Survival tips

Finding your way in nature is an important skill to have and it will help you get back to camp or find your way towards civilization. While a map can certainly help to get out of the woods safely, there are also other ways to figure your path. When there is moss on the trees or on the rocks, it shows the north. Spider webs appear on the south side of the trees. If the sun is out, put a stick in the ground and mark the end of the shadow of the stick on the ground. Wait for a few minutes; the shadow will move. Now mark the end of the new position of the shadow. The line joining those two points will run east-west. I often use my walking sticks to test my skills and find my way back to camp.

In the wilderness, you can injure yourself in many ways, no matter how well-prepared you think you are. Mother Nature doesn’t give second chances and if you lack the proper first-aid items, you might not make it back home. A good first-aid kit is priceless when you injure yourself and there’s no one else around to take care of you. Having a wilderness survival kit is one thing, learning how to use it properly is another. First aid classes are important and everyone should be able to learn a thing or two about self-healing and self-help. You don’t have to be wilderness expert or a prepper to learn these things and it’s good knowledge to have. You never know when you may need to use the things you learn to save someone or even yourself.

You may be attacked by an animal or get bitten by insects, so you need to be ready to treat the bites properly to survive. The first step is to tie a ligature around the limb, above the bite to restrict the blood from flowing from the wound into the other parts of your body. Once this is done, the next step is to wash the wound as thoroughly as possible. If you have soap, use soap and water to clean the wound. Make sure you call for help if you can’t handle the situation. A lot of people think it’s nothing and by the time they realize things have gotten worse, their health quickly declines.

No matter the scenario you find yourself in, water is essential in order to survive. It happens that sometimes you run out of water when you are outdoors. This is why it’s important to make sure you learn how to use a water filter or even how to make one to filter the water you manage to gather. The water that is found in nature may not be suitable for drinking, so you need to be able to boil it or use a proper water filter before drinking it. Water filters can be found online or in many shops and there are now models that are very small and lightweight. With the proper water filter, you can drink any water you find near you.

Crab apples, for instance, have healing properties in their raw form. They possess astringents that can be rubbed across cuts and lacerations, causing the wounds to tighten and heal faster. Pine resin, on the other hand, are great antiseptics. They can be used topically on wounds or gargled to clean the mouth. They’re usually found in solidified form within the tree, but you have to melt them first before using. If found fresh and still gooey, you can apply the substance immediately.