Survival Ready Blog Team
There are countless different hazards and challenges we can run across whenever we are in a survival situation, but you can break down the necessities of life and survival in the wilderness into a few critical elements. In this post we lay out what your top priorities should be in a survival situation. We organized them by threat level, basically what can kill you first and worked our way down.
Shelter
Protect yourself from danger, weather and temperature.
Keep body core temperature. Hypothermia and heat stroke can kill you within minutes
Whether you’re in the woods or in the desert, you need protection from the elements and security from danger. A well constructed shelter can provide protection and security. It will protect you from the elements and the havoc they can wreak on one’s body. A shelter will also provide a place for you to sleep as restfully as possible, given your situation. A shelter can be a portable tent you have with you, or it can be as simple as using a plastic tarp to help you set up a lean-to. When you find a likely area, you will need to scout out the immediate vicinity. See our section on shelter building
Critical elements/gear in cold temperatures
Thermal Blankets
Fire
Critical elements/gear in hot temperatures
Shade - cover, tarp etc
Hydration. Which brings us to our next subject
Critical elements/gear in cold temperatures
Thermal Blankets
Fire
Critical elements/gear in hot temperatures
Shade - cover, tarp etc
Hydration. Which brings us to our next subject
Water
After keeping you body temperature, keeping yourself hydrated is your next priority. Dehydration can kill you in a matter of a coupe of days.
After keeping you body temperature, keeping yourself hydrated is your next priority. Dehydration can kill you in a matter of a coupe of days.
In ordinary conditions, we need two to three liters of water per day. If challenged, we can actually survive without water for about three days. Conserving your water doesn't just mean that you need to be careful how much you are drinking; it also means watching how much you need to physically exert yourself. The less you move about, the less water you will need. In very hot climates, it won’t take much to over exert yourself: do that and you run the risk of dehydration. See our section on water sourcing
Once you find water, you will need to make sure it is drinkable. There could be unseen pollutants or pathogens, so you do need to be careful. Even if it’s from a mountain stream, there are usually bacteria or other microorganisms present in any natural water supply; filtering the water through charcoal will remove any dirt or debris, but you need to make sure you kill those microscopic pests by boiling any water you intend on drinking.
Once you find water, you will need to make sure it is drinkable. There could be unseen pollutants or pathogens, so you do need to be careful. Even if it’s from a mountain stream, there are usually bacteria or other microorganisms present in any natural water supply; filtering the water through charcoal will remove any dirt or debris, but you need to make sure you kill those microscopic pests by boiling any water you intend on drinking.
Fire
Uses: Heat, water purification & cooking
Next to water, or perhaps equal to in importance, finding the way to make a fire is at the top of your survival “to do” list. You need a fire to help you boil water to make it safe to drink; to cook any food, especially any wild fish, animals or eggs you manage to snare; to help you stay warm, especially when the temperature drops at night; to keep dangerous animals away; to provide you with a sense of security and last but not least, to visibly signal any possible search and rescue teams as to your location.
Uses: Heat, water purification & cooking
Next to water, or perhaps equal to in importance, finding the way to make a fire is at the top of your survival “to do” list. You need a fire to help you boil water to make it safe to drink; to cook any food, especially any wild fish, animals or eggs you manage to snare; to help you stay warm, especially when the temperature drops at night; to keep dangerous animals away; to provide you with a sense of security and last but not least, to visibly signal any possible search and rescue teams as to your location.
The best and easiest way to ensure you can build a fire is to make sure you packed some matches, or better yet, a lighter, in a waterproof container. If you didn't, don’t panic; they may not be as quick or easy, but there are other ways to light a fire.
Building a fire is a gradual process that you cannot skip steps on. If you don’t have enough of a flame or ember base before you add the larger pieces of wood, the only thing you will succeed in doing is killing your fire before it even gets started. Make sure that you have enough wood stockpiled each day so you can keep your fire going all night long, and keep checking the fire to make sure it does not go out on you: you worked too hard to start it to begin with! Check out our post 101 Ways to Start a Fire
Building a fire is a gradual process that you cannot skip steps on. If you don’t have enough of a flame or ember base before you add the larger pieces of wood, the only thing you will succeed in doing is killing your fire before it even gets started. Make sure that you have enough wood stockpiled each day so you can keep your fire going all night long, and keep checking the fire to make sure it does not go out on you: you worked too hard to start it to begin with! Check out our post 101 Ways to Start a Fire
Food
Once your water sources have been secure its time to work on finding food.
Once your water sources have been secure its time to work on finding food.
Food is an important need, but not your most pressing matter in the event of a disaster. You can actually survive for several weeks without it. Long before you are in danger of dying from starvation, you will start noticing these symptoms, so you will still have time to find food:
· Weakness
· Irritability and low morale
· Confusion, disorientation and poor judgment
· Weakened immune system
· Inability or difficulty in maintaining normal body temperature
As long as you know where to look, and what to look for, it’s fairly easy to find food no matter where you are. If you make sure you have a basic knowledge of hunting, fishing and trapping animals, you should do fine. Check out our section food procurement here
You should also know what plants (lichens or fungi) you can and cannot eat. A good basic edibility test before you try to eat something that may be unfamiliar, is to make a minor fingernail scratch on your skin and then rub the plant over that area.
Once you've ascertained what you can eat, do your best to eat as balanced a diet as possible, especially if you are going to need to survive for a long period of time.
· Weakness
· Irritability and low morale
· Confusion, disorientation and poor judgment
· Weakened immune system
· Inability or difficulty in maintaining normal body temperature
As long as you know where to look, and what to look for, it’s fairly easy to find food no matter where you are. If you make sure you have a basic knowledge of hunting, fishing and trapping animals, you should do fine. Check out our section food procurement here
You should also know what plants (lichens or fungi) you can and cannot eat. A good basic edibility test before you try to eat something that may be unfamiliar, is to make a minor fingernail scratch on your skin and then rub the plant over that area.
Once you've ascertained what you can eat, do your best to eat as balanced a diet as possible, especially if you are going to need to survive for a long period of time.
Communication
If you establish continuous shelter, water, fire and food sources, you should technically be able to survive for a while, but getting rescued can greatly improve your chances of survival,
If you establish continuous shelter, water, fire and food sources, you should technically be able to survive for a while, but getting rescued can greatly improve your chances of survival,
If you are stranded in a backcountry setting and you need to be rescued, effective communication can be one of your most important resources. Know the distress and rescue communications conventions, and plan quickly to communicate your distress signal so that you can attract the attention you need before it’s too late.
Common useful communication equipment includes:
Ham Radio
Whistle
Signalling mirrors
Flashlights
See the following post 10 tips for getting rescued, Signaling and Communication in the wilderness
In a survival situation it may be very necessary to operate below the radar, and keep a very low profile to avoid detection. If your communication efforts are focused on communicating with team or family members you may want to choose a communication system that is silent or at least stealthy. Communications can be as sophisticated as a radio systems, or something as simple as a flashlight or signaling mirrors.
There has to be a level of coordination and communication setup before and disaster or survival situation arises, this is something you want learn before you need to actually use it.
Common useful communication equipment includes:
Ham Radio
Whistle
Signalling mirrors
Flashlights
See the following post 10 tips for getting rescued, Signaling and Communication in the wilderness
In a survival situation it may be very necessary to operate below the radar, and keep a very low profile to avoid detection. If your communication efforts are focused on communicating with team or family members you may want to choose a communication system that is silent or at least stealthy. Communications can be as sophisticated as a radio systems, or something as simple as a flashlight or signaling mirrors.
There has to be a level of coordination and communication setup before and disaster or survival situation arises, this is something you want learn before you need to actually use it.
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