With an abundance of information available on basic survival skills, one may find themselves wondering “Where should I begin?” To assist you in prospering in any circumstance, here are six key elements of wilderness survival.
Six Basic Survival Skills:
Number 1: Attitude
Your attitude is the most crucial factor in determining your success in a survival situation. It is even possible that this initial basic survival skill determines your life or death.
To initiate, take into account “The Rule of Threes.” An individual has the ability to endure for the following periods:
It takes 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter to regulate body temperature, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food to survive.
The guideline of the “Rule of Threes” suggests prioritizing basic survival skills in this order: shelter comes first, followed by water, and finally, food.
To successfully survive a challenging wilderness scenario, one must confront numerous obstacles without succumbing to panic. When encountering a potential survival scenario, it is crucial to employ the mnemonic “SPEAR”.
Break the process into steps: Cease, Establish a strategy, Carry out the plan, Evaluate and reexamine.
By following a step-by-step process of evaluating, arranging, and implementing your fundamental survival abilities, you will actively involve your mind and body in tackling your situation. This will significantly assist in preventing panic and other unfavorable mental states. By maintaining a positive attitude, your chances of survival are substantially enhanced.
Number 2: Shelter
Many individuals find themselves in great danger during survival situations due to being directly exposed to the elements. The leading cause of death in such scenarios is hypothermia, which can be easily prevented with basic survival skills. The ability to construct a shelter holds utmost significance in a survival situation, as it is crucial to prevent or reduce heat loss. Similarly, in a desert environment, the focus should be on minimizing water loss.
When considering shelters, there are various types to think about. These include natural shelters like caves, hollow stumps, and logs, as well as constructed shelters like a debris hut, lean-to, debris tipi, scout pit, or snow shelter. Among these options, the debris hut is often the most viable choice to build in virtually any setting.
Finding a Suitable Location
When building a temporary shelter, it is essential to consider the location as much as the shelter itself. Your objective is to locate a spot that is dry, level, and shielded from the wind. Neglecting the terrain is one of the most frequent errors made while constructing a temporary shelter.
- Water Proximity: We’ll go into further detail about finding a water source in a minute, but if you can help it, try to drop your shelter as close to your water source as possible. You can’t afford to spend your day trekking to get fresh water. But if this is too much work, don’t spend all your energy figuring this out. Your first job is shelter.
- Shoreline and Low Ground: Even though you want to be close to a water source, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to set up on a shoreline. The same goes for low terrain. A flash flood, rain, or any condensation would be life-threatening.
- High Altitudes and Slopes: Although you don’t want to build on low ground, that doesn’t mean you should build as high as possible. Temperature drops and conditions like avalanches are more likely at higher altitudes. And most certainly avoid building on a slope. Any sort of precipitation will wash you out or open you up to landslides. Always choose a flat and dry area for building your shelter.
- Widowmakers: Call them widowmakers or whatever you like, but broken branches and unstable overhangs can be deadly. The same goes for rocks nearby – if you see rocks laying on the ground and others sitting on a hillside, this is your sign to find another spot. So look up when you think you’ve found the right spot and make sure everything above you is stable. It could save your life.
- Wind Direction: Figure out the direction of the wind and build your shelter where your opening doesn’t face it. This will not only keep you warmer but also protect your fire.
Utilizing natural materials is recommended when constructing your shelter.
The objective when constructing a shelter using natural resources is to reduce the amount of effort required to establish essential protection from the surroundings. This encompasses both existing natural structures and making the most of readily available natural materials.
These are natural materials that you should watch out for.
- Frame: Look for sturdy branches that are straight and at least as long as your body. You’ll need them to form the frame of your shelter.
- Roof: Foliage can be used to create a thatched roof for your lean-to. Grass and ferns are easy to pack between branches, creating a barrier from the wind and rain.
- Anchor: If you can find large rocks, drop them at the base of your shelter to keep it anchored. They can also be helpful as a heat source if you build your fire near them.
- Ties: Natural cordages such as vines or strips of bark are great at tying branches and logs together for a sturdier shelter.
- Bedding: Look for evergreen tree boughs or dried grasses to use as bedding; pay close attention to every material you grab, avoiding sap and insects.
You may have observed that insulation is not included in that list, as it needs further clarification. It is a delicate matter and highly impacted by your surroundings. Making a mistake in this area can have severe consequences. Insufficient insulation can result in heat loss, whereas excessive insulation can lead to the accumulation of moisture.
Here is a guide to help you effectively navigate insulation when setting up a temporary survival shelter.
What Materials Are Best for Insulation?
Pine needles, moss, grass, ferns, and other types of foliage provide excellent insulation. Birch bark is also highly effective as an insulator, particularly when it comes to ignition for fire starting purposes. Utilizing stripped tree bark can serve as a suitable shelter wall covering.
Materials that offer waterproof properties and quick-drying features are necessary for wet or humid environments, whereas materials providing optimum insulation are needed for dry and cold environments.
Number 3: Water
Given that the human body consists of as much as 78% water, it is not surprising that water takes precedence over fire or food. It is recommended that an individual consume approximately one gallon of water daily. Numerous individuals who become lost die as a result of dehydration or the detrimental consequences of diseases transmitted through water that has not been treated. Apart from waterborne diseases, downstream waters from industrial and agricultural activities often contain minerals and metals. The most favorable sources of pure drinking water in a wilderness environment are natural springs, streams originating from high up in the mountains, and collecting dew in the morning.
Some popular modern methods for purifying or treating water include the use of filtering pumps and chemical treatments like iodine. These methods can be highly efficient and effective if you have access to the necessary items in a survival scenario. Another method of purifying water is through herbal treatments, where water can be purified from viruses and bacteria. One such herbal treatment is using grapefruit seed extract, although there is ongoing debate regarding its hundred percent effectiveness as a water purifier. However, the most widely used and proven method for safely purifying water is by boiling it. By bringing water to a boil and allowing it to continue boiling for 2-3 minutes, bacteria and viruses can be effectively killed.
By remaining calm, constructing a shelter, and procuring clean water, an individual can effectively endure for several weeks.
Number 4: Fire
Despite not being essential for survival, fire is an extremely valuable fundamental skill in terms of basic survival. Its benefits include providing warmth to both the body and shelter, facilitating the drying of clothes, enabling water to be boiled, and allowing food to be cooked. Moreover, fire plays a crucial role in offering psychological reassurance during a survival scenario by creating feelings of security and safety.
When traveling in the wilderness, it is advisable to bring various fire-starting tools, such as a lighter, matches, flint and steel, and other options. However, starting a fire can still be difficult in bad weather. We strongly suggest practicing fire starting in different habitats and weather conditions as it is extremely useful. In situations where you don’t have a modern fire-making tool, fire by friction is the most efficient ancient technique. Common methods for creating fire through friction include the bow drill, hand drill, fire plow, and fire saw.
How to Build and Maintain a Fire
- Arrange Tinder: Start by arranging your tinder in a small pile or nest in the center of your fire pit. Crumple dry leaves or tear the dry grass, then place them in the center of your fire pit.
- Add Kindling: Once you’ve arranged your tinder, you’ll begin arranging your kindling in a teepee-like formation. These small sticks and twigs shouldn’t be tightly packed in. The space between them will help air circulate and feed the flames.
- Light the Tinder: We’ll go into the specifics of starting a fire in a minute, but for this step, light your tinder, not your kindling. You’ll start the flame in a few spots on the tinder, and blow gently on the spots to help them fan out. This will eventually catch the kindling.
- Add Fuelwood: As the kindling catches fire and begins to burn, gradually add larger pieces of fuelwood to the fire. Place the logs around the outside of the kindling, being careful not to smother the flames.
- Maintain: Once your fire is burning steadily, keep an eye on it and make sure it stays under control. The fire should burn evenly, if it doesn’t and you don’t have any appropriate tools to move logs, use long and thick greenwood sticks to move pieces around. Keep your fire burning by adding fuelwood from the bottom up, and avoid adding too much wood at once. A large log can smother the fire, and it will take a long time to catch fire.
Number 5: Food
Food is not as high of a priority as shelter and water in terms of basic survival skills. The “Rule of Threes” states that humans can go without food for approximately 3 weeks, although it would not be ideal to do so. Fortunately, natural environments typically offer a range of resources that can fulfill our nutritional requirements. In a survival scenario, wild plants are often the easiest food source to find, but insects and small wild game can also serve as sustenance.
There are several plants that are plentiful across North America.
Cattail, also referred to as the “supermarket of the swamp,” offers roots, shoots, and pollen heads that are edible.
All cone-bearing trees, excluding Yew which is toxic, have a sugar, starch, and calorie-rich inner bark called the cambium that can be consumed.
Grasses offer nourishment as the juice from their leaves can provide nutrition, and their root corm can be roasted and consumed.
All acorns from oak trees can undergo leaching to remove their bitter tannic acids, after which they can be consumed as a great source of protein, fats, and calories.
Before consuming any plant, it is important to go through a step-by-step process and make sure you correctly identify it. This can be done by using field guides or seeking guidance from a knowledgeable expert. It can be challenging to identify certain plants, and there are also edible plants that resemble poisonous ones. If you are unable to identify a plant, it is crucial to refrain from consuming it.
If we assume that hunting, fishing, and trapping are already covered, then we should shift our attention to foraging as the main aspect of acquiring food for survival.
If you don’t know the specific location and time of your hunting activity, which are crucial for identifying edible plants, we will provide some general guidelines to follow in the world of foraging.
- You Aren’t An Elk: For whatever reason, some people believe that if an animal eats a certain type of vegetation then it must be okay for humans to do the same. This is a terrible idea and a quick way to poison yourself. Deer can survive on mostly toxic plants, but that’s not an invitation to find hemlock and scarf it down. Don’t let other animals’ vegetation choices guide your own.
- Smell, Touch, Taste: In non-survival situations, the rule is to avoid foraging matter you aren’t familiar with. Survival has different rules. A way to reduce your risk of poisoning is to smell the plant first. If there’s a strong odor or one that’s offputting, move on. If there’s no odor at first, crush the plant up and try again to make sure. Then you can get a little more serious and touch the plant or fungus to your lips, then tongue… finally working your way up to a bite. Tingling, bitter smells, puffiness – these are all sensations to be alert toward.
- Lookalikes: Many plants survive with a lookalike strategy. While something like a morel mushroom is delicious and edible, it’s a lookalike to a toxic mushroom known as the false morel. If you’re going to go in for a taste, be certain that you’re eating the real deal rather than an imposter plant.
- Sample: You can gather as much as you like, and store in the earth to help preserve and prevent pests. However, it’s a good idea to taste just one small bite of whatever you’ve foraged and give it at least an hour before downing the rest. If there is a negative reaction, hopefully, the small amount ingested won’t be enough to completely sideline your efforts of survival.
- Leaves of 3: You know the saying, “leaves of three, let it be.” This little quip has saved many people from annoying poison ivy reactions, and this same statement is true for edible plants.
Number 6: Naturalist Skills
Having extensive knowledge about nature is essential for survival in the outdoors. In order to excel at wilderness survival, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of various nature skills in addition to basic survival skills. For instance, being able to track wildlife is crucial for finding food, and knowing about herbal medicine enables one to treat illnesses using wild plants. Particularly when intentionally practicing long-term survival living, expertise in naturalist knowledge is extremely precious.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors possessed classification systems for living organisms. They were familiar with the names of these organisms, comprehended their purposes, acknowledged their interconnectedness, and knew how to use them sustainably. This understanding formed the basis of their success in adapting to the natural world.
Even those who enjoy recreational wilderness skills can benefit from having a basic understanding of natural sciences such as botany, ecology, and geology. Starting with acquiring plant and animal field guides specific to your region is an excellent way to begin. These guides will assist you in identifying species and comprehending their relationships.
Now, equipped with these six basic survival skills, you are on the right track to prospering in the outdoor environment!
