Useful Survival Lessons For The Wilderness

“Leaning back on our comfortable sofas kept in our living rooms while flipping through the channels on the television with a plate full of our favorite snack in front of us, it is easy to take the utter comfort we live in for granted. All it takes is a push of a button to get a glass full of water, or light up the fireplace. It is also easy to forget how challenging it is for us to live a life out of our comfort zones. Most people like to explore that aspect of the life in which they get to challenge their survival skills and get to know life and the environment outside their comfort zones. People like to take up adventure sports, go on outdoor trips, to backpack, to hike and what not. Outdoor trips are in fact the most common way to fathom the beauty of life by exploring nature. People go on hikes in the jungles and though they are prepared for any and every eventuality that might befall them, the possibility of losing way and getting stranded cannot be kept aside. There are numerous cases in which people lose their way or run out of the necessary supplies, and there is nothing that they can do. These people can still survive. The key to ensuring that the possibility of surviving and emerging as the victor is not overlooked, is, as we have always emphasized, preparation. Thorough preparation along with knowledge of a few survival tricks in the wilderness can make all the difference. You may think you know everything, but nature is unforgiving and forever powerful and to be stuck in a place that people know for its inherent dangers is not at all a fun place to be. Being stuck in darkness with trees all around and a variety of noises reaching your ears can make the bravest of hearts grow faint with fear. Add to that the lack of food and water because after spending a few days in the woods you will run out of your supplies if you have not preplanned about the possibility of getting lost. All of these circumstances are the perfect ingredients to make you go crazy.

Nowadays, people are developing an inclination towards going on an adventure trip rather than a relaxing family trip, and this can easily be discerned from how “”Survivor””, a television show telecast on CBS has become one of the most popular shows watched in American households. Without the necessary experience, it is extremely easy to fall short of information that will help you cope up with a situation as challenging as getting lost in the wilderness. Panic is the enemy of survival, and the only way to keep this feeling at bay is to educate yourself on what you can do in a situation like this.

We bring you some amazing survival tips and tricks that will make sure you live to see the day the rescuers come to rescue you if you have lost your way in a wild, unknown territory flushed with trees and wild animals all around you.

Communication: Before setting out on your wild adventure, please inform someone about your plans for the next few days. This way there is always someone who knows where you are and when to expect you to be back. In such a case, even if you lose your way and are not back at the date expected, the other person can inform the people who need to be told, and a search for you can begin on the outside.

Have a positive attitude: You might not understand the importance of having an optimistic and hopeful outlook unless you find yourself stranded. A negative attitude will take you nowhere further except to steal you of the little hopes and chances you think you have for surviving this adversity. A positive mind, on the other hand, will trigger the right spots and make you come up with alternative solutions of what can and cannot be done in this condition. A realistic and diligently chalked out thought process is equally helpful. If you are trying to do something, say build a fire and you fail, and then you must keep yourself calm and composed or everything is only going to go downhill from there.

Pack Inventory: When packing your bags, keep the smallest of items you think you may need in the most impossible of situations. This is because the moment things begin to fall out of order, it is these seemingly trivial things that will have the most significant role to play in ensuring your survival. Do you remember how Brian Robeson in “”The Hatchet”” made use of his shoe laces to create a neat bow and arrow? And yes, he survived!

Build a shelter for yourself: Now that you know you have lost the right direction and despite the best of efforts, there is no way to go back to where you came from, the first step to take to ensure that someone finds you is to stay where you are. Movement in any direction may mean that you’re going out of the forest but at the same time, it may also mean going deeper into it. And with no instructions to guide you, it is all the same so just stay put. Now, plan on building a shelter for yourself so you can protect yourself from the rain and sleep in a cozy corner at night. Jungles can get pretty cold at night and sleeping without a covering above your head would mean inviting some health troubles which you certainly do not want when you already are in so much of trouble. Mountainous, rocky, plain, whichever terrain you are going to, look up before departure how to make a shelter using materials that will be present around you if you get lost. Having a backup plan is a great comfort when you have nothing to fall back on. Without that, you will have to spend the next few hours trying to figure out how to get a cover over your head. You can use leaves and twigs to create a blanket covering. To make a bedding to sleep at night you could take some pine needles and set them accordingly.

Food and Water Supplies: You cannot last for more than three days without drinking water. Dehydration will take a toll on you which is why it is always a wise option to take extra water supplies with you.

If they run out, then you can rely on water from a freshwater stream nearby. Since that water is untreated and possibly polluted, you need to treat it. You can take iodine or chlorine tablets and put them in the water. They will make the water cleaner to a certain extent, but that is the most you can get.

Apart from this, you could create a rain catcher for water still using a part of a tree’s bark.

For food supplies, if you already came with limited supplies you are in for a lot of challenges, food wise. But don’t let that happen and take charge of your survival. Instead of traditional food items, you could buy MRE or Meals, Ready to Eat from military stores. These MREs are survival foods that are used by people in the military because they are easy to consume. They come with a self-heat system, so you do not have to worry about not having a hot meal. Since the meals are, as the name suggests, ready to eat, you can consume them on the go. One packet of MRE contains 1300 calories that are enough to give you energy and physical strength for the day. Each pack also comes with its set of eating vessels including plates, fork, spoon, and a variety of eatables that include snacks, beverages, desserts, main course meal. There are MRE packs that come with water pouches inside them, so you do not have to worry about what to drink, and the bags keep you hydrated. The MRE bags are impact resistant and are rugged enough for rough use. They are packed in a hermetically sealed environment, and there is no impact of the weather changes outside on the food inside the packet. This makes the MREs a perfect choice for outdoor trips and they can withstand the weather changes, and you do not have to worry about carrying them roughly. Full day MRE packs come with all the three meals of the day along with water supplies. Having such a pack in your bag when you lose your way can give you an incredible feeling of satisfaction of knowing that you won’t die of thirst or hunger.

Light fire: Building fire where you are will help in keeping you warm and also protect you from predators. You must know how to create fire with the available resources. Always keep a lighter with you as you can always run out of matchsticks. Gather dry sticks, twigs, green wood, tree boughs or bushes and light them up. To maintain a fire, keep adding dead wood. The one thing you must make sure while building a fire is to keep away from an area that can quickly catch the fire. Keep it small as it is not just safe but also quite easy to maintain because it will need less fuel.

Create Signs to call for HELP: Since the only priority when you are lost in the woods is survival you must make the best use of the available resources. To let someone know that you are in need of help, you must first go to open space with no trees covering the area. Grab large tree twigs or stones to create a sign of S.O.S. or HELP. If you have a mirror or any other metallic object that is lustrous, then you can also use that to reflect sunlight to attract attention. Apart from this, you can also use fire to send a signal of distress. You can make the most commonly used and understood sign of distress which are either three fires in a triangle or three fires in a straight line. If you have a whistle, then you can blow it three times in continuity. Firing three shots with a rifle in the air can also be helpful.

Scan your surroundings: Though it is not advisable to go to longer distances, exploring your immediate surroundings is a good option. Scouting your surroundings will help you understand where you are. You can also get your hands on some useful things that might have been left behind by a traveler before.”