Survive in the Wild

Advanced GPS and cellular phone usage have made getting lost in the wild a declining phenomenon, nearly the lowest it's ever been. However, there are some situations you cannot avoid. Smart planning and quick thinking will more than likely prevent you from ever being in a situation in the wild, but good preparation is better than any tool you can get. Knowing basic survival skills will be well worth it if they are ever needed. The following are a few basic survival skills to use in you ever find yourself needing to survive in the wild.

Steps

  1. Think about all possible options if you find yourself in the wild without help. Be decisive about what the best survival course of action is. For example, if you think the best survival course of action is to seek out help and civilization, don't wait for four or five days before you come to this conclusion. Take action on the first or second day if possible, while you still have strength and endurance working for you.

Preparing shelter

  1. Build a shelter with branches and (bamboo works best) with rope. Form an angular shape with it. Use as many branches as possible for added stability and protection against the wind and weather.
  2. Stay out of sun in hot environments. If you are in a desert environment, try to build an underground shade shelter to avoid prolonged sun exposure (obviously only for hot climates) so you can travel more comfortably in cooler temperatures (avoid sweating).
  3. Consider a lean-to. For this you need something solid like a log or large rock. Lay long-ish branches against it thickly, and criss-cross smaller branches and shrubbery on top to provide sufficient insulation. The smaller your shelter is, the better it will insulate you. Shelters in low, dense shrubbery is often home to many insects.
  4. Build a bog-bed. If your environment is perpetually damp or mushy, use branches laid and criss-crossed on top of one another to create a solid and dry foundation for a lean-to or open bed pad. Rise above ground level as much as possible.

Making fire and staying warm

  1. Use the lenses of a magnifying glass or even your glasses to start a fire. Use dry wood and sticks to start your fire. Fire is started using three kinds of wood: tinder, kindling, and fuel. Tinder is any kind of flammable wood shaving; usually light and wispy. Kindling is used for coaxing the flame into larger form, and fuel is for fuel.
    • You can take two pieces of dry wood, sharpen one of them and use it to drill into the other piece. Place any highly flammable objects you can find next to the drill bit. The moment the flammable object catches a spark, use a rock to swiftly tip the shouldering object onto a nest of leaves/ twigs/dry bark.
  2. Keep your body temperature as normal as possible. Hypothermia or overheating can be deadly. If you are in wilderness you should cover your body with everything from leaves to blankets before nights because the temperature often reduces drastically. Many people die each year as the result of hypothermia.

Nourishment

  1. Carve a knife or spear for hunting. Get an ordinary block of wood and hit with a blunt rock repeatedly until the wood sharpens. Sharpen like any other knife, but in this case, use the rock as your sharpener. You could also take a rock and break off some of the edges and then use another rock and some water like a wet stone and sharpen. In an ideal situation, Obsidian stone (black, translucent lava rock) would be used for its infamous sharpness.
  2. Set a trap if you can't go out to hunt. Arrange a few sticks in somewhat half a tee pee. Use 2 more sticks to hold up the "teepee", similar to your shelter. Place an item of your choice you think an animal will come after. If you're lucky, the animal will be trapped.
    • Use pitfall traps for larger prey. Dig a hole in the ground about 2-3m deep and 1-2m across (depends on the prey size). Take 2 thin branches and place them criss-crossed across the hole. Cover it with leaves and put something the animals like to eat (raw meat, or peanut butter, or berries). You can also put a few wooden spikes sharpened by your knife at the bottom. Don't forget to build a ladder or you might not be able to climb out of the hole. Always remember to cut it up into smaller pieces before moving it out of the hole. The last thing you want to do is to injure yourself. Set as many traps as you can.
    • Go after fish first if you go hunting. When you spot one, don't make a sudden move. The vibrations will scare them off. Water bends light, and makes objects appear further back than they really are- so compensate for this and aim just in front of your target. Practice makes perfect.
    • Streams are full of food for if you cannot catch fish there are usually fresh water mussels
    • If you fail at catching fish, try to find some plants to eat; dandelions(yellow flowers or big white thing, eat the leaves), sour grass(has a yellow flower at the top and looks like grass, only in a cylinder shape, has no leaves, eat the cylinder type grass part), just never eat white berries. It may be tempting to eat regular grass, but do not.
  3. Find water in the first days. Signs accompanying dehydration are dry tongue, burning throat and dark-brown urine, at first instances. Water can set the line between life and death. Remember you can only survive for maximum of 3 days without water.
    • Find a place, like a pond or similar body of water, and dig a hole right beside it, deep enough for water to fall through. Use that, because if you take it right out of the pond, you don't know what bugs will go into your mouth.
    • Another easy way to collect water is to set up some plastic wrap and collect dew in the morning, for water.

Getting rescued

  1. Create a smoke signal. Repeat the fire step, this time using live branches.
  2. Make noise to attract attention. If you hear a bunch of people near you, blow your whistle and call for help. That will get their attention and you'll likely be rescued.

Tips

  • There could be little creatures like foxes, bears or raccoons around and if you leave your food lying around then it'll be gone. Tie it in a bag, or hang it in a tree.
  • Watch out for poisonous berries and fruit. Make sure you know for sure they're safe.
  • If there is a thunderstorm, hide in a cave or dig a hole if you're near trees.
  • Be very quiet and sneaky when hunting and fishing. Fish can hear your vibrations.
  • Try to make a shelter in a tree, since dangerous animals may be on the ground.
  • Put mud on your skin. Not only keeps away bugs but also keeps the sun off you.

Warnings

  • Watch out for poison oak and other such harmful or poisonous plants.
  • When using rocks around your fire, make sure they are dry and have not been anywhere near a riverbed.
  • Look out for predators and dress in orange, but when hunting wear camouflage. If you're dressed in brown, people hunting could mistake you for a deer.

Things You'll Need

  • Survival kit
    • Rope
    • Whistle
    • Matches
    • Medium-large rubbish/garbage bag
    • Duct tape
    • Pencil stub and very small notebook
    • Brightly colored cloth
    • Stock cube
    • Knife
    • Magnesium block and striker (to make a fire in all weather conditions)
    • Tinder
  • Water
  • Tents
  • Traps for hunting
  • A compass
  • A gun

Sources and Citations

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