These four categories are not rocket science – but without any one of them, your chances of survival are greatly diminished.

Making sure you break tasks down into each category, however, is one way of bringing order to the chaos of a survival crisis.

Find Water

The first thing you need to survive in the wild is water. You can only go 3 days without water before dying, but you’ll be extremely dehydrated long before those 3 days are up. If you can’t find a ready supply of water, then you can use these tactics to get water:

•    Collect Dew: Take your shirt off and press it onto the ground to collect dew. You can then wring the dew into your mouth or into your water bottle.
•    Follow Ants: If you see a train of ants going up a tree, it is probably because there is a cache of water in a groove in the tree.
•    Travel Parallel to a Mountainside: If on a mountain, cross it by staying parallel. Mountains usually have streams going down them so you are likely to come across one eventually.
•    Dig for Water: If you dig, do so at places like dried-up streams and areas with a lot of lush foliage.

Make a Shelter

You will need a shelter to protect you from the elements. A shelter can also help protect you from some wild animals as they are more likely to attack you if you are in the open. Remember to have your shelter made before it gets dark!

My favorite shelter for how to survive in the woods is the “fallen debris shelter.”

You just need to find a fallen tree. Then pile some large branches against it to act as a shelter wall. Then you fill in the gaps with smaller branches. There are many other ways to make shelters in the wilderness though.

Stay Warm

Temperatures can drop really quickly in the woods, so you better prioritize warmth. Staying warm is actually just as important as food for survival. And, if you are cold, then your body is going to require more food.

A well-built survival shelter will help you stay warm by trapping in your body heat. But you do other things to improve your warmth.

Another way to stay warm is to make a fire.

Find Food

There is actually lots of food in the wild – so long as you know where and how to look for it. In survival situations, these would be your primary options for food:
•    Wild animals
•    Wild plants
•    Insects and bugs

Sorry to break it to you, but catching a wild animal for food is a lot harder than it seems. Even if you have gear, it is really difficult! The one exception to this is if you are stranded near some sort of lake.

The better option for wilderness survival food is to eat bugs. Yes, I know this probably seems gross to you, but most bugs are edible and actually very nutritious.
As for eating wild plants, never eat a plant unless you are 100% sure it is edible.

These Four Vital Survival Elements are critical in terms of ensuring you can make it through the survival situation you are facing.

More importantly, by focusing on them and assigning tasks based on them, you can induce method and calm in a chaotic and possibly panic-inspiring situation.

To learn more on how to use these Four Vital Survival Elements to your advantage, please visit Primal Survival!