Somewhere deep inside, many of us carry the desire to get out completely and leave the civilized world behind for a wilderness adventure and become a cowboy. Smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, ready-made food and running water are just a few of the many comforts that the modern world has in store for us, pushing us back into our comfort zones. Many of our readers know only too well the moment when the smartphone shows the last percent of battery power and you fall into a kind of panic as if it were about the last drop of drinking water. In the modern world, we all know the solution: the charging cable. But what about the last drop of drinking water? How many of us would know how to get clean drinking water in the wild?
How do you make a fire without a lighter and what do you eat when the last industrially produced can of beans has been used up? These are the questions to answer when it comes to an outdoor adventure in its purest form. Completely isolated from civilization and its consumer goods. Man and nature – the oldest connection in world history. In this article, you’ll learn the 5 ultimate survival tricks for your Back to the Roots wilderness adventure. But first, we need to go through some important organizational points together.
The perfect place
Before you can begin your survival trip, you must determine the location for your adventure – and that’s easier said than done. How far do you really want to go out into the wild? How fast should the exit be possible in case of an emergency? The answers to these questions depend largely on the location of your survival trip. How far your survival adventure goes depends on your experience. In many places there is the possibility to stock up on food from the outside. In other places this would mean a whole day’s march. In this case you have to be able to organize your food on the spot. You will also find many untouched spots in Germany and Europe that create a pure survival feeling, but it is important that you carefully research your destination in advance and obtain the important information in relevant forums and possibly also from authorities, because there are countries in which wild camping is permitted, while in other countries, due to current regulations, it is only permitted in designated places. The weather conditions of your destination are also decisive for the course of your survival trip. Especially in Asia and Africa you should inquire about the weather conditions in your period exactly, because at times with high precipitation of course a different survival and outdoor equipment is necessary than at times with low precipitation and high temperatures.
Especially the terrain changes due to high precipitation and possibly brings with it a different kind of adversity and danger. A moderate climate is recommended for your first survival trips. There must be people with whom you clarify in advance in which period you give a sign of life from you – otherwise you put yourself at too great a risk. So if your trip is to last several days, you need to organize exactly when your route crosses smaller villages, from where you can send an SMS or a short e-mail as a sign of life with your current position. This allows family and friends to act in time if they don’t receive a sign from you within a set period of time. Planning the location also means learning about the local natural conditions. Which plants grow there? Which of these plants can you eat and which are even poisonous? In addition, you have to get 100% information about the animal world at your location. It is advisable to get in touch with the forestry authority of the selected region and find out whether there are bears, wolves and perhaps also poisonous animal species there. Normally wildlife will avoid contact with humans, so you should make sure that bears and other wildlife can hear you early and move away from your area by singing and chatting loudly with your partner. Otherwise, you might surprise these animals in their natural environment and a surprise with a bear in the wild isn’t exactly what we all dream of, especially when young animals are around and the protective instinct is taking hold. But also in this case we have to keep calm. As difficult as that may sound – running away only awakens the hunting instinct of wild animals and is not necessarily characterised by equal opportunities on their terrain. Rather, it is a matter of bringing the animal into a defensive position by noise and engaging reverse gear yourself. But: the danger to be attacked by wild animals is rare and nevertheless caution and preparation are necessary.
