Desert Survival Tricks

Desert survival tips:

Technique:
Work or move only at night or dawn.

Wear all clothing fully buttoned up during day to create cooling microclimate and conserve or optimally utilize skin expiration.

If you are with a vehicle STAY with the vehicle (it was prepared for the Desert right?). Rescuers will be looking for the vehicle not you.

A burning spare tire will make a lot of black smoke for daytime signal use. Put oil, rags, seat cushions, etc. on it to make it black and highly visible during a typical desert windless day. Please put it on carefully before you ignite it. Never put combustables on a live fire cowboy, your asking for trouble then.

Find a shady spot and move/create more to stay in it during the day.

If you are near a good source of water, stay there. People will be by soon. There will also be lots of game to sustain you.

In the real-deal (think great sand dune monument) desert you are largely screwed without a supply of water.

You could bury yourself at dawn (body/legs about 18” deep) and get largely out of the daytime heat. That would increase your chances some.

Gear:
(On foot or in vehicle (*) while traveling)
Lightweight nylon SPF 30 pants, hat, shirt.
Pack with (2) 3l bladders and (3) 1l nalgene
Lightweight shade tarp
Water Purifier
Signal Panel
PSK
insulating mat for ground. (use car window reflector if no insulating pad availible) That ground is HOT man...
SUNGLASSES
sunscreen
Car Kit*
5 Gal water*
Heavy Duty tarp*
Cell Phone charger*
Medical Kit*
Food*

A few other items that come to mind:

Full-size shovel
Tools
Tire repair kit
Spare fan belt(s)
Spare lower and upper radiator hoses
Hi-lift jack or winch
Cable or heavy-duty rope
Sawyer extractor
Sleeping bag or blankets (gets cold in the desert around here!)

Regards, Vince

I've been out in the desert when the temperature was 115+. You feel weak and sick to your stomach. The most important thing is to get out of the sun and drink water. Water alone will not save you. You need something like Gatorade to feel OK. Whatever you do don't get out in the sun and work. The coyotes will eat your dead carcass (no joke!).

I really must disagree with you on this point. Adding combustibles to a live fire is a fundamental part of keeping the fire live. Tires burn so well, though, it's doubtful you'll need anything except a little accelerant to get them and keep them burning and smoking.

If you are going to burn a tire, let the air out first or better, remove the valve stem. Explosions at best scatters the signal fire and at worst can cause injury.

I'm guessing accelerant was intended instead of combustable. Without the latter, the fire would die. With the former, it might go up in your face if not handled properly (and even then it might!)

Somehow I thought people might add stuff to this thread and share anything they might know or have experience with concerning Desert Survival....
I am glad we have established that my use of vocabulary is incorrect. I think most people understood what I meant... But then common sense isn't a class in school so many people may not...
My Bad
I thank the poster who pointed out that letting the air out of the tire before ignition is a good idea.... I never have air in my spare <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> so I completely overlooked it...
The poster who mentioned cold at night is right too.. So I guess some are adding...

I haven't spent much time in the desert so what I have isn't really survival so much as it's comfort: - Bring something or improvise something to move air. Yes, you should have water, and it will evaporate quickly in the dry air, but in a car or under some shade, the lack of air movement can make one miserable. Personal misters go a long way to keeping your spirits up too. I was trapped in a compact car with 3 others in backed up traffic in Nevada once, and even with the windows down (we dared not overheat by running AC) it was intolerable. I broke out some notebooks and other items and we used them to fan ourselves. It made that sweat shop a little more comfortable.

One other problem I've read (never experienced) is that a lot of desert shelter is already in use by other criters staying out of the sun... so exercise extreme caution in moving into any natural cover. Some snakes are virtually invisible, but at least a rattler will let you know it's there if you walk slowly enough to not startle it into striking (again - what I've read, not done). Most NA snakes don't want to bite you. Now, go to Africa or Oz and that may not be the case... they got some aggressive buggers.

Thanks for the good post

I live in the middle of the sonoran desert on the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Approx 40 miles north of the mexican border. Based on my experiences I would say your advice is sage..
I am trying to scrape up enough desert specific tips and tricks to compile and re-post a desert specific survival mini-guide... All Posters will be given refernce to thier respective tip(s)
Thanks
<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A stick that is 5 or 6 feet long can be a real asset to probe ahead of you, in rocks, crevices and even sand. It is amazing how well camoflaged things like rattlesnakes can be... and they're in plain sight. Until they move, it looks like nothing is there.

Sue

Nice idea with the stick. It could double as a shade pole with some cordage and tarp/cloth/plastic.

Lack of water, shelter, fuel, food, people, and almost devoid of life except that which can kill you. I'd say rule number 1 when going into the desert for ANY reason, including with a vehicle, is stick to well traveled/populated areas and make sure someone knows where you are going (to and from) and has a check-in times with current positions. Preferably measured in hours (the fewer the better).

In fact, I'd venture a guess that those in a car may not be as careful, making assumptions about their relative safety where a hiker would probably prepare decently, knowing that death can come swiftly in case of an accident.

I guess I know a little bit about your AO - used to visit WSMR fairly often and have had some good meals in Las Cruces. But I've spent very little time recreating in the desert. My major hot and dry time was interior Somalia and I found that climitization is worth every bit as much in hot and dry as it is at high elevation or in extreme cold climates. And it takes a lot of water if you're moving or working. Also, shade is awesome and lack of shade sucks.

I have never done this, but I have read that it may be worthwhile to excavate a shallow pit under your vehicle (at night if possible) and use that to lie up in during the heat of the day. Of course, if your vehicle leaks and drips, that might not be a great idea... .. and I saw plenty of places where trying to scratch below the surface took a D8 or D9 with a ripper... anyway, It's my opinion that if the car windows have been left open during the day, not too long after dark the inside of the vehicle will be a better place to spend the hours of darkness.

Wouldn't a 10' x 10' scrap of Tyvek housewrap be a handy thing to have along? (OK - I carry one all the time up here). Make a lean-to against the vehicle - even just pinching the top edge between doors and door frames and then using rocks, dirt, spare tires, or whatever was handy, stretching out the lower edge? It's white, it's light, and it's compact. And not too noisy after you run it thru a cold water cycle in an automatic washer. Has plenty of other uses, too.

It would be great if one of you folks who live out in the blasted lands did a weekend simulation of broken-down vehicle and reported back to us <hint>...

Regards,

Tom

Susan, great point!

I almost feel nekid without my beloved stave... WAY too handy to not have. The only time it stays back in the truck is when I'm skiing for locomotion. My advice is that it should be a little above head high for various reasons and sturdy enough to bear your body weight plus a hefty backpack load when you lean over sideways on it at about a 45 degree angle to the ground (90deg between you and the stick). Mine started as a well-seasoned white oak sapling, now debarked, smoothed, and varathaned, and it's sporting a really nifty 7075 aluminum business end that I machined up for it and then filed to match the natural contour and taper of the stave. It's amazingly light and strong and has an infinite number of uses, although I have never adorned it with any "features" or gagets. It's just a stick... er, "hiking staff", and the tip is there just to keep it from splitting and add a lot of miles to its useful life.

I've made then for others from all sorts of different wood - never splits or machined shapes, except for some that I made by quartering an Osage Orange log and shaping pretty much like I would a self-bow. That will be my next one - they are the most beautiful ones I have made.

It does take some time and miles and hard use to get really comfortable with always having a stave with you, but once you do... I prefer skinny end down because the natural grip point on most terrain is above center and it swings naturally with my stride that way. Some folks prefer fatter end down... I dunno why, but they do, so... I tried mine both ways on a few hikes before deciding which end to armor. Oh, shaving and rasping a hemispherical top is well worth doing. It makes it friendlier for most all uses, including using it as the center pole in a tarp - no sharp edges to start a tear.

Regards,

Tom

Don't pay too much mind sangre... you'll find trolls no matter where ya go <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Troy

Carry your 6 foot staff vertically in front as you travel at night - it keeps twigs and spiderwebs out of your face, and will detect objects before your shins do.
Tape a mini-chemlight to the bottom and you can see where to place your feet!
And carry tweezers or know how to make them, those cactus spiney hairs can be a real debillitator!

I forgot to mention my favorite source of portable shade: an umbrella. It's a little easier to walk along with than a tarp.

I have been broke down (stuck) in Utah's west desert. Fortunately it did not turn into a survival situation. When I was a kid our small motor home got high centered crossing a sandy wash. We had plenty of water, food, shovels, and a hydraulic jack. The temp during the day was about 95 degrees F with no A/C. My dad and I dug us out and it took about 14 hours. It was miserable work but at no time were we in danger because we had the gear to deal with it.

Regards, Vince

(I don't know if anyone's mentioned the following yet, -in that I havn't yet read the entire thread, -but...) -

In burying yourself, -you would still somehow have to allow for diaphragm movement, -to assure your ability to breathe. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]sangre--nm[/email]