Imagine the scenario. You find yourself alone in the wild with nothing but yourself and your wits to save 
you and it’s about to get dark. Ok, once you’ve got over the initial shock and horror you’re going to have to find a way to survive or put yourself at the mercy of Mother Nature who can be pretty harsh at times. Obviously the first thing you do will depend very much on where you are, the time of day it is and what the weather is like and so on. In this case, you are in a remote part of the country and there’s no hope of being found before morning at the very earliest so the first thing you need to do is find some sort of shelter for the night as darkness is closing in.
1. How to build a shelter
As you have limited time and will have to make use of what’s around you, the best type of shelter is probably going to be what is known as a debris shelter. You’re going to need something to support your shelter such as a large rock or some other natural formation like a tree with Y shaped branches so find a suitable site, preferably on dry ground.
Your shelter should be just big enough to accommodate you as you are not planning on having any visitors. Remember, we’re not talking about building a home here so don’t think of aesthetics, that would just be silly. Gather together a large stick, plenty of smaller sticks and some brush, leaves or vines. Put one end of your large stick or solid tree branch up on your support as this will be the back bone or spine of your shelter and the other end of it will rest on the ground. Lay the smaller sticks along each side at 45 degree angles. Cover the shelter with branches of leaves and vines and fill in the gaps. Don’t forget to cover the floor of your shelter with leaves too as this will provide some much needed insulation against the elements.
If you think you don’t have enough time for that or you can’t source the materials you can look out for hollow trees or trees that have fallen, caves, abandoned huts, basically anything that could provide an emergency source of shelter. This is about pure survival and one way or another you’ve got to get through the night.
So now you’ve managed to protect yourself in the short term the next step is to find a way of keeping you warm. A fire will attract attention from the air so rescue parties can find you, it allows you to cook your food and purify your water in the event that you stay for a while, and it will also scare away any wild animals and keep insects off you too. Yes, you knew you should have paid more attention at scout camp, in fact you wish you’d gone to scout camp as now you’re going to have to create fire, but how?
2. How to create fire
There are many different ways to create fire ranging from a flick of a lighter or a strike of a match to the more primitive methods used by early humans for thousands of years. Obviously if you have a lighter or a box of matches with you you’re laughing. If not, then you’re going to have to find another way. If there is still some sunlight and you just happen to have a mirror or lens with you then you can use that to focus the sun’s rays onto tinder to start the fire.
Other methods are a little more difficult. You can produce a spark from sharply hitting two stones together, at least one of which should contain iron as this will create molten sparks and the knack is to have the spark immediately in contact with the tinder so that it can ignite.
Of course the method you’re probably familiar with is the rubbing two sticks together to create a fire. If you have never done this then you are about to find out how difficult it can be, it takes a lot of practice and failed attempts to learn how to build a fire this way but if you haven’t any other option then you might just learn fast.
The method consists of rubbing the point of a wooden stick against the groove of a second stick, of course you first have to cut the groove down the length of the second stick but that was obvious right? The point of the stick will create a hot dust that will eventually ignite if you have the right conditions. Once you’ve managed to get a spark though that’s just the beginning. You have to keep it going and grow your fire bit by bit. The good news is that once it takes hold it can happen quite fast. After that you just have to watch it doesn’t go out or you’re back to square one again.
To make a campfire you’re going to need tinder, which is absolutely bone dry. No point in gathering wet leaves, you’ll be wasting your time. You’ll need plenty of dry tinder, tiny pieces of dried grasses or bracken, tiny twigs, larger twigs and finally sticks. You build up from small to large.
Now we have a shelter and we have a fire but we’ve no water to boil or food to cook. We can go without food for much longer than we can survive without water so water is now an absolute necessity.
3. How to find water
The most obvious place to find water is from fresh flowing rivers and streams or mountain springs but you’re going to have to purify it unless you relish the idea of being sick and on your own in the wild. Not a good thought. Naturally, you’re going to need a container to hold the water and if you’re lucky, you’ll have something on you. If not then you’re going to have to look around for a discarded tin can or other solid object that can do the trick. Put the water into the container and sit it on the fire and your set. But hey, what if you don’t have ready supply of water nearby?
Now you’re going to have to get clever. Look for leaves and plant stems that might contain a natural water supply, use a bit of cloth to soak up morning dew and then suck it. One tip is to watch the insects as they need water too and will lead you to it. You could also try digging a hole in the ground and placing a container in it, covering the container with a bit of cloth. Any rainwater or condensation will then slowly drip into it.
So you’ve seen to your immediate needs and are beginning to wonder where you are and whether you should stay put or try to find a way back to civilisation, but where do you start? It’s probably a normal reaction to start moving around when you’re lost but this isn’t necessarily a wise move unless where you are is putting you in immediate danger. When people are lost they tend to wander around in circles going nowhere, making it more difficult for rescuers to find them. They also risk injuring themselves and could end up stuck somewhere that they certainly didn’t want to be. If you know that people will be looking for you, it’s best to stay put. However, if you really must move on it certainly helps if you know which direction you are going in.
4. How to navigate
When the sun is at its highest point in the sky and you are in the northern hemisphere, if you turn away from the sun and stand with your back to it you will be facing north. The opposite applies if you are in the southern hemisphere. Of course this is only a rough guide but hey a rough guide will do fine if you’re in dire straights.
You could also use a stick to determine where you are. Plant a stick in the ground so that it is facing the sun, there should be no shadow at all. Sit around twiddling your thumbs and wait a bit until the shadow is a few inches in size. The direction that the shadow is pointing is going to be facing east and it doesn’t take a genius to work out north, south, and west from there.
Finally, if you like star gazing and it might be the only thing you can entertain yourself with at night in the wilderness, you can find north by locating the little dipper and at the end of the little dipper you have the very bright star Polaris which is always North.
So far there has been plenty to occupy your mind so you haven’t been thinking much about your stomach, now though, you have adjusted slightly to your new environment and your belly is starting to yell at you for food so what are you going to do about it?
5. How to find food
You can go for quite a while without food provided you have water so don’t get too hung up about it to start with. After a while though, if rescue isn’t in sight then you’ll have to do something as you are going to need the energy. Most people might think berries and plants first but this really isn’t a wise thing to do unless you are absolutely sure what it is you are eating and you know it is safe. There are plenty of poisons out there and you don’t want to get this far only to ruin it all by eating something you shouldn’t have and making yourself very sick, possibly even to the extent of death.
Yes the berries look juicy and attractive, far more appetising than the bugs and termites that are in plentiful supply, but face facts; most insects are totally edible and can provide you with a good source of protein. If you really cannot stomach the bugs then you could try something more skilful like fishing with a stick sharpened into a spear. Let’s just hope you get rescued sooner rather than later.
6. How to create a signal
Obviously if you have a mobile phone and you have a signal you’ve only got to survive until someone can get to you. If you don’t, which is far more likely otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about survival, you are going to need to find a way of getting found. First rule is that you have to be seen to be found. Find a clearing or a point that you can be visible from the air. Smoke from a fire is a good signaller, or you could try using a bit of glass or other shiny object as a sunlight reflector and busy yourself with that. With any luck someone will notice the signals and realise that you need help.
7. Learn to control your mind
A natural reaction might be to panic when you find yourself lost in the woods or stranded in the middle of nowhere but this is absolutely the worst thing you can do. Calm and rational thoughts, presence of mind and clear thinking are very likely to give you your best chance of survival in these sorts of circumstances and could ultimately save your life.
Don’t give up hope, keep all your thoughts positive no matter how difficult that is and concentrate on what you have to do immediately, not what’s going to happen in a day, a week or perish the thought, that you’ll end your days out there all alone in the wilderness. Panic and feeling sorry for yourself are self indulgences you really can’t afford right now; if nothing else, keep control of your mind. Be smart.
Then if all that fails then simply relax and do some yoga 
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lmao. I know when I’m lost in the woods, Yoga is the first thing to cross my mind…
Yes, well done, you officially attempted to make a “funny” about a quite helpful article! Using your awesome intellect you turned the last idea, a good one, into a poor joke!
Congratulations! Your powers of perspicacity are a credit to you and your species!
Thanks for your comments , I really enjoy being a credit to my species
Iv seen kids get so bored they ate bugs at wilderness (rehab) progam, boil them first, they arnt that bad.
That guy in the video is the fastest iv ever seen use a bow to make a fire, ive seen seasond mountain-men spend thirty minutes to no avail with thier best bow and board.