Stop, Think; Observe, Plan

• If you become lost or stranded in nature, the first thing to do is make yourself aware of your surroundings. You need to stop and think, observe and plan. Make yourself physically stop while you do an assessment of your situation. Think about what has happened to you and review your options. Take the time to observe your surroundings, your physical condition and that of others in your party. Then plan what you should do, including when and how to accomplish the planned objective.
  
  

Necessities

• Water, shelter and food are considered essential to survive outdoors. Water is the most important as you can live only approximately three days without water. Finding potable water is of primary importance. Potable water is drinkable water that you consider safe. Next in importance is shelter. If you are exposed to extreme temperatures you will suffer from hypothermia (an abnormally low body temperature) or dehydration due to prolonged heat. Find some manner of shielding yourself from the cold or sun as needed. Food is actually not as essential as commonly thought. There are cases of people surviving for weeks without food.
  
  

Practice Survival Camping Skills

• If you expect to need survival skills because of your vocation or avocation, you should plan to practice them so that you can become skilled. Should you need to survive, being skilled is much better than relying on something you read about in a magazine. Go camping to determine what is needed and unneeded. Practice skills each trip until you are confident in your ability to perform them under duress. For instance, using a compass or making fire are both skills that need to be developed.
  
  

Outdoors Survival Kit

• Before embarking on wilderness adventures, make a compact survival kit that will address your most common needs. Package the components in a small, easily transportable container. The kit should include knife, fire starter, stainless steel cup and bottle, whistle and mirror for signaling, 10-foot length of 550 parachute cord, compass, poncho or tarp, flashlight or headlamp, bandanna, variety of fish hooks and bobbers, water-purifying straw or tablets, two zipper plastic bags, five feet of duct tape folded around a pen or plastic lid. Using your imagination, you can see how versatile and useful these items could become in a life-threatening situation. Survival kits are recommended for all outdoorsmen, including hunters, fisherman, hikers, campers and boaters.
  
  

Notify Others of Your Plans

• Never leave home for an outdoor trip without leaving specific notes on where exactly you are going and when you will return. Give this information to friends or family. Leave another copy of your plan in your parked car. If you follow this strategy, even in the case of an injury or getting lost, your survival situation may only last hours, not days. The other part of this warning is to never deviate from your plan.