 
This is a collection of some more
backpacking tips and survival techniques for camping and hiking
- in the wilderness.
- Be careful with backpack stabilizing straps that cross your
chest. These are supposed to keep the pack from sliding around
and throwing you off balance, but if they are too tight, they
don't let your chest expand enough when breathing. See if you
breath more fully or easily when these are loosened.
- If you twist an ankle badly or injure your leg, you may need
to make a crutch. Find a branch or trunk of a small tree with a
"y" in it. Cut it a few inches above each end of the "y" (this
will be where you rest your armpit). It is better to cut the
crutch too long, and then cut it to size once you can work with
it and test it.
- Lost and in danger? Want to be a survivor? Read some survival
stories. Recalling true stories about how others survived can be
very motivating in an emergency situation. Help others in the
group by telling them the stories.
- Get dental work done before taking a long backpacking trip. An
annoying toothache can become an unbearable pain within a couple
days. That can ruin the trip for everyone.
- If you are short on water and unsure when you'll have more,
avoid high-protein foods. They take more water to digest. Eat
the crackers and save the beef jerky for after you find water.
- Wash your hands often. You can go weeks without washing your
hair with no real danger, but hands transmit bacteria and
viruses to yourself and others. Soap isn't necessary, but
scrubbing with something helps. Use sand or spruce needles.
- To make an emergency stretcher, cut two poles about eight feet long.
Use saplings that are about two to three inches thick. Lay them
about twenty inches apart on a blanket or tarp, and fold the
sides of the blanket over the top. They weight/friction of the
patient should hold the blanket in place, but you may want to
pin it or tie it together for long carries.
- If you have an external-frame backpack, be sure to different
adjustments on it. Some packs let you adjust the spacing between
the straps, how high or low the straps are, as well as the usual
length and hip belt adjustments. Backpackers often leave these
the way they find them, when it might be much more comfortable
with a bit of experimentation.
Yes, it's true that you can start fire using ice and the light of the
sun. It just isn't easy. The idea is to mold a piece of clear
ice into a lens, using the warmth of your hands. Then you use it
like any magnifying glass to concentrate the rays of the sun.
Just be careful not to drip on your tinder.
Bird eggs are often the easiest-to-get high-protein food in a
survival situation. I once ate seagull eggs, when stuck on a
small rocky island. They weren't bad, and interestingly, they
are larger than chicken eggs. Cook bird eggs if possible, and
try to leave one egg in the nest, unless it truly a
life-or-death situation.
- Just because animals eat a plant doesn't mean it is safe.
Squirrels eat mushrooms that are poisonous to humans, and many
animals graze on poison ivy. In a survival situation, stick to
plants you know, and test new potential food plants carefully -
and only as a last resort.
- Backpacking or camping in winter? Remember the army survival guide
acronym for cold weather wilderness travel: COLD; Clean
clothing; Avoid overheating; Loose, layered clothing; and Dry
clothing. This is a recipe for staying warm.
- Winter backpacking can mean using a lot of stove fuel to melt
ice and snow for drinking water. To use less fuel, carry a piece
of black plastic, like an opened-up garbage bag. Lay out the
plastic in the sun and scatter snow on it. The black plastic
absorbs the sun's heat and should quickly melt the snow if it is
near freezing. Carefully pour the water off. If the snow is
clean, you can forego purification.
- Need to cross a large river during your hike? A rain jacket
can be used as an improvised flotation device. Tie the
sleeve-ends shut, to trap air. Hold the jacket closed so that
one sleeve is on each side of you.
- In an iffy situation, start gathering knowledge before there
is real trouble. For example, perhaps you lost your compass, but
are on a trail and still know which direction is which. At this
point you should start noting which sides of
hills certain plants grow on, so you can later determine
direction if you get more lost.
- To bring a cell phone or not? However, they save lives -
there is no doubt about it. Turn it off when you start hiking,
so the batteries will be fresh if you have an emergency.
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