🏕️ Stuff Every Survivalist Should Know: Training Guide

Trip Plan, Buddy System, and Safe Hiking

Leave your trip plan with a trusted contact who is staying home. If you do not return on time, that person knows where to send help. The Park Service suggests a trip plan template.

Use the buddy system the whole time you are on a troop or patrol outing. Staying with a buddy helps if someone gets hurt, lost, or needs help. The same idea works where you live too.

For Tenderfoot overnight preparation, show both your personal gear and your camping gear. Then show the right way to pack and carry it. Owning gear is not enough, you must handle it correctly.

Learn safe hiking rules for highways and cross-country settings in daylight and darkness. Different trips need different rules, but safety always comes first.

Clothing and Sleep Systems

Outdoor folks say cotton kills on cold or wet trips. Wet cotton stops insulating and dries slowly. Wool and synthetic fabrics stay warmer when damp and dry faster.

Dress in three layers. The inner layer wicks sweat off your skin, the middle traps heat, and the outer shell blocks wind and rain. Start a hike a little cold so you do not sweat too much.

Pick a sleeping bag rated colder than the coldest night you expect. A rating is often the extreme limit, not a promise of a comfy night. Pack extra layers to sleep in.

A sleeping pad is not just cushion. Its R-value measures insulation from the cold ground. Higher R-value means a warmer pad, and about 5 or higher works for frozen ground.

Pack rain pants and a hooded jacket even when the forecast is clear. Loose-fitting rain gear lets sweat vent at the neck, cuffs, and waist.

A jacket or rain shell protects you from strong wind. The calm side of a boulder or large tree can also serve as a windbreak.

Survival Kits and Home Safety

A wilderness survival kit has four essential elements: fire starting, signaling, water gathering, and food gathering. Every extra item should support one of those needs.

A whistle and signal mirror belong to the signaling element. A water bottle and trash bag help with water gathering.

Learn the hazards of home utilities like electricity, gas, and water. Know the correct emergency response for each utility before trouble starts.

Develop a home emergency action plan for fire, storm, power outage, and water outage. A plan helps you act instead of panic.

Emergency Action and CPR

First aid starts with Check, Call, Care. Check the scene first so you do not become hurt too. Then call 911, then give care. Once 911 is called, put the dispatcher on speakerphone.

If a choking adult cannot talk or cough, have someone call 911. Give 5 back blows between the shoulder blades, then 5 abdominal thrusts. Repeat until the person can cough, speak, or breathe.

For adult CPR, push hard and fast at 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Push at least 2 inches deep and let the chest return to normal after each push. Full CPR gives 30 compressions at a time.

If you are not trained in full CPR, use hands-only CPR after calling 911. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives. Lock your elbows to keep your arms straight.

A first aid kit should include nonlatex gloves to protect the helper from blood and germs. A breathing barrier with a one-way valve is also on the Red Cross list.

First Aid Kit for Hiking

The Red Cross hiking checklist includes antihistamine for allergic reactions. It also lists oral rehydration salts, glucose tablets, and lubricating eye drops.

Do not use exactly the same kit for every trip. Tailor your kit to the climate, group size, terrain, remoteness, trip length, and medical needs.

Keep a first aid manual in your hiking kit. A small notepad with a waterproof pencil or pen helps you record care. Store supplies and medications in a waterproof container.

Having a stocked kit is not enough. You must know how to use the items correctly. The most common hiking injury source is falling, so be ready for cuts, scrapes, and sprains.

Cuts, Burns, Eyes, and Bone Injuries

Clean a minor cut or scrape with soap and water. If needed, cover it lightly with a dry sterile dressing or bandage. Press firmly if it does not stop bleeding readily.

If something gets in the eye, do not rub it. Rubbing might scratch the cornea. Blink to let tears wash it out, or flush with clean water. If stuck, see a doctor and cover the eye.

For a scald with blisters, cool the burn with running water and cover it loosely. Never break burn blisters, because that creates an open wound that can get infected.

Never try to remove an embedded fishhook from the face, eye, or earlobe yourself. Cut the line and let a doctor remove it.

For a collarbone injury, put the arm in a sling with the hand higher than the elbow. Then bind the arm to the body with a wide cravat.

The two-rescuer four-handed seat carry is safe only if the victim can hold on. For possible head, neck, or back injuries, use the clothes drag and cradle the head.

Bites, Poisoning, Sudden Illness, and Emergency Scenes

Wash an animal bite with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. Then get medical help for a rabies risk assessment. Rabies can spread through saliva of mammals like raccoons and bats.

If you suspect poisoning, take the container or suspected poison to the hospital with the person. Never give an unconscious person anything to drink.

The FAST stroke check starts with F for face. Ask the person to smile. A droop on one side can mean stroke. Call for help as soon as any sign appears, and do not give food or drink while waiting.

Leaving a smoke-filled room, stay low because heat and smoke rise. Do not rush in if it would put you in danger. Wait for trained rescuers instead.

After a car accident, the first of five essential steps is to protect yourself first. Then call 911, make the scene safe, stop severe bleeding, and treat for shock.

In the backcountry, send helpers with a written note. The note should list location, injuries, time, treatment given, people on scene, and what help is needed.

A First Class Scout must tell five common heart-attack signals and explain CPR procedures.

Heat and Sun

Heat exhaustion often brings cool, pale, clammy skin and heavy sweating. Move to a cooler place, loosen clothes, and sip water. Get medical help if symptoms get worse or last longer than one hour.

Heat stroke means the body is overheating. Signs include body temperature above 103°F, hot red skin, strong fast pulse, and confusion. Call 911, move the person to shade, and cool with wet cloths. Do not give fluids.

Hot desert hiking burns through water fast. Saguaro National Park advises about 1 quart per hour in summer, plus sports drinks or salty snacks. Take at least 2 quarts per day in winter.

Prevent sunburn with covering clothes and a broad-brimmed hat. Midday shade is useful when sunscreen is unavailable.

In hot, dry desert, do necessary work in the evening or early morning. Rest in a high, shady place during the hottest part of the day.

Cold, Wind, and Hypothermia

Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel as wind pulls heat from skin. Objects only cool faster to the air temperature, never below it. At 0°F with a 15 mph wind, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.

When warming someone with hypothermia, get them into a warm room and remove wet clothing. Warm the center of the body first: chest, neck, head, and groin. Seek medical attention. Warm drinks can help, but no alcohol.

In cold and snow, do all you can to stay warm and dry. Cold, wind, and moisture raise the risk of hypothermia. Watch for chilling and seek shelter and fire when possible.

Lightning, Thunder, and Floods

A thunderstorm rolls in at camp. A tent gives no protection from lightning. The only completely safe places are a safe building or vehicle. Wait 30 minutes after the last rumble before returning to the campsite.

If caught outside with no shelter, avoid open fields, hilltops, ridges, and tall isolated trees. A low spot or lower stand of trees is less risky, though nowhere outside is truly safe. In mountains, be down by noon before storms build.

Hearing thunder means you are likely in striking distance, even if you see no lightning. Sound travels about 1 mile every 5 seconds, so count from flash to bang to estimate distance.

Fast-moving floodwater can knock over an adult in just 6 inches. Never walk or wade into flood water. Twelve inches of rushing water can carry away most cars.

A creek at camp starts flowing faster and rising without local rain. That may mean rain upstream, so flooding could come. Move to higher ground.

Weather Alerts and Information

NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts warnings and forecasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It needs a special receiver and covers all 50 states.

A National Weather Service warning means hazardous weather exists or is coming. A watch means hazardous weather is possible. Act now on warnings.

Bears and Mountain Lions

If a brown or grizzly bear attacks you on the trail, leave your pack on and play dead. Lie flat on your stomach, hands clasped behind your neck, legs spread, and stay still until the bear leaves. If it keeps going, fight back hard at the face.

If a black bear attacks, do not play dead. Get to a car or building if you can. If not, fight back, aiming kicks and blows at the face and muzzle. Both kinds of bears can climb trees, so climbing is not an escape.

If any bear attacks you inside your tent or after stalking you, fight back. These attacks are rare, but the bear may see you as food.

Bear spray is for stopping an aggressive, charging, or attacking bear, not a repellent. Never put it on your body, tent, or gear. Choose an EPA-approved product made specifically for bears.

In bear country, anything with a scent counts as food. Store soap, toiletries, cosmetics, trash, and food locked up.

If a mountain lion is watching you, stand tall, face the lion, raise your arms, and open your jacket to look bigger. Do not run and do not crouch. Pick up small children, and fight back if attacked.

Poisonous Plants and Unknown Foods

The rhyme leaves of three helps spot poison ivy and poison oak, but not poison sumac. Poison sumac usually has clusters of 7 to 13 leaves. These plants grow throughout the United States except Alaska and Hawaii.

Do not eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Some plants cause illness or poisoning, and food is a low survival priority.

Pests and Bites

In tick country, wear long pants and sleeves, and tuck pant cuffs into boots or socks. Inspect yourself daily and remove ticks immediately.

Chigger bites can cause itchy welts. Avoid scratching, and use an anti-itch treatment such as calamine lotion. Long sleeves, long pants, and insect repellent reduce exposure.

After a serious spider bite, treat the person for shock and seek a physician as soon as possible. A brown recluse bite may not hurt immediately, with pain and swelling developing later.

Feeding human food to wild animals can change their gut bacteria. They may no longer digest their natural food and can starve with full stomachs. Fed animals also hang around roads and get hit by cars.

Map and Compass Basics

A compass needle points to magnetic north. Maps are drawn to true north. Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. You correct for declination so your bearing matches the map.

Declination changes over time and with location because Earth's magnetic field drifts. Values on old maps may be wrong, so check a current value from NOAA.

Orienting a map means turning it so it lines up with the land around you. A compass makes this accurate. Lay the compass edge along the map's magnetic north-south lines, then turn map and compass together.

When navigating with a phone or GPS, bring a physical map and compass as backup. Batteries die and signals drop. Navigation is the first of the 10 Essentials.

Topographic Maps

A contour line connects points that are all at the same elevation. Walk along one and you would never go uphill or downhill. On USGS topo maps, contour lines are brown.

Contour lines packed close together mean steep slope. Lines far apart, or none at all, mean fairly level ground. Wider index contours have elevation numbers printed on them.

The contour interval is the elevation difference between neighboring contour lines. It is printed in the map margin. Flat land maps may use 10 feet or less, while mountain maps may use 100 feet or more.

Contour lines never cross because one spot cannot sit at two elevations at once. Intermediate contours fill in the shape of the land.

On a USGS topographic map, green shows woodland or scrub. Water is blue and contours are brown. Black shows roads, trails, railroads, boundaries, and other human-made features.

On a 1:24,000 scale map, one inch on the map equals about 2,000 feet on the ground. That is about four tenths of a mile.

Second Class 3b requires using map and compass during an actual trip. The walking choice is 5 miles and must be approved by an adult leader and a parent or guardian. Instead, Scouts may complete a 10-mile bicycle ride.

Natural Direction and Signaling

At night, Polaris, the North Star, sits almost straight over Earth's north pole. Face it and you are facing north. The two pointer stars at the end of the Big Dipper's cup line up toward Polaris.

Orienteers count paces to judge distance. Each time the same foot touches down counts as one pace. Practice on a measured course and know that pace changes uphill, downhill, and in thick brush.

A whistle can be better than shouting for help. It carries farther with less effort. Use three blasts, rest, then three again as the universal distress call.

Flash SOS with a flashlight using three quick, three slow, three quick. A signal mirror can be seen up to about 100 miles on a clear day.

Lost in daytime with a safe fire, add green leaves or grass to make smoke. At night a bright fire works better. Spread bright clothing or gear in the open to catch a rescue pilot's eye.

A ground-to-air rescue symbol should be as big as possible. Use rocks, branches, clothing, or other materials. Align it north to south for strong shadows. In snow, stomp out shapes with your feet.

A lost child should stay in one place by a tree and wait. Hugging a tree or bench keeps the child put and calm. The Park Service also tells lost kids to make themselves big by waving their arms.

Lost? STOP and Survival Priorities

The moment you think you might be lost, stop immediately. Scouting's STOP method begins with stopping, handling immediate danger, and calming down. Then think, observe, and plan.

In the Think step, study your map and landmarks if you have one. Compare your position with hills, streams, lakes, or other features. Without a map, recall the last landmark you positively identified.

In the Observe step, inventory everything in your pack and pockets. Also notice nearby natural resources, weather, shelter options, and first-aid needs.

In the Plan step, build your plan from what you observed and the equipment available. Use useful natural materials and choose ways to stay safe.

The first four wilderness survival priorities in order are STOP, provide first aid, seek shelter, and build a fire. STOP interrupts panic, first aid treats life threats, shelter protects from heat or cold, and fire provides warmth, drying, and morale.

The fifth priority is signal for help. The sixth is drink water. The seventh is do not worry about food, because hunger is uncomfortable but lower priority than warmth, shelter, water, and rescue.

When treating outdoor water by boiling, bring it to a full boil. Other named methods are chemical treatment and filtering.

Set up tents or tarps where rescuers can see them from the air and ground. If your shelter is hidden, tie spare clothing to tree branches to mark it. In a dense wet forest, consider a meadow or visible opening and mark your route.

Basic Knots

The square knot is best used for tying off a bandage or bundle. It lies flat and works best pressed against something. It should not hold a heavy load. Use a sheet bend to join ropes.

The sheet bend joins two ropes of different thickness. Make the bight in the thicker rope and use the thinner rope as the working line. For extra security, tie a double sheet bend.

Two half hitches tie a rope to a post, tree, or ring. The loop can slide bigger or smaller. Scout Life notes they are often used for guy lines onto a dining fly.

The taut-line hitch makes an adjustable loop that stays where you put it. Slide it to tighten or loosen a tent guy line. Taut means pulled tight.

The bowline forms a fixed loop that will not slip or tighten, yet is easy to untie. It is good for tying around a person in a rescue.

The clove hitch grips a pole quickly, so it starts and finishes many lashings. Its name comes from cleave, meaning to hold fast.

The timber hitch is made for dragging a log across the ground. It stays secure as long as you keep pulling, then loosens easily. Twist the rope end around itself three or more times.

Lashings

A square lashing binds two crossing poles together where they touch and cross, usually at 90 degrees. It is load bearing and used for frames and scaffolding.

A diagonal lashing starts with a timber hitch around both poles. Pulling it closes the gap so the wraps go on with poles touching. It is for cross-brace poles with a gap between them.

A shear lashing ties two parallel poles side by side at the tips. The bottoms spread apart to make shear legs, often used as an A-frame.

Frapping turns are wrapped between the poles, around the wraps. Pulling them tight cinches the whole lashing. Manila rope should provide the bulk of a pioneering kit.

The tripod lashing makes the simplest self-standing pioneering structure.

Knife and Ax Safety

Before using a knife or axe, clear a safety circle the size of your outstretched arm plus the tool's length. Hold the tool by the closed blade or sheath and turn slowly. Everything inside must be clear.

When whittling or cutting, move the blade away from your body. Cutting toward you is a major no-no. Keep your knife sharp and clean, and never throw it.

A dull ax is far more dangerous than a sharp one because it bounces off wood. Wear sturdy boots, gloves, and eye protection when using an ax.

Keep the cut end of nylon rope from unraveling by fusing it, melting the strands over a flame in a ventilated area. Natural rope like sisal or cotton gets whipped with string instead. Let melted nylon cool before touching.

Tenderfoot 3d requires proper care, sharpening, and use of the knife, saw, and ax. You also explain when each tool belongs in the job.

Fire Triangle and Campfire Safety

A fire needs three things: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Remove any one side of the fire triangle and the fire stops. Water cools a fire, while smothering blocks oxygen.

Build a campfire with tinder in the center first, such as dry leaves, grass, and small twigs. Then add kindling sticks smaller than 1 inch around, then larger logs as the fire grows. Light tinder with a match or lighter, never flammable liquids.

Keep a campfire at least 15 feet from tents, plants, and low branches. Overhead space should be at least three times the flame height. Clear an area at least 10 feet across around the fire pit.

Gather dead wood on the ground that breaks by hand. Live wood does not burn well, and standing dead trees shelter birds and wildlife. Burn all wood and coals to ash, then scatter cool ashes.

Never run a fuel-burning camp stove or lantern inside a closed tent. They make carbon monoxide, a gas you cannot see or smell. The risk is higher at high altitudes.

Check local rules before building a campfire. A temporary open-flame ban makes lighting one inappropriate. Build fires only where land management rules allow them.

Other fire-lighting methods are a lens, flint and steel, and friction. Practice before an emergency, and obey fire restrictions.

Kindling twigs should be no thicker than a pencil. Gather a small armload before lighting the fire.

Camp Cooking and Food Safety

Every patrol member should help share camp meal preparation and cleanup. Tenderfoot 2a asks why each member should share both jobs, and the Scout must assist in preparing one meal.

For Tenderfoot 2b, you must show how to clean meal preparation, serving, and eating items safely during a campout.

Second Class 2d covers choosing a lightweight stove or propane stove, setting it up, and explaining safety. You also explain when each type is appropriate. Lighting may be skipped under local fire restrictions.

Second Class 2e asks you to plan and cook a hot breakfast or lunch using MyPlate, explain why good nutrition matters, and demonstrate transporting, storing, and preparing the food.

Refrigerate perishable foods within 2 hours, or within 1 hour when it is above 90°F. Use a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs, and keep cold food at 40°F or below.

Store raw meat in sealed bags or containers so juices cannot drip onto other food. Use a food thermometer to check doneness, because color is not reliable.

Think of a backcountry campfire as a tool for a real need. If a stove, clothing, and gear already meet your needs, you can decide no fire is appropriate.

Campsite, Shelter, and Leave No Trace

Look up when picking a campsite and check for dead trees or limbs that could fall. These widow-makers can fall any time, especially in wind. Avoid camping where trees could fall.

A useful shelter site is mostly level for sleeping but high enough and gently sloped so water drains away. It should also be protected from wind and drifting sand or snow.

For Tenderfoot 1b, a Scout sleeps in a tent that the Scout helped pitch on a patrol or troop campout.

Good campsites are found, not made. Use existing sites on durable surfaces rather than clearing plants or digging. Do not build structures or dig trenches.

Leave No Trace says to camp at least 200 feet from lakes and streams. In popular areas, keep campsites small.

When there is no toilet, dig a cathole 6 to 8 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches across. Dig it at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the hole when done.

Strain dishwater to remove food bits and pack them out. Scatter the strained water at least 200 feet from streams or lakes.

Leave No Trace has seven principles: Plan Ahead and Prepare, Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces, Dispose of Waste Properly, Leave What You Find, Minimize Campfire Impacts, Respect Wildlife, and Be Considerate of Others.

Tenderfoot 1c is about action, not only memory. A Scout explains how the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace were demonstrated on campouts. Second Class later asks how you follow Leave No Trace on all outings.

Hike on trails or durable surfaces to reduce damage to the outdoors. First Class 9c asks you to reduce, recycle, or repurpose trash before another outing.

A survival shelter should put a thick insulating layer between you and cold ground. Use a foam pad and ground cloth, or a thick mat of branches.

Choose a survival shelter site near usable building materials to save energy. Check for flood, avalanche, rockfall, and lightning risks.

The simplest snow shelter is a burrow in a drift. More developed snow shelters include tree pits, trenches, and caves.

Swim Tests and Safe Swim Defense

The Scouting America beginner swim test starts with a feetfirst jump into water over your head. Level off, swim 25 feet, stop, turn sharply, and return to where you started. Anyone who has not passed beginner or swimmer test is called a nonswimmer.

The swimmer test starts with a feetfirst jump into deep water. Swim 75 yards with strong strokes, then 25 yards of resting backstroke. All 100 yards are one swim with at least one sharp turn, then rest by floating.

In Safe Swim Defense, the nonswimmer area should be no more than waist to chest deep and enclosed by shore, a pier, or lines. The beginner area may go just over the head, and the swimmer area may reach 12 feet in clear water.

If two swim buddies are in different ability groups, they swim in the area for the less skilled buddy. Buddies check into and out of the swim area together.

Water is turbid when a swimmer treading water cannot see their own feet. Underwater swimming and diving are not allowed in turbid water. The maximum depth in turbid water is 8 feet, compared with 12 feet in clear water.

Swimmers leave the water whenever lightning or thunder threatens. Wait at least 30 minutes after the last lightning flash or thunder before returning. Safety Afloat uses the same 30-minute rule.

Rescue Methods

The order of water rescue methods is Reach, Throw, Row, Go. Start with the safest rescue: reach with an arm, leg, or object. Then throw something that floats, then use a boat. Going into the water yourself is the last choice.

Before reaching from a dock to pull in a struggling swimmer, lie down or brace yourself. A panicking swimmer may grab your hand and pull you in. Extend your reach with a shirt, towel, or pool noodle instead of your hand.

Rule No. 1 for anyone saving a person in the water is do not become victim No. 2. That is why you reach or throw when you can, instead of swimming out.

A rescue swimmer should avoid touching a panicking swimmer. They may grab the rescuer to stay up. Push a float to them instead. A throwing rescue only works if the victim can grab the aid, so it will not help someone unconscious.

In a line tender rescue, one person feeds a line from shore while a swimmer carries it to the victim. Then the tender on shore pulls both of them in.

After capsizing far from shore in cold water, try first to get as much of your body as possible onto the craft. If you cannot climb on, keep your PFD and clothing on and conserve heat. A damaged small craft may still float and support you.

Do not breathe fast and deep on purpose before holding your breath underwater. Deliberate hyperventilation may delay breathing signals until you pass out, which can lead to drowning. Competitive underwater swimming events are not allowed in Scouting.

Boating and Canoeing Basics

Under Safety Afloat's basic life jacket rule, all persons wear a properly fitted, Coast Guard approved life jacket while boating. There are limited exceptions for certain situations on vessels over 20 feet. Some life jackets are not approved for waterskiing, tubing, or whitewater paddling, so check the label.

On a Scouting float trip, only those who passed the swimmer test may operate a boat. Nonswimmers may ride in some boats with a skilled adult swimmer as a buddy. The swimmer test for boating is taken again every year.

On a float trip with several boats, each boat should have a buddy boat. All buddy pairs are checked at regular intervals. The supervisor checks every buddy pair off the water at the end of the activity.

On a canoe, the rails along the top edge of both sides are called gunwales. Thwarts are braces across the width, and painters are ropes at the ends. A keel helps a canoe go straight but makes it harder to turn.

A canoe paddle has a grip at the top, a shaft in the middle, and a blade at the bottom. The throat is where the shaft and blade join. Many whitewater paddlers prefer a T-grip, while many flatwater paddlers like a pear grip.

When wind picks up and waves build, kneel low in the canoe to lower your center of gravity and prevent capsizing. Angle the canoe about 45 degrees to waves instead of going straight in or sideways.