The great outdoors requires people to learn specific skills that will help them survive long in the wild. While this is not an immediate requirement due to the rise of technology that keeps us from having to live unprotected in the open, it is still a good thing to acquire new knowledge as you go about your life. It’s safe to say that people won’t have to camp out in the woods to fend for themselves anytime soon, but knowing how to survive out there can be the difference between life and death if you ever get in that situation.
Many of these skills can be learned through those camping trips from school, especially if you happened to be a scout who slept in the forest many times. But it has probably been decades ago since you’ve experienced the wilderness, so it can be nice to revisit nature every once in a while. Here are some of those skills you can try to learn or relearn just in case.
Fishing
Fishing is one of the basic skills needed to provide food for yourself when out in the wilderness. Aside from hunting, fishing can keep you fed for days if you manage to catch some in a nearby body of water. A fishing tour can teach you the basics of fishing, like what kinds of fish to expect from certain waters, what areas will harbor the most fish, and what things to avoid overall.
But when left by yourself in the woods, you can’t always have the fishing equipment used by professionals, so you can learn about other ways to catch fish like improvising your own hook and line, using a spear, making a trap, and many others.
Starting a Fire
Fire symbolizes life. Throughout history, it has kept people from freezing to death, from being attacked by wild animals at night, and from having to eat raw meat. But building one is not as easy as it seems when you are deprived of tools like matches or lighters. There are other ways to start a fire using items you can readily find in nature, like sticks, dried leaves, and stones.
But there are also ways to create one from unusual devices like lenses, batteries, and many others. Keeping it lit can also be a challenge due to weather and wind conditions, but knowing how to start one can be enough. Just be responsible when lighting a fire as it can spread and start a wildfire when not contained properly.
First Aid
First aid is one of the main lessons taught in scouting. Using a scarf to tie around injuries is the common image many with think up, but first aid puts more emphasis on having a first aid kit wherever you travel. This kit typically contains items like bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and an assortment of medicines. Still, it can also have items for emergency purposes like heat packs, mirrors, a phone, insect repellents, and many others.
Creating Potable Water
Water is a necessity for life. When out in the wilderness, potable water is not always accessible, so you can benefit from learning to create some by using techniques like boiling, distilling, and filtering. The most important part of this is ensuring that your water is free from pathogens that can make you sick.
Tying Knots
Learning how to tie basic knots can be useful when camping and in other daily situations where a rope is involved. Different kinds of knots like slip knot, square knot, and figure 8 knot are some of the popular ones taught to students but are also good to learn even as an adult as they can come in handy depending on what you want to do with your rope.
Navigation
Navigation is another skill that can save you when lost in the woods because your phone may not always work when put in a secluded area where GPS and mobile connections are rendered ineffective. A compass can help, but you can also take advantage of your surroundings to know what direction you are heading to.
Learning these skills can help save lives in the appropriate situations. These are all fun and games until you find yourself needing to tie a rope tightly, read a paper map, or apply first aid to an injured companion. In addition, the process of learning these things should teach you a valuable lesson that life can still exist outside of the modern technologies and gadgets where people’s lives revolve around in.
The world has been so consumed by the digital space that people no longer try to appreciate the wonders of nature behind metal and concrete walls. So if you have the time, do camp out and experience the wilderness once more. Maybe you will learn more things than you can expect.
