Can you guess the #1 priority for survival in the wilderness?
In my role as a guide for wilderness survival, I have instructed numerous individuals in the techniques and principles of surviving in the wilderness. I find it amusing when beginners are asked what their top priority would be, as they often answer with “Water!”, “Food!”, “Fire?”, “Shelter!”, or “A good knife?”, all of which are incorrect.
Starting with introspection, the focus should be on one’s character. Take into account the psychological impact of surviving. Although most people succumb to the elements, what internal factors contributed to their demise? Ultimately, they lost their composure and deviated from a state of tranquility.
The tale of the man who got lost in the woods and panicked, frantically sprinting in search of an exit, is one that I find intriguing. Despite his fear impeding his judgment, he ended up returning to the woods by running across a road and eventually perished. While this is a particularly extreme example, it illustrates the main point.
The most important aspect to remember from this guide on surviving in the wilderness is to remain calm and composed. It is crucial to stay level-headed, maintain a positive mentality, and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Shelter
Once you have found inner peace, more than 50% of the battle is won. As previously mentioned, exposure to the elements is the most common physical reason why people perish in wilderness survival situations. It is possible for a person to succumb to exposure in as little as three hours. Knowing how to maintain warmth in cold conditions, stay cool in hot conditions, and stay dry in wet conditions is essential. This is where a wilderness survival shelter comes in. The shelter can take various shapes and sizes, with the debris hut being a classic example. The debris hut is a simple one-person shelter that provides insulation by cocooning the individual in natural debris such as leaves, grass, or boughs. It is designed to repel water, making it similar to a primitive tent and sleeping bag combined.
Regardless of what it looks like, a wilderness survival shelter should embrace these essential principles. It should provide insulation and protection from all elements . It should include a heart source , whether that is a fire, the sun, or trapping body heat. It should be placed in a good location – think high and dry. And lastly, it should offer comfort and sanctuary . After all, this will be your new home.
Water
Remaining properly hydrated is crucial for survival as dehydration can lead to death in merely three days. It is important to keep in mind that once dehydration reaches 7%, one may become unconscious. This can be quite alarming.
The initial step is to locate a water source. Water typically moves downhill, fosters plant growth, and accumulates in natural reservoirs, such as lakes, rivers, springs, rock hollows, or even foliage. Regrettably, it’s uncommon to discover untainted drinking water in most natural sources. Hence, you must be aware of water purification techniques that can be used in a variety of circumstances. Employ any of these techniques to obtain clean, filtered water:
- You can get clean, purified water from the inside of plants like grasses, thistles, cactuses, or grapevines. You can also tap many broad leaved trees and collect their sap.
- Collect dew by using a handkerchief or bundle of dry grasses to soak up morning dew, then just wring it out.
- Use a solar still .
Food
Most individuals can survive without food for roughly three weeks, making it of lower importance on the list of wilderness survival priorities. I, as a survival instructor, urge my pupils to establish a connection with their hunter-gatherer predecessors. It should be noted that the human race has predominantly functioned as hunter-gatherers throughout history, leading to its deep integration into our DNA.
Fire
Fire is loved by most people and is crucial for survival in the wilderness for several reasons. Firstly, it supplies warmth to maintain body temperature. Secondly, it is utilized to purify water. In addition, fire offers light and heat for cooking, and serves as a gathering point. According to Earth based knowledge, fire has its own spirit, and it is important for us to establish a positive relationship with it. Despite my enthusiasm for fire, my true appreciation for its value only came after spending four days attempting to ignite it using a completely primitive bow and drill fire making kit, during my initial solo wilderness survival experience.
How to Make a Fire – Preparing the Area:
To build a fire, start by choosing a suitable location and getting the area ready. If using an established fire pit, be careful to pick a spot that’s not upwind and is at a safe distance of no less than 15 feet from your gear and tent. This ensures that hot ashes won’t drift onto your equipment or shelter, potentially causing damage or even fires.
The site chosen for a fire should be clean of grass, plants, and debris, and bordered by rocks. Additionally, the vicinity of the fire ring must be cleared of any litter. If the fire is to be lit in a dry location, a space with a 10-foot diameter ought to be cleared, and any nearby flammable materials should be removed. Furthermore, care must be taken not to set fire to any above-ground tree branches or subterranean roots.
If there are no fire rings available, it is important to dig a shallow hole and surround it with rocks for safety purposes to avoid fire incidents.
How to Make a Fire – Gathering Materials:
The following items are required: a fire starter, tinder, small and large kindling, as well as fuelwood. A description of each item is provided.
Starting fires
It is essential to have a means of igniting a fire. When in survival mode, ensure that you possess a tool that you are confident in using, like a lighter or matches (water-resistant preferred). For those with expertise, flint and steel, a magnifying lens, or a friction fire kit, like a bow drill or hand drill, can be employed. Our review of various fire starting methods can be found as well.
Please provide the text to be rephrased.
A material with a high flammability level is characterized by Tinder. It must ignite rapidly and maintain the flame for a sufficient amount of time to enable other substances to ignite. It is recommended to keep a safeguarded, arid tinder packet in your survival gear or knapsack.
Creating your own Tinder- Take numerous strands of jute twine and separate them to form a useful tinder bundle (depicted in the image above). Additionally, easily accessible items such as dryer lint, cotton balls drenched in warmed petroleum jelly, or fine wooden shavings can also serve as excellent resources for starting a fire.
To create Wild-Harvested Tinder, one can utilize dry, lifeless plant material, inner bark fibers, dry leaves, shredded grasses and moss, and/or finely shaved wood. For a larger tinder bundle, you can include conifer pitch or the fluffy seed material from cattails or fireweed. If you happen upon a black cottonwood or western red cedar tree with bark on the ground, the inner bark can serve as excellent tinder. You may be able to easily peel it off or use a sharp instrument to extract the inner bark fibers, which can then be fluffed up. The image above displays a tinder bundle created from the inner bark of a cedar tree.
Rewording suggestion: The act of gathering small sticks or bits of wood used for starting a fire is referred to as kindling.
Small Kindling, which is commonly referred to as “thin and whispies” with a thinness ranging from 1-2 millimeters, is necessary to ignite tinder. It is crucial for the flame to catch onto something a bit larger but still small. Brittle, dry, and thin twigs will aid the fire to expand. In evergreen conifer trees, the lower branches with attached dead or dying branches are typically very brittle and thin, measuring around 1-2 millimeters thick. To determine if they would burn efficiently, try snapping some off. If they break, they are suitable for kindling, but if they only bend, then they are too green to catch fire effortlessly. A few types of hardwoods also make excellent kindling, so ensure that you have ample amounts of it.
How to Make a Fire – Design:
Before attempting to light your fire or start a friction fire coal, gather a sizable amount of kindling and fuelwood to begin constructing your fire structure. It could be highly unsafe and disappointing during a survival circumstance to start your fire before your materials are adequately prepared. If there are multiple people, collaborate as a team with one person collecting and another constructing the fire. You could also alternate responsibilities and take turns tending to the fire once it’s lit.
Various fire designs exist such as the log cabin, lean-to, and the cross. Personally, for survival fires, I prefer the fire tipi design because if well-constructed, it quickly catches fire and offers ample warmth and illumination. In the event of wet ground conditions, place some kindling at the base of the fire pit to raise the fire a bit. Begin by building a small pile of thin, wispy materials at the center of the pit. Carve a small opening in the side of this pile for the tinder bundle once ignited. Arrange your smaller kindling in a tipi configuration surrounding the central mound. Confirm the strength and stability of the tipi structure to avoid it toppling from weight or wind. Gradually add bigger kindling and smaller fuel around the tipi, ensuring the small opening remains accessible.
It’s time to start your fire. If you’re using a match or lighter, position the kindling within the opening, light it up, and shield it from the wind. Alternatively, if you’re starting a friction fire, keep near the tipi and transfer the burning tinder bundle into the tipi once it’s on fire.
Encourage the flame to grow and enhance the fire’s intensity by supplying air through blowing onto it. Airflow is crucial for the fire to persist! Gradually add more kindling and fuel to construct the tipi, being careful not to place materials directly on top or add too much at once, as it could topple or suffocate the fire.
How to Make a Fire – Safety:
Campfires in inappropriate locations, embers carried by wind, or incomplete extinguishing of campfires cause wildfires every year. Fire safety is more essential than the ability to start a fire. To put out a fire entirely, let the wood burn to complete ash, drench it with water, dirt, or sand (depending on availability), and drown all the embers, not only the red ones. Pour water until the hissing sounds cease. Utilize a shovel or fire tending stick to mix the ashes and embers, ensuring that they don’t reignite. Remove embers by scraping sticks and logs. Stir everything until cool to the touch, but never bury a fire, as it could continue smoldering and ignite the roots.
If there are burn bans or a high risk of fire in the area, opt for different ways of heating and cooking. But, avoid using a stove inside your tent as carbon monoxide poisoning caused by stoves in tents is a top cause of death in the wilderness.
It is essential to exercise great caution when starting fires near or inside survival debris shelters due to the risk of smoke inhalation and potential fire outbreaks if venting is inadequate.
Guidelines for Being Safe:
Position the unutilized firewood in an upwind direction, distant from the flames.
Make sure to have a bucket of water and/or shovel within reach.
It is possible for underground roots to ignite, so refrain from setting fires in areas with roots, especially in dry weather conditions. Even if the fire on the surface appears extinguished, there is still a risk of it igniting underground.
Ensure that your fire is not too large to be controlled.
Ensure that children and pets are under supervision.
It is important to always maintain supervision of your campfire.
It is important to not cut down living trees or take live branches from them.
Avoid burning hazardous items such as aerosol cans, pressurized containers, glass, and aluminum cans.
Make sure to completely extinguish any fires before leaving the area and don’t forget to take your trash with you!
Wilderness Survival Skills vs. Wilderness Survival Gear
A comprehensive wilderness survival manual should recognize that, undoubtedly, abilities hold greater significance than equipment in surviving in the wild. Despite acquiring the finest equipment, it becomes irrelevant if there is no access to it, it is misplaced, or it is exhausted, leaving one depending on their skills. Nevertheless, it is still prudent to familiarize oneself with wilderness survival equipment and formulate a rescue kit, albeit not relying on it.
Wilderness Survival Training – the best wilderness survival guide
To acquire expertise in wilderness survival, it is recommended that one receive guidance from either a wilderness survival instructor or institution. With Twin Eagles Wilderness School, individuals can enroll in their diverse range of wilderness survival training courses, including their extensive nine-month Twin Eagles Wilderness Immersion Program, renowned as the optimal method for learning wilderness survival.
Wilderness Survival vs. Primitive Living
In my role as a guide for wilderness survival, I am frequently asked to identify the difference between wilderness survival and primitive living. These terms are often combined into one category, but in reality, they are two separate concepts. The wilderness survival aspect pertains to the firsthand experience of surviving in the wild, where the level of primitiveness depends on the equipment available. This experience is typically brief. On the other hand, primitive living is a long-term venture that involves residing in a primitive environment and utilizing primitive techniques over an extended period.
