Is it possible to survive in the wilderness forever

(Chris McCandless tried to survive in the wilderness alone, he lasted for a few months before starving to death in a bus he found)

The term wilderness is normally thrown around to describe anything that isn’t a generally populated area, but in reality it’s much rarer than people think and many countries don’t have any at all. The UK is one of these countries, and even though we do have quiet areas, there isn’t a single spot in the UK where you can walk for more than 5 miles without finding a house or farm.

In order to survive in the wilderness forever you’re going to have to do three things. The first is to bring a huge amount of supplies with you for the initial set off, the second is learning how to do everything from making fishing nets to sowing your own clothes using home-grown fibres, and the third is to be willing to sacrifice many things.

Assuming a person or group of people go into an area of wilderness with nothing more than they can carry, there would be a tremendous amount of risks involved and life would be hard to say the least. A good example of this would be the Lykov family who survived for 42 years in almost total isolation after fleeing from their home due to an attack by a Soviet patrol.

After one of the family members was killed, the Lykov’s grabbed a few basic supplies and headed north into the Abakan mountain range in southern Siberia. After walking many miles away from their home, the family of four finally found a quiet place that was 160 miles from the nearest settlement, and built themselves a small hut. For the next 42 years they survived in the wilderness without help from anyone outside their family, and with no access to medicine or new equipment, but this didn’t stop them from having another two children during their isolation.

So is it possible to survive in the wilderness forever or not?

Yes would be the short answer, but only if you didn’t mind giving up almost everything to do it and got very lucky in the process. One of the biggest problems would be medical conditions, like with the Lykov’s for example who all but one died from conditions related to their harsh living conditions and limited diet, which consisted almost exclusively of potatoes, wild game and anything they could forage.

Another good example of long-term wilderness survival would the isolated tribes living in the rain forested areas of the world, with the best known area being the Amazon. They can survive efficiently on their surroundings and have existed for thousands of years living the same way, but this doesn’t mean that someone from outside their communities would be able to do the same.

(Many tribes successfully live in complete isolation, but like is hard and living without modern technology or medicine takes a heavy toll)

The requirements for surviving in the wild forever

Water

A fresh supply of clean drinking water would be needed, such as an opening from an underground spring or a mountain stream that doesn’t have any animals grazing up-flow.

Food

A river or lake wouldn’t be able to provide enough food just from fishing for the long-term, unless it was at least several square miles in size. Hunting would also be a problem because guns would eventually run out of ammo or break and a huge amount of land would be needed in the first place to sustain a suitable amount of animals. Foraging and farming would be necessary but are seasonal and a single bad crop during the summer could see everyone starve to death. During their 42 years in isolation, the mother chose to starve herself to death one year to allow more food for her children, hoping they wouldn’t share the same fate.

Medicine

But you wouldn’t have any, which is going to be a huge problem. An infected cut could turn into a death sentence, and something like a broken bone would just have to heal on its own instead of being set properly. Making medicine from wild plants would almost be a waste of time as nothing you could make would serve as an effective antibiotic or disinfectant. Without modern medicine, the tiniest wound could end your life, especially in a tropical or extreme environment.

Clothing

Ever made your own leather from a deer you killed using a home-made spear before? Probably not. Why wouldn’t you want to wear clothes made from animal skins boiled in urine to cure it into leather? Probably for the same reason you wouldn’t want to wear itchy and uncomfortable clothing made from home-grown linen. Few people have the knowledge to make decent clothing from animal skins, and the process takes a long time and isn’t something you can casually do one evening.

Shelter

No roof tiles, no plastic or metal sheeting, and no insulation would make for a wet and windy shelter. The picture below is the family home, shared by six people that the Lykov’s built, and keep in mind this was in Siberia so the weather wouldn’t be friendly to say the least. A serous lack of comfort would come with living in a shelter you had to build yourself, and even if it held up at first, a woodland shelter would need constant maintenance and replacement of pieces.

(The Lykov’s family home, occupied by six people)

Home-made tools

The problems the Lykov’s had was all the tools they brought with them eventually rusted and became blunt to the point they were useless. They later told a reported they would boil water by making birch-bark containers and dropping in rocks they had heated on the fire. This would work, but wouldn’t exactly be pleasant, and it only solves the problem of water. Without metal or properly made tools, there’s a very good chance you’d eventually end up using Stone Age technology.

Sacrifice

No electricity, running water, sewerage disposal, new clothes, restaurants and a whole range of things you currently enjoy wouldn’t even be a possibility in the wilderness. Your days would consist of looking for food and making things out of wood and stone, but as long as the depression didn’t get you, then all you’d have to do is avoid getting any kind of illness or infection and hope the weather holds out enough to grow one or two types of crop to live off for the next few months.

The Conclusion

It would indeed be possible to survive in the wilderness forever, but only in the exact right area that provides everything you need, and you have the knowledge to do everything required to live there. The only exception to this would be having a pre-built location complete with farm land and enough room to provide everything, but that’s not the same as getting stranded and trying to survive.