Piss: a survival resource

During Friday night’s shelter outing (see Modified survival shelter success), I intentionally did not bring water with me. I had a glass of water (and, unfortunately, a beer) at around 2PM, and that was it.

Since then I’d hiked about 6 miles and moved leaves and sticks around for 2 hours, up and down a small hill.  I was REALLY thirsty once the shelter was built.

Remembering the guy from 127 hours who survived by drinking his own pee and cutting off his own arm, I looked with some anxiety at the quart sized Ziploc bag I’d brought for my camera in case it rained. 

Oh man, was I really going to do this? What if it makes me sick or somehow poisons me? 

Yep, I was really going to do it. I urinated into the bag, filling it about half way with fairly dark yellow pee (not really dark, just dark for me – usually I drink so much water it’s almost clear). It smelled, well, like piss. I really didn’t know if I would have the balls to drink it. I put the bag up to my mouth and put it back down three times before I was able to take a drink.

And so I drank a pint of my own piss. 

Once I learned to not inhale while drinking, it actually didn’t taste particularly bad. Importantly, it doesn’t taste like it smells. It just tastes bitter, like straight black tea. And I felt surprisingly revived by it, even though it was f#%@-ing disgusting. I was sufficiently hydrated that I felt no more extreme thirst for the rest of the night and into the next morning.

The experience made me regret not saving a greater, more diluted quantity earlier during my hike. 

It also made me realize that urine is probably a critical survival resource. I don’t know how long one can subsist on his own urine, but it’s probably a lot longer than with no water at all. An added bonus is that, unlike stream water, there is no giardia or other parasites in my urine.

In survival situations in the future, whether planned or accidental, I will not throw away my piss. The instant I find myself in a survival situation, I will value my own piss the way I would value a bottle of spring water. That is, unless I have a pot for boiling or solar still or filter or massive supply of drinking water. Cause really, pee is pretty disgusting. 

Would love to hear reactions in the comments.