Signs from Clouds:

You may remember this quick lesson from elementary school science class. Different types of clouds above you can help to predict differing weather conditions. As a rule of thumb, the higher the clouds lay, the more stable the weather is around you. If clouds are grey, low, highly clustered, it should be fairly obvious that storms may be on the way.

Cumulonimbus Clouds look dark and heavy but characteristically funnel upwards to higher elevations. They can oftentimes indicate thunder and rain in the not too distant future.

Cumulus Clouds are generally normal looking clouds- fluffy and white shaped, they are a normal indicate of fair and dry weather in the next few days.

Stratocumulus Clouds look like individual puffs of cotton balls. The overall color can range of grey to very dark. If these clouds are in your area you may experience, at the most, some light rains.

Cirrus Clouds look like strands of hair; almost like feathers of clouds. They are white in color and will be found very high in the sky. These nether indicate rain or clear skies. Generally speaking, cirrus clouds form so high in the sky that they will not have an effect either way.

Other Signs:

-Bright Red Sunrise: Indicative of heavy moisture in the air. The reason that the morning sunrise will look redder is because the early rising sun is reflecting off of tiny water droplets stored in the clouds. If you see this red sunrise, a storm is most likely on its way, as moisture never lies.

-Rainbows: Almost the exact opposite of the red sunrise, a rainbow will indicate that a rainstorm has just ended. The reason for this is that droplets of water following a rainstorm will produce a prism which causes the rainbow.

If you have packed for survival you will already have your compass handy, if not, I will address makeshift ways of navigation which do not require a compass at all.

Compasses:

A compass works with magnets to indicate the north and south poles. If you check with your local sporting goods shops you will notice that there are many different types and styles of compasses. A well built simple compass will suffice for most navigation purposes. The two most common types of compasses are prism compasses and Silva compasses. A prismatic compass obviously contains a prism which increases the accuracy of the direction. This does come at a cost, however, and a prism compass will be more expensive than most. A Silva compass is just another name for a standard, basic compass built using magnets only.

Making a Compass:

As a rule of thumb, always remember how a compass works- magnetic forces will make magnetized metal point to the north and south axis of earth’s fields. If you are without a compass your first goal is to magnetize a piece of metal. How is this accomplished in the field? Using a needle and a piece of silk simply stroke the needle in the same direction over and over again. If you do not have a piece of silk use a sock, scarf, or other light fabric. Anything that has some static energy on it will likely help to magnetize the needle. Next, after stroking the needle over and over again you must suspend it in some water in order to gather your direction. If you have a bowl or some other container, carefully place the magnetized needle in the liquid. Let the needle float on something extremely light, like a dry leaf, so that the needle will obviously not sink in the liquid. If done properly the needle will point to the north and sole pole direction!

Another way to gather your direction without the use of a compass is by using the Stars. As a rule of thumb, carefully watching the starts while you are standing in one position will give the illusion that the stars are moving. However, in reality, the earth is moving while the stars are stationary objects. Therefore, if you are in the northern hemisphere, locate the northern star, which will NOT move like the other stars. This trick is accomplished by first finding the Big Dipper. Look to the right of the Big Deeper; the Northern Star will be stationary and quite large. It cannot be missed. By walking and traveling in the direction of the northern star, you are traveling directly north. Turn around in the opposite direction to travel south. This age old trick can save your life and prevent you from going in circles.

Creating a Sundial is yet another way to find your direction without the use of a compass. Place a vertical stick in the surface of flat ground. Try to find a clear area that doe not have tall grass or any other shrubs that will affect the view of shadows. Wake up early and mark the shadow’s direction. This direction will be a very simple way of finding west, as the sun’s shadow will be casting from the east. Another even simpler way if you are too lazy to use a stick would be to just look at which direction the sun is rising. Rule of thumb- the sun rises in the east and sets in the west!

Even signs in nature can help you find your direction quickly. The magnetic fields have a great effect on nature and can alter the direction that they grow and/or move. Plants will always grow towards the hot, warm sun. Plants will generally face and lean towards the south when you are in the northern hemisphere.

Moreover, fire will help keep predators at bay (animals as well as insects) and dry your clothes. Every fire requires: constant fuel, oxygen, and the proper construction. The following will provide you with a basic knowledge of fires and how to properly build one.

Tinder:

Depending on your geographical area, there are generally some great types of tinder out in the wild, if you know what to look for:

Moss: Looking towards the bottom of rocks and tree roots, search for extremely dry moss if you can. Damp moss will not light and please DO NOT waste valuable time and resources trying to dry anything wet (unless there are no other options!).

Inner Bark: What makes bark such an amazing form of tinder is that even if it has just been raining, you can most likely strip away outer layers of bark and find something dry inside. Be diligent and you will most likely find something dry. If wood ever looks rotten, please use it, as it will likely be excessively dry.

Dry Grass: Depending on your climate, thin grass may be the best source of tinder around. Rule of thumb- the lighter the color of grass the more useful it is for tinder, generally speaking.

Leaves: Make sure to seek out dry, cracked leaves which have already fallen off the tree, thus indicating dead leaves. Rubbing slightly damp leaves together can often dry them out for easier lighting.

Improving Tinder:

Keep in mind a very simple concept: If material is cut up into smaller sizes and pieces it can dry quicker. Cut your tinder material up and it will light up quickly.

Tip: The best way to build a solid raging fire is to start it off extremely slowly and gradually increase to larger pieces of wood as you progress. The biggest mistake people make is lack of fire preparation. The key to a great fire is to have ample materials and fuel around you, as building a fire can take time and you should not be running around looking for tinder or fuel while acting trying to build the fire. This is waste of your precious energy and worse, extremely dangerous! Construct your fireplace with care and always remember your surroundings. A fire can potentially burn everything around it. Moreover, remember that fire eats oxygen. Therefore never build a fire in an enclosed area without proper ventilation, you will quickly find yourself without breathable oxygen.

Types of Fire Constructions:

Teepee Shapes:  The simplest and probably most instinctual form of a fire starts by building a teepee shape by balancing a few sticks upright against each other, the top points meeting at a point. Continue surrounding your teepee with more and more sticks until the structure is extremely strong. Once the outside frame is complete, take your dry tinder and stuff it inside the teepee itself. Light the tinder and slowly add fuel as the fire progresses.

Trench Fire: If facing a strong wind, a trench fire structure is a useful way to shelter your fire and allow for a strong fire to thrive. First, dig a hole in the ground about 1 foot deep and next build your standard teepee sticks up on top of this. Now, simply place your tinder in the 1 foot trench and it should be fairly protected from the wind at this point. Again, build the fire up slowly and steadily.

Rock Wall Fire: Similarly sheltering your fire from the wind, build a wall of rocks around your teepee sticks in order to prevent your fire from being blown out. The problem and difficulty with this is the time it takes as well as a large quantity of rocks to accomplish this. A better idea would most likely be to build your fire near a natural wall or barrier.

Fire Lighting Methods:

Now that you understand the basic construction methods to building a survival fire, you must now learn how exactly to go about starting fires using different methods. Each takes practice and most of all patience.

The biggest shortcuts to starting a fire again have everything to do with being prepared. As described in the article Survival Kits waterproof matches, cotton, fire sticks, flint, and magnifying glasses, or lighters will make the task of starting a fire incredibly easy. The challenge then is in keeping the fire going!!

Bow Drill:

Using the principal of friction, there are various ways to start a fire from vigorously rubbing two pieces of carefully placed woods together. This is quite a challenging process and does require some practice to accomplish. First find a strong yet thin piece of wood branch about two feet long to create your bow. Cut grooves in each end and place a length of rope at each groove.

Make sure the rope has slack because you will need to make one loop around your drill in order for this process to work. After building a good bow you will need a build a bearing block of wood which the top of the bow will fit into. Carve a shallow hole into the bearing block and with your hand place a good amount of downward pressure on the bow. The more pressure you place, the more friction you will create. In a larger base of wood place the bottom of your bow and place tinder in there.

The rest is self explanatory. Use the bow to quickly turn the drill while applying great downward force from your top bearing block. With enough diligence the friction will cause the dry tinder to ignite. When this happens quickly blow on the tinder and your fire will soon begin.

Before you head out into the wild it is critical that you prepare a kit. Obviously, it is impossible to carry everything valuable for survival but as long as the essentials are accounted for, a thoughful survival kit can be worth more than loads of expensive equipment. Below you will find some of the most common life savng pieces of equipment that should be found in every survival kit.

1) Compass:

While not necessary to buy an expensive compass, make sure that you invest in a decent quality one that is easy to read, durable, and preferably has glow in the dark hands. Keep the compass in a safe place.

2) Flashlight:
Many novice campers and those new to the wilderness make the mistake of bringing too large of a flashlight. These are cumbersome and often prone to breakage. Buy a medium
Sized, durable flashlight. If possible try to get waterproof gear.

3) Small Binoculars:
Vision is the key to survival and a good pair of binoculars can be used to find safety, food, and shelter that you might not have seen otherwise. They can also save your personal energy by allowing you to scope out the best navigation path. Keep all binoculars INS dry place of your survival kit.

4) Swiss Army Knife:
No survival kit would be complete without one of these. A Swiss army knife is probably the most well trusted multi tool survival item in the world. Deluxe  models house screwdrivers, bottle openers, chisels, corkscrews, reamers, and even tiny wood saws. Incredibly useful.

5) Waterproof Matches:
Building a fire does more than just keep you warm and cook your food, it provides security and a boost of morale in the wilderness. Waterproof matches are constructed with special wax tips that resist the destructive nature of water and moisture. Keep these in some kind of waterproof container as well.

6) Candle:
This is probably the most often forgotten item in survival kits. A candle will help immensly with starting a fire and will help transfer fires if you need to relocate your fire. Again, the light of a candle additionally gives an instant morale boost.

7) Safety Pins:
Safety pins can be used for fixing rips in clothing, sleeping bags, or even tents. They can be bent and sharpened into fishing hooks as well.

Tin Foil:
At least 3-5 square feet of tin foil should be placed in any survival kit. The ultra shiny material is excellent material for cooking with, as it hardly absorbs any heat itself. Also, tin foils can be used as an excellent reflector for signalling purposes. Tin foil can be folded extremely thin and be placed in the bottom lining of your survival kit.

9) Needle and Thread:
Ideal for fixing fabric, a needle and good thread can also ne USS to stitch up small cuts in extreme emergency situations. Try to find the largest needles with large eyes. The reason for this is that if you are stuck in a cold climate you finger and hand dexterity may be compromised.

10) Various Sized Bandages:
This is a staple of ever survival and first aid kit. Keep your bandages in a clean and dry area of your survival kit. Bandaging wounds prevents dangerous infections and increases your chances of survival.

11) Antibiotic Pills:
As a last resort, using antibiotics when it is absolutely clear you are suffering from an infection will likely save your life. Constantly upaste your survival kit with fresh antibiotics as necessary.

12) Magnifying lense:
Use to create fire by concentrating light on dry tinder. This is a great way to stray a fire, weather permitting, of course.

13) Small Plastic bags:
Ideal for carrying water or wrapping around plants early in the morning to collecy water through the process of evaporation.

14) Wire Saw:
Small and powerful, a good wire saw can quickly cut thick branches and also
Can be used as a snare trap for killing small rabbits or other animals.

This list is by no means exhaustive. The best survival kit does not come from a book or website, but rather personal experience. Each time you are in the wilderness make a conscious effort to keep track of which tools and supplies would have best suited your travels. Over time, your survival kit will contain the most critical items which you are skilled at using.

Before we explore the basic types of footwear that are on the market, a few general tips: Always break in any footwear before being used. A good way to break in leather boots is to wet them. Secondly, always bring ample amounts of clean socks with you on any outing. A foot can quickly turn into a big blistering sore mess if not taken care of properly.

The following is a quick sampling of different boots. Each is geographically suited and you should always bring the right pair of boots!

1) Desert Boots:
Good desert boots will be made of light leather with extremely tough soles. This allows the foot to properly breath and also will withstand the incredibly hot sand below. The boot is also constructed with high sides to keep sand out of your shoes.

2) Fabric Boots:
Prwfered by many mountaineers, the lightweight fabric boot is characterized by shock absorbing treads suitable for icy and snowy terrain. The fabric is usually designed to dry quickly and allow for decent ventilation. Some argue that fabric material does not provide as much protection as leather however,many believe that the lightweight nature of the boots and fact that they dry faster than leather makes them well suited for the mountain.

3) Hiking Boots:
In general, a good hiking boot will have a high level of traction grip with pads along the upper part of the ankle to provide high support during climbs. When buying hiking boots be mindful of the weight of the boot; look for a good balance of strength, padding, and flexibility.

4) Jungle Boots:
Unlikeountain, desert, or snow, the jungle requires a different type of boots to adequately protect againt insects and other animals. Secondly, with the high mosture level in the jungle, look for boots which allow the toes to breath. Walking around all day with wet feet can cause infections and impede any survival attempts. Jungle boots also should have high ankles, in order to protect the ankles and keep rain and pond/ stream water out of them.

5) Snow Boots:
Usually constructed out of high grade plastic and heavily insulated, a snow boot’s main purpose is to allow you to navigate safely through ice, slush, and snow without freezing. Additionally, like many of the boot’s described above, a good snow boot will allow for breathability. In cold conditions moisture and sweat will strip your bodies core temperature and can lead to death. Some good quality snow boot’s have insulated inner sections which can be removed and cleaned.

No matter which boot’s you are using always unlace your boot’s and let them air out on a nightly basis in order to adequately dry them out. Despite common knowledge, it is never a good idea to place boot’s to close to a fire or sun source, as intense head can damage the boot’s or even worse, crack leather.  Many companies sell a waterproofing compound which you can apply to most boots.

The basic, essential tool for camping and survival is a reliable, quality knife. Other tools such as hammers, shovels, fishing rods, etc, can be crafted from common objects in the field (such as rocks and sticks). However, a sharp knife is not something you can easily fashion in the wild.

Let’s face it: if you have a knife, creating other tools is that much easier.

Here are some common types of knives:

a) Pocketknife

b) Kukri

c) Wire Saw

Pocketknife:

Small in size but powerful in usage, a pocketknife will allow for smaller projects where a larger knife would be unable to complete. The Swiss Army knife is probably the most famous and quality example that comes to mind. Additionally, besides being simply a knife, a multi-tool pocketknife can allow for can openers, mini saws, screwdrivers, corkscrews, reamers, and sewing tools. I suggest getting into the habit of carrying a pocketknife with you at all times. I started doing this a few years ago and am always surprised how often I actually rely on it.

Kukri:

This is not your standard sized knife. The Kukri is designed as a heavy knife which looks almost like a miniature machete. The length of the knife can range up to 12 inches long. Most have a heavy duty leather handle which is specially designed not to separate easily from the blade. You will notice that the back side of the kukri blade is extremely blunt. This is intentional and allows for hammering and banging. The sharp side of the blade closest to the handle is not extremely sharp. Again, this is designed to allow for chopping. The tip of the blade is extremely sharp and allows for general cutting purposes. This knife is extremely useful in forest and jungle settings.

Wire Saw:

Looking like a long strand of barbed wire, a wire saw is usually a 3-6 foot length of twisted strands of razor sharp wires which has two loops at each end for holding. What is most practical about a wire saw is that it can be easily looped and folded into a very small area. I keep my wire saw in the bottom of my survival kit. It is important to invest in a good wire saw. There are some cheap models on the market which simply will not withstand the extreme pulling and bending pressures of normal use. Another trick about wire saws- they can also be used as a wire snare trap for catching rabbits, squirrel, or other small animals in the wild very easily. Another essential tool.

Sharpening Stone:

Don’t forget to pack a sharpening stone. These small and cheap stones will allow you to keep your blade razor sharp. Remember: a blunt knife is a worthless knife!

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you do not have a knife available, there are some ways to improvise a knife. The stone of choice for knife purposes is flint. Flint is a sharp and durable rock which can cut just about anything. To sharpen a piece of flint rock, simply drop it from about 6 feet. The flint should break open leaving a sharp edge or two. Other popular materials for knifes are bamboo and glass.

Again, knives are very valuable and can be used for chopping, whittling, and carving. It just may save your life.