Wandering off the hiking trail
seemed like a great way to
get in touch with Mother Nature,
But now every part of the forest is
starting to look the same,
and you're not sure which
direction you came from.
You try to get your
bearings by checking your phone,
but the battery's dead.
So what do you do now?
You're lost, and completely off the grid.
It's very easy to get lost in a forest.
Everything looks the same,
so it's hard to keep track of visual landmarks.
And it's nearly impossible to see any
distant destinations beyond the trees.
So instead of focusing on
finding your way out of the forest,
you're probably better off figuring out
how to survive until someone finds you.
If you're going to last out here
for a long period of time,
you'll need to stay hydrated.
Keep an eye out for animals, animal tracks,
green foliage, mosquitoes, and flies,
as they're all good signs that water is nearby.
In the forest, you are most likely to find
a creek, a stream, or a pond.
Another way to stay hydrated
is to save rainwater.
If you have anything that will hold water,
leave it out to collect rain or dew.
If you don't have any containers,
use a tarp or a poncho, if you have one.
Hang them by tying the corners to trees,
3-4 feet (0.91 -1.22 meters) off the ground.
Put a small rock in the middle of
the material to make a kind of bowl
to collect the water.
The canopy of the trees above
will provide decent shelter from the Sun,
but if you're going to be stuck here
for a long time,
you're going to want something better.
The easiest, most effective way
to protect yourself from the elements
would be to build a lean-to shelter.
To do this, you'll need to find a large branch
and lean one end against a tree.
Then place smaller branches
at 45° angles
along the length of the large branch,
and cover the entire structure
with leaves and foliage.
All that shelter building
is bound to build up your appetite,
so you need to start looking
for something to eat.
Plants would seem to be the easiest bet,
but you have to be careful,
because a lot of them are poisonous.
Some characteristics of poisonous plants
to watch out for include
white or yellow berries,
thorns,
mushrooms,
and umbrella-shaped flowers.
So unless you have a guidebook
on which plants are edible,
it's best to play it safe and not eat any at all.
Instead, you can flip over logs
to find easy-to-catch protein-filled insects.
You can safely eat worms,
ants, and grasshoppers,
but avoid spiders, ticks, and flies.
And just to be safe,
you should probably cook any insects
before you eat them.
But you can't do that without heat.
If you have a lighter or matches on you,
then this shouldn't be too hard.
Start by collecting everything
you're going to burn.
Dry leaves or tree bark are easy to burn,
so light them first.
Build a little teepee with
the tinder and kindling.
Tinder will be the first thing
that catches a spark.
It then transfers the spark to the kindling,
and starts a flame.
But if you don't have a lighter,
you'll need to get a little more creative.
Make a fire-plow to ignite the fire,
by scraping a small groove
into the middle of a flat piece of wood.
Then create friction by quickly
plowing up and down the groove
with a small twig, until it produces an ember.
Yeah, this is easier said than done,
but you've got to be proactive about it.
Stay where you are.
That way rescuers, will be able to
find you much easier
than if you hike around.
If you have a mirror, or some aluminum foil,
you can use it to reflect light
to planes or other people
to help them find you.
Another option would be
to make smoke signals with your fire.
Green leaves and pine needles
create a lot of smoke, so use those.
Using a branch with leaves on it,
cover the fire for 3-4 seconds
to trap the smoke, and then remove it.
Keep doing that so it creates
clouds of smoke.
When you do finally get rescued,
you're going to have some time
to think about how all this
could've been avoided.
Next time, don't wander off the guided trail.
Research the area
you're going to be exploring beforehand,
and bring along some supplies
in case you do get disoriented.
In some areas,
you might even want to prepare yourself
to defend against predators.
But don't worry,
we've got just the video
to help you come out on top.