Excellent Tips on How to Survive in the Wilderness

Being an outdoor person is a great quality to have and makes for some amazing experiences and memories to share when you’re older. Not many people have the courage and patience to withstand unsettling and unpredictable nature, but those who do are the ones who truly witness its beauty. If you want to participate in more outdoor activities like camping and hiking, here are some tips on surviving in the wilderness in case of any emergency.

Managing the state of your mind when you’re trying to survive in the wilderness is essential. You need to stay calm and collected in order to be able to think clearly and put together a plan. You can’t go into survival mode if you’re panicking because you won’t be able to assess your situation and act accordingly. It’s also essential to keep a positive state of mind, it may not seem important, but it’ll help you diligently plan to keep yourself safe and find your way out of any situation.

If you already know that you’re going on a trip alone, then there is always a risk of getting lost in the wilderness, and it’s best to prepare for worst-case scenarios. It would be best that you share the details of your trip with a close friend or family member; your destination, car route, and when you should be expected to return. You should also pack emergency essentials like a folding knife, extra food, high-quality water-purifying drops, waterproof matches, and an emergency blanket. You may even need to take a shovel with you. This might seem like a weird tool to need, but you’ll find that the best shovel for survival situations are the ones that are compact, easy to carry, and designed in a way to make shoveling easy for you. You will need to shovel to make pits for a fire and to use the bathroom amongst other things. They won’t take much space in your car or in your backpack but will go a long way when you’re out there in the wilderness. 

No matter where your location is in the wilderness, you’ll need to protect yourself from the elements by finding or building a suitable shelter. If it rains or gets too windy, you could get hypothermic, even with minimum exposure. Prioritize finding somewhere to stay in until the weather settles down a bit. If you need protection from heat, dig a few inches in the soil for cooler ground. You can also use sticks and limbs to build a shelter or use bark, leaves, or a poncho to provide yourself with shade. For quicker shelters, find basic solutions like taking cover behind a large rock or tree.

Water is one of the key necessities for your survival in the wilderness. That’s why it’s highly advisable to pack water-purifying drops or tablets to always have access to clean water in any situation. If not, look for cold, moving, clear water, and avoid warm, stagnant water. If it still needs purifying, try to collect it in a container and skim the cleaner water off the top. As for food, if you already have some packed, make a plan to ration it over each day until you can find an alternative. In the meantime, you can find a way to hunt animals or look for fruits. Just remember that without proper nutrition, you’ll feel weak and delirious, so there’s no room for being picky.

Building a fire in the wilderness can help you in so many ways that could be the determining factor between life and death. That’s why you should always have waterproof matches on hand that can withstand any water damage. All you need is to gather some branches and twigs that should be completely dry. Without the matches, you can still build a fire by building a tinder nest from things like dry grass and leaves and use the power of friction for a spark. Then you get a board-like piece of wood and make a notch when you can insert a spindle-like branch and place a piece of bark under it to catch the flame produced. 

That’s when you start to spin and roll the spindle until the board lights up. You can also use the back of a knife or batteries to create a fire. Just make sure to practice fire safety and keep all your items away from it.

Lighting a fire is one of the things you need to prioritize right after finding proper shelter. Not only will it keep you warm through the night but it also keeps away any wild animals that could harm you or eat your food. You can also use it to lightly cook any animal you hunt as well as provide light when it gets dark. Most importantly, lighting a fire is the ultimate way to signal for help since building three campfires is the known sign of someone being in distress and needing rescue.    

There you have it, these are the ultimate survival tips you can follow if you’re ever in a situation where you’re stranded in the wilderness. The most important thing is that before you set out on any outdoor trip, you do thorough research on your destination and memorize different routes. It’s also important to learn survival basics like tying knots and building a fire before any camping trip. Just remember to always stay calm and positive and focus on making your way back home.