ©”, where we will talk about how to camp in the winter wilderness and stay warm and safe.

 

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

 

Airforce Survival School, Fairchild AFB; “Could You Survive”, Spokane Daily Chronicle, September  13, 1977, page 22, https://books.google.com/books?id=__lLAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA12&dq=%22could+you+survive%22&article_id=3746,2800258&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqisikv6eTAxU1mokEHfm0NbUQ6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=%22could%20you%20survive%22&f=false, accessed march 28, 2026

 

Coast Guard, Department of Transportation, A Pocket Guide to Cold Water Survival, CG 473, September 1975, https://archive.org/details/pocketguidetocol00inte/page/6/mode/2up, accessed March 28, 2026

 

Environmental Health and Safety, “Cold Stress Facts”, [© 2022 The Trustees of Princeton University], https://ehs.princeton.edu/workplace-construction/occupational-health/heat-cold-stress/cold-stress-facts, accessed March 28, 2026

 

Warren, Elizabeth G., SSGT.; “Hypothermia Missing in the Atlantic”, Flying Safety, November 1983, pages 12-15, https://www.safety.af.mil/Portals/71/documents/Magazines/FSM/1980s/198311%20-%20FlyingSafetyMagazine.pdf, accessed March 28, 2026