Wilderness Survival Video

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About the Wilderness Survival Video

In this survival video Michel Blomgren takes you through the 5 points that will increase your chances of survival in the wilderness should you become lost overnight. Obviously a wilderness survival expert of the first class, I look foward to seeing more of Michel's good work.

The survival video is filmed in Sweedish with English subtitles. I have included the English text here in case the movie does not play for you or you would like a print out of its content. The original translation has been modified for readability.

5 Wilderness Survival Points

My name is Michel Blomgren and my passion is wilderness survival; the art of keeping yourself alive under harsh circumstances.

This is the first episode in a series about survival and the outdoors in Sweden. It takes you through five points that increases one's chances of surviving in the wilderness. To better illustrate these 5 basic survival skills, I'll take you through a typical survival situation; lost in the woods in Autumn.

As you probably understand, this guy is lost. He was just out for a short hike but took the wrong path somewhere along the trail. As he believes he knows the area quite well, he tries to walk out but what he hasn’t yet realized is that he's been walking around in circles.

He's not prepared to survive and lacks map, compass, cellphone, whistle or survival gear for sleeping outdoors. Is he going to wander about the woods until nightfall? Is someone from civilization going to report him missing? Are they going to look for him in the right area? The answers to these questions can make a difference between life and death.

He still hasn't given up on the idea that he might get out before dark, which is the reason he continues to walk. However, the darker it gets the more stress he feels.

Surviving Panic

Panic is an emotional reaction; an alarm that mobilizes the organism to fight or flight. There is nothing wrong with feeling panic, it's completely normal. The reason for panic is fear. Fear is like fire: It can warm you, but also burn you down. Just as fire should be respected, so should also fear.

No one is completely fearless. There are only 2 kinds of people in any given wilderness survival situation: Those who can control fear and those who cannot. Thinking you are either one or the other is wrong! We are both kinds depending on the situation and how that situation affects our emotions.

The first rule when lost in the wilderness is not to become even more lost. When panic creeps up on you, imagine a STOP sign.

Survival Point 1: STOP stands for Stop, Think, Orient, Plan

Increased activity will only generate more stress. Sit down, breath deeply do not hyperventilate! If panic takes control over you rather than you over it, you're GAME OVER - even if you're the greatest survival expert in the world!

If you've got a thermos with something hot then drink it, but slowly. If you're exhausted and breathing heavily then do not eat, it's just going to make it worse; just like walking and eating at the same time is exhausting.

Think through your situation and orient yourself:

Make a time plan and tell yourself: If I don't get home by X o'clock, I'm going to make an inventory, find or build a survival shelter, make a fire and collect a lot of firewood.

The most difficult decision you can make is decide to spend the night in nature. It's much easier to push on thinking "I'll eventually get out". Perhaps it's most important to realize that you have to make that decision, then your mind can prepare for both alternatives, either to stay or go.

If you wander around for several hours without finding something you recognize then it's time to prepare for the inevitable, spending the night in nature. The earlier you realize you won't get out, the more time you have to prepare.

Point 2: Do not give up! Survival is 80% in your head and only 20% physical.

Our friend who is lost in the wilderness has now stopped and is starting to think. Many different thoughts are rushing through his head - it is time to focus!

Let's take a look at his survival gear. The most important gear is the clothing he is wearing. Man's natural climate is 27 degrees C but the current temperature is -3 degrees Celsius. This means he must maintain a difference of 30 degrees in order to stay warm.

Hypothermia is the main killer in the Wilderness on European latitudes both because of cold, but also because of rain, water, and even sweat. Water can conduct heat away from the body up to 27 times faster than air. For this reason it is extremely important to be able to build a shelter and make fire.

If protection against rain and cold is priority one, then drinking water is priority two. Dehydration is very common in outdoor activities. You cannot live without water for more than a few days. It is very unlikely that you will die of starvation in a typical survival situation. Humans can survive without food for more than 40 days!

The gear that our lost friend has with him is minimal but if it's used correctly it will save his life during the coldest point of the night. A poncho of the American type is not only rain gear, it's also a shelter. It's big enough and has grommets in each corner. The poncho is actually the only shelter I bring, even in normal outdoor activities. Survival gear that has more than one use is excellent.

Extra dry clothing is very important. Thermal underwear are underestimated. In cities you can see people with polar jackets but on their legs they have tight jeans or thin pants for tropical climate. Wool or fleece under a pair of wind-proof pants keep the blood warm all the way to the feet.

Water is priority 2 after we can keep warm. A thermos with something hot is of great comfort in cold weather. We need to consume about 3 liters of water during a normal not very physical day, according to most recommendations.

I conducted a 5 day exercise during the summer of 2005 with very little food. I soon noticed that I was drinking too much, so I cut down to 1 liter per day. That was enough for that specific situation. I recommend to drink more, especially in winter, because dehydration will make hypothermia worse. If you feel a headache, drink plenty of water. Having a headache is one of the first signs of dehydration signifying you're already 2-3 percent dehydrated.

You can tell when you are fully hydrated by the color of your urine, which should be running clear, not yellow.

When drinking enough you can think more clearly, which is very important when lost in the woods and trying to survive. Never ration water, we don't have a water reserve like we do a fat reserve. To neglect dehydration almost makes you get used to it. It will end with passive behavior and eventually collapse.

Many streams below the mountain region in Sweden are contaminated with parasites, bacteria, giardia etc. It's important (as hygiene in general is) to
clean water before drinking it. All pathogens have an incubation period before symptoms of disease appear. The time can vary from hours to months.

The most common pathogens, the protozoans and the bacteria have an incubation time around 2 days or more (Salmonella strikes within hours though). In Sweden this means you will nearly always be rescued before symptoms appear. Despite this, water ought to be treated even in a short term survival situation as water borne diseases.

Bad diarrhea, bleeding intestine, vomiting, are some symptoms. Boiling is, despite many modern solutions, the best way to make water safe to drink. In order to boil water you need something to boil in, a metal mug work find, but a cooking pot is much better.

If need be we can survive many days without something to eat. The hunger can be challenging after 8 hours since our last meal. Some time hunger becomes much more bearable. The will to eat can be strong even during the initial period, but can later transform into nausea. 1 of 20 peope vomit after 2-3 days without food.

When our energy level is low we can no longer work as fast as before. It's very important not to work harder than the body can handle in order to prevent becoming dizzy or even faint. Ration the body's energy reserve by walking and working slowly.

Survive longer - be cool. Do what needs doing, but slowly. When you've established yourself in the wilderness there's no reason to run around.

Point 3: 3 of anything is a distress call.

3 blows on a whistle, 3 light signals, SOS, etc.

In order to protect ourselves against the weather we need to know about hypothermia and how body heat is lost:

Convection is typically responsible for 50% of our heat loss. Convection means that the air around us and in between layers of our clothing is blown away by cold air and movement. Warm air is lighter than cool air and moves away from the body.

Radiation is typically responsible for 30% of our heat loss. Heat (energy) is transfered to the colder environment, even through clothing. Heat radiation can be felt from the Sun and from fire.

Respiration is generally responsible for 10% of our heat loss. The cold air we breath is heated in the airways before reaching the lungs. The warmed air is then exhaled to the environment when we breathe out.

Evaporation causes 5% of our heat loss. Heat is transfered away from the body through the process of vaporization of liquid. Sweat and wet clothing is the main reason for evaporation.

Conduction results in 5% of our heat loss. Heat energy is transfered from a warmer material by direct contact with a colder one.

Heat is always transfered from a warm place to a colder place. To know what not to get in contact with is important. Water can conduct heat away from your body up to 27 times faster than air. Aluminium can conduct heat about 100 times faster than ice. It is not a good idea to use an aluminium blanket as sleeping mat, especially not in winter.

Point 4: Shelter, Fire, Water, Signal for help

You need to accomplish these four items in order to increase your chances of survival -

To choose a good spot for camp is essential. It should be close to water but preferably not right next to a lake. Cold air sinks down over lakes at night.

Enough firewood nearby is essential. In Sweden a spruce forest is a good place to find plenty of fuel and survival shelter resources. Spruce can be used in shelter building, making of a "sleeping mat" and fire. If you lack string, you'll find it under ground. Spruce roots are excellent as long as the ground isn't frozen.

During winter it's important to carry string with you - especially up north. Necessity is the mother of all invention, it doesn't take long to find a string to use. In short you use what you got.

The poncho protects against wind and rain. Spruce bows can be used to make an excellent traditional bush bed that protects you from the cold ground. Make sure the curve of the bow points upward to help raise you from the ground. This will create an air layer between you and the ground, just like a sleeping mat. The amount of bows is very important, it's good if the bed reach your knees. The "spruce bow mattress" will sink a lot when sleeping.

Please observe: The Swedish "Right to Public Access" does not include taking spruce roots or spruce bows. Ask permission from the land owner. When lost for real you should break all laws necessary to survive - it's your right. You should be free as long as you can defend your actions. An English expression says more than 1000 words Better be tried by twelve, than carried by six.

A good proverb in survival situations is: Proper preparation prevents poor performance especially when it comes to fire.

I'm collecting stones to make a fireplace to build a fire in. A stone fireplace protects against ground fire. The fire heats up the ground and ignite roots that smolder for days that can turn into a nasty forest fire. A stone fireplace also makes the fire burn more efficiently than on the wet ground.

The fireplace is placed no more than an arms length from the shelter in order to be able to feed the fire from the survival shelter, but not too close to catch sparks from the fire.

When collecting firewood, all wood will do. We'll need different sizes. Twigs light branches that light bigger wood. First focus is the tinder which will light the first twigs.

Birch bark is an incredible material that will burn even after being submerged in water. By scraping the surface into a fine material you can easily light it with a fire steel. The dry twigs under most spruces is excellent kindling when dry. Dry spruce twigs are excellent first fuel to the fire.

Birch twigs that have dried in the sun burn well even after rain. The bark protects the twigs from getting wet. Birch is excellent fire wood and can be used even if birch contains a lot of water.

Many people say you can't use birch unless it's -10 degrees C, but it does work. If you can't find spruce twigs or birch bark, you can make feather sticks. Split wood burns much better than wood that has not been split. The wood is usually wet on the outside, but dry on the inside. This can be done with any kind of wood and can even be lit with a fire steel. You need to make several feather sticks and split wood small to get a good result.

Once the fire is burning it's time to boil a hot drink. When water boils hard it's safe to drink. Big bubbles, no troubles is a good rule. A tea of pine needles, or in this case, spruce needles is an excellent forest tea for survival. To me, this drink symbolizes the sub-arctic forest.

Instead of collecting single needles, take whole twigs, preferably the tips. The needles are rich in vitamin C during Autumn, Winter and Spring. Two hands full of needles to 1/2 liter water will cover 1/3, or 20 mg of the Swedish recommended daily intake of vitamin C. 10mg is however enough to keep scurvy away, if you're going to be lost for months.

The needles also contain a small amount of sugar which has a refreshing effect especially when tired and hungry. It should boil for 20 minutes before served. If you have a thermos, like our lost friend, it's a good idea to fill it with this tea excellent to drink when freezing in the middle of the night.

The Will to Survive

In a survival situation who lives and who doesn't sometimes make no sense what so ever. Experienced outdoorsmen have perished after just one night lost in the wild, despite decent weather, proper clothing, good survival gear and being physically unharmed. While children under 6 years of age, even infants, have survived extreme ordeals. The will to survive can not be taught, trained, or learned by reading a book. Each one of us must find our own reason(s) to live.

Perhaps it's enough to realize that one wants survive? The only thing one really needs is the ability to adapt to the new conditions that a survival situation has to offer.

Point 5 is the survival gear I consider valuable in every outdoor activity.

Survival Gear or survival kit will only help the one who wants to live. Give up and gear is useless.

  1. A good survival knife is your best friend.
  2. Two means to make fire, a primary and a secondary such as waterproof matches and a firesteel.
  3. A whistle is heard much further than the voice, and lasts much longer too.
  4. A compass to navigate straight through the forest and a map of the area.
  5. A first aid kit.

I'm going to finish up by repeating my 5 points. But first I want to thank you for watching the survival video!

  1. STOP - Stop Think Orient Plan.
  2. Do not give up! Few have died by fighting on, many by giving up! --Swedish Defense Survival Handbook.
  3. Three of something is an international distress signal.
  4. Four chores in a survival situation – Shelter Fire, Water, Signal for help.
  5. Five things one should always carry in the woods – Survival Knife, Two ways to make fire, Whistle, Compass, First aid kit.

About the 5 Survival Points Video

Michel Blomgren is the wilderness survival expert at Bushcraft.se, a Sweedish survival website of the highest caliber. He has made his survival videos available as a teaching aid.

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Tom
Sydney, Australia

This is a really excellent survival video. I think the most valuable, over-riding message is to be cool, particularly with making the decision to stay overnight outdoors. This could have helped me in the past. Actively deciding gives control and is a morale boost - rather than having it forced upon you. Thanks Michel.

Thebe
Botswana

I am very happy to have a chance to read all the survival topics Because I enjoy outdoor life.  Currenlty am writting a script about survival series that can be used in Botswana and also am preparing my self to write a book about survival series. I will keep on adding on my topics and ideas on survival issues. Thank you very much!

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