If you find yourself in a wilderness survival situation, you need to take the necessary steps to give yourself the best chance of survival. This is something you should prepare for as it is NOT going to be easy!
Here are 7 priorities for successful emergency survival in a backcountry/wilderness location…
1. Assess Your Situation and Develop a Plan
When you are in a wilderness survival situation it is essential that you continuously assess your situation.
One of the biggest obstacles of surviving in an emergency situation is maintaining a level head. If you find yourself lost or in danger, immediately stop moving and take a look at your surroundings.
Taking a few moments to think about where you are and what went wrong can help you gain enough perspective on the situation to move forward. During stressful situations of wilderness survival always remember to remain calm and use your head.
The best tool you have with you is your brain. Use it.
Once you have completely assessed your situation, start developing your plan.
Identify all of the equipment and supplies you have at your disposal. Keep these in mind when planning for potential long term survival. Use these supplies sparingly at first to make sure they will last until you are rescued or make it to a safe area to restock.
Depending on how many people are in your party and how well you know them, it is a good idea to take inventory of the strengths and skills your partners posses.
Working together as a team will help everyone save energy and stay alive. Be honest with yourself and your abilities. Don’t put yourself or others in a dangerous situation due to your ego.
2. Provide First-Aid
If you or anyone in your traveling party is injured immediately attempt to stabilize any life-threatening injuries. Your first priority is to prevent injuries from becoming worse. Work as a team to provide support and protection to any injured member of your group.
Common Wilderness Injuries and Illnesses
Hypothermia
Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops below 97.88 degrees Fahrenheit or 36.6 degrees Celsius. Symptoms include slurred speech, increased clumsiness and uncontrollable shivering.
To treat Hypothermia immediately strop of wet clothing and dry the victim. If possible, give the victim warm drinks and put him/her in a sleeping bag or under a blanket. Your main intention is to increase the victims’ body temperature slowly and steadily.
Heatstroke
Heatstroke is a severe and often fatal condition produced by exposure to excessively high temperatures, especially when accompanied by excessive exertion. Symptoms include a lack of sweating and a flushed or red face.
Treat Heatstroke by immediately moving the victim out of the sun. Apply cool water. Your first priority is to lower the victim’s body temperature quickly without putting the victim into shock. When you find yourself in a wilderness survival situation alone avoid heatstroke at all costs. Stay hydrated, take breaks frequently and avoid direct sunlight when possible.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a common effect of being lost in the wilderness. It occurs from an excessive loss of water from the body and a lack of adequate water supplies. The first signs of dehydration are dark yellow urine and a tired feeling.
To treat Dehydration minimize exertion and have the victim move slowly. It is important to cause no more sweating than necessary. Have the victim drink water if any is available. The best way to avoid hot weather problems is by keeping moisture in the body. Prevent Dehydration by drinking water when you are thirsty. Take every opportunity you find to refill your water supply as clean water can be hard to find in the wilderness.
3. Find Shelter
Immediately find or build shelter in a survival situation to maintain your core body temperature.
A good shelter will help you stay dry during cold wet weather. In a hot environment build shelter to keep you shaded and cool. Shelter will help you avoid some of the most common causes of death in a survival situation such as Heatstroke and Hypothermia. Try to keep your body temperature as stable as possible while uses as little energy as possible.
4. Build a Fire
A fire will provide the warmth you need to maintain your core body temperature. Use the fire to dry any wet clothing or equipment. Use the fire to purify water by bringing it to a rolling boil.
There are a handful of ways to build a fire with limited materials in the wilderness. Practice these before you find yourself in an emergency situation. A few include: Bow Drill Fire Method, magnesium sticks, a magnifying glass or by using steel wool and a 9-volt battery, among others.
Beyond the initial warmth, the fire will help boost your morale and instill a greater sense of well-being. The stress of being in a survival situation can quickly diminish your confidence and thought process. A fire can easily transform your outlook on the situation and help you think rationally.
5. Signal for Help
Consider the situation, the terrain, the surroundings, what you have on hand to use to signal, and how you may be spotted or heard. You need to begin signalling immediately after you have taken the first steps in dealing with the emergency on hand. You will use signaling to attract the attention of anyone in the area to let them know of the situation.
Signal for help using many different methods for your best chance of survival. Here are five ideas that you can try:
Fire and Smoke
A fire can be an easy way to signal for help. Add green materials to the fire to create smoke. On a clear day smoke can be seen for miles away and during the summer any sign of smoke in the wilderness will be quickly investigated.
Signal Mirror
Using a 3 to 4 inch mirror you can signal anywhere from 15 to 20 miles away. You can use the light beam to signal Morse code by holding the mirror in a stationary spot and breaking the signal with an object at the correct intervals.
Practice using a signal mirror before you find yourself in a survival situation. A signal mirror is an extremely effective way to signal for help, however it can be difficult to master quickly.
While you are practicing using a signal mirror an easy way to improve your accuracy is by aiming for a reflector such as a vehicle license plate, taillight or street sign. These will easily reflect the light from the signal mirror.
Contrasting Colors
From the air both contrasting colors and motion can be easily seen. Try tying a bright piece of cloth to a stick and waving it above your head. Also a white piece of cloth can be easily seen against a dark wilderness background.
If you continue to hike towards safety try tying small pieces of clothing to trees to mark your way. This can be helpful for those searching for you as well as for yourself if you get lost.
Sounds
Three sounds in a row is the universal distress signal. Make sounds using any means necessary. Try blowing a whistle, shooting a gun, banging a rock against a pan or shouting.
Repeat your signaling at intervals for the best chance of being heard.
Ground-to-Air Signals
Use Ground-to-Air signals to communicate with an airplane or search team.
Build your signal codes as large as possible and using high-contrast materials that will be easily seen from an airplane. Use stones, cloth, branches or wreckage material. Move yourself to an open area with minimal obstructions.
V – Requires Assistance
X – Requires Medical Assistance
N – No or Negative
Y – Yes or Affirmative
Use Arrows to signal direction of movement
6. Drink Water
Water is essential to your survival.
Finding clean drinking water is extremely urgent in any survival situation. This is especially true when the weather is hot and dry. While you are hiking or waiting for rescue you should be drinking water often. Do not wait until you are thirsty. Dehydration is the single greatest threat to your survival.
There are multiple ways to treat water for safe drinking. The easiest way is to bring water to a rolling boil purify it. You can also use a purification pump or water filter. If you have iodine tablets in all of your survival kits, these can be used to treat unsafe water.
If water is available but you have no way to purify it, you can drink the water as needed. This is not advised if you have any other option. However, it is better to suffer an intestinal disorder and survive than to die of dehydration.
7. Finding Food
It might sound crazy but food will be one of your last priorities during a survival situation.
Once you have successfully handled the other survival priorities you can begin looking for and gathering food. Remember that you can live for several days or even weeks without food, and the hunger will only make you uncomfortable & weak. Finding a food source will help you maintain your energy and focus, but remember that your first priority is to be rescued.
Remember, it is usually not wise to eat edible wild plants in a wilderness survival situation unless you have studied up on them and know what ones are safe. While there are many types of edible plants growing in the wild, there are also some poisonous ones. Don’t take chances in a survival situation without real knowledge on plants.