Outdoor Survival Skills Overview

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Outdoor Survival and Our Technological Society

Technology is a part of everyday life. Chances are you have a cell phone and possibly even a smart phone. Most homes are now connected to the Internet and cable TV is a staple for most people who live in developed countries like the U.S. Many vehicles now have computers and MP3 players seem to be everywhere.

Basic Outdoor Survival Skills

When you head to the great outdoors, however, it is highly unlikely that you will have access to the majority of these items. In fact, there are parts of the country such as wilderness areas where you won't find any technology at all, although such areas are decreasing as time rolls on.

If you decide to brave the great outdoors, however, you need to have some basic outdoor survival skills.

• Using a compass. When you are outdoors, you need to know how to determine which direction you are heading at all times. The point: when planning an event or trip to the outdoors or to the wilderness, never leave home without a compass.
  
  
• Learn how to navigate without a compass. Although your compass can be your best friend, you need to be able to make due without one. Accidents happen and your compass may be lost or damaged in an accident. Learn how to find your way using "advanced navigation skills" such as landmarks, the sun or the moon, or the stars at night.
  
  
• Know how to find suitable shelter. This will be essential for protecting you from the wind, rain, snow, sun, extreme temperatures, and from wild animals. Many things can be used as a natural shelter including the following: fallen trees with thick branches, a rock formation, clumps of bushes, small depressions, large trees with low-hanging limbs, a cave, a boulder, and rocky crevices.
  
  
• A few notes of caution. First, when using natural formations for your shelter, stay away from low ground such as creek beds, narrow valleys, or ravines. Second, steer clear of dead branches or limbs or loose rocks that could fall on your shelter. And third, check the area for ants, ticks, scorpions, snakes, mites, and animals (such as rodents, bats, etc).
  
  
• Natural materials may also be used to make a shelter if you are unable to find one. Examples include: branches, dry leaves, bracken ferns, grass, or other plants. All of these can be used to construct a "debris hut."
  
  
• Learn how to build a fire. This is one of the most important of all outdoor survival skills. Not only will a fire help to keep your warm, it can also be used to cook, keep wild animals at bay and light up your surroundings.
  
  
• Learn about finding edible berries and plants and how to locate water. Additionally, trapping and fishing are two skills you should also have when venturing out. The more you know about finding food naturally, the more choices you will have.
  
  
• Learn how to tell if a water source is safe and how to sterilize water if you cannot find a safe water source. There are at least two ways to make your water drinkable: boiling the water and using water prep tablets.
  
  
• Learn first aid and always keep an adequately stocked first aid kit with you.
  
  
• Know what to do if you encounter a wild animal such as a wolf, a bear, or a pack of wild dogs. Sometimes climbing a tree or running away is not the best option. Although there are other ways to prevent potential problems with wild animals, don't leave food items lying around your site and make sure you have pepper spray or bear spray---just in case.

Outdoor Survival Skills: Conclusion

If you are a hunter, hiker, sight seeder, camper, fisherman, bird watcher, backpacker, or any other type of outdoor enthusiast who can't wait to venture into the great outdoors, then you need to prepare yourself for the time when you encounter a crisis that can place your survival in danger.

Examples include the following: a sand storm, getting lost, an earthquake, receiving a poisonous insect or snake bite, a hurricane, a mud slide, an injury or an accident, an attack by a wild animal, a wild fire, running out of food and/or water, a flood, a natural or a man-made disaster, an ice or a snow storm, or a tornado.

When such a survival crisis happens, you need to refuse to panic, stay calm, and use your logical thinking skills. Not only this, but you will more likely than not need to possess the following outdoor survival skills: how to build a fire, how to signal others in case you need help or need to be rescued, how to locate and treat water so that it is drinkable, how to fish and hunt for your food, how to apply effective first aid, and how to find or construct a shelter to keep you warm, dry, and safe from wild animals, inclement weather, and from poisonous insects and plants.

Outdoor survival skills should be learned by everyone. Even if you have no plans to go hunting or camping, you never know what can happen. It's best to be prepared for any eventuality rather than just hope for the best.

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