If you know how to survive in the outdoors, you will have a better chance of getting through a life-or-death situation. Knowing how to build a fire, find water, build a shelter, and hunt for edible plants are examples.
Put your hard skills to the test in situations that mirror the difficulties you might face in the field. A positive attitude, mental conditioning, and creative problem-solving abilities all have an impact. Your confidence will grow as a result of consistent practice and improvement, allowing you to remain resilient in the face of adversity.
Innovative Ways of Obtaining & Purifying Water
It is essential to purify any water that is obtained from a wild source because drinking water that has been contaminated can result in water-borne illnesses like dysentery and giardia. Purification tablets or ultraviolet light can be used to kill bacteria in their water supply and make it safe for drinking. On the other hand, utilize the sun’s bright beams to distill your water and wipe out microorganisms. Solar water disinfection can be used to purify your wild-harvested drinking water in the following ways:
- Gather Your Materials. A container, such as a coffee can, glass bottle, stainless-steel pot, or water bottle, will be your first requirement. Because you will be using the container to collect water that has evaporated, the larger the opening, the better. Make a hole in the ground with a digging tool like a stick, spoon, or trowel and a small rock or pebble to attract condensation.
- Dig Your Hole. Choose a spot that gets a lot of sunlight and has moist soil. Dig a hole in this area with the digging implement you have. To make it easier to get your container in and out of the hole, straighten the sides.
- Place Your Container. Place your water container in the middle of the hole and cover it with plants or moss that is moist. Water evaporation will be sped up by the plant material’s ability to attract moisture.
- Cover the Hole with Plastic. The opening of the hole should be sealed with plastic to prevent evaporating water from escaping around the sides. The light should be able to pass through the plastic if it is sufficiently translucent. To keep your plastic tarp taut, weigh it down with rocks all around its perimeter.
- Place a Pebble on Top of the Plastic. Make a small depression in the middle of the plastic with a pebble or small rock; This will result in the formation of a slanted surface that will collect the water directly above the container. Water will evaporate, accumulate on the plastic’s interior, and then drip into your container.
- Remove the Container from the Hole. After the container has accumulated sufficient water, take it out of the hole.
Creative Solutions to Construct Shelter
If you want to stay dry and protected from the elements, shelter is essential whether you are lost or staying in the jungle. You can build a sturdy place to sleep using the natural materials in your area even if you don’t have any tools. You can quickly construct a variety of shelters once you locate the appropriate location!
- Find a Location – Evaluation of the area is essential before deciding to construct a shelter. In the event of a storm, ensure that water does not flood or run through the area by choosing a location that is naturally protected from the wind.
- Insulate the Ground – To begin, use logs to construct a rectangular frame. Debris, such as pine branches or dried leaves, should fill the frame. The debris will act as insulation, keeping the body’s heat from being absorbed by the ground.
- Frame the Shelter – Keep in mind that this kind of shelter is only for use in an emergency. As a result, the shelter cavity ought to be only large enough to accommodate your body. Make sure the sticks on each side of the shelter meet at the top by adjusting them. Place the sticks from front to back as you continue to construct the frame.
- Pile It On – Once the frame is built, it’s time to cover the shelter’s entire exterior with a thick layer of debris. When building a natural shelter, this is the part that takes the most time. Collect sticks, branches, and leaves to cover the entire frame. The thickness of this insulation should be 4 to 8 inches, which is sufficient to keep the interior of the shelter dry and prevent rain from entering.
The most crucial thing to keep in mind when building a survival shelter is that it is only there to keep you alive, not to make you feel comfortable. Natural debris shelters typically have cool, damp interiors and the potential to occasionally leak. The alternative is better than being alive and uncomfortable.
Exploring Different Ways Starting Fire
- First and foremost, always have a bucket, shovel, and water source close by.
- Never cut down entire dead or alive trees or branches. You will harm the forest and burn alive materials. Birds and other wildlife frequently call standing dead trees their homes.
- Tinder: Little twigs and dry leaves, grass, and needles.
- Kindling: sticks less than one inch in diameter
- Fuel: Wood in larger pieces. Keep these stacked away from the fire and upwind.
- Place a few handfuls of tinder in the fire pit’s center.
- Choose one of these ways to include kindling:
- Teepee: As if you were constructing a tent, lay the kindling over the tinder.
- Lean-to: Over the tinder, drive a long piece of kindling into the ground at an angle.
- Cross: Cross the Tinder with the kindling.
- Log Home: Kindling should be stacked at right angles to your Tinder pile.
- Use a match stick or a lighter to light the tinder.
- Before throwing the match into the fire, wait until it is cold.
- As the fire grows, add more tinder.
- Lightly blow on the fire’s foundation.
- To keep the fire burning, add fuel, which is larger firewood, and kindling.
Keep your fire small and keep it under control.
Wrapping It Up
The situation of getting lost in the woods can be terrifying. Getting by in the woods is hard, but it is possible, whether you got lost on a hike or your car broke down on a wilderness road. You need to have a fire to cook and stay warm, food to eat, a place to sleep, and water to drink. You can survive in the woods and signal for help if you can meet your basic physical needs.