Basic Survival for N00Bs by Danny S.

First of all before you go on a trek through the wilderness make sure you are experienced so you don’t die. When you go make sure you go with a group. Never hike alone. I would suggest you take a survival class to gain knowledge before you go on any adventures excurtion.

I will explain the 2 most important things of survival in this article water and fire.

The most important thing is water. You can go up to 3 weeks without food maybe even longer but you can only go 3 days without water. When you find water don’t just start drinking it. Most rivers arn’t clean even though they look perfectly clear and fresh. The reason is, is that many animals take dumps in the river releasing parasites and diseases in the river. So there are many ways to clean your water. The easiest and most effective is to boil your water. Second is chemically, you can do this with tablets or kits found at sporting goods stores. Third is by the use of commercial filters these can also be found at sporting goods stores. Besides man made water purifiers, many purification devices can be made or found in the wilderness. You can actually use the filter on a ciggerette to filter water but this is not the most effective only use this if you have nothing else. You can also get a piece bamboo or a hollow straw like plant, then put a fiborous material at the bottom of it then charcoal then fibourous material. Then you can use this as a straw filter or you can filter water into your cup. If you don’t have anything but charcoal and water you may just need to mix charcoal dust with your water.

Fire is the next important thing. These are five of the main ways to create a fire. First is with a good ol’ easy lighter. Lighters are easy in firemaking but you may not have one and they will eventually run out. Matches are the same way and are less reliable than lighters. Next is by a modern flint striker. These are the hardest modern fire starters to use but will last a long time, are durbale, and weather proof. With these it’s real important to find some good tinder. One of the most famous and hardest way to make a fire is by rubbing two sticks together. This way will work if you know the correct wood to use and the correct methods. Another similar way is with a fire drill/bow. This is the classic boy scout way witch will work if you know the right materials. If fire can’t be made any other ways you can actually use a flashlight’s lightbulb coil by breaking the glass and not the coil. This coil will become red hot and catch on fire. If you use this method make sure you have tinder right in your hand.