Survive: Mountains (2016)

WATER

Water is one of the main ingredients for survival, since you will only be able to survive a few days without having any and you will quickly become dehydrated, which can lead to headaches, fatigue, dizziness, fainting, and nonsensical thought patterns. This can ultimately spiral the situation that you are already in, but at least it is usually easier to find water in mountain environments. You may have snow to melt, running water coming from glacial melt, or copious amounts of running water or lakes. Often the topography and surrounding vegetation can give telltale signs of where you will find water. The presence of willows, alders, and dense, green, brushy creek beds can be signs of running water.

Generally you should plan on treating the water that you find in the backcountry, but if you don’t have that option, do what you need to do to survive. If you can’t treat the water and can obtain it directly from snowmelt or a spring coming straight out of the ground, you will minimize your chance of illness. Try to obtain water from a running source over a stationary body of water to minimize your risk of waterborne illness. If you have a fire going, you can boil water to make it potable. Also, you can filter scuzzy water through your shirt or a bandanna to help remove the floating debris.

+Tip: Keep your water bottle from freezing by only filling it three-quarters of the way and placing it upside down in your pack’s side pocket. This prevents water from freezing in the bottle’s mouth—unless it’s really cold out. In extreme cold, keep your water bottle in an insulated pouch. You can also warm or boil your water before putting it in your bottle or the pouch. A thermos will also work but weighs more.

Another great way to gather potable water is to catch rain if the weather is bad. Rainwater is safe and potable until it makes contact with the ground. You can gather rainwater by using large leaves or other impermeable surfaces and collecting or channeling the water into a pot, bowl-shaped rock, or other nonporous catchment system.

If you are having trouble finding water, you can use the following methods to get some, but it is much less efficient than finding a natural water source. The solar still will provide safe, potable drinking water.

SOLAR STILL FOR GETTING WATER

Equipment needed: plastic ground sheet or waterproof pack liner

Underground still: Dig a hole about 2 feet deep and line it with one or a half of your plastic pieces. Either pee into the plastic liner or add a bunch of green foliage into the hole. Put your pot in the center, lowest part of the hole, and on top of the liner. You can also throw some fresh foliage in there. Cover the hole with the other plastic piece, and place rocks around the border. Drop a small rock in the middle right over your pot so that the water/pee will condense on the plastic and then drip down into the pot. This process can be used to get water and also to treat it.

Aboveground still: Put green foliage into your pack liner. Weigh one corner down with a rock, and tie the mouth of the bag closed above that. Place the bag in direct sunlight. Remove the water by untying the mouth of the bag and pouring out the water. Then reseal the bag to collect more.

CLOTH TECHNIQUE FOR GETTING WATER

Equipment needed: bandanna or base layer

You can collect condensation, dew, or steam from boiling water with your bandanna or base layer. Then you wring out the bandanna to provide water.