Wilderness Survival Skills

When it comes to wilderness survival skills, there are only a few that are absolutely necessary for you to know. As you become more familiar with the basics, specialized skills can be added. Knowing the basics, you can turn a dangerous situation into an inconvenient one.

Shelter

The ability to find or create shelter is an easy skill to master. The good thing is that you can practice this skill anywhere. It only takes a few hours for a person to become too cold to function. In an emergency, any kind of shelter is better than no shelter. Using sticks, leaves and tree branches you can build a lean-to or wigwam. Caves, natural windbreaks and depressions in the ground can also serve as temporary shelter.

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Many small, compact emergency shelters require little set up. These pocket shelters are available through Nitro-Pak. Tossing one in your pocket, glove box or bag provides you with shelter in an instant.

Fire Starting

Anyone can start a fire using matches. However, rain or snow can render matches useless, which makes it a good idea to have waterproof matches in your pocket. Fire bows are easy to construct using your shoestring. This technique does require practice and is more complicated than rubbing two sticks together. A magnifying glass, solar lighter and prescription eyeglasses can start a fire, however if the weather is bad, or you need to start a fire at night, these options will not work.

Water

The human body needs about a gallon of water a day to stay alive. Drinking unfiltered untreated creek water is not recommended. The microscopic bacteria, viruses and parasites that are in it will cause you to become very ill. Boiling water is one way but a container will be needed plus the a fire and the time to complete this task. There are many portable water filters on the market. The Katadyn Exstream Water Purifier weighs 7 ounces and is a 3-stage filtration device. This model can purify 26 gallons before the filter needs replacing. Running water is safer than standing water. In a pinch, you can also sip the dew off plants or use a tarp or sheet of plastic to distill water from the sun.

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Finding Food

The ability to find food may seem like it should be an important wilderness survival skill, however people can survive for weeks without proper nutrition if they have drinking water. Learn about the wild edible plants and nuts available in your geographic area. Keeping survival tablets, protein bars and other lightweight long-term storable foods in your pocket, survival bag and vehicle is inexpensive survival insurance. It would also be a good idea to learn how to set snares and make traps.

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First Aid

If you find yourself in a survival situation, you may need to provide first aid. Small kits are available for sale and can be created at home using supplies you have on hand. You would also be wise to learn about the different medicinal wild plants in your area.

Navigation

Some survival experts teach that navigation is a basic survival skill, and knowing how to use a compass is a handy skill to have. However, learning how to use the naturally occurring navigational signs like getting directional bearings from the sun or constellations will allow you to navigate without a compass.

The best tool to use with any wilderness survival skills is your brain. This tool is available to you 24-7 and will provide the edge that anyone in a survival situation will need.