Wilderness Survival Tips

Wilderness survival skills can save your life. The four basic principles of wilderness survival are as follows:

• Stay warm and dry
• Stay hydrated
• Treat injuries and stay uninjured
• Find a way out

Those should be the guiding principles behind everything you do when you’re stranded or lost in the wilderness. Here are some ways to do just that:

• Stay focused. If you’re going to survive, you need to be able to accurately assess your situation, and to determine the best course of action.
• Stay warm when you sleep. Sleep with your head lower than your heart helps you stay warmer while you sleep.
• Use a fire to keep warm and dry. Have dry matches with you at all times, but master matchless fire building techniques, as well.
• Use a bed of dry leaves to keep warm in an emergency.
• Use large trees to provide temporary shelter during light rains.
• Mark your path using anything you can. For example, tie ribbons or torn pieces of fabric to trees , so that you know you aren’t going in circles.
• Always have a first aid kit at your disposal. Learn basic first aid techniques long before you start hiking or camping. Take care of physical injuries immediately, especially those that may be life-threatening.
• Establish direction. If you don’t have a compass, you can use a stick to establish direction. Simply place the stick in the ground and mark the tip of the shadow. Mark the tip of the shadow again fifteen minutes later. Draw a line between the two; that line points East.
• Follow water sources. Eventually, rivers will lead you to civilization of some sort or another.
• Drink. Fill your water bottles or canteens from fresh water sources. Make sure that the water source is not stagnate or have a foul odor.
• Eat. Identify edible foods. Berries are generally a good choice. Even berries that are poisonous won’t hurt if you only eat one. Poisonous berries will have a bad taste to them, so spit out any berry with a bad taste.