Tips on Survival in the Wilderness
Long term survival in the wilderness is something that requires
a lot of training, but you're probably not planning on a life
in the woods hiding out from civilization. Survival for those
lost while backpacking or hunting or in a plane crash is another
matter. The following tips cover the basics of getting out alive
in those kinds of circumstances.
Food
Food is not a big priority when you are lost and awaiting
rescuers. It is very rare that anyone dies from starvation when
lost in the wilderness, because there are too many other ways
to die long before hunger gets you. In any case most rescues
happen long before the passing of the month or so that you could
live without eating.
Immediate Threats
Injuries and other immediate threats (like aggressive bears)
have to be dealt with quickly. Learning basic first aid can help
with this. So can learning how to avoid and deal with animal
attacks, although these are rare.
Shelter
Once immediate threats are dealt with, shelter will normally
be your highest priority for survival. You can practice building
a wilderness survival shelter to be better prepared. Otherwise
try to remember that your goal is to keep out wind and rain,
and to provide a space small enough for your body to heat - at
least if you're facing cool weather.
The basic lean-to is perhaps the most common survival shelter.
Attach a pole or stick horizontally between two trees, and then
lean others against it. Pile more sticks against this "roof"
at various angles and then cover it with evergreen boughs, leaves
or tree bark, starting from the bottom so each layer of roofing
acts like shingles to shed the rain or snow.
You can also just pile up dry leaves or grass and crawl into
the center of the pile to get warm fast. This can even keep you
dry if the rain or snow is light enough. It's the "dead
air" space created that insulates you and keeps your body
heat in around you - an important point to remember. Dry vegetation
can also be used as a mattress and blanket inside any other type
of shelter, for additional comfort and warmth.
Water
Your next important survival priority will be water. Rivers,
lakes, swamps and springs are some obvious sources. In dry areas
you may have to work a little harder at locating water to drink.
Search out low shaded spots where it may have pooled during the
last rain, and not yet dried up. Collect dew in the mornings
by running a piece of cloth through the wet grass and wringing
the moisture out into you mouth or a container.
You may not have a means to purify water. But if more than
a day has gone by without a drink, use whatever water you find
unless it is clearly poisoned. Indications of that include a
lack of any plant life around the water, or extremely foul tastes.
In most circumstances you're more likely to die from dehydration
than from contaminated water sources. Many organisms, like giardia,
can take a week or more before you have symptoms. Hopefully you'll
be rescued by then.
Signaling
Help the searchers find you, perhaps with a fire. Pile up
green leafy branches or something else next to it, to add quickly
when a search plane is in the area. This will create a lot of
smoke. What if you can't make a fire? Find an open area and lay
out whatever you have that is colorful and/or large, so it can
be spotted from above. Also, if you have a whistle, blow it in
sets of three occasionally, in case searchers are on foot in
the vicinity.
In most emergencies survival in the wilderness is not about
how to build a cabin or make bread from cattail root starch.
Mostly it's about protecting your core body temperature and keeping
hydrated while you wait for help to arrive. And although food
can help a bit psychologically, it is usually last on this list
of priorities for survival.
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