I am in your situation almost year round here in Phoenix.

Here is what you have to do to survive 3 days: thermo-regulate, hydrate, and communicate.

I would have to be up north to get cold. I carry a LeatherMan Charge Ti clipped in my pocket; it has a saw. I have 10’ of thin braided nylon cord in my watch pocket. If there were trees around I could build some kind of shelter. I have an Altoids strips metal tin that holds two squished Coghlan’s Emergency Tinder I also have a Boy Scout Hot Spark. The back of the LeatherMan saw works great to make sparks. I also have a Bic-mini lighter. It is great for burning the ends of rope and cord. When I go hiking I always take a water bottle or wear my CamelBack. The CamelBack has my Cody Lundin, 98.6, type survival kit. To communicate I always have a Fox-40 in my pocket and a cut down REI featherweight mirror in my wallet. A cell phone is good if it works where you happen to be.

For comfort: I have Chapstick, two Band-Aids (in my wallet), an Ultra Infinity LED (AA), and a Suunto Comet compass with a glow-in-the-dark face. If I were a real survival nut I would keep a folded up square of heavy-duty aluminum foil in my back pocket. Because I am a self-defense nut; I carry a SureFire C2 clipped to my belt and a canister of pepper spray in my pocket. A Glock .40 S&W is seldom far away.

Someone else’s survival may depend on a 3 day supply of prescription medication, if needed.

I’ve listened to Cody Lundin talk. You are most likely to need your PSK when you go day hiking. He said that is when most people get lost and die from lack of thermo-regulation. Think about the rule of 3s only up to 3 days: you can do something stupid and die in 3 seconds, you can die in 3 hours from lack of thermo-regulation, or you can die in 3 days from dehydration. After 3 days they will probably stop looking for you. Then it is time for plan B: get yourself out.

Remember: the best source of water is the water you carry with you. If you had a backpack full of the world’s best camping gear but no water you could still die. I think that if you had a fire starter and a jug of water you could survive the 3 days.