You can never have too many survival tips.
It’s always wise to plan for the worst. Even if you’re on a short nature walk, it’s possible for things to go awry.
One wrong turn, especially for the inexperienced walker, can lead to a string of events that throws all planning out the window and often ends in people spending nights outdoors with zero preparation.
In the US, where outdoor adventure is much more popular than Australia (no surprises considering the difference in population), there are multiple reports every week of people getting lost or inured (or worse) in the wilderness. As someone who monitors outdoors news on a daily basis, I’m always surprised by how regularly hikers / backpackers die in US parks.
It pays to be prepared, even if you’re not venturing off the beaten track.
With that in mind, Patagonia rock climbing ambassador Timmy O’Neill has collaborated with National Geographic to create a two and a half minute video with some solid tips you may not have thought of on how to survive a possible worst case scenario.
While I’ve never spent an unexpected night in the wilderness, I have had one pretty terrifying experience where I wasn’t adequately prepared (I’ll write about it one of these days). A couple of these survival tips would have been invaluable in my case but, even though they’re mostly common sense, they didn’t even cross my mind. That’s one of the reasons I read so much about this stuff. You never know when something will stick, and you definitely never know when it’ll save your life.
Got any survival tips to add? Or any comments or corrections? Let us know in the comments section below.
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