Wilderness Survival Tips - Backpacking Tips

tip#3

TIP#3 - IF YOU GET LOST, unless you are expert, stay in one area, where others may expect you to be. Beforehand, make sure someone knows where you'll be and your timetable. Use emergency whistle, signal mirror, smoke from burning green or damp plants. Lay out an "SOS" or "X" using branches, rocks or brightly-colored gear (tent fly, tarp, etc.). Stay calm. Take an inventory of your gear.  How can it be put to good use? Seek shelter early - don't wait for dark or cold. Drink and eat at regular intervals. Don't panic. Panic is your worst enemy. Think. Rest. Drink. You CAN survive!

You can survive about a month without food - YES YOU CAN!  You can survive from 3 to 5 days without water or fluid.  Temperatures and activity level effect this time period.  You can die within hours from lack of shelter.  You can die even more quickly from panic-induced injury.  STAY CALM!  Sleeping overnight in the wild will likely be more of an inconvenience than a threat to your life.  If you are properly equipped and prepared, the experience can end up being fun as well as a challenging event.  See Tip#10, below.  Also, see Primitive Survival Skills section.

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tip#5

TIP#5. BUILDING A WATER STILL: Remember that large, transparent plastic sheet (4' in diameter) and 3’ length of drinking tube I mentioned earlier? Here’s what you can do with these two items to collect water where no water appears to exist, although the amount you collect may not be worth the exertion expended in constructing the still.  Find any spot where it appears water may have existed in wetter weather; dry creek beds, the base of desert mountains, low areas of drainage, etc. Dig a hole about two feet deep and three feet in diameter (or smaller, depending on size of plastic sheeting) where it will receive lots of sunshine. Dig a sump in the center big enough to hold your container. Place a bowl, pot or other water-retention vessel at the bottom center of hole. You can even cut a section from one edge of the plastic sheet to form a container. Run the drink tube (optional) from the container and out of the hole by simply running it under one edge of the plastic sheeting and to the outside. Make sure the rube is buried so that the still's 'seal' is not broken.  Cover the hole with the transparent plastic sheet and seal all edges with the excess dirt. The plastic sheet should be clear/transparent to allow light to pass through.  Place a small (hardball size), smooth stone in the center of the plastic cover. The stone will cause the condensation on the inside of the plastic to run to the center, then drip into your retention vessel. The plastic sheeting should sag in the center about a foot, but should never contact the sides of the hole. The drink tube allows you to drink without unsealing your still, which releases heat and slows water collection. The sunshine (heat) will cause underground water to rise and to condense against the plastic sheeting. The water, even if it had been saline or tainted, will be safe to drink right out of the tube. Treat it further by filtering or boiling if it makes you feel better, but it’s usually unnecessary unless the source of the water was severely tainted or chemically poisoned. In such cases, filter or boil.  This trick works best when you will remain in one place more than one day, as it takes time to collect enough water to keep you going. You may also pour polluted or salt water (even urine) into a trough encircling the still, about ten inches away from its edge, so that the water drains into the hole through the earth around it. Be sure polluted water does not touch the plastic sheeting. The earth will filter the polluted water and the condensation will purify it. It is also possible to place green leaves and lush grasses against the sides of the hole – they will also release moisture under the heat of the sun.  Now, all of this said, a water still in the desert will probably not deliver enough drinkable water to make the work entailed in making the still worthwhile.  The still works best where the moisture source is good, such as with a still near the ocean, where salt water conversion to drinking water is the goal.    

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tip#10

TIP#10 – STAYING ALIVE! When experts and researchers interview survivors of air disasters, ship wrecks, hostage scenarios, war prisons, wilderness attacks and misfortunes, they hear the same story beneath the story every time – survivors keep their wits about them, they believe that they will survive and they decide on a plan of survival and see it through. Here are a few truisms and thoughts which may help you in a wilderness survival situation: 1. WATER vs. FOOD – a human can typically survive up to a month without food, but only several days or less without water. Food is more important in wintry cases as your body will require the calories to keep itself warm. When lost, one of your first concerns after safety, immediate shelter from heat or cold, and the treatment of any injuries should be water. You must find it. A bandana, sock or tee shirt can be used to remove dew from wet grasses and leaves. A water still may save your life (see discussion above under TIP #5). Trap rainwater in rain gear, tent fly, plastic bag, etc. Seek low areas and areas of lush greenery. Running out of food is more often of psychological distress than physical. Be careful what you snack on in the wild. Many plants are poisonous and many poisonous plants resemble safe ones. All grasses are edible, though usually offer little reward. You are better off eating insects, frogs, lizards, etc., than plants about which you know little.2. CARRY an emergency kit similar to that described in TIP #2, above. Carry it with you at all times, even when going to the toilet. You can never know when your camp may be invaded by a bear, covered by an avalanche or rockslide, or visited by thieves. At least once a year, replenish items with freshness dates (aspirin, medications, emergency food, etc.). Everyone in your group over the age of ten or even less depending on maturity level, should have their own map and compass, emergency whistle, water purification tablets, pocket knife, poncho and warm clothes, matches and butane lighter, emergency candles, flashlight and extra batteries, and personal water supply – at a minimum. Why should only adults have the means to survive? 3. DURING thunder storms, avoid the largest tree, stay off crests or large, protruding boulders. Both may act as lightning conductors. Seek shelter amongst lower, similar-height trees or brush.  Groups should spread out with at least 15-30 feet between members.  Stay off ridges and away from large boulders and trees, especially between 2PM and 6Pm, the most likely summer thunderstorm period.  Avoid marshy areas and wide open areas, as well, during thunderstorms.  There, you will stand out as a target and watery earth conducts electricity.  Get away from metal you may be carrying.  Squat on your sleeping mat, feet together, head covered to protect ears from thunder shock waves.  But, you must understand that none, nor all of these steps guarantee safety.  Lightning is unpredictable, erratic and random - you are always at risk when you are confronted by thunderstorms in the wilderness.  Lightning can carry 30,000 amps of electricity, and it can penetrate any shelter you may seek.  The spread of the electricity in the ground, through boulders and water, as well as through the air can reach you no matter your precautions.  Follow the above tips and reduce your vulnerability and targetability.  Last, even in lightning storms, stay dry – wetness hurries hypothermia.4. IF you become lost – sit down for a while. Gather yourself. Think about your predicament. Sleeping a night or two in the wild isn’t all that bad. Help will be dispatched – that’s virtually certain. Do not wait until dark or encroaching freezing night to seek shelter. Accept early that you are lost – give yourself at least two hours of daylight when possible to build or find shelter, firewood, water, etc. Tree branches make great lean-to shelters or teepees. Caves, fallen trees, rocky overhangs, low-to-the-ground fir trees – all can make ideal accommodations, but avoid rocky overhangs during lightning storms. Don’t forget your emergency tent (in your kit). A small fire provides heat and companionship during the dark of night. Drink often. Munch a little food. Go through your gear and inventory its contents – every item is a friend. Comfort is nice, but relatively unnecessary to survival. Protection from the elements, ample water supply and avoiding injury are key to survival. At daybreak, think about signaling for help. Create smoke using damp or green foliage. Try your whistle every so often. Lay out colorful gear in a clearing – use brightly colored clothing, tarp, tent or tent fly, foliage on snow, etc. Have mirror handy for signaling aircraft or far away searchers. Stay put! Do not wander about. Movement diminishes chances for being found; increases the chance of injury; burns vital energy and increases need for water. Use your time gathering firewood, nursing your fire, replenishing water supply, etc. Praise yourself for the job you’ve done so far. Feeling good and remaining positive about your situation is important. In nearly every situation, discovery is but hours to a few days away. I’m not saying it can’t get worse, of course it can, but it usually doesn’t. Staying calm and using your head are the key points to getting out safe.

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tip#17

TIP#17- BUILDING A QUINZE OR SNOW CAVE might save your life. A Quinze is an above ground "Igloo-like" structure formed from snow rather than blocks of ice. It can be built for one person or groups of three or four. It may provide an environment up to forty-degrees warmer than the outside environment. It is fairly hard work, so pace yourself. Here’s what to do: 1) pile your gear in a cone shape (draping a tarp over the mass of gear is optional);2) shovel snow onto the gear pile, allowing it to loosely fall onto the pile and re-crystallize; shovel only about a foot or two thick to begin with, compacting the snow as you go;3) after thirty minutes, add more snow, compacting it as you go; every two feet of wall thickness, wait thirty minutes;4) once the structure is large enough for your purposes, compact snow and wait at least one hour and preferably two hours to allow structure walls to fully re-crystallize and harden;5) here’s a trick – insert a number of sticks about two-feet in length so that only six inches protrudes – these "thickness guides" should be spread around the entire surface and point to the center of the structure;6) starting as low to the ground as possible, begin digging an entrance large enough to crawl through – keep the entrance low, even under the wall if possible; remember, warm air rises, so this helps retain heat inside the Quinze;7) carefully remove gear;8) excavate/remove snow inside structure, taking care to stop at sticks you inserted – this will ensure proper wall thickness and stability of walls;9) carefully drill out several "ventilation holes" in the upper half of the structure;10) mark your home with a brightly colored marker so you can find it again in a snowstorm. Large structures may accommodate sleeping benches made of snow and a center cooking table of snow. At night, you may wish to block the entrance to keep out wind – do this only after adding adequate ventilation vents.

In emergencies, when time does not permit the four hours to build and "cure" a Quinze, dig a trench in a snow bank large enough to accommodate your party, cover with sturdy limbs in a weave or criss-cross pattern, and then add branches or even a tarp or tent fly; again, be certain to allow ventilation that snow fall will not plug; lay boughs on the floor to sit or lie on; carefully shovel six inches to a foot of snow over the roof.

The warmth and protection from the wind will astound you and possibly save your life.  For a great, light weight and easily carried claw-shovel, click on www.Snowclaw.com.

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