Survival Tips!

Yesterday, I found out a little known survival tip: Did you know that, in case of emergency, a crayon can burn for 30 minutes?

Growing up in the south ...and living in the woods, so far from everyone and everything, you learn certain, pretty essential tips in case you ever get lost hunting, hiking, exploring, etc., but it could literally happen to anyone.

I don't necessarily believe in the impeding Zombie Apocalypse, but there is a very strong possibility that you could need some of these tips someday if you are ever in any way stranded or are any kind of outdoors man:

1. If you get lost in the wilderness, DON'T panic. Assess your situation, and if possible, stay put until help arrives. If not, find waterways and follow the flow. 
2. The 7 Steps to Survival: Recognition, Inventory, Shelter, Signals, Water, Food, Play (as taught by the Marine Corps).
3. If you are in a crash, it is okay to explore for water and food sources, but always make sure to return to the crash site, as it is always easier to find plane wreckage than to find a single person.
4. ALWAYS leave a message to friends/family about where you are headed and how long you will be gone. Tell 3 people, if at all possible.
5. If you have a "Bug-Out Bag," it should be good for 72 hours.
6. Have water with you wherever you go. If you have to use it in a survival situation, only take small rationed sips throughout the day. 
7. It's smart to carry a good quality knife with you at all times (two is even better!). It will help you with everything from making sparks for a fire to cutting through tough terrain.
8. It's also good to keep a bandanna with you (there are 30+ uses in a survival situation). 
9. Keep a small backpack with you; kayak backpacks and Camelbaks are ideal. They are small, waterproof, and lightweight. They will enable you to travel great distances without weighing you down or getting caught on something. 
10. If traveling, keep your cell phone well-charged and in a Ziploc bag (double-bagged is best), just to keep it dry and ready to use if you end up in range of cell towers.
11. Keep a fresh pair of hiking socks in a warm place to be able to switch between from day to day to keep your feet warm. Wearing boots is also very desirable, as there are so many uses for shoe strings, and boots will keep your feet drier and lower legs/ankles sturdier and safer.
12. The number 3 (sets of 3) and the letter X are international signals of emergency. Make 3 fires on a beach or in a clearing, or make an X in the snow to be seen from the air.
13. International Whistle Code: 1 Whistle Blast - "Where are you?" : 2 Whistle Blasts - "Come to me." : 3 Whistle Blasts - "I need help."
14. The Rules of 3: A human can go 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food.
15. Use tree cover, an uninhabited cave, or make your own shelter to get your body out of the sun and/or weather.
16. A grown man needs 1 gallon of water per day.
17. Common household bleach can be used to purify water of harmful parasites and bacteria. The ratio is 8 drops per gallon. Also, 2 Iodine tablets can purify 1 liter of water.
18. Drink your urine (if there is not a clean water source) to avoid dehydration. It can also clean wounds in hot weather and can be used on fabric to keep you cool. 
19. Pine needles can be boiled into a healthy tea. If eaten raw, the needles will also act as a Vitamin C boost (5 times more Vitamin C than orange juice!), which can prevent some infections from developing.
20. The white inner bark of a pine tree can be eaten raw or boiled as a good supplement of carbs.
21. A Birch tree gives off 70 gallons of water evaporation per day.
22. Peat moss can be boiled and eaten. It is also a good source of water and can be used as bandages to suck up pus and blood. 
23. ALWAYS boil anything you plan to eat or drink. 
24. NEVER eat an animal that you haven't killed yourself.
25. A human burns approximately 1200 calories per day as a minimum if staying idle all day.
26. You use more energy and lose moisture faster by breathing through your mouth than through your nose.
27. Walking burns 90 calories per hour.
28. Your body burns twice as many calories when you are freezing cold and wet.
29. Your body will waste a lot of energy trying to keep your head cool in the heat, so keep it covered with a hat or wrap some sort of clothing around it. 
30. Insects and bugs contain more protein than beef, fish, or chicken and are excellent survival food.
31. Edible insects rule of thumb: "Black, green, or brown; wolf it down. Red, orange, or yellow; forget that fellow."
32. Remember that the more you eat, the more thirsty you will be. If you have no water source, eating something could be the thing that ends you. Water is ALWAYS first priority.
33. Nibble just enough to keep up your strength, but getting full or trying to eat a meal is bad for rationing and your energy level. 
34. The body loses heat 25 times faster in water than it does it air. If you have to get wet, remove clothing to keep it dry. Do not put them back on until the excess water has been absorbed off of you. You can do this by rolling in snow. Then, put the dry clothes back or start a fire immediately.
35. The body loses heat much faster through the ground than it does to the air, so there is an old saying that when sleeping on the ground, a blanket underneath is worth two on top.
36. Snow is a good insulator. It is filled with loads of tiny air bubbles, which trap your body heat.
37. The human body temperature normally stays within a range of about 97.52 - 98.96 degrees F. If it falls just 2 degrees below that, hypothermia will start to set in.
38. Most cases of hypothermia set in between 30 and 50 degrees F.
39. Add 37 to the number of chirps a cricket makes in 15 seconds, and you've got the approximate outside temperature.
40. Charred cloth is easy to make and can really catch a spark when lighting a fire with a flint steel.
41. Mousetraps are cheap, take up little room, and are "ready-to-go" traps that can provide you with some meat in a survival situation.
42. To keep yourself alert and mentally-stable, make sure to keep track of how many days pass.
43. Leave some sort of marker as you move from one place to another, especially if you plan on doubling back.
44. NEVER give up. If you do, you eliminate 100% of your chances of surviving. 

Now, go out back and get lost! Haha. Hopefully, you never have to use these tips in a life-and-death situation, but they are definitely good to know and to know well, just in case!