Staying Warm and Other Survival Skills
Note:
This is an excerpt from Ultralight Backpacking Secrets
Use the form in the side bar to get all chapters by e-mail.
(Part 2. Click here to return to part 1: Wilderness
Survival)
Learn How To Stay Warm
The number one cause of death in wilderness survival situations
is hypothermia. How to stay warm, then, is the first thing you
should study. This includes the following skills:
- Staying dry.
- Starting a fire.
- Making shelters.
Learn How To Find Water
Water far more important than food. People have gone months
without food, while few have survived more than a few days without
water. Simple skills you can learn to obtain potable water include:
- Making a simple solar still.
- Reading the terrain to locate water sources.
- Filtering and decontaminating water.
Learn How To Find Food
This will not be your top priority in a survival situation.
However, once you have shelter and water, you will fell much
more motivated with food in your stomach. You should learn about:
- Simple animal traps.
- Survival fishing techniques.
- The most abundant wild edible plants.
Learn How To Treat Injuries
Injuries in a wilderness emergency can range from cuts to
burns, and broken bones to concussions. Learn a little bit about
how to:
- Save lives with CPR.
- Treat shock.
- Treat common cuts and burns using a few common plants.
Staying Warm - Some Tricks
- Have a cup of hot tea just before going to sleep.
- Exercise a bit just before going to sleep - but not enough
to sweat.
- Cover your sleeping bag liner or sleeping bag with extra
clothes for more insulation.
- Sleep with your head slightly downhill. This takes some
getting used to, but it really works.
- Go to sleep earlier or later - experiment to see which works
best for you.
- If you are warm when you get into your sleeping bag, you
are much more likely to stay warm through the night. It is just
plain difficult to get warm - especially in a thin bag - if you
start out shivering. |
Learn How To Navigate
Someday you may be lost and need to find your way out of the
wilderness. You may have lost or broken your compass. You should
know how to:
- Navigate using stars.
- Navigate using the sun.
- Maintain a heading in rough terrain.
Key Points
1. Learning wilderness survival skills makes wilderness travel
safer.
2. Survival knowledge can be used to reduce pack weight.
3. There are basic skills, like how to stay warm, that can
be learned quickly.
4. Learning even a little about wilderness survival is better
than nothing.
Buy this ebook as a PDF download:
Click
here for info on the book and bonus.
Or get it free - a chapter at a time (the subscription
form is to the right).
|
