• Protecting yourself from the elements is an imperative component of wilderness survival.hiking with friend image by sarssa from Fotolia.com
  
  The ability to stay calm and focused enough to provide yourself with shelter, warmth and nourishment when lost or stranded in the woods is crucial. Cold and wet weather, hunger, thirst or exhaustion in survival situations can hamper the rational, logical thinking needed to get through a crisis. In addition to knowing how to manipulate natural objects into roaring fires and shelters, it's also wise to bring small, potentially life-saving pocket items, such as butane lighters, mini-flashlights and compasses.
  
  

Build a Fire

• Knowing how to build a fire in the wilderness is of the utmost importance, not only to supply warmth and light, but to keep animals away, dry clothing and even signal for help when lost. The ability to start a fire by banging flint and steel pieces together to create sparks, or rubbing sticks together to create heat, is extremely useful. Make sure to bring small fire-starting items along when camping or hiking, such as waterproof matches and a filled butane lighter.
  
  

Find Shelter

• Keeping warm and dry in a wilderness setting protects an individual from hypothermia, frostbite, sun poisoning and in some instances wildlife attacks. An ideal shelter is one which is fully protected from rain and snow, and which can safely house a fire. Cliff overhangs and small caves offer easy, pre-existing shelter, but also of protective value are the shallow pits left behind by fallen trees, which can be lined with tree boughs and/or bark. A lean-to can also be made with smaller, fallen trees and tree boughs, creating a natural canopy as a wind and precipitation barrier.
  
  

Find Food and Water

• On a prioritized list of wilderness survival skills, the ability to successfully forage for food and drinkable water ranks immediately after keeping warm and protected from the elements. Numerous books have been written on the topic of identifying edible flora in wilderness settings, though the ability to boil and purify any stream, pond or lake water for drinking is of even more pressing importance, given that people can live longer without eating than drinking. Here, the ability to build a fire comes back into play, and boiling any naturally occurring water found in the woods can go a long ways towards killing any bacteria and organisms.