How to Use Survival Skills if Lost

Being lost in the wilderness can be frightening and fatal. This how-to will give you a basic knowledge of the steps you need to take to survive when you are lost.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Survival Kit
• Military Survival Handbook
• First Aid Kit

Surviving being lost

1. Don’t panic! Keeping calm in a scary or dangerous situation can save your life. If you are fearful, take charge of your situation, and work on the following steps to keep your fear under control. Fear can easily turn into panic, and you can easily make bad decisions that can put you in peril.

2. Inventory your supplies and resources. Any item that you have might be used to help build a fire, shelter or can help with first aid.

3. Administer first aid. When you are in a state of fear or panic, it is easy to ignore pain, so you must treat any injuries before they get worse.

4. Build a fire. Fires can be used for warmth, comfort, and most important signaling. You need four things to start a fire: spark, fuel, heat and oxygen. Check out other eHow articles on this site to learn the best ways to build a fire, and how to build a fire when it is raining.

5. Build a shelter. You do not know how long you may be lost, and it is best to build a shelter when it is still light outside. Your survival handbook can show you many ways to build a shelter in different environments.

6. Work on your signaling. The fire you built, any mirrors, flashlights, or even rocks can be used to signal rescue personnel that may be looking for you.

7. If you must travel to get help, use any navigation aids, landmarks, or signs of civilization that may be available to you.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a wilderness survival course. It can give you the practical experience you need to survive being lost in any situation.
• Take a first aid course.
• Take an orienteering course that teaches you how to navigate. Make sure the course includes how to navigate by the stars, the sun, landmarks, a compass and also teaches you how to use a map with your compass.
• Keep a survival kit handy when you travel, camp, or explore the wilderness.
• You may be faced with an unfamiliar situation that you may not have covered in your survival course, or may not be in your manual. Just remember the skills that you have learned can be used in any situation.

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