15 Essential Things to Always bring into the Woods with you

When traveling in the wilderness there are fifteen essential items that must always be brought with you. These 15 items are your insurance against a wide variety of situations you are likely to encounter by design or by accident.

The survival gear and skills you bring with you will serve you well. Staying warm and dry, well fed and hydrated, and in good health will go far in your effort to survive in any environment. With all of your physical needs taken care of your morale will be high and you will be in an excellent position to navigate your way out or make contact with rescuers.

Be sure you’re always prepared to get you through the first night of an emergency situation. If you can survive an entire day and night then the chances of you surviving several days if need be are greatly increased. Making it through the first 72 hours almost guarantees you will make it out alive.

 

Item #1: Map and Compass

Always bring a map of the area you are traveling in and a good compass, and know how to use them. If possible, a GPS receiver is also great to have along but they are nowhere near as reliable as a map and compass

A good map will show your area of travel in excellent detail. Preferably the map is a topographical one, showing contour elevation lines and the topography of the area. Trails, streams, bodies of water, swamps, roads, towns, hills and mountains should be clearly labeled. The map should have the points of the compass clearly labeled.  In New Brunswick Topographical maps of the entire area are available through Service New Brunswick.

A map can be of great help in decision making, not only in planning your trip but also in providing possible escape routes should the unexpected occur. Knowing where you are on a map, you will often be able to easily discern obstacles such as steep terrain, cliffs, valleys, or swamps that you should avoid. If you do become lost, a map can help you figure out just where you are and provide information on where you should go to extricate yourself.

GPS Units are increasingly popular but they become useless if the batteries die, they malfunction or thick underbrush prevents it from getting a good signal. DO NOT DEPEND ON THEM!! A Compass and a map will always work no matter what so learn how to use them. Even if you are without a compass, you may be able to make a compass using the materials on you or at hand.

 

Item #2: Flashlight

Always bring a flashlight or headlamp with spare bulbs and spare batteries. Survival flashlights that are powered by a hand crank are also great as they require no batteries and are usually lit with LED lights which draw little power.  Even a simple afternoon hike of a few hours into the wilderness can unexpectedly become one where you are stuck overnight due to injury, becoming lost, or miscalculating the time it takes to get from point to point. If you are caught in the dark, you may need an artificial light source in order to find your way out. Without a light source, it is very easy to injure yourself stumbling around in the dark.

If you do need to spend the night outdoors, your source of light can help you rig a shelter, gather fire making materials, and bed down for the night. A flashlight or headlamp can be used as an excellent signaling device at night, for the light can be visible for many miles. A good headlamp allows a person the use of their hands letting them perform tasks in good light, reducing the chance of injury.

Item #3: Extra food and water.

As a general rule, bring at least an extra day of food and water you think you will need for the time you are out, the minimum being enough to sustain you for one full day. Even on a trip of just a few hours as you never know what can happen.

In emergency situations extra food will give you the energy you need to help yourself. The calories from the emergency food supply will help prevent hypothermia and exhaustion. The extra supply of clean water can prevent dehydration. Taken together they will allow a person in a survival situation think more clearly and prevent the possibility of panic.

Water is the most important item to have. You can live without food for many days, but you will die without a proper supply of clean water after a couple of days. Because water is bulky and heavy, on an extended trip you will need to find additional sources and a reliable means of making those sources safe to drink.

One good practice to do is  always keep your emergency food and water supply in your pack and do not touch it. It is for Emergency use only. Then when you plan your outing, add the food and water that you plan to eat and drink to your pack.

Your emergency food supply could contain dehydrated food, fruits and nuts, MREs or Emergency Food Bars. These are lightweight foods that have long shelf lives as well as being condensed and easy to pack.

Item #4: Extra warm clothing.

The clothing you are wearing may become wet from rain, snow, sweat, or falling into water Extra clothing should include waterproof jacket and pants. Rain gear can double for wind protection.

Extra clothing can serve a variety of purposes. Insect protection, protection from poisonous plants, thorns and shrubs, the sun and wind. Extra clothing can be used for tourniquets, bandages, sacks and pillows. Extra socks can double as mittens.

Extra clothing can also be used as a poor man’s sleeping bag of sorts. If you have to spend the night outdoors, rig a shelter and put on all of your clothing. You can even stuff your extra clothing with dry leaves, grass, milkweed or cattail fluff, or any other lofty material that can be used as insulation.

Avoid cotton which easily becomes waterlogged and next to useless. Wool is an excellent choice as it remains warm even when wet. There are a variety of modern synthetic materials that are easy to dry and wick away moisture.

The 3 layer system for keeping warm and dry is one of the best methods to follow when venturing into the wilderness. This allows you the greatest flexibility according to the current conditions you find yourself.

Summer or winter, one article of clothing you should never leave home without is a warm wool hat. Pound for pound a wool hat is the warmest piece of clothing you can have. Up to 30 percent of the heat your body looses is through your head, so a good hat will go far in keeping you warm. If you find yourself having to spend a night outdoors, wearing your wool hat will go far in helping you sleep warm and comfortable.

Item #5: Rain gear.

If your clothing becomes wet its value as insulation greatly diminishes. Even in temperate climates hypothermia is one of the biggest enemies of the person lost in the wilderness. Most people who get lost in the wild die from exposure before anything else!! Bring a rain coat and rain pants and stay alive. Rain gear can also double as a ground cloth to keep dampness from penetrating your resting place and can help protect you from the wind as well.

Item #6: Sunglasses and sun screen.

Excessive sunlight can cause sunburn and lead to dehydration and even skin cancer. You may find yourself exposed to more sunlight than you planned on due to reflection from sand, snow, fog, or water. If your eyes become sunburned or snow blind”, your situation may become very critical.

Sunglasses need to be ultraviolet resistant (uv resistant) and have side flaps that prevent unfiltered light from entering, get a couple of cheap pairs from the Dollar store and add them to your survival gear.If you do not have a pair or your pair gets lost or broken, you can often make sun goggles from materials at hand such as cloth, leather or bark.

A hat with a wide brim will bring added protection from the sun and doubles as protection from insects.

Item #7:  First aid kit.

 A first aid kit should contain the means to treat the usual array of cuts, burns, punctures, splinters, and blisters. In some areas you may need to treat snake bites or allergic reactions.

A larger first aid kit for a group of people should provide the means to treat sprained and broken limbs and digits, heart conditions, serious punctures and deep cuts, hypothermia and other location specific injuries.

Item #8: A Good knife or multipurpose tool

A good survival knife is an extremely versatile tool and can be used to make other tools. Useful in the building of shelters, making fires, repairing clothing, performing surgery, making weapons and defending yourself.

A multipurpose tool is even better. A built in pair of pliers can be used for a variety of tasks. A can opener can come in very handy.

Item #9: The means to build a fire.

You should always have the means to build a fire. Knowing how to build a fire is a fundamental survival skill. Waterproof matches, lighter, and some kind of tinder are a minimum. A FireSteel is an excellent lightweight and waterproof backup every survival kit should have. Once you get the fire started, you can use green or wet wood by drying it near or on the fire.

Fire is useful for preventing hypothermia, drying out clothes, keeping animals at bay, and for signaling. A good fire will keep you warm in all weather conditions and keeping up your morale. A warm fire goes a long way towards improving one’s attitude when lost in the woods. You can also use the fire to cook food and for boiling water to make it safe to drink.

Item #10 A way to treat/purify water.

You can only carry so much water. A gallon of water weighs eight pounds and when you are active that is about the amount you will need every day. So on an extended outing, planned or not, you are going to need a local source of water.

The problem is, no water is to be trusted! Even a clear cold mountain stream could harbor a host of disease carrying organisms including giardia. On several occasions I have come upon dead moose soaking in small mountain streams that otherwise appeared to be crystal clear.

There are a number of inexpensive water treatment filters that can easily fit in your pack. You can also use chemical means to treat water or boil it. If you plan to stay in one area for an extended time, consider using the solar disinfection method to make large volumes of water safe to drink.

Item #11: Always bring a whistle.

This tiny device is light and inexpensive. With little effort you can blow on a survival whistle for extended periods, even if you are injured or exhausted. If you have constructed a survival shelter, it may be difficult for would be rescuers to see you, but the sound of a shrill whistle can direct them to your location.

Item #12: Always bring something that can be used as emergency shelter.

 A 5ft by 7ft waterproof tarp or space blanket can be used to construct a serviceable emergency shelter. The shelter should provide protection against rain, cold, heat, sun or snow.

A space blanket or tarp can form the basis of protection to which you can add whatever local materials are available. Sticks, leaves, branches, and other plant materials can be used to extend the insulation of your shelter and help you survive in hot or cold climates. Build a debris hut and you can survive in nearly any environment.

Item #13: 25 feet of cord and a roll of snare wire.

50 feet of cord is better. Good parachute cord can be obtained at your local Army Navy surplus store. 550 Para cord can be used in a variety of useful purposes including construction of an emergency shelter, climbing, tying objects together, splinting broken bones, building a raft, snaring small game, even constructing a bridge across a small stream.

You should also bring several feet of thin snare type wire and several yards of all purpose duct tape. Duct tape is an excellent means of making field repairs to ripped clothing and is useful in a myriad of ways.(I mean c’mon, you can fix anything with it, just ask Red Green) The wire can be used to make a variety of repairs, prongs and hooks for fishing and frog spearing, or the snaring of small game like rabbits.

Item #14: Insect repellent (in the right season).

Insect pests can not only make your life miserable, they can become a risk to your survival.

Insects transmit innumerable diseases and are a major threat to human life throughout the world. Flies, ticks, mosquitoes, and a host of other insect species would love nothing more than to dine on you and leave behind their calling cards of sickness. This is not so crucial in the woods of Atlantic Canada, but Mosquitoes and Deer ticks can carry diseases like bird flu and Lyme disease so be wary. Insect repellant will also help reduce the annoyance of having clouds of insects covering you as you travel in the woods.

Item #15: The proper survivor attitude.

Last but certainly not least is the right attitude. With your survival skills and survival gear you know how to handle virtually any situation that comes up. From being lost in the wilderness, injured, or meeting up with unexpected weather, a survivor (and Scout) is always prepared.

The will to survive is paramount to your ability to survive. They go hand in hand, so much so that through the force of your will you can often surmount even the most difficult of circumstances.

So whether you are lost in the wilderness or simply enjoying yourself in the great outdoors, these 15 essential items for survival will allow you to exist in relative comfort - and may just help save your life.

 

This entry was posted on 17. August 2009 at 15:28 and is filed under Tips, Camping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.