Could You Survive 7 Weeks in the Wilderness?

Click this link to read more about Rita Chretien, the 56-year old woman who survived in her car for 7 weeks in the remove Nevada wilderness, living on melted snow, vitamins and trail mix. If you were lost in the middle of nowhere, how long could you survive on what was in your car? Do you have an emergency kit with food, water and a way to stay warm? Here's a good link on how to pack a good car emergency kit. The essentials are:

Food

Water

Warmth (blankets, rain gear, warm clothes)

Light

First Aid kit

Tools (shovel, ax, multi-purpose tool)

Think about what's in your car right this second. Could you survive? I have two decent kits in the back of my car, but I could probably eat for a least a day on the crumbs in the kids' carseats!

You might be thinking, surely I don't need a bunch of emergency supplies in my car, I never go traipsing around the backroads. Well, first off, don't call me Shirley. That joke is better spoken, than written, isn't it? Anyway, the Chretiens didn't have plans to go offroading either, but they got lost. That can happen to anyone.

What is more likely to happen is that you could be caught on the road due to a large accident, earthquake or wildfire and have no way to turn around for hours. This happened to someone I know a few summers ago on I-5. There was a large wildfire in the median and she was stuck with no way to go anywhere in the hot sun for about 3 hours. That's minor compared to what could happen following a large earthquake or massive evacuation scenario. This is also another good reason to always have your gas tank at least half full. If I have to put some major distance between myself and Cowlitz County quickly, I don't have time to mess around with the gas pump!