Location: Amazon rainforest, Brazil
Your smartphone may have a functioning built-in GPS along with other applications that make your life easier, and you are also in great shape. But what will happen when you land yourself in a situation, and your phone battery dies? At that moment, what will save you is your survival instinct, not your digital gadgets.
Top 10 Survival Tips Every Outdoor Person Should Know Photo Gallery
These situations develop without asking us, and what we can do is to make sure we are always prepared for them. If you are driving on a highway and your car breaks down, and even your phone battery dies shortly. What will you do then? Or worst, if you are trekking in the wilderness and you feel you are lost. In these kinds of situations, what saves you is your survival instinct. If you have no experience, then this article will teach you some. So read on, and learn top 10 survival tips every outdoor person should know.
Top 10 survival tips
1. Carry a weapon for defense
Although many readers won’t agree with me on this tip, but it is always wise to keep a licensed weapon all the time. Sometimes you are on an expressway at night and you have a flat tire. Before help arrives, you need to make sure you are safe from anything. A bear can always attack you, or worse, a carjacker, thief, or an aggressor. For this reason, it is always wise to keep yourself sober and keep a weapon for self-defense nearby. You can find best crossbow for the money which you can use to scare any threat away. You can also keep a small firearm with you at all times.
2. Camping at a suitable location
When you are on a hiking trip, and you feel you may not be able to reach a safe point where you intend to break camp for the night, it is always wise to find a suitable location for the night. You need to stay at a high ground that is safe from whatever the threats in the surrounding areas. Higher ground will help you keep a good observation, as well as it will remain dry if there is a rain. You should also choose a place where there are no insects, or threats of animals. You should also keep your food items packed, in order to keep them dry and not letting their scent escape, it will keep animals away. Also, make sure there is a source of running water nearby.
3. Be in control of every situation
It is important not to panic when the only chance of survival is by using your instincts and brain. Sometimes life throws us in desperate situations in which you can only survive if you simply not panic. For this reason, you have to develop an attitude that helps you to be in control of every situation. This attitude will keep you proactive, productive, and positive. You need the presence of your mind to develop a plan, use your resources to the fullest, identify the reason of crisis so that it can be solved, and find the surviving essentials such as water, food, and shelter. If you keep yourself focused, you can survive in any situation.
4. Find a water source
The most important thing to survive is water. If you find a drinkable water source, then you won’t die unless something kills you. The trick is to make a tool that will help you to store rainwater. You should also start your quest to find a flowing water source such as a river. It will also help you find a civilization as most towns and villages are developed near a river or stream. Where there is water, there is going to be life. If you are traveling with a canteen, you need to ration it so that its usage can be maximized in dire situations.
5. Build a fire
After water, what will keep you alive is fire. When you have figured out your water source, you need to build a fire to keep yourself protected and warm. Fire is essential, as it will keep you warm and comfortable at night. It will also keep the predators away such as leopards, jaguars, mountain lions, bears, wolves, and other animals that can kill you for food. There are different ways to build a fire, you can either use a battery or build it in an old fashioned way by rubbing stones with wood. You should always keep a paracord bracelet that also has a fire-starter. All you need is to start a small fire. You can then fuel it with wood to make it big. It will also help in signaling a rescue party about your presence, or other hikers in that area.
6. Identify edible plants
When you are in a difficult, life-threatening situation, it is important to keep your energy level high. You need to eat so that it can fuel your mind to think. But finding something to eat isn’t easy, and I don’t recommend you go setting up hunting traps or climb trees for fruits. You can identify plants that can be consumed. You can also catch small non-poisonous animals such as fish, lizards, frogs, or any other critter that is a high source of protein. It is important to identify whether a plant is edible or not, as there are also poisonous plants in the wild. So study a little about the place you are visiting, so that if any situation arises, you can navigate away.
7. Being able to determine directions with the movement of the sun
You should always be able to know which way is north, and which way you came. The trick is to learn about settlements, your point of insertion and extraction at any place you are visiting. Sun is a great tool in the sky and it can tell us exactly where are east and west. From this, we can easily identify other directions and find our way back, or to the nearest town from where help is not far.
8. Learn to find directions at night
Just like determining directions with the movement of the sun, you can also find your way with the help of a night sky. Stars can tell you which way is north, south, east, or west. So, learn about them so that you can find your way to safety.
9. Learning the art of tying knots
There are different ways a knot can be tied, and they are important to learn. So, find an online course or a video that tells you enough to educate for your next trip.
10. Making rations
You don’t know exactly when will help arrive, and you will be rescued. So it is wise to make rations, and consume them in small quantity.
