When Tom Hanks isn’t around to help you
Melissa Hiebert
Is the only survival knowledge you possess derived from a combination of Gilligan’s Island, Survivor and Castaway? Here are a few basic survival tips that will have you well on your way to building coconut radios and talking to volleyballs.
Survival kit
One thing that you should always have on hand when camping is some kind of survival kit. Most importantly, this kit should include a first aid kit and some method of lighting a fire. Strike-anywhere waterproof matches are the preferred option (you can make your own waterproof matches by dipping regular matches in nail polish or wax, and then later scratching it off), but even an out of fuel lighter can provide the needed spark. Other things that your kit might include are fish hooks, a pocket knife, candles, a foil blanket, a compass, a water bottle and some rope. These are just a few important things that you may want to consider. However, if you are unexpectedly stranded somewhere, you most likely will not have any type of kit on hand. The most important thing to do then is improvise. Shredded clothes can serve as bandages or gauze, and reading glasses or batteries can help you light a fire.
Shelter
There are natural formations in the wilderness that can provide shelter. Caves or rocky overhangs can serve as shelters, or an uprooted, fallen tree can provide one wall of a shelter. Large trees with sagging branches (namely pine trees) can also provide protection from the elements. If you have a tarp or blanket, then prop it up with some branches or a string of some sort. An effective shelter can be made by propping up a large branch against a tree and smaller branches on either side of the large branch. Cover the shelter with grass and leaves, and line the ground on the inside of the shelter with leaves, as well, to keep your body heat inside the shelter.
Food a nd water
There are several ways to collect water in the wild. Of course, look for a stream or lake from which to collect water. This will not always be the best course of action, though, as water can be full of bacteria. If you can, boil or purify the water before drinking it. Rainwater is a better option for collecting water. You can either collect it in containers or with a tarp or plastic bag. If you have a plastic bag on hand, you can also collect water by wrapping a plastic bag around a leafy tree branch exposed to sunlight. The moisture from the leaves will condense and drip into the bag. If you are in real need of some water and do not have means of collecting it, run a cloth through dewy grass and then ring the cloth out in your mouth.
If you are able, try to catch fish or scavenge for dead animals. A fish hook can be made out of anything from a safety pin to an earring, or a net can be made out of branches and a T-shirt. However, if water is scarce you should not over-exert or dehydrate yourself by trying to hunt. Some nutritious, edible bugs include grasshoppers, worms and crickets. Do not try to eat plants unless you are sure that they are not poisonous (such as raspberries). Many berries and virtually all mushrooms are poisonous and often deadly. One mushroom that is edible and has no poisonous look-alikes is the chicken mushroom, which often grows on logs or trees. It is a usually bright yellow and orange, and looks like a bunch of layers of wavy mushroom pieces rather than the typical capped mushroom. Bird eggs can also be collected and eaten.
Lighting a fire
To start a fire, you will first need to find some tinder, small things that will catch on fire easily. This can consist of dry grass, leaves or birch bark. Next, collect slightly bigger kindling, like small branches or pinecones. After, collect larger pieces of wood that will burn for longer. You can even put things like dry animal droppings or animal fat on your fire to help it burn better.
The way you set up the wood is also important. The most common style of building a fire is by arranging the wood in the shape of a teepee, with the smaller tinder at the bottom in the middle, and the kindling on top of that. Start by lighting the tinder, and the kindling should soon catch. Throw on bigger pieces of wood as the fire burns bigger, but make sure not to throw on bigger pieces too soon or they will smother the fire.
To start a fire using glasses, position them as you would a magnifying glass to catch the sun, and aim them toward the tinder. You can also take the batteries and wires out of a cell phone or camera and attach a wire to each end of the battery. Touch the wires together to create a spark, and then blow on or fan the spark lightly until the tinder catches. If you really need to, you can always attempt to create a spark by striking flint or some other hard rock with something steel. If all else fails, you can attempt the age-old rubbing two sticks together method. Find a piece of softer wood, and cut a long groove in it. Take a hard wood stick and run it along the groove. Do not count on this method, however, as it usually takes a lot of time, effort and practice for any kind of success.
This is a list of just a few basic tips for survival in the wilderness, and by no means a complete guide. There are many books and websites dedicated to the subject. It is a good idea for everyone to be equipped with at least some knowledge of how to survive in the wild; you never know when you’re going to get lost in the middle of Assiniboine Park without a map.
