Please Remember What's First - Wilderness Survival Tip

When in a survival situation, there are a lot of things that rush through your head. However, it is very important that you Please Remember What's First. That's P. R. W. F. for Protection, Rescue, Water, and Food.

Protection

Your first goal should always to ensure adequate protection. Even in 50 degree weather you can get hypothermia, especially if wet and in wind. Shelter from the sun is essential in warmer climates as well. Using paracord that you should have in your survival kit and whatever you can find in your immediate vicinity, construct some form of shelter and protection from the elements.
When building shelter to stay warm, remember one layer of insulation on bottom is as good as two on top. Much of your body heat seeps into the ground during the night. Also, keep your head covered as the majority of your body heat is dissipated through your head. If possible, build on ground that is dry, well drained, and flat. Choose location that is close to water and firewood. Build shelter on a site that is easy to be seen and spotted.

Clean and bandage wounds with alcohol prep pads and bandages, another key item you should have in your survival kit. Infections can present serious danger in survival situations. Use safety pins to secure bandages in place.

Rescue

After you have established protection, your next job is to attract attention to yourself for rescue. Use a whistle, a piece of tinfoil as a signaling mirror, or a flashlight to signal any search parties. A whistle's blast can carry for 1-2 miles in the wilderness, and requires very little energy to use. A human voice can only carry 100-200 meters at best. A smokey fire is also a good method of drawing attention to yourself from afar.

3 of any kind of signal is the international sign of distress. 3 flashes of a flashlight, 3 blasts of a whistle, 3 sticks or even 3 fires in a triangle will signal any search party that you are in distress.
If you must travel, leave obvious markers along your path for rescuers to follow, and also to prevent you from doubling back on yourself. Three stones stacked on top of each other is an excellent method of leaving markers when nothing else is available.

Water

Water is the next most essential element in surviving. Conserve your water by not breathing hard, avoid sweating, stay out of direct sunlight. The best place to store water is in your stomach. Drink as much as you need, and as often as you can. Store extra water in a ziploc bag, or a canteen or water bottle. If fire is not readily available, you may drink from streams that are flowing and clear. Never drink stagnant water! If possible purify your water by boiling. A piece of tightly folded tinfoil makes a good cup for boiling water (yet another helpful survival kit item). Do not place tinfoil directly in fire, but near the heat on a hot rock. Place a small bit of bullion cube in water to replace lost electrolytes and improve flavor.

Trees and vegetation contain great amounts of moisture and water. A clear plastic bag or bottle may be wrapped around a leafy branch, or filled with leafy material, sealed with a rubber band or string, and placed in the sun. Over time direct sunlight will evaporate liquid in vegetation and reconstitute it into drinkable water.

Food

Food is your last concern after protection, rescue, and water. Eating a piece of glucose candy can temporarily raise your blood sugar and give you much needed energy to complete a task. If a stream is nearby, a small fishing line and a hook or safety pin with a bit of bait attached to the end can work. Snares can be set using paracord. A rubber band can be used to improvise a harpoon or slingshot to catch other kinds of small animals. Knife or razor blade that should also be in your survival kit can be used to prepare meat for cooking.

If you remember these steps in this order, you will have a much higher chance of surviving your emergency situation. So always: Please Remember What's First.

A survival kit is an essential item to have with you at all times when in the great outdoors. Don't ever leave home without one! There are many very cool knife based survival kits on the market that have everything you might need in one very handy package. Check out our reviews of some of the top knife based survival kits available!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elliot_Rist

Wilderness Survival Tips - Understanding the Rule of 3's

In emergency situations, one of the biggest problems is to focus on what matters most. That's why in the field of emergency medicine, we use acronyms and steps like the "ABC's" to help us control panic and remember what we should do first, then second, etc...

I was an EMT and WEMT and I taught First Responders for years. It was always interesting to see how people reacted in emergency situations. And over the years, I grew to really love acronyms because of how they helped people focus when the chips were down.

Well survival is no different, we still need to control panic and prioritise our efforts. This is where the "Rule of 3's" comes in.

The Rule of 3's simply stated is you have:

• 3 minutes without AIR

• 3 hours without SHELTER

• 3 days without WATER

• 3 weeks without FOOD

So what does all this mean? It tells us where our priorities should be in a survival situation.

First, we should focus on all life threatening conditions making sure we'll still be breathing in the near future. Next, we should worry about shelter because more people die of exposure than any other incident in the outdoors. Next is water. And then finally food, which is last, not first. You would be surprised at how long a human can go without food (we're a little spoiled in modern society in the area of food).

Search and rescue statistics show most people are rescued within 72 hours, so if you handle the first 2 priorities, you're most likely going to make it.

If things do go longer, you know what's next - water. And finally, last but not least, food. The "Rule of 3's" (just like the "ABC's") is a tool to help you control panic and remember in any survival situation what your steps are and what matters most.

We've all had a few emergencies in our lives. Find out all you can about survival by visiting the wilderness survival skills blog for step-by-step photos of different survival skills. Plus, visit to discover the most important thing you should know about personal survival

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Rouse

Trapping Animals for Survival

How to catch rabbits and other animals in a survival situation. No animals were harmed in the making of this instructional video.

The Effects Of Food Deprivation

The first few days without food are a critical time for anyone trying to make the step from survivng to living in the wilderness. It is in this period that we exhaust the body's store of carbohydrate.

Because carbohydrates such as starches and sugars are composed of simple, easily digested molecules, they are an efficient food source that can be digested with little waste. Quickly and easily converted to energy, carbohydrates are vital in the supply of energy to the brain and nervouse system and are consequently utilised before the other food sources of fat and protein.

We store carbohydrate in the muscles, the liver and a small amount in the blood. For use this is converted into glucose then transported to wherever it is needed, particularly the brain and nervouse system , by the blood. The rate at which we exhaust our store of carbohydrate depends on how hard we are working, but can be as little as 3 or 4 hours when working hard in a cold environment. When our reserve of carbohydrate is exhausted our blood sugar level drops resulting in a reduced supply of energy to the brain. Because the brain is unable to store energy for ityself it demands a continuous supply; when there is a reduction in supply various symptoms are triggered: tiredness; headache; easy irritation; loss of concentration; reduced ability to make decisions; depression; increased susceptibility to cold; increased concern with oneself.

As time goes on, fast intensive work becomes difficult; even walking up a moderate slope seems impossible. Tasks which at other times would be straight forward, such as crossing water, now become hazzordous.

An excert from Essential Bushcraft by Ray Mears.