Surviving on Short Rations©

 

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!

 

As we talked about last week, food is not necessary for short-term survival in the wilderness, but it will make the entire process much more comfortable.  What is really critical is shelter and keeping your body at 98.6^o F (37^o C).

 

You can survive longer than you think, provided you can maintain 98.6^o F (37^o C), have access to fresh drinking water, and DON’T give up!

 

An example is Amanda Eller, who became disoriented and lost on May 8^th, 2019, in Maui's Makawao Forest Reserve after a short hike, before being found on May 24^th by a volunteer helicopter crew, She was lost for a total of 17 days, wearing only yoga pants, a tank top and sneakers, she did not have a cell phone, surviving by eating berries and bugs and drinking stream water, despite losing her shoes and later fracturing the tibia (shinbone) in her lower leg in a 20-foot fall, before being found.  Later she said, “It did come down to life and death and I had to choose and I chose life.  I wasn't going to take the easy way out”.  During her ordeal Eller lost between 15 and 20 pounds, looking visibly thinner.

 

Another example is Tiffany Slaton, a 28 year old hiker, who became lost in the California’s eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, for 24 days from April 20^th, 2025, and wasn’t found until May 14^th.  She was had been at Huntington Lake on April 20^th and headed by electric bicycle toward Mono Hot Springs that day; it wasn’t until April 22^nd that she considered herself lost.  Early in her journey, she fell from a cliff injuring both of her legs.  She’d started out with a bicycle, a tent, two sleeping bags and food, but she ended up losing all her equipment, leaving her with only her cell phone, a lighter, a knife and some snacks.  She survived by subsisting on wild leeks, made tea each day with manzanita, pine needles and boiled snow (for more on pine needle tea, read “Scurvy, Native Americans and the Tree of Life©” HERE).  She survived the 13th snowstorm because she found a cabin, that the owner had left unlocked, so that someone who was lost could seek shelter and increase their chances of surviving the outdoor elements and harsh weather.  She found the cabin on May 13th and had only been there for eight hours before being found by the cabin’s owner.  About her ordeal Slaton said, “The worst thing you can do in an emergency situation is panic”.  By the time she was rescued, Slaton had endured 13 snowstorms and dropped 10 pounds (4.5 kgs) from the ordeal. 

 

Each pound of fat equals two days of fuel...

 

Both ladies were ‘lost’, having been ‘misplaced’ for longer than 72 hours, both lost weight, and both refused to give up.  Also, both women, had access to, and drank plenty of water, which is key to survival.

 

Amanda Eller started out with no food and survived for 17 days, losing between 15 to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kgs), about a pound a day on average.  Tiffany Slaton started out with food for five days, she was lost for 24 days and lost 10 pounds (4.5 kgs).  However Slaton had horticulture training, and she was able to forage for wild leeks (also known as ramps) which offer 54 calories per cup (90 grams), and a protein: fat: carbohydrate ratio of 7%:0%:93%. 

 

Interestingly, according to The Physiological Basis for Various Constituents in Survival Rations, 1957, both Ms. Eller and Ms. Slaton, were lost in “cold environments, below the zone of thermal neutrality (75^o -85^o F) [24^o to 29^o C]”, which according to the NIH is the range of ambient temperatures where humans can maintain their normal core body temperature solely through regulating dry heat loss (via blood flow) without needing to increase metabolic heat production or trigger evaporative cooling like sweating. It is the range where the body is most comfortable, with the least energy expenditure.

 

The Physiological Basis for Various Constituents in Survival Rations, 1957, recommended an all-purpose, any-environment survival ration of 2,000 calories a day, with a protein: fat: carbohydrate ratio of 15%:33%:52%, and with three quarts (2.8 liters) of water in hot environments, and never less than one quart (.95 liters) of potable water, to minimize the body’s deterioration.

 

So if ever you are ‘misplaced’ or ‘lost’, you can survive on short rations, you’re just going to lose some of the extra weight that you, like most of us have.  Research has shown that 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories of energy, and burning this amount of body fat provides the body with almost half a quart or 14.5 ounces (416.5 grams) of metabolic water. 

 

You will be able to live four to five days without “acute discomfort”, and even seven days, with only limited changes in your sleep patterns, mental sharpness, and attitude.  You might want to talk about food and recipes, a lot though!

 

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

 

Ding, Jaimie; “Missing hiker survived for weeks in California wilderness by foraging and drinking melted snow”, May 17, 2025, [© 2026 The Associated Press], https://apnews.com/article/california-missing-hiker-mountains-snow-fresno-9ede4b951c577c96d0fed3915b257cfd, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Flowers, Viola; “Hiker missing for 3 weeks details her survival journey in California mountains”, May 17, 2025, [© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC], https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hiker-missing-3-weeks-details-survival-journey-tiffany-slaton-rcna207298, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Fresno County Sheriff’s Office; “Rescued Hiker Shares Details of Her Incredible Journey in the Sierra Mountains”, https://www.fresnosheriff.org/media-relations/rescued-hiker-shares-details-of-her-incredible-journey-in-the-sierra-mountains.html, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Gibson, Robert C.; “Food not necessary for survival”, Lewiston Morning Tribune, July 12, 1977, https://books.google.com/books?id=nJxfAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA16&dq=%22food+not+necessary%22&article_id=5524,3212411&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqy_37mq-TAxUa1fACHb-fOv0Q6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=%22food%20not%20necessary%22&f=false, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Mikstas, Christine, RD, LD; “Health Benefits of Leeks”, WebMD, December 13, 2024, https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-leeks, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Reynolds, Eric; “Burning Calories for Heat ©”, December 10, 2023, https://thewoodsmansjournalonline.blogspot.com/2023/12/burning-calories-for-heat.html, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Unknown; “D.C. Trio Hungrily Emerges After Wilderness Survival Test”, The Free Lance-Star, September 6, 1958, https://books.google.com/books?id=m9NNAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=%22copter+unloaded%22&article_id=5573,4585464&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN3Z685a6TAxW8kIkEHdbmKocQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=%22copter%20unloaded%22&f=false, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Unknown; “Lost Maui hiker Amanda Eller reflects on her 17-day fight for survival: ‘I chose life’ ”, May 27, 2019, [© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc.], https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amanda-eller-maui-hiker-discusses-her-17-day-fight-for-survival/, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Wikimedia; “Ail des bois.jpg”, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ail_des_bois.jpg, accessed March 21, 2026

 

Zimmer, Jessica; “Trekker offers wilderness advice”, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, November 7, 2005, https://books.google.com/books?id=bu4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA29&dq=survival+after+wilderness&article_id=6898,3656629&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMtfDH5K6TAxUb1vACHbmjHLEQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=survival%20after%20wilderness&f=false, accessed March 21, 2026