Survivor Kid: A Practical Guide to Wilderness Survival
INTRODUCTION The shivering woke me up My entire body shook and my teeth chattered uncontrollably It was still dark and my dog and I were alone in the woods huddled together in a hastily built bark and branch shelter And it was cold really cold I had no sleeping bag or blanket and the temperature had dropped to 15 degrees Fahrenheit in the dark forest I tried to get a sip of water but my water bottle had frozen solid Let's get up I told Moxie my German shepherd We wriggled out of the tiny shelter and I began to walk unsteadily in place while Moxie stretched and looked for a place to pee My frozen boots felt like they were made out of rocks but as the blood began to flow through my limbs I stopped shaking and my brain started to work again For the umpteenth time that long night I checked my watch hoping for the miracle of approaching daylight It was only 3 00 A M We still had hours to go before we'd see the sun I stood in the frigid night air and listened to a great horned owl somewhere above me for a minute then crawled back into my tiny shelter I pulled Moxie to me and wrapped a tarp over us With my face pressed against her dusty fur I promised Just a few more hours and we'll be warm Moxie and I were not lost I had volunteered to spend the night alone with her in a remote forest as part of our search and rescue training This was the second time I was being tested on my shelter building skills Each time I was not allowed to have a fire or any sort of comfort item and the temperature was well below freezing No one could call these practice sessions com fortable but I did learn that I could survive wintry nights if I was caught outside Now you can too In fact the information in this book will help you to survive all kinds of situations you might face if you become lost in the wilderness someday You won t need to know how to shoot a deer with a homemade arrow clean and cook it and turn its skin into a waterproof tarp You just need to know how to stay healthy and out of trouble until rescuers find
ve taught middle school students how to do just that the same lessons taught to adults in survival classes Just because you're young you do not need to be babied You can handle it This book is for young adventurers who want to build up their survival skills and learn what to do if they ever find themselves lost or in a dangerous situation in the wild Does that sound like you Great let s get
ANYONE CAN GET LOST and What to Do If It Happens to You Anyone can get lost or have an emergency while hunting hiking or playing in the wilderness It happens to kids and adults even experienced hunters and hikers and occurs most often during simple day hikes or quick outings That means that this chapter is the most important one in the book Maybe you skipped it at first so you could read about the fun stuff building different kinds of shelters identifying animal tracks or creating a solar still I probably would have done the same thing All that other stuff is important but none of it is as crucial as what you'll learn in this chapter You need to read this section carefully and you may want to talk to a parent about what you have learned The most important things you can do to stay safe are actually very easy First tell someone where you are going whom you're going with and what time you'll be back Adults forget to do this as often as kids do But how are you going to be found if no one knows where you went Rescuers could spend hours or even days look ing for you in all the wrong places So remember the best way to make sure that you are found is to make sure that somebody knows where you might be lost Another great thing you can do is to take friends along with you Having one or more buddies along makes good sense for lots of reasons For starters it s much easier to find a group of people than it is to find just one Also friends can help you build a shel ter collect water and make noise so that people can find you And being lost is less scary when you are not alone Your buddy doesn't even have to be a person you can bring a dog friend with you to keep you company and keep you warm If you are with another person or a group of people stay together Last always carry water food and a survival kit Your kit can be as
simple as a water bottle and purification tablets a lighter a candy bar a flashlight toilet paper some garbage bags a first aid kit and a whistle You can read more about more advanced sur vival kits in chapter 12 p 191 Just by doing these three things letting someone know where you're going taking a buddy along and having a survival kit with you you'll know that you ve done the most important things you can to make sure that you ll be found alive and well But what is better than being found alive and well Not getting lost in the first place of course So how can you help to make sure you don't get lost Let's look at some of the most common reasons that people adults as well as kids find themselves lost in the wilderness It gets too dark to see where you're going It's easy to mis judge distances or lose track of time when you are exploring and enjoying the outdoors and activities such as day hikes and rafting trips frequently last longer than expected Out in the wilderness especially in the mountains it can get dark quickly all of a sudden the sun disappears behind a hill and you realize you have a long way to walk in the dark to return to your camp or car Always carry a flashlight or headlamp as well as extra batteries with you when you head out into the wilderness Someone gets hurt It's easy to twist an ankle or stumble and fall when hiking and you can get sick out in the woods just as easily as you can at home If you or someone you re with is hurt or ill even if that someone is your dog you may not be able to make it back to civilization before nightfall Be sure to bring along basic first aid and signaling tools whenever you go on hikes or other wilderness excursions That way you l be prepared for emergencies and you'll be easier to find if you have to be rescued The weather changes suddenly I live in the mountains where it snows at unexpected times even in the middle of summer In both mountains and deserts fierce rainstorms can occur with very little warning and make rocks and trails slip pery In many areas of the country it can become foggy mak ing it difficult to see or stay on trails Oftentimes it is more dangerous to try to walk through bad weather than it is to sit tight and wait it out If you have your survival pack with you you can make a raincoat out of a garbage bag and build a fire to keep you warm as you wait for the weather to clear You take a shortcut that turns out to be a
