Wilderness Survival Basics

I hope readers of this blog have enjoyed the last several blogs which have been about sculpturing and making use of items that may be found in the wilderness to help your survival situation.  No doubt there will be many more items to share in the future about making use of such items or other fun ideas that can be helpful.  It seems that when learning about wilderness survival, people generally want to learn fun and interesting “tricks” to survival.  Maybe this is because these are fun and when having fun doing something, it is usually easier to learn.  When it come right down to it though, it is the more simple basics of survival that are generally the most important things that can save your life.  So while we will eventually and occasionally get back to so called fun and useful tricks of wilderness survival, it is time to revert back to the February 2012 blog for some basics of survival.  This months blog then is simply a copy (and a very good reminderof survival basics) of the February 2012 blog and we will move forward from this point on the next blog posting.


TAKE A BREAK

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A WILDERNESS SURVIVAL SITUATION?

 

While there can be many wilderness survival scenarios and each scenario may present different challenges, the one I would like to discuss for this blog is that of being lost or disoriented. This may sound odd and some people may disagree with me but the first thing to do is-

TAKE A BREAK.

 

That’s right! Take a break. Take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to just relax. Sit in a comfortable spot and sing a song, recite a poem, watch birds, or have a snack – whatever relaxes you. If you take just a short break this will likely diminish going into panic and just running and getting yourself lost even more. Being relaxed will also likely help you to think more clearly when break time is over.

 

Once break time is over, then you can take time to STOP.

S - STAY where you are if possible as this will make it easier for rescuers to find you.

T- THINK calmly about your situation and options. Evaluate and remain positive.

O- OBSERVE the weather, your surroundings, your equipment/supplies and capabilities.

P- PRIORITIZE immediate needs(shelter, medical, fire, water, signal and food) – develop a plan of action, follow your plan, remain positive.

 

Best wishes for happy and safe adventures,

 

Magpie