SEAL Survival Guide (55 page)
Read SEAL Survival Guide Online
Authors: Cade Courtley
6. Once you have made it to shore or to a boat, check yourself for injures. A shark bite is a very violent injury, and if you don’t seek medical attention immediately, you could bleed out.
Several years ago while filming a show in the Bahamas, I had the opportunity to dive at Tiger Beach, which has the second-largest population of sharks anywhere in the world. On this day I saw something that has to be one of the top five experiences in my entire life. As I was squared up watching a twelve-foot tiger shark pass from left to right, the shark suddenly changed direction and swam directly toward me. Then I saw the eyelids roll back, which is a protective trait common to these sharks just prior to their attacking. Time stood still. For some reason, I had decided to take a three-foot piece of PVC plumbing pipe in the water with me, and I immediately slammed this into the nose of the approaching tiger shark. It worked. The shark swam away as the water surge from his tail pushed me back a couple of feet. That is a moment of my life forever imprinted upstairs.
LOST IN THE DESERT
If, for whatever reason, you find yourself alone and lost in the desert, know that this unique environment requires you to follow a set of survival priorities. As it is in every life-threatening scenario, the key to enduring is to know what actions to take, and in what order. In the desert your priorities, from highest to lowest, must be
shade, water,
and
shelter
. The distinctive element about surviving in the desert is that it requires you to take immediate action to secure these priorities, yet conserve energy while doing so by implementing a long-haul strategy from the outset.
Of all the environments I’ve had the privilege of operating in, I can tell you without hesitation that the most challenging is the desert. It is a vast and lifeless place that can reach 130 degrees in the day and drop below freezing at night. The landmark-less terrain can be a combination of sandy dunes and mountainous rock that is not only taxing to navigate but difficult to traverse, with each step a potential ankle-breaker. There is little or no shade to protect you from the abusive intensity of the sun. And if you think the slight breeze that you feel on your face is a welcome relief, just wait . . . it’s actually only a warning of a monster, blinding sandstorm to follow. As you inhale and chew on sand particles, your body is screaming for something that is incredibly scarce in this place—water. Oh, and let’s not forget we had assholes out there who wanted to kill us.
Survival Priorities
1. Shade
2. Water
3. Shelter
1. FIND SHADE
Getting off the X in this case means finding shade, pure and simple. During the day, you must get out of the sun and into the shade immediately. Don’t spend the first hours of the first day in the blazing heat wandering around looking for a way out. Instead, seek temporary shelter.
• Get to the nearest rock outcropping or to the shady side of a dune, or an indenture in the sand, or a gully.
• First and foremost, you must cover all exposed skin, especially your face, neck, and arms. A hat will be worth its weight in gold, and a T-shirt can be pushed under the hat, so that the other end is hanging to cover your neck. If you don’t have a hat, make one. Improvise, using whatever scrub brush you can find, and tie it any way you can to cover your head and neck with whatever strip of fabric you have. In the desert, any place the sun strikes is your X; it will literally cook you alive. Getting to shade and covering yourself is the first priority in this environment.
• Conserve your energy until nightfall. Once the sun goes down, that’s when it’s better to construct a more “permanent” shelter by rearranging rocks, if available, or digging deeper into a gully bank, or by using the shelter-construction techniques below. You need to immediately shift into a conservation or long-haul mode. You should become nocturnal; once the sun goes down, that’s when your “day” starts. By doing this, you will minimize perspiration and therefore keep more of the water you have in your body.
2. LOCATE WATER
Now that you are out of the sun in a temporary shelter, the next priority is water. Without water, you won’t make it more than a few miles if you attempt to travel in the heat of the day. Even lying dormant, your body will require a gallon of water every twenty-four hours; without
water, you will be dead in three days. Do the following, and then use the Rule of Three to decide upon a course of action.
• Carefully examine the widest vista you can see in all directions. Look for signs that may indicate the presence of water, and narrow down your search to these areas.
• Look at the terrain and identify any areas that have vegetation or growth. An area of vegetation in the desert could have a very subtle change of color. It might have only a slightly darker or greener hue than its surroundings. This means water, since vegetation, just like humans, needs moisture to survive.
• Because gravity is a constant and will cause water to flow down, concentrate your search on lower areas like canyons or depressions. Think of areas where rainwater could collect, such as the bottom of rock formations, riverbeds, dry washes, or even a cave, should you be fortunate enough to locate one.
• Some deserts have subterranean water reservoirs lying just below the surface. Plants seemingly growing out of nowhere are tapping into underground water supplies. The roots of most desert plants will point you in the direction to dig, which is usually not very deep below the surface. You can also dig for water at the outside bends of riverbeds, but choose sites for these exploratory searches wisely, as you must conserve your energy.
• If you are in a desert with cacti, find them, because they surely have stored moisture. However, some cacti, like the barrel cactus found in the southwestern region of the United States, require effort to cut into the plant, with only
a minimal return of water. Make sure you exert this physical effort to cut into a cactus only in the cool of the evening.
Example of using the Rule of Three for finding water:
1. I see green vegetation but it is at least ten miles away.
2. There are several cacti in my immediate area.
3. There is what appears to be a dry creek down the hill a mile, but the sun is still up and I would have to leave my shelter to reach it.
Solution: Work on the cacti in the immediate area. Once the sun goes down, reevaluate, with the dry creek being a priority.
Building a solar still
Another option for gathering water is the construction of a solar still. If you think you may be in the same area for some time, it is best to build this first, due to the duration of time it takes to produce water.
1. Dig a hole about three feet in diameter and approximately two feet deep.
2. In the middle of the hole place a container. Then cover the entire hole with plastic. If you have pieces of cactus, place them around the container.
3. Form an airtight seal around the entire hole by using rocks and sand to hold down the edges of the plastic, and in the middle of the plastic place a small rock to create a slight depression.
4. The temperature in this hole will increase due to the packed soil and the direct rays of the sun, thus causing vapors to rise and condense on the inside of the plastic sheet. Water droplets will form at the depressed part of the plastic tarp and drip into the container positioned directly below.
