The 5 most important lessons I’ve learned from bush craft

I’m one of those lucky people who has never found themselves in a survival situation, partly because I’m careful and partly because I live in the UK, a small and soggy country that doesn’t have any deserts or large areas of remote wilderness, but you don’t need to have been in a survival situation to watch the same reasons people get into trouble pop up over and over again. After reading more wilderness survival stories than I can count, I’ve found there to be a surprisingly limited number of reasons that people find themselves in trouble, and this has led to a set of rules I keep in mind whenever I’m in the wild, the five most important of which are below:

Knowing how to do something and being able to actually do it are not the same thing

When I first started to spend time outdoors, I had watched a huge amount of survival entertainment, things like Bear Grylls and various reality survival shows, and I thought that with all the stuff I’ve read about survival on top of that, I should be pretty good at it.

The first time I made a fire bow it looked like something a goblin would use to hunt with, and needless to say it didn’t work. Neither did my first few attempts to make certain types of shelters and various campfire crafts, because even though I knew the process, there are many things you can’t just read about how to do and become an expert in. If you’re relying on being able to do something that you’ve never done before, there’s a good chance you’ll be disappointed, something to keep in mind if you ever go to a location where you might need some survival skills.

It’s still easy to get lost

One of the biggest causes of people getting lost and needing to be rescued from popular nature spots is the lack of attention to their surroundings. Many stories begin with someone walking along a known trail enjoying the sights, but when it’s time to turn back, they suddenly realize they are lost. A good example would be the story of Amanda Eller who was lost for 17 days in the Maui rainforest after taking a stroll down a side path off the main trail. Even the most experienced bush crafters and survivalists can still get lost, so this is something that you should always be aware of when in unfamiliar territory.

(Amanda Eller after getting rescued from a 17 day ordeal that started with an afternoon walk)

You are never above an accident

If you look at something risky and think there’s a chance you could get hurt, then don’t do it. A woman named Victoria Grover found herself in one of these situations but decided that the best way to save time would be to try and jump down a series of slopes so she could get back to her lodge before nightfall, but she ended up breaking her leg and almost died in the desert. If you’ve ever watched Bear Grylls you’ll notice that he does a lot of things purely for the entertainment side of it, if you’ve seen his shows then you’ll know what I’m talking about, but copying actions like that is a pretty good way to get yourself hurt.

Never rely on the weather to do what you want it to

I assure you that being stuck up a mountain in a sideways downpour is no fun at all, an incident I could have avoided if I didn’t think that the sunny weather would hold out all day for my climb, and that’s not the first time I’ve been stuck outdoors in bad weather with the wrong type of clothing. Even on the hottest days of summer there’s the chance of a thunderstorm, and 10 minutes of rain can ruin a day’s walk if you have to do it in wet clothing. Always have a safety measure in place for if the weather turns, like one of those plastic raincoats that fits into a tiny bag (the plastic mac) or even something like a space blanket for extra warmth just in case, both of these things cost less than £5 each but are more than worth it for the protection they provide.

(The space blanket is made from a material that reflects heat and keeps you surprisingly warm)

Overconfidence can get you into trouble

One of the most well heard of survival stories of today is the tale of Aron Ralston who had a film made about his experience called 127 Hours. He was hiking in the Utah desert when he fell down a slit canyon and got his arm stuck under a falling boulder. After the two burritos and the 330ml bottle of water, he brought with him quickly ran out, he made the choice after five days of being stuck to cut off his own arm and try to reach safely, something he actually achieved. There are points in the film where he makes fun of himself for being so stupid and only bringing a small snack into the desert, and for not telling anyone where he was going, and also for not having the means to call for help.

(Aron Ralston with his new arm)

Overconfidence will often put you into risky situations that you otherwise would not have been in, which obviously increases the potential for having an accident. The amount of survival stories where someone gets themselves into trouble by doing something they shouldn’t have is far higher than it should be.