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Desert Survival - Part One |
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Always inform someone of where you are going, your route, and when you expect to return. Stick to your plan. Carry at least one gallon of water per person per day, a first aid kit, and personal survival kit. Be sure your vehicle has a sound battery, good hoses, a spare tire, necessary tools, and sufficient gasoline and oil. Keep an eye on the sky. Flash floods may occur any time "thunderheads" are in sight, even though it may not be raining where you are. Be alert to three conditions which can pose an immediate threat to your life - HYPERTHERMIA, DEHYDRATION and HYPOTHERMIA. Test the footing before driving through washes and sandy areas. A one minute check may save hours of hard work or a punctured oil pan. |
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Stay near your vehicle if it breaks down. Raise the hood and trunk lid to denote "help needed." Leave a disabled vehicle only if you are positive of the route to get help. Leave a note for rescuers with the time you left and the direction taken. When not moving, use available shade or erect some shade from tarps, blankets, or seat covers to reduce the direct rays of the sun. Do not sit or lie directly on the ground. In sunlight, the ground usually is 30° hotter than the air. Rest at least ten minutes each hour if walking. A normally inactive person should rest 30 minutes each hour. Find shade, sit down, prop up feet. If you have water, drink it. DO NOT RATION IT. If water is limited, avoid stressful activities. DO NOT talk, eat, smoke, take salt or drink alcohol. Keep clothing on, as it keeps your body temperature down and reduces the dehydration rate. Cover your head. Improvise a head covering if a hat is not handy. A roadway is a sign of civilization. IF YOU FIND A ROAD, STAY ON IT. To avoid poisonous creatures, put your hands and feet only where your eyes can see. Arizona is nicknamed the "Grand Canyon State" after its unique geologic wonder. But Arizona is more than canyon country. It has plateaus, mesas, high and low deserts, grasslands, mountain chains covered with winter snows, jagged desert peaks, and flowing through all this diversity, ribbons of perennial ravine habitat. Two thirds of the state can be classified as desert – the Colorado Plateau in the north, the Mohave in the west, and the Sonoran in the south.
A WORD OF CAUTION: The desert is beautiful and deadly. Danger is always present, especially once you leave well-traveled roads. Not only strangers but also Sunday sightseers have found this to be true. Many native-born Arizonans have been careless and suffered the consequences. The information in this manual may save your life. The way to stay out of trouble is to think in terms of trouble. Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management produces this Desert Survival Manual to help residents feel at ease in our desert out-of-doors environment and to increase chances of survival should circumstances demand it. Travel in the desert can be an interesting and enjoyable experience or it can be a fatal or near fatal nightmare. This manual cannot detail survival rules for every situation; however, it can reinforce basic common sense rules for the not so familiar travelers in this hostile environment. |
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The driest months in the deserts are May and June, followed by October and November. The best hiking months are October through May. The months of June through September are too hot for hiking except in the higher mountains. With temperatures that reach 120 degrees in the sun and dry parched air inducing continual thirst, the summer deserts are best left to the reptiles. In addition to hot air temperatures and low humidity, the deserts are characterized by even hotter ground temperatures, high evaporation rates, lack of surface water, sparse vegetation and wide temperature ranges from day to night. Gigantic thunderheads, often moving at great speeds, may in a matter of minutes drop a half inch of rain on a locality, causing flash floods and instant erosion of the desert landscape. BEFORE GOING INTO THE DESERT, ALWAYS INFORM A RELATIVE OR NEIGHBOR EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE GOING AND WHEN YOU WILL RETURN. |
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Pathfinding: Always have some idea of where you are. When planning on entering unfamiliar country, obtain a map beforehand, study the terrain features, the road structure, the direction to the nearest habitation, location of water, etc. Upon arrival at your destination, look for landmarks and orient yourself with the prominent ones. Fix directions well in your mind. Always remember the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; by standing with your right hand to the morning sun or your left hand to the evening sun, you will face north. As you move through the country, check your back trails often, Africanized honey bees, sometimes referred to as "killer bees", look exactly like domestic or common European honey bees but differ in temperament. Africanized honey bees defend their colonies more vigorously and in greater numbers and may respond with minimal or no provocation; however, their venom is no more harmful than that of domestic honey bees. If you see a lot of bees flying in and out of a small opening, there is probably a nest inside. The best strategy is to leave them alone and do not try to rob their hive, provoke or disturb them. Bothering a nest is the best way to get stung. If attacked, run away as fast as you can. Keep going until they stop following or you can get inside a house, car or other shelter. If far from shelter, try to run through tall brush. This will confuse and slow them while you make your way out of the area. Do not flail or attempt to swat the bees. Bees target your head and eyes; therefore, try to cover your head as much as possible without slowing your progress. If someone else is stung by honey bees, help them out of the area as quickly as possible. Protect yourself and the other person from stings with a sleeping bag, clothes or blankets and run away from the bees. Prevention and Treatment: In places where venomous species are expected, carefully inspect all clothing and bedding before use, especially items that have been on or near the ground during the night. Dampness seems to attract these creatures. During summer evenings, scorpions travel over the desert floor and up the branches of trees and bushes looking for food. Bedding on the ground will provide them a hiding place toward morning. If bitten (stung), apply a ligature and ice. DO NOT cut and suck. Remove the ligature after five minutes. Get a doctor, especially if the victim is a child, is elderly, has a bad heart, or has been bitten several times on the main part of the body. MOVE the victim to a medical facility without delay. |
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