Outdoor Survival

Introduction & Assessment

Wilderness survival starts with knowing yourself and your environment. Begin by watching the free YouTube channel "Coalcracker Bushcraft" or the NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) free videos at nols.edu/resources. Then take an honest look at your current skills: have you ever built a fire, found water, or spent a night outdoors? Write down your answers and rate yourself 1–5 in each area. Utah's Wasatch Mountains change fast — temperatures can drop 30 degrees in an afternoon, which makes survival skills especially important here. Look up the ten essentials on REI's free website and see how many you own. You're ready for the next step when you can list all ten essentials from memory and explain why each one matters in a Utah mountain environment.

Foundation Building

Every survival skill rests on four basic needs: shelter, water, fire, and signaling. Start with shelter because exposure kills faster than thirst or hunger. Watch the free video "How to Build an Emergency Debris Hut" by Dave Canterbury on YouTube. Then practice building a simple A-frame shelter using sticks and leaves or a tarp in your backyard. Next, learn the "Rule of Threes": you can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 hours in harsh weather without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Download the free Utah Search and Rescue awareness guide from the Utah Division of Emergency Management (dem.utah.gov). You're ready for the next step when you can build a simple emergency shelter in under 30 minutes that would keep out wind and rain.

Skill Development

Now you'll practice the hands-on skills that could actually save your life. Head to a local fire-safe area — many Wasatch foothills trailheads allow small fires in established rings — and practice the fire triangle: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Learn three fire-starting methods: matches, a lighter, and a ferro rod (spark striker). Use only dry tinder you collect on-site. At home, practice purifying water using the boiling method (one minute at a full rolling boil) and learn to read a water source for safety. The free NOLS Wilderness Medicine Handbook preview on their website explains waterborne illness risks in Utah streams. Also practice tying a bowline knot and a clove hitch — both are used constantly in survival situations. You're ready for the next step when you can start a fire using a ferro rod alone, with materials you gathered yourself.

Practice & Refinement

Refinement means putting skills together under realistic conditions. Plan a legal day outing in the Wasatch — Millcreek Canyon or Big Cottonwood Canyon both have excellent terrain — and bring only a small pack with your ten essentials. Practice navigating without your phone using landmarks and the sun's position. Build a fire, purify water from a stream, and practice signaling using a whistle (three blasts = international distress) and a mirror. Learn the Utah-specific hazard of flash floods in slot canyons and afternoon lightning on ridges. The free Utah Avalanche Center website (utahavalanchecenter.org) also has great terrain awareness education. Write a one-page "survival plan" for a specific Wasatch trail. You're ready for the next step when you can execute fire, water, and shelter skills back-to-back on a single outing without referring to any notes.

Challenge Mode

The real challenge is handling the unexpected. Set up a scenario with a trusted adult: you're "lost" in a local park or canyon, it's getting dark, and you have only what's in a basic day pack. Practice S-T-O-P: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. Build your shelter, start a fire, purify water, and signal for rescue — all within two hours. Then go deeper: learn Utah-specific plants. The Utah Native Plant Society (unps.org) has free field guides online. Identify three edible and three toxic plants common to the Wasatch foothills. Also learn basic first aid for blisters, sprains, and hypothermia using the free American Red Cross first aid app. You're ready for the next step when you can run through all four survival priorities — shelter, water, fire, signal — successfully during a timed scenario.

Mastery Demonstration

It's time to share what you've learned. Organize a free two-hour survival skills workshop for at least four friends or family members at a local park or Wasatch foothills trailhead. Teach shelter building, fire starting, water safety, and signaling. Create a simple two-page handout using free information from Ready.gov and the Utah Division of Emergency Management. Lead each person through at least one hands-on skill. Document your workshop with photos showing participants actively practicing. Post a summary of what you covered to your SLCTrips profile. You're ready for the next step when every participant can demonstrate the S-T-O-P method and build a basic emergency shelter without your help.