What Do You Mean By Survival Skills?

Survival skills are a basic set of skills that could keep you alive in times of crisis. Survival skills require the knowledge of how to execute certain tasks as well as the practice to actually do them. What if the stores were to run out of groceries? Or if a massive storm were to hit and your house was out of power for months? Or you got lost in the woods? Or the cleanliness of drinking water was compromised? What if there was a massive political uprising and your stable access to resources was lost? What if you had to survive off of the land? Within the answers to these questions lie the skills necessary for survival. If anyone of these things happened–could you stay alive?

Where Can I Learn Survival Skills?

Survival skills can be learned in any number of places. The first step is to gather the actual knowledge of survival skills. There are many ways to do this. Reading articles online about basic skills is an excellent place to begin. YouTube is helpful for visual learners. You can search nearly anything and visually see how to complete a task. One way to begin building your “knowledge” toolset for survival skills is to watch YouTube videos demonstrating specific survival skills you want to learn.

My Favorite Emergency Preparedness YouTube Channels

Practice Makes Perfect

Reading articles and watching YouTube videos is only part of the equation. In order to get proficient in these outdoor skills, You will need to practice them. This leads me to the second step in learning survival skills. Practice, practice, and practice some more. This might be uncomfortable at first, but can be life-saving when you find yourself actually in a situation where they are needed. You can also look for local survival training near you or sign up for some online courses that will help educate you on all possibilities in your specific area.

Here are some recommendations:

• https://www.ready.gov/training
• https://training.fema.gov/
• https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/disaster-training
• https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/trainingresources.asp
• https://rtcil.org/emergencypreparedness/onlinetrainings

What Are The Five Basic Survival Skills?

Trying to tackle all survival skills at once can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and discouraged. Work first on mastering these five basic skills. Practice them in different conditions and with different tools until you feel confident that you could execute them if necessary in emergency situations. After you finish these five, continue to build.

• Water: Understanding how to purify and filter water for drinking and cooking is essential for any type of survival, as the human body shuts down after only a few days without hydration. You can practice this skill by purchasing a water filtration system of some kind. Find muddy water and pre-filter it by removing any large chunks. Filter the water through your water filtration device (or with water purification tablets). To purify the water, boil it for 3 minutes. This combination of skills should allow you to drink and cook with water from any number of sources and in any number of situations.
• Shelter: Staying warm, dry, and away from predators is also essential to survival. Begin by becoming well-practiced in putting up a variety of different tents. From here, begin to plan for real survival situations. This can be done easily in your backyard. Create a lean-to shelter by gathering a large, sturdy branch. Nestle it firmly between two trees with rope or by carving out holding divots for this branch to rest 5 or so feet above the ground between the two larger trees. From here, on one side, diagonally stack medium-sized sticks across the length of the branch (or at least a few feet of it.) This should create a triangle under which you can find shelter. Insulate with leaves and additional sticks.
• Food: Learning which plants in your area are edible is a great place to start. Gather knowledge about which insects and arthropods in nature will give you the most nutritional value. Practice fishing and gardening. Practice preparing simple food outdoors with very little preparation. Learn to be resourceful.
• Fire: In survival skills, fire is king. You need fire to purify water, keep warm and dry, and cook food. Begin by learning simple ways of starting a fire using dry debris for kindling, fanning the flames lightly, and catching larger pieces of wood–stacked either in a “teepee” or “crisscrossed” form–on fire. From here, practice the  “bow-drill” fire method for when you don’t have matches or a lighter.
• First Aid: Having the knowledge of how to do simple first-aid tasks will be life-saving in survival situations. Owning a first-aid kit is great, but not having the skills to actually use it makes it lose much of its value in emergencies. Taking a first-aid class as well as CPR training are a few ways to begin building up this survival skill.

How Do You Practice Wilderness Survival Skills?

The easiest way to practice survival skills is in your own backyard. Everything we discussed above can be done in many backyards. After you have mastered the skills in a safe environment close to home, go camping and practice them in the woods. From here, continue to try out different environments that are less and less familiar.

What Are The Top 10 Survival Items?

Consider putting together a “survival skills” emergency kit with these 10 items. Even with all of the knowledge and practice in the world, these 10 items could make a survival situation significantly easier than it needs to be:

1. Small first aid kit
2. Water filter
3. Flashlight
4. Waterproof matches
5. Compass
6. Map of area
7. Knife
8. Personal locator beacon or cell phone
9. Nylon braided line
10. Mylar survival blanket

These items are helpful for executing the 5 basic survival skills outlined above. The compass and personal locator beacon would specifically help you if lost, and the survival blanket could keep you warm either as a personal blanket or as shelter insulation. The knife could be used for whittling sticks to better create a shelter, hunting or fishing, and protecting yourself. Gathering these items and putting them in a small waterproof bag somewhere accessible could give you the peace of mind that you are well-prepared. Even more importantly, it could make survival situations significantly more manageable.

Did you know that 5 million people die annually from diseases caused by unsafe drinking water? That’s crazy to think about. How do we have such good filtering technologies and we still can’t find a way to scale that across the globe? Whether you are out in the wilderness or unfortunate enough to not have automated filtering processes at hand, it is important to know the how to’s around filtration and purification. There is no surefire way to visually inspect water and know if it is safe to drink in the wild. Unless you are 100% sure it doesn’t have any bacteria or viruses, I would avoid drinking it without putting it through a proper filtration and purification process.

How Long Do You Have to Boil Water to Kill Bacteria?

You need to bring your water to a rolling boil for a minimum of 1 minute to kill all the bacteria and pathogens. This is for elevations under 6,562 feet (2000 meters) altitude. If you live at a higher elevation, you should increase your boil time to 3 minutes.

US Center for Disease Control

“Boiling can be used as a pathogen reduction method that should kill all pathogens. Water should be brought to a rolling boil for 1 minute. At altitudes greater than 6,562 feet (greater than 2000 meters), you should boil water for 3 minutes.”

Is Boiling Water Enough to Kill Bacteria?

  Boiling water is one of the best methods to clean water, making it safe to drink.

According to Health.gov

“Boiling water kills or inactivates viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and other pathogens by using heat to damage structural components and disrupt essential life processes (e.g. denature proteins).”

The Bottom Line to Purifying Water

Let your water come to a good rolling boil for at least 1-3 minutes to kill all of the bacteria and pathogens. If you don’t know your altitude, it’s best to keep it boiling a little longer just to be safe. Here is a good guide to follow based on boiling water at certain altitudes:

1. Water temperatures at 160° F (70° C) kills all pathogens within 30 minutes.
2. Water temperatures above 185° F (85° C) kills all pathogens within a few minutes.
3. In the time it takes for water to reach the boiling point of 212° F (100° C) all pathogens should be killed, even at high altitudes. To be safe, it’s recommended to let it boil for another 1-3 minutes.

Purified vs Filtered 

In my article about how to identify venomous snakes, we learned that there is a difference between a venomous snake and a poisonous snake. Just like I used the words venomous and poisonous interchangeably, I’ve also been using the words purified and filtered interchangeably. Am I wrong for doing that? Let’s find out.

Is Purified and Filtered Water the Same Thing?

Purified water and filtered water are often confused with each other. Most even use the two terms synonymously. While both types of water go through some sort of filtration process, purified water is cleansed and purified through an additional process. This is typically boiling water, reverse osmosis, distillation, or deionization. Water Filtration: It is important to remember that water filtration only focuses on removing impurities such as sand, dirt, and living organisms such as bacteria.

Microbiology Online

“Bacteria are single-celled microbes. The cell structure is simpler than that of other organisms as there is no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles.”

When putting water through a water filter, you need to understand that the water might come out looking cleaner, but there could still be a lot of chemicals and potential viruses left behind. If this is the case, it is still unsafe to drink the water until it is put through proper purification. Water Purification: Water purification focuses more on removing the deeper impurities from the water. Impurities such as biological contaminants, viruses, chemicals, and other unseen materials.

How to Ensure Your Water Is Safe to Drink

If you are in the wilderness and want to make sure you’re 100% safe to drink the water, you should both filter and purify your water. Put it through your filter (I recommend the Sawyer Water Filter) and then boil it for 1-3 minutes. Unless there has been a nuclear attack and there is a risk of radiation exposure, this should take care of cleaning the water and making you safe to drink.

BE AWARE: Boiled Water Might Smell Funny 

If you boil the water directly from the lake without filtering it first it might still smell like lake water. It will for sure smell different than the water from your house. Boiling the water purifies it to drink, but it won’t remove the sediment and some of the outdoor odor naturally found in the water. 

How to Know If You’re Sick from Drinking Dirty Water

Most people see symptoms related to unsafe water from stomach cramping and diarrhea to serious illnesses and diseases like typhoid and malaria. As 60% of the human body is made from water, having access to safe, clean water is imperative. Most of us have heard the myth that you need to drink eight glasses of water daily. While this is a good rule of thumb, it’s not entirely accurate as you need to calculate the amount of food you eat, and what your body needs for proper digestion. Some people need more, others need less. However, one thing I’ve learned while hiking through southern Utah in 100-degree weather is that your body will tell you when you need more water. If you don’t have room to pack enough water for your outdoor journey, you should at least pack the tools to enable you to purify and filter your water. Pro Tip: If you’re thirsty, you’re already partially dehydrated. To be safe, you should drink enough water to never feel thirsty.

ARTICLE RECAP

How long do you need to boil water to make sure it’s safe for drinking?

• 1 to 3 minutes at a roaring boil

Is boiling water enough to kill bacteria?

• Yes

Is Purified and Filtered Water the Same Thing?

• No

How to Ensure Your Water Is Safe to Drink

• Filter it and then purify it

How do you know if you’re sick from drinking dirty water?

• Stomach cramps and diarrhea

CONCLUSION

The last thing you want to do in a survival situation is getting sick from drinking bad water. Especially if you’re alone without anyone to help you. Water is the one thing that keeps us alive, but if we don’t respect the fact that clear water is not always clean water, it could very well take our lives. Take the water you need when going on a planned outing, but always have a backup way to filter and purify the water just in case your planned outing turns into something unplanned.

The other day my daughter and I caught a cute little garter snake in our front yard. When I was trying to get her to hold it, she asked me if it was poisonous.  I told her it wasn’t poisonous, and that if it did bite her it wouldn’t hurt. That’s what I was taught growing up, so it had to be true, right? That night I found myself fact checking what I had told her. I wanted to make sure I was telling her the truth. I also wanted to be able to teach her how to identify venomous snakes so there was no doubt about it in the future. *Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to pick up a snake but are questioning if it’s venomous, it’s best to just leave it alone.

How to tell if a snake is venomous

According to SnakeRemoval.com, there are 3 common traits most venomous snakes have:

1. It is a big, fat snake (quite common to see these types of snakes in the United States versus other regions of the world)
2. The snake has a rattle at the end of the tail
3. It has elliptical pupils (Please don’t get close enough to figure this one out)

Can you tell if a snake is poisonous by its color?

When it comes to identifying snakes, it is important to know the snakes native to the area you are in. There are over 600 species of venomous snakes in the world, but only 200 of them are deemed deadly to humans. That being said, there are only four types of venomous snakes in the U.S. Each type contains many subspecies with size and color variations. This is to help them blend into their environment and become camouflage for their own protection. Trying to identify a snake using color alone would be very difficult to do with any amount of accuracy. For example, venomous coral snakes and non-venomous scarlet king snakes both have a banded pattern of yellow, brown and black. The difference between the two types is that the red bands touch the yellow bands on a coral snake whereas red bands touch the black bands on scarlet king snakes. Aside from this example, there is really no way to be absolutely positive if a snake is venomous by color alone.

Common venomous snakes in the United States

Poisonous snakes in the United States are classified as pit vipers, which include most species of rattlesnakes. All snakes have heads that appear to be somewhat triangular, so it’s best to not try and tell if a snake is poisonous just by looking at its head. Pit vipers are the most common snake in North America. A pit viper classification means the snake has heat-sensing pits under their eyes. The head will have a triangular shape and their eyes look like slits. Vipers will have fangs, which have venom sacks attached to them.

What to do if you see a snake

Encountering a snake in the wild is something you do need to be aware of as some are very dangerous. Always do research before a trip to know what snakes are native to the area, and which ones you need to watch for.

• What to do if you encounter a snake

• • If you see a snake, DO NOT pick it up. DO NOT poke at it with a stick. Freeze and slowly start backing away from the snake. Certain species of snakes will play dead but will strike when you are close. Don’t take the risk. Just leave it alone.
  • A snake is less likely to strike if they do not view you as a threat. Make sure you are not cornering the snake. Always give the snake a way out.
  • If a snake is coiled up, or you hear a rattle or puffing noise, proceed with caution. This usually means it’s ready to strike. Slowly back up until you are a safe distance away from the snake. This should settle it down and if you are lucky, it will slither away.

*Pro Tip: Do not step over fallen logs if you cannot see the other side. Snakes tend to hide in fallen logs, or near the log. Wear thick boots when you are in the wild as they can protect you in the event you encounter a deadly snake and get bitten.  

What to do if you’re bitten by a venomous snake

The good news for those in North America is that most of the snakes you see aren’t poisonous. The main snakes to watch out for are the coral snake, water moccasin, copperhead, and rattlesnake. If you encounter one, and you are on the unfortunate end of their bite, use these tips as soon as possible.

• Handling a snake bite
  1. Before you do anything else, call 911.
  2. Move a safe distance away from the snake and remain calm! Remind yourself that the chances of dying from a snake bite are close to none. Thanks to modern medicine in the United States, only one in 50 million people die from snake bites every year.
  3. DO NOT run or get your heart rate up. The faster your heart beats, the faster the venom will travel through your body.
  4. Remove tight clothing around the bite before your body starts to swell as it fights the venom.
  5. Position yourself to have the bite below the level of your heart so the venom doesn’t travel to your heart faster than it needs to.
  6. Clean the wound with fresh water, but do not flush it. Cover the wound and get medical attention immediately.

*Pro Tip: Do NOT use a tourniquet, apply ice, cut the wound, or attempt to suck out the poison. DO NOT try to capture the snake, focus on remembering the color, shape, and size so you can tell your doctor.

What is the difference between a poisonous snake and a venomous snake?

The common vernacular for a snake that has venom is a “poisonous snake”. After doing this research I’ve found that we’ve been saying it wrong this whole time.

• A poisonous snake is a snake that will hurt you only if you eat it.
• A venomous snake is a snake that has venom and can hurt you through a bite.

Can you eat snakes?

The simple answer is yes. The vast majority of snake species are edible, regardless of whether they are venomous or not. A word of caution, snakes can eat rodents that could be poisoned with a toxic substance and that can pass to humans.  Most snakes taste like chicken, right? I’ve had snake a few times in my life and from what I can tell, they all taste like chicken. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to eat snake. Especially if you’re in a survival situation. Before you jump in and just start killing yourself some snakes for dinner, please be aware of your local and state laws. If you’re interested in cooking up some snake for your next family party, I’d recommend checking out this article called “How to Cook A Snake in 8 Easy Steps“. What is the most venomous snake in the world?

• The Fierce Snake or Inland Taipan is the most venomous of any snake in the world. A single bite could kill 100 people!
• Here’s a comprehensive, visual list of the most venomous snakes.

What is the most venomous snake in North America?

• To find which snakes are in your area of North America, use this interactive North American snakes.
• The cottonmouth, commonly known as the water moccasin, is the most dangerous snake in North America.

What venomous snakes are in my state?

• Here is a venomous snake list for each state to help you know what snakes are native in your region.

Snakes are often portrayed in popular culture as one of the scariest, most dangerous reptiles. There is a lot of misinformation about snakes, so it is important to know what type of snake you are dealing with. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing the native snakes in your area so you are aware of what types of snakes you could encounter. Conclusion So, is the garter snake venomous? After doing all of this research we find that the garter snake is indeed NOT venomous. Garter snakes are one of the most common snakes in Northern America. Many people love having garter snakes in the neighborhood as they do a great job ridding homes of other pests like mice. Still, use caution when handling any snake, but now you know that these little guys won’t kill you.

Every time I am in the great outdoors, I realize exactly how unpolished my survival skills are. In fact, the vast majority of us are merely beginners when it comes to outdoor survival. I did a little homework and put together what I believe are the 6 most important outdoor survival skills for beginners.

What are the most important outdoor survival skills every beginner should know?

• Fire starting skills
• Navigation skills
• First aid skills
• Finding food and water
• Shelter building skills
• Emergency communication skills

The level of preparedness needed for most scenarios depends on the specific situation, location, and climate.

Those who are just starting down their preparedness journey often run into what’s called “information paralysis”. There is so much information out there that it can actually overwhelm you to the point of just not doing anything at all. Because of that, I will keep this article as simple as possible.

 

Survival Skill: #1 Fire-Starting Skills

How To Start a Fire Without Matches Or A Lighter

You never know when you will find yourself in a survival situation where you need to make fire just to survive. If you don’t have matches ready, you may find yourself feeling a little defeated by the idea of making a fire without that easy tool. However, there are some excellent options to make a fire without the dependence upon matches. Use our favorite fire-making techniques so you can survive in the wild

Flint and Steel

One of the easiest ways to start a fire is by using flint and steel. Flint and steel kits can be found at hardware stores, online, and some gas stations even carry small kits. Use some tinder to have a base for the fire to get started. Good tinder can be cotton wool, dryer lint, cedar shavings, cattails, and birch bark shavings. To create a spark with the flint and steel, create a small bird’s nest with the tinder to catch the sparks that will come from flint and steel. Strike the flint with a metal striker and you will see small sparks appear. One of these small sparks will catch in your tinder nest, where you can immediately gently blow on the spark inside the nest until it starts a fire. Use this video to help you walk through the process of creating a good flint and steel fire.

Glass lens

A glass lens fire has been popular in movies, but most people do not realize you can actually start a fire with a glass lens. A magnifying glass that rotates or has a handle is the ideal selection for starting a fire. Create a tinder nest and place it on the ground and aim the beam of the sun through the glass lens on the tinder nest until it starts to smoke. Gently blow on the tinder nest to help produce a flame.

Friction sticks

If you’ve ever seen Cast Away with Tom Hanks, you have seen a friction stick fire in action. Friction sticks are one of the most challenging options to make a fire, but it is effective when you can do it correctly. To use this method, use a V-shaped notch in a log and then grab another dry stick to create a spindle. Now, rub the spindle between your hands as quickly as you can to create friction, creating heat, and eventually smoke will start, which you want to hurry and get that tinder nest to catch the small spark.

Reflective tools

Reflective tools are designed to harness the power of the sun to start a fire. Reflective tools like the Solar Spark Lighter can fit inside your pocket, making it an ideal solution for an emergency kit. There is a stainless-steel parabolic mirror inside that is designed to use the sun’s radiant energy to start a fire. The device looks like a half-domed cone that will capture the heat, starting a fire on the small tip, which allows you to take the small ember and place it into your bird’s nest kindling to start a larger fire.

This is the one that I have, just in case you wanted to see it.

9-volt battery and steel wool

A 9-volt battery and some steel wool could save your life if you are in an emergency survival situation. Simply rub the steel wool on the battery and instantly there will be a spark. We recommend starting this type of fire in a fire pit where you have kindling and wood ready to go as the fire starts quickly, and you will need to act fast to avoid getting burned.

**Pro Tip – Make sure you have a nice amount of dry kindling to make it easier for the spark to catch fire. Gentle blowing on the bird’s nest is essential. If you blow too hard, you will blow out the spark. If you blow too lightly, your spark won’t ignite.

Survival Skill #2: Navigation Skills

How to find your way around the wilderness

Finding yourself in the wild without a GPS can feel daunting. Some people are not sure how to use the sun and stars to navigate themselves through the wild. A compass can feel like a foreign object to others. The important thing to remember when dealing the wilderness is to become familiar with your surroundings, know what gear you do have, and to avoid panicking. Here are our favorite methods to navigate your way out of the woods.

Maps

Use a compass to find north on the map and then place the map in the correct direction so you can find yourself on the map. You may need to rotate the map around to make sure you have the correct positioning. Now that the map is in the right direction, find yourself on the map. One way to do this is to find the closest town you remember and trace your path from that area. There are different types of maps to use, so you will want to follow this link to help understand how to read the different types of typography.

Compass

Learning to read a compass is not quite as hard as you might think. You’ll need to start with the basics to know North, South, East, and West and then identify the red and black needle. The red part always needs to point towards the earth’s magnetic pull to the north pole. To find north is to look where that magnetic needle is facing. That is the easiest way to find North. Learning the additional skills of learning to use a compass are best left to the experts you can watch here.

Using the Sun and the stars

Star navigation is a unique skill to have when you are in an emergency. The first place to start is by finding the North Star (Polaris), it is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). Finding the Little Dipper and Big Dipper constellations is normally fairly easy. Once you locate the North Star, determine the angle in degrees between the position of the northern horizon and the North Star’s position. To obtain the degrees, you can extend your fist to the horizon and stack your fists on top of each other until you reach the North Star. A fist length is normally about 10 degrees of angle measure. This will help you find your latitude, making it easier to get your bearings. Here is a quick explainer video to learn how to read the stars.

Survival Skill #3: First Aid Skills

How to dress a wound in the wild

Getting a wound in the wild can be challenging to keep from becoming infected. Open wounds can be serious as it doesn’t take much for bacteria to start causing infection, and you have to worry about blood loss or tissue damage. Use our quick reference guide to learn how to clean, treat, and care for wounds in the wild.

Knowledge

The most important thing is to understand how a wound can become problematic. You need to clean the wound quickly and stop the bleeding if there is a great deal of bleeding and tissue damage. Remove or cut away clothing from the wound and look for an exit would if you’ve been pierced by something. Once you have access to the wound, you will need to clean the skin surrounding the wound. Boiling hot water is needed to limit the spread of bacteria from your hands to the wound. Gently cleanse the wound if it is not too serious. Do not try and suture a wound in the wild, instead, do the open treatment method by allowing the wound to remain open to allow drainage to occur. A clean dressing placed on top of the wound will limit additional infection, but you need to change the dressing daily. For gaping wounds, consider using some butterfly bandages to help pull the skin together. Infection is one of the biggest concerns in the wild, so you want to make sure you have a warm compress to clean the wound and keep it on for at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times a day until you can receive proper medical treatment. Stay hydrated with water to help the body have plenty of fluids to aid in the healing process.

Kits

A well-stocked first-aid kit could save your life in a survival situation. There are several things that your kit should include:

• • Gauze pads
  • Adhesive tape
  • Band-Aids in multiple sizes
  • Elastic bandages
  • Splint
  • Antiseptic wipes
  • Antibiotic ointment
  • Soap
  • Tweezers
  • Hydrocortisone cream
  • Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and Benadryl
  • Scissors
  • Safety pins
  • Cold packs
  • Calamine lotion
  • Alcohol wipes
  • Emergency blanket
  • Flashlight

Of course, your first aid kit could have more or fewer items, but these are some of the most essential items you will need in a survival situation.

Practice

Prior to a trip in the woods, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with a first aid kit and know how to use the items. This video series is a good one to understand first aid kits. You’ll want to take some time to practice using a splint, making a sling, tying knots, and CPR.

Survival Skill #4: Finding Food and Water

How to find food in the wild

Any time you find yourself in a survival situation, it pays to spend time getting your bearings, setting up shelter, and finding food and water. If you are not sure where to begin with food, here are some things that will help you through a basic survival situation.

Pro Tip: Do not eat anything that you do not know what it is, especially when it comes to plants and berries!

Hunting

Learning how to hunt in a survival situation can be tricky if you haven’t done it before. Start by hunting small game as it’s easier to manage. Squirrels, rabbits, fish, mice, and raccoons are usually the easiest animals to start with. Animals are active in the morning and evening, so these are the best times to hunt. Most animals are close to water sources, and you want to walk very quietly so you do not scare them. Walking slowly and stopping to listen for noise can help to guide you to the animals.

Trapping

Instead of going out to hunt, some people like to set up traps and cause the game to come to them. A simple snare is normally the easiest one to set up. Use some string, rope, or wire and tie a small loop, passing the end of the rope through it to make a loop noose. Now, place the snare in front of the opening to a den, tighten the other side of the string to a rock or tree. When the animal leaves the den, their head will be trapped in the noose.

Foraging

Foraging in the wild is one of the most common ways to find food. It pays to read up on plants to understand how to identify an edible plant from a poisonous one. Learning about the types of plants in your area will help a lot when it comes to surviving in the wild. Some foods that you can eat and are found in most areas include:

• • Dandelions
  • Sorrel
  • Wild garlic
  • Hawthorn
  • Elderflowers and elderberries
  • Blackberries
  • Stinging Nettle

How to find water in the wild

In any survival situation, finding water is one of the most important things. Dehydration will impact your physical and mental health, and it doesn’t take long for it to set in. Unfortunately, the water in the wild can be contaminated and must be purified prior to drinking.

Finding

One of the easiest ways to find water is to look for vegetation, especially in the desert areas. Animals often stay close to water sources, so follow them as you are searching for water. If there are no sources of water around, you will need to try other methods to collect water. Start by using a container to collect dew by digging a hole as deep as you can (recommended 3 feet) and placing a container inside. In the morning, some water will be collected at the bottom of the container. Another way to find water is to take a plastic bag and tie it as tightly as you can on non-poisonous vegetation, allowing the water vapor to collect on the bag.

Filtering

For the majority of people, finding water in the woods is fairly easy, but filtering it is the hard part. Filtering water is one way to cleanse it to drink. Sand filtration is the most common method used to filter water. Grab two water bottles and cut the nose off the bottle’s base to make a cone shape. Then, use pebbles, cotton, or fabric to make a filter. Once this is added, include small gravel (this helps to keep the filter in place). Use sand to fill the cone-shaped bottle and add water through the filter piece. The goal is to have clear water come out the bottom, if it isn’t clear, keep passing it through the filter. Use this video to learn more about creating a filter with a plastic water bottle.

Purifying

Making drinking water safe is the most important thing you can do! You need to boil the water to purify it as this will kill the bacteria. If you do not have anything to boil water, use iodine tablets, chlorine drops, or a water filter to clean the water. Solar light is a great way to use natural elements to clean the water. Expose plastic bottles full of water to the sun for an entire day as the UV light will kill most of the hazards in the water. Disinfecting tablets are much more effective when it comes to purifying the water, so consider adding them to your emergency preparedness bag.

Survival Tip #5: Shelter Skills

How to build a shelter in the wild

Surviving in the wild comes down to knowing how to build a shelter that will aid in keeping you away from the wild animals, the elements, and the insects. If you do not have a tarp with you, there are some other ways you can build a shelter. Gaining knowledge and practice prior to heading out on a wild adventure may save your life! Use this guide to learn about different types of shelters to create without having supplies.

Knowledge

You need to know what type of shelter you need to search for in the wild. Hopefully, you have taken the time to gather supplies and practice prior to going into the woods. No matter what shelter you are planning to build. You want to find a place that has dry, flat ground and is not right next to the water. You’ll want to have a place for a fire to be close by, helping you stay warm at night. An A-frame shelter is one of the easiest to create in the wild. Find a single, long, study branch as the main holder for the frame. Bring one end of this log to be propped up by another stick or a tree. Grab several shorter branches and begin laying them against the branch. Soon you will have a sloped roof. Cover the branches with several leaves or small branches to create a nice shelter.

Material

To create a small A-frame shelter, you need one large branch that is about two feet taller than you are. Determine if you want both sides open, or just one end of the shelter opened. If you do one side, you need to find a tree to place the large branch against, or you can use a large branch to hold up the largest branch. Once both branches in place, you want to have several sticks, leaves, twigs, grass, dirt, anything you can gather and compact together to create a roof and flooring. Leaves are usually the easiest thing to use to create nice bedding. You can even get creative and use leaves to make a blanket with.

Practice

Whether you have supplies or not, taking some time to practice making different survival shelters is important. Use this video to learn more about how to make a shelter in the wild.

Survival Skill #6: Emergency Communication Skills

What’s the best way to communicate in case of an emergency

Communicating in an emergency situation is crucial to saving your life, or the lives of others. What is the best way to get in touch with other people when you are in the woods? Here are our top three methods of communication:

Text messaging

Bring along an emergency battery with you in the event of a situation where you need to call or get a message out. If you know you are headed out camping, keep your phone fully charged to use in the event of an emergency. You can subscribe to local text alert services and set up your phone with an emergency text. Send a text message instead of calling as it usually gets the message out faster. Send a text message to everyone on your contact list with your last known whereabouts and if you have any injuries. A phone could pick up a signal for a second or two, which is enough time to get the message out.

Ham radio

One of the best survival communication methods is Ham radio as most emergency responders use them. Ham radio can reach the national weather system frequencies and you can scan for a channel to start sending a message. To use a Ham radio, you do need a license.

Walkie-Talkie

A walkie-talkie is the best way to stay in communication if you are traveling with a group. Carrying some extra batteries will help you to keep it charged to try and get a signal to your other travelers, or other people nearby. Agree upon a channel so you can get in touch with everyone and scan the channels as you try to get in touch with someone. Walkie-talkies are great because they won’t lose a signal the way your GPS or cell phone will in the wild.

Related Questions

Do I Need to Know How to tie a knot?

Knot tying is a great skill, but it is not necessary for most survival situations. However, we do recommend taking time to learn knot tying as it will allow you to trap wildlife, climb steep areas, and more.

Conclusion

These six survival guide basics can help save your life. Survival is all about using your common sense, making use of your resources, and practicing prior to venturing out in the wild. Implementing some basic survival skills will help to polish up critical thinking skills. Our rule of thumb with survival is the same as Special Operations, “Rule of Three”. The rule of three means a person can survive:

• 3 minutes without oxygen
• 3 hours without regulated body temperature (why you need to know how to start a fire and build a shelter)
• 3 days without water
• 3 days without food

Taking just a few minutes a day to practice each of the above survival skills will help you in the event of being in an emergency situation. If you are planning to venture into the wilderness, we recommend taking an outdoor survival course. Most of these classes are free and taught at local community centers, churches, universities campuses, and more. Our final pro tip is to keep a positive mental attitude. Keeping your wits about you will also go a long way in helping you survive!

It seems like every day we hear about another hiker getting lost in the wilderness, and I can’t help but wonder, if I were in that situation, what things I would need to survive in the wild?

After thinking about this question for a while, I believe there are 4 basic things you need to survive in almost any wilderness situation.

In order of importance, they are water, food, shelter, and fire. Depending on the situation, you might also need a few additional items that we’ll address in this blog post.

Did you know that an average person is likely to survive 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water and a mere 3 hours outside of their main body temperature? Knowing this means the constituents of a survival kit should not be assumed based on your perception of priority but based on the knowledge of the situation you’ll be exposed to. The items in your survival kit can literally mean the difference between life and death within a few critical minutes or hours.

In this article, we’ll explore 12 of the most important things we need to survive in the wilderness. Please note that the priority for survival is not comfort or convenience, but staying alive and healthy for as long as you can.

 

What Is The Most Important Nutrient (Food Source) For Survival?

1. Water and Water Filters

The average person can only survive 72 hours without drinking water. In addition to that, experts suggest that you should store about 1 gallon of water per person per day.

In critical cases, a few sips of clean water can be the difference between life and death. However, since in this scenario you’re probably in the wilderness on an adventure, the last thing you want is frail health, which is why you should make provision for the proper amount of drinkable water.

The reality is that it will be difficult for you to take enough water with you to the wilderness even if you’re just spending a few days. Knowing that it may be unhealthy to drink straight from the source in the wild, you need to be prepared with some kind of water filter.

There are many good water filters to choose from. A water filter, like the Sawyer Water Filter, will clean up to 100,000 gallons of water. This will help when you travel with friends and need to drink large amounts of water.

RELATED: How Do You Know If Water Is Safe To Drink In The Wild?

2. Food Storage

You also need food to survive in the wild. Without the energy from food, your body will get tired and you won’t be able to explore for other necessities. If you will be in the wild for long, you need to plan out and know exactly what food you will eat while you’re there.

You also need to carry out basic research about your location to know the edible plants and flowers just in case you need them for an emergency. It’s helpful to create a list (with pictures) based on your research with a detailed description of the wild edible foods in your area.

Regardless of the length of time, you will be in the wild, it is advisable to pack an ample supply of superfoods such as wheatgrass, maca powder, and spirulina in your survival kit. Another cool option is to include a sprouting kit in case it turns out that you have to sustain yourself more long-term.

Another good option is to take along some high-calorie, prepackaged, meals and bars like these Greenbelly Backpacking Meals.

RELATED: How Many Calories A Day Do You Need To Survive?

What Are the Most Important Survival Items?

3. Shelter

A shelter can be anything from a 4-season tent to a simple tarp or large garbage bag. Finding appropriate shelter is crucial for survival in the wild due to the fact that you’re sharing the environment with potential hostiles (Animals and bugs).

If you happen to be in a survival situation, find a safe place to sleep for the night that can keep you warm and dry. You can choose to build a simple lean-to with some branches, a rope, and a tarp.

Avoid going overboard while setting up a shelter so you don’t waste important energy which could be spent on more important things like hunting for food or building a fire.

4. Extra Clothing

Hypothermia is the leading cause of death in the wild. When you head to the wild, even if it is a hot and sunny day, you need to prepare to dress for the worst. If your only aim is to counter the night cold with fire alone, it will most likely be insufficient.

Layer your clothes and remember to wear clothing that is preferably made with wool as your base layer. Avoid clothes made from cotton as it retains more moisture and is less insulating.

RELATED: What Are The Different Types Of Outdoor Survival Jackets

5. Sanitation/Toilet Paper/Soap

While comfort is not a pursuit when you’re in the wild, you still have to maintain basic hygiene. You need to brush your teeth, wash your hands, and leave behind your body waste.

If it comes down to it, you can make a toothbrush by chewing the soft ends of a small tree to create bristles. If you’re lucky, you can wash in a nearby river or stream. If not, having baby wipes on hand can help clean those important areas of your body that need a little extra attention.

If you need to use the bathroom, you should dig a hole or go very far downstream from your shelter. To avoid most of these uncomfortable situations, your survival kit should include soap, toilet paper, body cleaning wipes, and a toothbrush.

RELATED: What To Do If You Run Out Of Toilet Paper

 6. First Aid Kit

No matter how impromptu your trip to the wild is, never go without including a first aid kit in your survival kit. Even if you’re familiar with the terrain and been there countless times, you just never know when you’re going to need something from your first aid kit. It’s better to have it and not use it than to have a need for it and not have it.

Moreover, emergencies don’t give us any notice. It’s better to be prepared. A general first aid kit will do, but you are safer supplementing it with items that will benefit you for your specific situation and location.

What Is The Most Important Tool For Survival?

7. Multi-Purpose Tool/Knife

If you’re ever in a survival situation, there is a high probability that you will need to do a lot of different tasks that will require more than just your hands.

To perform these chores, you’ll need a good and reliable multipurpose tool. With your multipurpose tool, you should be able to accomplish most of the difficult tasks you have tackled.

8. Axe/Hachette

As simple as it might sound, having an axe can simplify a survival situation and ease you through the adjustment process. Choose a durable and sturdy axe that you can swing without losing balance. Having an axe or Hachette is sort of one step up from having a multi-purpose tool.

You can probably get the job done with the tool or a simple saw, but you’ll be able to save hours of time and countless amounts of energy by using the axe vs a multi-purpose tool.

9. Light Source

No matter how much experience you have as an adventurer, being shrouded in complete darkness can completely disorient even the best outdoorsmen. Even if you’re in a familiar area, an adventure in the wild usually means you plan to be active at night.

Having a light source could make your adventure that much more comfortable. Fortunately, flashlights these days are becoming more lightweight and smaller with stronger and more piercing beams.

What Is The Most Important Skill For Survival?

10. Compass Skills

Most people know how to use the basic functions of a compass, but very few have mastered the skillfully. If you combine your compass skills with a map of the camping area, there is very little chance you’ll get lost in the wilderness.

You can navigate your compass to locate your camp, a major roadway, a river, or any other major point to help you get to your desired location.

11. Map Skills

When you’re in a survival situation, most GPS systems won’t the way you want them to. Most people use their phones to navigate around. The flaw to this is that unless you download an app and then download the actual map of your location, you won’t have access to it unless you’re in an area with service.

The other thing to consider is that if you don’t bring a battery backup for your phone, it will only last a short period of time.

Basic map reading skills are key when trying to get from point A to point B in the wilderness. You should be able to navigate yourself back to safety with no issue.

12. Fire Starting Skills

Matches are ideal for starting a fire in the wild and they are pretty easy to store for long-term use. But, if you don’t have matches or a lighter, you still need to be able to start a fire for your own survival.

You can use flint and steel, a magnifying glass, a 9-volt battery with steel wool, or a number of other methods. Having these skills and tools at the ready could be a matter of life and death.

Conclusion

And that’s it! Just remember that your ability to survive will ultimately come down to your preparedness level and skill level. You should take nothing for granted when it comes down to the most important things you need to survive in the wild.

Ensure you have these critical items loaded up and know how to use them. Do a little bit each day to get yourself prepared and if there is ever a need for it, you will be better prepared than most to handle life in the wild.

RELATED: How To Start Prepping For Beginners – A 10 Step Guide

Knowledge Is Power

Despite advancements in technology, the world remains a big place in certain cases. A hiker losing his way may suddenly face a survival situation on the trail he wanted to conquer. A lumberjack could get injured by his own axe deep in the forest.

23 Tips on How to Survive the Great Outdoors.

Here is a survival guide with 23 tips that will help you learn how to survive the Great Outdoors.

1. Do not panic: Panicking is counterproductive as it clouds the rational mind’s ability to think about how to survive. (How adrenaline can affect your decision-making abilities)
2. First aid: If you’re injured, your first priority should be to stop any bleeding. Always carry first–aid supplies with your survival kit.
3. Hydrate: Always carry potable water. Taking a few swigs will rehydrate you and help you think more clearly.
4. Find clean water: Another very important tool in your survival kit should be a quality water filter. I recommend any of the Sawyer Water Filters.
5. Survival kit: A good survival kit should enable you to alter the surrounding wilderness environment to suit your specific needs. It’s important that your kit has a simple survival manual with basic instructions on how to get food, water, and shelter. One of the most popular pocket-sized manuals is the SAS Urban Survival Handbook.
6. Extra set of clothes: If you’re drenched wet, take out that dry outdoor attire from your survival kit to avoid a reduction in core body temperature.
7. Good boots: Always wear good boots that can help your feet survive the forest terrain.
8. No running: If you come face to face with wildlife, do not run. Just back away slowly without a sound.
9. Loud noise: Use the steel food vessel in your survival kit to make loud noises that will scare predators away.
10. Use ligature: If you’re bitten, apply a ligature and wash the wound with plenty of water.
11. No food processing near home: Never process food near your makeshift shelter to discourage predators.
12. Scout location for home: Do not build a home on a hilltop or in a narrow valley with strong winds.
13. Make a home using sticks and leaves: If you have sticks longer than 5 feet and one longer than 10 feet, lash them together into an A-frame and build a shelter.
14. Do not travel at night: It increases the risk of falling or bumping into wildlife.
15. Fire: Light a fire using the fire-start devices from your supplier kit. Use spruce leaves to produce thick smoke for signaling your location.
16. Glow sticks: Glow sticks can be useful in signaling location or leaving traces of you for rescuers.
17. North Star: Spot the North Star and use it as your survival guide.
18. Cell phone: You may want to switch off your cellphone to conserve the battery. However, do periodically switch it on to check for a network. Even the slightest of connectivity can help make that distress call.
19. Keep a journal: The pen and paper in your survival pack must be used to write down the forest landmarks. It could become your own survival guide.
20. No rest on the forest floor: Do not sleep on the forest floor as you are vulnerable to predators, insects, and reptiles.
21. Walk along the water: A good way to navigate is to walk along the river hoping to hit a human settlement.
22. Use urine in the desert: If you don’t have a drop of water in a desert environment, soak a piece of cloth in your urine and tie to your head to prevent heatstroke.
23. Be optimistic: Do not give up hope and prevent yourself, at all costs, from hallucinating. What did I miss? What other survival tips would you add to this list?

Humans Are the Dominant Species

Our species evolved from the plains of Africa has since survived some formidable challenges by the sheer zeal to live on to see the next sunrise. We fought off dangerous predators, became successful group hunters and colonized new spaces. We became the dominant species on this planet on the back of our survival skills and our unique ability to alter our environment to suit us instead of just being hostage to its vicissitudes.

We Are Now Victims of Our Own Success

And yet, we are also the victims of our own success. Our agricultural revolution and urban evolution have turned a former hunter-gatherer society into an unhealthily sedentary one. We are born, live and die in our office “ergonomic” chairs. The high-tech economy and the high degree of specialization that it requires has turned us into doctors and engineers with severely eroded survival skills. Most Ph.D.’s can’t tie a bowline knot if they fell off a cliff and were thrown a rope by the rescue team. As sad as the situation of re-teaching a survivor species survivor skill is, there is no getting around it.

5 Survival Skills & Resources

Here are five survival skills and the resources that can prevent you from becoming another hiker who succumbed to the wild.

1. Frame of mind The mind of a survivalist lost in a desert, forest or glacier does not have the luxury of catastrophizing (I know it’s a made-up word ;)). You have the very difficult job of bending the arc of circumstances in your favor and a self-sabotaging mind will put paid to you. You should carry anti-anxiety meds in your survival kit if you tend to get depressed easily.
2. Survival kit You must carry a survival kit with the survival tools that can enhance your ability to get water, food, and shelter in case you face a survival situation. The kit must have a first-aid kit with disinfectants and bandages at its core. Next should come temperature-resistant water containers, potable water stocks and food rations. Torches, swiss-knives, Kukri (Nepalese sword for cutting through scrub) and batteries are also essential.
3. Reading water clues Have you noticed how African bushmen read the forest like a book or how the matriarch of an elephant family digs at the right spot for water? You will need at least 2.7 liters of water a day if you are a woman and 3.7 liters if you are a man. Your water stocks will peter out in an extended survival situation. So, learn to look for north-facing canyons, broad-leaf trees, morning dew on a rocky outcrop or a water-laden cactus tree.
4. Hunting Animal meat is rich in protein and an extended survival situation will require you to hunt. Your survival manual must include information about how to build traps, make a spear point and ambush your prey (e.g. approach your prey upwind so that the wind carries your scent away from it)
5. SOS communication Your survival books or manual, an essential part of your kit, should tell you that lighting a fire and covering it with foliage from broad-leaf trees will produce a thick smoke that can broadcast your location. Also, add mirrors you can use to reflect light-sources to your kit.

What did I miss? What other survival skills and resources am I missing here?

Deserts Can Be Treacherous and Deadly

The desert is a barren, arid landscape that has a certain alluring beauty. But the shifting dunes, harsh thunderstorms, lack of water and extreme temperatures can be deadly if not addressed in the proper way. Have you watched with admiration and respect how the San people, the last tribe on Earth to practice the persistence hunt, chase their prey for hours on foot in the scorching heat until it literally collapses from exhaustion? It might take up to 8 hours for a group of bushmen to spot, track and run-down prey and this sends them far into the desert. But that is only the beginning. The survivalists must now butcher their prey and carry it back to their village in 8 more hours under the merciless sun. San Hunters, otherwise known as San People, use a set of strategies including the right amount of water, occasional rest in any bit of available shade, endurance built up over years of hunting and a Zen-like focus to return alive.

5 Desert Survival Strategies

1. Do not panic The desert is the last place you should panic if you’re stranded. You need every bit of concentration to spot the shifting dunes of the desert and not allow them to make you walk in circles. A mind that succumbs to emotion will see mirages that lead you into further trouble.
2. Slow dehydration Your second major aim should be to slow dehydration from the intense heat. Make an improvised turban by wrapping a piece of cloth around your head. Do not expend precious water in wetting the turban should the heat get intolerable. No one is judging you so use your urine.
3. Ration water and find a new source An average woman needs approximately 2.7 liters of water and an average man need approximately 3.7 liters in temperate conditions. So, the harsh desert environment is going to require more. Calculate how much water you have and how you plan to stretch it out. Look for north-facing canyons where water puddles escape much of the sun’s heat and don’t evaporate. Broad-leafed trees are an excellent indicator and you can often dig around their roots and soak up the moisture with a cloth.
4. Know the right foods to eat Fruits of the Prickly Bear Cactus and the Desert Christmas Cactus are edible and make for tolerable survival food. But other species may not be. You need to be able to distinguish the edible from the poisonous and that requires prior reading and a survival manual in your survival kit.
5. Desert survival kit You must have a desert survival kit with a first-aid kit, ample water supplies, white-cotton attire for the day and warm woolen clothes for the night. Also acquire the survivalist gene by carrying a magnetic compass, extra pairs of batteries for your flashlight, Swiss army knife and fire-starters.

What did I miss? What else do you need to survive the harsh climate of the desert?