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There are actually many ways to find water in the wilderness whether you are in a desert or forest. First of all don't just go and find a lake or river to drink from as these are likely contaminated if not with chemicals then with parasites or both. Lake or river water also probably won't taste very good. However, if you happen to have purification tablets (can be bought at many stores) you can out ths water in a container and drop a tablet in.

If you have a container and a way to make a fire you can boil water to purify it.

One method of collecting water is to find a dry stream bed. They may have water below the surface of outside bends so if you dig in these bends you may find water and can scoop it out. Then you can take three sticks, tie them in tee-pee formation and tie three pieces of cloth one above the other onto these and put a container to catch the water at the bottom, then pour the water through and it will help filter out sediment. You can also try digging a shallow hole next to a plant with a lot of leaves. Put some sort of container in the hole, then place a plastic bag over the plant and have its side slope to the hole. The plant gives off water and this will condense on the inside of the bag and into the hole. It should work for a few days as long as the plant is not exposed to the sun too much. It is also useful if you have any containers with you and a way to make fire you can take one container filled with either unclean water or urine and place it over the fire, then use anything you can as a tube to connect this container to a container placed higher up on a slope (not above the fire). This vapor formed from the boiling water or urine will go up the tube into the other container and be pure water.

With any water you can boil it to remove contaminants and cool it by leaving it in the shade or placing a sealed container, weighted down or tied to something in the ground, in a cool stream. If you are in a desert try cutting the top of a cactus and churning the inside and drinking that. Burning off the needles and peeling a cactus then sucking on it will also provide a liquid to drink. It is also possible to collect rain water or dew using a tarp or garbage bag draped in a hole held down by stones or in a hollowed out stump. This tarp draped in the hole can also be used for collecting condensation during the day if a cup is place in the hole underneath the tarp or garbage bag. A banana or plantain trunk can actually be hollowed out a little

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