Survival Guide 4 Pros

You would like to know How To Purify Water From Rivers, Lakes, The Ocean. and any other natural source. It is well known that the water from the natural sources is full of dangerous microorganisms and it needs to be purified before you drink it. The main problem is that in many cases when you need to survive in the wilderness, you don’t have the special equipment that is needed for purification of water. In this article you will learn about the basic methods that can help you purify water. You should avoid direct drinking of water from the natural sources in order to protect yourself from diseases and toxic substances in the water.

Boiling Water

The first effective method of purification is boiling water. It is the easiest method that removes most of the dangerous microorganisms. When you are caught in the wilderness and you don’t have a cooking pot, this may be a difficult thing to do. You need to improvise and find the most convenient objects to use as a cooking pot. You can use metal cups or plates as your cooking pots. You also need to know how to make fire in the wilderness. You might have learned the easiest method to make fire when you were a boy scout. The principle is the same; you can use a magnifying glass or a friction method with tinder and wood shavings. When you make fire, you should fill your improvised pot and heat it until the boiling point. You should boil water at least three minutes. After boiling water you can wait until it cools down and then drink it.

Chemical methods

If you have some chemicals, such as bleach, you can use it to purify water. The bleach is effective in destroying of most of the bacteria and other microorganisms. You should be careful not to put too much bleach because it can make water toxic. It is enough to put eight drops of bleach in a gallon of water to purify it. Stir it well and let it stand for at least thirty minutes before you drink it. It is always good to have some bleach with you in case of emergency situation when drinking water is not available.

The other useful chemical is iodine. Although it is not as effective as bleach, it is good for use in emergency situations. You should add five drops of two percent iodine in a quart or liter of water. If the water is cloudy, you should add ten drops of iodine.

Potassium permanganate can also be used for disinfections of water. You can purchase it in a camping supply store or pool treatment stores. It is enough to put three or four crystals in a quart or liter of water. Mix and stir it until the water is colored slightly pink. After that, let the solution stand for about thirty minutes. You should remember that this is only an emergency measure and you cannot use potassium permanganate to purify water on planned activities, such as camping and hiking.

Granular calcium hypochlorite works in the same way as regular households bleach but it is easier to carry it with you. You need to dissolve one teaspoon of granular calcium hypochlorite in two gallons of water in order to make a disinfecting solution. You should use this disinfecting solution to mix it with water that you want to purify. You just need to add one part of this solution to each one hundred parts of water you need to purify.

Aluminum sulphate is also used to clean water but it only removes impurities, such as mud or other small particles. Aluminum sulphate should only be used in combination with other disinfectants, such as chlorine and iodine.

Activated charcoal works effectively in removal of bad taste and odor. It absorbs many harmful organic chemicals that can be present in water. Activated charcoal is usually added to many water filters.

Water Filtration

Filtration is a simple way to purify water and remove bigger particles. The simple filters don’t remove small particles and they can be used only in emergency situation. The easiest way to make a water filter is to use your clothes. You can simply use your shirt or any other clothes together with pieces of wood and make a water filter that will remove dust, dirt, mud and other particles. This only removes particles, but the water is not suitable for drinking. Filtration should only used in combination with other water purification methods. It is important to filter the water before purification with chemicals, because most of the chemicals don’t work well in murky, cloudy or colored water.

Solar Water Disinfections

The sunlight can be effective in disinfections of water. You need a plastic bottle and you should fill it with water. The next step is to put the plastic bottle under the direct sunlight. This method is effective when the sunlight is very strong and therefore it is best to use it in summer. You should leave the plastic bottle under the sunlight for at least six hours.

Water desalination

Water desalination is an advanced method of cleaning of seawater and making it suitable for drinking. In most of the cases when you are caught in the open sea without drinking water you don’t have the necessary desalination equipment. Some of the boats have this kind of equipment. If you are preparing for a long voyage on the sea, you should search the Internet for the necessary equipment.

Choose the Correct Water Container

When you go to the wilderness, you should bring enough water containers. You should wash the containers with a solution of bleach in order to disinfect them. You should never use containers that very used for juice or milk. Milk and juice remain in the container and they can trigger bacterial growth.

In any case of survival in the wilderness, you should not panic and jump to some wrong conclusions. You should remember to drink purified water and not to directly drink water from lakes, rivers and other natural sources.

If you found yourself in the wild, what should you do to survive? What could you do to survive? This article will give a brief introduction into the way you should think, act, and operate in a manner that will help you understand and learn How to Survive in the Wild and last as long as possible in any situation.

Situation Review
Your first act will be to review your situation. Consider the wilderness both your enemy and your friend. Your safety and security is your first concern. Find a place you can conceal your self until you have assessed the situation. Familiarize yourself with the immediate area around you. Every type of environment has its own set of sounds, movements and animal noises. Take mental note of every thing you hear. Make sure you take stock of your own physical condition. Now that you realize you are alone in the wild it is game on and it is like starting over. Make sure you take care of any physical problems as well as possible at this time. Now it is time to inventory your possessions, your equipment and the things you can use for survival. In the safety of your concealed area, lay out in front of you every item in your possession.

Survival Plan
Now that you have reviewed your situation, your environment, your physical health and your tools for survival, it is time to develop your survival plan. Start with thinking and planning on how you will meet your physical needs, which are, in order of importance, water, food and a safe and dry place to stay.

As you think through and develop your survival plan, take your time and do not hurry. You do need to be able to react quickly in case of danger, but every step should be thought out and planned properly in advance. That is why you have methodically reached this point. Every asset you have, including your knowledge of the area and the tools you have for survival are important. You cannot afford to lose any of them. Get used to using all of your senses, perhaps as you have never done before in your life. Take note of smells, sounds and sites to the minutest point. Even note things like changes in temperature. Always be very observant.

During your planning, use the tools that you have to take note of known dangers from the terrain or other dangers. If there are other people in the area, carefully consider if joining will improve your situation or not. Locate water sources as soon as possible. Decide if your originally chosen concealed area provides good long-term protection from weather elements, wildlife or other dangers.

Working through these steps should help alleviate worry and fear. If you stay busy, with keeping aware and planning your moves, you might just not have time to start worrying and letting fear get in the way of your survival.

Realize and learn that you will have to get by with the tools you have now, at least until the time comes you find some that are better or can improvise tools on your own. The ability to think carefully, use the tools that you have, or be able to improvise for other things that you need, may make the difference between survival or failure. Realize that every plant, rock and animal is important.

If you have found yourself in an unfamiliar environment, observe how the animals meet their basic needs. Following their lead could be very important and their experience at surviving in that environment is an important tool in your survival arsenal. Be aware that not everything animals eat or drinks are safe for humans, but many things are.

If there are other people in the area, you may get some vital knowledge by observing their actions and the things they do in their own struggle for survival.

Preparation and Training for Survival Situations
If you are training for survival, here are some of the things you need know, understand and be as knowledgeable or good at as possible.

You need to know what items make up the perfect survival kit. A survival kit should be something you can pick up and go with at a moments notice. That kit should have all you need to survive your first three days. That means water, food, clothing and basic tools to provide shelter.

You also need to know about first aid, in a survival situation this includes survival medicine and taking care of yourself and others in case of an accident.
This includes how to find, improvise or make your own shelters to stay warm and dry, regardless of what type of weather challenges you face.

You need to know to locate water sources. You should also know how to filter water or how to prepare to trap rainwater if nothing else is readily available. You should be capable of starting and maintaining a fire. Survivalists call this fire craft and a craft it is. In training, you should be certain of your ability to start a fire without any type of modern incendiary advice. That means making a fire from tinder, a wood block and wood sticks. For heat, you will use friction and once you learn how to do this, your self-confidence in being able to survive will take a great leap forward.

You need to learn for your area, about procurement of food. Knowing which plants can be used for food, or medicine is very important. You need to be ready to eat any source of protein or starch that you find. This knowledge must also include knowing which plants are poisonous.

You need to be aware of what animals are native to your area. Which are dangerous and which can be helpful to your survival. You need to know how to use all the tools you have in your 3-day survival kit, the one that was packed and ready for you to walk away with at a moments notice.

If you are in a hostile environment, such as deserts or tropical jungles you need specific knowledge and training about that area. You need to know how to navigate with or without the help of a compass, by day and by night.

You need to learn how to make water crossings without loss of your survival equipment and tools. You also need some basic knowledge of how to hide your things and yourself. This also means knowing how to be prepared to signal and make contact with other people, regardless of where they area, in the area, the sea or the air.

The more of these areas in which you can train and get experience the better your chance for survival in any wild situation will be. Everything you can learn helps you know How to Survive in the Wild.

Hiding in the Open and Camouflage

 

Staying hidden whether its by just by knowing a few tricks or having some camouflage on will be a very useful tool to survive in the wilderness and other hostile situations. Hiding in the open and being undetected is like a kind of art but once you master it you will be able to quickly lose anything that might be searching for you and could even save your life.

Hiding in the Open

First off you will need to be dressed according to the area you are going to be trying to hide in. You don’t have to have any exact color just something that blends in naturally. Once you have the right outfit on go to the area where you want to hide and examine it first. You need to avoid any direct light source that will show your silhouette because animals and people will be able to pick up on the outline of a human very quickly. The first thing that goes into the sub conscience mind when you enter a new area is the processing of shapes and colors. If you can move into a dark area or in a shadow this will help hide your body’s outline. If you can imitate something natural like a small tree. Avoid any distinctly human posture if can. Turning sideways can help change your body shape if something is looking from the distance. If you aren’t wearing a long sleeve shirt you might want to consider covering your arms and possibly your face with something that blends in. For example if you were in the woods you could use mud as a natural camo. If you change your shape dramatically like crouching on laying down you will really be able to throw something off because it may pass you off as a rock or just dirt.

 

How to Make A Fishing Pole with a Hook

Now if you are near a water source and you want to eat fish a fishing pole is the perfect way to get food. Unfortunately in all situations a fishing pole may not be available. Buying a fishing pole and stocking up with hooks and extra line would be the best option but if ones not available I will teach you how to make one on your own.

Make a Rod

First you need to make a rod. Find a nice sturdy tree branch about as tall as your are. You can either break it or hack it off with your survival knife. Make sure you choose a sturdy tree so that when you snag the big fish your pole doesn’t break. You can cut away the shoots, side branches, and leaves if you want. You also might want to check the end by bending it with your hand. If it snaps off keep moving up a few inches and try again. You want to get one where you can bend it a considerable amount without it breaking.

Get Fishing Line

Next your going to need fishing line. There are several things you can use here if no fishing line is available.

Shoestrings
Sowing Thread
Small Vine
If you are using vines make sure you strip the vines down and your idea length for fishing line should be about 10-15 feet. If you can’t find a single item this length you can tie to items together using a surgeon’s knot by holding the items together at the ends and forming a loop. Push the ends through the loop and pull tight, then cut off the excess.

Tie your line about midway down your pole and wrap it 3 to 4 times along the length of the pole toward the tip. If the pole breaks while you are fighting a fish, the line will immediately fall into your hands and you’ll still have a chance at catching the fish.

Hook

If no hook is available you can make one by carving a hook from a V-shaped piece of green stick with your knife about half the length of your finger. Carve a groove into the end of your homemade hook where the eye would normally be located. This will give you something to tie your line into to make it hold. You can also use a safety pin, small nail, wire, key ring, thorn bush, or a backpack buckle. All you do is bend the item into the approximate shape of a hook.

Bait

You can use a variety of items for bait including

Earthworms
Crickets
Grub
Small Food Bits
Rotting Meat
Smaller Fish
Worms are usually the easiest to find. All you do is turn over fallen trees, large rocks, leaves, or under anything really you can move. They like wet and damp places in the shade.

Bait your hook and gently swing your line into the water. You can target still pools of fish or areas near rocks and fallen trees. Bank-fishing will yield some fish quickly if you hit the right spot.

Basic Survival Knife

Choosing a Basic Survival Knife

If it comes down to it you will need a knife for multiple reasons.

Hunting
Building
Defending
Choosing a knife

You will need a very good quality knife thats going to last you for a long time. If the world ends or you just need to survive in the woods you will need a knife to withstand a lot of wear and tear. If your think your going to need an over-sized knife you might want to consider getting a machete or an axe in conjunction with your survival knife.

Types of Knives to avoid

 

Big Over-sized Rambo Style Knives
Knives with hollow handles or multiple piece setups
Double edged knives
Knives with Storage in them
Big over-sized knives may look good in Hollywood movies but in reality they are bulky and hard to maneuver. The only thing I could see being useful about these over-sized knives would be the scare factor if you were using them as a weapon. Usually multiple piece handles aren’t made as good and the worst thing would be to need a knife and have yours break or malfunction. Double edges knives are used for thrusting and most of the time their handles are weak and break easily. If you are trying to use a double edged knife as a tool the extra blade edge could cause and injury or it may not be as efficient. The idea of having a compass, matches, etc. stored in your knife is a good idea but again these knives are very weak and break easily. Also, if you lose your knife there goes some of your gear as well.

Types of Knives you might want

Qualities of a good Survival Knife

Medium Blade Length (4-8 inches should be plenty)
Sturdy Handle
Single Sided Blade
One-Piece Metal Knife if Possible were the blade is made into the handle
Medium Thickness blade (aproximately 1/4 inch)
Stainless Steel or Carbon Steel
After you choose a good survival knife you might want to get a holder and a sharpener. These items aren’t required to but might help you along the way if you can afford the extra accessories.

Find Food in the Wilderness

Surviving in the wilderness isn’t really all that hard. Some things you need to know are.

Survival of the fittest. You might be competing with other animals / people for the food source.
Watch nutrition like protein and stay hydrated. Adults need to drink 2-4 liters of water per day.
You can’t be picky! You might end up eating a dinner consisting of insects and tree bark.
Lets Start off with Some Suggestions

Pine Cone Nuts
Acorns dry, rinse acid out
Inner bark from most trees. Dry it then grind it up with two rocks. May need to add salt.
Weeds like plantain fox tail again dry and grind
Pine Needles
Small animals like coons, porcupine, beaver, deer, squirrel, turtles,rabbits, frogs, etc.
Clams or Crayfish
Fish ( You might need some basic fishing gear to catch them)
Berries, Nuts, Fruits *Note* Make sure you know what your eating because some may be poisonous also avoid mushrooms unless you know what you are doing
Roots from plants
Insects (Worms for example)
Bird Eggs
Road Kill or Injured Animals
Some additional Pointers / Suggestions

Watch watch the wildlife eat. If the animals eat it, it is probably safe for humans to eat as well. (Not 100% of plants are but you have better chances this way if your about to starve)
Drink sap from birch trees or any other tree that contains it. All you do is slice a branch with a knife or break it off. The sap is mainly made of water and has a slightly sweet taste to it. It will provide you with needed carbohydrates.
If you need help tracking where the animals have been remember they leave a trail
If you are near a flowing river and can make a watertight box you will have a fridge to preserve things longer. Just make a circle in the water where there is a current then line it with rocks. Place your items in the circle and this will help preserve them longer.
All deciduous trees( trees that drop their leaves in the fall) have an inner bark that is eatable
How to Build a Fire

Starting A Fire

First off to build a fire your going to need a fire source. I am going to assume you have a lighter or matches, if not there will be a separate article for lighting a fire with sticks, flint, etc.

Next your going to need something to start your initial flame that’s going to ignite your fire. This item is called tinder ,the item that helps start the fire is called kindling, and the bulky logs is the fuel. If the kindling is damp you might need to put extra tinder in the fire to help ensure it gets ignited. You need to break your kindling up as much as possible. Note*A knife or small axe might be handy*

Some items to us for kindling:

dead plants
bark
cloth
moss
wood chips or shavings
paper/cardboard
fire sticks/starters if available
pine cones or dry needles from coniferous trees
any other material that burns easily

The kindling is going to need a larger surface area than the tender so it can ignite and produce a concentrated flame to light the main fuel. Note* Split wood or break it down if needed*

Now its time to gather the bulky stuff. Wood logs is the most common version of this but you could use coal, animal waste, peat, etc. Hardwoods don’t catch on fire as quickly as softwoods but they burn for much longer. If you have both start with softwoods then add hardwoods later to maximize the length of your fire.

Quote from Survivor Man “A good rule of thumb is: once you think you have enough wood, get at least five times that much.”

Next create a circular area, depending on the size of your fire but needs to be at least 3 feet in diameter. Dig several inches deep into the ground and surround your fire pit with rocks if available. If the ground is wet you will need to build a type of platform to help get this started. Its always a good idea to have a bucket of water in case your fire gets out of hand and leaves the pit.

Now place your tinder in your fire pit as loose as possible. Next add your kindling but make sure that your stack it so air can circulate. Do not spread it to much it will still need to be dense just make sure it gets some air circulation.

Light the tinder and slowly add more kindling. A good stacking method for this is the tepee. Arrange the kindling in a cone shape where the sticks all lean towards the middle. That way as it burns they will fall into the fire. After you have added a good amount of kindling you can start adding the larger fuel for you fire.

You should have a blazing fire at this point. Just keep adding your fuel and it will stay going as long as you need.

Purifying Water

In an emergency situation and lets say there is no electricity and no running water. You have a supply of water from a river, rain, lake, etc. You can’t drink this without purifying it or you will get sick and could even die. Now in a situation where you need drinking water and there isn’t a supply a very good option is regular household bleach. 1 Gallon of bleach will purify approximately 3800 gallons of water. The best way to administer this is from an eye dropper because if you add to much bleach to your water it will become toxic. 8 Drops of water needs to be added per gallon to purify. Just add the water and wait 15-30 minutes for the water to become pure. Also, make sure to use a sanitary container to store you purified water in. An empty milk jug works perfect. I would recomend having at least 1-2 unopened gallons of bleach in my emergency stash in case of a disaster.

 

Plan to Survive the Apocalypse

Plan to Survive the Apocalypse (2012 etc.)

This is going to be one of the toughest scenarios to survive in because we don’t know what might happen. Some possible scenarios are

Meteor Striking(No sunlight, Massive tidal waves/flooding, wildfires, riots, etc.)
Mother Nature (Earthquakes, Flooding, Storms, Climate Changes, et.)
Supernatural
War (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological, etc.)
Widespread Disease
Economic Collapse
In these situations your best survival is going to be planning ahead. If you learn about surviving in other situations like in the wilderness you will be better prepared for some of these events. Unlike wilderness survival there are going to be situations that would not occur normally and then there will be those that occur either way. Unfortunately there isn’t any real way to prepare for some of these situations(like a meteor crashing on your house) but if you are prepared you might be able to save your life and your families lives by knowing how to adapt to changes. I am going to be discussing some of these scenarios more in detail later on but to stay on topic this article is about making a plan.

In your plan you need to outline what you are going to do as soon as it starts. Just like a fire evacuation plan if executed correctly can prevent some very bad outcomes. I will break this plan down as much as I can but it is up to you to make your own. I would suggest getting a notebook to write all of this in since you might not have a access to a computer. Of course having your survival gear ready to is a must.

Plan Outline

Location
Survival Gear
Shelter
Food & Water
Defense
When choosing a location you need to consider several factors. You should pick a location whether its your own home or a location away from your home. Distance is going to be a big factor since there might not be gas stations to refuel your car. Another big factor is going to be how many other people are there. You don’t want to go to a crowded place were there can be other families fighting over the resources. You need to be able to move all of your gear to your new location as well. Also check to make sure that there is going to be a supply of food and water nearby because those things will be essential to your survival. You need some basic shelter to from the elements and weather. If other families are present you might also need some way to defend yourself from more primitive people.

After you have chosen a location you need to write out a list of what you are bringing. If you are going to have family members with you assign them tasks to carry out and also make sure everyone knows where to meet up at so that nobody gets left behind. Once you have your list set out make sure you stock up the supplies needed and put them somewhere easily accessible. You don’t want to be looking around for an hour tying to find a flashlight. I would also suggest laminating your final copy of your plan and making everyone a copy.
Building a First Aid Kit

Let me start out by saying that there are several already available first aid kits from suppliers. This guide is for anyone wanting to make there own and will serve as a checklist for the items you will need and ones you might want to include.

Needs

Bandages
Antibiotic Ointment
Rubbing Alchohol
Prep Pads, Cotton Balls, sanitary cloth, etc.
Gauze pads
Knife
Suggestions

Rubber Gloves
Larger bandages
Ace type bandage
Thermometer
Antiseptic Towels
Tweezers
Burn Gel/Medication
Anti-Itch Cream
Hydrogen peroxide
Scissors
Cold Medicine
Survival Guide
Optional ( Might be helpful but not in all situations)

Map
Compass
Flares
Splint Materials
Surgical Guide/Tools
Two Way Radios
Weather Radio
Also if you have access to pain medicine and antibiotics these would important to have in your survival kit. Another good idea would be to purchase a book on alternate medications from herbs and plants. This could be very valuable to you if conventional medicine where unavailable.