Gimme shelter


Next is shelter. This is an area where you have to be realistic when you are talking to your kids. They are probably not going to be able to build any form of shelter — no matter what the season — if they are in the wilderness alone. So, you have to provide them with something that they can carry with them in their pack that they are able to use. All a shelter does is give you another layer of dead air and protect you from the wind and the moisture. It's basically just another layer of clothing.

You actually have a few options here. The first is a heavy-duty garbage bag. You want to make sure to get the 4 mil strength, which is stronger than your average kitchen garbage bag. They are easiest to find around Halloween time. You want to tear a hole in the end, about 2 inches or so in from the corner to create a face hole. This is something you would do before you leave home, so your child doesn't have to worry about it or put it over their head without a hole in it. They then can just pull it on like a poncho. This is going to provide them with another layer just like clothes, a kind of a quick down-and-dirty shelter. The only problem with the garbage bag is that you really want to have long sleeves with it or your arms will get pretty cold.

Another option is what is called an emergency bag. It is orange on the outside and silver on the inside. They are bigger than the garbage bag, so they will cover a lot more of your body. But more importantly, it's a multi-use item. If you didn't need this to add another layer of clothing or as a quick shelter you could use the orange side as a signal. These bags can be purchased on the Internet.

There is yet another option and that is an all-weather blanket. This is the blanket of choice for Davenport.

"I like to go one step further with my kids and that is I like to use an all-weather blanket," Davenport said. "I really like this because it's multi-use. On the back side I've got orange that's going to contrast with the snow in the wintertime so it's a great signal in the winter. And the front side, it's silver which means in the summertime it's going to be a great signal, which is very important and kind of nice. And it's got a hood in it and the hood helps protect your warmth and the heat from your head and it's got the hand holds, so you can imagine, you can wrap this around you, and if you were under a tree or something like that it would help give you more protection as that extension of clothing. . . .The way you would use this as shelter is it has grommets. If you bring a little bit of line, I bring parachute line, . . . you could tie these out and make a lean-to or something like that.

These all-weather blankets cost around $15 and can be found online. They are hard to find in stores. Make sure you search for a hooded all-weather blanket or you will end up with one without a hood.

One option you may already have — I know we do —  is the infamous space blanket, or mylar blanket. This item should be avoided. All it takes is just one snag on a branch or other item and they will tear completely apart, much like tin foil.

Ration sweat — not water

The second area is to stay hydrated. To stay hydrated you need to make sure your child is carrying enough water. If you're telling your child to stop and stay put, that means they should not go out and look for more water. What you are saying is, "Stop, stay put and drink the water that you have."

I always thought you should try to ration your water so it will last you for a longer period of time. Rationing water is not a good idea, Davenport said. It basically sets you up for earlier dehydration — which will change how you think and it's going to change your decision-making process. If you get dehydrated just to the point of thirst, it's been shown that one out of four decisions is wrong at that point.

"I advocate rationing sweat, not your water," Davenport said. "So if your child is carrying one of those small Camelbacks, they should have enough water in there
for a day and they should drink it during that day and not ration it."

The last area in meeting your needs is to signal for help. Two things a child should always carry, said Davenport, are a signal mirror and a whistle — because they'll need to be seen and heard.
 
Try to buy a whistle that is a bright color so that if it gets dropped it can be more easily found. If you lose your whistle, simply find a stick that is about wrist thick and hit it against a tree three times every few minutes or so.
 
"This is an abnormal sound in nature," Davenport said. "If I'm looking for (someone) and I hear this 'thump, thump, thump,' I am going to go searching for that sound. The odds are a lot higher for kids that are flashing their light and blowing their whistle. There is a greater chance that they are going to be found."

Davenport said he has his boy carry two whistles — one that is lanyarded onto his belt buckle and tucked in his pocket, and another in his backpack.
 
The signal mirror is used to shine toward any passing planes in the sky. You would simply reflect the sunlight off of your mirror into the path of that plane above. Davenport said most kids have already done something similar by shining the light off their watches into their friends' faces or trying to warm up an unsuspecting ant on the playground. The skill, then, is already there, they just need to know how to apply it in an emergency.

Click here for Part 3 of Wilderness Survival.