by Sam E. Jones

Created on: April 24, 2010

Every person who ventures into the wilderness needs to fully understand before doing so that, mother-nature doesn’t allow for excuses and can dole out harsh penalties for mistakes. Whether the deep woods, the desert or the out up on mountains, people need to prepare properly for where they will be going. They also need to understand that even with proper planning and preparation, things can go wrong, and they could find their lives in danger.

Regardless of the terrain or temperatures, to survive in the wilderness people need to keep five simple things in mind.

1 – People cannot survive without food and water.

2 – People cannot survive extremes in temperature without protection.

3 – People may not survive attacks from animals, snacks or pests.

4 – People who become lost are more likely to die of exposure than thirst.

5 – Most of the people who die in the wilderness do so because of poor planning.

To survive in the wilderness people must ensure that they have more than enough food and especially water to survive not only for the duration of their stay, but in the occasion that something causes them to have to stay longer than they planned. Also, to survive people need to prepare properly for the weather conditions and to keep from getting lost. With all the modern tools available there is no reason for anyone to perish in the wilderness.  Every person that goes into the wilderness, whether with others or alone should be outfitted with the proper survival gear, and the knowledge of how to use them. Some tools can be used no matter the occasion, such as GPS devices that not only show you the way, but can assist others in finding you should you become incapacitated, pocket knives are always useful, as are matches in waterproof containers and pills for making water safe to drink.

The safest survival technique is to learn about the environment where you will be. What are the temperature variances during the time you will be there? Where is the nearest civilization? Which roads go to where? What types of wildlife live in the area and what dangers do they pose? Is there cell phone reception in the area? Are there ranger stations in the area? In short, learn everything you can about the place where you will be and what others have done in that area to survive when things have gone wrong.

Another good piece of advice is to go with someone else, preferably someone who knows even more than you do about where you will be. The survival rates for people in groups is far higher than for people who head out alone. The final bit of advice is the old standby which is; always tell someone where you will be and how long you plan to be gone.

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