56 AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE [OCTOBER 2019]
› Students work on building a half-dome
shelter in the woods, with a raised bed
platform.‹ If you have no
tarps or tents, you
should learn how to
construct a lean-to
or debris shelter in
the wilderness.NUTRITION
You should plan for your immediate nutri-
tional needs, as well as for an intermediate
length of time. This means carry nutritious
foods that will keep for a long period of time,
such as dried meat or vegetarian jerky, dried
fruits and nuts and whole grain crackers.WATER PURIFICATION
Hunters have become dehydrated and gone
into shock because they didn’t realize their
body needed water. You may not feel thirsty
in winter, but your body still needs water.
Besides carrying some water, you should also
carry a means to purify water, whether it’s
a small Sawyer water purifier or one of the
pump models, such as a Timberline or MSR. If
you’re with a group in winter, you should make
sure that everyone drinks regularly throughout
the day.
There are other products and systems that
you should be aware of for any wilderness
travel year round. Here we are addressing only
those that are most pertinent to winter.“WILL IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET ASSISTANCE
IF YOU RUN INTO TROUBLE? MAYBE YOU
SHOULD PLAN YOUR JOURNEY TO A SAFER
AREA AT THAT TIME OF THE YEAR? BE SURE
TO TELL SOMEONE ELSE YOUR ITINERARY,
WHEREVER YOU DECIDE TO GO.”