Surviving in the wild is an extreme activity that can push you to your mental and physical limits. As a survivalist, understanding some specific survival skills and how to apply them can help keep you safe in the wild. This article discusses three top skills on survival plans that can get you through the wild without anxiety, stress, and discomfort.

1. Building a Shelter

Building a shelter is usually one of the first tasks to consider when lost. But sometimes, finding a safe place can be difficult since you’re not familiar with the environment and elements. Here, it’s important to put your childhood building skills to great use.

This skill involves looking out for the terrain, season, and environment before considering the shelter options you can build. First, you can begin with a basic tarp tent and gradually gather long branches to build your fort. Then, if the area contains heavy winter snow, you can easily take advantage of the weather and dig out a snow cave shelter.

2. Creating a Fire

One of the essential survival skills to have is building a fire. Fire can serve several benefits in the wild such as keeping you warm, providing heat for cooking, and warding off predators. Creating a fire can be harder than it looks, especially when the weather is overcast and damp or when you have limited supplies to make a fire.

Making a fire can be done in several Innovative ways without needing a specific gear or accessory. But it often requires acquiring some practices, techniques and patience. For instance, you can easily try out a fire-building skill in an open space, i.e., your backyard, to effectively prepare for an emergency. Try finding a dry tinder or create your own by hunting for touchwood (a fungus found in the husk of trees) or easily carving a feather stick. You can also search for quartz to create a flint to generate a spark.

4. Creating Clean Water Supply

Water is essential to human survival; as a result, the ability to develop a clean water supply tops our list of the skills to have in a survival situation. In the wild, natural water sources are usually not hygienic, and they can even harbor bacteria, viruses, and parasites. But with knowledge of this skill, you can easily refine water sources with an easy strategy and technique.

One of the significant techniques to purify water is by boiling. Unfortunately, individuals may be unable to set fire to boil water. They may also not be particular about boiling water because of the taste and the sediment left after boiling. Survivalists can also opt for the filtration technique such as sieving water through your t-shirt or building a filtration system using small river rocks, charcoal from your fire, and sand inside an upside-down bottle.

If you can’t find a water source, you can easily draw water from the soil by creating a solar still. Solar still usually has a hole approximately two feet deep into the earth. You can easily place a container at the bottom of the solar still and seal the hole with plastic linen or a tarp to cover the edges. Then place a small rock at the center of the cover, and the moisture will rip into the container.