Featured on this site are dozens of survival stories that cover all possible types of terrain and situations, but every single one of them have major things in common, and those things often make the difference between people making it home safely or dying in the middle of a jungle or up a mountain somewhere.
Here’s a quick list of the most common things that go wrong in survival stories
1) They didn’t tell anyone where they were going
Most people have heard the story of Aron Ralston, the guy who had to cut off his own arm after getting it trapped by a boulder, later made into a movie called 127 hours. He was so confident in his abilities that he didn’t tell a single person where he was going or when he’d get back, leading to him falling into a small ravine and getting his arm stuck under a boulder. If he’d told someone where he was going and when he’d be back, after not checking in they would have alerted the authorities and a search would have been mounted, leading to the possibility they would of found him before he hacked his own arm off with a pen-knife.
The moral of the story is that if no one knows that you’re missing, then no one is going to be looking for you.
2) Don’t get over-confident
In 2006, Tommy Hendricks and Matthew Smith decided to go hiking up the Mount of the hold cross in Eagle county. After making base camp below a steep sided gully, they thought it would be quicker to leave their equipment there while they nipped up to the peak, thinking they could easily make it back before dark.
After getting stuck in a snow storm without any kind of tent or sleeping bag they spent the next 2 days wandering round on frostbitten toes and not having any idea which was the right direction. After thinking they were going to die they finally caught sight of a rescue plane and their lives were saved, and all because they told someone where they were going.
Another good example of overconfidence is Eric LeMarque, who decided to climb a mountain when the local guides started ushering people off. Since he was already half way up and he “thought he’d be fine” he continued to climb and eventually made the top, which is when he realised he was horribly lost in the thick snow storm that set in.
After spending 8 days walking round a mountain he was finally rescued, but it cost him both of his lower legs.
3) Bring enough supplies
Ive read of survival stories were people went out into the wilderness with nothing more than sweets and a couple of sandwich’s, with one person going into the desert with nothing but a burrito and can of Pepsi.
If you’re going somewhere that you may get stuck in, then at least bring enough stuff to save yourself in the event of an emergency. This doesn’t just go for food and water either, with some of the most basic and useful pieces of equipment being considered “unnecessary” by many a foolish hiker.
As with the story above of the 2 boys who got stuck up a mountain, they only had a regular lighter with them, which became waterlogged and they had to survive the whole 2 days without warmth. The amount of space that a pack of fireproof matches takes up, or a couple days worth of survival block rations is not going to stop you taking everything else.
Unless you want to end up sitting in the arctic circle with nothing more than a box of fish like Bob Gauchie, or walking for 6 days in the desert with no food and only a small bottle of water at hand like Ed Rosenthal, then pack enough supplies for what “might” happen.
4) Know your terrain
If your going to trek through the desert then it would be a good idea to know exactly what that desert contains. How hot does it get? where are the water sources? and what animals should i watch out for are but a few of the things you should research before you leave.
Knowing what you’re going to run into will help you be prepared for it. The amount of times Ive heard of people getting stuck in the arctic with nothing but a jacket because they didn’t think they’d get stuck there comes up more times than you’d imagine.
5) Learn to survive
Learning some basic survival skills can, and most probably will save your life in the event of an emergency situation. Learning how to make shelter and find food and water should be the priorities, followed shortly by learning how to craft.
One of the most famous examples of not knowing how to find food is the Donner party. This group of mid 19th century travellers got stranded up a mountain over winter next to a lake, and after food ran out they started to eat each other. The thing about this story is that they couldn’t find any food where they were, as non of them were familiar with lake fishing. If at least one of them had known that you can fish in lakes, and how to make a fish trap out of sticks, there may have been a few more survivors than there were.