Carrying People
You may find yourself in an emergency where you need to carry an injured
person. Injured travelers pose a real challenge, one that is nearly impossible
for a single ablebodied person to handle. Transporting another person is
much more manageable when two or more are doing the carrying.
If you need to carry small children, you can put them in a backpack frame
or makeshift carry bag. For larger children or adults, you can make a chair or
stretcher out of poles. A rough stretcher can be carried by two people, although
it is an exhausting task. If you are the sole ablebodied person, your only option
for transporting your injured partner is to make a sledge that can be dragged.
This type of device is a stretcher with crossed front handles that point (or curve)
upward, allowing the carrier to pull without having to crouch too low. See “Sur
vival First Aid,” Chapter 13, for more advice on coping with injuries.
Rate of Travel
THE STAKES OF SURVIVAL TRAVEL ARE HIGH, so you can’t afford to make any mis
takes. Know that your rate of travel will be considerably slower than normal.
Move deliberately, carefully, and at a medium pace; it is not a race. Most
important, know where you are headed!
Set realistic travel goals for yourself. Pick a destination that you’re pretty
sure you can reach without exhausting yourself. It can be demoralizing to set
a goal and then not attain it. The faster you go, the greater the risk that you’ll
hurt yourself and the more likely you’ll bypass a route or trail that may lead
you to safety. You may even miss the cave that could provide shelter for the
night, or the cabin tucked in the woods. Go at a reasonable pace and the world
will open up in front of your eyes; you’ll begin to see the possibilities before
you, possibilities that may make all the difference to your survival.
stroud’s Tip
While you’re traveling, look backward often to see where
you’ve come from so that you can recognize that view if
you have to return. Few people do this, but it’s well worth the
mere seconds it takes. (^222) | Survive!