What is survival? The late Mors Kochanski once said while being interviewed, "It is literally impossible to define what is survival as I have not found anyone who has been able to absolutely know how to properly define it." In multiple discussions Mors presented the idea that, what one might define to be a survival situation another might define their situation as a mere lifestyle. For if one were needing due to a lack of food supply to search out wild edibles in the woods one may indeed see his situation as a life threatening event, while another may see it as merely camping in the woods. But there are indeed things that no man would define as a lifestyle, and from this perspective we will speak from, that being when one is forced to experience any natural disaster and or an out of control tragedy.
"A pure survival situation is one where there is an immediate or long term threat to life, where only feasible plan of action is to stay alive as long as possible, WITH THE HOPE OF BEING RESCUED." - Mors Kochanski "Boreal Survival"

"When exposed to any potentially lethal stresses commonly encountered in the wilderness, death is very likely if these stresses are not alleviated or eliminated soon enough. Survival knowledge is concerned with understanding these stresses so they can be dealt with effectively" -Mors Kochanski "Grand Syllabus"
In order to break down the subject of survival we have to ask one question, "how long?" Will this situation require a long haul preparation mind set, or a 48 to 72 hour wait and find cover and protection from the elements. The longer the wait, the more of a strong mindset to stay focused and to make your moves wisely the situation becomes, as having to work through more extensive problems will require more time and more planning to consider.

​In my blog article "Questioning what Bushcraft Really Is?" I attempted to address some of the bridging aspects as to show how bushcraft skills have many facets which directly connect and correlate to what one would define as a survival skill. ​If the situation requires a short term wait and find cover and protection from the elements than knowing how to achieve this is critical. Most survival situations are found to be merely a short term 48 to 72 hour wait till help arrives. However, when this is changed and the time waiting is elongated knowing how to respond and act is crucial. 

In a survival situation the need to know what areas are the most important are based upon the immediate needs. One can not survive past 3 days without water and 40 days with out food. Fasting might be the option one may have to consider when it comes to food either in a short term or long term scenario. However, in an environment in which hot extreme temperatures are present water could be the very immediate need to prevent hypothermia and heat exhaustion from setting in. In many cases the need to move and find safety could mean getting away from the immediate danger. While other scenarios stay put is the best option for being found. Staying warm could also be a huge problem for those caught in a snow storm while for some being warm is not and essential need as the temps both day and night could be easily livable just sleeping out under the stars at night. Being prepared for possible scenarios is what Bushcraft Survival and Preparedness is all about.   

THE 72 HOUR SCENARIO 

In a 72 hour scenario the main questions one should layout and have a plan to know how to deal with such an event will be based upon these few points.

1. Do I need water?

If yes, the need to know how to find a water source, and purify water is crucial. As this might mean knowing multiple ways to filter and purify water, and knowing which water sources are safe and or not safe to use. It also might require making a fire, in which in that case, knowing how to make a fire with fire tools and the use of a knife might be required to know.

2. Do I need shelter?

If yes, the need to know how to erect a shelter and or to know how to use the things found in nature to erect a temporary one might be the very things which keeps you safe and away from the elements.

3. Do I need a fire for warmth?

If yes, the need to know how to find make a fire and how to keep your fire going and in a safe manner could mean a life or death situation.

4. Am I lost?

If yes, the need to know how to navigate and do so correctly and accurately means you will need to know how to use navigation skills and to know how to do so with and or without a compass. 

5. Do I need first aid?

If yes, the need to know basic first aid is a must as this can be something which can man a bad situation become a horrible one. Knowing how to perform many basic first aid procedures will help elevate your chances for a more smoother survival.

THE LONG HAUL

When things are not going to be so easy and time is all you have to keep yourself both motivated and focused and to protect yourself and or others more skills are required. Which might mean having some safety measures put into action. Here knowing the things one might need to hunker down and press through the wait is essential to survival and it is why we use the acronym 
W.A.R.M C.R.I.S.I.S
Water: What you need to use for gathering it
Adhesive: What you can use to tape things together
Repair:  What you can use to fix your gear
Maneuver: What you need to travel

Cutting:  What you need to cut things and chop
Rope: What you need to bind things with
Ignite:  What you need to create fire
Shelter: What you need to stay away from the elements
Illuminate: What you need to create light
Save: What you need to protect your life

The acronym is meant to simply point to the main ideas contained in those gear necessities. When seeking out the needs we are basically using those words to remind us of what we need to carry out those tasks.

Water: canteens, water vessels, cooking gear
Adhesive: duck tape, gorilla tape
Repair:  Speedy stick sewing awl
Maneuver: Lensatic compass, flat protractor compass, maps, protractors ect.

Cutting:  knifes, axes, saws
Rope: 5/50 Cord, bankline, rope, webbing, tape
Ignition:  ferro rods, lighter, mag lens, matches
Shelter: clothing, wool blankets, sleeping systems, tents, hammocks, and tarps
Illuminate:  lamps, candles, headlamps, flashlights
Save:  first aid kit, shemaghs, bandanas, pieces of cloth
When we are forced to realize help is not coming soon, then a more in depth well thought out plan is required as we assess the most important needs.

1. Do I need water only?

Our body requires one to two liters of water per day. Although one can indeed fast from water the a maximum set of 3 days beyond that the body will die of dehydration. So knowing how to find a viable water source and to remain near one for survival necessities is crucial. When it comes to purifying water knowing how to filter in order to get rid of any floating objects and or sediments is important. Boil the water for a minimum of 10 mins is vital to kill off any pathogens that could be living in the water. 

2. Do I need shelter?

3. Do I need a fire for warmth?

4. Do I need to remain here or travel?

5. Do I need first aid?

6. Do I need food and water?

Our bodies need only 6 essential base nutrients which are Proteins, Fats, Carbohydrates (Complex Carbs not Simple Carbs), Vitamins, Minerals, and Water. 

1) Proteins- When it comes to protein dietary proteins are broken down into peptides and amino acids. Out of the 20 amino acids 9 are essential and must be obtained through food consumption. Proteins are what is required for tissue maintenance, replacement, function and growth. To much protein consumed, is usually stored as fat do to the fact that it raises your insulin levels and leads to  weight gain in the end. Therefore, knowing how much your body needs is essential to keeping your protein intake down. From birth until adulthood the daily protein requirements decrease from 2.2 grams in 3 month old infants to 1.2 grams in children that are 5 years old and drops to .8 grams for adults and well lets just call this a basic number people use ok, Ill explain.

The Protein Study Done By The World Health Organization
​
There is however some rather huge debates over the needs in adults as the World Health Organization believe the daily needs for adults could be argued that .66 grams of protein is safe while some doctors say .4 grams is enough. Whats going on I thought, is there a real protein daily amount we all universally need? First off, in a study done by the World Health Organization called "Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition"  the study asked the question of what was the safe level of protein intake for adult men and women for daily consumption. In their conclusions they reported that if a person took .83 grams per kg. of body weight the safe level of protein intake (g/kg per day) "was considered to be the same for both sexes, at all ages, and for all body weights within the acceptable range." (Meaning the only studied people whose body weight was in per-portion to their height. based upon the average requirements) Therefore, this study as it points out on page 242, was based upon this, not how much is one to eat period but how much can one safely can eat protein wise in a day based upon weight and height per-portion and based upon the average of those used in the actual study. Notice what was said in the report, "Protein requirements are derived as amounts per kg body weight of subjects whose weight is within the acceptable range for height (adults) or age (children). The requirements per person within the acceptable ranges of body weights may either be based on the actual weight or normalized to the median weight for height or age, as given in the appropriate tables, according to the objectives for which they are to be used." (Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition pg. 242)

Now if you did not like that number just check this out on page 125 in the study they noted as well that, "The requirement indicated by the meta-analysis (6) (a median requirement of 105 mg nitrogen/kg per day or 0.66 g/kg per day of protein) can be accepted as the best estimate of a population average requirement for healthy adults." Notice the idea of healthy based weight and average portion of the bell curve was what this information was  founded as being as a possible amount for adults and goes on to say "However, an approximate value was derived as half the difference between the estimated 16th and 84th percentiles (which would contain those individuals within one standard deviation of the mean for a normal distribution), yielding an apparent coefficient of variation of about 12%. This value was employed in the calculations of safe levels for protein and amino acids of children and adults when direct experimental evidence for their values was not available (sections 9 and 10). These values for average and safe intakes are about 10% higher than the value of 0.6 g proposed in the 1985 FAO/WHO/UNU report (8)." Yet after all that was actually said this was their true end understanding of the event, "There are several difficulties associated with identification of population average protein requirements and reference intakes which result from the analysis of the available information, all of which raise questions of the usefulness of the traditional approach to estimating protein requirements." So in truth there really is no actual daily amount as the studies do not have the actual data to present all body weights and heights but only the average bell curve of people who are defined as in good health in per-portion to their height and weight. So the next time someone tells you eat .8 grams per kilogram of weight tell them this is completely inaccurate and false because the data is not based upon all ranges and all weights. So frankly what your body needs is not something you will be able to know completely as each person may require more or less. And some people can do just fine with eating only 40 grams of protein a day. And all your protein needs can be completely procured through the means of wild edibles alone.
​​Wild Edibles-
3.5 oz / 100 g.

Acorn (raw)

Arrowroot

Balsam Poplar (bark)

Bitterroot (dry)

Black cottonwood

Black hawthorn

Black Walnuts

Blackcap raspberry

Bog blueberry

Bunchberry

Burdock root

Butternut

Cattail rhizome (dry)

Cattail shoots

Chokecherry (pitted)

Cottonwood (inner bark)

Cow parsnip (stems)

Crowberry

Curly Dock

Dandelion (leaves)

Desert parsley (roots)

Dulse (red algae dry fronds)

Fireweed (shoots

Goosefoot/Lamb's Quarters

Grey blueberry

Hazelnuts

Hickory nuts (dried)

Highbush cranberry

Horsetails

Jerusalem artichoke

Kelp, Laminaria

Kinnikinnick berry

Lamb's Quarters

Licorice fern (root)

Lupine (root)

Moutain Alder (bark)

Mountain bilberry

Mulberries

Ostrich fern (dried)

Pacific crabapple

Parsnips

Pawpaw

Perennial Lilly (root)

Persimmon

Pigweed

Plantain Greater (leaves)

Prickly Pears

Purslane

Red elderberry

Red huckleberry

Rice roots

Rosehip

Salal berries

Salmonberry

Salmon berry (shoots)

Sashatoon berry

Seaweed, Kelp

Seaweed laver (dry)

Sheep sorrel

Shepherd's Purse

Silverweed (roots steamed)

Soapberry

Sow Thistle

Spiny Wood fern

Springbank clover (rhizomes)

​Stinging Nettle

Stink currant

Sugar Maple (sap)

Swamp gooseberry

Thimbleberry

Thimbleberry (shoots)

Trembling Aspen

Wapato, Arrowhead

Watery Blueberry

Western Hemlock (cambium)

Wild black gooseberry

Wild blue currant

Wild Leek Ramp

Wild Onion

Wild Raspberry

Wild Rice

Wild Strawberry

Wood Sorrel
​​Proteins


6.15 grams

4.24 grams

1.9 grams

4 grams

​​​.2 grams

​.3 grams

25.4 grams
​
1.2 grams

.7 grams

.6 grams

​1.53 grams

​23.7 grams

​7.7 grams

​1.18 grams

​​3.04 grams

​.2 grams

.2 grams

.2 grams

2.6 grams

2.7 grams

​2.2 grams

19.9 grams

.3 grams

4.2 grams

1.1 grams

14.89 grams

12.7 grams

.1 grams

2.1 grams

2.6 grams

1.7 grams

​.7 grams

3.3 grams

.9 grams

2 grams

4.3 grams

.6 grams

​1.44 grams

36 grams

1.2 grams

1.2 grams

5.2 grams

1.4 grams

.8 grams

6 grams

​2.5 grams

.12 grams

2.3 grams

2.9 grams

.8 grams

2.9 grams

1.6 grams
​
2.1 grams

1.4 grams

.5 grams

​.7 grams

​1.68 grams

24.4 grams

1.1 grams

​​3 grams

3.1 grams

1.8 grams

1.9 grams

2.5 grams

.7 grams

1.8 grams

.8 grams

.1 grams

1.5 grams

1.7 grams

.6 grams

1.3 grams

5.33 grams

.9 grams

2.3 grams

1.1 grams

​.7 grams

1.5 grams

3.5 grams

.6 grams

14.73 grams

.6 grams

2.3 grams
​Calories


387

65

230

343

31

73

607

87

51

76

72

629

-

25

162

27

20

45

24

45

190

323

30

43

54

628

657

42

20

77

43

102

41

141

73

270

59

43

376

79

75

85

95.4

127

56

61

42

20

110

56

102

82

63

52

31

99

43

303

48

33

136

80

20

128

73

44

70

348

66

110

28

-

99

74

103

77

65

61

42.2

73

357

61

​49
​Wild Mushrooms-
Dry portion 3.5 oz / 100 g.

Black trumpets
(Craterellus cornucopioides)-

Cauliflower Mushroom 
(Sparassis Crispa)

Chanterelle 
(Cantharellus cibarius)

Chicken of the woods
(Laetiporus sulphureus)

Hedgehog Mushroom
(Hydnum repandum)

Lion’s Mane or Bear’s Head 
(Hericium)

Morel
(Morchella)

Oyster mushroom
(Pleurotus ostreatus)

Porcini Mushroom
(Boletus edulis)
​Proteins



69.45 grams


32.6 grams


35.7 grams


10.6 grams


34 grams


22.3 grams


41.7 grams


23.8 grams


​18 grams
​Calories



​378


283


381


341


434


190


323


193


​159
​​2) Fats- Fats break down into fatty acids and glycerol (the components of triglyceridesis). When the body uses stored fat as a source of energy, glycerol and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream.) Fats are used in the body for tissue growth and hormone production. Saturated fatty acids is found in animal fats and tend to be solid at room temp, however they can also come from from plant based liquids like olive oil and coconut oil, just to name some, which does not solidify at room temps do to the fact they contain monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Essential Fatty Acids- 
Linoleic acid an omega 6 fatty acid
Linolenic acid and omega 3 fatty acid

For adults we require amounts of at least 2% of linoleic acid and .5% of at least linolenic acid of to our total caloric need, which can be provided through using vegetable oils and fish oils.
​
3) Carbohydrates- Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and other monosaccharides and their main function is to increase blood glucose levels which in return supplies energy for the body to use. There are two types of carbohydrates simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates- Are composed of small molecules generally monosaccharides and disaccharides, which increase blood glucose levels rapidly such as, glucose, honey, corn flakes, puffed rice, instant mash potatoes and shredded wheat all of these are types of simple carbohydrates. The higher a carbohydrate glycemic index is the more rapid it is able to increase the plasma glucose to higher levels and more quickly thus inducing hypoglycemia and hunger, which will then lead to the consumption of more excess calories and ultimately lead to weight gain. Therefore lets understand what simple carbs are, they are foods that convert to quickly into sugar and are best categorized as single sugars (monosaccharides) such as glucose, fructose and galactose, or double sugars (disaccharides), which include sucrose (table sugar), lactose and maltose. Because sugars provide no nutrition aside from energy (hence why they are often referred to as empty calories), these are the things you want to eliminate from your diet do to the fact they don't give you anything but high sugar rushes and quickly turn into fat.

Complex carbohydrates- Are composed of larger molecules which are broken down into monosaccharides, which are known to use as starches because they are formed by longer saccharide chains, which means they take longer to break down, and over a longer period of time. Such complex carbohydrates you want to get to know better are like kidney beans, pinto beans, apple, barley grains, red lentils, and strawberries. Chemically, they usually comprise of three or more linked sugars. Some complex carbohydrate foods contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals and take longer to digest. This means they have a less immediate impact on blood sugar, causing it to rise more slowly. Which is why adding beans to your diet due to the fact it is a complex carbs, will have an impact on the body in keeping ones blood sugar levels from spiking due to the fact that its sugar release is slow and its breakdown is slower as well.

4-5) Vitamins and Minerals- Also known as micronutrients  are used to maintain tissue health and are consumed in small minute amounts.

6) Water- Our body requires one to two liters of water per day.

​​7. What must I make from nature the things I lack?

​8. How do I make myself visible to others?