Staying alive in any survival situation can be tough, but the one thing that makes it easier is having the right tools to help you get by. A fire starter, a knife and an axe can see you through pretty much any situation, but what happens when you’re stuck somewhere without any equipment at all. The answer would depend massively on where you are, as surviving in the arctic would have very different priorities than surviving in a jungle.
For the following scenarios we’ll assume there is no equipment to scavenge, such as pieces of metal that could be prised off a boat or plane crash, and the survivor was simply dumped in the middle of a location with a set of basic clothes they are already wearing. We’ll also assume the objective is to survive for a set amount of time in one place as opposed to just trying to walk to the edge of were ever it is your stranded, and for the following example the time will be 30 days.
Priorities when stranded in the middle of a huge forest
Water, Shelter, Food, better shelter, fire, tools, stock piling
Day 1
The first part of the day should be spent looking for a water source, and since forests generally don’t have trouble collecting moisture, it shouldn’t take too long to find one. A stream or spring would be the first choice, but even a good patch of moss at the bottom of a cliff or a large patch of soaked earth such as ground covered in sphagnum moss should do the trick.
As much time as possible should be spent looking for a decent source, gathering and taking note of any wild food locations along the way. The time spent looking for a water source should stop when you have no less than 2 hours of daylight left, as having enough time to make a shelter for the night is very important.
When a water source is located or you’ve run out of time you should start making a shelter, but luckily forests are generally the best places to build one. With no equipment it would be best to make something you can quickly put together with your hands, like a single sloped roof covered in handfuls of dried leaves, pine branches or ferns, depending on the time of year and whats available.
If there’s tree roots, vines or anything you can pull off and use as make-shift cordage this should be used to fix your shelter together and make it strong enough to withstand the extra water weight if it rained or a strong wind.
Days 2 to 4
If a decent water source still hasn’t been located then this day should be spent looking for one, but we’ll assume you found one on the first day. Immediate food sources should be found and consumed whenever you have the chance, with most things you’ll find having the option of being safe to eat raw. Stinging nettles have a very similar nutritional content to spinach, and grow in almost every single forest in Europe. To eat nettles you would normally boil them or gently wave them through a fire to wilt the stinging needles, but without fire or tools they become much harder to eat safely, so here’s what you do.
Take a stick and hit a few of the leaves off, then move them on top of a rock or flat stone and crush them with another one, gently rolling the crushing stone over the leaves to destroy all the needles. Its not perfect but its a hell of allot better than eating them as they are, and since nettles grow in huge amounts in many areas and for most of the year, they should be a primary source of food.
After you’ve found a source of food that could last you a few days its time to make something a bit more comfortable. A round shelter with long steep sticks or branches stacked into a tee-pee style design would be my first choice as a fire can be built in the middle. Until its finished at least you have somewhere to sleep and know where food and water is, but its worth getting a comfortable shelter with a dry sleeping area built as soon as possible. Soaking wet clothes can be a killer in the worst situations, and apart from sapping your energy and moral they can help you catch a cold easier, something you definitely don’t want in a survival situation.
Days 5 to 15
By now you should have a decent shelter that will last you at least 30 days located close to a water source, so its time to start making things. Flint would be the best thing you could find as not only could you use it to start a fire, but it can be shaped into very sharp knife blades and other tools.
In the event there’s no flint, smashed stones or the edges of particularly flat rocks can be quite sharp, or can be chipped away to form a sharp edge which isn’t as good as flint but is better than nothing. The first tool i would make after a basic cutting tool would be a fire bow using a shoelace as the bow string. In the event they snapped or i didn’t have any for some reason, nettle stems or strands from any fibrous plant could be twisted into cordage, though it takes a while for them to dry so maybe a bit of time in the earlier days should be set aside to gather some if needs be.
After you have a set of tools and the ability to make fire using flint or a fire bow, food is now going to be your main concern. It would also be wise to find a back-up water source just in-case, but this would depend massively on what your primary source was as a stream or anything bigger should do nicely.
When it comes to food this would depend on where you are and what time of year it is, but we’ll assume you got lucky and became stranded during the summer. Food like nettles and cat-tails usually grow in huge patches and make a decent staple, but berries wont last long after being picked and should be eaten right off the plant to avoid any decomposition. A food source that can last long enough until rescue should be sought, like nuts or acorns. Nuts can be picked and stored as they are, but acorns need to be processed before eating because they are full of tannins which will make you sick if you eat them.
To process acorns take the cups off the bottom and crack open the shells to remove them. Then gently crush the inner nut without smashing it to pieces and put them in one of your socks. Place the sock in some water, preferably a stream or something you have the option of changing frequently and the tannins should start to leak out. When there’s no more water coming off them with a yellow tint to it, they should be safe to eat and can be consumed as they are.
Placing a flat rock into a fire and then putting a dollop of acorn mush on it will produce a crumbly nut biscuit type thing which is surprisingly good to eat and more importantly contains much needed fats that are hard to find in the wild.
Animal traps should be made like fish/crayfish traps which can be put together by bending flexible sticks into a curved cylinder with one way openings at each end, initially baited with bugs or worms. Snare traps for rabbits made from cordage are very easy to make and can be done with nothing more than a strong stick and 2 feet of cord, and crushing traps for squirrels could also be made depending on how good your tools are.
Days 15 to 30
After the initial setting up of your camp and knowing where to find food, the second half of your time in the forest should be spent in routine. Its very important to get into a positive routine as it not only passes time and avoids psychological issues, but provides everything you will need for your time in the wild. Here’s an example of a positive routine in a woodland survival situation after the initial setting up:
Wake up whenever you feel refreshed enough, there’s no shame in having a lay-in since the goal is to wait until rescue. Something to eat should be on hand and preferably something cooked, like acorns or cat-tails which can be cooked directly on the ashes. Having a hot meal at the start of the day will make a huge difference to your moral.
The next stage is checking the traps. Most woodland animals are the most active at night, and walking round all your traps checking them and resetting them is best done first thing in the morning. Food gathering should be the next part, foraging for any food you already know where to find and even if you have enough to last you like a ton of acorns and nettles, its still important to mix up your diet with things like berries or edible roots.
After food gathering firewood should be topped up and kept under cover to dry out, and then its into your shelter for the rest of the day to conserve energy and reduce calorie usage.
To avoid boredom you should engage in crafts like making more cordage or shaping wood with your tools. Even if you don’t need more cord its a good idea to make some anyway as it just keeps you busy, and having some nice craft works hanging down from your shelter will give a moral boost.
Other tasks undertaken during this time should be making spares of things you use. Having a second fire bow or flint blade on stand-by is something you’ll wish you did when your breaks.
Day 31
Get rescued, spend a little while at the hospital before getting discharged, have a shower then buy several rotisserie chickens from the local supermarket before eating them with your bare hands like a viking, or that’s what i would do anyway.