How To Be Lost In The Wilderness Persuasive Essay

Millions of Americans visit the wilderness each year to hike, hunt, fish, ride horses, raft, ski, and take pictures. Each year thousands of those people get lost in the wilderness while enjoying these activities. I enjoy the wilderness and outdoors very much and have had many experiences in the wilderness hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. Fortunately, I have never been lost in the wilderness before, but have known people who have been. Hearing their stories has always reminded me how we should always take the wilderness seriously and know some important steps. My family, especially my father has taught me pretty much everything I know when it comes to the outdoors. When it comes to wilderness survival there are some important and essential
steps that are necessary to survive beginning with your preparedness, determining your priorities, and then attending to those priorities while remaining calm.
Detailed preparedness planning before any wilderness trip is essential to your survival if any emergency situation occurs. Before you begin planning you must first make sure that your health and physical wellbeing are in order. You wouldn’t want something that is already bothering you to become worse while you’re out there such as any type of physical pain or discomfort like a sore knee or lingering back ache. You then want to become familiar with the area you are visiting. This can be done simply by looking at a map and familiarizing yourself with the area to identifying landmarks or resources that could be useful such as a river or stream. Along with your planning you want to make sure that you include an emergency survival kit. Some great things to consider in your survival kit are first aid items, some type of water purification, fire starting materials, signaling materials, nutritious food items that are sealed, and shelter items. Preparedness is key for any wilderness trip or adventure and must be done properly in order to help increase your chances of survivability incase the worst happens. If you do become lost in the wilderness then determining your priorities must be considered next.
If you ever do become lost in the wilderness the first thing you should do is determine your priorities.
Depending on your situation and environment, your priorities will be different and it is up to you to figure out those accordingly. Usually either warmth or hydration will be your most important need, and the other of those two will be your second most important. If you are injured then that would more than likely by your first priority depending on the severity of the injury. Creating a fire is essential because a fire can be used in so many different ways, such as creating warmth, cooking food, sanitizing, and providing light. Establishing shelter is usually the second thing needed after creating a fire in order to achieve your first survival rule which is warmth. Some shelter considerations that you should always try to follow are location, insulation, and heat source. The first consideration “location” should be made away from hazards and near materials or resources needed. The next consideration “insulation” should be made on a stable, dry ground which can be avoided from any severe weather such as rain or wind. The last consideration “heat source” can be fire heated or even body heated. There are some great natural shelters that can be considered which do not have to be man-made such as caves and hollow stumps or logs. When it comes to determining your priority keep in mind that a human can only survive for three hours without enough warmth, three days without water, and three weeks without food. After determining your priorities based on your situation, you must then attend to those priorities, in order while trying to remain
clam.
When it comes to attending to your priorities here are some things to consider and use as a rule of thumb. A number of mistakes that most humans make when faced with a survival situation is poor decision making and panic. You need to remain focused and engaged in the task at hand that you are performing. When executing these tasks make sure that you stop, plan, and assess what you are doing to make sure that it is the right decision. When it comes to making a decision, a great thing to think about is does the reward or benefit of performing this task outweigh the risk? Make sure that you do not often over work yourself to the point of exhaustion and that you only do what is necessary to survive. Your attitude and ability to attend to those priorities effectively are essential and key to your basic survival.
Wilderness preparedness, determining your priorities, and attending to those priorities while remaining calm are essential steps and should be followed in order to help you survive. The wilderness is a great and natural wonder that is enjoyed by millions of Americans every year. The next time any of you plan a trip into the wilderness I would hope that you would consider applying and following this information that I just provided to you. There are millions of people out there who regularly visit the wilderness who do not know this information and it may be the deciding factor whether you are able to survive or not if the worst case happens.