Monday, March 30, 2020

The Rule of Threes Can Save Your Life



The Rule of Threes Can Save Your Life



 
Photo by: Tanya Augsburger

 Every few news cycles we seem to hear a story about someone who has been lost in the wilderness or become stranded somewhere due to weather or mechanical failure.
Occasionally there is a happy ending to these stories where the person or persons are found, maybe suffering from a little exposure or dehydration, but after a couple days in the hospital they get to go home no worse for the experience.
Far too often we read of tragedy where they are found dead, maybe not even found until months or years later, if ever.

Why the Rule of Threes?
 Ask the average person what the first thing they would do if they were stranded in the wilderness, and you will probably get some variant of the answer, “I would look for something to eat.”
Ron Hood of Hoods Woods fame came up with The Rule of Threes to help people prioritize what is most important in any survival situation.

What Does the Rule of Threes say?
 The rule of threes says “You can live three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.”
This statement is all about approximation, but it holds true in application.
As you can see this all about staying alive. The less time you can stay alive, the more important the statement is. For example you can live three weeks without food, but only live three hours without shelter.
So if you are in light clothes in freezing rain, it is much more important to find suitable shelter than it is to be looking for something to eat. If you get your priorities out of order that is how you end up dead.
Let’s break this down and look at each statement.

Three Minutes Without Air
 You can live three minutes without air.
Yes, I know there are people out there who can hold their breath for five minutes or longer but in general if you can’t breath for three minutes you are done for.
The two applicable scenarios that come immediately to my mind would be drowning or a fire. Possibly python wrestling but that isn’t likely for most people lost in the wilderness.
So a car in the water, a boating accident, or trapped in a fire unable to breath you have approximately three minutes to fix your situation or you will die.

Three Hours Without Shelter
 You can live three hours without shelter (in extreme weather).
A person must maintain their body heat or they do not continue to function well. A wet and cold person can slip into hypothermia and die very quickly if they are not careful. Most people think about exposure to being cold, but extreme heat can kill you as well.
Shelter is a very important aspect of staying alive in an emergency. You have just a couple hours in extreme conditions to do something about it. In less extreme conditions you will still need to take care of your shelter before most other things.
Your clothing and the ability to make fire can be considered shelter as well, in addition to any structure or other means of maintaining body temperature.
So if you are not drowning, in a fire, or being smothered, your number one priority in a survival situation will be adequate shelter.

Three Days Without Water
 You can live three days without water.
Potable water is important to survival. Staying hydrated will help keep your mind clear so that you can make good decisions about your situation.
There are many techniques and products on the market for purifying or filtering water. Many are not at all expensive and are a good investment. The price of a compact water filter small enough to stash in your car or pack is well under $50.
A little online research will give you an idea of the skills that are available to learn about purifying water. Taking the time and effort to become proficient may just save your life.

Three Weeks Without Food
 You can live three weeks without food.
With few exceptions, people stranded in the wilderness do not starve to death. They usually die of exposure or dehydration. Yes, there is a famous case in Alaska but circumstances such as this are few and far between.
Looking for food is the last thing on your list to get squared away if you are stranded. Once you have your air, shelter and water in place, then food becomes important.
Like water, there is a plethora of information online for those who wish to know how to forage food in the wild. A wild edibles book for your area is not a bad investment.
As you can see, the Rule of Threes is simple and lays out a plan of action to follow. It is easily memorized ( I taught it to my children at a young age) and it just may someday save your life.

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