If you are someone that typically goes camping in winter months, you might be familiar with how to survive extreme winter conditions. If you do not typically venture outdoors in winter months, you’re probably unaware of how to survive if you were stranded outside, as many people are.
Here are some helpful hints on how to survive if you ever found yourself stranded in winter elements when hiking, traveling, or otherwise.
Put Your Shelter First
A shelter is a vital part of surviving outdoor elements especially in winter months. Do whatever you can to insulate and heat the shelter around you. For instance, if you must, rip insulation from your car to use as insulation. You can also bake hot stones over a fire and place them in your car floorboards to heat your car if you are stranded along with it. Do not wander too far from your shelter, snow and fog can make it easy to lose sight of it. Make sure you can easily find your shelter. Hang some sort of flag as high up on your shelter that you can. This will also help rescuers find your shelter when searching for you.
Focus on Retrieving Water
Staying hydrated is an important part of survival in any season, winter included. You should be checking your urine color to determine how hydrated you are and base your water intake off of that. If you do not have to go to the bathroom often or if your urine is dark, you are dehydrated and need to find a water source immediately. Snow and ice should not be consumed under any circumstance. Water will chill your body and bring on hypothermia. If you can’t find water, do what you can to melt the snow to turn it into liquid before consuming.
Always Be Prepared to Start a Fire
If you are traveling in winter months, whether you are driving in your car or hiking on a trail, you should always be prepared with fire-starting materials at all times. You should have several ignition sources from lighters to matches. Soak cotton balls in Vaseline and carry them with you, especially when hiking. You can also carry a fire starter packet which can be stored in a backpack or car. Do not attempt to burn a fire in an open area, the wind will work against you and you will waste your ignition sources. Make sure you set the fire on green wood and not directly on the snow or it will never start as well.
These three suggestions will help you survive in the event that you are stranded outdoors in winter months. Although it is a rare occasion, it is important to understand how to survive in the event that it did happen. Visit Lawrence Bay Lodge’s blog for more outdoor news and advice from hunting to fishing.
