Survival situations can happen when you least expect it, or in places where such a thing doesn’t make sense. Even your regular run or evening walk can turn dangerous, and a simple survival kit can make all the difference.

These items are lightweight, easily-carried and could save your life if you're injured while running. From left: handwarmers, cell phone, flashlight, knife, Boy Scout flint stick, whistle, and firestarter.

by Leon Pantenburg

Maybe you’ve gotten into the habit  of taking a run in the same urban area every evening. Then, one evening, the endorphins kick in, and you decide to double the usual mileage. As darkness approaches, you realize you have to get back to the car before it gets really dark. You slip, twist your ankle and can’t move.

Or you might decide to go for a walk and just take off without thinking to tell someone where you went. You’re strolling along, relaxing and enjoying the iPod, and letting the stress from the office dissipate. Then, as it starts to get dark, you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn and are lost. And pretty soon, it will be pitch dark, and you can’t see the path.

Maybe you have your routine down, and are so set in the pattern that you don’t consider the potential danger. After all, you don’t  go that far from your home, and this isn’t some wilderness area…

A similar situation happened to Bend, Oregon resident Karen Johnson. (Click on highlighted word to read Johnson’s complete story.)  She nearly died of hypothermia after slipping on the ice and  breaking her leg. The area she was running in was a popular, well-used trail. But when Johnson was injured, there was no one around. Only prior preparations, her survival equipment, and being very, very lucky saved her.

Here’s a few tips on what survival equipment to take, and the links to find them,  on a run or an evening walk. These items are lightweight, take up little space and can easily be fitted into a fanny pack or jacket pocket.

• Leave a note or verbal message about where you’re going and when you’ll be back: Even if you’re only expecting to be gone for a little while, nobody will know where to look for you. They might think you went to a movie, the library or some place where you had to shut off your cell phone.
• STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. This survival mindset exercise applies to every survival situation. Know how to use it.
• Cell phone: You can call for help if you need to. Even if you can’t get coverage, leave your phone on. The pings to your phone from the nearest cell tower can be traced.
• Small flashlight: If you end up out after dark, the flashlight can help you get safety out of the dark places. Not to mention, the psychological boost it can provide if you have to stay in one place and wait for help.
• Whistle:A whistle carries further than your voice, and won’t give out. You
  

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  can signal for help more effectively, and sometimes a whistle works to scare off potential bad guys.

• Flint stick or lighter and firestarter: If you’re injured, you may be able to build a fire for warmth, signaling and as a morale boost. It will help you stay in one place so you can be rescued. Strike It, Matchless Firestarter
• Small knife: I carry a Swiss Army knife Classic everywhere. The blade can be used to strike sparks of a flint stick, whittle kindling,  or cut string. The tweezers, scissors, toothpick and file also have multiple uses. Victorinox Swiss Army Classic Pocket Knife
• Lanyard: Combine everything together on a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck or tie it to your clothing. If the gear is tied to you, it won’t be lost.
• Handwarmers: Even if the weather is warm, a runner will cool rapidly if he can’t move. The handwarmers can be placed on the chest or torso to keep the vital areas warm. HeatMax Hot Hands 2 Handwarmer (40 pairs)
• Water: Hydration is always a good idea. If the water gets too heavy, you can always drink it, or pour it out. Platypus Sport Bottle

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Click here to visit Peter Kummerfeldt's website!

In a survival situation, be it urban or wilderness, your gear alone will not save you. YOU must save yourself. There are three major areas a survivor must be prepared in, before you start being concerned about accumulating equipment!

In this article, survival Expert Peter Kummerfeldt takes you through a survival sequence.

by Peter Kummerfeldt

One of the most important lessons I learned during my survival career is: “Those who are prepared to survive an emergency usually will, and those who are not prepared probably won’t!”

We don’t want to admit we might be the one faced with a life or death situation or some other equally disagreeable circumstance.

Denial leads the list of the coping methods that people use — we deny anything bad is ever going to happen.  It’s often easier to deny than to prepare for a difficult situation and, as a result, we find ourselves totally unprepared when disaster strikes.

It’s easy to say “I’ll assemble a survival kit tomorrow.” It’s easy to rationalize – “I don’t have the money to buy a better rain jacket,” or “I’ll never be in a survival situation. What do I need a survival kit for?”  It’s easy to think that it will always be someone else that ends up in a survival situation.

Consequently the vast majority of people find themselves facing a cold night out without adequate clothing, without basic survival equipment and without having practiced building a fire, erecting a shelter or signaling for help.

To prepare, potential survivors need to consider three areas: Physical, mental and spiritual preparation.
Physical preparation includes careful selection of  your clothing, equipping yourself for an unplanned night out and getting in physical shape.

“Dress to survive – not just to arrive!

What you wear may be adequate for the work commute, but will it keep you warm if you have to spend the night in the ditch when the car skids off the road?  How much protection will your T-shirt and shorts provide if you are caught out in a late summer thunderstorm?
Becoming lost, is probably the most common way that people end up in a survival situation. “Surviving” places a premium on the clothing worn.

Both of these 100% cotton garments would keep you warm until they got wet. Then, this clothing can become dangerous to wear! (Pantenburg photo)

Cotton Kills! During the colder, wetter times of the year, dressing properly begins by getting rid of your cotton underwear and switching to synthetics (polypropylene, polyester, or Capilene.) Cotton absorbs the moisture your body produces and holds it against your skin causing heat to be constantly conducted away. You will never be warm!

The synthetics are hydrophobic (water hating) and facilitate the movement of water vapor away from your body.  Other underwear fabrics include wool and silk.  Some very good “non-itchy” wool thermal underwear is now available.  Silk, because it is a natural fiber, tends to absorb and hold water.  It is also not as durable as the synthetic fabrics.

The next layer, the mid layer, serves to facilitate the movement of water vapor out to the environment and to trap “dead air” around you to keep you warm. Once again, synthetics work best – the piles and fleeces, with wool coming in a close second.

Under very cold conditions, an additional insulation layer may be needed. The more “dead air” you trap the warmer you will be. Many insulating materials are available to choose from, both synthetic and natural. I choose synthetics primarily because, unlike down, the synthetic insulators do not collapse when wet.

The outer layer may be the most important.  It must keep the inner layers dry and keep the wind out.  If either moisture or wind penetrates the insulation layers, heat will be lost quickly.  Studies have shown that in windy situations, a good outer shell can increase warmth by as much as 50 degrees. Put another way, a good windproof outer layer decreases the amount of insulation needed to keep you warm.

The objective is to use the fewest layers of clothing that will keep you warm when you are inactive. Activity generates substantial amounts of body heat and reduces the need for multiple layers of clothing.  On the other hand, inactivity drives the need to insulate yourself from the environment and to conserve whatever heat your body is producing – very important in a survival situation!

Special attention should be paid to protecting your head and your hands. If your head is not protected as much as 75 percent of your total body heat production can be lost!  Hands suffer quickly when exposed to cool-to-cold conditions. Fine motor skills, the ability to touch finger to thumb, are lost quickly.

This photo demonstrates how a trash bag can be used as a quick, effective emergency shelter. (Peter Kummerfeldt photo)

Could you zip up your jacket if your fingers are frozen?  Could you tie your bootlaces? Gloves and mittens are an important part of your outdoor clothing.

Equipping yourself to spend a night out is the next step.

There are those who advocate construction of survival shelters built from natural materials.  I disagree.

For the average, inexperienced person, building a windproof, waterproof shelter from sticks, boughs, bark and other natural materials may be impossible!

Shelters built from natural materials take hours to build, require cutting tools and adequate supplies of suitable materials, and, most importantly, call for an “able” survivor — one who is uninjured!

Seldom can all of these criteria be met and, for lack of shelter, the survivor ends up spending a very uncomfortable night or two out.  Additionally, inexperienced people will often wait until the sun is about to set or the storm is about to break before they recognize the need for an emergency shelter!

A vital part of your survival equipment is a waterproof, windproof, heavy-duty, plastic bag that you can crawl into!  Alternatively, carry a sturdy tarp or piece of plastic that can be quickly erected to create a lean-to or pup tent style of shelter.

Two plastic match containers have been taped together. One holds cotton balls and petroleum jelly, and the other carries REI Stormproof matches. A Boy Scout Hot Spark is taped to the kit.

The ability to ignite a fire may also be critical to your survival.   Once again, relying on improvised means i.e., rubbing sticks together, is an invitation to disaster!

Because of injury or loss of finger dexterity the usual methods of starting a fire may become very difficult.  How do you strike a match if you only have the use of one hand?  Could you still “flick your BIC” if your fingers are cold and stiff?  It can be done but it may not be easy.

Equip yourself with good matches and a metal match.  Fill a screw-top match case with cotton balls that have been saturated in petroleum jelly – it makes great tinder, can be ignited with either the match or a spark from the metal match and burns for a long time.

The duration of your survival situation hinges on two questions.  Did you file a flight plan?  Do you have any signaling equipment with you with which to attract attention? Always tell someone reliable where you’re going and when you’re going to be back.  Include in your survival kit a good plastic whistle and a signal mirror (glass or a good plastic one)

Improving your physical fitness should be part of the physical preparations you make.  People in good physical shape are less likely to injure themselves. Physically fit survivors  injured in an accident will fare better than those who are not in good shape.

Preparing yourself mentally is as important, if not more so, than preparing yourself physically.

If you can’t visualize situations you might find yourself in, how  will you prepare for them?

What are you afraid of? Confront that fear, and familiarity will make it go away!

What scares you about having to spend an unplanned night out?  Is it the fear of predatory animals? Starving to death? Dying from hypothermia? Isolation?

We all have fears. Unfortunately many are based on stories we were told,  TV programs, or on books we read.  Good entertainment, perhaps, but often poor sources of reliable information  to base our decisions and actions.

Make a list of your fears and apprehensions then contact the “experts” and find out the truth. In most instances, the truth is very different from the myth and, as a good friend of mine says: “When you remove the mystery, you’ll remove the fear!”

Spiritual preparation is the final step.  After interviewing many survivors and prisoners-of-war and after reading the accounts of many other survivors,  it is clear: “There are no non-believers in survival situations!”

Survivors may have started the experience without any strong beliefs one way or the other, but inevitably, at some point these survivors turned to a greater power for additional help.

As Doug Ritter of Equipped to Survive (www.equipped.com) says:

“If you are adequately clothed, if you have equipped yourself and if you have practiced your survival skills, a night or two out should not a be a life threatening experience.  On the other hand if you are not clothed adequately, do not have any emergency gear and have never practiced your survival skills whether you survive or not will depend on your will to survive, your ability to improvise, and LUCK.”

I don’t know about you – I want to be clothed, equipped and practiced!

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness and emergency survival for more than 40 years.

Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines.

For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created OutdoorSafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions.

Check out Peter’s blog at: OutdoorSafe.blogspot.com

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Click here to visit Peter Kummerfelt's website!

I met survival expert Peter Kummerfeldt during one of his “Myths of Survival” presentations at the Central Oregon Sportsmans Show several years ago. With no idea of who this guy was, or his abilities, I sat in on the seminar out of curiosity.

At the end of the hour-long session, I followed Peter back to his booth and plied him with questions. That night, I went home and threw away several items that had been part of my backcountry survival gear for years. Peter is the epitome of common sense survival, and he speaks from decades of experience. Here is one of his best presentations! – Leon

by Peter Kummerfeldt

Much of the information available to people who want to learn more about survival and surviving is based on material that is outdated and in some cases, totally incorrect. Unfortunately, early outdoor writers created a problem for those  interested in learning how to survive a wilderness emergency today.  Techniques and procedures that were once state-of-the-art are no longer valid.  Some of what was once thought of as an appropriate method is now not only inappropriate, but in some cases, dangerous.

The times have changed.  The needs of a recreationist who gets lost today are different from the needs of the mountainmen who trapped beaver in the American west and lived off the land while doing so.  The individual who gets in trouble today is unlikely to have devoted sufficient time to practicing survival skills; is unlikely to have clothed and equipped him or herself adequately; and, consequently, is unlikely to be able to spend a night out without great discomfort.  Skills that were once second nature can no longer be counted on when difficulties arise.  Even a once commonplace skill, such as striking a match to light a fire, is no longer commonplace.

If you were to open some of the currently available “how-to-survive” books you would find techniques and procedures that date back to those who survived by manufacturing what they needed from the resources on hand.

The question is “How appropriate are these techniques and procedures today?”In many cases they are not!   However, despite the passing of time, the fact that the advice given is still in printed form, implies that the information must still be valid.

In many cases it is not!

New and better procedures have developed.  New equipment is available.The result of all of this misinformation is that inexperienced people who find themselves in trouble today still believe that they can rub sticks together and start a fire.  They believe that a waterproof, wind proof shelter can be built from natural materials.  They believe that they can live off the land until they are rescued.  It must be so – it’s in the book!

Many current, popular outdoor press writers perpetuate the problem.  Much of the rubbish that is published would never be published if the writer (or the editor) first went out and tested the procedures they write about.  Instead they go to their bookshelf, remove a survival or woods lore book written fifty years ago, extract from it some procedure used by Jim Bridger to build a fire and present it once again as if the procedure is still valid today.  Sometimes it is, but most often it isn’t.

More confusion results from the contemporary experiences of those who survived traumatic incidents.  They quickly become the newest “survival expert!”  They survived, therefore, what they did to survive must be valid!  Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.  Sometimes, people survive despite what they did.  They got lucky!

Many myths, misconceptions and misunderstandings still exist today. As a result, the inexperienced  person who, when confronted with a night out in the bush, experiences unnecessary discomfort, hardship, injury and sometimes death because of their reliance on antiquated information.

The following is a short discussion of some of the more blatant myths and misconceptions commonly found in print today.

Firecraft: Building and maintaining a fire is fundamental to surviving. Were you to believe the advice given in most survival literature, producing heat and light is easy.  Simply rub sticks together and – Presto! – you have fire.  Nothing can be further from the truth.

Without considerable practice and prior preparation producing fire by rubbing sticks together is impossible!  Even with practice and preparation starting a fire by rubbing sticks together can be very difficult! When rubbing sticks together was the primary way to produce a fire, the necessary pieces were carried by the user, much as we today would carry a BIC lighter or a match.

The use of a magnifying lens is another fire starting method that is more myth than reality.  The writers of the articles would have you believe that tinder can be ignited using the lens from your eye glasses.  Or that you can remove the glass lenses from your camera or binocular and then using the lens, focus a beam of sunlight onto the tinder until it ignites.

The writers talk of “shaving and shaping a piece of ice into a lens” and then using it to ignite the tinder!  This begs the question: “When do you need a fire?”  Not on a bright sunny day in the middle of summer, but on a cold wintry day when the sun is low on the southern horizon or as the sun is about to set or the storm about to break and your spouse or child is dying from hypothermia!

Carrying a magnifying glass to start a fire makes no sense when there are other much more reliable devices that can be depended on.

Cigarette lighters have been often touted as a piece of equipment that should be carried in your survival kit.  Cigarette lighters are difficult to light when your hands have lost their dexterity, they do not perform well under cold conditions or at higher altitudes and if dropped into a fire accidentally, they explode sending shrapnel in every direction!

Matches come in many forms and to the unknowing they may all look alike.  Another trap!  What do the words “safety,” “strike anywhere,” “stormproof,” and “waterproof” really mean?

Two plastic match containers have been taped together. One holds cotton balls and petroleum jelly, and the other carries REI Stormproof matches. A Boy Scout Hot Spark is taped to the kit.

In each case there are significant survival ramifications!

“Safety” means the match can only be ignited using the striker on the side of the box from which the match was removed – they may not work on the striker of another  box!

The words “strike anywhere” would lead us to believe that the match could be literally “struck anywhere!  Nothing could be further from the truth.  While these matches do not need the matchbox striker to be ignited, finding a suitable substitute is not always possible

“Stormproof” matches are less susceptible to wind and water than other matches but are often hard to light and quickly wear out the matchbox striking surface.

“Waterproof” matches are coated with a lacquer-like material which must be worn through before the striking surface of the matchbox comes in contact with flammable material on the match head.  Every time a match head is scraped across the striking surface, the lacquer is deposited on that striking surface and will eventually (before you run out of matches) so contaminate the surface that other matches will not light.

Sheltering: Confusion exists about the kinds of shelters built to protect those that ventured in the outdoors to hunt, fish, backpack etc.  and those needed by a survivor.

This trash can liner can provide a quick emergency shelter. (Peter Kummerfeldt photo)

Most survivors first become aware of the need for shelter as it begins to rain or as the sun  sets over the western horizon.  Most survivors are dehydrated and possibly hypothermic as they begin their survival experience! Some are injured.

Could they build a lean-to or debris hut?  I doubt it!

Building a shelter from natural materials is possible if time allows, if there are plenty of natural materials available, if the survivor has practiced building an emergency shelter previously; if cutting tools (knife or saw) are available and if the survivor is uninjured!

But lacking time, skill, natural resources, tools and the use of both hands building a windproof, waterproof shelter from natural materials becomes impossible.

It is wiser to carry waterproof material with you. Carry large plastic bags or tarps that you can crawl into or crawl under to protect yourself rather than trying to build one of the many survival shelters shown in the books.

Bags or blankets made from Mylar plastic are the most commonly carried survival shelter material and the most useless in an emergency! (Editor’s note: I had carried two Mylar blankets for years – they were among the equipment I trashed!)

This material is difficult to remove from the container!  Mylar plastic bags and blankets are difficult to unfold; (especially if you were injured and only have the use of one hand) The blankets are generally too small to adequately protect an adult; two hands are required to hold the blanket around you; Mylar plastic is very noisy when the material is pulled over your head (you can’t hear the rescuers) and  tears very easily when  nicked or  punctured.

Signaling: In addition to staying alive, a survivor’s greatest need is to be rescued as quickly as possible and to do that they must be able to indicate to others that they are in trouble and need help.

Once again the books, manuals and magazine articles are full of nonsense.  Three fires placed in a triangle, wetting a slab of wood to form a reflective surface and other labor intensive, less-than-effective procedures are commonly featured in survival literature.  With the equipment available today, inexpensive, effective devices are available with which to signal.

Survival medicine: Defined as the medicine that survivors would administer to themselves or to others that were with them, survival medicine is another area where many myths, misconceptions and misunderstanding exist.

Unlike the medical community, who are required to attend Continual Medical Education training annually,  those who recreate or work in the outdoors have no such requirement.  Their knowledge of medicine and medical practice is based on first aid courses they may have taken and once again on what they read in the popular outdoor press – which may or may not be current.

For example,  there are many who still believe that “cut and suck” is the standard treatment for snakebite! (Editor’s note: My snakebite kit also was trashed!) Some still think that the treatment for a frostbite injury is to rub the frozen tissue with snow!  Still others are reluctant to render aid to a lightning strike victim for fear that they will be electrocuted when they touch the victim!

Much confusion exists over how long water should be boiled before it can be consumed safely!  The treatment of hypothermia is another area where the knowledge of the non-medical community lags far behind the current standards of practice as advocated by the Wilderness Medical Society.  Remember – you may be the patient and your own doc!

To survive an emergency is difficult but not impossible if the survivor is prepared.  That preparation must be based on good information, selecting your clothing  and equipment carefully and practicing your survival skills.

Select your “experts” carefully. Read widely and compare the recommendations that are given.  What worked for one may or may not work for you.

Select procedures and techniques that work under a wide variety of conditions – procedures and techniques that work for you.  Just because you are told something works, don’t accept it until you have tested it in the field.

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness survival for more than 40 years, all over the world, in different environments.

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines.

For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created Outdoorsafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions .

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

One of the things you don’t want to have to improvise is a good sleeping bag. If you can’t sleep at night because you’re cold, the next day is guaranteed to be exhausting. Too light a bag can put you in danger of hypothermia. Too heavy a bag may be  too hot for comfort and impractical for easy transport. Here’s how to pick a good bag to meet your specific needs.

This 1977 photo from Lassen National Forest in northern California shows my gear was pretty sketchy. I did invest in a quality knife, sleeping bag and boots.

by Leon Pantenburg

I graduated, less than penniless, from Iowa State University in 1976, and decided to go backpacking in the mountains.

And I did. Trips to the Bighorn and Pryor Mountains in Wyoming only whetted my appetite for more, and I couch-surfed at John Nerness’ house in Mountainview, CA, between trips. In addition to several weekenders around central California,  my grand finale was a 14-day hike of the John Muir Trail in the Sierras.

My backpack came from Target. My clothing was whatever I had – at the time I’d never heard of cotton killing anyone. My shelter was a piece of visqueen. Freeze-dried food was too expensive, for the most part, so my diet consisted of such things as macaroni and cheese. I borrowed a Swea 123 backpacking stove.

But I didn’t scrimp on a few items. My Buck folding knife was purchased for $25 at the Ace Hardware Store in Lovell, WY. My boots were on sale at the War Surplus Store in in Powell, WY, for about $30. But my sleeping bag was bought at an upper end backpacking store for about $80, which, at the time, was about a third of all my “assets.”

A heavy winter bag would be needed to sleep in this igloo. It would also need to be one that dries out easily.

That gear was used extensively in the next few years. The Buck, a Swea 123 and the sleeping bag went on several major backpacking trips and ended being used on my six-month canoe trip down the Mississippi River. None of this gear ever let me down.

Today, I have close to a dozen sleeping bags, ranging from indoor sleepover styles to a pair of  -15 degree winter bags. All  have their specific purposes. You will decide what the best sleeping bag is for you, and here are some considerations to help you choose wisely.

Where will the bag be used? Location is  important. I have slept on top of a sleeping bag in Louisiana, when the night time temperature was about 90 degrees, and snuggled deep in an arctic bag one night during a raging Iowa blizzard when the temperature got to -10 degrees.

Both bags were adequate for their jobs, but radically different from each other. One could not have safely replaced the other in those dramatically-different circumstances.

If you will be tent camping, you won’t need as warm a bag as if you’re sleeping under the stars. But that doesn’t mean you can or should buy a cheap, light bag!

Possible uses: The size, weight and composition of the insulation will all  be determined by the potential uses of the bag. A backpacking mummy bag is different from a full-cut bag designed for car camping. The car camping or elk camp sleeping bag, that won’t be carried anywhere, can be roomier, bigger and

heavier. If you intend to backpack, or canoe, you’ll need something smaller and more compact.

Mummy or full cut: These  are the two main styles of bag. You wear a mummy bag, so if claustrophobia is an issue, don’t get one! (One of my mummy bags is so snug-fitting it feels like I’m wearing a loose sausage casing. It doesn’t bother me, but make sure you to crawl inside any prospective bag in the store before buying it.) A full-cut bag is roomier, but the additional bulk and weight makes it harder to backpack.

These heavy winter synthetic-fill sleeping bags were slightly damp from condensation inside a tent. They dried quickly in the sunlight, even though it wasn't warm outside.

Type of insulation: Sleeping bag insulation can be broken down basically into two categories: down and synthetic. Decide before buying: What is the potential for the bag getting wet?

Goose down insulation is the classic insulation used in sleeping bags, and, despite all the technological advances, is still the most efficient insulation around. Goose down provides the most warmth for the least bulk and weight, allowing for very warm sleeping bags that are in very, very small packages.

But goose down insulation is USELESS when wet, and it can take forever to dry. This could be deadly: What if you fall in a creek, soak all your gear and desperately need to warm up? Or suppose part of the bag gets soaked inadvertently during a rain? I don’t own a down bag, and get along very well with my synthetics.

But some of the very experienced Boy Scout leaders I backpack and camp with do use down bags. They swear by them, and I must admit, the tiny, light bundles the down bags compress into is a very appealing aspect!

Synthetics: There are a variety of good synthetic insulation fills on the market, and
generally you’ll get what you pay for. Check the internet and manufacturers’ specifications to decide which will be best for you.

My first synthetic bag paid for itself in my first two days in the Sierras. Here’s an excerpt (to read the whole story, click here) from my 1976 John Muir Trail Journal:

Sunday July 25
“Last night was the worst I’ve spent in the mountains so far. It rained all night, and I got completely soaked in my sleeping bag. The rain started after I was sound asleep, and drenched me before I even woke up. (I’d slept under the stars, and not bothered to set up the tarp).
“The bag kept me warm, but it was sure was wet and clammy. Stayed awake most of the night. The rain kept stopping, then pouring down, so I kept getting wet, then getting wetter.
My camp was at 10,500 feet, so the temperature was pretty cold. Some of my clothes got wet, but I made sure to keep my boots dry.
“Got up, wrung out the sleeping bag and placed everything on rocks to dry. The sun is just coming up over the mountains, and the sky is clear. Looks like another nice day.

It rained, intermittently for  nine days straight after that, and keeping anything dry was a real struggle. I’m glad I didn’t have a down bag on that trip!

Weight: Sleeping bag weight is supposed to be a determination of how warm the bag might be. But beware! A lightweight down sleeping bag will be very warm, while a heavy, cheap cotton-filled bag will be heavy and cool. A better indication of warmth is probably the temperature rating.

Temperature Rating: My experience is that the manufacturers are very optimistic and that these ratings are more a statement of purpose than anything else! My rule of thumb is to look at the temperature rating and subtract 20 degrees.

Also, some people sleep colder than others. My snow camping equipment consists of a four-season dome tent and a minus 15 degree sleeping bag. I have slept comfortably in that setup down to zero, during blizzards with gale-force winds. But my wife took the same gear on a June Girl Scout campout in Oregon and was very comfortable.

What about getting sleeping bags that zip together so the loved one can snuggle? Again, this will depend on the couple.  If one is a colder sleeper than the other, both will be miserable. Make your sleeping bag choices wisely. Otherwise, you may have some really long, uncomfortable nights to think about and regret your hasty choices!

For more survival gear reviews, click here

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

The value of a survival/hunting knife is seen in the field. Recently, the Cold Steel Master Hunter proved to be a stellar performer!

by Leon Pantenburg

Some survival equipment tests need to be done at home, but the bottom line is how an item performs under field use conditions. For a hunting knife, that means using the tool while hunting.

In the middle of October, I hunted elk in the Nez Perce National Forest in north-central Idaho. I intended to do the final wringing out of two, reasonably-priced hunting/survival knives that showed promise: the Cold Steel Master Hunter and the Gerber Gator model 46904. Both knives rode in my fanny pack (also being field tested) a Kelty Elk Horn. Both knives were used indiscriminately, for whatever task was at hand. That included spreading peanut butter, cutting rope and paracord, slicing onions and potatoes and field dressing elk and deer.

Quality hunting knives, like this Cold Steel Master Hunter, make big game butchering tasks easier.

There was no problem with the first jobs, but to test a knife on big game field dressing you must first kill a big game animal! And in the area we were hunting (where my brother killed a 6×6 bull in 2008), we didn’t see any sign of elk, nor did we hear shots from other hunters in six days.

But at the end of October, during an Oregon elk hunt, my group harvested three elk: a 5×6 bull, a spike bull and a cow. I got in on the field dressing whenever I could get to the kill site on time.

Over two days and three elk, the Master Hunter was used to remove several lower legs and quarter a carcass; quarter an apple; drill holes in the plastic sled we dragged meat out with; divide my ham-and-cheese sandwich in half and cut several pieces of quarter-inch nylon and sisal rope.

The final task was skinning and quartering the cow. The Master Hunter performed magnificently, gathering several positive comments from the crowd around the skinning rack. No sharpening had been done on the Master Hunter since the edge was checked before the Idaho hunt.

All this cumulative use finally took off the razor edge. But all it took was several swipes with my butchering steel to make the Master Hunter shaving-sharp again.

Here’s the what field-testing proved:

• The steel in the blade is great!
• The drop point design works very well for the tasks the Master Hunter will be required to do.
• The Kraton  handle is safe and ergonomically-correct for long-term, hard use. It was non-slip, even when covered with the messy fluids associated with a field dressing.
• The knife is light, compact, and has a safe, secure sheath.

If you’re looking for a reasonably-priced, useful hunting knife that can perform a multitude of hunting jobs successfully, you need look no further than the Cold Steel Master Hunter!

Stay Prepared!

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It was one of those famous “three little word” hunts – “I am just” going to leave camp for a short hunt. You know – grab the rifle, license and tags, ammo, GPS and head out for a short hunt. The hunter’s pack stayed behind.

Because he was just going down that game trail a bit the hunter didn’t need all his survival gear…

by Blake Miller

The story ending is predictable: the hunter lost track of time and distance as he followed the fresh mule deer tracks, and, besides he had his GPS. At twilight he recognized it was time to go back, and the GPS showed him the way…until the batteries died. Fresh batteries were in his pack back at camp.

Always take extra batteries, and a map and compass for your GPS.

In 13 years of teaching GPS classes I have had very, very few reports of a GPS breaking or failing electronically but I do hear about battery power draining at the worst time.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Batteries will generally last for a reported 20 hours of continuous use; more on that shortly. If you just turn it on, mark a waypoint and turn the receiver off the batteries will last you most of the hunting season. I like the Duracell and COSTCO alkaline batteries.
• If your GPS can use Lithium batteries that is great. They are more expensive but they last longer and work better in cold temperatures; check your owner’s manual.
• I keep my GPS powered up all day when in the backcountry. I like to download my track and waypoint data at the end of a hunt to my Terrain Navigator software. (This gives me the best historical record of my outing.) I dump the batteries back at camp each evening. Usually my batteries become drained after a full day and it just simpler to change them out as I get my gear ready for the next day’s hunt. I don’t want to worry about dead batteries during the next day’s hunt.
• Keep a spare set of AA batteries in your pack. I recommend storing the batteries in the paper box that the Duracell’s come in or in the plastic wrapper that the COSTCO batteries come in.
• I keep fresh batteries in my GPS all the time. I am reading more frequently that this is no longer needed. That said, because of my SAR responsibilities and the frequency of my trips, fresh batteries are always loaded. It’s my personal preference that “works for me.”
• If you have an older Garmin such as the Garmin 12, keep batteries in it always. The four AA batteries keep the internal lithium battery charged. The internal lithium provides power to retain you saved waypoints and tracks.
• I don’t have a baseline for rechargeable batteries. My suggestion would be to keep extra’s on hand and really “wring them out” over a full day to see how well they work. Do this before your trip afield. Remember, it has to work for you.
• Features such as the backlight, audible tones and electronic compasses drain a set of batteries. On many models the electronic compass can be turned off by pressing and holding down the page button. Manage your power needs.

A fully charged GPS is a wonderful tool that complements your backcountry experience. Remember, even though you have the latest and best receiver, you always take that map and compass on every trip.

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973. He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his

Blake Miller

twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator. Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new satellite positioning systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival. Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians. He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes to students in the local school districts, and conservation groups. He is a member of a Search and Rescue team.

If you have any questions about land navigation or wilderness survival, you can contact Blake through SurvivalCommonSense.com@gmail.com, or you can go to his website.

Contact Information:

Website: www.outdoorquest.biz

Blog: outdoorquest.blogspot.com

Phone: 541-280-0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com

To hear the Jan 7, 2010 Blake Miller interview about choosing a magnetic compass and GPS on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio, click here.

Recommended Reading:

Surviving a Wilderness Emergency
Build the Perfect Survival Kit
GPS Made Easy (GPS Made Easy: Using Global Positioning Systems in the Outdoors)
Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook

For more navigation- related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Find your directions by the moss on trees?
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Three maps you should carry in the wilderness.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

Click here to visit Peter Kummerfeldt's website!

One of the most common questions asked on this site is about survival knives. Specifically, which one is best for the individual’s needs, and which will serve most effectively in a survival situation.

There are a lot of opinions about that topic, but this post by a recognized survival expert, Peter Kummerfeldt, may help you make an informed decision on which knife to include in your survival kit.

The Cold Steel SRK (top) and the J. Martinni Mora-style knives are good choices for all around use.

by Peter Kummerfeldt

Knives.

I am sure the debate over “which is the best knife” has raged ever since early man first knapped a sharp edge on a piece of obsidian! The recommendations that follow are just that – recommendations. But they are suggestions based on fifty years of recreating and working in the outdoors.

The variety of knives available is staggering so how does one know where to start?

To begin there is no need for one of “survival knives” seen in the movies. The ones with a hollow handle containing all kinds of things you’ll never use and none of the equipment that you’d really like to have.

I’d shy away from folding knives although the reliability of the hinge is much better than it used to be.

You don’t need a long blade – four inches is plenty! Select a blade with a broad, flat back so that it can be used with a mallet to split wood. Buy a knife with a brightly colored handle so that you can find it if you drop it.

This Mora knife is a good choice for an over-all survival knife.

Make sure, although this is hard to do in the store, that the tang extends all the way to the butt of the handle or as close to it as possible. If the handle is plastic it may be possible to hold the handle up to a bright light to see where the tang ends.
Knives where the tang extends only a few inches into the handle are prone to breaking.

I do not recommend serrated blades. They are hard to sharpen. Finger guards between the handle and the blade are
unnecessary and tend to get in the way.

The Mora-style knife is the best example of  a knife that meets these criteria. They are inexpensive ($15 – $25) and are available from www.outdoorsafe.com. I seldom carry a knife on my belt anymore. I found out a long time ago that a knife attached to your belt, behind your hip, is out-of-sight and out-of- mind! Sooner or later you will lose it!

Alternatively a knife sheath carried on a lanyard worn around your neck and tucked into your shirt when you are not using it is a very convenient. Should you place your knife on the ground after using it and then walk off you will have a much better chance of noticing
that the knife is not where it should be, earlier, and then locating it again before you have gone far.

A small pocketknife is another very useful tool. It doesn’t have to be a Swiss Army style of knife or a multi-tool with a hundred utensils built into it.  A simple one or two blade knife is sufficient for most situations where you might find yourself needing a cutting edge.

Remember that cutting tools are designed to cut and they will cut you too if they are not used safely. Never cut toward yourself or another person!

For more SurvivalCommonSense.com Hunting and Survival knife reviews click on:

• What is the best survival knife?
• A Survival Knife: The Swiss Army Classic?
• A Scandinavian Survival Knife: Can  The Mora do it all?
• Axe or Saw: Which is best for your outdoor needs?
• What should you put in the hollow handle of a survival knife?
• Cold Steel SRK: Is it the best survival knife?
• Cold Steel Master Hunter: The best knife for hunting?
• Choosing the best backcountry/survival knife.
• Make a quick, safe knife sheath.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

I hadn’t dumped a canoe in years, so unexpectedly entering the water just above the John Day River’s Clarno rapids was quite a shock. I righted myself, pointed my feet downstream and tried to follow the course originally set for the canoe.

Integrate these items into your wardrobe and "wear" them every day. You may be grateful you did!

by Leon Pantenburg

The Central Oregon rapids last about three-quarters of a mile, and we’d managed to hit a rock cross-ways right at the head. My wife, Debbie, paddling in front, was also thrown out of the canoe. Her head bobbed above the rapids as she navigated the whitewater. Several minutes later, I pulled myself out in the slack waters of an eddy. From downriver, Debbie waved to show she was OK.

Picking my way over the rocks toward her, I did a mental inventory of my survival tools. Everything we had, all of our fishing, camping and survival gear, was headed downstream toward the Columbia River. It was a hot day, with no danger of hypothermia, and the other members of our float party were at the scene.

Neither of us was injured, and  it was not a survival situation. But if we had been alone, here’s the survival tools we had left:  I didn’t lose my hat, glasses or the GPS in my pocket.

But the Moro knife was gone from its sheath on my belt, and the butane lighter in my left front pants pocket had disappeared.  A whistle was attached to my life jacket. I had charcloth in a plastic bag, firestarter and my key ring survival gear, except for the flashlight, still worked. Debbie had a whistle, too, but her survival gear was somewhere downstream. But even soaking wet, we could have started a fire to warm up and signal for help.

You could get dumped out of a canoe, thrown off a horse that runs away or be in a shopping mall or hotel when there is a power failure. In these cases, all you’ll have is a survival mindset and the tools in your pockets or on your person. But a little planning can help a lot if you make some basic survival tools part of your wardrobe. This is what I carry on a daily basis: These items are on a separate key ring that clips to my car keys or belt loop.

On the keyring: LED flashlight, fingernail clippers, whistle, Boy Scout Hot Spark and Classic Swiss Army knife. The other, large Swiss Army knife rides in a pouch on my belt.

• LED flashlight: This is one of the most-used items. Princeton Tec Pulsar White LED Key Chain Light A flashlight could be what gets you out of a dark, fourth floor hotel room that is filling with smoke! It may also require leadership training before using. In any dark emergency situation, the person with the flashlight automatically becomes the leader!  Make sure you get an LED light with an on-off switch. Otherwise, you’ll get really tired of pinching the light to make it work.
• Nail clipper: Until you have torn a finger or toenail on a camping trip, with no way to trim it, you can’t imagine how important a clipper is. In a pinch, it works as a tweezers to pull out splinters.
• Whistle: A necessary signaling device, since you can only yell until your voice gives out. A whistle can be heard at a great distance, with less energy expended than shouting for help. The universal signal for distress is a series of three, equally-spaced blasts.
• Magnesium or flint stick: In this case, a Boy Scout Hot-Spark firestarter is the chosen tool. It can be used with cotton balls and petroleum jelly, or Chapstick, or Purell hand cleaner,  to start a fire.
• Swiss Army Classic model knife: This knife’s capabilities are much bigger than its size! A classic has a knife blade, scissors, screwdriver blade, tweezers and toothpick. Most important, it can be carried with you at all times.

In my left hip pocket:

• Bandanna or 100% cotton handkerchief: This item can do a hundred different tasks, including wiping your nose! Other common sense uses include shredding as tinder for the magnesium stick; signaling, and improvising a head covering or sun shade. I always carry at least one, and prefer to have several along.

In my right hip pocket is my wallet with the usual driver’s license, credit cards etc. These survival items are designed to fit in the credit card holders:

Firestarter, charcloth and a signal mirror can all be carried in a wallet

• Charcloth: If you can catch a spark, from any source, on a piece of charcloth, then you should know how to blow that spark into an ember, and then a fire. Charcloth should be carried in a waterproof plastic bag.
• Waxed firestarter: A credit card sized piece of this material, also carried in a waterproof plastic bag, will supply several minutes of flame when lighted with a match or some flame. The firestarter supplies that link between ignition and getting tinder and small sticks to burn.
• Signal mirror: I made this mirror out of a piece of flexible mirror material (available at most auto repair stores), and purposefully sized it to fit a credit card holder. In addition to signaling, the mirror can be invaluable for locating something in your eye or directing light into a hard-to-see area. The plastic covering on the mirror face is left on for protection. Directions for use are on the back.

In my left front pocket:

• Butane lighter: I don’t smoke but always carry a small lighter. It’s easy to “Flick your Bic” to light a fire, or make a signal at night, especially if you’re injured. (You can also use it to show your age at a concert!) Wrap it with a couple feet of duct tape, and you have added another survival tool.
• Chapstick: Get the kind with sun protection, and you can use it for lip, face, ear and skin protection. Chapstick works as a firestarter when combined correctly with a shredded cotton bandanna.

In the right front pocket:

• Hand cleaner: Keeping your hands clean may keep you from getting sick later. Purell liquid handcleaner also works well as a firestarter with the shredded bandanna.

In my shirt or jacket pocket:

• Notebook and pen or pencil: You may need to write down map or GPS coordinates, phone numbers or leave directions and you’ll need something to write on. Don’t forget to leave a note telling someone where you went.

These items may help you get by in an emergency situation, but don’t rely entirely on them if possible. Always take your Ten Essentials on any outing, and know how to use them.

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]]> http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/03/05/wardrobe-survival-kit/feed/ 15 http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/02/27/couple-rescued-after-four-days-lost-in-snow/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=couple-rescued-after-four-days-lost-in-snow http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/02/27/couple-rescued-after-four-days-lost-in-snow/#comments Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:53:19 +0000 Leon http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/?p=6297

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The retired couple was just going out on a drive to try out a new camera, then got stuck on an isolated road in the snow. Nobody knew they had gone anywhere. When they were discovered missing, nobody had any idea where they might be. Navigation expert Blake Miller posted this AP wire story Sunday [...]

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The retired couple was just going out on a drive to try out a new camera, then got stuck on an isolated road in the snow. Nobody knew they had gone anywhere. When they were discovered missing, nobody had any idea where they might be.





Winter weather presents challenges to drivers. Make sure you have a winter survival kit in your car!

Navigation expert Blake Miller posted this AP wire story Sunday about a couple from Washington state that were rescued after being lost for four days.

“This could have had a much sadder ending, Blake commented. “As you read the article, think about what they did to help themselves once stranded.   Staying with there vehicle was definitely the right thing to do?”

A trip plan would have been great to have left behind with a family member too.  Trip plan.

Read Blake’s post here.

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:


• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Carry lightweight, compact firestarter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• How to make charcloth, a material that can catch a spark from any source.
• Use charcloth as an effective method of catching a spark to make a fire.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• Hardtack: A great emergency food
• About Leon Pantenburg

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]]> http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/02/27/couple-rescued-after-four-days-lost-in-snow/feed/ 0 http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/01/28/navigating-a-topo-mapfeed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=navigating-a-topo-mapfeed http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/2011/01/28/navigating-a-topo-mapfeed/#comments Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:20:44 +0000 Leon http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/?p=5889

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A topographic map is your road map to the outdoors. It provides you detailed information at a scale that is meaningful and detailed. Here is how to read the most commonly-used topo maps.

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Do topographical maps seem confusing? Do you view most maps as a mass of squiggles, color splotches and undecipherable gibberish, with terms like: datum, UTM,  WGS84




A map and compass are vital land navigation tools, but you must first know how to read the map!

and NAD27? In this article, land navigation expert Blake Miller explains how to make sense of your topo map!

by Blake Miller

Reviewing a topographic map is usually the starting point for the planning of any back country trip.  A topographic map is your road map to the outdoors.  It provides you detailed information at a scale that is meaningful and detailed.  For years, the US Geologic Survey (USGS) has been the principal publisher of accurate maps.  Within the last decade we have seen many innovations in mapping products that include new mapping companies and publishers, software, maps for the GPS, and “Apps” for the iPhone.

Still, the USGS map remains the standard for back country navigation (visit the USGS’s site at www.topomaps.usgs.gov.)   I’d also recommend looking at June Fleming’s Staying Found: The Complete Map and Compass Handbook
or Bjorn Kjellstrom’s Be Expert with Map and Compass

Once you develop a map foundation you will easily shift to many of the other products on the market today.

Many publications, videos, and web sites will give you a complete rundown on the features, symbols and components to a map.  This article will discuss a few of the key features that you should be aware of on a 7.5 minute map.

• Scale Consider scale as your view of the map; it is like your “overhead zoom” setting.  To cut to the chase, a 7.5 minute map or quadrangle has a scale that is referred to as 1:24,000; where one inch is equal to 2000 feet.  It is your best source of information of the back country.  At this scale, the map has much more validity and provides more usable information for backcountry planning.  You can view important landmarks, streams and geographic features.  To complete the navigation picture I always refer a second map, such as a map of the national forest (e.g., the Deschutes National Forest.)  Commonly, such a map will be “zoomed” way out and have a scale of 1:100,000 or 1:250,000.  Imagine that such a map would be made up of many 7.5 minute quadrangles.
• Contour Lines: These are the thin brown lines that snake across the map.  Contour lines connect equal points of elevation such that every point on a specific line will be at that elevation above sea level.  Visually, the contour lines give you a mental three dimensional view of the terrain.  These lines provide shape and a sense of texture.  Contour lines provide a view of slope and pitch, depressions, ridge lines and level ground; the highs and lows of the earth’s surface.  There are two primary types of lines, index and intermediate lines.  Index lines stand out as they are a touch wider, a darker shade of brown and indicate the elevation with numbers such as 4500; the elevation is in feet.  Between the index lines are the thin intermediate line that are spaced uniformly and further define the elevation, slope and contour.  The distance intervals between the intermediate lines are specified at the bottom of the map adjacent to the scale data.
• North Features on a map such as trails, roads, mountain peaks and streams are all laid out in relation to true North; the North Pole.  The north-south borders of the map and the small declination diagram are your best references for true North.  Other grid lines (such as the red Township, Section and Range lines) may not be aligned to true north at all.  Be careful of these lines should you need to triangulate your position on a map.
• Declination This is the angular difference between true North and Magnetic North.  The red needle on your magnetic compass points to Magnetic North.  The accuracy of the information found in the Declination Diagram is dependent on the age of the map.  To get the latest declination for any area visit www.magnetic-declination.com.


This compass is adjusted for declination

Personally, I use a magnetic compass that can be adjusted for declination; it just makes navigation easier.  When adjusted, my compass provides bearing information in degrees true north as does my map and my adjusted GPS.

Coordinates Latitude and Longitude (Lat/Long) are the familiar coordinate system to most people.  Coordinate data is found at the top and bottom corners of each map.  Lat/Long coordinate increments are also found every 2’ (minutes) and 30” (seconds) on the sides of the Map.  A scaling device is necessary to pull complete coordinates off a map: (This is a pain!)

In the 1940s a coordinate system know as Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) was developed.  To keep a very long story short, your 7.5 minute map has a new grid laid over it, and the grid dimensions are 1000 meters by 1000 meters.  For more complete information on UTM grid visit the USGS’s web site UTM or Lathem’s GPS Made Easy (GPS Made Easy: Using Global Positioning Systems in the Outdoors).

Simplicity is the essence of UTM.  Scouts, hunters and hikers have joined Search and Rescue (SAR) teams around the country in using this system.

Your GPS receiver can easily be switched to UTM from the set-up menu.

• Bar ScalesNotice the bar scales at the bottom of the 7.5 minute map.  The scales provide measuring data in
  

  True north points to the top of the map; magnetic north is pointed to by the red magnetic needle.

  miles, feet and meters.   On the far left side of the meter scale, the scale is broken down into units of 100 meters, this applies directly to UTM.

Notice on the scale bar (feet) that 1 inch equals 2000 feet. This topographic map scale of 1:24,000 is your best source of information of the back country.  At this scale, the map has much more validity and provides more usable information for you backcountry planning.

• Map Datum Information about map datum is found in the lower left corner of a 7.5 minute map.  The simplest definition of datum from Garmin GPS:

“A math model which depicts a part of the surface of the earth. Latitude and longitude lines on a paper map are referenced to a specific map datum. The map datum selected on a GPS receiver needs to match the datum listed on the corresponding paper map in order for position readings to match.”

 

The bottom line: Most 7.5 minute maps are made to the North American datum of 1927 (NAD27 or NAD27 CONUS on your GPS).  New GPS receivers are set to datum WGS84.  The difference between the datum could be over 100 meters/yards.  The solution: When pulling points off a map shift your GPS’s datum to match the map.

If precision is not an issue for your outing don’t worry about datum.

As you begin your trip planning don’t forget the magnetic compass, the important partner to any topographic map.  See Selecting a Magnetic Compass for more information about buying a good compass.

 



Blake Miller

Blake Miller has made a career out of staying found and knowing where he is at all times. His formal navigation training began when he joined the U.S. Navy in 1973.  He served as an officer aboard several Navy ships over his  twenty-year career; many of those tours included the duty of Navigator.

Blake began working with satellite navigation systems at sea in 1976, culminating with the then-new Global Positioning Systems aboard the Battleship WISCONSIN in early 1990.

In 1998 Blake started Outdoor Quest, a business dedicated to backcountry navigation and wilderness survival.  Blake has taught classes to wild land firefighters, state agency staffs, Search and Rescue team members, hunters, hikers, skiers, fishermen and equestrians.   He regularly teaches classes through the Community Education programs at Central Oregon (Bend) and Chemeketa (Salem, OR) Community Colleges.

As a volunteer, Blake teaches navigation and survival classes through the Becoming an Outdoor Woman (B0W) program, to students in the local school district, and conservation groups.  He is a member of a Search and Rescue team, and a regular contributor to SurvivalCommonSense.com.

Contact Information:

Phone: 541 280 0573

Email: outdrquest@aol.com or mapcompassandgps@gmail.com

Web: www.outdoorquest.biz

For more of Blake Miller’s navigation-related tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• How to choose a magnetic compass.
• How to buy that first GPS.
• Help the searchers find you in the wilderness.
• Is the Bushnell Backtrack the right choice for you?
• Improve your GPS skills now.
• Simple survival tips for using a map and compass.
• Stay Safe Using your SPOT locator.
• Improve your GPS skills now.

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

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