[FinnMan]

I just read a great survival story from newspaper:
There was 19 years old finnish girl who went out to the woods for take a walk. The woods started just behind their house. She walked maybe like 1.5 km away from house and was wearing long shirt, long skirt and plastic crocs-sandals. Suddenly she hurt her feet somehow and noticed that she cannot walk at all. She thought to call for help and noticed that she forgot phone home. She started to shout for help, but nobody heard.
She was living 8 days jusg lying under a tree and eating snails and drinking water from the croc-sandal in mornings. Big bruce tree gave him shelter from the rain and the weather was +10deg day time +3 night time and one night it went below zero. Rescuers just couldn´t find her for a few days and then they concentrated to look from the river which was runnning nearby. Everybody was going to give up and police came to that girls parent home to negotiate what next when they suddenly heard very very distant shouting. Started to listen that yes it comes from forest. They call rescuers with the thermal cameras and dogs and went again to the dark forest. After half hour they found the girl who was still quite ok condition just a bit frostbiten and starving, but was able to speak still.

So what we can learn from the story?

1) keep your gsm phone with you
2) never leave your home without basic items:
- knife
- compass
- whistle
- firemaking ****s, firesteel is the best
- space blanket
- bottle of water

If the girl had firemaking ****s she could make signal fire. Shouting takes a lot of effort so whistle is far better and have stronger sound.
fire and space blanket can keep you more warm. Bottle of water is much better than no water and empty bottle can be used for collecting more. You can also make hot brew by boiling water in plastic bottle with hot coals, anybody tried that?

Here you can see that it´s possible:

http://fenlaners.blogspot.com/search/label/bottle

 

[the hog]

Amazing isnt it that you can get lost so close to home, although not impossible.
You can apreciate that she had no intention of venturing far and had no idea that she would end up getting lost so perhaps as a young girl just out on a stroll she can be forgiven for not having survival aids with her.
We must however apreciate the fact that she was plucky and tough enough to stay alive even without the benefit of any skills or knowledge.
A lesson perhaps to never take for granted even that the most simple of walks might turn into a nightmare.
Good link to the web page will be reading it with interest.

 

[Straight Razor]

So what we can learn from the story?

The Finns are lousy at finding a conscious yelling adult within 1/2 mile of home.

 

[FinnMan]

The forest was very thick and bushy. Even helicopter with modern thermographic cameras etc. couldn´t find her. Maybe thick forest eats your shout eficiently...

 

[FinnMan]

Any other thoughts / discussion about the case?

 

[Stretch]

It was certainly a good thing that, eight days later, the family and police decided to "listen" out back......
I do like the story though.

 

[RedShirtSurvival]

a bad ad for Crocs

Any other thoughts / discussion about the case?

Plastic crocs-sandals can hurt the feet enough for someone to not be able to walk home. :upsidedown:

Seriously, it suggests the importance of telling someone where you're going or leaving a note.

 

[bmatt]

Well, it definitely is a good idea to take some basic survival items with you when you go hiking, at LEAST a whistle so people can hear you. Oh and knife too.

 

[Smudge]

I'll agree with the idea of taking the basics even on a short hike I'd go lighter over firesteel for "emergancy survival" for speed and ease of use but thats a subject for another post.

I'll say she was both bloody lucky as well as unlucky, and yes dense foliage will soak up sound.

 

[mongoose]

not ta be mean but --- do any of you go out w out a knife,lighter,compass

its a good story fer learnuin by seein what not ta do


glad she made it could have been disasterous

 

[Vanishing Nomad]

I would have just crawled back to the trail and kept inching towards the house.

If only a half mile, I would have made it. I am really stubborn like that.

 

[Vanishing Nomad]

not ta be mean but --- do any of you go out w out a knife,lighter,compass

its a good story fer learnuin by seein what not ta do


glad she made it could have been disasterous

Reply]
I allways have a small knife. I have gotten rather good at rough direction finding by looking at the position of the sun.

Also I allways hike in gynmshoes so I have the flexibility to avoid getting hurt in the first place.

When I hike, i do balance and coordination exercises. Rather than walk the path, i walk on every loose rock, exposed root, and fallen tree I see.

I have crossed streams on the loosest, most slippery rocks there are, and have done so with a good bit of quickness. I have walked across fallen trees no more then 3 inches wide.

This develops the ability to not mass up and get hurt in the first pace, AND you learn to recover properly if you mass up.

 

[Roastie]

If I am going for a walk over 1 mile in the woods I generally carry a multitool, a pistol (I carry a pistol at all times.), and a fully charged cell phone. I do not carry a compass as generally speaking, in my location if you go 2 miles in any direction you will hit either a populated road or house.

I can see how perhaps she had done this many times before, walking behind her home, and figured she was going to just take a small stroll without assuming she would injure herself. Glad that she made it out.

 

[Mrbrownfolks]

It's punishment for wearing crocs. Those are so last year.

 

[FinnMan]

I think the idea was to take small walk, otherwise why crocs?

 

[test]

I never am anywhere-even in my own house-without my neck knife and lighter around my neck. I'd feel naked without them. In my front left pocket is my cell phone (except if I'm at home, then it's on the charger). In my right pocket right now I have my leatherman, a lighter with a military can opener attached to it and a small tube of ibuprophen. On my belt I have a small clip with a flashlight on it. That' all the time unless if I'm in the shower or walking in the river.

I have a few other items I carry with me if I'm planning on being out in the woods.

A quick note-the compass in your nose. Humans have a small deposit of iron on the bridge of their noses right between their eyes. There are many nerve ending connected to this area (getting hit there really hurts). It is believed to be a sort of compass that we used when we were hunter/gatherers and followed the migrating herds of prey. It does take some effort but we can be retrained to trust this sense and use it like a compass. Find a field and blindfold yourself and try to head north through the field. It takes several times because most people take off the blindfold and find themselves very far from where they think they should be. Do it enough though and you'll learn to feel directions quite well. Not enough to pin point a specific place on a map but general directions become pretty easy. It's a free skill to learn, you can give it a try if you want.

Tury