Survival Shelters - What Works Best?

When you’re in the outdoors, knowledge is the key to survival. Of the necessities of life, shelter is one of the most crucial. It is important to know the different types of shelters it is possible to build, when they fit, and how to build them. These skills are not only useful for camping without a tent, they may save your life if you ever find yourself stuck or lost outdoors away from civilization.

What type of shelter you will build depends on the supplies you have available, the season and weather conditions, and how much time you realistically have before you need to have protection. If you are building a shelter five minutes before nightfall in a heavy storm, time is much more critical than if you are just setting up camp in the afternoon to cook a meal and relax before sleep.

Staying Safe Outdoors - Mountain Lions

Mountain Lions
Once these graceful cats ranged across virtually all of North and South America, but today their North American range has shrunk to only the western half of the country and Florida. Although sightings have been reported in Maine, northern Michigan, Missouri, Arkansas, and southern Indiana, the animal is exceedingly rare east of the Mississippi. Known as the cougar, puma, panther, catamount, and painter, these are the largest of the small cats, with males weighing between 125 and 160 pounds. Females are smaller at 80 to 100 pounds. Beautiful animals, they are a tawny color that blends well with the rocks and grasses in dry habitats.

These powerful animals are nocturnal, stalking their prey alone. They do not hunt together as wolves do, but rather are solitary hunters. Each animal is territorial with a range of anywhere between 10 to 500 square miles that they defend by scent marking.

Staying Safe Outdoors - Bears

Camping can be a lot of fun but we have to be aware of the dangerous animals that we may come into contact with while we’re out and about. Coming in contact with a bear is a possiblity. Bears can be dangerous. The key to saying safe outdoors when you’re among a wild bear or bears is to follow a few simple rules.

Bears are scavengers. Bears commonly get into people’s garbage. Campsites are a great resource for a wild bear. Think of it. A campsite always has food and garbage. A campsite is a gold mine for a bear. The idea is to keep your campsite from becoming a shining beacon for a wild bear. Do NOT go to sleep at night with a full garbage can outside. If there is a dumpster on the campsite, use it each day. Garbage like papers and such are fine as long as they aren’t ridden with food remains. Bag food garbage (including used paper plates and plastic ware) in a separate bag and dispose of it in the dumpster. No matter if the garbage bag is full or not, do NOT leave your campsite unattended unless all food garbage is properly disposed of.

Some Important Treasure Hunting Ideas

Modern day treasure hunting is an interesting and potentially lucrative hobby. It has been around for a long time in one form or another even since before the fabled days of pirates searching for buried treasure. Experience has demonstrated some principles and practical tips that can be of value for any treasure hunter. Here are a few:

Choose Your Metal Detecting Spots Carefully
Clearly one of the most important things to think about when treasure hunting is where to look. Oddly enough, modern day buried or hidden treasure may be more common than you think. People routinely store valuables either by burying them or by hiding them in out of the way places such as attics, basements, garages, barns and so on. Often these people either forget to come retrieve the items, go to jail for some crime, or die, leaving the items unaccounted for. So places where valuable items may be intentionally buried are good places to start (provided, of course, you can get legal access to them).
Here are a few more such places where treasure may be purposely hidden:

Lightning Safety Guidelines

It is estimated that more than 300 people die annually from lightning strikes; hundreds more are injured. In fact, it has been established that lightning causes more fatalities and injuries than any storm related occurrence, with the exception of floods. These injuries are caused from the lack of an action plan, inappropriate or inadequate precautions, and a failure to consider this phenomenon a serious and potential danger to mankind. Many are unaware or fail to recognize the danger associated with lightning. We tend to scoff and laugh at the precautions our elders utilized at the onset of thunder. For example, everyone was required to come inside from the fields and take shelter, turn off and unplug every electrical appliance including the lights. Everyone was instructed to stay away from windows, and sit quietly on the floor while the Supreme Being was “doing His work.” No one was permitted to take a bath, wash dishes, or take a shower while it was lightning. The reality is, they were not “old fashioned” or really incorrect; some of these typically considered antiquated ideas are actually not that far fetched. Many lives were conceivably saved because of these precautions

It has been established that some simple precautions in the event of lightning could effectively save lives and prevent injuries according to the Lightning Safety Group (LSG), which was organized in 1998 in Phoenix, AZ. They developed some guidelines and precautions that will reduce the incidences of injury and death due to lightning strikes. Many consider the possibility of lightning actually striking earth an improbability; nothing is further from the truth. It has been reported that lightning strikes the earth thousands of times a year. Adults should make reasonable and responsible decisions concerning lightning safety, as they are ultimately responsible for themselves and children in their care during thunderstorms that are the predecessors of lightning strikes. A simple rule to remember is that if you hear thunder, lightning will follow.