Surviving – The Basic Needs

Wilderness or natural disaster scenarios can range from easy to extremely challenging to survive.  There is no rule book on what resources you will have on-hand or what can be found.  You must be adaptive with your skills so that you, your family, or others in your party can survive the situation at hand.

We will cover some very basic requirements to survive in this article and expand in other articles on the site.  Personal skills, tools at hand, and a little luck should fill most the basic survival requirements.

Potable Water
Water is by far more important than food.  It is very difficult for a person to survive without water for more than 3 days.  The highest priority should be assigned to finding a reliable water source and making it as safe as possible to drink. 

Water should preferably be purified before drinking.  Contaminated water can make you very ill, reducing the likelihood of getting back to safety or surviving extended periods of time in the wilderness.  Don’t let purification stop you from drinking from a spring or string if the water appears clear and there is no available means to purify. 

Avoiding dehydration is essential for survival.  If there is no water, or it’s in limited supply, stay out of the sun, breath out your nose, and reduce physical activity when possible.

Rest
A mostly overlooked requirement of survival is rest.  Conservation of energy falls deep in to this category.  Without proper rest critical decisions can not be made properly.  When a person does not get enough rest, they are more likely to take unnecessary risk which causes more accidents to occur.

The body can be so physically taxed that when an emergency situation happens there is simply not enough reserve energy to flee, fight, or climb the way out of danger.   

Sleep when possible and take frequent breaks during physical activities.  Keeping the body hydrated, properly fed and at a comfortable temperature.

Shelter
Shelter ranks high in priority right after water.  Shelter can protect a person from natural elements such as weather and wild animals.  Shelter also provides a place to rest or sleep safely.

Shelters can be classified in to two categories, natural and man made.  Natural shelters such as a cave, overhanging ledge, or fallen tree require far less work.   They are found pretty much ready to move into, provide some natural bedding such as leaves or pine needles and it’s complete. 

Man made structures can be as simple as a poncho strung tight over a fallen log or as complicated as an ice cave.  The type of shelter made will be determined by the resources available and timeframe available to construct.

If your goal is to be found it’s important to mark your shelter in someway so it can be located.   Bright pieces of clothing, a signal fire, or stacks of rocks can identify

Fire
While not a critical need fire is very useful in most survival situations.  It can provide warmth, dry clothing, make water drinkable, provide light, keep animals away and finally help in our moral and sense of well being.

Most people tracking into the wild already carry a mechanism to make fire.  Normally lighter or waterproof matches are preferred but some like the reliability and durability of magnesium or steel fire starting kits.

In survival skill building a fire ranks right next to shelter in ability survival importance.

Food
While most would put food higher in the list it should be one of the last items to worry about.  A person can live weeks without food, in most situations rescue will happen before starvation.  Misidentification or improper handling of food supplies can lead to a quick death or severe illness through poisoning.

Surviving until rescued or surviving on the land indefinitely can be a challenging feat at best of circumstances.  Different locations will provide a varying degree of natural resources for you to rely on.  It is all possible with the correct survival skills; they are your most valuable asset.