There are several scenarios in which you might find yourself relying on your emergency preparedness skills during the winter months. Whether you get lost during a hunting expedition, your car dies, you misjudge how long your hike will take, or you get in a bug out situation, keeping warm and protected from the elements is essential to surviving until help arrives.

The three priorities that must be addressed before nightfall are finding a water source, building a fire, and creating a shelter. If there is snow on the ground, your water problem is handled and you should have fire-making materials in your gear. Learning how to construct an emergency shelter using natural resources should certainly be a part of your emergency preparedness planning.

Carry survival basics if venturing into the wilderness in winter. This includes water, emergency food, a 50 gallon drum liner bag, two mylar and foil blankets, paracord, fire-making supplies, a candle and waterproof matches, signaling whistle, metal cup and a brightly colored bandana. Some of these supplies will be helpful in constructing a shelter.

Deciding Where and How to Position Your Shelter

If it is snowing or nightfall is approaching, building a simple design is better than structures like a quinzhee or igloo which require greater physical exertion and more time. Conserve as much energy as possible to help maintain your body heat. Find a spot for your shelter that is somewhat level and is not in the path of a potential avalanche. Look overhead for any deadfall dangers from trees. Some features to consider for the shelter are making it small to hold in body heat but big enough for you to fit in and roll over without touching the sides. Face the entry away from the wind as this will aid in heat retention.

Building the Shelter

1. Prepare the ground. Dig out the snow in a 3 foot by 8 foot rectangle. Clear it all the way to the ground if possible because bare earth will radiate some warmth.
2. Find two poles at least five feet in length. Lay the poles side by side and tie them together about a quarter of the way from one end. Splay them apart to form an “X” and this will form the frame for the opening. The top of the opening should be about waist high.
3. Locate a pole that is at least 8 or 9 feet in length for the ridge pole. Strap one end of the pole into the top of the “X” with the other end resting on the ground, forming a long tripod. Other options include finding a tree with a “Y” to lay the long pole in, using a fallen log or boulder as a base.
4. Gather sticks to form the “ribs” of the shelter and place them 10 to 12 inches apart down each side of the ridge pole, resting one end on the pole and sticking the other end into the ground. These sticks should not protrude too far above the main pole.
5. Place a mylar blanket from your emergency preparedness kit over the framework with the shiny side facing in to reflect heat. Then layer evergreen boughs, leaves or other vegetation over the blanket.
6. Spread a thick layer of vegetation or evergreen boughs over the ground in the shelter for insulation. The more coverage the better.
7. Snow is an excellent insulator, and the next step is to cover the entire outside of the shelter with a thick layer of snow, building it up to a depth of at least 12 inches.
8. Fill the 50 gallon bag with snow and fit it in the opening of the shelter to seal it from the elements. In lieu of a bag, use boughs or your pack to close off the opening.

Keeping Warm

Your well insulated sanctuary will hold in your body heat, but you can add more warmth by lighting the candle, which has some inherent risks. You might opt for placing rocks that have been heated by the fire inside the shelter before sealing yourself in.

Remember that your goal is to be rescued. Your shelter will be camouflaged, especially if the snow continues to fall. The snow will muffle outside noises, making it difficult to hear people calling out. Tie the bright bandana to a stick and place it on top of the structure to alert rescue personnel to your location. Consider hanging other belongings in nearby trees to help mark your whereabouts.

There is no substitution for emergency preparedness. Study and practice building this shelter so that you are ready for survival if you ever find yourself stranded in winter conditions.

– Gary Jenkins is a father and husband living in Oregon who is a wildlife rehabilitation and outdoor adventure enthusiast.

You may find yourself in the middle of an emergency without warning, and it is important to prioritize your efforts in those circumstances. You may not have access to your emergency food storage or other survival supplies, but you should find a water source first, then find or create shelter, and then build a fire if the conditions warrant. Only then should you consider what to do about food. One of your options might be edible plants, meaning plants that are safe for humans to eat, regardless of palatability.

This article is not meant to be a complete source of information on edible plants. Eating plants without positive identification is dangerous, as many plants are toxic and poisonous if ingested. Some poisonous plants look very similar to edible plants, for instance hemlock looks and smells like wild carrots. We strongly recommend that you obtain a complete field guide on edible plants in your area and learn as much as you can before finding yourself in an emergency.

Plants have several distinguishing features for identification such as leaves, flowers, roots, and seeds. There are some general guidelines as to which plant is toxic. If leaves are glossy, or grow in groups of threes, the plant is probably poisonous. Stay away from plants that have milky sap, thorns, or hairs. The exception to this is the dandelion, of which all parts are edible. Avoid plants that have an almond-like aroma, as these usually contain dangerous cyanide compounds. Fruit that has started to decay, has mold or mildew might contain unhealthy toxins and should not be eaten. If growing near contaminated water, then the plants themselves may also be contaminated and should be boiled for at least ten minutes before eating.

Some plants have both edible and poisonous parts. The leaves may be safe, while the roots are toxic or vice versa. It is important to learn about the entire plant. Certain plants may just not be palatable due to tannin compounds or acidic content. Boiling or baking these will remove the bitterness. Learn how to prepare plants that have these traits to make them more appealing. Do not eat wild mushrooms unless you are absolutely certain that you have identified the species. Some mushrooms can make you very ill or even cause death. Symptoms can take days to show up after eating toxic mushrooms, and by then the nervous system has been compromised, possibly beyond repair.

If a field guide is not available to you and if you are not well versed in which plants are safe, there is a test that you can conduct to see if a plant is edible. The test is very time consuming, so make sure there is plenty of that type of plant to eat afterward. It is important that you perform the test after having not eaten for at least eight hours and drinking only purified water. First, rub the plant on the inside of your elbow and wait fifteen minutes to see if you have a reaction. Next, prepare the plant as you would to eat it and touch it to your lip and wait for swelling or itching. Then hold it on your tongue and wait fifteen minutes for a reaction. You can then chew it and hold it in your mouth without swallowing your saliva. If all of these tests show no indication of toxicity, chew about a teaspoon of the plant and swallow it. Now wait about eight hours to see if you have a reaction. If you feel sick or nauseous, induce vomiting and drink plenty of water.

Hunting is not for everyone, but everyone should know how to hunt to some extent. If you end up in a survival situation without food, knowing how to find and catch prey will mean the difference between life and death. Learning several different hunting techniques using only items that you would find in nature or have in your survival gear will give you one more advantage when it comes to emergency preparedness.

The most important aspect of hunting is knowing what animals are in your survival area and how to find them. Look for signs that would indicate which animals are moving through and where. Search for trails that they have formed, evidence of bedding down, dens or burrows, markings on the vegetation and scat. Once the types of animals have been determined, think about how and when they eat, drink, sleep, and move. Knowing your prey’s behaviors will greatly increase your odds of capturing them.

Several hunting methods will be mentioned here. Some require more skill and technique than others. Pick the ones that seem feasible to you and research them. There are vast resources online that cover these methods extensively, including videos that demonstrate how to construct and use them.

• Gun: You may carry a firearm in your survival kit. If so, you have undoubtedly been trained in the safe operation of the weapon and have practiced its use by shooting at a target. This is clearly the most effective method of hunting in a survival situation.
• Rocks and Sticks: A heavy object that can be thrown at prey is a very simple method of hunting. It does require getting relatively close to the animal, good aim and the ability to throw quick and hard.
• Spear: One of the oldest forms of hunting with weapons, spears are versatile and readily available. Spears can be used for thrusting, stabbing, or throwing and can be used to hunt birds, mammals, and fish. They can be as simple as a sharpened stick, or a spearhead can be attached that was fashioned from stone, bone, wood or steel.
• Throwing stick: Resembling a boomerang, this hard stick has a bend of about 45 degrees in it and is carved on opposite sides of the legs to enable lift. This method requires a great deal of skill and practice and may not be the most practical in a survival situation.
• Bow and Arrow: Also an effective choice for hunting, this weapon can be fashioned from hardwood saplings, such as oak, maple or ash, and paracord that should be in your survival kit. Boot strings would work in a pinch. Again, this method requires some practice before your survival is dependent on it.
• Snare: There are many styles of snares with varying degrees of difficulty. They require some research, but can be well suited to hunting in most situations for a variety of animals. Snares need to be set in natural trails and funnels built on both sides so that the prey is forced to walk into the trap.

According to outdoor survival experts, the most important necessity for survival is shelter.  When you are in the outdoors, think of what you are wearing as a type of shelter.  For your survival it is necessary to be shielded against the elements in some manner.  In the cold, your main concerns are to keep your body temperature up to prevent hypothermia and to keep it covered sufficiently so that you don’t experience Jack Frost(Bite).  If you will be spending any amount of time outdoors in winter conditions, you need to plan for your stay as if it will be longer than you had expected.  This is wise because you can never be sure when you might get stuck outdoors due to your car breaking down, somehow getting lost in the wilderness, and other unforeseen scenarios.  How many people have you seen that are way under dressed when they venture outside the doors of their home?  Are you guilty of it?  I have been at times.  We are in a hurry and we have to get someplace quickly and we won’t be gone for long, so we just basically go in our pajamas and slip on some flip flops and it’s the middle of winter!  We have little if any protection if we were to meet up with an emergency situation that called for spending an extended period of time in the outdoors.  Well, it’s not that cold outside we reason.  But the mountain lake water isn’t that cold either when we just dip our hand in it for a couple of seconds.  What happens when it turns into minutes, or hours?  You get the picture.

Keeping dry is part of keeping warm.  When we are wet and cold outside this threatens our survival even more.  It’s comparable to  when the temperature is zero degrees Fahrenheit outside and then with the windchill factor it’s 80 below (not quite, but seemingly so).  It’s imperative when you are in the outdoors, especially in the wintertime, that you keep dry.  If you find yourself wet, get indoors quickly and change clothes and dry off before you venture back out again.

When you go outdoors, pay particular attention to your most sensitive areas that you know from experience get the coldest.  It can make an outdoor trip miserable if you aren’t adequately prepared for the environment because you haven’t dressed appropriately.  For me, I know that my feet, hands, and ears are pretty critical.  Is it the same for you, or is it your Rudolph nose?  I make certain that these areas have extra protection.  If you don’t have good, warm wool socks to protect your toesies, wear two or three regular pair.  Keep your head covered.  Your ears aren’t a good thing to lose.  Mike Tyson proved that to Evander Holyfield.  Ears can be easily frostbitten.  And for heaven sakes, have a good pair of gloves!  The Hot Hands in the video that I mention are great little additions, too.  Sometimes if your fingers get a little nippy, you can warm them up a little by crossing your arms across your body and placing your hands where the sun don’t shine– under your armpits, silly.

If you are over prepared and over dressed, you have the advantage in surviving in the outdoors.  You can’t put more “shelter” on if you don’t have it with you, but you can take some off it you have too much on.  So layering your clothing is critical.  And wool is a great thing to have because it drys more quickly than other materials.

I’m sure you’ve heard this somewhere before, but– Boom Shacka Laka, Star Wars, and Chewbacca– stay warm and dry in the outdoors so you can be safe and survive!

Related Posts:

What Are Your Survival Priorities?
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Emergency Preparedness: Vital Emergency Supplies

So bring him on out, how ’bout this James!?

I’m going to Keep It Super Simple!

At almost any level of preparedness you will need to establish your survival priorities.

In almost every instance, they are shelter, water, fire, and food––in that order.

1. The most important survival priority is shelter. You need to be protected from the elements–– sun, wind, cold, rain, and in some cases, animals and even insects. All of us are particularly susceptible to the effects of cold, wind, and rain. We could die in a matter of minutes to hours depending on the temperature. Once hypothermia sets in the vital organs begin to shut down. The brain is first––and is most critical to staying alive. When shelter is resolved––and sometimes it may not be a critical situation––you can then begin to resolve the next issues.

2. Water is your second survival priority. Water makes up 75% of the human body and needs to be constantly replenished. Once you have fulfilled your needs for shelter, all effort is concentrated on finding, gathering, and treating water. Having some stored water on hand in case of an emergency situation makes good sense.

3. Fire is your next priority. It provides warmth and light, the ability to cook your food and a way to treat your water. But fire also warms the human heart and goes a long way to making you feel more secure.

4. Food is the last of your four basic needs. You won’t starve to death if you don’t get three square meals every day––you probably don’t now! Food encompasses everything from plants, animals, traps, weapons, learning to hunt and gather, cooking and storage. In preparing for an emergency situation, I do advocate storing food. It is only prudent that you have food on hand. Everybody eats!

It’s as simple as that!

Til next time…

James Talmage Stevens

Author:  Making the Best of Basics–Family Preparedness Handbook

Blogger: FamilyPreparednessGuide.com

Internet Radio: BlogTalkRadio.com/family (Saturdays, 1:00 PM CST)

Coaching website: beprepared101.com

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Fold your arms and try to be ever so quiet that you can hear a pin drop, because I am about to introduce you to my down-to-earth friend, James Talmage Stevens, infamous author of Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook.  He has sold over 760,000 copies of this Bad Boy (you know how good means bad and bad means good sometimes?), and he is going to school us in food storage preparedness.  Why?  Because I asked him to, because he is the real deal, because he is cool!

So everybody please give it up for James (clapping and more clapping)!

JAMES:

I’m going to Keep It Super Simple!

Food is life––no food, eventually, no life! Perhaps that’s the main reason all disaster and emergency preparedness has at its core the emphasis on foodstuff: food, food storage, food preparation, and food processing and utilization equipment.

Though food is important, the need for shelter from the elements is primordial, and water is a close 2^nd priority, leaving food a distant 4th priority after fire. This prioritization is based on immediacy of action necessary to preserve life, since you could die quickly of exposure to extreme cold or hot weather without appropriate shelter. Once protected from the elements––which problem may be obviated by existing mild climatic conditions where the disaster/emergency occurs––clean water then becomes your next immediate need, because the body needs water for its processes to operate effectively.

Then you’ll need fire––to cook your food, boil your water, wash your body, and clean your clothing.

And fourth, food, on the other hand, though ultimately necessary, has a longer downward slope on its death causative curve. People have gone for extremely long periods of time without food, and can subsist for many weeks—if not months––with occasional snacks.

Let me correct a statement made in a previous blog post: “A lot of folks may end up storing food in their garage.” If you currently store any food or potable water in your garage––or even thinking about it–– save your time, take your money, flush it down  your toilet––it’s going to save you the time to shop, carry, stack, and worry––it’s the same result! Food is life––store it where you live. If you live in air-conditioned comfort, then so should your stored food! Make no compromises on the protection of your food reserves.

There is a cardinal rule (Trekkies would call it the Prime Directive) that states:

Store what you eat;

Eat what you store.

Use it or lose it!

Following that little bit of wisdom will make your food storage more valuable than money—or gold! Sit down with the family, work together to determine:

1. What foods are essential to the family’s diet and survival; and
2. What foods would be nice to have that you like–but can’t normally afford.

Then, budget for category 1 items. Determine what you need to eliminate in your current budget so you can acquire an amount of provisions for your immediate plan of safety and security. This is where you face the reality of wants over needs.

These are the marks of true family leadership: the end goal justifies the means required to achieve it.

It’s as simple as that!

James Talmage Stevens

Pat here again: James’s book is THE master plan when it comes to being prepared.  Prepared with everything and anything.  It will not dissapoint.  You can get your copy by going to the top of my blog and clicking on “Emergency Preparedness All-Time Bestseller”.   Best preparedness book ever!

 Thanks, James, for adding value and spreading good will wherever ye be.  Give it up one more time for James (Honor System because I can’t hear anything you do)!:

Author:  Making the Best of Basics–Family Preparedness Handbook

Blogger: FamilyPreparednessGuide.com

Internet Radio: blogtalkradio.com/James-Talmage-Steven  (Saturdays, 1:00 PM CDST)

Coaching website: beprepared101.com

Preparedness Provider listings: PreparednessYellowPages.com and

                                                            PreparednessMarketPlace.com

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What Are Your Survival Priorities?
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Fire Starting for Survival
The Water Storage Part of an Effective Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Program

I asked my fire coach, Eni, and my buddy, Eric over to get a fire lit under my butt to tackle this firey task.  In the video, I do as much as I can to be the teacher, and then I turn it over to my Poly friend, because he knows fire better than me.  He can get the smoke turned into fire.  That’s what a mentor is for, though, right?  Thanks, Eni.  And Eric, thank you for filming for me on short notice.  Anway, to borrow a phrase from my brother, Kris, “to make a short story even longer,” we did get the fire started, and this is a very useful tool of knowledge to have.  I think you would probably get rockstar status in front of the girls (if you needed one) if you were in charge of rescuing people in a dire situation and you could do this fire starting with a flashlight.  It could be that this is where the song with the words, “Come on baby, light my fire!” came from.  Who knows?

The short story made longer has come to an end.  Watch the video!  Oh– and if you have it in your heart, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and “friend” me!  Thanks!

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Today I was treated to a wonderful demonstration of a Somoan islander tradition as my friend, Eni, who is native to this beautiful paradise revealed how they make fire. Fire to them represents life. Eni explained to me that where there is fire, life flourishes. He also quips that the men are the cooks in his part of Polynesia, and the women… well, you can watch and find out. Eni does a masterful job in the following video of making short work out of creating an ember and then transforming it into a flame. I am so excited– Eni has offered to teach me more important survival methods in the near future! I will trade acupuncture treatments in exchange for his tutorings of the valuable knowledge he has gleaned from his elders. Watch for great things to come from this honorable man. I can’t wait for his instruction on how to build traps to snare wild boars. He has done this and will show us how to as well. Hold on tight; to be continued…

Related Posts:

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Outdoor Survival: Knowing Where You Are; Telling Time by the Sun!
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Related Posts:

Using GPS for Survival Geocaching
Fire Starting for Survival
What Are Your Survival Priorities?
Outdoor Survival: Fire Starting With a Flashlight!