First Survival Skills To Learn

Learning basic survival skills—like first aid, building different types of shelters, and foraging for wild plants—will help you safely make it back to camp (or civilization) on a wilderness trip. Whether you’re a backpacker, a prepper, or a simple day hiker, this list of skills will come in handy if you find yourself in a wilderness survival situation.

Food

As discussed in the previous article, the easiest way to put a meal in your stomach is through wild edibles. However, there are a few basic rules you want to consider. For berries, go with blue or black. Blue or black berries are edible 90% of the time. Eating red berries gives you roughly a 50% chance of them being edible. White berries are only edible 10% of the time. Mushrooms are too unpredictable. I always stay away from mushrooms.

However, at some point, you need some protein. There are a few easy ways you can get protein in the wild. One is a fish trap. Fish are one of the easiest ways to get protein in the wild. If you have shallow water, you just need some poles or some rocks. Use them to arrange a wall that is heart-shaped with the cleave facing upstream. You can bait the trap or leave it empty. The fish will swim into the trap and become confused. Then you can jump in and pull them out of the water.

If you decide to trap small game, a snare trap is the way to go. You can use wire or cordage for this. Just tie the end into a loop with an overhand knot and then put the end back through the loop. Then tie the end to something secure. You want your loop to stay vertical, so you may need sticks to hold it in place. When an animal walks into the trap, it will close around its neck.

Water

Water purification is vitally important for new survivalists. You can only survive without water for about three days before dying of dehydration. Most of the fresh water on the Earth, however,  is tainted with bacteria and parasites.

You can boil the water, use a bottle filter, or use a straw filter to eliminate the pathogens. You can also use purification tablets if you have the time. Purification can be bypassed if you can find a spring or if you have a way to collect rainwater.

One of the keys to hydration is knowing how to find water. It is not always as easy as you would think. You should follow the terrain down to the lowest spot you can find. Even if you do not find water, there may be a water table below. Digging a few feet down to find some clean water is worth a try. Look for areas where the plants are greener than the surroundings.

Fire

If you want to get a fire going, you must know what materials you need. This starts with looking at your surroundings. You will need to start with a tinder bundle which consists of dry, fine materials that are highly flammable. Bird’s nests, birch bark, and cattail fluff are all good for tinder bundles.

Then for kindling, you want sticks that are ¼ inch to one inch thick. You need a bundle that is large enough for you to wrap both arms around. For larger wood, collect a stack at least knee-high. With that said, it’s best to collect what you think you need and then double it. This will ensure that you have enough wood to keep it going all night.

To light your fire, shape your tinder bundle into a bird’s nest shape. Hold your Ferro rod in the centre and strike it with your knife or striker. It should shoot sparks into the tinder. Continue until you see smoke or a flame. Then pick up the tinder bundle and gently blow on the embers until the whole thing ignites.

Set it down and start feeding it kindling until you have decent-sized flames. Then when you know it will not go out, you can add the larger wood. Be ready to go back to smaller sticks if it starts to go out.

Shelter

Rarely will you have supplies with you to build a shelter. In most cases, you will have to use the natural resources around you to build your shelter. Keep in mind that getting your body up off of the ground is just as important as putting a roof over your head.

Either build a platform, or use dry leaves, grasses, or spruce boughs to create insulation between yourself and the cold ground. For poles, you should find dead branches and break them to the length between two tree trunks that are close together. Never stomp on branches or try to break them over your knee. They can break poorly and cause injury.

Once you have built a frame for your shelter, use more insulation on top as protection from the wind and the rain. Do not skimp on this step. It can sometimes take a pile of leaves four feet deep to make a shelter completely waterproof.

The two most important shelter designs to master as a beginner survivalist are the lean-to and the debris hut. A lean-to uses a ridge pole between two trees or two other poles. Then the frame poles are leaned against the ridge pole at a 45-degree angle.

For a debris hut, you use two shorter poles to create an A shape at one end. Then the ridge pole is attached at the top of the A and the other end rests on the ground. Again, frame poles are leaned on the ridge pole at a 45-degree angle, but in this case on both sides.

The lean-to is ideal if you have a fire, and the debris hut is ideal if you do not have one. In addition, you can use ready-made shelters found in nature.

Caves are always nice if it is pouring rain and you do not have time to build. You can also crawl under a large spruce tree if you are in deep snow. The spruce boughs leave a dry area covered in dead spruce needles underneath. The snow around the tree will block the wind and keep you protected.

Conclusion

As you start learning the needed skills to survive, be sure you are careful about the sources you use. There are dozens of survival specialists producing television shows, blogs, YouTube videos, and books. Some are legitimate and some are more concerned with ratings and entertainment. If a survival expert is jumping off of waterfalls or drinking their urine, you can go ahead and change the channel.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of practice for a survivalist. Do not make the mistake of watching a video or reading an article and deciding you are prepared. Take the time to get out in nature and test your skills. This is why I put myself through several survival scenarios each year.

Having tested your abilities, you will be more confident when the time comes to rely upon those