When it comes to camping, it can be fun or tough on a camper depending on what you know about survival. As a camper, you are supposed to know some of the basic survival skills while outdoors camping. These are the skills that should get you through camping when the need arises.
Some might have thought that only the hunters would need to know the survival skills, but that has changed significantly over the years. Now it is anyone who is likes outdoors has to know some survival basics. With that in mind, we have come up with a list of survival skills important for every camper to know.
- Locating the best campsite
As a camper, the first thing you have to do is find the best place to set up your camp. The obvious choice would be finding a site high and dry. You have to avoid camping in paths that might lead water towards you and in valleys too. Camping the path that water uses to flow might lead to you being carried by flash floods.
Another thing to note should be that the camp site should be free from other natural dangers such as the insect nests, dry branches that might fall for no reason while sleeping, or even falling rocks.
You want to keep yourself close to sources of clean water, dry wood that can useful for shelter building and rocky walls to protect you from the weather elements.
- Building better shelters
Staying in cold weather without any shelter is often the number one killer for people who know outdoors. This calls for the need to have impressive shelters for yourself while camping outdoors. As a camper, this is one of the basic things you need to know how to do rather than always relying on bringing your cabin tent to feel comfortable.
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Use the resources such as trees and debris to make the best shelter for yourself. Stack more leaves on a leaned tree or branch at an angle to make shelter. As for the cold ground, use a layer of leaves to make it comfortable. With more leaves covering the shelter, it should be warm for you inside.
- Easy ways to start and build a fire
Before you can start the fire, you have to get yourself some dry wood. This calls for always arming yourself with the best machete for camping. With the machete with you, cutting the wood into smaller pieces should not be a problem. With the firewood ready, most people would just use the matches to light it up. Well, that is not survival, what happens when the matches are wet?
It is possible to start a fire with a battery. You can take one of the batteries from your flashlight and use it for this case. You need to short-circuit it with a wire by connecting a wire or foil from positive to negative terminals. In a matter of seconds, you should have your fire ready.
With the fire started, you have to build it by using more dry wood, fibrous material such as cotton balls, and many other materials.
- Finding clean water for drinking and cooking
At some point, you will be a victim of thirst and you will need to find clean water to quench your thirst. Even for cooking, you have to find clean water for the activity. While in the wilderness, your source of water might be a stream or river. What is important is that you always have your water purification system for purifying the water. In most cases, you have the option of boiling the water as it is 100 perfect effective in killing the disease causing microorganisms.
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Rain, dew, and snow can also be a great source of clean water, as they do not need any purification. If you had a water transportation bag, it can come in handy to collect the rain water or snow to form water.
- Identifying the best edible plants
You do not just want to go ahead and start eating everything that you see in your way. You have to know what type of tree is edible and the one that is not edible. It is also a bonus when you get to identify the medicinal type of plants. It means that whenever you get sick, you have a chance of treating yourself before getting back home and visiting a doctor.
The skill of knowing the plants that can save you or kill you is all about learning more about each tree. Lucky for you, such books are easily available in different bookshop stores. You get to learn more about the trees and their users to a camper or hunter.
- Master navigation
If you are a camper, you are always advised to know where you are going and where you are from. When you do not know these two things, then it means that you are lost already. Whenever you are looking to camp in a new area, you need to get yourself a map and a compass. What is important is that you still have to know how to use the two. They can be useless if you have no idea how to read a compass or map.
- Take stock and adapt
As time goes by, you will be running through your food, water, and other supplies. You might want to keep your food from possums and other sneaky rodents as they might end up starving you in less time. What is important is that you know the amount of food left and know how to adapt to that. You are not at home, so no living large when you do not know where to get your next meal.
Conclusion
There you have it; some of the top tips every camper should know when it comes to surviving the outdoors. The tips can be more depending on where you have to camp among many other factors. What is important is that you always get to take good care of yourself to handle the outdoors and never take chances with your life.
Guest post by Warren Kuhn
Author Bio
Warren Kuhn is an outdoor and camping enthusiast, always out to seek for the thrill and adrenaline that only nature gives. He even took up survival training to prepare him for the worst-case scenarios while outdoors.With his background, you can learn a lot from him so you can get the most out of your camping trip at TheCampingTrips.
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