Accidents, such as a false turn or a car breakdown, or extreme weather changes can be the cause for those who didn’t mean to enter the wilderness. Learn how to stay alive in the wild in order to manage such a terrible event.
Adventurers who look for outdoor challenges have overestimated their own capabilities and, relatedly, have undervalued what they intend to undertake.
The following information will help you prepare for the worst-case circumstances and ensure a safe trip.
Make a Good Research first
Investigate your intended destination in advance by looking online and speaking with residents who are familiar with the area. Both can provide you with whatever information you would need, including details about the quality of the trails, the number of animals, the accessibility of the water, and more.
Always check the weather prediction, starting many days earlier and continuing until the event day, regardless of the time of year.
Once you’ve arranged your vacation, let someone know all the essential information. This includes your particular destination, whether and how many other people are joining you, the vehicle you’ll be using, the route you’ll be traveling, and your expected return time.
Prepare Life-saving gear
You should bring the following items, depending on where you’re going, to help avoid or handle emergencies:
- Water and tablets or drops that cleanse the water
- Nonperishable, nutrient-dense foods like beef jerky, energy bars, or dried fruits and nuts
- First aid package including bandages, tourniquets, disinfectants, and aluminum splints.
- Insulation (an emergency blanket, jacket, hat, gloves, waterproof rain shell, thermal underwear)
- Hat and sunscreen
- If at all feasible, choose a bivy bag, tarp, or one-person tent that is lightweight.
- Headlamp or flashlight
- Fire starters, lighters, and matches that are waterproof
- Scissors, duct tape, a knife, and a screwdriver
- A map, compass, and beacon for location
- Recharged mobile battery
Make sure you’re suited for the weather in addition to the warm-weather attire mentioned above. Cotton clothing would not be recommended in cold weather because wet cotton won’t dry quickly and won’t keep you warm.
Choose fabrics like wool or synthetics that are water resistant or that retain their insulating qualities after being wet.
Bring a thick jacket even if you’re traveling to the desert because it can get chilly at night. Additionally, the weather can change significantly throughout the day in many mountainous regions.
Read more: How do outdoor enthusiasts keep warm in extreme cold?
Managing worst-case occurrences
Remember that your greatest enemy is panic if you become lost. To have the best chance of surviving, think calmly and logically.
The Forest Service advises implementing its “STOP” protocol in these circumstances: Observe, Reflect, and Plan. Start by remaining still as you mentally retrace your steps to remember how you got there. Before moving, consider what landmarks you should be able to see. Only then, move if absolutely necessary. In order to find the directions, use your compass.
Make prospective plans based on your observations, evaluate them, and then stick with the one that gives you the most confidence.
The Forest Service advises staying put for the night if it’s dark out, you’re hurt or worn out. Stay on the trail if you’re on it, especially if there are signs or markers.
It may be possible to reach civilization by following a drainage or stream downwards, but doing so may prove hazardous if you have to negotiate rugged terrain or dense brush.
You can also identify civilization and determine which way to walk if there is something you can climb on to look above the tree line.
Survive: Please Remember What’s First
Protection and Rescue
Look for shelters like huts, lean-tos, or rock formations when you need shelter. Only go into a cave if staying outside would put your life in danger. Avoid going too far into a cave and keeping an eye out for bats or other large animals that could be dangerous or carry other health risks.
Additionally, take care of minor issues as soon as you see them. The discomfort or disease may worsen if you push through it and ignore your body, making recovery more challenging.
Avoid hiking between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. if you are trapped during a warm season. Instead, wait for the weather to cool off and sit in the shade. You should hike at a comfortable pace.
Water then Food
Your primary concern at this point is surviving until help arrives. Since dehydration has been linked to a greater risk of death, maintaining hydration is more crucial than keeping yourself fed.
Even if you believe it is unnecessary, fill up your bottle whenever you see water. When a new water source will appear is impossible to predict.
Water that is moving, like a stream or river, is typically cleaner than water that is still.
Any berries or proteins you find, such fish or insects, are typically palatable if you run out of food. Eat no wild mushrooms because it’s uncertain how harmful they are.
The Forest Service claims that there are ideal times to eat, drink, and exert energy. Before you become exhausted, stop when you start to feel tired and take at least 30 minutes to rest.
Additionally, you should take a break for at least 30 minutes after eating because it would be difficult for your body to digest food and trek at the same time.
Stories
Some of the aforementioned individuals made up for any lack of preparedness or good fortune with survival abilities.
After three weeks, helicopter troopers saw Steele’s surf and a big “SOS” sign that had been cut out of the snow. Steele had been abandoned after his Alaskan cabin burnt down. He ate food from cans and peanut butter while waiting for help, and he slept in a snow cave he had made for himself around his wood heater.
Geer, a lady who wandered off after scattering her husband’s ashes in Washington State, managed to stay alive for six days before being located. In order to survive, she had built a shelter out of logs and moss, drank stream water, and consumed ants, currant fruits, and pine needles.
Surviving a nightmare circumstance is doable if you have some practical knowledge and sharp thinking.