Most Common Wilderness Survival Myths

1. If you are lost, you need to find food right away.
   Always remember the survival three: Three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. Food should be lower on your priority list.
2. You need to immediately put up protection against animals like wolves.
   Friend, you watch too many movies. Many people who have lived in the wood their whole lives can say they have never had a scare of an attacking bear or wolf pack. Sure bears might wander on in due to curiosity, but they are also lazy and much more prefer an easy meal, so no need to build castle walls. A big fire is normally enough.
3. Water must be boiled 10, 15, or 20 minutes to ensure safety.
   Water must only reach the point of boiling; that’s it. The amount of time it takes for this to happen may vary due to altitude and other factors, so timing it is not a reliable method. As it reaches the point of boiling, bacteria will start to die.
4. Boiling water makes it safe to drink.
   Boiling water only makes it safer to drink. Other filtration methods should still be used.
5. Alcohol will keep you from freezing to death.
   Actually, while alcohol does make you feel warmer, it does not actually warm you. In fact, some studies show that it might actually kill you faster.
6. Fast moving water is always safe to drink.
   The speed of the water does not actually mean you are safe from things that will make you sick. Remember, you never know what is up stream from you.
7. Moss always grows on the north side of the tree.
   Moss will grow wherever there is an acquitted amount of shade a moisture, which may sometimes be on the north side of the tree, but then again, it also may not.
8. With a snake bite, you should suck or cut(bleed) the venom out.
   Once the venom is there, it’s there. Sucking it out will only put the venom in your mouth, and cutting it will simply put your body in more shock than it already is. Best thing you can do is put ice on it, and keep your heart rate down. Doing that will lower the speed of the venom spreading which might lesson the shock upon your heart. Keep calm, and get anti-venom.
9. Wet clothes are better then no clothes.
   Water has a nasty habit of holding on to it’s temperature for long periods of time, so if you have just fallen through ice and you get out and keep your clothes on, all you are doing is keeping yourself cold. You are better off naked than in wet clothes.
10. You should follow a river if lost.
    While a river can lead to human life, it can sometimes take weeks or more to get there, while meanwhile you are completely invading a search squad trying to find you. Survival on the go is also much harder then stationary survival; you tend to spend too much time traveling than working to survive. Stay in one spot, survive, wait for help to arrive.
11. Wait a day or more to see if help arrives before starting anything.
    Always, always, plan as if help is not coming. Hope they do, plan as if they wont.
12. You should ration your water.
    Never ration your water. If you are thirsty, have a sit in the shade and have a drink while you cool off. Rationing water and pushing on will only help to cause heat stroke, which in some cases has killed people before running out of water has.