While making my survival films, the primary issue I face due to not
eating is lack of energy. I work for 20 minutes, then have to sit down and
rest for the same amount of time. Then I work again for another 20 minutes
until I am exhausted and need to rest again. This continues until I somehow
get something to eat. See “Food,” Chapter 8, for more information.
Dehydration
THE DECISION AS TO WHETHER TO DRINK UNPURIFIED WATER comes down to a
question of risk. Can drinking unpurified water kill you? Definitely. But
with a few exceptions, it can take a week or more before the effects of
drinking bad water are felt. Dehydration, on the other hand, will kill you
more quickly; after only three to four days your ability to function well is
reduced.
Clearly, your first choice should be for clean or filtered water. But if
you have no other choice, drink the unpurified water and hope that you
can reach safety in time to deal with the waterborne illnesses you may
have contracted as a result.
Use some common sense when you see a tainted water source. Can
you get to other water? Is it contaminated with something you think
could be deadly, or is it just dirty? Remember, sparkling clean water can
hide some pretty nasty diseases too. See “Water,” Chapter 5, for more
information.
Cold Weather
WHILE FILMING A SPECIAL FOR THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL on surviving in
Alaska, I had the distinct pleasure of jumping through an ice hole cut in an
Alaskan lake and spending 13 minutes immersed in frigid water with one
of the world’s renowned experts in the study of cold on the human body. I
asked my friend Gordon Giesbrecht, PhD, professor of thermophysiology,
to pen the following sections on hypothermia and frostbite.
Dangers and Hazards (^) | 267