Mohammed Elmahi
World Literature hon-2nd period
Mr. Simonds
November 28, 2012
Its spring time
First things first, you are stranded somewhere in a northern forest in spring, the worst case is that you do not know where you are and you ask yourself what do I do now. That is not a problem. There are many ways to survive on your own if and stay safe if you know how. These steps will show you how to survive in the spring time in a northern forest. The main key objectives that you need to survive would be plentiful but very resourceful, that would help you main yourself and keep the will to survive. You don't know where you are, but you should know where you want to go, as close to a source of water as possible. This is because according to squidoo.com “there is no way to tell you how long you can go without water or how much water you need every day. There are so many factors when it comes to this. Having water and as much as you can get is key especially in a hot weather survival situation.” While you’re finding and getting some water, there is a rule that will help you keep away from some very pesky insects. According to Wikihow.com’s survival guide it says “while you're near water, it is important for you to cover yourself in a thin sheet of blue clay or dirt if no clay is available. This layer must cover every piece of open skin. This layer will be your only defense against black flies, deer flies and ticks.” This little trick would come in handy and won’t leave you swatting all day. As said by wikihow.com’s article on how to survive the wilderness “You don't know where you are, but you know where you want to go...downhill. This is because water is held stringently by the laws of gravity and you want water first as you can only survive days without it. Move to the lowest point you can find.” The best guess when you are downhill, you will either find a pond of water or a stream. If anything there should be a water source since it is spring time and that is the best time to find a water source out in the forest. The next thing after you find water is to purify it, which will be explained more in depth in the next paragraphs.
The next thing you need to do is make a knife. According to ehow.com’s article on how to make a wooden knife, it states “look for a piece of hardwood. It must be straight-grained, about 1-foot long, and around 1 inch in diameter.” This is done in steps, so the next thing it says “Find either a sharp-edged stone or, better yet, a large, flat rock that you can use as a rubbing surface.” The rock is going to be used to carve the wood. There are two more steps which are stated on the website on how to make a knife. The next step states “use the stone or the rock to shave the knife blade. The blade itself should be around 6-inches long--about half the length of your hardwood piece. Be sure to make the point of the blade slightly off-center; this will increase its strength.” Make sure to do it very carefully though as you can easily break the wood doing it. The final step in making a knife as said on ehow.com would be “Hold the blade section of the knife over a fire. The drier the knife, the harder the blade--and especially the point--will be. You want the blade to be very slightly charred by the time you are done.” You can put it over a fire after the steps on how to make a fire are said in later paragraphs. So there you have it, your own handmade knife.
One of the most important things to do in surviving is to make a shelter. There are five steps that are stated on instructables.com on how to build a simple and easy shelter in the forest. The first step states “The best trees are medium sized, so that you can carry them by yourself, and has as many branches as possible. They all need to be pine, except for one, which can be another, harder tree. You need one tree to set all of your other trees on.” The next step in making a shelter says “Now that you have your trees, you need to prepare them. The way