Outdoor Survival Info

Posts Tagged ‘Survival’

Living in the wilderness for any length of time — even just a few days — takes some preparation. There’s more to it than just heading out in the wild and eating berries. You’ll need to tend to things like shelter, water, and fire. Read the rest of this entry »

Winter Backpacking Survival Tips
By Steven Gillman

Why do you need survival tips for winter backpacking? Because even with the most careful planning there is always a greater risk with winter camping. Of course, getting lost or having an accident is always a possibility, but cold weather makes either of these a more serious matter.

Winter Survival Tip Number One

Stay warm! This is obvious. Hypothermia is the single biggest danger for backpackers, killing far more people than accidents or wild animals. What isn’t always so obvious is how poor planning and not thinking on the trail leads to getting cold.

One cold autumn day, a friend of mine fell in a stream while we were backpacking. He was soon chilled pretty severely. He naturally thought this was just an accident, but looking back on it now, it is clear that we didn’t have a proper survival mind set.

Streams have to be crossed, of course, but we were crossing this one as evening approached. A better plan would have been to get the hiking done earlier in the day. Why? Because it leaves time to deal with accidents like this. It may have been sunny enough to get his clothes dried before nightfall, and it is always easier to find fuel for a fire in the daylight.

In addition, we knew the rocks were slippery, yet we crossed as we were. Seeing the potential for a fall, we could have removed our coats and put them in a plastic bag until we were across. Had we taken this simple precaution, my friend would have at least had a dry coat to put on later.

Had this happened in colder weather (it was above freezing) it could have been very serious. You have to stay warm to survive. To stay warm it helps to stay dry. To stay dry, you have to think.

Insulation

Staying warm is about staying insulated. The value of insulation is determined by the thickness of the air around you that isn’t moving. This is the air trapped in your down coat, and between layers of clothing. Always think in terms of insulation thickness. In planning, this means you need more “loft”in your sleeping bag in winter, and more (or thicker) layers of clothing.

In a survival situation, this means you should immediately look for a way to create more insulation. This can mean setting your sleeping bag on a pile of leaves, or sleeping under a pile of dried grass. You might even stuff your jacket (if it is loose) with the fluff from cattail or milkweed plants, in order to increase the insulation value.

More Winter Backpacking Survival Tips

- Check the weather report before you go, and plan accordingly.

- Be careful when it is near or just above freezing. It is easier to get wet than when it is really cold.

- Drink enough fluids. Dehydration can cause a drop in body temperature.

- Down coats are great – if you can keep them dry. They are almost worthless when wet.

- Avoid sweating, to avoid getting chilled from the moisture later.

- Don’t use cotton clothes in winter, because they get wet easily and then don’t insulate well.

- Have more than one way to start a fire (matches, lighter, fire starter, skills).

- Learn to make a fire in cold wet conditions, and practice.

In 2006, I was trying to climb Crestone Peak here in Colorado, after an early snow. I gave up at about 13,000 in four feet of snow. I was in running shoes, and was soaked from the knees down. It would be below freezing that night, and I had just a tarp and 17-ounce sleeping bag. Does that sound risky? I was actually well prepared.

First of all, it was clear and sunny, and forecast to remain so for days. Back down near the lakes the snow was patchy, with many areas of dry grass. I quickly made a thick mattress of dry grass and thistle stalks to sleep on. I had quit early, so I had many hours to dry my shoes, socks and pants in the sun. They were completely dry long before dark.

As a back-up plan, I had a small fire laid, with a piece of bark covering it in case of rain or snow (I never needed to light it). I drank plenty of water and had fatty foods, which create heat as they digest. I also had more dry socks, and other necessary supplies, despite my 11-pound total pack weight. As you can see, survival when winter backpacking is as much about planning and thinking as it is about good gear.

Copyright Steve Gillman. To get the ebook “Ultralight Backpacking Secrets (And Wilderness Survival Tips)” for FREE, as well as photos, gear recommendations, and a new wilderness survival section, visit: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman
Winter Backpacking Survival Tips

It’s important to think of “Sustainable Living” as a valuable survival skill. Think of it more like a self-sustaining lifestyle. These skills can help you both survive a crisis and improve your day to day life.

In this episode, I talk about why sustainable living skills are important, and then talk about which ones I think are the most important. If you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment with your ideas.

You can either listen to the episode below, or download it to listen whenever you want.

Download: OSI #2: Sustainable Living

 

 OSI #2: Sustainable Living [11:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (291)

In this episode of the OSI Podcast, I talk about the importance of the “survival mindset.” I also go on to give you tips for maintaining the proper mindset during a crisis. This is practical information that should benefit everyone.

Download the episode here: OSI Episode 1

 

 OSI #1: The Survival Mindset [17:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (250)

Desert Survival – Water and Terrain Tactics
By Mac Ward

You must prepare and understand the environment your facing in order to survive an arid or desert climate. You’ll need to determine your equipment needs, the tactics you’ll be using, and how the environment will effect your equipment and tactics. Your survival will depend on your knowledge of terrain, basic climate elements, your ability to cope with these elements, and your will to survive.

Terrain

Most desert areas have several types of terrain.

• Mountainous
• Rocky plateau
• Sand dunes
• Salt marshes
• Broken, dissected terrain

Desert terrain makes movement complex and demanding. Land navigation will be extremely complex as there are very few landmarks.

Water

A key factor in desert survival is understanding the connection between physical activity, air temperature, and water consumption. The body requires a specific amount of water for a certain level of activity at a certain temperature. For example, a person performing hard work in the sun at 43 degrees C requires 19 liters of water a day. Lack of the required amount of water causes a quick decline in an individual’s ability to make decisions and to perform tasks efficiently. Your typical body temperature is 36.9 degrees C (98.6 degrees F). Your body gets rid of excess heat by sweating. The hotter your body becomes the more you sweat. The more you sweat the more water you lose. Sweating is the principal cause of water loss. If a person stops sweating during periods of high air temperature and heavy work or exercise, he or she will quickly develop heat stroke. This is an emergency that requires immediate medical attention.

Make the most of your water supply!

• Find shade and get out of the sun
• Place something between you and the hot ground
• Limit your movements
• Conserve your sweat by wearing a full outfit. This will protect you from hot-blowing winds and direct rays form the sun, also your clothes will absorb your sweat wich will in turn help you stay cool longer.
• If water is scarce try to limit food intake. Food requires water for digestion.
• At temperatures below 38 degrees C. drink half a liter of water an hour.
• At temperatures above 38 degrees C, drink 1 liter of water every hour.

Check out my site! and another one of my articles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mac_Ward
Desert Survival – Water and Terrain Tactics

Outdoor Survival Tips – Ten Uncommon Ones
By Steven Gillman

The outdoor survival tips you’ll find here are not the usual fare. They come from the unusual techniques that myself and others have experimented with. Keep them in mind in case the day comes when you are lost in the wilderness.

Outdoor Survival Tips – Fire Making

1. Pull a piece of pack rat nest loose to use for tinder. These are usually found under rock ledges and in small caves, so they are dry even when it is raining. They are commonly full of plant fuzz, dry grass and other flammable materials.

2. Polish the bottom of an aluminum pop or beer can, and you can use it to focus the sun’s rays to start a fire. Chocolate has been used to do the polishing, but you can also experiment with various natural substances. This is not easy, and probably not possible if the sun is too low, or the can not shiny enough, but I have seen it work. Point the can-bottom at the sun and focus the rays to a small point of light on a piece of natural tinder or paper (a dollar bill works well).

3. Another good source of dry tinder is from old milkweed pods. These often cling to the stalks all winter, and some of them usually have silky seed fuzz still in them, which can be dry even during pouring rain. Any source of flame, or even a spark will ignite this.

4. Bottles and other glass can be used like a magnifying glass to start a fire. Ever since the first forest fire investigator traced the cause of a fire back to a discarded pop bottle, we have known that in bright sunlight, various types of glass can focus the rays to start a fire. You might want to try your own eyeglasses as well, especially if they are a thick prescription.

5. Another source of dry tinder during wet weather is under things. Specifically, look under leaves for dry leaves, or under large logs for anything dry and flammable.

More Outdoor Survival Tips

6. Keep batteries against your body, or at least in your clothing during cold weather. They lose their power more quickly if they are cold, and depending on what they are for, they may be crucial to your survival.

7. To cross a stream on a slippery log, throw some sand, grainy dirt or gravel on it. It will provide some traction. Using any stick for balance helps as well.

8. Lost in the desert, but still have your tent? Use it to collect water. Let the rain fly drape over it, directly against it, so moisture won’t escape as it is normally supposed to. The resulting condensation may collect in small puddles on the tent floor. Scoop it up or drink it directly. You can also mop up moisture on the walls with a small piece of cloth and then wring out the water to drink it. This works especially well on cold nights.

9. Need food? Trout often hang out where faster water dumps into pools, so look there first. You can sometimes chase them into shallows and catch them by hand, which usually means scooping them up quickly and throwing them onto the shore. As a child, I regularly caught fish of several types by hand.

10. No shoes? Losing or destroying your footwear is always a possibility in a survival situation. If it happens, find pine trees that are oozing sap. Scrape it off with a piece of bark or wood. Spread it thickly on the soles of your feet, using it to glue strips of a soft bark to them. Cedar bark works well. It will provide some protection while you are walking. In cold weather, you may also want to cover your feet with plastic bags full of cattail seed fluff, to keep them warm.

Copyright Steve Gillman. See the Wilderness Survival Guide for more tips, and get a free backpacking and outdoor survival book, as well as photos, and gear recommendations, at: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com/wilderness-survival-guide.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman
Outdoor Survival Tips – Ten Uncommon Ones

If you haven’t already, head over to the Survival Video page and check it out. Learn how to make shelters and see a bunch of other outdoor and survival oriented videos.

The video content is updated regularly, so check it out and see what’s there!

Survival Shelters – What Works Best?
By Steven Gillman

All the various types of survival shelters serve one basic purpose, and it isn’t to have an attractive home for your night in the woods. Of course there might be some psychological value to certain styles. There may occasionally be a need for protection from animals as well. But the primary purpose of a survival shelter is to keep your body temperature up.

It is hypothermia – loss of body heat – that causes most deaths in survival situations. A good shelter prevents this in the following ways:

1. It keeps out the wind.

2. It keeps out the rain or snow.

3. It creates space that can be heated by your body, or with a fire and other means.

People with no skills will sometimes survive in circumstances where others with survival knowledge have died. Why is this? It can be their knowledge or intuition of the principles involved in survival. Knowing how to build a lean-to shelter using natural materials is great, but a lost hiker with no skills might be more likely to survive by burying himself for the night in a pile of dry leaves and grass. Perhaps he simply recognizes that it’s easier for his body to heat the space under those leaves than a larger space in a lean-to shelter.

Sometimes a little understanding of the principles involved and a willingness to think is more important than specific skills. Of course, even better would be thinking, understanding and having the specific knowledge and skills to build various survival shelters.

Survival Shelters

Look at what is available, and consider how you can use it. A rock to get behind might block the wind. A large downed tree might work too. A snow cave is also good for keeping out the wind. Even if you have a tent, a wall of snow blocks can help keep the wind out. Setting up camp in the right place makes all the difference in how much wind you are exposed to.

When rain or snow are likely, a shelter that can keep you dry becomes crucial. Again, look around. How can anything and everything be used? A broken canoe might be worthless for getting you down the river, but it still could be used as a shelter, or as part of a roof. Plastic garbage bags and any other plastic in your backpack might be used for roofing. A cave or overhanging ledge can be a great way to get out of the rain and snow.

Consider the materials around you in terms of how waterproof they are, and how you can use them. Pieces of birch bark can be pulled from rotten logs, for example, and layered over a lean-to like shingles to keep the rain out. Other tree barks may work for this. Cardboard, pieces of a wrecked plane, and large leaves can be used as roofing materials as well.

You can get wet from below as well. For example, a snow cave or shelter made of snow blocks will keep the snow from falling on you, but you can get soaked from the snow underneath you. When the ground is wet, make a floor of plastic or evergreen branches or grass. If materials are limited, try sleep sitting up to decrease the amount of your body that is exposed to the wet and cold ground.

How much space you create with your survival shelter is crucial if it is cold. Make it too big and the temperature inside will be almost the same as outside. You need a small enough space that your body heat or candle or small fire will be able to heat it. A pile of dry grass with a plastic sheet spread over it (crawl inside), for example, is more likely to keep you warm than a large lean-to with a fire in front.

Mix and match the various styles of shelters. Get creative. The snow might not be suitable for an igloo, for example, but a lean-to of evergreen boughs could be covered with crusty pieces of snow for extra insulation. A pile of dry grass or small brush shelter inside a cave would give you rain protection while reducing the space that has to be heated. The ultimate in survival shelters? Whatever works for your situation.

Copyright Steve Gillman. See the page “Survival Shelters” for more on specific shelters, including illustrations: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com/survival-shelters.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Gillman
Survival Shelters – What Works Best?

Dangerous Australian Wildlife – How To Avoid Getting In Trouble
By Rita Amend

Australia is well known for its unique wildlife. Everyone loves koalas and kangaroos. Unfortunately, there are other species which can really hurt, or even kill you. I don’t want to scare you, far from it! Know what to find there, and you’ll be right.

Crocodiles, Box Jellyfishes (Sea Wasps) and Stonefishes

Australia’s beautiful beaches and coastal areas inhabit some of the most dangerous Australian animals.

• The Box Jellyfish or Sea Wasp causes more deaths than snakes, salt water crocodiles and sharks together. It is abundant along the northern tropical coastlines during the Australian summer. Sea Wasps fire an extremely powerful venom when you come in contact with them.
• Saltwater Crocodiles or Estuarine Crocodiles live in rivers and freshwater swamps along the coastline in northern Australia. Salties grow up to 5 m, some exemplars get even a bit bigger. They have powerful jaws that won’t give you any chance to escape once they have grabbed you. Salties are the world’s largest reptiles. They are protected in Australia.
• The Stonefish can be found among rocks in shallow waters on beaches and islands north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Its venomous spines release a toxin that causes severe pain and shock.

How to avoid trouble and first aid

1. Obey the signs that warn you about Saltwater Crocodiles and the Box Jellyfish along rivers and beaches.
2. Wear shows while walking in water on stony beaches and coral islands.
3. Vinegar inactivates the stinging cells of the Box Jellyfish and should be poured over the tentacles before you remove them from a victim.
4. Bath the stung area of Stonefish stings in hot water to reduce the pain.

Transport victims to hospital as soon as possible. Antivenom for Stonefish and Box Jellyfish is available.

Australian snakes and spiders

Snakes and spiders are found all over Australia, in the cities and the Outback. There are a few snakes species supposed to be the most venomous in the world. Unless feeling trapped, snakes and spiders won’t “attack” humans. Leave them alone, and they won’t do you any harm.

How to prevent snake bites?

• Most snake bites happen due to silly behaviour. Don’t provoke them, don’t try to catch or kill a snake.
• Wear socks and boots when walking in high grass.
• Don’t lift large rocks and dead wood.
• When you see a snake, stamp your feet and let is slither away.

First aid for snake bites

• Don’t cut the wound, don’t wash it either.
• Don’t put ice on the wound.
• Immediately apply a pressure immobilisation bandage as you would do to treat a sprained ankle. The bandage slows down the movement of the venom. But don’t make it too firm. The bandage shouldn’t stop the blood flow, and should stay in place until a doctor looks after the victim.

First aid for spider bites

• Spider bites by big black spiders should be treated as funnel web bites. Apply a pressure immobilization bandage. Seek medical advice as soon as possible. Antivenom is available.
• Redback spider bites are painful. Apply an ice pack to relieve the pain. Antivenom is available but only given if the pain consists, and/or symptoms like headache and nausea develop.

Now that you know a little about the dangerous Australian wildlife, do you feel better prepared? I really hope so. Please do never forget, the risk of getting hurt in a car accident is much higher than being hurt by any Australian animal. Be careful, but don’t worry too much.

Enjoy Australia’s unique wildlife.

Rita Amend loves traveling, especially to Australia. Her trips to Australia covered more that 30,000 km of rough and bumpy Outback roads, and lonely highways in the central and eastern Outback.

Rita Amend is the author and owner of Rita’s Outback Guide. The Guide aims at independent travelers, and covers extensive tips on Outback driving, track descriptions, and a section about Australian animals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rita_Amend
Dangerous Australian Wildlife – How To Avoid Getting In Trouble

Survival Preparedness – Survival Skills and Emergency Kits
By Chuck McIntyre

Most of us would agree that at any moment we could find ourselves in a disaster or other emergency situation. Even if this fact is only lurking in the back of the mind just below consciousness, the statement is no less true. Anyone can suddenly be thrust into an emergency situation or have a disaster land squarely upon them quite unexpectedly. How well one survives or IF one survives may be a matter of luck. Far better to invest some time and effort in survival preparedness.

Survival preparedness for the purpose of this article is not a call to be constantly fearful of impending doom and disaster skulking around every corner, or to hoard great caches of dried beans, MREs, bullets, and gold then hunker down with your stash in some remote area.

More realistically, survival preparedness is the act of obtaining knowledge of and practicing basic survival skills, gathering survival gear, food and water together into emergency survival kits. These kits can then be placed at easily accessible points in the home, car, office, etc., or on your person.

Think ahead to anticipate what sort of situation might arise and what survival skills, gear, and supplies would be useful to successfully see you through to the end of it. Some excellent items on the list of basic survival skills to learn (and practice!) would be:

• how to build a fire with or without matches
• how to build a simple emergency shelter
• how to obtain food and water
• how to use a map and compass
• how to signal for help
• how to use the survival gear you have chosen

The size of the emergency kits and the items they contain will be determined by the scenario for which they are intended to be used; lost in the wilderness, stranded in your vehicle on a lonely back road, recovering from the aftermath of a tornado or other disaster.

Always include fire starting items, items to build an emergency shelter, survival tools, a medical kit, signaling device, emergency lighting, containers of water, and rations. There are many helpful web sites that describe complete lists of items to include in emergency survival kits of all sizes.

In any emergency situation strive to remain calm. Use your mind. It’s one of your best survival tools.

Initiative belongs to the individual. Make the time and effort for prudent preparations toward your own survival and that of others. Do not risk suffering the consequences of taking no action at all.

Survival after all is being alive at the end of an ordeal.

Chuck McIntyre is active in helping others learn basic survival skills. He offers reviews and recommendations of survival gear and emergency kits at MySurvivalPro.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chuck_McIntyre
Survival-Preparedness—Survival-Skills-and-Emergency-Kits