How to Survive Being Lost in The Woods: Tips for Survival

What  if one you one day you found yourself lost in the middle of nowhere?  What would you do? Would you know how to survive? As Les Stroud will  discuss below, having basic survival skills is crucial and the spiritual  experience that comes from being out in nature may actually make  getting lost out there for a day or two slightly refreshing, so long as  you don’t panic.   Check out these 6 important steps to greatly increase your chances of surviving well in nature if you ever got lost. 

1. Mental Check

The first step is to reassure yourself  mentally. Don’t panic. Remain calm and have faith you will survive. This  is an important step because your mental state will determine a lot for  you. You can use it to control breathing, temperature, hunger,  hydration and more. When your mind isn’t right, your body will go out of  wack. 

2. Shelter

The second step, or the first physical  step, is to find shelter (anything that protects you from the elements).  Preferably you want a spot near fresh water as you will need to stay  hydrated. Think about blocking yourself from the wind using some form of  shelter. Whether it be a bank, branches and leaves, or a big rock,  finding a way to stay dry and warm is important. The fresh water should  be drank about every 30 minutes to stay hydrated. 

3. Fire

Getting a fire going will help you deter  predators, stay warm and can even boil food for you. If you intend on  catching food to eat, this is your chance to cook it as well. You want  your fire to be protected from elements to some degree and in a spot  that won’t burn down your whole shelter or you when you’re sleeping.  Fire also helps to alert people of your presence. 

4. Signals

Start signalling. get creative on how  you can leave signs that you are there so people can find you. Whether  you do fire signals, or try to create obvious structures that lead back  to your camp, do you what you have to, to reach people and get help. 

5. Water
 

We touched on this earlier but water is  just so important. Find a source of water. You can experience symptoms  of dehydration pretty quickly when you’re trying to survive, exerting  yourself and stressing out, which will affect your ability to actually  make it out of there alive. Remember, boiling water can be a crucial  step to making sure you are drinking safe water. 

6. Food

We can survive without food much longer  than we can without water, so don’t stress as much on food. Get it if  you can and if not just roll on. Only eat plants or leaves that you know  are safe. If you can catch your food, be sure to cook it well, the last  thing you want is to get sick. If followed correctly, these steps will  increase your chances of survival greatly. Practice makes perfect, so  start getting more comfortable out in nature and practice some of these  skills. Create shelters for fun, learn how to make fires in different  ways, build navigation skills, etc. Survival skills are not only  essential to learn, but fun to explore and practice too, so why not get  started today?