When moving over rough terrain, it’s important to be able to conversate without drawing attention to yourself. Sometimes it’s important to communicate where to go but other times it’s important to communicate dangers. In open spaces, it is also important to be able to communicate without drawing attention to yourself because there’s a higher chance of an echo and sound travels better in an open space. There are several ways to communicate without making noise but most of them are limited to the line of sight. We will briefly go over different methods of communicating without noise. All of these…
Author: dody
In a survival situation, most of the time it’s best to bug in. That means stay home with your preps and ride it out whatever is going on. You know that you’re in a survival situation whenever there is resource depletion, a natural disaster, terrorist attacks, severe transportation issues, riots, and general panic that could put people in danger. Not all of these situations require bugging in or out. We’re going to go over the ones that require going somewhere temporarily. First, let’s cover the times when you should stay home. If it’s more dangerous going outside your home or…
The United States as a nation is facing one of the most extreme fuel shortages this summer that it has in several decades. According to the New York Post, the fuel shortages could be worse than the 1970s oil crisis as travel season begins to ramp up. The difference between today and the 1970s is not so much just an oil crisis but we have an almost everything crisis. Oil prices have been skyrocketing lately almost doubling in two years. It might be a good time to start prepping your vehicle and your gas tank. We’ll go through how to do…
Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria said that food shortages may be the next world health crisis. Sands states that after two years of shutdowns due to the coronavirus, governments may have to prepare for a much bigger threat. He’s urging governments to strengthen their health systems to deal with malnutrition due to food shortages according to the New York Post. Many farmers echo these concerns. Their cost of fuel, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides have all increased. These increases will be seen further on down the supply chain. Even if we…
Depending on the type of survival situation you find yourself in, you may need extra precautions in the hygiene department. Although this is about survival and the wilderness, survival in a suburban home when there’s a situation that makes it where hygiene becomes difficult is just as important. This article will cover survival hygiene in various cases and lengths of time. However, it will cover only the very basics. Clothes: If you’re hiking in the woods and need to keep your clothes clean according to the old army manual, the best way to do that is to take them off and…
Any trip off the beaten path can cause medical issues at any given time. Preparing for those medical issues is the best way to avoid having a problem that interrupts your trip or causes hospitalization. Although most of us don’t carry a complete tactical first aid kit when heading out on a hike, some feel this is necessary. If you are of the persuasion, you would somewhat be prepared for the most common issues and, in the process, keep your pack light. Dehydration: Dehydration is probably one of the most common medical issues you’ll encounter in the wilderness. The best way…
We’re all on a budget these days and prices seem to be rising. Even the Dollar Tree is now the five-quarter tree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find good bargains geared towards survival there. With an eye toward preparedness and a mind toward what’s possible, you can find items that are necessary for a bug-out bag even at the Dollar Tree. For approximately $40 you can have a very basic bug-out kit to throw in the car, keep stashed in a closet, or keep at your bug-out location so that you can get to a third location. Containment and…
Being lost can be scary but being lost in the wilderness can be downright terrifying. No one likes to admit that they need help, but if you’re a couple of miles deep in the wooded forest or somewhere on a mountain range that you don’t know the name of, it’s probably a good idea to ring in some help if you can. The following are a few ways to signal for help if you’re in the wilderness. Note that it doesn’t matter where you are in the wilderness, signaling for help will always be difficult due to the distance from…
If you can’t hunt, fish, or snare for protein, I bet you can catch some of these little guys. What little guys am I talking about? I’m talking about insects. Let the squeamish turn away! We’re about to delve into the world of edible insects and it just might save your life if you happen to be out and lost in the bush. Only harvest insects from areas safe from pesticides. All insects must be cooked to be made safe from contaminants that may cause illnesses such as parasites and infection. Grasshoppers and Crickets – These vary from locusts that…
If you’ve ever been in the woods and heard the characteristic grunt and stomp of a skunk, you know what’s coming next. Anybody that is seasoned in hiking will try to get away, but just in case you didn’t, here are a few tips on how to get avoid a skunk encounter and to get nature’s “stinkiest kitten’s” essence off of you. Skunks are cute, little pouncey animals with black and white coloring. Some people keep these little critters as pets, but only after their scent glands have been removed. A wild skunk isn’t going to be like a pet…
Summer heat can be deadly, especially in a survival situation. Some serious medical issues need to be watched out for during outdoor activities in the heat. An indicator of how safe it is to work outdoors is to find out the wet-bulb temperature. There are wet bulb temperature calculators which can tell you if it is dangerous to work or play outside based on the temperature and the humidity at the time. These medical situations to watch out for, the symptoms, and how to treat them are as follows. Heat Exhaustion Heat exhaustion can occur whenever the core body temperature is…
As tempting as it is to write how not to become heartbroken by an older woman, this is not that article. Instead, we’ll be talking about actual mountain lions. Although they are rarely found in the United States they do exist especially in the western half of the United States. The eastern half of the United States no longer has Pumas because they went extinct allegedly. Cougars typically eat deer, elk, small mammals, and birds. They like to hunt during the morning hours and at dusk. They tend to hide their prey that they’ve caught covering it with soil or…
Before our modern way of living, trees were essential to multiple industries. When you return to a more primitive lifestyle, trees become crucial again. How many people can identify what kind of tree they’re looking at, though? You will want to memorize these four trees and their multiple uses in a survival situation. White Oak: White oaks have rounded leaf lobes, unlike red oaks. They produce edible acorns that have less tannic acid than red oaks. Due to the high number of acorns, the oak family is difficult to misidentify. A white oak tree has bark that is off-white to ash…
Being able to forage food from your natural habitat will make it easier in times of food insecurity or crisis. Knowing how to use those foraged foods safely is an even more important task. Today we’re going to discover what wild edibles are in the North American interior of the United States. Curly Dock: This can be found anywhere including roadside ditches, but you don’t want to get them from there. The edible parts are the leaves, especially the young ones. It does contain a high amount of oxalic acid though so keep your consumption low. It tastes almost like…
We all get that weekend warrior vibe where we just want to go out and explore things. Depending on how adventurous you are, you might think about honing up on your skills. Going out into the wilderness is no picnic. People have gotten lost and been hurt without medical care in the past. To be sure you can manage should any disaster befall you, it’s better to have a couple of survival skills on your side. We’re going to explore those survival skills that everyone should have before going out to explore the woods. Have a plan. Make sure you…
A venomous snake bite in the wilderness is a very quick way to end up in a difficult situation. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings at all times. The most important thing to do is to try and prevent a venomous snake bite if possible. Prevention: Do not intentionally handle a venomous snake. Do your due diligence to know which snakes are venomous in the area you intend to be. Understand that snakes can strike from quite a distance away. For example, a rattlesnake can strike from a distance of half its body length. if you intend to…
We’ve all been lost at some point or another when traveling. When getting lost on the road or in some strange town, it’s easy to get out and find the correct path with Google Maps, a paper map, or even just asking the locals for directions. However, finding your way out of a wilderness area is a little more complicated. There are very few topographical maps of regions, and reading them requires some skill. If you don’t have a map, you’re left with just some fundamental skills, which we’ll cover here today. The first thing you should do if lost…
Water is one of the most important resources in a survival situation. Sometimes finding water is easy. You should look for flowing water because it’s less likely to have bacteria festering inside of it. That means small streams, creeks, or even rivers would be acceptable. One concern about larger rivers however is that there may be pollution upstream. Some filters do not take out chemical pollution, so keep that in mind when using any water. Lakes and ponds can be OK, but because they are not moving there’s a higher chance there are bacteria in there. How can you find…
Due to recent heightened geopolitical strife, it has become more important than ever to understand how to survive a nuclear bomb and its fallout. A nuclear bomb can be survived outside of the epicenter. Anyone within the epicenter of the blast radius will automatically be terminated. The further out from the epicenter the better should a bomb drop. The first indication that a nuclear bomb has been dropped is a bright almost blinding light. Staring at the light as it goes down can blind a person. So, shield your eyes immediately or turn away. No one can outrun the shockwave…
You have your bug-out bag, evacuation plans, caches everywhere, an underground bunker, and security tools. What more could you be missing when it comes to surviving? You might be overlooking the most important aspect of survival which is your physical fitness. Improved physical fitness helps survival by making it easier to handle the cold, improving memory and mental toughness, increasing endurance, strengthening the heart, increasing mobility and balance, and improving the immune system. Start with assessing how physically fit you are. Can you run a mile in 10 minutes? Can you walk for an hour without resting? How much strength…