Survive the Wilderness: Essential Skills

 

Lost in the wilderness, people tend to make things worse for themselves by trying to find their way out, or looking aimlessly for food. Yet staying calm and staying put might guarantee your safety faster than anything else.

This week on “Take Care,” we talk to Dr. Christopher McStay, chief of clinical operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine……….

When lost in the wilderness, people might become their own worst enemy.

“Once they get themselves into that circumstance of being lost in the woods, they often work against themselves. Instead of staying put, they often wander around aimlessly and make it harder for people to find them,” said McStay………….

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“Typically we tell people to try to drink from running streams, where the water may be a bit cleaner, although probably not from an infectious standpoint. But running water has typically less sediment in it and is more potable to drink,” said McStay.

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“We often have more time than we think, and most people when they go hiking, they’re not in the middle of nowhere in Alaska…The most important thing to think about is to back up a little bit and to make sure that when you’re going on a hike that you’re prepared,” said McStay. “And the number one thing I would tell people is let someone else know what you’re going to do.”

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“The things to really focus on are keeping yourself dry, because when you get wet you get cold really easily, so focus on keeping yourself dry, focus on keeping yourself warm, and focus on making it obvious for other people to find you,” says McStay.

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Article source: WRVO Public Media
Image source: Eureka Tent