| Maybe you don't need to learn about survival | | | | of "dead air space." It's better if you have |
| clothing. Maybe you always hike with a spare | | | | two layers to sandwich it between, but being |
| jacket. Perhaps you never go out into the | | | | itchy is better than being frozen in any |
| wilderness overnight, but just for day hikes. | | | | case. |
| Or you bring lots of warm clothing when you | | | | |
| do go backpacking. | | | | In a jam, you can also use the flat leaves of |
| | | | cattail plants to weave a vest that will |
| Nonetheless, hundreds of people die or come | | | | block the wind and some rain. Two bread bags |
| close to dying every year from exposure. They | | | | full of milkweed down or other silky plant |
| thought they were prepared. They didn't | | | | fibers make warm mittens (tie them at the |
| expect their clothes to get wet from falling | | | | wrists). A plastic bag full of the same could |
| in a stream, they didn't think they'd be out | | | | be tied onto your head as a hat. |
| there for the night, or they get lost for | | | | |
| days. | | | | Usually, you'll do better to look first at |
| | | | what you have, before looking to kill animals |
| Coming down from Mount Whitney I met several | | | | for their skins, or weave grass skirts. If |
| young men in t-shirts on their way up, | | | | you have a sleeping bag, it can double as a |
| determined to get to the top. They had no | | | | coat - just wrap it around you. Socks can be |
| gear, and not enough time, but they probably | | | | mittens, and garbage bags can be made into |
| made it there by sunset anyhow. They also | | | | snow pants. |
| certainly didn't make it the eleven miles | | | | |
| back to their car before dark. It was below | | | | A garbage bag can also be a raincoat. |
| freezing that night, so I imagine they were | | | | Otherwise, tie bunches of grass tightly |
| uncomfortable at best. | | | | together along a string or strip of cloth, |
| | | | and then wrap it around your shoulders. This |
| Quick Survival Clothing | | | | will repel a light rain. You can fashion a |
| | | | rain hood of birchbark as well. |
| What survival clothing could they have made | | | | |
| in that situation? One of them did have a | | | | In the desert you can make a sun-hat of large |
| light jacket. He could have used his t-shirt | | | | leaves, like those from a fan palm. String |
| as a hat (a lot of heat is lost through the | | | | some together to wrap around your shoulders |
| head) and filled his jacket with the fluff | | | | to prevent sunburn. |
| from the cattail seedheads for insulation. | | | | |
| (Cattail down was once used to fill those old | | | | You'll probably never have to use animal |
| orange life preservers.) | | | | skins for survival clothing. You might never |
| | | | lose your shoes and need to glue tree bark to |
| Insulation is the important principle here. | | | | your feet with pine sap, for hiking. Still, |
| You can stuff a jacket, shirt, sweater or | | | | knowing how to improvise a few basic pieces |
| pants with dry leaves, milkweed down, bracken | | | | of survival clothing can make you more |
| ferns or almost anything that creates a lot | | | | comfortable, and possibly save your life. |