Lost in the Wild? 4 Survival Tips from an Expert

  • The moment you realize you are lost your mind automatically starts thinking a mile a minute. Emotions and panic are bound to try and creep up on you…if you're unprepared.

    1)  Assess the Situation- Jason Marsteiner (Wilderness Survival instructor)

    If you believe yourself to be lost in the woods the first thing anyone should do is stop, sit down, calm down and assess their situation.  Most people become excited and frantic when they discover they are lost and end up making the situation worse.  They pick a random direction that they think looks familiar and head in that direction and usually end up getting themselves more lost.  Because they are excited, they throw caution to the wind, and do not pay attention to important details such as how much time is left in the day or in which direction is the sun setting?

    So sit down and calm down.  What gear do you have on you that will help? Is there a storm rolling in? Is there fresh water nearby? In what direction is the sun going to set? How many hours are left in a day? Are you in a safe location? How long will it take before someone notices that you haven’t returned?

    If you are truly lost, you should hunker down, tap into your skills, conserve calories and wait for someone to find you.  By hunker down, I don’t mean shut down though.  There are some tasks you need to get taking care of, like build a shelter, fire and procure food and water.

    Due to my survival training, I always carry a few items with me no matter where I am going or how long I intend to be there.  I don’t need the items but it sure does make things so much easier.  Here are the basic items:  bushcraft style knife, folding saw, 200’ paracord, ferro rod and matches, water filter, 40oz metal canteen, space saver cup, small fishing kit, military rain poncho (w/ grommets), rain pants, wool hat and  wool gloves, extra pair of wool socks, flashlight and headlamp, bailing wire, mylar blanket, first aid/trauma kit.  All of these items together weigh around 10 lbs and with these items, I can survive for an infinite amount of time and/or use the mylar blanket as a signaling device.  Without the use of a compass or watch I can determine the direction and how many hours are left in the day.  Do you know how to do these simple tasks?

    Okay, now that you're calm what else should you do?

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    4 Comments

    1. Josh Gottschalk said:

      Who the Fu*k gets lost?
      Unless you’re a Lieutenant or a Hipster douschbag, there is no excuse for getting lost

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