How to Survive in the Wild With Only What You Have in Your Pockets
If you find yourself in the woods or wilderness, far from civilization, chances are it was a planned excursion and you took with you all the equipment you needed for safety and comfort , including a basic survival kit .
But what if you were n’t planning a trip into the wilderness and didn’t bring a survival kit with you? Perhaps you thought you were going for a short, easy hike and somehow got off the trail, or you thought you knew the shortcut and now find yourself surrounded by untouched, nameless wilderness. How are you going to survive until you are rescued (or you can save yourself)?
First: don’t panic. Follow the so-called STOP protocol : stop, think, observe and plan. Don’t rush into a promising direction and don’t stress yourself out by worrying about wasting time. Think about your surroundings, the path you’ve followed, and what you might have in your pockets that could help you survive the rest of the upcoming ordeal, because it’s probably a surprisingly useful collection of things.
Your pocket survival kit
If you weren’t expecting to get lost in the woods today and didn’t bring any special gear, you may still have the basics you need:
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Smartphone = signal mirror. One of the most important things to do when you’re lost is to make yourself visible . If people are looking for you, you want to make it easy for them. If you haven’t thought to bring a signal mirror, your smartphone will do – turn it off (we’re guessing you don’t have a signal to call for help) and it makes a pretty decent reflective surface to shine on would-be rescuers. .
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Bottle cap = whistle. Sound is also very useful when you are trying to attract attention to a rescue, but few people carry high-pitched whistles with them every day. But if you have a water bottle, you can use it as a pretty effective safety whistle, as shown here . By alternating this with good old-fashioned screaming, you’ll notice if anyone is nearby.
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Hand sanitizer = arsonist. If night falls and you are no closer to salvation, you may be in for a cold and miserable evening. But if you have hand sanitizer with you, you can turn this evening into a slightly warmer and more unpleasant evening, because hand sanitizer is really flammable . Once you have some kindling and a fire going , you can use hand sanitizer to make starting the fire easier.
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Condoms = flammable lenses. Sure, you can light the greatest fire ever created and completely soak it in hand sanitizer, but if you can’t create a spark, it’s no use. If you haven’t thought to bring flint and steel and have no idea what the bow and spindle method of starting a fire is, but you have a condom that you’ve been carrying around in your wallet since 2013, you might be in luck. . Fill a condom with water and you have an effective sun protection lens that can use the sun’s heat to start a fire.
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Keys = saw. Have you wandered into the forest with your house or car keys in your pocket? Good because these keys can be used as tiny files. You won’t be building a log cabin with them, but they can be used to remove branches from trees and cut them to build a quick shelter , or cut laces or other ropes to size.
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Nothing = compass. If you are not sure that someone will come for you, you should have at least a vague idea of where you are. If your phone has power and a connection, you can use the Maps app or Compass app to figure it out, but if it’s down or unreliable, you can always figure out the direction using just a stick, some rocks, and the sun . As shown in this video , simply stick a stick into the ground and mark the tip of its shadow with a rock. Wait 15-30 minutes, then mark the tip of the new shadow. The line between these rocks runs from east to west. If you stand with your toes touching the stone, you are more or less facing north. If you know the direction of your camp, vehicle, or civilization in general, you can at least know you’re going in the right direction, although you should regularly check in with yourself to make sure you’re still on the right track.
Surviving in the wild starts with not panicking, conserving resources, and using the tools you have. Luckily, you probably have more of these tools than you think.